Cape Cod Marathon

Coming into the race, I was feeling really strong. Joel and I met in Falmouth on Friday night and we ran the last 4.2 miles of the race course. It was pretty hilly, but I thought that it would pale in comparrison to the hills of Sippiwissett. I had very little knee pain during that run. I took Saturday off, and my knee finally felt close to normal. My body felt rested, and mentally I knew that I was ready.

As the cannon went off to start the race I held back so much that I felt like I was almost walking. At one point I heard a guy who was running next to me tell his son that we were running 7:00 pace and I almost broke out in laughter at his pathetic attempt to judge pace. As I got closer to the mile mark I saw the clock and to my horror it read 6:50. I thought I was doomed. I tried slowing down, but I couldn't go much slower than I was already moving. I decided that I would try to lock into a good rhythym and see what happened. Ultimately, that worked well, and I was hovering around 7:00 pace for much of the first 17 miles.

The knee pain held off until about 13 miles, at which point I could start feeling twinges of pain come and go. It was nothing serious, but it made me cognizant that there was still an issue. By about 15 miles the knee pain was a little worse, but still nothing like my run 7 days ago. When I got to the water stop at 15 miles I ate my second GU pack. I had a real hard time keeping anything down, water included, and I could have thrown up at any given moment. By 19 miles I took my last cup of fluid, then went for the finish on whatever fluid I had left in my system. At this point the hills were still not having a huge effect, but my pace was coming down a little bit.

By 22 miles I was working so hard and was getting nothing in return. The last 4 miles of the race were terrible, with me pushing for everything I had and sneaking out 8:30 miles. Also, I was so dehydrated and sugar deprived that I was starting to get dizzy. Anyway, I finished in 3:11:55, which was a 20:00 PR. I am extremely happy. As much as I wanted to qualify for Boston, I certainly will take the 3:12. Next goal is a marathon at 7:00 pace! A week of rest and then another building phase before Boston on April 19, 2010. Here are my splits for the race:

Mile 1- 6:51
Mile 2- 7:07
Mile 3- 7:07
Mile 4- 7:09
Mile 5- 7:16
Mile 6- 7:19
Mile 7- 7:15
Mile 8- 7:07
Mile 9- 7:07
Mile 10- 6:56
Mile 11- 6:58
Mile 12- 7:09
Mile 13- 6:52
Halfway- 1:33:06
Mile 14- 6:57
Mile 15- 6:52
Mile 16- 7:18
Mile 17- 6:46
Mile 18- 7:00
Mile 19- 7:07
Mile 20- 7:19
Mile 21- 7:19
Mile 22- 7:29
Mile 23- 7:49
Mile 24- 8:18
Mile 25- 8:22
Mile 26- 8:59
Finish-3:11:55

Wow!

Since my last post I have had two sessions of physical therapy and two full days without running. I am not going to say that the knee pain is gone, but todays run was definitely the best I have had in weeks. I noticed that the pitch of the road is what triggers the pain. It seems like running on the left side of the road, which is obviously sloped to the left, is the worst. However, even compensating for that, there are times when my foot strike just doesn't agree with the IT band. Anyway, I did 6 miles today at marathon pace. I wasn't trying for this, but it just happened. The pace felt really comfortable. If I can make it through the race without my knee totally going to crap, I think I am capable of something special (for me).

Knee Pain

I headed out the door with the belief that I was going to run 10 miles at a fairly easy pace. However, about 1.5 miles into the run, I started contemplating whether that was a good idea. My knee hurt, and it was causing my whole left leg to ache. By 2.5 miles I decided to scrap it and turn around. By the time I got to 3.5 miles the pain was real bad and it was starting to effect my stride. I noticed that my right leg was now starting to ache from doing more of the work. As a result, I stopped and walked back home. I am definitely not excited about this, but I am not totally in the dumps either. I am keeping a positive attitude. I know that in time the pain will subside and I will be back to myself again. I am going to take at least the next three days off. I have physical therapy Monday-Wednesday. I will probably try to run something real light on Thursday and/or Friday, but my goal is simply to get to the starting line in Falmouth 7 days from now. I will probably have to adjust my race plan because of this, but I recognize that this isn't the pinnacle of my running career and I will have other opportunities to run marathons. With that said, I still want to PR!

Day Off

Today was a scheduled day off. I contemplated running because I already took a second day off on Wednesday. However, I thought the cost of doing a short run would far outweigh the benefits of another day off to rest my knee. I am going to try and get in an easy 10 tomorrow morning before work.

Easy Run

I ran for an hour, most of which was along the superhighway. I thought that this would help with the pain in my knee, but I am starting to think that the trail is only aggravating the situation. I noticed that running on the softer parts of the trail is where I had the most pain, and running on the pavement I had the least. I think that the connective tissue and muscles are having to do a lot more work on the trail, thereby aggravating the ITB. I ran a pretty good clip on the way to the turn-around, but pulled back the reins on the way back.

Easy Run

I ran an easy 5 miler on the superhighway. My leg felt pretty good. It was stiff towards the end, but definitely manageable. I have my first round of physical therapy tomorrow morning. I am going to shoot for an easy 5 or 6 in the afternoon.

Day Off

Unplanned day off. My knee is really bothering me today. It is worse now than it has been since the onset of the injury. I don't want to aggravate it anymore before the race. Not happy about taking the day off...

Easy Run

Joel and I did a nice easy 7 miles on the superhighway. My knee felt pretty good, and in comparrison to last week it was much better. I am taking a lot of time stretching and rehabing this injury in hopes that I will be 100% recovered by race day. The good news is that today was a step in the right direction. What horrible timing to develop an injury in the first week of the taper!

Day Off

Scheduled day off. Spent a lot of time icing and stretching my IT band.

Long Run

I did a really nice 16 mile loop that went over Dump Hill and came back into town on Chandler Mills Rd. It was pretty cold outside and this was the first time that I have worn a winter hat. The foliage was perfect and there was very little traffic. Now for the bad news...my knee is still bothering me, and it was a constant dull pain the entire run. As a result, I was forced to run real easy. I think tomorrow's day off should definitely help. The good news about the pain is that it never really intensifies, and it is absent unless I am running. Furthermore, the pain didn't start to ache today until I was about 2 miles in, which is better than previous runs. I will take more time off this coming week if it doesn't start to feel better.

Easy Run

The title doesn't do this justice. I did 4 short miles this morning before going to work for the day. I felt terrible. I played basketball last night and now I am sore. That compounded my soreness from yesterday's 10 miler. My left foot near the small toe hurt, both knees were achy, and my hips felt like they had been grinded with a Dremel tool. I soaked my feet in Epsom salts after and I am going to ice my knees several times this afternoon.

Medium Long Run

I ran a new 10 mile loop that went up Winter Street to the end and came back into town on Elm Street. It was a really good route, and I will definitely do it again. It was dark so I didn't get much scenery, but it was still enjoyable. I did have that same left knee pain again, but it would come and go and was definitely not as painful as yesterday. The pain is the worst immediately after stopping, and then it completely goes away for the rest of the day. I am going to treat it vigorously over the next couple days.

Recovery Run

I ran a nice easy 6 miler down by the St. Mary's Cemetery. I am really glad that the taper is upon us, because I am starting to have tweaks and pain all over. My left knee was real sore, and my right achilles tendon was still a bit sore as well.

Tempo Run

I ran a 7 mile loop and did the middle 4 miles at tempo pace. The weather was terrible; it was raining, windy and cold. I didn't sleep very well last night, but with all these excuses I still ran pretty well. I managed to pull a 25:51 total time, which is a 6:27 pace. I am unsure where the mile splits were exactly, but I think I was pretty close. I estimate that my splits were: 6:33, 6:20, 6:35, 6:23. I finally finished a tempo run without getting ill! The last 3/4 of a mile was really hard as the lactic acid was in full effect and I felt out of breath and struggling to maintain pace most of that time. Overall, I am pleased with the workout and I am glad that I got it in.

Recovery Run

Ran an easy 7 miler this morning to get things started for the week. I had some minor pain in my left knee and right achilles tendon. Nothing too concerning, but nagging after Sunday's long run. I ran a loop that went around Green Mountain. It was very enjoyable. Nice weather this morning.

Day Off

Took Monday off after yesterdays 22 miler. I feel better than expected.

Sunday Long Run

My dad, Joel and I took the trip to Falmouth today to run the first 22 miles of the race course. It was a very early morning, as we were southbound at 4:00 AM. After getting to Falmouth and driving the course, it was time to run at 9:00 AM. It was in the mid 60's which was unusually warm.

Once we started our run, I found that I was really having to hold back. I felt great and I could easily have held a pace around 7:00. However, I needed to conserve energy for the hills in the second half so I held consistently around 7:30 at the beginning. By the time I hit 15 miles the hills began and I was working hard to keep my rhythm up. The final 5 miles were a real test of fitness. I ended up finishing in 2:46:32 which is a 7:34 pace. I am most happy that I ran negative splits through the hills. Joel finished ahead of his goal marathon pace, and aside from his incredible pain he was very pleased.

This course is not to be taken lightly. The hills through Sippewisset are absolutely punishing and there is no getting away from them. Once they start, they go for 8 solid miles. It was an awesome run, and I now feel completely ready for the race...except for my taper. Thanks for the crew help Dad!

Saturday Shake-Out

I did a real easy 4 miler in Belmont. I haven't run this short in about a month, and I felt like I was cheating myself. I stayed the night with Kevin and Ashley and got up at 5:30 to get my run in for the day. It was cold, windy, and pouring rain when I went out. However, my body responded very nicely after yesterday's semi-long run. I am definitely ready for tomorrow's 22 mile pinnacle run on the marathon course in Falmouth!

Medium Long Run

I did my medium long run for the week starting from 590 South Main St in Newport and running along the superhighway to Chestnut St and then finishing at CPD. It was one of the more enjoyable runs I have had during this training cycle. It was so serene to be running on the trail at sunrise. I must outline why this was a great experience: 14.4 miles at sunrise, on a nice trail through the woods, along the river, at peak foliage season, in the crisp cool morning air, all by myself, with nothing but the sounds of wildlife and the pitter-patter of my feet on the trail. This is what running is all about!

My effort was good. I had a bit of soreness in my hips, but overall nothing unmanageable. The only problem was that there were times when I struggled to maintain a good rhythm when I was running through sections of soft gravel on the trail. Anyway, I managed to pull a 7:54 overall pace and I closed the last 2.5 miles in 7:30. Once I hit Washington St, I ran on the pavement until I got back on the trail to cut over to Chestnut St. I felt good on that short section of road and I was really able to hammer out a nice pace. Only a couple more runs and the taper begins!

Thursday Double

I did a nice 6 mile run this morning with Joel in Newport. We ran slow, but held nice conversation the whole time. I am going to do an easy 5 this afternoon on the superhighway.

I did a leisurely 5 after work on the superhighway. I was a bit sore, and couldn't seem to find a rhythm. There were times on the return trip when I felt good, but overall it was nothing special. I did manage to run a 7:52 pace with little effort. Tomorrow is my longest mid-week run of the program and it will be about 14.5 miles.