Cape Cod Marathon Race Report

Oof, what a mixed bag this race was...

After Boston, I thought to myself - well, there's no way that conditions can be worse than this. Then leading up to the Cape, the weather forecast went from perfect to a friggin hurricane on the way. Really?...that would've been awful, but thankfully the storm held off until the following day. The weather was fairly temperate, but ranged from fairly-windy to stupid-effin-wind-windy. Better than 90 though, so I can't really complain.

The first eight miles went by at a solid clip, with minimal issues except for a slight pain in my butt. I'm not sure where that came from or what caused it, but for the most part it didn't bother me. Six of the first eight miles were into that "fairly-windy" headwind. Not too noticeable at the time, but likely contributing to some late-race wear down.

Probably one of the toughest things to endure was running alone the entire time. No headphones (not that I ever wear them anyways). No pack of runners to tag along with. No one that I could trade places with and do some drafting. During that first eight miles it seemed like maybe a pack would form, but I ended up being the "lead" runner (not actually leading) without ever being able to enjoy the benefits of the pack. Some of those middle miles became pretty tedious.

From mile 8-24 I received a steady diet of hills. I handled the majority of those miles well, but I began to slowly unravel from mile 18-21. Mile 22 was a struggle, but not nearly as ugly as 23 to the finish. And just when I had begun to really unravel, the winds picked up tremendously. Those final miles are all along the coast, and the head wind was just...well, it f*****g sucked. At one point during those final ~4 miles there was a crow circling me. And not long after that a relay runner ran by me and said, "c'mon buddy, follow me and I'll handle the wind!"...thanks, but that was too little too late at that point. Seemed like an unintentionally cruel joke.

In the end I finished in 3:25:20. I'd like to be happy about that, but I can't say that I am. It was a tough course with tough winds at times, but I can tell that something was missing. I will do a lot of things differently the next time around both in training and during the race. Here's the splits.

Mile	Pace	Average	Mile	Pace	Average	Mile	Pace	Average
1	0:07:06		11	0:07:13	0:07:09	21	0:07:48	0:07:18
2	0:06:54	0:07:00	12	0:07:29	0:07:10	22	0:08:24	0:07:21
3	0:06:58	0:06:59	13	0:07:07	0:07:10	23	0:09:15	0:07:26
4	0:06:57	0:06:59	14	0:07:16	0:07:10	24	0:09:05	0:07:30
5	0:07:09	0:07:01	15	0:07:11	0:07:11	25	0:09:41	0:07:35
6	0:07:13	0:07:03	16	0:07:50	0:07:13	26	0:10:21	0:07:41
7	0:07:13	0:07:04	17	0:07:08	0:07:13	26.6	0:05:19	0:07:43
8	0:07:13	0:07:05	18	0:07:25	0:07:13		(~Garmin)
9	0:07:24	0:07:07	19	0:07:42	0:07:15
10	0:07:15	0:07:08	20	0:07:38	0:07:16

I call that a learning experience. A painful one. 

More pictures and whatever once they're posted, but here's some pics for those with power looking for time to waste during Sandy.

Douglas Weisman Photography
Scott Mason Photography
Go to 18:25 and watch me painfully cross the finish...

Course Profile
Results

Also thought I'd mention - what an awesome course. Very few, if any, "boring" sections, and the run along the water was pretty amazing with waves from the oncoming storm already creating a bit of ocean spray. Even while hurting I was able to find some enjoyment in that.

Race Day Approaches

Preparation feels a lot different from what I did to get ready for Boston, but I'm not sure that's entirely true...so let's take a look!

Training for Boston:

Average Weekly Total: 45.92
Highest Weekly Total: 60.23m
Highest Total Over Any 7-Day Span: 63.33m
Number of Runs >10m: 34
Longest Run: 23.42m
Highest Monthly Total: 221.7 (March)
Number of Speed Sessions: 16
Total Miles: 642.84m over 14 Weeks.

Training for Cape Cod:

Average Weekly Total: 49.52
Highest Weekly Total: 64.51m
Highest Total Over Any 7-Day Span: 72.22m
Number of Runs >10m: 34
Longest Run: 21.5m
Highest Monthly Total: 224.64 (September)
Number of Speed Sessions: 24
Total Miles: 495.52m over 10 Weeks

Total Miles: 644.36m over 14 Weeks

The summer was not an easy time to establish a running schedule due to frequent Ultimate games, triathlons, and Grand Prix races - so in reality, most of the focused marathon training was done over a 10 week period.  But when I look at the total miles over 14 weeks - the training actually looks pretty similar. The figures for the 10m+ runs and speed sessions venture outside of the 10 week/14 week windows, but since they were part of the broad training picture - I thought it was worth it to take a look. Either way, the hay is in the barn - as the saying goes. I think I'm ready to run a solid time, but we'll see how it goes.

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."
-Bill Bowerman

Let the Tapering Begin

Now that I'm winding down the training and taking a look back - I would say that training for Cape Cod has gone fairly well. It's unfortunate that my plan after Boston was derailed by persistent shin splints - that in reality still aren't 100% - but I was able to lightly train through it in addition to playing quite a few Ultimate games. After the Ultimate tourney in mid August, I started to focus 100% on running and set my sets on the Cape.

Later in the week I will compare how training for Cape Cod went vs. training for Boston, but the one major regret I have is not racing a half marathon at some point towards the end of September. At this point I don't have a great idea as to what I can run, and that's a little bit discomforting. That being said - I believe I am in better shape than I was for Boston. Only one way to find out:

Sunday		14-Oct		14.0		17.0		Long Run				0		Rest, ran long yesterday.
Monday		15-Oct		-		-		Rest		0:07:35		8.1		2m warm up, 4m averaging 6:54, 2m cool down w/Raleigh.
Tuesday		16-Oct		6.0		8.0		Intervals				10		800/1200/1000/800/600/400/800m
Wednesday		17-Oct		2.0		5.0		Recovery		7:40:00		5.6		Three hill route during lunch.  Man, this felt terrible and my calves are destroyed. Did some rolling and stretching after work though, hopefully it'll help a bit.
Thursday		18-Oct		6.0		10.0		Hill Repeats				9.08		Repeats on Heartbreak.
Friday		19-Oct		-		5.0		Recovery				0		Rest.
Saturday		20-Oct		7.0		7.0		Finish w/ 8x100m strides		0:08:03		5.25		Nice run with Eli. My left foot was bothering me a bit.

Tuesday Splits: 800-2:43, 1200-4:10, 1000-3:33, 800-2:46, 600-2:00, 400-1:13, 800m-2:52

Quote repost:

"One of the first lessons running teaches us about success in athletics and in life is that there is no one else. No one else can do your workouts for you. You alone must do the drills, repeat the core exercises, stretch, and lift the weights. You cannot hire someone else to do your cross-training when you are battling injury, or pay someone to run a race and get you a new PR. You are truly your own hero in running. It is up to you to have the responsibility and self-discipline to get the job done."

Last Week Before Winding Down

More rest than usual this past week as I try to get in the last few quality workouts before tapering. I'm feeling pretty good though thanks to my last long run that went fairly well. I also had a solid interval and hill repeats at Heartbreak, to top it off.


I would say that the 20 miler a few weeks ago gave me a bit more confidence thanks to the miles at MP, but this was a little bit longer of a run and still a solid pace. And really, any time I can go for a 20+ mile run that I finish up feeling strong is a positive. And while I didn't really feel worn down afterward, I did take a late afternoon nap.  It was fantastic.

runninglog

Sunday		7-Oct		20.0		20.0		Long Run		0:07:51		4.16		Calves were really tight today - already planning on not going for 20, so I just got in some miles with Eli.
Monday		8-Oct		-		-		Rest (or Long Run)		0:07:58		6.59		Volunteered at the Tufts 10k, then ran home.
Tuesday		9-Oct		6.0		8.0		Intervals				10		800/1600/400x6/m800 - the 400's were done so that the repeat + rest = 2min.  I thought it was an awesome workout, but I'd likely run my splits more evenly on my own vs trying to keep up with the group.
Wednesday		10-Oct		12.0		12.0		Medium Long Run				0		Oral surgery in the morning, supposed to take a few days off since it occurred close to my sinus.
Thursday		11-Oct		6.0		6.0		Recovery + Speed (6x100m)				10.09		Hill repeats on Heartbreak.
Friday		12-Oct		5.0		5.0		Recovery				0		Rest
Saturday		13-Oct		5.0		5.0		Easy/10k tune-up race		0:07:39		21.5		I wasn't feeling great, and wanted to get these miles in at a moderate to easy pace - so I was surprised a little by the pace. I ran towards work and hit the Three Hill Route as part of the run, and the last 4+ with Eli.

Tuesday Splits: 800-2:48, 1600-5:40, 400-1:22, 400-1:18, 400-1:20, 400-1:22, 400-1:22, 400-1:16, 800m-3:02

Raleigh and I finishing up Track-Tuesday at Harvard

Cape Cod Training Update

This past week went fairly well.  I wasn't able to get in a long run, but I'm likely pushing that off toward the end of this week or worst case scenario early next week. I was still able to get in ~56 miles for the week though, so I'm happy with that. And between the two races, Tuesday intervals, and Thursday hill repeats - I would've been pushing it had I tried to get in a long run anyways.

The tentative plan for now will be to have an 18-22 mile run sometime between Friday and Sunday, and then I'll begin to taper.


trainingtrainingtraining

Sunday

30-Sep

6.0

10.0

Kerouac 5k + Calendar calls for 18

0:07:27

7.73

Kerouac 5k in 18:44.  New PR, but I'm not happy about it.  I clearly lost focus during mile 2, and the pace was slow as a result.

Monday

1-Oct

-

-

Rest

0:07:35

10

Three Hill Route at lunch. Shakeout miles after work as well.

Tuesday

2-Oct

6.0

8.0

Intervals

0:07:50

11.15

800/900x4/M800 - the 900 was 400 at 5k pace, 100 at 3k pace, and 400 at 5k pace. I had some minor issues on the 3rd 900, other than that it was a solid workout in the rain.

Wednesday

3-Oct

-

5.0

Recovery

0:07:40

11.57

Three hill route at lunch, 4+ in the evening.  Tried to push a little harder in the evening. Basically running hard on tired legs.

Thursday

4-Oct

14.0

14.0

Long Run

8.19

Hill repeats on Heartbreak.

Friday

5-Oct

-

5.0

Recovery

0

Rest day driving up to NH.

Saturday

6-Oct

10.0

14.0

Warner 5-miler

8.07

Finished 8th at a 6:32 pace - huge hill in the middle, but finished with a  5:4x mile going downhill.

Tuesday night breakdown: 800-2:50, 900-3:12, 900-3:16, 900-3:23, 900-3:10, M800-2:45

Warner Fall Foliage 5 Miler Race Report

Sort of a last minute decision to run this, and so I'll keep it brief...

Mile 1: 6:06
Mile 2: 6:25
Mile 3: 7:30
Mile 4: 6:26
Mile 5: 5:47
M .06: 0:00:22

8th place, ~6:32 pace. Interesting course, and the big elevation gain during mile 3 was tough - I wish I had a little bit more pop in my legs to try and run that section a little better.  I made up some significant ground on the guy who ended up coming in 9th place during that portion, and during mile 4 I was able to pass him and hold that lead.

Elevation: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=227936
Results: http://coolrunning.com/results/12/nh/Oct6_Warner_set1.shtml

Training Update

It seems that just about every week lately, I'm saying that I need to get in a quality long run. Yet all of my long runs have been semi-disastrous or all out disastrous. Well, this past week I was finally able to hit my stride so to speak.

On Sunday I went out with the goal of running about 20 miles. Due to a little bit of self sabotage, the run didn't go as planned and I finished ~17 with the last three miles an ugly slog trying to get home for some water. Not exactly a confidence builder.

Since I had the Kerouac 5k on Sunday, I moved up the scheduled long run and decided I'd go for 20, and try and get in a decent portion at marathon pace. I started the run straight from work, then completed miles 7-13 and 16-20 at a 7:06 pace, with a portion done during the Fresh Pond race so I could have a little company. I'd have to say that this run was easily the most successful long run of the summer and gives me a lot more confidence heading towards Cape Cod.

Sunday

23-Sep

17.0

17.0

w/14m at MP

0:08:11

17.19

When the hell am I going to have a long run where I feel good? The last three miles of this run were in a state of very uncomfortable dehydration. At least I hit the mileage.

Monday

24-Sep

-

4.0

Rest

0:08:05

6.1

Three Hill Route during lunch. I'm pooped.

Tuesday

25-Sep

8.0

10.0

Intervals

0:08:02

10.14

800/1200/600x2/400x2/m800 - I felt pretty darn good during this workout. Longer cool down w/Raleigh.

Wednesday

26-Sep

6.0

10.0

Recovery

0:07:59

7.00

Three hill route at lunch, finished up w/Raleigh for the final mile. Worked as a good cooldown.

Thursday

27-Sep

20.0

20.0

Long Run

0:07:38

20

w/11 miles at a 7:06 pace (miles 7-13 and 16-20). Really happy with the way this run went.  I'm glad I split up the MP miles so that I could get a feeling for how my legs will feel late in the game (changed schedule due to upcoming plans).

Friday

28-Sep

-

5.0

Recovery

0

Planned yesterday nicely as today it was gross out - planned rest.

Saturday

29-Sep

4.0

8.0

Moderate pace

0:07:49

4.08

An easy 4.  Legs didn't have pop, but that was expected.

Tuesday Workout:
800 - 2:44
1200 - 4:05
600 - 2:08
600 - 2:00
400 - 1:13
400 - 1:13
m800 - 2:56

Total miles: 64.51

Jack Kerouac 5k Race Report

There isn't a lot to talk about during a 5k...so here are the splits according to my watch:

Mile 1: 5:58
Mile 2: 6:11
Mile 3: 5:53
.14M: 0:41
Total: 18:43

Official Results: Cool Running
Video: Level Renner
Pictures: Jim Rhoades, KrissyK, CSU Facebook Page

I started a bit further back than I would've liked for the race. The race director said numerous times that if you aren't a fast runner, you should continue moving to the back of the pack. Nonetheless, I still had a father and his two little kids standing right next to me at the starting line. I should've taken that as a sign and moved up a good 10 feet...During the first half mile or so while the crowd was sorting itself out, I got stuck behind a row of people twice and had to do far more weaving than I would've liked., but after getting through that mess, I was able to settle into a decent rhythm.

After hitting mile 1 at about goal pace, I was pretty happy, but I ended up losing focus. I thought I was holding pace since I was passing people, but it was really just the crowd of people who started too close to the front coming back to me. So after trying to run based on effort, I looked at my watch at ~1 3/4 miles, and saw that I was running in the 6:20's. That was frustrating. I picked up the pace, but at that point my goal was cooked for the day.

After that first half mile or so, I wasn't passed by a single runner (this is NOT a testament to my abilities). But at around 2 3/4 miles someone from the Somerville Road Runners tried to pass me:

Photo Credit: Kristi Cabot

I started to pick up the pace just a bit to make sure I stayed ahead of him, and he stayed right on my back shoulder up until close to the final turn towards the finish line. At that point I was able to open it up a bit and finish comfortably ahead of him (around the 12:02 mark of the video).



In the end, I set a PR by 17 seconds, but that second mile sticks out a like a sore stupid unfocused and inexperienced thumb.