Who Me? Obsessed With The Weather???

In pure taper madness, I've been checking the NY weather ten times a day.

Now there is a 30% chance of rain before noon...i.e. while we're sitting still and waiting at Fort Wadsworth to start. Lovely.

Awesome Run In The Sun and CRAZY EIGHTS!

It had rained all Tuesday and most of Wednesday morning. However, there was a brief break around lunchtime on Wednesday...and I took full advantage of it!

My goal was to take it easy (this IS taper week, right?), not to worry about pace but just to follow whatever my heart rate was telling me.

Well, I started to get those false (i.e. HIGH) readings in the first half mile again. How is my heart rate 171 bpm when I'm doing a light jog??? I decided to stop at a light pole and do some calf stretches...within 20 seconds my HRM was showing 108 bpm. I started up again and never saw the high readings for the remainder of my run!

The workout was spectacular! A sunny afternoon day, 65 degrees with a little breeze, leaves in all shades of red, orange and yellow falling from the trees...can I order this exact weather for Sunday in NY??

Splits were:
Mile 1: 10:31 / Avg HR 145 (that's with the false readings during the first half mile)
Mile 2: 10:26 / Avg HR 142
Mile 3: 9:40 / Avg HR 145
Mile 4: 10:14 / Avg HR 148
Last half mile 10:50 pace with avg HR of 150.

Overall a 10:17/mile pace with average HR of 146. If I can do this for the first 15 miles on Sunday I will be in such awesome shape to finish nice and STRONG!

When I logged my run in RunningAhead, I saw something very cool:

My yearly mileage is 888.8 miles! CRAZY EIGHTS! (OK...I have to think about something crazy, I'm in marathon taper mode...)

Taper Craziness - Obsessing About The Weather

As running mileage decreases to almost nothing during taper week, you end up obsessing on things to fill the time.

When I'm not getting anxious about what I'm going to forget when I go up to New York, it seems I'm thinking about what the weather will be on Sunday in New York.

I just looked at the 5-day forecast this morning, and it looks pretty good:

I Was Reminded Today That I Don't Like Running On The Treadmill

I had time to run during lunch. An easy 4 miler.

I got into my running clothes and out the front door and....it was really yucky outside. Rain. Cool temperatures. Ick.

Normally I would run in this, but with the marathon this weekend I really didn't feel like hitting the elements. I would definitely run in this stuff on Sunday if I needed to - but no need to do it today.

I hopped in my car to go to the gym.

I had totally forgotten how boring the treadmill is. It had been a good 5 to 6 weeks since I ran on the treadmill, and now I see why. I kept on longing to be outside. I know where I'll be running most of the winter...

The run was decent - 4 miles in 41:05 - a 10:17/mile pace with average HR of 150.

Only one or two more short runs before the marathon. Whoa!

Tapering And Weight Management - Update

Two weeks ago, I wrote a blog post where I said I would be counting calories to ensure that I did not gain any weight during the taper. Last year I had gained a few pounds while I decreased the mileage in the weeks leading to the marathon, and I didn't want to repeat that.

Here's an update...

The good news - I have actually dropped two pounds! I am now one pound away from my marathon weight of last year. I'll take it, even though it was not my intent.

The not-so-good news (I guess?) - all last week I did not count calories at all. My schedule was all messed up due to working nights and I had no idea how to count calories consumed in the midnight to 6am shift. If I work Sunday night, do I count these against Sunday's total or Monday's total? When I wake up at 11:30am (after going to bed at 7am), do I eat breakfast food or lunch food?

Another issue is how do I count the amount of sleep I get? Last night I slept from 10pm to 11:30pm before working and then from 7am to 11am this morning after work. Does that count as five and a half hours of sleep? Or is this four hours? How much sleep do I need to make up at the end of the week to be well rested for the race???

Luckily, it looks like tonight may be the last of the late nights for me. It will be good to be back on a normal sleeping - and eating - schedule soon!

The Last Long Run Before The Race

This morning was the last long run of my taper - and the last long run before next week's New York Marathon. Whoa!

I was really excited to get out there and run long today. I had run a 6, 5 and 3 miler this week and I longed for something a bit more substantial. Since it is still the taper, I couldn't overdo it, however, I decided that something in between 8 and 10 miles would do.

I settled on my 9-mile Olde Town Gaithersburg loop. I also decided to wear the outfit which I will likely wear next Sunday for the marathon - my Alzheimer's Association Run To Remember white t-shirt and white arm-warmer sleeves along with my water belt. This was the first time I ran with the sleeves - they are definitely more snug on the arms than a long-sleeve shirt, but I like the fact that if I get hot during the race that I can take the sleeves off and run in a short-sleeve shirt. I'm not sure if I'm going to wear my water belt for the marathon or not. I know there are water stations almost every mile on the course, but if I have my belt then I can drink when I want to.

It was a great morning to run - clear skies and temperatures in the upper 40s. If the start of the marathon is like this I will be very happy!

Also, if I run the first 9 miles of the marathon like I ran this morning I should be in pretty good shape to finish strong. My heart rate was a little higher than I wanted it to be - my average HR on this morning's run was 153...I would like it to be under 150 for the first 10-13 miles next week. My pace was also a bit faster than I want it to be next week - 10:26/mile. I will really try to keep it nice and slow at that beginning next weekend.

Now it's waiting time. I'll do a few short runs this week - 2 or 3 milers - but the next big run will be marathon Sunday!!!

Tapering and Weight Management

One thing that I have not worried too much about in training for this marathon has been weight management.

Last year when I started training for the Frederick marathon, I was also trying to lose 10 pounds at the beginning of my training program. I counted my calories - and posted them in my blog to keep myself accountable - and I ripped off 8 pounds in about 5 or 6 weeks. However, as my mileage started to increase I had a week where I felt weak, lethargic and my runs were getting tough at the end. I dropped the calorie counting and let my body dictate how much I needed to eat - I started feeling better and I pretty much maintained my weight.

Until the taper.

You see, during the taper period my weekly mileage decreased substantially...but my appetite did not. I ended up gaining a few of those pounds back in those last 3 weeks. It didn't help for the big run.

Fast forward to this year's training. I paid no attention to my calories at all. I have dropped about three pounds since I started training 15 weeks ago (and I'm still about three pounds heavier than when I ran Frederick last year).

However, I'm going to start the calorie counting this week and try to continue through the taper period. My goal is to hit somewhere around 2,000 net calories a day - this should allow me to maintain my current weight and not gain additional weight before marathon day.

Days like yesterday - where my 5.5 mile run had me burning over 700 calories - are much easier. It is much easier for me to consume 2,700 calories than 2,000 calories :-) There will be days that will likely go over - like this Sunday which is a non-running day for me and it is my younger son's 4th birthday party.

However, by avoiding the nightly "pantry raid" while watching a game on TV, I think this strategy will get me to the starting line feeling less lethargic - and maybe even a little lighter!

Time To Taper

It's taper time!

Last week was my final 40 mile week of the marathon training calendar. Now the weekly mileage totals will decrease until the marathon itself.

The training plan that I have been following shows the next two weeks' mileage as 28 miles and 19 miles. I find that much of a decrease a bit too drastic. My normal training base was 20-25 miles a week before I started marathon training, so going below this level may not be the best thing. Plus, before last year's marathon the taper left me feeling sluggish - plus I put on a few pounds during the taper.

My plan is to have a 30-32 mile week this week and a 25 mile week next week. I also am going to start counting calories so I don't add extra weight this time around. The calorie counting will give me something else to obsess about rather than "why am I not running???"
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This morning's 5 miler was almost scratched. My older son had some bad dreams and came into our room a little after 3am and 4am (no more Halloween-type shows for the next few weeks!). I didn't think I would wake up in time to get out the door by 6am given how I felt when I brought my son back to his room. But my younger son woke up around 5:40am and woke us up as well, so I got my running clothes on and headed out the door.

Another cool, dark morning. I laid out a long sleeve shirt and shorts - which was perfect. I had a bit of uncertainty as I started given how my last run went. To add some fuel to that fire, the HRM part of my Garmin has been giving me really high readings during the first mile of my runs...this started happening last week. Luckily, after the first mile or so, the heart rate readings go back down to normal. I'm going to see about changing the battery in the chest strap and see if that will help.

This morning's stats - 5.5 miles in a 10:01/mile pace with a 149 average HR (with the first mile overstated, so my average HR was really a bit lower).

Tapering

With the Parks Half Marathon on Sunday, I'm going to rest and not run much leading up to the race.  I may do a short run today - two to three miles - but otherwise my plan is to rest and hydrate today and tomorrow.

My biggest challenge - not to over-eat and to eat more carbs and less fat and sugar over the next two days.  No chips and beer in front of the Michigan / Notre Dame game tomorrow afternoon.  Water, gatorade and pretzels - here I come!!!

Taper Week!

It's a taper week! The Parks Half Marathon is coming up this Sunday, so I don't want to overdo it with mileage this week.

Up until this year the taper before a Half Marathon was a big deal. I believe none of my runs during the taper week were over 4 miles. However, my perspective has changed a bit. While in my marathon training I had weekend long runs that were longer than the 13.1 mile distance that I'm going to cover during Sunday's race, and still was able to put in "normal" mileage during the week.

So...although I will treat this as a taper week, I'm not going to cut down too much.

I did not get a chance to run this morning, however, I think I'm going to try an run tonight at the gym - while watching Monday Night Football! Woo hoo! My big problem with running in the evening is that I have such an adrenaline rush that it is hard for me to fall asleep. Luckily there is a late MNF game on tonight as well ;-)

Thanks For The Encouragement Everyone!!!

A big shout out to all of my blog readers, friends and family who have sent their last-minute suggestions and encouragement either on the blog, via email or by calling me.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

I am getting very excited for Sunday.  At the same time I feel nervous as well.  Running 20 miles in my training seems so long ago (it has been three weeks).  I know that this taper period is supposed to be resting my body, but I'm a little afraid that I may have lost some of the endurance I built up during the training.  My cousin Larry reminded me that the training plan I'm using (and have followed religiously) has been used by hundreds - if not thousands - of people before me who have successfully completed the marathon, so I shouldn't worry.  That definitely put me more at ease.

Tomorrow afternoon I will make my way up to Frederick to pick up my race packet and visit the expo.  Whoa...we're getting really close to race time!

Last Minute Recommendations and/or Encouragement?

I can't believe the race is in THREE DAYS!!!! Unbelievable!

I have started to receive a few emails giving suggestions and recommendations for the race. I'd love to hear from everyone, so please leave your comments. Here's some excerpts from a few emails I've already received:

Jamie wrote: "I checked out the map of the course. I believe it should be fairly flat; although, going out towards the airport and 144 could be hilly....Get plenty of rest the week before, stay off your legs as much as possible, and eat lots of pasta. I'm excited for you - you have been preparing and training for this for a long time, you're ready to have a great run!"

David wrote: "As far as the marathon goes, you've been following a plan and that's the
main thing. If you keep to your pace, you'll do fine. If you think you feel good and get going too fast, you'll pay for it later....As for fueling and hydration, you've probably got that pretty well worked out. Avoid the temptation to take in more--it won't help. Most inexperienced runners have problems from over-consumption, not underconsumption. Even if you're burning 600+ calories/hr, you can't take in that much because you can only process about 250-280 cal/hr. But you don't need that much anyway, because you've got about 2000 cal of glycogen on board when you start and enough body fat to run to Indianapolis. Body fat converts slowly, however, which is why without any supplemental energy many runners bonk at about 20 miles...Keep hydration to about 20-25 oz/hr unless it's a real hot, humid day. Overhydration takes out far more beginning marathoners than dehydration. Electrolytes are your main concern...The main thing is to go with your training, keep your pace, and fuel/hydrate only as much as you can process, which is a lot less than you're actually expending. Start hydrating early, though and keep it
constant.

Thanks everyone!!!!

Wimping The Weather

As I mentioned on my post yesterday, the warm weather has made me a wimp to the cold. So, for this morning's run in 45 degree temperatures, I put on the running pants instead of shorts.

However, I stuck with only the long-sleeved tee and baseball cap - no windbreaker, winter cap or gloves :-)

It was a nice, short "easy" run. Barely enough time to warm up! It seems so odd to run such short distances with such a big run coming up this weekend, but I'll respect the taper and try to remind myself that I ran 20 miles three weeks ago, so 26.2 is well within my reach.

Again, I tried to keep my HR down...I did pretty well with an average HR of 151. My pace was 10:11/mile. The glass of Shiraz from last night didn't impact my run at all ;-)

Today's music was the sounds of nature. Since I will not be wearing an iPod during the race this weekend, I want to get used to not being "plugged-in" to the music while running. I heard so many different songs of various birds it was amazing! I wish I knew which birds sang which songs...but I'm not one to join the Auduban Society or go birdwatching or anything.

The Weather Is Relative

During my training over the winter, if there was an overnight low of 44 degrees with a 40% chance of showers, I'd most likely lay out shorts and a long sleeved shirt and a baseball cap.

That's the forecast for tomorrow morning, and I'm considering wearing running tights, and a windbreaker over a long sleeved shirt. It's funny what a few weeks of warm weather will do to you!
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Day 1 of The Taper Week has gone pretty well. First of all, I'm able to eat breads again - so I had a bagel for breakfast. YUMMMM. I definitely missed bagels! I had black bean burritos with baby spinach for dinner - I missed Mexican food as well :-)

Since I didn't cross train yesterday, I went to the gym this morning and did 36 minutes on the elliptical. It was nice to get my body moving - even if it was not for a run.

Rick left a nice comment for me about how strange this week will be in terms of my runs. 3 miles, 4 miles and 2 miles - and then rest, rest. I know I'm going to WANT to run more. But I will respect the taper.

I'm also trying to hydrate a bit more this week. I had a liter of water with NUUN tablets at my desk today. I'll try do drink a lot of water and/or electrolyte drinks during the week this week. And I'll try to cut down on the alcohol...not that I'm a big drinker, but I normally have about 2-3 drinks a week due to doctors orders to help raise my HDL cholesterol (seriously...those are doctor's orders!).

It's kind of a bummer, as I was going to have a drink tonight to celebrate - I took my Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Exam at work today and passed on the first try! OK...perhaps I will have a small glass of wine in celebration as we have an open bottle of Shiraz in the fridge...

Passover Is OVER!!!

Finally.

This year - because Passover officially started on Saturday night and you're not supposed to do work on the Sabbath, Passover was 9 days instead of eight. So I was REALLY ready to eat some bread this evening!

My wife and I had originally planned to go to a nearby Ethiopian restaurant after the kids were in bed. However, I called them this afternoon and found out that they close at 7pm on Sunday evenings. So we decided to go to Dogfish Head Alehouse - a micro-brewery restaurant nearby. They have an awesome grouper sandwich - on grilled pumpernickel bread with cole slaw, swiss cheese and Russian dressing - and we split a beer sampler. YUM!

I'll most likely take my son out to our favorite bagel place tomorrow morning...

...after I hit the gym. Today was supposed to be a cross-training day, but I did not get to the gym. So I'll hit the elliptical machine early tomorrow morning.

It's the last taper week - so my runs are much shorter - 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles on Wednesday and 2 miles on Thursday. Then two full rest days before THE BIG DAY. I can't believe how close it is!!!

Only 10 Days Until Race Day!!!

I received an email from the organizers of the Frederick Marathon with that title. WOW!

It also mentioned that there were a few minor adjustments to the course due to road construction closings. I have barely looked at the course yet - so I have a question to those of you marathon veterans (or just race veterans - whether it is 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, etc.). Do you scope out the course before the race?

I believe I did drive the course before my first Half Marathon...but I'm not sure it helped me much.
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This morning I did hit the gym for my 4 mile easy run. I had woken up in the middle of the night and heard strong winds, so I planned on the gym. However, I probably could have run outside without any issue...oh well. An ounce of prevention, right?

I still had some Jethro Tull on my iPod shuffle, so I listened to Stand Up and Benefit. They're both on the mellower side, which was good for a nice mellow run.

For the first two miles, I don't believe my HR was over 150. Then I started to push it a bit, but once I hit 160 (halfway into mile 4), I backed down my speed to bring my HR down. Overall, I ran a 10:43/mile pace at an average HR of 146.

Even though I had run on Saturday, it felt like I hadn't run for a week. This past weekend was difficult - with all the guests and lack of sleep. Add the fact that my carb intake has gone way down, it was tough to run. Luckily this is a taper week :-)

20 Mile Loop, Passover Carb Loading and Good Luck Rick!

Yesterday evening I did some "homework" to come up with a 20 mile loop course for tomorrow's run. This will be my longest training run of the program - and the last really long run before the marathon. After that I start to taper (some notes on tapering from Sara's blog are here...I'm not looking forward to this!).

I tried a bunch of different routes - adding on to, or trying to combine some of my previous courses - but they all came in too short or too long. In previous weeks, I didn't care if my 16 mile run was 16.8, but for 20 miles (and in a bit of a time crunch as I'll be going to synagogue afterwards), I need it to be 20 miles.

I finally got one to measure 20.05 miles! I'll be running through Olde Town Gaithersburg, down Rt 355 and picking up the Rockville Millennium Trail going the opposite way that I'm used to.

The last thing I may want to do is figure out if there is a place I can stow a water bottle tonight (or figure if someone I know lives near the course and have them put a water bottle somewhere???). We'll see....
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During the tapering period, you're supposed to keep your carb intake at the same level during your training (for me it's been about 60-70% of my calories from carbs...take that Atkins folks!). However, Passover starts in a week - so carb intake will be a bit difficult. I have nothing against matzah and potatoes, but I don't think I'll be able to get such a high percentage of calories from carbs on matzah and potatoes for a week.

I remembered seeing a recipe for home made granola in Runner's World about a year ago, and I was thinking perhaps I can substitute broken up matzah for the oats and make Passover "matzah-nola". So I tried this out last night - substituting broken up matzah for the rolled oats and bran flake cereal, and substituting matzah meal for wheat germ. It actually came out pretty good. It still has that matzah aftertaste, but the honey and cinnamon and raisins makes it bearable. I'll definitely be making this stuff during Passover!
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Lastly, I want to give a shout out to one of my running "dot-comrades" Rick who will be running his first marathon this Sunday in Toledo. Rick has endured a really horrible winter up in Michigan, and a pretty bad lower leg injury in the later part of his training - but he's getting it done and will be at the starting line Sunday morning (and no doubt at the finish line later that morning!!!). I decided to check the weather in Toledo to see if at least he'll have nice conditions to run in:

• Sunday: Rain and snow showers likely, mainly before noon. Cloudy, with a high near 43. North wind between 13 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%

Sounds yucky to me :-( Hopefully the wind will not be that strong come race time...

GOOD LUCK RICK!!!!!!

Preparing for "The Big Week"

So this week on my training plan is Week 15 - 40 total miles. My longest so far (you've heard that plenty before), but also the longest on the marathon training plan.

After this, I will start my taper (reduction in mileage leading up to the marathon so that your body can repair itself and rest up for the big day).

Here's the weather forecast for the mornings - tomorrow will be drizzly and in the mid-40s for a 5 mile run, Wednesday morning will be clear and mid-40s for a 10 mile run (speedwork?) and Thursday will be about 10 degrees warmer with a chance of rain for another 5 miles. Not ideal conditions, but not too bad either. By Friday it is supposed to be a high of 74 degrees, so my 20 mile long run on Saturday may be in shorts and a t-shirt!!!

One concern I have - the base of my big toe on my right foot is a little sore and I'm getting a "cracked knuckle" type sound when I scrunch my toes in (flexing my toes down). I'll see how I do on my run tomorrow, but if the pain gets any worse I may go to the chiro to see if perhaps it needs a little adjustment.