Close but no cigar...

The good news to report is of a new PR for a marathon; 3h25m14s which is more than an 8 minute improvement on my previous best from San Diego. The bad news is that I missed out on Boston by some 10 minutes.

The day started great. I travelled to the course early with my occasional training partner Brett and watched him head off to do his Ultra Marathon (an extra 4.8 miles). I was relaxed and relatively rested after a pretty good nights sleep and I settled at the start line at around 7am.

It was here that I made the decision that would decide my Boston fate. Not seeing the 3h15m pacer at the start line I decided to head off at what I thought was a good pace and simply allow him to catch me, then I would run alongside for the remainder of the race.

I felt great as we started, I was near the front of the pack and although they quickly left me it was nice to see the professionals start right in front of me. The early miles fell away, being a largely flat course it was easy to get into a groove. Unfortunately it was quickly apparent that I was running too fast. My goal pace was a little under 7m30s per mile whereas I was running at around a 7m10s pace; rather than allowing my pacer to catch me up I was pulling away from him!

I guess this is when stupid decision # 2 came in; rather than slowing my pace I continued as is and banked some time.

Nicole had arranged multiple cheer leaders for my run and I saw the first of my supporters at mile five. This was quickly followed by another set at mile 7 and then my girls (and Omie!) at mile 8. Being nearly 2 minutes ahead of time by this stage I caught the girls by surprise nearly passing them before they realized it was me. They would later tell me that I was only around 10 minutes behind the Kenyans at that stage, another sign that I was going too fast!

As we head through the Biltmore area I continued to stick with my newly adopted plan and had no concerns regarding stamina. I in fact managed a sub 1h35m half marathon which was 7 minutes quicker than any I had done previously.

It wasn't until mile 20 that things started to go wrong. Nicole, Ava and Omie had travelled ahead of me and as I passed them Nicole shouted "you're doing it!". At this time I was still ahead of both the 3h10m and 3h15m pacers however not for long.

Within .5 of a mile of passing Nicole the 3h10 pacer passed and he was quickly followed by the 3h15 pacer. I ran with my intended pacer for perhaps 30 seconds and then watched him and the (sensible) group pull away.

Knowing that I was unable to catch them my heart sank as Boston had got away. Having the 3h20m pacer pass me around 2 miles later also did not help! By this time I was stopping every other mile and walking for 2-3 minutes. My time was deteriorating and despite the best attempts of fellow runners to get me moving I was spent.

I saw my final cheerleader at mile 24 and asked her to let Nicole know I was around 10 minutes behind schedule. I managed to chew threw the last 2 miles although my pace had dropped significantly.

Regardless of the disappointment over Boston, I was delighted to cross the line a full 8 minutes better than in San Diego and know that with a more sensible head and similar training I will bag it eventually.

When finally finding Nicole after the race she was stunned that I hadn't secured a Boston Qualifier, I had looked so strong at mile 20 it seemed impossible not too; so dramatic was my decline.

1 month after the event I am reflecting on a great 20 miles, and determined to ensure a better finish to my next marathon.

With our second child due in May I have decided to take the next few months off of training and will next run the Tucson marathon in December. That is a predominantly downhill marathon which although implies a quick time does in fact has its own challenges.

That said, I am confident that I can improve my time again. 4th time lucky?

Here we go...

The training is done, the taper was successful and now I just relax and carb load!

I met with the 3h15m pace guy today (Matt) and discussed strategy. It is pretty simple; a steady 7m26s pace throughout! I am very confident handling that pace for a good chunk of the race, adrenalin will do the rest.

Wish me luck, Beantown is calling!

The final week

With only 7 days to go to the race my preparation is right on track. My runs in the last couple of weeks have remained strong with many pace or netter work outs, I even threw in some hill runs in the last few days that also came in at my goal pace.

For the next week I will be decreasing mileage with only 9 miles to be run between now and next Saturday. All of those will be very slooooowwww as I will be concentrating on resting this week. I will also be getting a massage later this week to loosen the muscles so, everything should be set for Sunday.

My goal remains to qualify for the 2011 Boston Marathon. I need an average pace of 7m28s per mile for the whole race, that is around a 35s/mile improvement from my last marathon but all of my training indicates that it is within me. The course in Phoenix is very flat and known to be fast so I am optimistic of a good time.

The cheerleaders have their positions and the weather is looking good, here is too a good time!

Run Cookie Run!

The taper begins!

Here we are, the final long training run is complete (20 miles) and now my runs are merely for maintenance; my mileage drops significantly from here on out.

The last few weeks have been good. My longest runs increased to yesterday's 20 miler, and on my shorter runs I have continued to keep a very good pace with a recent 10 miler being at 7m02s pace with is about 25 seconds a mile faster than needed to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

I am feeling very confident for the race. Yesterday I ran the first 20 miles of the race and although slow, which was intentional, it was good to get a feel of the course. My goal remains to qualify for the Boston Marathon, for that I need to finish in under 3h15m59s. It's a fierce goal but I am up for it.

The next 3 weeks are going to be very modest pace. I have one final long run of 12 miles which I intend to run at pace, the remainder will be slower as I now need to rest for the race.

Tomorrow I break out the race shoes, it is time to break them in; with 3 weeks to go and about 70 miles left to run the time is ripe!

Best week yet

A great week. For the first time in this training routine I completed all 5 runs this week, plus my cross training.

I stepped off the gas this week with my long run being 12 miles, 5 miles less than last weeks. That said, I ran very strongly for the rest of the runs. My two 4 miler speed days (with Ms Violet in tow) both run at sub 7 minute pace and then my two 9 milers both run at 7m20s pace which is just a little faster than my goal pace for the race.

Once again, I aim to take significant time off of my previous marathon time. In New York I ran 3h54 and then 3h33 in San Diego. For Phoenix I am shooting high; 3h15.

Qualifying for the Boston marathon is the goal, it's a tough one but I am feeling confident. I hope to have a comfortable half marathon at sub 7m30 pace by the race time. That coupled with adrenalin, strong training and vocal support, I hope that will pull me through the rest.

Being my (adopted) home marathon Nicole is arranging for substantial support. I can almost imagine someone at every mile! I doubt it will be that but, every cheer is welcome.

RUN COOKIE RUN!

The halfway point

It has been a good couple of weeks. My long runs increased to 16 and 17 miles in consecutive weeks and I have put down some strong shorter distances also. This week I did a sub 1hr 8 miler (just better than 7m30s/mile pace) and two sub 7 minute/mile pace workouts (4 miles, with the dog!).

I am at the half way stage in training now; 8 weeks down and 8 to go. So far things are going well. I am injury free and aside from a few aches after runs I am feeling good. This week I step backwards; my long run is 12 miles only.

I changed up my training this time by doing my long runs slowly. For some time I have read that you should do your long runs at a 1-2 minute slower pace than your goal race pace but, never practiced it. I am this time and it is very refreshing; I am finishing high mileage runs still feeling strong.

I bought my race shoes this weekend. Kind of early, I won't run in them for 5-6 weeks but they are being phased out so I grabbed them whilst I could. This time I have gone for some performance shoes. The main difference is weight; they are some 4lbs lighter than my training shoes which although this sounds minor it will give me a little more edge on the day. Oh and, they are yellow so I will be easy to spot

on the course!

Clearly I have been AWOL...

So, although it has been a little over 5 months since my last post but it has not been 5 months since I last ran!

Although I had my usual hiatus after the San Diego Marathon I actually got back into action pretty quickly. As a surprise for my birthday my wife planned a trip to New York and the timing was great for a favorite race of mine; the New York Half Marathon.

I had run this race its first 2 years and enjoyed it immensely. The course is exciting; a lap of Central Park and then a chance to run through Times Square. Having been a NYC runner for several years on congested sidewalks, the opportunity to run through Times Square is too good to turn down.

Signing up for the race last minute had its own challenges; I went from pretty minor training to running 10 miles nearly overnight! I had no expectations to perform too well of course, aside from the lack of training we'd also be travelling across the country with a sick 1 yr old and NYC was enjoying some of its famous humidity!

That said, the race was a blast. I ran the first 6 miles or so with my old NYC running buddy Tim. Unfortunately he had a chest infection and dropped off the strong pace we'd started at so the second half of the course was just me and my thoughts!

The NYC crowds at races are fantastic, they really energize the runners. Despite all the factors against me I actually managed to finish in 1h42m16s which was only 26 seconds slower than my best half marathon performance! Tim was able to push through despite having breathing difficulties and finished just a couple of minutes behind me.

Since returning to NYC I have started training for the Phoenix Marathon on Jan 17th 2010. I am now 7 weeks into my 18 week schedule and am feeling strong thus far. Mileage is already racking up; my long run this weekend is 16 miles.

I now have several running partners in Phoenix. Baby Ava joins me for tempo runs, our dog Violet for speed workouts and then two guys from my community for the longer runs (when they are available).

I am excited for this race. That we won't have to travel for the race will be a great benefit. I am confident that with good training that I can beat my time in San Diego. The real golden egg will always be Boston, my qualification requirement for that is 3h15m59s which is a stretch from San Diego but I am confident of chipping more time off and getting nearer to that goal.