I'm As Ready As I'm Going To Be

Today, I did my last long training run for the Boston Marathon.  This will be my first marathon since December, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.  For several months, I was running marathons with injuries.  I wasn’t doing any training.  I was just trying to get through each race.

Getting through each race meant running with an unorthodox stride.  I was sort of bouncing from side to side with my hips locked.  I realized I was doing this while running, but I didn’t realize I was also doing it while walking and going about my daily activities.  After so many months of not using my hips, the muscles around my hips became weak.  So did my glutes.  I discovered in early February that these muscles had become almost useless.

Since then, I’ve been in physical therapy.  I’m making progress, but I still have work to do.  I started running in early March.  At first, it took a concerted effort to run properly.  At times, I felt like a toddler learning to walk.  I’m able to run properly now, but I’m still out of shape.  Also, my hips and glutes are still weak.  They tire quickly.

Earlier this year, I cancelled two races.  It was obvious I couldn’t be ready.  I was less willing to cancel Boston.  Getting in shape wouldn’t be easy, but it was feasible.  I don’t expect to run fast.  My only goal is to finish within the time limit.

I didn’t have time to complete a conventional training program.  I had to go from zero to marathon in seven weeks.  I’ve been running about three days a week, while also doing physical therapy seven days a week.  I sketched out a training plan that depended primarily on long training runs.

When I ran my first marathon in 1983, I didn’t know what I was doing.  I didn’t have an adequate mileage base, but I got by with a reliance on long training runs.  I went a little farther each time, until I could run a full marathon in training.

The first time I followed a conventional training plan, it was from Galloway’s Book on Running.  Jeff Galloway’s plans emphasized long training runs.  They were a good fit for me.

This year’s plan again relies on long training runs.  In fact, it relies almost entirely on long training runs.  I don’t really have a mileage base, so they’re all I’ve got.

Here’s a graph of my total weekly mileage for the last twelve weeks.  The first six weeks are all zeros.  Then I went from zero to thirty in just four weeks.  Since then, my weekly mileage has plateaued, as I’ve shortened some of my runs to work on improving my form.

This graph shows my longest run each week over the same time period.  Before today, my longest run was 15.25 miles.  Today was my last chance to bridge the gap between 15.25 and 26.2.  My goal was 20 miles.

Last week’s long run was disappointing.  Actually, it was alarming.  I was trying to step up from 13.1 miles to 16.5 miles.  I had to stop after 15.25 miles.  I started at a pace that was slightly slower than my previous long run, but I had to slow down after only 11 miles.  Once I started, I kept slowing down.  It seemed like I was working just as hard, even though I wasn’t running as fast.  My stride was becoming less and less efficient.  By the end, I felt soreness all through my glutes and the smaller muscles surrounding my hips.  Finally, those muscles became so fatigued that they basically quit on me.  I was disappointed to stop at 15.25, but I couldn’t make it to 16.5 if my life depended on it.  I also could make it to 15.5.  My muscles basically went on strike.

It wasn’t all bad news.  During that run, my stride felt balanced, and I could tell I had good hip rotation.  I could feel all the muscles I’ve been working to strengthen.  I was using all the right muscles.  There’s just one problem.  Those muscles aren’t strong enough yet.  They can’t do a marathon.  They reached their point of fatigue.  Then I was done.

On Monday, I saw my physical therapist, Ben.  Ben wasn’t too concerned.  Like me, he realized my long run reflected both good news and bad news.  The good news is that I’m using the right muscles.  I’ve been working hard to correct my stride.  Not surprisingly, those muscles are having trouble keeping up with my ambitious training schedule.  They’re coming along rapidly, though.  A few weeks earlier, they got fatigued within the first mile of a run.

For today’s run, I knew I needed to take a big step up.  I also knew I needed to slow the pace down.  I’ve been starting my long runs at the pace that feels most comfortable.  That’s pretty slow, but it’s still not slow enough to be sustainable.  I could run slower, but it would feel awkward, and I would worry that I’m compromising my form.  Instead, I opted to mix running with walking breaks.

A run/walk strategy has two advantages.  First, it allows me to slow the overall pace, while still running at the pace that feels most comfortable.  It has the added advantage of varying my gait enough to cause me to use different muscles.  That helps delay the onset of fatigue.

I used variable-length walking breaks, which is a pacing technique I’ve used successfully for 24-hour races.  I set a target pace of 12 minutes per mile.  I did just enough walking each mile to keep me on that pace.

I felt relatively comfortable for the first 10 miles.  After that, I starting feeling like the pace was unsustainable.  In particular, my running pace felt slightly tiring, and my walking stride was putting tension on my hamstrings.  I needed to shorten my stride.  I eased the pace on both my running and walking.  To compensate, I took shorter walking breaks.  Overall, my pace was still 12 minutes per mile.  That’s how variable-length walking breaks work.

I was gradually getting fatigued, but it wasn’t as dramatic as last week.  When I passed the half marathon mark, I got a psychological lift.  I got another lift when I exceeded last week’s distance.  This was now my longest run since December.

Ideally, I would have run outside, but the weather wasn’t cooperating.  If was cold and windy with periods of rain.  To get through this run, I needed to relax and go slow.  I have trouble doing that when I’m struggling to stay warm.  Cold conditions make me tense up and try to run too fast.

Instead, I ran on a treadmill.  Have you ever run on a treadmill for four hours?  In theory, it should be easier than running the same distance outside.  In practice, it seems much more difficult.  It takes mental discipline.  I couldn’t do it without music.

I was working my way through a playlist that’s arranged chronologically.  Today’s music was from the early 80s.  Somewhere past 16 miles, I got a big psychological boost from my music.  I started hearing Sirius, an instrumental by the Alan Parsons Project.  Sirius is the first track on their Eye in the Sky album.  I used to think of this instrumental as an extended intro to the song, Eye in the Sky.  It became a hit in its own right when sports teams started using it.  During the 1990s, the Chicago Bulls played this music at home games while they were introducing their starting lineup.  They would dim the lights and shine lasers on a disco ball, while their announcer introduced Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and the rest of the players that won six NBA championships.  I was a Bulls fan during that period, and watched all the playoff games on TV.  This music always takes me back to that era.

By the time Sirius and Eye in the Sky were done, I was past the 16.5 mile mark.  That’s the distance I was supposed to run last week.   This time, I made it farther, but I couldn’t relax until I reached 20 miles.

The next big milestone was 17.5 miles.  That’s roughly two thirds of a marathon.  This isn’t the first time I’ve had to whip myself into shape quickly after a period of inactivity.  In the past, I always felt more confident if I could work back up to 17.5 miles before a race.  This time, I wasn’t sure if 17.5 would be enough.

After the 18 mile mark, I heard another song that gave me an emotional boost.  It was Pressure by Billy Joel.  Long before iPods became common, I thought it would be cool to create a playlist that mirrors the emotions you go through during a marathon.  Pressure was a song I had in mind for somewhere around 23-34 miles.  Here are some of the lyrics.

You have to learn to pace yourself

Pressure

You're just like everybody else

Pressure

You've only had to run so far

So good

But you will come to a place

Where the only thing you feel

Are loaded guns in your face

And you'll have to deal with

Pressure

You have to hear it with the music, but to me, this captures the way I feel when there’s only a few miles to go, I’m really suffering, and I don’t know if I can make it.  That pretty much how I felt today.

With the help of my music, I kept moving.  At 19 miles, I took my last walking break.  Knowing I wouldn’t be walking again, I slowed the pace a little when I resumed running.  Now I could stay on pace just by running a 12 minute mile, not that it was easy.  My quads and glutes were sore, but they weren’t quitting yet.

Overall, I was tiring.  I realized my pace was still too fast for a marathon, but I could do it for 20 miles.  I finished in 3:59.  The time limit for the Boston Marathon is six hours, so I would have had two more hours to cover the last 6.2 miles.  That’s about what it would take to walk the rest of the way.

Having finished this run, I’m now much more confident I can get to 26.2 on race day.  To finish within six hours, I need to average about 13:30 per mile.  That gives me quite a bit of room to slow down.

The race is in 10 days.  I don’t need to do any more long runs.  I’m as ready as I’m going to be.  I’ll do a few runs next week, but they won’t be long, and they won’t be strenuous.  Basically, I’m tapering now.  I don’t have the luxury of a two or three week taper, but I also don’t have to recover from the wear and tear of months of training.

I'm Halfway to Boston

I did a “long” training run today.   I’m putting “long” in quotes, because it was only 13.1 miles.  That’s only half a marathon.  A year ago – when most of my runs were 10 to 11 miles – 13.1 would merely have been somewhat longer than my average run.  Today, however, it’s by far my longest run of the year.  You might say I’m halfway to being able to finish a marathon.

I resumed running four weeks ago, after a layoff of nearly seven weeks.  When my physical therapist first cleared me to begin running again, I wasn’t sure if I was ready.  Those runs weren’t really training, so much as rehabilitation.  My stride felt awkward and off-balance.  I had to force myself to use my hips.  Nothing felt natural, and everything was uncomfortable.

I’ve been running an average of three days a week.  I started with one mile.  Then I gradually increased the distance until I could run seven miles.  Then it was time to start doing long runs.

My goal is to finish the Boston Marathon.  I know I won’t be fast.  I only have two goals.  I want to finish, and I want to be healthy enough to run it without setting back my recovery.

I’ve been going to physical therapy on Mondays.  My therapist works with runners, and he knows mu short-term goal is to run Boston.  He used to live there, so I don’t have to tell him how little time I have to train.  When I saw him on Monday, the first thing he said was, “Four weeks.”

I’ve been doing several exercises to build strength in my hips, glutes and hamstrings, all of which are weak.  Every week, we go over my progress.  Sometimes, he gives me new exercises.  Other times, we make adjustments to some of my exercises to make sure I’m emphasizing the right muscle groups.  We also go over my training plans.  I want to make sure my training plan is realistic.  I don’t want to do too much too soon.  So far, we’ve been on the same page.

One of the exercises I’ve been doing is this supine bridge to work my glutes.  As soon as it started getting easy, my therapist had me start doing it using one leg at a time.  That made it much more difficult.  When I used just my left leg, I could really feel it in my glutes.  Those are some of the muscles I’m trying to strengthen, and they’re much weaker on my left side.  When I did the same exercise using my right leg, I felt it in my quads.  Apparently, I’ve also lost strength in those muscles.

A few weeks ago, he wanted me to do a hip exercise that involved standing on one leg and using my hip to rotate the other leg around me.  Then we found out that I couldn’t stand on one leg without losing my balance.  I just didn’t have enough strength to support my weight with one leg.  Since then, I’ve been working on that.  Once a day, I practice balancing on each leg for 30 seconds.  I have to do it in front of a mirror to make sure I keep my upper body vertical.  At first, I tipped to one side as soon as I lifted the other leg.  With effort, I’m now able to shift my hip enough to maintain my alignment.

This week, my therapist suggested doing this exercise three or four times a day instead of just once.  It’s clearly the area where I need the most work.  He’s also having me do additional motions, like partial squats, while standing on one leg.  These exercises leave me sore, but the strength is gradually coming back.

In the meantime, I’m still running every other day.  When I resumed running four weeks ago, I only had seven weeks until the Boston Marathon.  That’s not enough time for a full training cycle.  I had to figure out how best to use the time I had.

The first time I trained for a marathon, I didn’t know what I was doing.  I didn’t follow a training plan.  I just made it up as I went.  I did one thing right.  I emphasized weekly long runs.  I figured if I could keep increasing the length of my longest runs, I’d eventually build up to a marathon.  I also trained that way for my second marathon.  I didn’t have great results, but I finished both races.

The first time I followed a training plan, it came from “Galloway’s Book on Running.”  Jeff Galloway’s training plans emphasized weekly long runs, so they were a good fit for me.  Galloway philosophy is that anyone who’s already running three days a week can train for a marathon just by adding a weekly long run.  If you’re not worried about time, it works.

My training plan for Boston had two parts.  Part one was to get to the point where I could run seven miles three days a week.  Part two was to add weekly long runs.  There’s just one problem.  I don’t have many weeks left, so I have to ramp up quickly.

Last week, I did a 10 mile training run.  That was a big step up, but I was pleased to be able to do it at the same pace as the five mile run I did the week before.  I felt surprisingly good on that run.  For the first time, my stride felt natural.  It wasn’t off-balance, and I didn’t have to force myself to rotate my hips.  The next morning, however, I was so sore I could barely move.

My plan for today was to run about 13 miles.  If I felt good enough, I might step up all the way to 14, but that was asking a lot.  I felt pretty good for the first 10 miles.  Then I started to feel the fatigue in my legs.  As I was closing in on 13 miles, my stride started to feel off balance.  All through my left hip and the left side of my butt, I felt sore.  Those muscles are weak, and they had reached their limit.  If I continued, I would start to limp.  Rather than run with poor form, I slowed down a little and then stopped at 13.1.  It’s not the 14 miles I was hoping for, but I reached the half marathon mark.  That’s an important psychological milestone.

I have three more weeks until Boston.  I’m hoping to run 16 miles next weekend and 19 miles the following weekend.  Then I’ll have to step up all the way to 26.2 on race day.  By then, my hips and glutes should be stronger.  I’m willing to plod along slowly as long as necessary to reach the finish line.  As long as my mechanics are sound, I’ll get there.

While I was running, this arrived in the mail.  It’s my “runner’s passport” for the Boston Marathon.  This is my focus.

Some Races Require Advance Commitments

Last year -- when I was running with injuries for several months -- I was often asked why I didn’t just take a break so I could heal.  I probably would have, if I didn’t already have so many races booked.  Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to wait until the last minute to book a race.

I live in a region where most of the races are clustered around a few weekends in late spring and early autumn.  If I’m willing to drive for eight hours, I can get to races in neighboring states, but their race calendars aren’t much better.  There are very few races in the summer months, but almost none from November until late April.  For more than half of the year, racing means flying somewhere.  That, in turn, means booking at least six weeks in advance to get reasonable airfares.

Some races fill several months in advance.  The Boston Marathon, for example, fills in September.  In other cases, getting into the race isn’t tough, but hotels rooms fill several months in advance.  There just aren’t many cases where I can wait until the last minute to decide if I’m going to do a race.

This year, I’m trying hard to avoid committing to races until I’m completely healthy.  I’m finally healthy enough to begin running, but I have to exercise some caution.  I’m not completely healthy yet.  I’m planning my training one week at a time, after consulting with my physical therapist.

I just committed to two more races.  Booking races when I’m still working to get back in shape obviously isn’t ideal.  Each one was a special situation.

Yesterday, I entered the Prague Marathon, which is just three weeks after Boston.  I was reminded last week by Delta Airlines that I have a certificate that can be used for a first class upgrade on an international flight.  That’s a big deal when it’s an overnight flight.  There’s just one catch.  I have to use it by May 26th.  The Prague Marathon is just two weeks before my certificate expires.  This is a race that’s been on my bucket list.  If I do it this year, I can fly first class.  If I wait, I waste that opportunity.  It’s use it or lose it.

Today, I entered the Chicago Marathon.  I need to do Chicago again, so I can complete all of the World Marathon Majors.  I ran Chicago in 1999, but that was before the World Marathon Majors were established.  I’ve run Boston, New York City, London and Tokyo.  I’m signed up for Berlin in September, so after that, I just need to repeat Chicago.

It used to be easy to get into the Chicago Marathon, but now they use a lottery.  You can get automatic entry by running a qualifying time.  The qualifying time for my age group is 3:15.  I don’t know if I’ll ever run that fast again, but the qualifying period for this year’s race goes back to the beginning of 2014.  I had a qualifying time in 2014.  This was another case where I have an opportunity this year that won’t be there in future years.

Today, coincidentally, was the day the New York City held their lottery.  Some of my friends got in.  Others didn’t.  At least one friend was rejected for the fifth straight year.  I don’t want to have to depend on getting into the Chicago Marathon through their lottery, so I’m taking the opportunity to get automatic entry.  Again, it’s use it or lose it.

I’m not too nervous about booking Chicago.  That’s not until October.  Prague makes me more nervous.  I already have an uphill battle to get ready for Boston.  Ideally, I would have waited until after Boston before booking my next race.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting that long.

I'm On the World Megamarathon Rankings

Yesterday, I got an email from my friend Diane.  Diane is the North American Coordinator for the World Megamarathon Ranking.  This is a worldwide ranking of the runners who have completed the most marathons and ultramarathons.  To be included on the list, you need to finish at least 300 marathons or ultras.

http://worldmegamarathonranking.com/World_Megamarathon_Ranking/World_Ranking.html 

This website has links to both the world rankings and the North American rankings.  These lists are updated twice a year.  The most recent update reflects the rankings as of December 31, 2015.  I qualified for inclusion on these lists when I finished my 300th marathon or ultra at the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon in November.  By the end of the year, I increased that total to 306.  That puts me in 463rd place in the world rankings and 103rd in the North American rankings.  Here’s an excerpt of the North American list.

 

I know several of the runners on the North American list.  A few of them have been running 100 or more marathons a year for several years, and will probably continue to do so.  They’ll keep climbing the list and improving their rankings.  I have no such ambitions.  Getting my name on this list was a big long-term goal, but I'm content with simply being listed.

In the last three years, I ran more than 50 marathons per year.  It took a toll on me.  Last year was particularly difficult, as I ran with injuries for nearly seven months.  Now I’m taking a break to get healthy.

This year, I’ll only run a handful of races.  If I get back in shape and stay healthy, that may increase a little next year, but I probably won’t go back to racing every weekend.  A few years ago, I found I could race and recover well on an every other weekend schedule.  That’s probably the most I’ll do in future years.  I’d like to strike a balance between racing often and racing well.