If at first you don't succeed....

....try and try again. If you read my blog from last weeks 18 miler, you know it was a disaster. It beat me down physically and emotionally. I knew a big part of it was doing 18 in mid 80 degree weather, but I felt like I needed to go back to the "running drawing board" in order to get back on track. I decided to start from scratch this week. It was a do or die run for me. Mentally I would be shot if I did not turn in a long run with a decent time. Let's start with the basics. I gotta start early when the temps are at their lowest. I decided on 6:30 (right before sunrise). Seeing that it would be chilly at start and warm up as the sun came up, I decided to wear short sleeves and wear my arm warmers that I use for cycling (again, something new). Next let's talk route. I needed something with a little more scenery. I mapped out a route that started on the greenbelt and picked up the canal around Indian Bend. Now let's evaluate nutrition. I've been pretty conservative on caloric intake while running, using the same formula from last year. I'm training at a much higher intensity this year, maybe I need more nutrition? I decided to bring more food than neccessary. I had 2 Roctane GU's (higher sodium content amoung other things than regular GU), 1 package of Shot Blocks and half of a PowerBar....that should do! Ok, the final ingredient...a strong mental state. I knew I could ROCK this run! Jeff and I again worked out a master plan in which he would meet me 4.5 miles in at Indian Bend and do 11 with me. Given my past history with 18 mile runs (see last weeks blog), I told myself that I would do 19 in order to avoid another disaster. Running with someone is always a boost and I was glad he was able to join. I know that I have been starting out really fast the last couple of weeks so I really made an effort to take it easy for the first 3-4. I kept my pace between 8:45 and 9:20. The weather was MUCH better. It was 47 degrees but it felt GREAT. I know not everyone thrives in cold weather, but I do! I could see my breath and there was a layer of steam coming off the lakes around the golf course and the canal later on in the run. Really it was quite pretty. Coming up on Indian Bend (where I was supposed to meet Jeff), I felt great. I felt like I was in control of my run rather than my run controlling me. Timing could not have been better, Jeff was walking up right as I passed over to the canal. I took an opportunity to GU, refill some water and we were off. I fell right back into stride kicking it up just a notch to an 8:30-8:45 pace, but again this felt comfortable and I felt in control as I watched my heart rate. Coming up on the turn around point at the park near Indian School and 68th, I was still in fine form...as was Jeff. We took some time to refill, I had some ShotBlocks, and we had a chat with some girls out doing 18 that morning...always great to talk running with others. I was warmed up so I peeled off the arm warmers and tucked them into my pocket...this worked out great. Then it was back onto the canal. Anytime you stop for any length of time, a certain amount of tightness settles in to the legs. My left knee was a little sore but things fell back into stride a mile up the road. As I approached mile 12, I noticed that I was having to make a concerned effort to keep my pace at 8:30/8:45 rather than just coming naturally as it felt on the way out. This is just the nature of reaching that point in the run where you begin to have to push yourself. No biggie, still felt great. Approaching the end of the canal, I took a walk break and another Roctane GU. Jeff decided to head towards the green belt for a mile before he turned back on his own. Heading back onto the greenbelt, things were getting challenging but nothing I could not handle. However, I began to feel the run controlling me. I told myself to make it to mile 17 or 18 and I would take a water break. At mile 17.5, I took that much deserved break. Unfortuanately, it was at this break that I began to feel a sharp pain in the side of my knee. The same knee that was tight at the turnaround. I hobbled along for about 25 feet before it began to feel OK. I was not going to give up now. The last 2 miles were considerably slower (9:30ish) but I felt that was OK considering my new knee problem. I wanted to finish strong, not blow out my knee. Finish I did, and as anticipated...I ROCKED that run. I came in at 2 hours and 49 minutes which was an 8:50 pace. This is well on track to meet my goal of a sub 4 marathon in 7 weeks, and was much needed to boost my mental state of mind. Now for the aftermath. My knee is not doing good. I've had an opportunity to talk to many people for advice. I'm gonna take it easy this week and may not run at all (this is gonna kill me). However many will tell you the hardest part of the marathon is showing up at the starting line healthy. Hopefully by weeks end it will be well enough to do some cycling as a cross trainer. Ahhh, there is always something with running. Stay tuned! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1295 ft Location: Paradise Valley, AZ Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 11/30/08 Up/Downhill: [+183/-183] Time: 06:28 AM Difficulty: 2.9 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 53 F temp; 77% humidity 53 F heat index; winds S 3 Performance Distance: 19.00 miles Time: 2:48:01 Speed: 6.8 mph Pace: 8' 51 /mi Heart Rate: 162 bpm (Avg) Calories: 2849 174 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 169 - 188 0h 40m 24% 6.94 mi Zone 4 150 - 169 2h 08m 76% 17.02 mi Zone 3 132 - 150 0h 19m 11% 2.13 mi Zone 2 113 - 132 0h 07m 4% 0.22 mi Zone 1 94 - 113 0h 02m 1% 0.03 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 08 +0' 17 6.6 -0.2 139 -22 ft 2 8' 38 -0' 13 6.9 +0.2 151 -22 ft 3 8' 41 -0' 10 6.9 +0.1 154 -23 ft 4 9' 26 +0' 35 6.4 -0.4 152 -17 ft 5 12' 25 +3' 34 4.8 -1.9 152 -9 ft 6 1' 58 -6' 53 30.4 +23.6 160 0 ft 7 8' 42 -0' 09 6.9 +0.1 160 0 ft 8 8' 34 -0' 17 7.0 +0.2 161 -3 ft 9 8' 31 -0' 20 7.0 +0.3 165 -3 ft 10 8' 25 -0' 26 7.1 +0.3 167 0 ft 11 18' 52 +10' 01 3.2 -3.6 156 -3 ft 12 8' 38 -0' 13 6.9 +0.2 166 +3 ft 13 0' 00 -8' 51 4267.9 +4261.1 168 0 ft 14 8' 39 -0' 12 6.9 +0.2 -- 0 ft 15 8' 36 -0' 15 7.0 +0.2 168 0 ft 16 8' 48 -0' 03 6.8 +0.0 166 +6 ft 17 8' 45 -0' 06 6.8 +0.1 167 0 ft 18 9' 02 +0' 11 6.6 -0.1 165 +3 ft 19 8' 50 -0' 01 6.8 +0.0 170 +20 ft 20 9' 07 +0' 16 6.6 -0.2 168 +17 ft 21 9' 10 +0' 19 6.5 -0.2 169 +26 ft 22 8' 32 -0' 19 7.0 +0.3 166 +19 ft end 8' 42 -0' 09 6.9 +0.1 172 +9 ft Versus average of 8' 51 min/mile

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