My First Race

The passing of another year, a #tbt photo, and a vlog post about Good Friday, Easter, and personal narrative, have inspired a reflection on how my self-narrative has changed over the years.

This photo was taken just weeks into my freshman cross country campaign at Northside and got a crazy number of likes on Facebook by people who have known me throughout various stages of my life. In considering this and the ways which the stories we tell ourselves shape our lives, I thought it might be helpful to share a little about how my self-narrative shifted as a result of choosing to run cross country.

My dad began training for his first and only marathon (Chicago 2002) at the end of my elementary school days. In preparation, he signed up for a 10k and asked me if I wanted to try running the corresponding 5k. Having basically no athletic background and carrying the awkward burden of being a (former) chubby kid I figured running might be a good way to "get in shape." The narrative I told myself was that as a (former) chubby, Asian kid with glasses, I wasn't "tough" and would never be an athlete. Without a background in traditional team sports or much natural speed, strength, or stature, I had written off athletic activity as an opportunity to be embarrassed, and was entirely content to view physical activity as a necessary evil of a healthy lifestyle akin to brushing my teeth. I allowed this narrative to limit my potential not just as an athlete but also as a person.

I ran that first 5k in 29:36 and figured that this would probably be the extent of my running "career." I didn't train much and figured running a bit faster than my dad's planned marathon pace for the distance would be respectable. It fit perfectly into the narrative I told myself: I was healthy enough to finish, I'd maybe jog once or twice a week and run a 5k for charity once in a while, but I wasn't about to win any races.

Fast forward a few months to my transition from home school to public school for the first time in five years. The only person I knew at my new school played lacrosse (shout out to Tori, haha). I hadn't really played organized team sports, but figured this sounded cool (tough or whatever) and sort of had an idea that not many (Chicago) kids had experience playing lacrosse prior to high school so I might have a shot at this "new" sport. Again to "get into shape" and develop some toughness, I surprised myself and my parents by deciding to run cross country the fall of my freshman year of high school (I don't think there is any "going out" for cross country as everyone makes the team).

Racing for the first time!

My self-narrative began to change in my first cross country race. I finished the Gordon Tech Invite Freshman Two Mile in under 13 minutes, truly racing for the first time and off little training. I believe I placed 19th or 20th in this race and received a medal or ribbon for this finish. Prior to the race, I realized I couldn't fail if I never backed down. No matter how slow I ran, I couldn't question my toughness if I ran through the pain. This thought was freeing for a failure fearing teen. Thus unhindered by paralyzing fear, I had objectively achieved something in cross country. In light of this evidence, my narrative had to change. I could no longer truthfully tell myself I was an athletic non-achiever and that I wasn't tough.

I still have miles to go in terms of refining my self-narrative, but this experience is one of the most significant to date. This mile (or two miles as it were) of my journey began to reset parts of my narrative that kept me from achieving my potential as an athlete and a person. I'm finding it difficult to connect this transformation of self-narrative to things beyond running at the moment. I will say that what this revealed was my ability/worth in a totally unexpected area, a foreshadowing of a (growing) realization of my worth regardless of achievement or ability.

How would you describe your first race experience?

Have you experienced a transformation as an athlete that has changed the stories you tell yourself?

Leave a comment or question below!

Note: A lot of the thought processes I describe above were fueled by an unhealthy fear of failure which characterized my adolescent mind. Perhaps another time I'll write about running "scared." Another adolescent fantasy to dispel is there is only so much "toughness" can overcome (sorry Pre fans). Being mentally tough and staying positive counts but I believe its dangerous to disconnect those things from our natural ability, current fitness, and the limits they impose. In fact, the lack of sprint speed, explosive strength, and stature that make team sports challenging for me is probably the flip side of the physiology that allows me to run well in the marathon.

Also thanks Dan McDowell for editing this piece!

Boston 2015 Global Period (Training 11/17-2/1)

Yikes! It's been 11 weeks or so since I last recapped on the blog. That's actually probably a good thing as I've been busy running and doing other things for the most part.

A shot from the Daniel Burnham Open cross country race Lee Greenberg and I produce.

(photo credit: Ground Up Dij)

In summary, the past 11 weeks, I've averaged about 70 miles per week, implemented hip/core strengthening, and done a number of workouts featuring faster paces/shorter reps. You can check out the details on Strava.

I had to nix my goal of racing at the Illiana Invite (as it is an invitation only event, duh), but it seems I've also gotten a bunch of other runners interested in racing on the (indoor) track at some point in February so that's cool. It looks like we'll be running 5000m on Saturday, February 2nd.

My feeling is that even with the progress I've made with stabilizing the chassis and getting the legs turning over with workouts featuring shorter, faster repeats, I'm still lacking a certain "something." That "something" could very well be just getting in a race or time trial so it's a good thing that it looks like there will probably be a few opportunities to race indoors this year.

Looking ahead, my training will start to become increasingly (Boston) marathon specific. This past weekend was the first Boston 365 workout in Barrington, IL which features rolling terrain and is one of the spots Chicago-area runners use to prepare for the Boston Marathon.

We tried something a bit different this latest outing, running out and back on "Windmill Hill" segment twice before flipping around for home.

The very steep second half of "Windmill Hill" provided some great downhill running stimulus.

I focused on running marathon effort (at this point about 6:00 pace) for these hills. After a gentle mile back on the roads, I ran 6 miles at marathon effort (again just over 6:00 pace). I think this was quite valuable as it gave me the opportunity to run marathon effort after some hard downhill running. Kudos to Boston Marathon Guru, Dan Daly for dreaming up this new training stimulus.

I'll have to post more specific goals and plans for the next six weeks or so, but the main thing is to begin making that transition to marathon specific workouts in preparation for a few key workouts like my staple 18 miles at 95% marathon goal pace.

What do your next six weeks look like?

Leave a question or comment below!

A Runner's Guide to Memphis, TN

I was recently in Memphis, TN for five days for my sister, Rachel's wedding (Rachel hates it when I refer to her exclusively as "my sister"). If you find yourself in Memphis, TN, here are my recommendations for where to run (important), where not to run (even more important), where to eat (most important), and more.

You're gonna need to run eating like this in Memphis! (at Bryant's Breakfast)

Where to Run

In my limited experience, Shelby Farms Park is the place to run in the Memphis area. A gargantuan park, 11 miles directly east of downtown Memphis, Shelby Farms features miles of paved and unpaved trails and a Greenline from Midtown to the Park itself.

Tour de Wolf (Shelby Farms Park)
Bisected by Walnut Grove Road, the north half features an unpaved, double track trail system known as Tour de Wolf.

A decent run, the trail isn't really too long, a loop will get you about 5 miles or so round trip so be prepared to add on. Also it runs through the dog park so heads up on that. The section along Walnut Grove Road is a little bit hilly and would be good for some sort of repeat workout.

Wolf River Trails (Dan's Choice)

This run on the Yellow Trail, was probably the best (most continuous) run I did while in Memphis. Single track along the Wolf River, I would highly recommend this run. Also based on the Park Map, this trail connects to more trails that cover the western and more of the southern portions of the Park.

Clipped from the larger Park Map.

I've actually also run on the other side of the Wolf River on the Germantown Greenline, which was a nice paved bike trail, but nothing to write home about (and yet I find myself including a sentence on it). I would only resort to this if you somehow can't get around to the other side to run the single track.

Overton Park

In an interesting story of privilege, this park was saved from becoming Interstate 40 in the late 1970s. It's central, Midtown location and surrounding "runnable" neighborhoods make this a more appealing option if getting out to Shelby Farms is not an option.

Shelby Farms Greenline

Speaking of which, there is actually a 6.5 mile Greenline from Midtown (Walnut Grove and Tillman) to the northwest corner of Shelby Farms Park. I haven't run or biked it, but from what I could tell it seems like a better option than straight up running city streets.

(Mississippi) Riverfront

If you're staying downtown and can't make it out to the other places I've listed, the Riverfront area will suffice. It's also a quick jog from notable Memphis locations like the Lorraine Motel and Beale Street.

Where Not to Run (or Drive)

Almost as important as good running spots is areas to avoid. For example, I ran Germantown Parkway from the Wolfchase Galleria my first day and that was not fun and at times dangerous.

From my log: "Terrible!!! Germantown Parkway is the longest strip mall you've ever seen. Some sections didn't even have sidewalk despite having crosswalks?!? Don't do this run EVER!"

Also later that day, I returned to run at Shelby Farms and it took me 40 minutes just to drive this same section (in one direction) around rush hour. So my advice would be not to drive this section after 9am.

Who to Run With

Check out the Breakaway Running Facebook page for group runs! I didn't actually run with any of their groups, but I did see their well attended, Thursday night Midtown run the first evening we arrived in Memphis on our way to dinner.

You can also travel with running buddies. Shout out to Kian for the company on these Memphis running adventures!

Where to Eat

When thinking about Memphis, maybe the first thing on your mind is "BBQ!" But don't forget that breakfast (after a run) is the "most important" meal of the day.

Breakfast Spots

Bryant's Breakfast is a local favorite. On a Friday morning, there was a to-go line through the entire storefront. You'll get all the biscuits and gravy you can eat along with your breakfast meats and eggs.

If you want to combine a bit of history with your meal, the Arcade Restaurant is Memphis' Oldest Cafe (whatever that means) and is within walking distance of the Riverfront.

Barbecue

With three locations and a good rep among locals, Central BBQ Memphis has got to be my pick for your BBQ fix.

Brews

While I was less than impressed the food, Boscos Squared is one of the places to get local brew in Memphis' happening Overton Square area.

When to Race

If you'd like to visit Memphis to race, the most notable and storied event has got to be the St. Jude Memphis Marathon (which includes a half marathon and 5k races as well). From what I've heard, the early December event is one of those notable races that brings a town together around the worthy cause of caring for the health of children. Check out the race reviews on BibRave!

Do you have a favorite run, race, or restaurant in Memphis?

Let us know in the comments below!

Race Recap: 2014 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Since I'm going away for the weekend, I want to make sure I get some thoughts written down about this race.

"To enjoy the streets of Chicago you need to smile. 

With all these people you need a big smile." 

- Eliud Kipchoge, winner of the 2014 BoA Chicago Marathon (among other things) via LetsRun.com

photo credit: Ruben Gonzalez

First off, thanks for your support!

There is no experience like running your hometown marathon, the crowd support is amazing. I was perhaps more acutely aware of this as my last couple marathons were away from home (Boston and Grandma's).

Running the streets of Chicago this year was like a stroll through my running past as I saw and heard supporters from my earliest years as a runner to the present. My family of origin, my parents and youngest brother, have spectating the Chicago Marathon down to a science. I started running in 2002 when my dad was training for his first and only Chicago Marathon. High school teammate Danny Garcia and coach Humberto Gutierrez, two of the few people I knew who had run the Chicago Marathon in my earliest running years were on the course cheering.

Moving on to my friends from undergrad, there were tons of guys from the Illinois Cross Country and Track Club cheering (Aaron Silver, I needed that pick up in those last couple miles) and racing. Congrats to my former training partner Declan McDonnell for pulling what Matt Newman called a "Kittaka" and debuting in 2:35 as well as throwback racers Matt Peharda and Ryan Tripicchio! I also saw some former River to River Relay buds including JMac (dude, someone else was totally racing in a NBA jersey this year), Kyle Somerfield, and Brent Chatham.

My description of supporters from my Fleet Feet days could probably go on for several paragraphs, but I will say it is always a pleasure to run through mile 10. I enjoyed seeing Catherine Moloznik, Cole Sanseverino, Shawn Lucas, Krissy Czapanskiy (and Bill!), Matt Curley, Peter Mone, and of course Mark Erspamer. Thanks for the pics, Ruben Gonzalez and Lyndsey Baum!

Heh, this is getting long but it's a pretty interesting, at least for me, to review how running is defined by the folks you share it with. It was great to have Bana Negash out there on course. Thanks to TTAU's Michael Martineau for some sweet pics and Mark Wehrman for the company. And finally, thanks to the crew from Bootleg Runners Coalition for the Rainbow Dash, helium pick me up and Jeff Edmonds and crew at the BibRave cheer station for the encouraging words!

I've undoubtedly left more than a few names off the list, but you get the point. I mentioned this in my BibRave review of this year's event, but it bears repeating, 2014 had the best crowd support in the toughest areas of the course in my four years running the event (2010, 12, 13, 14). This of course could all be my distorted memory as 2014 was my fastest Chicago Marathon of the bunch, but I think there is still some truth in there somewhere.

Now onto the actual race itself.

If you want to run low 2:30s, run with the ladies as they tend to be smarter racers than men!

Also: Twin Anchors!

photo credit: Michael Martineau

I started a bit quick. I'm not sure how I missed the first mile split, but I ran what felt like a relaxed split with my teammate and fellow pretzel aficionado, Kyle Larson who was guiding vision impaired athlete Aaron Sheidies. From there things got rolling pretty quickly as I keep the pace under 5:50 through the first 10k, splitting 35:52. The wind was out of the south so things felt pretty relaxed and I dropped my gloves when I saw my folks near LaSalle and Chicago (mile 4).

After turning south at Addison, I could feel that the legs weren't too happy running 5:45s into the wind. I let the pace sag a bit to let my body relax remembering that there was still 19 miles remaining in the race! At this point, I was caught by a group of women including Hansons-Brooks' Melissa White (see Michael's photo). They were probably running high 5:40s while I kept things controlled and stayed comfortable, biding my time until after the half-way point. I was relatively comfortable, but not feeling particularly smooth which was concerning considering the hot early pace and bad memories from previous years. I recalled my general race plan to stay relaxed through mile 15, then reevaluate my goals for the remainder of the race.

Passing half-way in 1:16:17, I tried to stay optimistic. Based on how I was feeling, it would probably not be possible to negative-split the way I had intended. Not only that, but the miles following were exactly where my races the past two years completely unraveled. I found confidence in my ability to continue running (relatively) relaxed 5:50s. Over the summer, I had been bike commuting pretty much everyday, logging 3-5 hours of easy riding per week. This additional aerobic activity helped keep me healthy while maximizing my aerobic capacity however it also introduced more muscle fatigue as my rides and runs often butted up against each other. During training and racing leading up to the marathon, I noticed that it was difficult for me to maintain fast paces, but my ability to run 5:50 pace was nearing the level it was at when I set my marathon PR nearly four years ago in Dallas.

Mile 15 came and went and while I didn't feel great, I also wasn't blowing up. Modeled after Dan Daly's segmentation of the Boston Marathon I used in April and again at Grandma's, miles 15-22 or so are run by feel, focusing on staying relaxed and maintaining the effort. For Boston, this section is comprised of the Newton Hills, culminating in the legendary Heartbreak Hill. For marathons in general, these represent some of the toughest miles for a variety of physiological and psychological factors that I don't have space to discuss at the moment. I ultimately decided it was easier to think about the segment as through mile 21 (where I'd be taking the last of my three GU energy gels, I take one every 7 miles in case you wanted to know).

I honestly don't remember much about this portion of the race with the exception of feeling my form breaking down and slowing slightly. The steps no longer came easily. They were labored and there was nothing I could do to loosen things up. I felt like the Tin Man with no oil. In fact for about 30 seconds or so the arches of my feet cramped up.

Despite all this, I was able to get past miles 21 and 22. I believe it was at this point that I did the math and calculated that as long as I didn't blow up, I'd be able to clock in under 2:35. This quick calculation lifted some of my anxiety. I did not feel very good and couldn't run any faster, but I also felt like the pace I had been more or less maintaining could be maintained through the finish. With this and the wind from the south in mind, I decided to make a go at a faster finish once I turned north on Michigan Avenue. Of course seeing my family near 33rd and my friend Mark Erspamer on the 33rd Street Bridge also helped keep me motivated.

Struggling to maintain pace on 33nd Street.

Also this photo proves that this is in fact the Chicago Marathon.

photo credit: Mark Erspamer

While I told myself turning onto Michigan Avenue would be a relief, in fact it was just the opposite. This nearly penultimate mile and a half long stretch would determine the result of the run. Anxiety mounted. I wasn't sure I could hurt all the way to the finish. I did my best to pick up the pace, but I was probably just maintaining if not just slowing ever so slightly. To battle doubt, I verbalized a few times, "I can do this" and tried to accept the shouts of encouragement. Corny, I know. In my head, I knew my body could run 5:59 pace or whatever for another 10 minutes, but my body was trying to convince me to relax and slow down.

I ran a terrible Mt. Roosevelt as my form had deteriorated into a wavy mess and the race was over.

I finished just 15 seconds off of my time at Grandma's Marathon. I thought I was in slightly better shape this time around, however as I mentioned earlier, I've been having a difficult time running faster paces (5k and half-marathon pace). The improved running economy at marathon race pace that comes along with running at faster paces was one of the biggest limiting factors of my Chicago Marathon performance in my analysis.

Ultimately, I am very happy with my 2014 marathon season. I started in the Lincoln Square Athletic Club pool way back in January after not being able to run most of October, November, and December 2013. Boston snuck up on me, but it was also the first marathon in three attempts and three years where I arrived on the starting line without major lower leg pain. Grandma's Marathon reinforced the marathon segmentation strategy I had applied to Boston and resulted in my second fastest marathon ever and my first marathon negative split. Finally, this run in Chicago redeemed the past two years where I wasn't within 9 minutes of my best. My run in Chicago set a new standard of marathon performance consistency.

My goal for 2014 was to get in a full year of healthy running and racing, building a platform on which to break 2:30 in 2015. I feel like I got much more than I expected as I developed a better support structure (thanks, friends), learned an effective way to segment and execute marathons, and broke 2:34 twice. Looking ahead, I am hopeful for success and excited to find my speed again.

For the curious:

Check out my splits here.

I don't have Strava data because I don't use a GPS watch for marathons.

Thanks again for your support! 

What are your goals for 2015 and how do you plan on achieving them?

Happy Belated Anniversary! (Training 9/8-9/28)

I totally missed any type of recognition on the actual date I first posted, however, I did want to take a moment to point out that I've been writing Kansai Kudasai for an entire year! If you are a newer reader, you should check out my first post, What's in a Name, where I talk about the impetus for the blog and more!

Speaking of blog names, I'm going to plug my friend Eric's blog, Baum Temple of Speed, which has a name origin story rivaling Batman's origin story. Eric, brings a unique perspective to the endurance sports blog-o-sphere by including concepts gleaned from expertise in Supply Chain Management and all things mechanical. His guide to spectating, Take Your Spectating to the Next Level, is a chuckle-filled guide to the harder-than-it-looks sport/science of spectating endurance events.

Switching gears, I started to read about the training I was doing leading up to last year's Chicago Marathon. Clearly several weeks out, I felt like I was in good shape, but my left shin was a significant issue. In the week leading up to the race, I wrote:

At this point, it seems like I'm losing the battle to take the shin pain. On dailymile, my friend, Dan M reminded me to try nuking the shin with anti-inflammatory drugs for a bit. I'm taking Monday off and taking some ibuprofen in order hopes it will help me shake some of this shin pain as it is clearly causing me to change my form a bit and put more pressure on my right hip.

One week to go!

Note to self and others: running a marathon with (lower leg) pain severe enough to cause irritation/imbalance is a bad idea. If it is bad enough where you're considering running in trainers like I did, take care! The marathon is a cruel and unforgiving mistress. It may sound simple, but it took me three years of injuries and poor performances to realize the value of showing up to the start line healthy. You may be able to BS a 5k while hurt (I did, setting a PR two weeks before last year's Chicago Marathon), but there is no getting around the fact that a road marathon involves 26.2 miles of pavement pounding that will exploit your every weakness and prevent you from running to your expectations.

Marathons are then a great opportunity to apply the theory of constraints (TOC). The Theory is a management philosophy first described by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and is based around the premise that focusing attention on a few constraints that limit an entire system you can make that system more productive. What were my constraints? Based on my Chicago Marathon race recap and further reflection here's what I'd say:

1) Mechanics constrained by
a) injury to the lower legs
b) muscular development due to the fact I didn't get in longer long runs that would have simulated marathon "time on your feet"
2) Fuel, there are two parts to this one:
a) Constrained by a haphazard fueling plan
b) Constrained by aerobic development, that is to say my ability to run aerobically at my expected marathon goal pace, at the pace I thought I was fit enough to run I was burning fuel too quickly

So in the year following, I shifted my training accordingly, focusing on first running pain-free then on injury prevention, consistent longer long runs both for time as well as at or near marathon pace, practicing a fueling plan and developing trust in certain products, and increasing aerobic capacity.

Leading up to the 2014 Boston Marathon, I spent time in the pool, nursing my lower legs and scraping for aerobic development. A steady diet of long runs during this build up, got me comfortable running beyond 18 miles again. I was also able to find fuel that I enjoyed using on these long runs and began to trust gels again. Introducing a longer bike commute with my new job, padded my training with hours of additional easy aerobic activity, the foundation of one's aerobic capacity. Finally, racing marathons more frequently allowed for longer efforts at or near marathon pace. I believe I've mentioned this before but pace at Boston equated to about 95% of my marathon pace  at Grandma's making the Boston not unlike one of Renato Canova's very long runs a close to marathon effort.

All of this to lead up to the past three weeks of training for the 2014 Chicago Marathon:

A good set of three weeks, there are three key workouts here, one in each week.

9/8-14

24 miles

Leading up to Grandma's I did this run by time, running about 20 miles in LA's Griffith Park. This time around, I did it on the super fast Lakefront Trail:

This one was my second longest training run ever (the first being a 25 mile run I did back in 2009 leading up to the Chicago Lakefront 50k).

9/15-21

3 x 3 miles

This one was a bit funny as I had a lot of time between reps (15 minutes!), but it certainly gives me a bit of confidence to know I was able to run 5:30 pace or better for each effort.

9/22-28

10 miles alternating pace

This is a new workout for me. The goal here was to average marathon pace for 10 miles, but by running above and below goal pace alternating every half mile. If you've ever done Yasso 800s, consider this the next level as you're never really resting, but you end up running a total of 10 "harder" half mile segments. I was really thankful to have Austin with me for this one as it was mentally tough since you could never really settle in and focus on running an even, consistent pace. I'm taking a lot of confidence from this workout.

This one was quite a long blog, but there was a lot of ground to cover!

Identify some of your constraints. What are some ways you can shift your training to address these constraints?

To Inform and Inspire (Training 6/2-6/22)

Here's a recap of remainder of the training cycle prior to my 2014 Grandma's Marathon. If you'd like, here are links to the plan I outlined after registering for the race and a recap of the first four weeks of training.

To begin, I'd like to reiterate the goals of the cycle:

1) Stay healthy. By prioritizing workout/long run quality over volume, I hoped to stay healthy. I ran too much the in first week of the cycle. Unlike in other cycles, I realized my behavior was not moving me towards my stated goals and adjusted for the rest of the cycle. I was able to complete the cycle healthy which gave me a lot of confidence going into the race.

2) Practice running Marathon Pace, again by prioritizing quality over volume, I hoped to run Marathon Pace more comfortably than in Boston. I was able to execute some key workouts that I believe really helped contribute to my ability to handle Marathon Pace. Executing these workouts successfully required me to focus on being properly recovered then properly recovering afterwards. For me this meant eliminating "junk" mileage. Though I did supplement my running volume with cross training (more on this below).

Week 3

Training at this point was starting to really become tiresome. My body was tired and I was burning out mentally. I remember desperately looking forward to my 10 day-ish taper. It is in these moments when it becomes necessary to lean on your teammates and support structures.

Monday, I decided, due to lacking motivation and a later than usual run start time, that I would swing by Fleet Feet Sports in Lincoln Square for the weekly 6:30pm "Fun Run." Typically Angelica and/or Brian attend these runs and are usually up for a nice 8 miles to/on the lake. Fortunately for me, Angelica and I were able to get some good miles in.

Nice weather on Tuesday prompted an impromptu double with strides.

Wednesday was my opportunity to really nail a hard mid-week workout. Sort of unintentionally, I ended up racing quite a bit during this cycle. A couple of these races fell on Thursdays so they sort of became my mid-week workout. Despite being registered for 13.1 Chicago the following Saturday, I decided that I had to get in a pretty high volume workout at just faster than marathon pace a pace I could live with.

After a string of races where I felt I had significantly under performed, my hope was that my legs were fatigued and that the strength I had built with all of my consistent running would eventually lead to faster running and racing. For Wednesday's workout, I drew on memories of comfortably running a three mile segment of a workout well under 16:00. If I could get close to 16:00 on my last rep I would be content (all this despite the fact I wasn't running much faster than 16:00 through 3 miles during races at this point).

Though I didn't manage to quite hit 16:00, I was pretty happy with how the workout played out:

"I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get any brutally difficult marathon type workouts in during this cycle. I did 3 x 3 miles on the lake half into the wind and half out of the wind, taking 4 minutes between reps: 17:01, 16:45, 16:19. I was very happy with this workout though it left me very tired."

Just to be safe, I took the day following completely off.

I've run a half-marathon in June for four of the past five years. I use this run as a barometer of my fitness going into the big summer training months. 13.1 Chicago as served as this barometer for three of these tests thanks to a couple free entries. This year's edition featured very tolerable weather (I ran my slowest half marathon ever here in 2011), but my big Wednesday workout and general fatigue prevented me from running very quickly:

"Wasn't 100% sure how the legs would respond after my very hard effort on Wednesday. Ended up just sort of running 5:45-55 pace for the whole race. One gear. I'm hoping since I did it on dead legs that this is pretty close to marathon fitness."

These words read as somewhat prophetic as I ended up running nearly exactly double my 13.1 Chicago finish time in Duluth (1:16:47 at 13.1, 2:33:26 at Grandma's). I like to think that it wasn't so much premonition as finally understanding what marathon pace is supposed to feel like. Previous cycles, I had gotten too much confidence from fast, hard workouts. A 17-18 miler with some very fast running mixed in is good training stimulus, but these runs made me overconfident when going into a marathon and didn't provided the appropriate aerobic stimulus necessary to run my intended marathon goal pace without blowing up. I'm pretty sure, easy to moderate 20 milers would have been more beneficial in retrospect.

Week 2

After one of the hardest weeks of the cycle, I was very happy to be done with workouts long, marathon type workouts. That said, two weeks is a long time to just sort of run aimlessly. Workouts (that you're slightly scared of) provide a very nice stimulus with intermediate goals and a mini recovery cycle. As you can see I didn't get too creative (I think I ran the exact same route 3 times this week). My goal here was to rest from marathon pace running while continuing to run somewhat consistent volume. I ran 2 hours for my final long run. This was probably a bit too long in retrospect, but I took off the day following so I don't feel too bad about this one.

I also did a mid-week 6 x 1k which went pretty well:

"Did 6 x 1k with Strubbe, Javier, and Andrew: 3:21, 3:15, the rest were around 3:10. Pleasantly surprised to feel decent during this one. Pretty cashed after the 6th one though. 2 min recovery between reps."

After so much running at or around marathon goal pace, I thought it might help break the week up and be good to do a bit of running at 5k pace.

Finally, due to additional rest/fitness coming around/boredom, my runs became much faster on average (let's say from ~7:45 average pace to more like 7:00).

Week 1

The first half of this week was an extension of the previous week. I was sick of running 8 milers, but I was also afraid that if I didn't run at least 8 miles, my body would stiffen up and not feel very good. I was very relieved to make it to Thursday prior to the race as I more or less let how I felt finally dictate how I ran. I was sick of running so I basically just warmed the legs up.

Friday, I alternated fast/slow 200s on the track for 1600m with a mile warm up and cool down. I wanted to get the blood flowing a bit faster as I knew I'd be sitting on the plane. Little did I know I'd be driving!

I was pretty happy with how my taper played out. I'm not a fan of cutting mileage significantly since I don't feel like I'm running too much mileage to begin with, however I did feel like reducing intensity 10 days out while keeping volume consistent, then slowly dropping volume until you're just relying on your body seemed like a good way to taper down for a goal race.

Unlike my first two marathons where I feel like stumbled on success, my previous three less successful cycles  (four if you count failing to even start in 2011) along with this mini-cycle taught me a lot about what sort of training I need for low 2:30s fitness:

• Appropriate recovery, typically incomplete recovery in order to simulate the fatigue of the marathon distance, prioritizing recovery before and/or after key workouts in order to stay injury-free. I think Luke Humphrey does a pretty good job describing this in Hansons Marathon Method, he calls it "cumulative fatigue." I'd also lump in self/preventative care. I've been able to find a routine that has kept my lower legs from preventing consistent training so far.
• Longer (hard) long runs (I count my 2:42 in Boston as one of my key long runs as well as my 2:49 in California). Now this idea is very Canova-esque as my Boston run was about 95% of my Grandma's effort for 100% of the marathon distance.
• Some running at faster than marathon pace, 5k pace for me (including a few races). This will not feel very comfortable or build your self-confidence much, particularly if you're used to running faster at shorter distances.
• Regular cross-training. I didn't really included this in my earlier write-ups as I've never viewed bike commuting as training, but I certainly spend enough time on my 11 mile round-trip bike commute to count these efforts a significant aerobic stimulus. I plan on starting to log these consistently for my next cycle. I realize now that when I was running well in the marathon, I was also doing a pretty decent bike commute on a regular basis.

Finally, I also drew a lot from Matt Flaherty's 2:25 at the 2013 Napa Valley Marathon which occurred after he was sidelined for much of 2012. Taking off the final two months of 2013 and spending January 2014 splitting time between the pool and the roads, I had my doubts about getting into low 2:30s shape this calendar year, but it certainly helped me to review Matt's record and not put too many limits on my own running. I also took a lot of ideas as well as inspiration from Rich Heffron's build up to the 2013 Grandma's Marathon where he posted a nice 2:31:21 PR. Rich started his build up in 2013 at nearly the same time I did in 2014 so it was very helpful to track my own progress against his. My hope is that someone else will be able to use these blogs to join Rich and I in the Chicago-area low-2:30s club! Thanks guys!

What resources have informed and inspired your running?

Homecoming (Training 2/24-3/2)

While my undergrad experience was a mixed bag, I will always remember this hallway with great fondness. I started meeting here for runs before classes even started (I think).

Monday

am - 4.8 miles at 9:14 pace

The extra time off helped reduce the muscular soreness I was experiencing. Still feel sluggish.

pm - 9.85 miles at 7:06 pace

Good night for a run. Hands were cold, but, you know, that's to be expected. Did secret speed: 8 x 30 seconds starting every 1:30 after I turned around.

Tuesday

am - 9.22 miles at 7:35 pace

Met up with Saxon for a run. Ran my bag to work then Saxon and I ran to Belmont on the path. 3 x pick ups after turning around.

Good training density! Mileage and a little sprinkle of secret speed.

Wednesday

pm - 13.5 miles, 2 x 15 minutes + 10 minutes

Eh. Got dusted in this workout. Did the first 15 minutes at about 5:50 pace. 8 minutes easy. 15 minutes at ??. 5 minutes easy. 10 minutes at ??. It was cold out.

I wish we had done measured distances so I could get a better gauge on the quality of this effort.

Thursday

pm - 8 miles at 7:53 pace

Felt okay considering last nights workout. About 2-3 miles in I was feeling pretty tired, but I rallied and felt strong by the end. Windy after the turnaround.

In an effort to not let mileage rule my life, practice race preparations, and let my quads (which have been very sore) recover, my plan was to run a pretty typical 1 hour-ish run on Thursday and 6 miles on Friday (no matter how easy it felt) in order to prep for my race on Saturday. 

Why 1 hour, then 6 miles? Based on how I've been feeling, I thought this would allow me to maximize my mileage while still allowing my legs to feel a bit more fresh. It is amazing that 15 minutes fewer can make a pretty significant difference.

Friday

pm - 6 miles at 8:20 pace

Did 6 on my Easy 8 course to end up at mom & dad's. I'm actually practicing "tapering." At the end of a long week, I didn't care what pace I was running.

Saturday

am - Skipped doing a shakeout, didn't feel like I needed it since this race would be later in the day.

pm - 6 miles, 4.39 miles warm up and cool down, 3000m race at the Illinois Club Relays

The ground wasn't covered with snow!

I got to run with old teammates: Declan, Spillone, Frigo, and Ben Zeman!

I got to run parts of old running routes!

It was great. 

We ran our trademark (Jake's) Jack Daniels' warm up: 15 minutes easy (felt very easy) then 5 minutes at threshold.

3000m in 9:33.21 (3:09, 6:23), which was about 1 second faster than last year. Ran very even and moved up the entire race (I don't think I got passed). Full race recap to follow.

Sunday

am - 18.96 miles at 7:03 pace

Well at least this felt better than last week. The 6 miles to/from the path were very slow 8+ min/mile. Did 10.5 at 6:20 pace and couldn't pick it up at all. This was disappointing. Took a Huma gel at mile 8. No issues.

76 miles for the week in ~9.5 hours. Good volume considering I only ran 6 miles for two of the seven days. 

At this point, I thought it would be wise to reign in my training a bit so drew out a plan for the remaining 7 weeks of Boston Marathon training which I'll post later.

Finally, it was great fun hanging out with the other Illinois Track Club alumni (or Illinois Elite as we like to call ourselves). I'd like to post on the merits of good training partners at some point. Shout out to Declan, Ben, and Mark W!

Retrospective: The Runner's Guide to Chicago & Suburbs

A quick Google search reveals very little about Tem Horwitz's The Runner's Guide to Chicago & Suburbs (ISBN 0-914090-54-2).

Published in 1978 by the Chicago Review Press, the book was clearly intended to be somewhat disposable. A 1978 directory of all things running in Chicago it includes descriptions and maps of favorite runs, sundry information about running in general, equipment recommendations including a list of Runners World's top 25 shoes, addresses and phone numbers of various shops and clubs servicing runners, and tear off copies of the maps of the runs to take on the go. Its eclectic, exceedingly specific contents have not aged particularly well, but for a Chicago runner 36 years later, it provides a peek into the gestalt (did I just use that word?) of Chicago running as well as the psyche of a particular Chicago runner of the past.

I tend to bring this book up in conversations primarily for the power of the photos which some what eerily mimic those flooding my Facebook and Twitter feeds on a daily basis. My friend, Lynton, asked for more information about the book after our run today, but since there was nothing really on the interwebs, I decided to write a bit about the book and share a few of the iconic photos I had described:

For many this spot is instantly recognizable.

photo credit: Tem Horwitz

It's too bad this area is nearly impassible at the present.

photo credit: Tem Horwitz

I'm pretty sure this is Belmont Harbor.

photo credit: Tem Horwitz

I think that it would probably interesting to include some of the locations that Horwitz describes where I've had the opportunity to run:

Chicago Parks

Lincoln Park (Foster to Grand)

Burnham Park (Monroe to 55th)

Grant Park

Jackson Park

Horner and California Parks

Humbolt Park

Washington Park

Suburbs

Skokie Lagoons

Des Plaines River Trail

Evanston Lake Front

North Branch Trail

Schiller Park

Palos/Sag Valley

Despite this experience, there are still quite a few notable places I have yet to run:

Garfield, Marquette, or Riis Parks

Green Bay Trail (I've biked this, but not run)

Morton Arboretum

Oak Park

Illinois Prairie Path

What is your favorite Chicago & suburbs run?

Ready for the BoA Chicago Marathon (5 photos).

Wondering if you're ready to take on the Bank of America Chicago Marathon? Here are five photos that remind me I'm ready to roll.

26 pie 2

My mom made (and I consumed) a marathon pie. But seriously, I have changed my fueling habits. I have been making sure my glycogen stores are well stocked for the race unlike training when I intentionally did a lot of training without pre-fueling in order to train the body to burn fat as fuel.

Race Day Do

I typically cut my own hair, but this time around I got my hair cut at the Irving Park Barbershop by my friend, Shawna. How you look & feel is important. It's like a job interview.

EDITOR'S NOTE: I don't know how people take #selfies in dark rooms. I tried an embarrassingly long time to get this shot...

Pro Tips

When Meb Keflezighi was in town for the Fleet Feet Sports Breaking Through the Wall event, Dave mentioned that I was trying to run fast at Chicago. Meb's advice: run even or negative split to achieve your time goal.

That's the plan. Go out conservative (I mean it this time).

Road 5k PR

Just a couple weeks before race day, I ran a significant 5k PR. I take this as a pretty good fitness indicator as I have probably done about 5 miles of running at this pace over the hundreds I've put in preparing for Chicago.

Best 15 Week Segment Ever

I have never run this type of mileage consistently, ever.

Guys and gals, my shin still hurts, but I look at these five things and however Sunday goes, I can still walk away from this training cycle with some really good things.

I'd like to leave you with what is in my humble opinion one of the best ways to get excited to run the BoA Chicago Marathon, watching Sammy Wanjiru race in 2010:

How do you know you're ready to race?

Coming in Point Three Five (Training 9/23-9/29)

A solid week of training with a nice little bonus on Saturday. On going pain in my left tibia and soreness in my right quad made me a bit cautious. Logged just 8:55 for the week not counting stretching, massage, biking, etc.

Forgive me if there are a few funny tenses here as I'm pretty tired and I wrote this by merging my dailymile log with some brief reflections/clarifications.

9/23 Monday

Twelve - 1:30 at an easy pace
Ran into Matt Blume, Doug Maisey, Adam Palumbo, Will Fischer, and Ben Reifenberg running south. Turned around at Fullerton then ran Blume home on my way back to Lincoln Square with Ben. 

My right quad was a wreck thanks to not being able to recover well after my 20 miler yesterday. Got a tiny bit of work done on my left tibia & the quad which felt good (Aligned was at Fleet Feet Sports - Lincoln Square for the Fun Run).

9/24 Tuesday

Easy - 1:03 at an easy pace
Went out in my Hokas as I was tired of feeling beat up. Iced and rolled my right quad and left tibia. Tried to go as easy as possible because my legs were feeling crappy and I needed to get in my second to last big workout in sooner rather than later.

9/25 Wednesday

Penultimate Key Workout - 1:09:59 for 12.12 (5:46 min/mile) + 4 miles W/U & C/D
While most of the time I try to share my workouts in duration/time as explained here. I feel like this is a pretty good indicator of the quality of workout needed to run in the low 2:30s so it might be helpful to actually share the details for someone interested in seeing what it might take to get to that level.

I'm pretty proud of doing this one solo even though it was on the shorter end of what I had wanted to run. When I set my PR, I started thinking I'd do 12 miles and ended up doing 15 miles at 5:45 pace.

1.5 mile splits - 8:53, 48, 29, 44, 41, 44, 49, 47, 47. I was thinking about going one more 1.5 mile straight, but decided against it as I was just trying to run a fast half marathon (to be fair, I also wanted to practice pushing through fatigue). I think I'm glad I kept it to 12, my right quad doesn't feel quite normal yet though my left tibia is feeling decent now.

Ran home just in time to register for the Park Ridge Charity Classic 5k online. They say strike when the iron is hot. Usually when I'm in good marathon shape I'll be in decent 5k shape. Since I hadn't really raced 5k since I ran a disappointing 16:23 5000m at the NCC Dr. Keeler Invite I decided to give it a go.

9/26 Thursday

Watchless Run - Measured to be just over 13 miles at an easy to moderate pace
Went without a watch! It was so freeing. Wow, definitely longer than I intended. I thought I was only running 12. Oh well. Tibia and right quad still acting funny. Ate a ton of food after, still catching up after Wednesday's run.

This run was a clear indicator that it was probably a good idea to cut the key workout at 12 miles.

9/27 Friday

Horner Park Loops - 10 minutes easy then 56 minutes easy
Ran 1.5 mile then spend 10+ minutes talking to Coach Gordon, Coach Nebrida, and Dan Carlson about the NCP XC season. My left shin was hurting. It loosened up as I tried to turn early for home. Decided I could keep running;  ran 3 big loops on the dirt around Horner Park. Things loosened up a bit. Continued icing and the use of compression socks during the day/while sleeping.

9/28 Saturday

Park Ridge Charity Classic 5k - 15:50 (5:06 min/mile) for 6th place + 5 miles W/U & C/D
Still dealing with some shin pain. The quad finally felt good after yesterday's crazy slow, soft run.

Read the Race Review.

9/29 Sunday

Chicago Marathon Course Run - 2:29 at an easy pace
Last long run of the cycle. I first did this run with Mark Wehrman before my first Chicago Marathon. This was tougher than I thought it would be without hydration. Ran with Braulio Benitez, Kyle Larson, Scott Laumann, Evan Rosendahl, and Dan Carlson. It was a great relaxed run and made for a pretty cool looking GPS image:

Check out our funny detour around mile 11.5 I totally misled the group

What workouts and runs do you use as marathon benchmarks?

BONUS: From where did I poach this week's blog title?