Series Preview: Aloha Series

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be doing the Aloha Series.  It’s a series of four marathons in four days sponsored by Mainly Marathons.  Mainly Marathons puts on several series of races ranging from two to eight days.  Most of them are series where you run in a different state each day.

Some time back, I posted in the Mainly Marathons Facebook group, suggesting they add a Hawaii series, perhaps running on a different island each day.  It was apparently a popular idea.  Within a couple days, that post had about 100 “likes.”  Clint Burleson replied that the logistics of racing on a different island each day would be too difficult, but he might create a series of races all on the same island.  Later, Clint and Hannelore made a trip to Hawaii and scouted locations.  Soon, they announced the creation of the Aloha Series.

All four races will be on the island of Kaua’i.  We’ll have two different courses.  Both will be short loops that we’ll run multiple times.  On days one and four, we’ll run on paved paths at the Smith Family Gardens in Wailua.  On days two and three, we’ll run on paved paths at Kapa’a Beach Park.  The two courses are only a few miles apart, so I can stay at the same hotel for the whole series.

I flew to Lihue yesterday, arriving late in the evening.  By the time I checked in at my hotel, all I wanted to do was get to sleep as soon as I could.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get much sleep.  My neck and shoulders were so stiff after the long flights that I couldn’t get comfortable.  Then at 2:00 AM, my body thought it was time to get up.

Today, we had our packet pickup at the Smith Family Gardens, where we’ll be racing tomorrow.  I’ll have the same race bib for all four days, so I won’t have to do packet pickup again.

This evening, I’m going back to Smith Family Gardens for a luau.  I’ve heard this is the best luau on the island.  Seven years ago, Deb and I went to a luau at the Kilohana Plantation, which is also on Kaua’i.  I’m curious to see how they compare.  Everyone doing the races got a discounted price for the luau.  I expect to see most of the other runners there.

The marathons all start at 4:30 AM.  That’s good news and bad news.  The good news is that we won’t have as much sun exposure, and temperatures won’t climb too far from the overnight lows.  The bad news is that we’ll be running in the dark for the first half of each race.  Also, I need to get to bed early, or I won’t get much sleep.  It doesn’t help that I didn’t sleep at all last night.

Ideally, I’d like to run one of the races faster than four hours, so I can complete my second circuit of 50sub4.  Regrettably, I might not be in good enough shape to do it in Hawaii heat and humidity.  My best chance to do it is tomorrow, since I’ll have fresh legs.  I’ll need an all-out effort, which will leave me with sore legs for the next three days.  My only goal in the remaining three races will be to finish.  I’m looking at this as an opportunity to get used to running on tired legs.

Besides the marathons, they also have 10K, half marathon and 50K races each day.  The marathons and 50K races start at 4:30.  The 10K races and half marathons don’t start until 7:00.  That should help with congestion during the early hours, when we’ll be running in the dark.

After each race, I’ll try to find time to post a race report.  That’s if I’m not too busy relaxing at the beach.

My Goals for 2017

I’ve been having trouble setting goals for 2017.  That’s largely because there are a lot of things I’d like to do, but I probably can’t do them all.  Some of the races I’d like to do have conflicting dates, so I’m going to have to make choices.  Likewise, it’s hard to optimize your training for different types of races.  Training for a faster marathon isn’t the same as training for a rugged trail race.  My choice of races will ultimately determine how I need to train.

Since I can’t do it all, I’m not thinking of this year’s goals as a to-do list, but more of a wish list.  I’ll do as many of these as I can, but some may have to be sacrificed to make room for others.  How I train will depend on which races I choose, so I’m not setting many goals for the training itself.

Bighorn Mountain 100

I have a few monkeys on my back, and this one is the biggest.  I already have two DNFs on this course.  I should have been able to finish this race in 2014, but I fell into a stream during the night and quickly got hypothermic.  In 2015 I was injured.  I started the race against my better judgement only because I wanted redemption for 2014.  That was a mistake.  I dropped out after only 30 miles and made my injury worse.

This year I’m trying again.  Third time’s a charm, right?  I only have five more months to train, so it’s an ambitious goal, but I’m not getting any younger.  If I want to finish this race, I can’t keep putting it off.  I’ll probably consider 2017 to be a good year if and only if I come home with a buckle like this one.

Rocky Raccoon 100

The Bighorn Mountain 100 is a fairly rugged race, so I’d like to do an “easier” 100 first.  To help me prepare for Bighorn, I’ll be doing the Rocky Raccoon 100 in February.  This race is close to sea level and doesn’t have any significant climbs.  Aside from the distance, the only major challenge is avoiding tripping on all the roots.  Two years ago, I ran the Rocky 50, which uses the same trails.  That give me a good idea what to expect.

Photo by Monica Egner

This race serves two purposes.  Besides being a stepping stone to the more technical Bighorn course, it’s also a Western States 100 qualifier.  Bighorn is also a Western States qualifier, but it would be nice if I could go into that race knowing I’ve already qualified.

New Countries

Ever since 2010 – when I finished running marathons in all 50 states – I’ve run marathons in at least two new countries.  My goal for 2017 is to run in four new countries.  I’ve already booked the trips.  It helps that I was able to take advantage of a fare sale to get ridiculously cheap flights to Barcelona and Helsinki.

Minnesota Races

There are still six marathons in Minnesota that I haven’t done yet.  That includes two new ones.  Since there seem to be two new Minnesota marathons every year, I need to do at least three to make progress on my goal of eventually doing them all.  Accordingly, my goal for 2017 is to do at least three.

Qualify for the 2018 Boston Marathon

In April, I’ll extend my streak of consecutive Boston Marathons to six.  I’d like to keep that streak going, but I’ve yet to qualify for 2018.  Last year my only qualifier was on a course that was all downhill.  I’m still not fast enough to qualify on a more typical course, and I don’t know if my race schedule will have room for a downhill race.  My best chance to qualify this year may be at Boston.  That doesn’t give me much time to train.  Since I’m already training for two 100 mile trail runs, this one will be a challenge.

Finish a Second Circuit of 50sub4

I’ve run at least two sub-4 hour marathons in every state except Hawaii.  Naturally, I’d like to finish that second circuit of 50sub4.

I’m doing the Aloha Series in just over two weeks.  That’s a series of four marathons in four days, with all of the races on the island of Kaua’i.  Ideally, I’d like to run one of those races in under four hours, but that’s easier said than done.

It’s unclear whether I’ll be in good enough shape to break four hours.  My broken rib in December really set back my training.  I’ll also have to contend with hot temperatures.  I ran five straight sub-4 hour marathons last year, but they all had cooler weather.  This one will also be a challenge.

Establish a Good Mileage Base

Training for a faster marathon is different than training for 100 mile trail runs, but for both I need to keep building my mileage base.  In 2015 I ran 2,851 miles.  My goal for 2016 was 3,000 miles, but because of injuries I finished with only 2,298.  Last year, I barely reached 1,500.  I’d like to get closer to 3,000 this year, but I have to be careful to build my mileage gradually.

I finished 2016 with two straight 50 mile weeks.  I also expect to run 50 miles this week.  If I can keep that going and build from there, I’ll be fine.

Looking Back at 2016

At the beginning of the year, I posted my goals for 2016.  It’s time to take a look back at how I did. 

I often characterized 2016 as a “rebuilding” year.  At the beginning of the year, I couldn’t run without discomfort, and I couldn’t even walk normally.  I also had circulation issues in my legs.  Accordingly, my first five goals were in the category of getting healthy.

My first goal was to heal from the groin strain that started my downward spiral in 2015.  For most of January and February, I didn’t run at all.  In early February, I started physical therapy.  By then, I had healed from the original injury, but I had other problems.  Tendinopathy was preventing me from using my glutes, causing them to become weak.  Months of running and walking with my hips locked caused other muscles around my hips to become weak as well.  Finally, after months of neglecting my core muscles, I couldn’t maintain my balance if I tried to stand on one leg.  I had to rebuild everything.

By the last day of February, I had made enough progress in physical therapy that I could begin running.  It took concentration to run with proper mechanics.  I felt like a toddler learning to walk.  I also had no power in my stride.  I couldn’t run anywhere close to my old marathon pace – even for a few minutes.

After months of physical therapy, I finally got back to the point where I could run and walk normally.  By late summer, I could finally run and have it feel normal.  It took time, but I made a full recovery.

My second goal was to improve the circulation in my legs.  My legs got usually stiff whenever I was inactive.  At night, I also experienced cramps after waking up and trying to move my legs.  At first, it seemed mysterious.  I eventually came to realize it was a circulation issue.  My symptoms began after I was no longer able to train.  I was fine when I was running regularly, but without that daily exercise, I became much more sensitive to temperature and inactivity.

After running about a dozen blood tests to rule out other possible causes, my doctor came to the same conclusion.  It was most likely a worsening of the Raynaud’s Syndrome that I’ve had since childhood.  He gave me a prescription.  It helped.  I no longer had cramps at night, but I still got stiff after a period of inactivity.  I had to have faith that my legs would get better when I could get enough exercise.  First, I had to get healthy.  It wasn’t until summer that I was finally running enough for my circulation to improve.  Since then, I’ve felt OK.  That’s a huge relief.

My next goal was to wean myself off of Benadryl.  For years I took one every night to help me get to sleep.  When traveling, I took two.  Having already weaned myself off of prescription medications to cope with my insomnia, I wanted to see if I could stop taking Benadryl too.  Early in the year, I wasn’t traveling to any races, so it seemed like a good time.

It was rough at first.  I had more than a few restless nights, but I gradually got to the point where I could sleep OK without it.  I still sometimes take Benadryl when I’m traveling, but I rarely take it at home.

My last two health-related goals for 2016 were interrelated.  I wanted to lose weight, and I wanted to get back in the habit of eating healthier foods.  When I couldn’t run, I sometimes got depressed.  It’s tough to get serious about a diet when you’re not getting any exercise.  I felt like it was hopeless.  I kept telling myself I’d get serious about the diet once I was running enough to have a fighting chance.  By late spring I was making progress on my weight.  Then I hit a plateau.

During all the months that I was racing with injuries, I gave up on most forms of training.  Almost anything I did seemed to aggravate the groin injury.  That included weight training.  For the first time since college, I wasn’t doing any weight training.  By the time I was finally healthy enough to resume my weight training, I had lost a great deal of upper body strength.  That meant I also lost some of my lean mass.

I haven’t had a body composition analysis since my 20s, so I have no way of knowing how much lean mass I lost.  As I started regaining lean mass, it offset the fat I was losing, so I was no longer seeing much change in my total mass, despite my best efforts to lose the fat.  I was actually making progress, but I got discouraged again.  The realization that I actually put on much more fat than I initially realized was hard to take.  After that, I still made a half-hearted effort to watch what I ate, but I was basically treading water.  I didn’t gain much weight, but I also didn’t lose any.  I’m still about seven pounds above my goal weight, and I probably haven’t regained all of the lean mass I lost.

I do best at dieting when I keep a log of everything I eat.  I also keep track of total calories, and how much is from fat, carbohydrates, and protein.  It’s a fair amount of work to come up with the numbers, and it forces me to forgo eating most restaurant foods.  I can do it, but I have to be highly motivated.  Keeping track of everything keeps me honest.  I’m less apt to have that extra snack.  I’m more apt to make better food choices.  Unfortunately, I lacked sufficient motivation to continue keeping track.

Eating healthy means different things to different people.  To me, it means limiting saturated fats, avoiding trans fats, eating more fruits and vegetables, and favoring whole grains over refined flour and sugar.  When I’m logging everything I eat, I not only limit my total calories, but also eat healthier foods.  When I don’t, I tend to fall back into old habits.

I think I improved my eating habits in one or two areas.  For example, I eat more salads.  Overall, however, I think I fell short in this goal as well.

Once I was healthy enough, I wanted to get back in shape.  I had four goals in this category.  The first was to get back into a regular training habit.  Before the groin injury, I used to run five days a week, and most of my runs were at least 10 miles.  It took me until early summer before I could run10 miles without it feeling like a really big deal.  It took until late summer before I could run 10 miles and have it feel easy.  After another month or two, I finally got back to 10 miles being routine.

It took almost all year to get back to running five days a week.  At first, I alternated between running days and PT days.  When my legs were strong enough, I switched to running two days and doing PT and/or weight training every third day.  Now, finally, I run most days.  In December, I finally logged a 50 mile week that didn’t include a marathon.  I hope to keep that going into the new year.

Next, I wanted to pick up the pace of my runs.  I used to all my training at an eight minutes/mile pace or faster.  Speed workouts were much faster.  When I resumed training last March, I couldn’t run an eight minute mile to save my life.  After making enough progress with PT, I was eventually able to run a single eight minute mile on the treadmill, but it felt like an all-out sprint. 

I’m still not to the point where I can run eight minute miles for long distances, unless it’s downhill.  Before breaking my rib, I was doing 10 mile runs at an 8:45 pace.  After that injury, I had to slow down, but I’m back to running 10 miles at a 9:30 pace.  I’ll get there eventually.

During the summer, I was doing occasional speed workouts.  After doing a couple downhill races, I had to back off from speed workouts.  Since then, I’ve put more emphasis on building my mileage base.  I’ll refocus on speed work when I have a better base.

My last two goals for getting in shape were more specific.  First, I wanted to bring my marathon time back under four hours.  Then, if possible, I wanted to qualify for the 2017 Boston Marathon.  I broke four hours at the Frank Maier Marathon in late July.  That turned out to be the first of five consecutive sub-4 hour marathons.  I’ve had a few slower races since then, but consistency will come when I have a better training base.

Qualifying for Boston was much tougher.  Last April, I dragged myself through the Boston Marathon in 5:09 with barely more than 100 miles of training.  I only had four months until registration would begin for next year’s race.  I needed a time of 3:40 to qualify.  To actually get into the race, I needed to be a few minutes faster.  In April, it seemed like a real long shot.  By June, it seemed possible.  I scheduled two downhill races to give myself a better chance.  In September, I qualified at the Super Tunnel Marathon with a time of 3:36:39.  That alone makes me feel like 2016 was a successful year.

My next goal was to finish the World Marathon Majors by running the Berlin Marathon in September and the Chicago Marathon in October.  Ideally, I wanted to qualify for Boston in both races, since I was able to do that in the other four majors.  I’m not yet to the point where I can qualify on a flat course, much less do it consistently, but I did manage to break four hours in both races.

Finally, I had two goals in the “New Races, New Places” category.  First I wanted to do at least two Minnesota races that I had never done before.  I ended up with three.  I ran the Med City Marathon in Rochester, day seven of the Heartland Series in Albert Lea, and the Minnesota Indoor Marathon in St. Michael.

My other “New Races, New Places” goal was to run marathons in at least two new countries.  I’ve raced in Germany before, so the Berlin Marathon didn’t give me a new country, but I also ran the Prague Marathon in the Czech Republic and the Auckland Marathon in New Zealand.

I fell short in a few of my goals, but I’m still pleased with the progress I made.  Simply being able to go out for a run and have running feel natural is something you take for granted until you find yourself unable to do it.  I can run again.  I’m not as fast as I used to be, but I’m improving.  That makes 2016 a success.