Going Long

Since first training with a coach about a year and a half ago, my runs, as well as most of my other workouts, have been characterized by their intensity rather than their length. That’s not to say that total miles don’t add up in a week, but a lot of time it’s eight miles with most of it in my upper heart rate zones rather than 10 or 12 at an easier pace.

 

On a recent Saturday however, was the first notable exception to that. The instructions were a three and a half hour run with a mix of Zone 2 and Zone 3. I believe running like this all the time has the potential to lead to injuries. In fact, I know this to be the case from past experience. However, as an occasional workout, it’s very useful to gauge current endurance levels.

Garmin Connect say it was 73* as I started my trip down the Sulphur Gulch bike path a little after 10:00. That might have been the shade temp but the heat out in the sun and on the pavement was higher. I had my CamelBak with me and a couple of Gu’s since I figured to be burning some significant calories before this was all over.

 

I started out doing ten minute intervals at Z3 and then recovering at Z2. The further I went, the harder it was to actually ease my heart rate down to the lower zone. However, my perceived effort was consistent with Z2 being less of a challenge than Z3. I also took some time to walk for a minute or so and let the rate recover more fully before starting up again.

I got all the way out to the Dove Valley area before it was time to turn back and run the trail home. My first long interval was 30 minutes in Z2, followed by 30 in Z3 and finally 30 more in Z2. I was going more uphill than down on the return section and it showed as I started to spike outside of my assigned zone. 

 

By the time I reached the last set before the cool down, I was walking as much as I was running. I didn’t feel exhausted (though I was quite tired) but I also was keeping in mind the net impact the run would have on me both in the short term (a brick workout was waiting for me on Sunday) and beyond. It’s been quite a while since I’ve done any training of this length but I do recall feeling pretty wasted for days afterward.

The slower return had me finishing about a mile away from my intended goal which was our neighborhood pool. Officially, this went down as an 18.68 mile run but I was closer to 20 miles when you count that walk to the pool.

Upon arriving at the pool, I spent about fifteen minutes just wading, gently kicking and slowly walking around in the water. I can’t say for certain that this helped in the recovery, but I will say that when it was time run the next day, I felt no residual effects.

 

I’d like to think this is a gauge of how the marathon portion of the race might go, but it’s not that easy. I had done a 30 minute open water swim earlier that day, but that’s not the same as a swim of over an hour to say nothing of a 112 mile bike ride. There’s no way I’ll feel so fresh when I hit the Boulder Creek Path in a few weeks.

 

I’ve run estimates six ways to Sunday and still have no real idea how hard it will be during those first ten to fifteen miles of the run. I am certain the balance will be incredibly difficult! This run was done at an average of 11:14 per mile and as I mentioned, I took some sections pretty easy. I’m not going to especially hard on race day, but I’m also not going to be overly concerned if I creep out of Zone 2 and into upper Zone 3.

If things go really well, I’ll be finishing up after about 5:30. If they don’t it will probably be six hours or more. My overall goal for this race is really anything under 14 hours. It means a good bike could take some of the pressure off the run. But, of course, you have to balance the bike so that there’s still plenty left in the tank before starting the marathon.

 

I’m still anticipating a long bike ride before my taper. Much as this work out did, it will inform me on what I might expect to see on race day. In fact, since I plan on being more or less fresh to start the ride (I’m feeling pretty good about my swim), it may tell me even more.

Thanks for reading!

Twenty

Last I posted, completing the Colorado Marathon was all but a distant hope. I figured I’d be contacting them this week to change my distance down the half and then just hope I could complete it.

But a funny thing happened after my short run on Thursday.

I started that run the way I've been starting all of them lately—with a walk. Given my injured leg, walking for the first quarter mile or so gives me a chance to further loosen up the muscles. I definitely stretch before hand, but this is just a little more time to get ready for the run.

As I moved along, I noticed that my walking pace was in the low 13 minute range. It even dipped into the high 12 minute range a few times. As I ran, I started doing the math. Me doing math in my head is a dubious proposition at best, all the more so when running. However, I estimated about out about how long it would take to do a full 26.2 at an average pace of 13:00 per mile: 5:40. That’s pretty slow but still within the six hours permitted for the race. However, who said I would walk the whole thing.

I continued to crunch the numbers (this time on a spreadsheet instead of in my head) and determined I could reduce the time to under 5:15 if I could reduce the average pace to 12:00. So I could mostly walk, do some running, and still finish not much slower than my only other full Mary, the 2006 Rock-n-Roll San Diego. The time there was 5:01.

But figuring this out in my head and actually doing it are two different things. It had to be put to the test and with the race four weeks away, I decided to do just that on Sunday.

It was a pretty good day for a run. Low 60* range with a breeze to make it feel just a little cooler. I donned my triathlon shorts (they seem to be the best for longer distances) along with a long sleeve technical fleece which might have been a bit warm, but weather in Colorado changes rapidly. It would turn out to be a pretty good choice.

Since my home sits at over 6000 feet, nearly any out and back run involves climbing on the return. The longer the run, the more the climb. If I had been healthy, I would have done just that. However, my soleus muscle complains mostly when I’m going up hill. What’s more the Colorado Marathon is a mostly downhill affair since it starts in the mountains of the Poudre Canyon and finishes on the plains of Fort Collins. Being the supportive person she is, my wife gladly agreed to pick me up just outside of Cherry Creek State Park which would be the finish of my point-to-point trek.

From the mid-point of my drive way, I headed out, at a walk until reaching the Sulfur Gulch trail which is the main bike path through my neighborhood. It’s a slow descent from east to west until it intersects with the Cherry Creek Trail which would take me north toward the park.

The first four miles (save for that opening walk) were done at a moderate pace of a little over 9:30. My leg was complaining a fair amount as I reached mile four even though I felt okay from a cardio standpoint. I decided I would walk for the next two miles. However, I felt better as I reached the 6 mile mark so I decided I would run some more. Things were actually feeling okay until I hit something of a steep decline around 6.5 miles. It’s usually the uphill portion that hurt but this time, my leg felt really sore. I went a little further then stopped to stretch a little at 6.5. I started walking again and felt good enough to run until a little past 7 miles.

As I walked, I focused on trying to stay under a 13:00 pace. It’s not as easy as it sounds. You really do still but a lot of effort into it. In fact, I noticed my glutes becoming sore as I proceeded, but I still felt okay and kept going. At the nine mile mark I started up again for two miles of running. Things hurt but soon the pain became duller and I was aided by a mostly flat course. By now, I had crossed into Arapahoe County and was approaching the point where I would no longer be on the bike path. This was where the run became more exploratory.

I was pleased to still feel like I had plenty left as I reached mile 11. I walked off the path and across Arapahoe road and then on the unpaved side. It was a planned walk, but if it had been a run, I would have stopped and walked this section. The area was uneven and I even stumbled once. Fortunately, the whole rough section was only about a half mile long or so and then I was back on the sidewalk.

With a right turn on to Jordan road, I was on my way to the park. Several times I’ve ridden my bike out to Cherry Creek State Park and back. With a loop around the park, it’s a good way to get a forty miler in, even though the road in the park is particularly rough. Today, it was the same scenery, only slower. My next running section began at 13 miles and I went through the next two at a sub ten pace. My leg was not bothering me so much, but I started to feel winded. Somewhere around 14 and change, the rain started. It was really just a shower, but I knew it was also enough to get me pretty wet. Had it continued, I could see it sapping my energy and threatening my ability to finish. I put the thought out of my head. Shortly after starting my next walk break at 15 miles, the rain stopped and the sun started to come out again--typical Colorado weather.

By now, I was well into the park and was actually on the run section of the Creek Streak triathlon. I had, in fact, stopped to walk this very section during that hot run. Today was much cooler and I was walking through miles 16 and 17 rather than mile 5. I knew I was doing better!

Mile 17 was where I started running again and it started on a fairly flat stretch. However, it’s also here that the path starts a climb on the lake side of the dam that forms Cherry Creek reservoir. I’ve experienced all of this before because it is the outbound portion of the run for the Aqauman event. Coming back, you get to enjoy a nice downhill, but not today. I slowed back to a walk as I hit 17.5. There’s no question I was tired. But I was also concerned about pushing to hard and injuring something else. I continued until 18 when I was past the dam and looking at steady flat to down section that runs on the north (outside) face. I was only planning on going to 18.5, but I felt good enough to keep going to 18.75. It was there that I stopped running. The last section was back up hill again. It was not as steep as I expected, but at this point, even walking it was becoming a chore.

From then on, it was just a question of getting to the 20 mile mark before four hours had passed. I did that with time to spare. Ultimately, I hit about 20.35 before four hours. Again, I did the math in my head. Even if I could not run any more, but managed to walk at a 15:00 pace, that would mean in another hour, I would have covered 24.35 leaving 1.85 left. Doing so would result in an overall time of 5:27:45 which is not bad considering I’ve been running almost not at all.

There was a little more walking to get to the parking lot where my wife was meeting me. When I was done, the total distance covered was 20.75 with a total time of 4:05:56.

Today, I am sore as hell. My legs are aching and I’m moving slowly. But I also think I’ll be feeling better by the end of the week. I have no runs planned for the rest of the week, just riding and swimming.

I think I may just be able to shave a little more time of the run by the time May 5 rolls around. For starters, here’s the elevation profile for my race and below, the profile for the marathon:

No, those are not drawings from the same source, but you will notice the lack of steep hills at the end of the lower drawing. I know this is an accurate rendering because those last four miles are the same course as the Horsetooth Half Marathon which I ran almost a year ago. On that day, my biggest enemies were a steady breeze in my face and legs that were especially sore from climbing huge hills around Horsetooth Reservoir.  I may not be feeling any fresher, but I think I can walk at 15:00 and possible faster.

A stretch goal would be to average 11:27 which would bring me in right at the 5 hour mark. That would be great, but considering that a week ago I was thinking about pulling out altogether. So if that’s the stretch, the more likely would be around 12:00 which would result in a finish time of 5:14:24. And if I can’t pull that off and slow to a slow walk for the last four, I could still finish in under 5:30. Not what I hoped for when I started out, but better than not running at all or cutting the distance down to a mere 13.1

We’re forecast for some fairly severe weather in the next day or two, but by the weekend, spring is supposed to return. That means that this Sunday, I’m going to try and do this all over again. I’m also going to try and increase the distance to 23.

Beyond that, I still think a taper is in order so while I may do some run/walking at longer distances; they’ll be much shorter than this. Most of this will also depend on how quickly my body recovers during the week ahead.

More to come.

Thanks for reading!