Marathon Training Week 17 of 23

Week seventeen was momentous. My long-run was 20 miles -- the furthest I've ever run. (and my wife was away on business, and I had a tremendously busy week at work, which is why I'm almost a week late in posting this, as it is Saturday morning the following week, just before my 10-miler as I start my taper toward race day). My 20-miler was run at around the same time as my nephew Caleb was running the Equinox Ultra in Alaska where he makes his home. He's never run an ultra before -- this one is a 50k, and he's never even run a marathon before. He's one of those guys who came out of the birth canal with 2% body fat, and a natural inclination for anything athletic. I'd hate him for that, but it wasn't his fault to be born an athletic prodigy. Plus, he's one of the nicest guys in the world. And, I happen to know, he puked at the end of his run, which means he owes me $5! =O)

My 20-miler was tremendous practice for race day, for a couple different reasons.

On race day, I will also run further than I've ever run before.

The overall distance was a part of it, but not all.

I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting someone at around mile 5 who ran with me for awhile. We noted a number of similarities. Jack is also training for the Portland Marathon, which will be his second. We had roughly the same pace, so we chatted and got to know one another more. He's also been running only a couple years, which was nice, since we connected as newbies. There were differences though. Jack was also 60 -- a full 15 years older than me, and keeping up with me quite nicely, which was a little demoralizing, but I let it go. It was good practice -- one of the things we discussed while running along was how unique running is as a sport, in terms of the athletes who participate. Sure, the elites all have a certain look to them, but the rest of us in the pack? You can't really look at someone and say "Oh, man, I'm totally gonna beat that old overweight lady" -- you just might see her smiling away, zipping past you after the turn-around, looking fresh as a daisy. Also, you can't look at someone 15 years younger, carrying a lot less weight, and think "No way could I keep up with him!" -- 'cause here Jack and I were, trotting together, two middle-aged adult-onset athletes. So, as I prepare to run 26.2 in less than 3 weeks, it is good for me to remember that, like books & covers, runners can't be judged by outward appearances.

On race day, I will need to run *MY* race, not anyone else's.

Yes, I will pass some folks, but I will also be passed, and I need to not get so competitive that I allow myself to waste energy, either physical or mental. And speaking of energy...

Jack was a nice guy, and it was good to practice chatting while running sub-10:00 miles, with my usual 1-min walk break in between. But I'm used to running alone, and not using extra energy chatting. At around mile 10 our courses diverged and I was thankful to have the last half all to myself. I'd had a clif bar and a banana about 2 hours before starting, and a clif shot at mile 4 & 8. At mile 12 I had a caffeinated clif shot, and was feeling good; tired, but good. Around mile 15 I was getting very tired, and it didn't dawn on me until almost mile 16 that it was way past time to kick in the mental game. On my 16-miler and 18-miler, I was closer to the end by that point in the run, so it wasn't a big deal. This time it was different. I had further to go, but it was also simply another day, and I had to account for that as well. We al know the story about the frog in the pot. My tiredness had krept up on my so slowly that I forgot how much energy I *knew* I had left in me. Sort of like timing my fueling and hydration, I need to also time my mental game, and give myself little confidence-boosting reminders as I go.

On race day I will draw deep from inside myself to pull out all the stops and accomplish this goal

I can't let my body talk my mind into giving up. Quite the contrary, I need to use my mind to convince my body I have way more in me than I ever imagined, and this little 26.2 miler is only the beginning.

Now, I'm headed out the door to run a little 10-miler.

Here's the boring stuff:

Week 17 totals:
Running Distance: 39.28 mi -- almost double last week's!
Running Time: 06:50:41 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 5.7 mph
Max Speed: 12.4 mph
Avg HR: 150 bpm
Max HR: 175 bpm
Calories burned: 5,088 -- Whoa!

Cycling Approx Distance: 00.0 mi
Cycling Time: 00:00:00 h:m:s
Approx Avg Speed 0 mph
Avg HR: n/a bpm
Max HR: n/a bpm

And here's the link to week 17's long run of 20 miles.

Sum totals so far:
Running Distance: 415.95 mi
Running Time: 72:26:37 h:m:s -- over 3 days of running!
Avg Speed: 5.7 mph
Max Speed: 12.8 mph
Avg HR: 149 bpm
Max HR: 182 bpm
Calories burned: 54,497 -- Whoa!

Cycling Approx Distance: 207 mi
Cycling Time: 10:52:50 h:m:s
Approx Avg Speed 19 mph
Avg HR: 127 bpm
Max HR: 153 bpm

Monthly Running Mileage Totals:
May: 23.68 mi (24th thru 31st)
June: 95.02 mi
July: 104.11 mi
August: 102.53 mi
September: 90.62 (1st thru 18th!)

Previous week's totals:
Week 16 totals:
Running Distance: 20.9 mi
Running Time: 03:33:48 h:m:s
Avg Speed: 5.9 mph
Max Speed: 12.6 mph
Avg HR: 151 bpm
Max HR: 182 bpm
Calories burned: 2,685

Cycling Approx Distance: 00.0 mi
Cycling Time: 00:00:00 h:m:s
Approx Avg Speed 0 mph
Avg HR: n/a bpm
Max HR: n/a bpm

And here's the link to week 16's long run of 8 miles.

~ Keith