Road to Boston 2009

2:37:13 Official Time!!!!

2009-04-22T12:53:00.001-07:00

I had a great race on Monday. I don't have time now, but will post more later. Here are my splits:

mile 1: 6:10
mile 2: 5:51
mile 3: 5:50
mile 4: 5:47
mile 5: 5:55
mile 6: 5:51
mile 7: 5:56
mile 8: 5:58
mile 9: 5:57
mile 10: 5:57
mile 11: 6:02
mile 12: 5:51
mile 13: 5:54
mile 14: 5:48
mile 15: 6:01
mile 16: 6:05
mile 17: 5:57
mile 18: 6:13
mile 19: 6:18
mile 20: 6:02
mile 21: 6:27 "Heart Break Hill"
mile 22: 5:57
mile 23: 6:00
mile 24: 5:56
mile 25: 6:06
mile 26: 5:56
last .2: 1:16

Total: 2hrs. 37min. 13sec. ( 131st place overall)

I'm Ready!

2009-04-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!!!

17 weeks down and 1 to go!

I did my last medium distance run today of 12 miles with Jerry Ross on my hilly Boston route. Since it was Easter morning we decided to run a little earlier at 8 am. It was a cool 28 degrees and the wet spots on the roads were still icy. It was actually nice knowing that this was my last longer run for awhile.

I am ready to race this Marathon. I put in the training. My confidence is high, but I'm also aware that thing can turn bad during a race, so I need to be smart and pay attention to certain details during the race. I was telling Jerry this morning that my goal is basically a 2:37-2:40 range marathon. I'm also going to commit to 6 min. pace right away. I will run the 1st mile a little slower (6:15-6:25 pace), but then get after it. I have the confidence that I will be able to keep this up for the marathon.

I have committed 4 months of my life to Boston. I was a college wrestler and I have put just as much effort (if not more) into this race. I'm 35 years old, but I still consider myself an athlete. I am not scared to fail. Last year I ran really conservative and had a good race and I'm proud of my 2:44, but I could've ran faster. This year I'm going to see how fast I can run a marathon. If I fail, then I know that I went after it. Like I said, it's not always about the end result its the process and the road to get their that we sometimes need to be proud of.

Here is the week of 4/6-4/12 (Taper week #2)

4/6- Off (1st Day off in 113 days)
4/7- 9 miles (8 X 100m striders)
4/8- 6 miles
4/9- 9+ miles ( 3 X 1600m @ 5K pace w/ 2 min. rest) (5:03, 4:59, 4:57)
4/10- 5+ miles
4/11- 7+ miles (8 X 100m striders)
4/12- 12 miles

Total: 48 miles

Boston: Here I come!

No Running Today!

2009-04-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

No running for me today. I've run 113 days in a row (6 miles or more) and its time for a day off. I'm on the taper phase for Boston and I just want to make sure my legs are going to be fresh for race day. I didn't plan on having a running streak, it just sort of happend this year. I was in a great groove and I like to stick to a plan. The plan had me running everyday and I wanted to make sure I stuck to it. Last week I managed 70 miles and would like to take it down to about 45-50 this week. 2 Weeks until Boston!!!!!!!!!!

Boston Course Preview

2009-04-05T08:53:00.001-07:00

Another week of training in the books. Even though I began my taper this week I still managed to get 70 miles in. I had a couple of good workouts too. Yesterday tempo run was very encouraging to me and today was a great long run.

Jerry Ross and I ran around Lake Hood and then ran the totem run out by the airport for a solid 18+ miles. We ran at a pretty good clip too. We progressively got faster during the run and we probably averaged about 6:30-6:40ish pace. We doubled back on the totem run to be able to work the hills some more. We picked it up on the uphills and downhills and ran a little Marathon pace too. I believe it was the perfect amount of effort 2 weeks out from Boston. Plus, it was really nice outside. The sun was shining and the roads were dry. It's nice to actually be able to see the roads for a change.

As they say, "All the hay is in the barn. The work is done. Just need to get to the starting line ready to roll."

Here is my mileage for the week 3/30-4/5

3/30- 6 miles
3/31- 10 miles
4/1- 13 miles
4/2- 7+ miles
4/3- 6 miles
4/4- 10 miles (5 @ Tempo) Tempo miles ranged from 5:36-5:20 range
4/5- 18+ miles

Total: 70 miles

Next week I'm probably going to take it down between 45-50 miles. Suppose to be in the 40's this week too. I hope that is true!

The Hard Work is done

2009-03-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

I just finished my 15th week of training and 106th straight day of running. Most of the hard work is done for Boston and now it is taper time. I need to do everything I can to feel fresh and energized when I toe the line on Monday, April 20th.

I had a great confidence booster workout today. Yesterday Anchorage received a little dusting of ash from Mt. Redoubt (volcano) so we decided to do the whole workout in the sports dome (Indoor 400 meter track). Here is the workout:

3 mile warm-up
2 X 2 miles @ Tempo (5:40 pace) w/ 400m jog in between sets
7 miles (6:45-6:50 pace)
3 miles @ Tempo (last mile was at 5:22 pace)
3 miles cool down

Total: 20 miles

This workout gives me a lot of confidence to run well at Boston. I was able to run some pretty good miles toward the end while I was tired. Just like I'll have to do in Boston. This workout teaches you to run fast while you are still tired. We were also able to run some of the warm-up and 7 mile portion on the indoor turf field. It was nice to be able to mix it up and not do the entire run on the track.

Here is my mileage for the week 3/23-3/29

3/29- 20+ miles
3/28- 11 miles (6am/5pm)
3/27- 7 miles
3/26- 17 miles (13am/4pm)
3/25- 12+ miles (6 X 1200 @ 5K pace w/ 2 min. rest) 5:08 pace
3/24- 11 miles (6am/5pm)
3/23- 10 miles (6am/4pm)

Total: 90 miles

Now that the Race Preparation phase is finished I now move into the final phase which is the Taper phase. I'm going to try and get 65-70 miles this next week, then 45-50 miles the following, then it's RACE WEEK!

Ready to Race!

2009-03-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

I've been training for awhile now and I'm ready to race. I've been serious about preparing for Boston now for 15 straight weeks. Am I getting burned out? I wouldn't say that, but I'm definelty ready to move on from this high mileage and taper down for the race.

All the hard work is almost done and I need to make sure I get to the starting line healthy and ready to run. Sometimes it can be hard to find the motivation to put on the shoes and run. I felt this a little last year too, toward the end of my Boston training. I hear it is normal though to have these feelings. I really have no problem getting my runs in because I have set a good goal for myself and I know I need the mileage.

I am really excited for Boston this year. I've prepared correctly and I'm going to have a great race. I truly believe I will run under 2:40. My good friend Jerry Ross told me that their really shouldn't be any big suprises if you are ready to run on race day. If you did all the training you should have a good estimation of what your time will be on race day. Of course things out of your control can pop up like the weather or illness, but I can't worry about those things. I've learned that through my long runs and Marathon Pace workouts that I should be able to run right around 6 min. pace.

Today, my legs feel pretty tired from the last couple of days. Wednesday night I ran 12 miles at the dome (6 X 1200m @ 5K pace w/ 2 min. rest)and yesterday I did 13 miles in the morning on my Boston route and another 4 super easy on my treadmill in the evening for a total of 17 miles. So, today I will run an easy 8 miles on the treadmill because it's snowing pretty good outside. Sunday will be my last hard effort before I start to taper down. Sunday's workout should look like this:

2 mile warm-up
2 X 2 miles @ Tempo
10 mile run (outside)
3 miles @ Tempo
2 mile cool down
Total: 21 miles
This is a workout I did last year that gave me a lot of confidence leading to Boston. It showed me that I can still run fast when I'm tired.

Well, I'm almost to Boston!

100 Days in a row!

2009-03-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

I started my journey to Boston on Dec. 14th and I've run every single day so far, which gives me 100 days in a row. It isn't one of my goals to run x amount of days in a row. Its just that my marathon training program called for it, so I followed it. I've also been really lucky to not be injured or super fatigued to miss a run. As long as you take your recovery days correctly or slow, it isn't that hard to run everyday.

Today was just a recovery day. I ran 6 miles in the morning and 4 more miles in the afternoon. Both runs were done on the treadmill.

On another note Mt. Redoubt finally erupted last night and we have been very fortunate that the ash isn't blowing toward Anchorage. It would be a bummer to have to run everyday inside for awhile.

Sticking to your Goals!

2009-03-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty tough week. Not just physically but mentally. I came down with a sore throat on monday morning that progressively got worse all week. It never got super bad or anything, but I coughed a lot, runny nose, and felt weak at times. Normally I would just take days off, but I have set a goal to follow a program to give me the best shot of breaking 2:40 at Boston. I probably could've taken some days off and been fine, but mentally it would of made me weaker. I didn't want to falter from my program. I did all the key workouts, but made sure that the easy recovery days were done correctly (which means SLOW!). Also, I did my best to get rest. I ate pretty good and made sure I wasn't staying up late. I drank a lot more water then I was accustomed too also. If you want to become the best athlete you can you have to make sacrifices. Sure, it would've been easy to not run and watch some NCAA basketball or take a nap. I tell my wrestlers all the time that sure it's not fun to go for a run or get an extra weight lifting session in, or go to practice when your friends are going out or to a movie. But, when you can achieve a goal it makes all those sacrifices worth it. If achieving goals were easy, then it wouldn't mean a damn thing if you achieved it!

Here was my training week for 3/16-3/22:

3/22- 20 miles
3/21- 12 miles (10K Time Trial- 33:47)
3/20- 6 miles
3/19- 7 miles
3/18- 14 miles
3/17- 10 miles (5 X 600m @ 5K pace w/ 90 sec rest)
3/16- 7 miles

Total: 76 miles

I have one more week of high mileage (90 miles) than I begin the taper phase. On another note, it was good timing to be sick. Better now than in the upcoming weeks!

A little under the weather

2009-03-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

I started getting a little sore throat on saturday night and it just has slowly gotten a little worse over the past few days. I coughed a lot last night while trying to sleep. Then today I have a runny nose and feel a little run down. I'm training my way through it, but I'm being careful to make sure I'm eating good, drinking plenty of water, and resting. I think today will be the worse of it and I should slowly start getting better everyday. I figure it is better to get sick now then the week of Boston. So actually good timing.

I had a pretty good workout yesterday (VO2 max) and today I ran 14 miles. I ran my hilly Boston route which is 12 miles then I ran the last 2 miles on my treadmill. It seems kind of pointless to run the last 2 on the mille and not just finish the whole run outside. I had all intentions too, but I was gettig tired of running on the ice, slush, and dry pavement with my ice bugs on. Plus traffic was starting to get really busy and the sidewalks kind of sucked.

On another note, the Boston Bib #'s came out yesterday and I am Bib #1323! Which also means I'm in Corral 1, which is really close to the starting line. I should cross the starting line within 5-8 seconds only. Not bad considering their are 26,000 people entered.

Watching the sunrise

2009-03-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

I had a super workout today! I have to say that today's workout gives me a ton of confidence heading into the last month until Boston. I woke up at 6am to get an early start on this key workout. I was able to drink 1 1/2 cups of coffee and eat one waffle before I began. I watched a little tv (music videos) and played around on the internet a little while I waited for my food to settle. I started running around 8am.

I did the entire workout on my treadmill to make sure that I was on pace. It is just too hard in Anchorage to do this type of workout outside because of all the ice. It was just barely getting light when I started and I was able to see a beautiful sunrise over the mountains.

Here it is:

3 mile warm-up

15 miles @ MP
mile 1: 6:07
mile 2: 6:07
mile 3: 6:07
mile 4: 6:03
mile 5: 6:03
mile 6: 6:03
mile 7: 6:00
mile 8: 6:00
mile 9: 6:00
mile 10: 5:56
mile 11: 5:56
mile 12: 5:56
mile 13: 5:52
mile 14: 5:52
mile 15: 5:52

2 mile cool down.

Total: 20 miles

I have to say that I'm really happy with it. I started off easy just like I would in a race and gradually picked it up a little. In all honesty the last 6 miles felt the easiest. I felt like picking the pace up a little for the last 3 miles, but resisted the urge because I wanted to really absorb this workout and be prepared to keep my high mileage for the next 2 weeks.

Here is my mileage for the week:

3/8- 11 miles (6am/5pm)
3/9- 12+ miles (6 X 1000m @ 5K pace w/ 2min. rest)
3/10- 15 miles
3/11- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
3/12- 16 miles (12am/4pm)
3/13- 7+ miles
3/14- 20 miles (15 @ MP)

Total: 91 miles

Here are a couple items from last year's race.

Good workout in the Dome!

2009-03-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

I had a good quality workout today on our 400m track in our indoor sports dome. It was a little chaotic because all the ASD track teams were doing some spring break workouts, but it was nice to get it out of the way in the morning. The sports dome is such a great thing for our community. It's almost a must for our high school track and soccer programs. Every track and soccer field in Anchorage is still under snow and ice.

Here were the details of today's workout:

4 mile warm-up
6 X 1000m @ 5K pace (3:15) W/ 2 min. rest
4 mile cool down
Total: 12+ miles

Here a couple of Boston items from last year for motivation.

86 Days of Running in a row!

2009-03-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Not that it is important to run everyday when you are training for a marathon, but I have run everyday since the State Wrestling Tournament on Dec. 13th. Which means I am at 86 days in a row. Obviously you can't run hard or long everyday but if you throw in recovery runs then it is possible to run every day and still absorb the training. I've talked in other blog posts about the benefits of recovery runs. The key is to run them slow enough that it helps speed up recovery for your next run or key workout. Here is a run down of last weeks training:

3/8- 20 miles
3/7- 11+ miles (10K Time Trial)
10K- 34:20 (5:37, 5:36, 5:36, 5:31, 5:26, 5:14, 1:20) = 34:20
3/6- 6 miles
3/5- 8 miles (6 X 100m striders)
3/4- 15 miles
3/3- 9 miles (5 X 600m @ 5K pace w/90 sec. rest)
3/2- 7 miles- recovery

Total: 76 miles

10K "Time Trial"

2009-03-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

My 10K "Time Trial" went pretty good. It was the first time I've ever done a 10K on a track. I've never even done a 5K on a track before either. It went pretty good. We did a 2+ mile warm-up and then we started. Lots of runners their today, which was awesome. Here are a few that I remember: Jerry Ross, John Clark, Sam Hill, Jason Hofacker, Jake Moe, and lots more from Jerry's Marathon training group.

I ended up getting a 2 second PR! But it was super easy. We'll not super easy, but the easiest 10K I have ever run. I probably took it out a little too easy the first 5K, but I finished strong. When I ran my 34:22 last year it was the opposite. I ran my first few miles at 5:26 and then died. So, I'm happy I ran it pretty smart. Here were my splits: (I hit the last mile hard, and had a lot left in the tank, so I could've run this a lot faster).

Mile 1: 5:37

Mile 2: 5:36

Mile 3: 5:36

Mile 4: 5:31

Mile 5: 5:26

Mile 6: 5:14

.2: 1:20

Total: 34:20

I would've liked to run a little faster, but I gotta be happy that I did this after running 94 miles last week and specifically marathon training. Plus, I felt recoverd really fast after the race.

Did approx. 3 mile cool down.

I'm getting some good confidence for Boston. 18 miler tomorrow!

Treadmill Simulation of the Boston Hills

2009-03-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

Here is what week #12 on the Road to Boston looked like:

3/1- 24 miles
2/28- 8 miles
2/27- 16 miles (4am/12pm)
2/26- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
2/25- 15 miles
2/24- 11 miles (6am/5pm)
2/23- 10 miles (6am/4pm)

Total: 94 miles

I had a great workout today and a great week of training! I need to reflect on where I stand right now with 7 weeks to go until Boston. I'm definetly in position to run a sub 2:40 but I need to make sure I'm doing the right things to get to the start line in great running shape and injury free. I just ran my first ever 90+ mile week and I feel pretty good. I'm hitting my workouts with this higher mileage, but I'm definetly feeling like I need those recovery days. My fitness is getting so good that I have to make a conscious effort to run slow on the recovery days. It's hard to run over 7 min. pace, but I need to know that it's in my best interest to do so.

My legs are feeling really well, with the exception of my feet. My feet feel like that have been taking the biggest toll with this new mileage. They ache a little in the evening and when I wake up. I almost need to warm them up before I begin running. I'll roll them a little on a can of corn in the evening and morning to get them loosened. Once I'm warmed up they feel a lot better.

I just finished Mesocycle 2 (Lactate Threshold + Endurance) in the Pete Pfitzinger "Advanced Marathoning" program. Next in Mesocycle 3 is considered "Race Preparation". It lasts 4 weeks with a total of 4 VO2max workouts and 2 8-15K tune up races. I planning on running 10K's for both of them. I'd like to set them up in the dome.

Today I had a 24 miler. I did the first 15 miles outside. I ran the south loop w/service extention and added on 3 miles at the end. Lots of hill on this route. I quickly changed clothes and hopped on the treadmill for the last 9 miles. I ran 1 mile pretty easy then I did the Treadmill simulation Boston Hills workout. I found this on the internet. Here it is:

Treadmill equivalent of Boston Marathon Hills.

Hill 1: +96 ft, 0.6402 miles long~ 2.83% Grade (use 3%)
Hill 2: +78 ft, 0.3363 miles long~ 4.39% Grade (use 4.5% or 5%)
Hill 3: +75 ft, 0.4698 miles long~ 3.03% Grade (use 3% or 3.5%)
Hill 4 (HBH): +100 ft, 0.4788 miles long,~ 3.96% (use 4% or 4.5%)

Between hill 1 and hill 2 the distance is about 3/4 mile

Between hill 2 and hill 3 is slightly over 1 mile. Like 1.1

Between hill 3 and hill 4 (heartbreak) is about 1/3 to 1/2 mile

The last 4 miles I gradually picked up the pace and was at 6:08 pace when I finished. My legs were a little tired, but I felt great. I wasn't wearing a heart rate monitor, but I felt like I was barely breathing. I finished the workout with a nice 12 minute Ice bath. 7 more weeks until Boston!

Lactate Threshold Run

2009-02-27T22:50:00.001-08:00

I had a real good day of running today. I woke up at 5am and ran an easy 4 miles on the treadmill. After work I had a good workout 12 miles total, which gave me 16 for the day. Here it is:

3 mile warm-up
7 miles @ Tempo pace (6:00, 5:56, 5:52, 5:49, 5:46, 5:42, 5:39) Kind of progressive.
2 mile cool down

As I got faster during this workout I actually felt better and the effort seemed a little easier. I'm also excited about how quickly I recovered from the workout. For my cool down I never got off the treadmill, I just slowed the pace down to 7 minute miles and within 30-45 sec. my heart rate was low again. I think it shows that I'm getting into pretty good shape!

Went to Bears Tooth for dinner. They have the Best Burritos!

Need to run more hills!

2009-02-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

I had a real good 15 mile run today. I did the south loop w/ Service extention and did the last 3 miles on the treadmill. I really like this run because I think it prepares me well for Boston. There are some real good hills on the hillside. The hill up Huffman is pretty steep and a mile long. It makes Heartbreak Hill look like an ant hill. The other reason I like these Hills is because I get to run down them too. I need to get my legs use to the pounding of running downhill since their is a lot of downhill in Boston too.

The temperature outside was nice and so was the footing. I still wore my Ice bugs but alot of the stretches were pure pavement. I also ran at a pretty good clip. I did the whole 15 miles in 1hr. 42 min. (which is 6:48 pace).

I'm going to try and run this route at least once a week until Boston. Today was the Fur Rondy track meet at the Dome. I was going to try and PR in the 5000m. but learned it was only going to be a 3000m race. Their is also the Frostbite 5K this saturday but my training doesn't call for it this week and I don't want to get off track for a little race. Since things are going really well thier is no need to mix things up with a race right now. I am looking to try and do a 10K at the dome the following saturday if I can get it set up.

Road trips make me tired

2009-02-22T21:40:00.000-08:00

As I write this at 8:45pm on sunday night I am very very tired. I had a road trip to Fairbanks this weekend for my son's state wrestling tournament. I really enjoyed watching him wrestle and have to admit that the tanana junior high state tournament is really cool. Probably the best Junior high athletic event in the state!

The trip wasn't the best for my training though. I had to drive through a snow storm on the way up to fairbanks, so it was almost 7 hrs. of driving. Standing and sitting in the bleachers for 2 days kind of hurt my feet and made my legs tired. I was still able to get my runs in, but I felt tired. I also didn't get much sleep because we had to be up early in the mornings and the tournament was over late each night.

I really have to focus and start taking better care of myself. I need to start working my core more, stretching after workouts, sleeping, eating healthy. Only 8 weeks until Boston!

Here is a recap of the week 2/16- 2/22: It was also a recovery week, so mileage a little lower.

2/16- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
2/17- 9 miles
2/18- 10 miles (5 X 800m @ 5K pace w/90 sec. rest)
2/19- 7 miles
2/20- 11 miles
2/21- 8 miles (10 X 100m strides)
2/22- 16 miles

Total: 71 miles

VO2 Max Workout!

2009-02-18T23:09:00.000-08:00

Today I was finally able to turn the legs a little faster today. I had my first VO2 max workout of the Boston Marathon 18 week program. Since my treadmill only goes up to 11.0 mph (5:27 pace) I decided to do the workout at the dome. Here it is:

3 mile warm-up
5 X 800 meters @ 5K pace w/ 90 sec. rest. (I did all 5 exactly the same 2:33)
3.5+ mile cool down

It was kind of nice to turn the legs faster today. It wasn't all that hard, but I was really trying to concentrate on getting my heart rate down and ready for the next one in 90 seconds. During my cool down it felt like I was going super slow, but was still running 7 min. pace.

Yesterday, I ran a general aerobic 9 miler and then headed to East High school for a wrestling practice. I couldn't resist and did a little live wrestling with the top high school kids in the state. Even though I could easily handle these kids, I still got kind of sore in my upper body and quads from staying in a wrestling stance. Probably not the smartest thing to do if I'm trying to do my best at Boston. I need to be smarter and avoid live wrestling until after the marathon.

1/2 Way to Boston!

2009-02-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

9 weeks down and 9 weeks to go! I had another good week of training and a great workout today. Here is today's workout:

3 mile warm-up

12 miles @ Marathon Pace (6:03, 6:03, 6:03, 6:03, 6:03, 6:03, 6:00, 6:00, 6:00, 5:56, 5:56, 5:56)

1 mile cool-down
16 miles total

Here is the mileage for the week of 2/9- 2/15:

2/15- 16 miles (12 @ MP)
2/14- 7 miles-recovery (6 X 100 strides)
2/13- 13 miles
2/12- 8 miles- recovery
2/11- 19 miles (15am/4pm)
2/10- 11 miles (6am/5pm)
2/9- 8 miles- recovery

Total= 82 miles

This is my 3rd straight week of 80+ miles and I'm feeling really good about it. I believe I am handling the mileage well because I feel strong after all my recovery runs. This upcoming week is considered a recovery week where I will drop my mileage down to the mid-70's. Then I will have my first ever 90+ mile week! I still need to do a better job on my nutrition and sleep habits. It would be nice to try and get 8 hrs. of sleep every night and I'm going to try and make a conscious effort to do it. No more late night seinfeld episodes.

Epic Run

2009-02-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

I had one of my favorite runs of my Boston training program today. I met Jerry Ross at his house and we took off towards UAA and went over the bridge on Tudor and into the trails. We found some awesome hard packed dog sled trails that were perfect to run on. It looked like they were groomed and it made the footing perfect. Running on hard snow has a lot more cushion than the pavement. It was about 10 above zero and snowing lightly. It was fun to run in the woods for a change and at times we were on single track trails. We eventually ended up on the tank trails and took the Mayors Marathon trail to Campbell Airstrip Road and took it back to Jerrys.

In all we ran between 15-16 miles. I ran an additional 4 miles for recovery in the evening to make it 19-20 miles for the day. It was sure nice to get this medium distance run done outside and not on the treadmill. Things are moving as planned for Boston!

I also bought the New Asics DS Trainers from Todd. I will wear these shoes for the Marathon. I'm going to break them in on Sunday when I do my Marathon pace run.

Another solid week of Training

2009-02-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

Today was a solid long run. I met Jerry and some of his training group at the dome at 9am and we ran 18 miles outside and then Jerry and I ran another fast 4 miles in the dome to total 22 miles. The running outside was great! We went out on Raspberry and ran all the way to Kincaid Chalet on the multi-use trails which were in pretty good shape. We ran down toward the inlet and ran the coastal trail until we reach Pt. Woronzof and then got on the Totem run route and headed back to the dome running past the airport. We kept a pretty good pace, but we had to work a little harder on the coastal trail because every once in a while we would fall through the hard snow pack. Changed into shorts and t-shirt and slammed some water and we took off to run our last 4 miles. I'm pretty sure I went a little too fast, but it didn't kill me. I was able to concentrate and just run. I think it is good practice for Boston. If things are going good, I should feel tired toward the end and I must be able to run through it. The last couple miles were around 5:45 pace. I can definetly feel it in my legs, but I took my recovery drink and took a 14 minute ice bath. I should absorb this week as long as I take the next couple of days and run true recovery pace.

Here is a run down of the week of 2/2- 2/8

2/2- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
2/3- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
2/4- 15 miles
2/5- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
2/6- 12 miles (6 @ tempo pace)
2/7- 8 miles
2/8- 22 miles

Total: 87 miles

I'm looking forward to relaxing a little tonight and watching the Reebok Indoor Meet on tape delay on ESPN. I want to see Shalayne Flanagan break the 5,000 meter indoor record. I believe she ran 14:47! Amazing!

Tempo is my favorite workout

2009-02-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Friday) I had a great workout. I ran 12 miles with 6 miles at tempo pace. It was sunny and 25 above outside and I really wanted to run outside, but this workout called for the treadmill. Here is how I ran it:

3 mile warm-up (7:30, 7:14, 7:03)
6 miles @ tempo (6:00, 5:52, 5:52, 5:52, 5:52, 5:52)
3 mile cool down (7 min pace)

I really like tempo runs because of the feeling of going fast, but not giving it everything you have. Like I said before, tempo is a pace that you should be able to keep up for an hour. My workout room was a little warm and sweat was starting to fly everywhere toward the end of the tempo run. I had a towel nearby and was trying to dry myself off the best I could. I know that training is going well for Boston when I can keep this pace and feel comfortable while doing it.

Today was an easy 8 mile recovery run. I was very happy to do it outside. It was cool out but the sun was shining which made me feel really happy. Sunshine can sure make you feel positive.

One of the great things about training for Boston is that the training is done during the worst time of year in Alaska. There is little sunlight, it's cold, icy, and snowy. That probably doesn't make sense. It's probably why a lot of Alaskans don't run a spring marathon. But, I'm getting in great shape and getting those endorphins kicking in the winter. It's much better coming out of winter in great shape, than coming out of winter having gained 10 lbs. Tomorrow calls for a long 22 miler. I'm meeting Jerry at the Dome at 9am. I hope to do 16+ outside and then finish up in the dome.

Reasons to run the Boston Marathon

2009-02-05T20:37:00.001-08:00

The treadmill has been a good friend

2009-02-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

Today it was -5 below on the way to work (I can't wait for the summer). I only worked a 1/2 day because I had to go home and take care of my daughter who stayed home from school because she still has a bad cold. I was able to get her some lunch and get her crafts, etc.. all set up and I was off upstairs to get my workout done.

Today I ran 15 miles on the treadmill. I was pretty tired the last couple of days, but I felt great today. I started really easy at 7:30 pace (8.0 mph) and every mile I picked up the pace by .1 mph. So, after 6 miles I was already at 8.6 mph which is 6:58 pace. I picked it up again every couple of miles until I was running 6:31 mile pace the last couple miles.

Tomorrow calls for double recovery runs and then friday I'll be doing some tempo. I'm pumped my legs felt great today.

Here is another great coldplay song live in Toronto. (Death and all of his friends). I love this album. Wish I could watch them live someday.

Legs tired

2009-02-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days my legs have felt pretty tired. I'm coming off an 86 mile week and I'm glad that my marathon plan called for 2 easy recovery days. Both days I ran 6 miles in the morning and 4 miles in the evening all at a super easy pace. My legs would warm up and I would feel good when I was running, but the rest of the day when I was walking around work or at home my legs felt pretty tired. I'm sure my legs will get use to the higher mileage and I will feel strong again. I just have to make sure to keep the easy days easy and the hard days hard. Does that make sense?

Both of my kids are sick now with some pretty bad colds. They have been keeping me up at night coughing so my sleep hasn't been the greatest. Lots of kids at school are sick too. I believe it is that time of year. I just need to make sure I'm eating right and drinking lots of fluids and try to get as much rest as possible. It is a challenge to have a full time job, have a family, and run 80-90 miles a week. I'm enjoying the challenge though!

Long Runs & Ice Baths

2009-02-01T20:34:00.000-08:00

I had a great workout for the 1st day of February. It called for 20 miles. I met Jerry Ross at the Dome and we headed out in -4 below temps. I was dressed properly, but Jerry under dressed a little and was getting pretty cold and did the smart thing and ended his run short with his wife picking him up. I did 13+ miles outside and then returned to the dome and did 7+ more on the track. Jerry and I took it pretty easy out to meet his training group which took us about 48 min. I picked up the pace on the way back and returned about 4 minutes faster. I changed my clothes really quick at the dome and grabbed some water and a gu and headed on the track. I took the 1st mile pretty easy and then decided to pick up the pace to finish the 20+ miler. Here are my mile splits at the dome:

Mile 14- 6:48
Mile 15- 6:40
Mile 16- 6:12
Mile 17- 6:05
Mile 18- 6:02
Mile 19- 5:56
Mile 20- 5:52

I felt really good and felt like I could keep that pace up for 6 more miles if I was running a marathon.

Here is the mileage for this week:

1/26- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
1/27- 11 miles (5 @ tempo pace)
1/28- 15 miles
1/29- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
1/30- 12 miles
1/31- 8 miles (10 X 100m strides)
2/1- 20 miles

Total: 86 miles

When I got home the last thing I wanted to do was take an ice bath, but I knew it would be a smart thing to do after today's workout to make me feel better for tomorrow. I filled the bath tub with cold water and threw on a sweater and winter hat and made some hot tea and submerged my lower body into the freezing cold tub. The first couple minutes are kind of brutal, but the legs get use to it after awhile. I stayed in for about 12 mintues.

I've read and heard from Jerry that an ice bath can speed up your recovery. Cryotherapy ("cold therapy") constricts blood vessels and decreases metabolic activity, which reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. Once the skin is no longer in contact with the cold source, the underlying tissues warm up, causing a return of faster blood flow, which helps return the byproducts of cellular breakdown to the lymph system for efficient recycling by the body.

After you get use to just the cold water from the faucet, you can make it even colder by adding bags of crushed ice or just shovel some snow into the tub too. I believe that 10-15 minutes is perfect.

New Shoes & Gu's

2009-01-30T19:28:00.000-08:00

I've put about 450 miles on my Adidas Control running shoes and I've been meaning to get down to skinny raven and get some new shoes. You should really put no more than 400 miles on one pair of shoes. If you wait to long it could lead to injuries. I can really tell when I have a newer pair of shoes on, I feel a lot more cushion and bounce to them. I was downtown all day at the Hilton for the NEA-Delagate Assembly and had a break so I walked down to the Raven in a snow storm. They were having a sale and I couldn't believe all the people that were already their.

Skinny Raven is the best shoe store in all of Alaska. It is a running store that sells shoes and clothing. It has an awesome atmoshpere and the workers are very knowledgable. They are all runners and skiiers or fitness types and put a lot of work into customer satisfaction. It's nice to walk in their and chat about workouts or upcoming races. Todd List, Jerry Ross, Charlie Renfro, John Clark, and Andrew Richie were all their and busy with the sale. Todd List helped me out with a new pair of Adidas Sequence. I've never had this type of shoe before, but I was looking at getting away from the Adidas control because I believe it has a little too much support for me. I've sticked with Adidas lately for trainers because they feel great on my feet and look pretty sweet.

I also loaded up on some Gu's (Espresso Love, Vanilla Bean, and Chocolate Outrageous) and bought a Recovery Drink for after my workouts. I'm all set now to continue my Road to Boston!

Today it was snowing pretty hard and I didn't feel like climbing on the treadmill and running 12 miles, so I sucked it up and did 8 outside and the last 4 on the mille. I ran mostly on the road and was lucky that the plows had just gone by so the running wasn't that bad. I had to jump on the sidewalks occasionally and that is when things got a little slower, but I wasn't too concerned with pace. I was just glad to be outside. It felt good running in the snow storm with the snow hitting my face. It wasn't too hard and it was kind of warm at 20 above.

The last 4 miles on the treadmill I got a little faster and ended up running at 6:35 pace toward the end. I was able to try out the new shoes and they felt great! Tomorrow is an 8 mile recovery that I hope to do outside if they plow the sidewalks. Training is going good!

Getting it done- In the AM

2009-01-29T19:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had my 15 mile run and couldn't get to sleep until past 11pm. So, when the alarm clock went off at 5am this morning I was pretty tired. Running isn't the first thing I want to do when I wake up. Sometimes I wish I could just shut the alarm off and get another hour of sleep. But, I have goals and when I set my mind to something I will try to do what it takes to accomplish it. I want to do well in Boston this year (Not just run it) and it takes sacrifice to accomplish goals. If accomplishing goals were easy then they wouldn't mean as much when you accomplish them. I tell my high school wrestlers that if winning a state championship were easy then it wouldn't mean anything to you if you didn't work hard and won it. If you bust your butt and won it, then you will cherish it for a long time.

I have a poster in my workout room that say's "What part of 100%, Don't you understand." When I'm running on the treadmill and don't really feel like being their, I'll take a look at this poster and realize that if I quit, then I'm not giving 100% to my goals.

Today was a recovery day so I took it super easy on both my runs. I ran 6 miles in the morning at 5am and then did 4 more miles after school. My legs were a little tired, but I know that I'm speeding up the recovery process by keeping the run easy. Tomorrow calls for 12 miles and I'm going to try and do the entire run outside.

Windows of time.

2009-01-28T23:10:00.000-08:00

Today I had a little window to get my 15 mile medium distance run done. I have to be at work by 7am so it is hard to get a longer run in before work unless I want to wake up before 5am (not going to happen). I'm good at getting up and running an easy 6-10 miles, but I don't have enough time to run the medium distance runs.

After work I need to be at my kid's school by 3:30 to pick them up. Since I get off around 2:30 there isn't enough time for a workout then either. My son has his soccer practice at 6:30, so I had a window from 4:00pm-6:10pm to get this run done.

I did the first 9 miles outside. It was snowing and pretty windy. At first the snow was blowing straight into my eyes, but seemed to die down a little after a couple miles. The footing was also rough because of the fresh snow that made me work a little harder to get through. I changed into shorts, etc. and did the final 6 miles inside on my treadmill. I was able to pick up the pace gradually and finished with a 6:35 mile. I want to start finishing these medium-distance runs and long runs a little faster.

Tomorrow is a recovery day, but it will begin at 5am.

Busy Day, but great workout!

2009-01-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

Today we finally had our End of Season Wrestling banquet. The season finished Dec. 13th, but with Christmas break and the banquet having to be rescheduled because of school being cancelled due to the "ice days" we were finally able to have it tonight. The banquet went really well. I have some wonderful parents who do a lot of work for my program. Captain Cook Hotel was able to donate a couple of nice main dishes and salads. We ordered a bunch of pizza's too. And of course families brought a ton of desserts. Wrestlers have to sacrifice a lot during the season and especially watch their diets. Not that they shouldn't continue to do it in the off-season, but it is nice to celebrate the season and eat as much as you want. And believe me, a couple of kids ate a lot. Like I said before, we had a good season. It was nice to see us improve so much from the previous year. And we have put ourselves in a situation to have a great season next year.

Today's workout called for 11 miles w/ 5 miles at tempo pace (or half-marathon pace). I decided to do the workout right after school. So, I jumped on my treadmill and did 3 easy miles for a warm-up and then jumped right into the workout. It was an awesome workout too. I eased into my first mile right at 6 min. pace. My 2nd and 3rd miles were at 5:57 pace, and miles 4 & 5 were at 5:52 pace. So, a little under 30 straight minutes at tempo pace. It felt so easy! I knew I did them correctly because I could've stayed at this pace for at least an hour. I'm not going to lie, I still needed to concentrate on my form and breathing, but I was really enjoying going a little faster for a change. I finished the workout with 3 more miles a little under 7 min. pace to get my 11 miles.

The idea of this workout is to increase my lactate threshold. To be able to run longer without my legs creating lactate, which forces you to slow down. I believe I will work up to 7 straight miles at tempo pace.

1st Cycle is complete!

2009-01-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

My training for the Boston Marathon is 18 weeks total. It is broken down into 4 different cycles.
Cycle #1- Endurance
Cycle #2- Lactate Threshold+Endurance
Cycle #3- Race Preparation
Cycle #4- Taper

I just completed the first cycle which is 6 weeks long, so I'm one-third on my way to Boston! I feel real good too. The first cylce basically gives me a solid base. There was basically no speed involved. Just putting some quality miles in and did a few short lactate threshold runs for workouts.

Here is my mileage for the first 6 weeks:
Week #1- 65 miles
Week #2- 67 miles
Week #3- 70 miles
Week #4- 70 miles
Week #5- 81 miles
Week #6- 72 miles (Recovery Week)

Total Mileage for 1st cycle: 263 miles.

The 2nd cycle will involve a lot more Lactate threshold workouts (basicall half-marathon pace). My mileage each week will also increase a little. I will also do 1 workout which is 16 miles, but 13 at marathon pace. That workout will give me a good indicator where my fitness is at. I'm really excited for this next phase to begin because of the harder workouts (or faster running).

I'm really stoked right now about where I am at in my training. I'm feeling good, strong, and have no injuries. As long as I stay smart and progress slowly I should improve and get that sub 2:40 marathon at Boston! The next 6 weeks will be important.

I had a good run today with Jerry and two others from his training group whose names slip my mind right now. We took it nice and easy the whole run and we notched it down a little to 16 miles, since it is a recovery week. The temps were great, but it was super slick in spots. You really needed Ice bugs.

I really enjoy sunday's runs. Not just because it's a long run, but I enjoy the company of people with goals that are similar to my own. Our times may be different but we are all trying to become better and faster runners. It's motivating to me!

Here is a picture of Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia who is the world record holder for the marathon, which is 2:03:59!

Ticket to Boston

2009-01-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

It's really official now. I bought my plane ticket to Boston. To cut a few hundred dollars off the cost I will have a couple stops on the way. On the way to Boston I will fly from:
Anchorage to Seattle to Chicago to Boston taking about 12 hrs.
On the way back I will fly from:
Boston to New York to Seattle to Anchorage taking about 13 hrs.

I'm getting to Boston on Friday, April 17th at 4pm, so I'll have plenty of time to get adjusted and get a couple of easy runs in to get rid of the jet lag before the race on monday.

I did my easy 6 mile recovery run today outside. I ran to Huffman road and back and added a little extra to make an easy six. The sidewalks and roads were really icy, but didn't bother me to much with the ice bugs. Plus, it was nice to be outside. My legs were a little tired. I did a medium long run yesterday of 13 miles at the dome and I probably went a little to fast. I'm not sure the dome is the best for me because I get to caught up on my mile splits. I may take another approach the next time I run their. I'm hoping to run most of my 11 mile run tomorrow outside.

I'll leave you with a new video by coldplay. Life in technicolor ii

Getting tougher

2009-01-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

I wanted to congratulate a friend of mine Joleen Smith for finishing her first ever Marathon. She ran the Rock N Roll Marathon in Arizona over the weekend. She put in some good training and should be proud of her accomplishment. I have a feeling she may do some more marathons in the future. Keep it up!

Not much to report today in my own training. I couldn't run today until 5pm and it was very icy and dark outside, so I opted for the treadmill. I ran 10 miles at a pretty easy pace. I made it a little harder at the end by upping the grade a little. One thing I have been noticing is that I'm recovering faster after these medium long runs. The Pfitzinger plan really works well for me. It has the perfect amount of recovery days to help you get the key components of marathon training in during the week.

I'm also excited that my friend Charlie Mahlen and his wife Jenny will be in Boston too. Jenny is running the marathon and charlie will be their for support. He bought us some Boston Red Sox tickets for that saturday. They will be playing the Baltimore Orioles. It will be nice to kick it in Fenway!

Why do I run?

2009-01-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

Why do I run? I actually get that question a lot. Friends and family will tell me I'm crazy for running so much lately. Some will say they hate running and even despise the thought of doing it. I have one friend that runs a little to stay in shape, but tells me he doesn't enjoy one second of it.

Running is tough on your body if your not careful about it. I believe it takes time to make it enjoyable. You need to be consistent about it. If I was to only run once a week I don't think I could enjoy it. I would never get in shape to be able to enjoy it. Everytime I would go out for a run I would be suffering. When I'm consistent I enjoy it because I'm in shape and it feels good. Especially when the endorphins kick in.

I'm not saying I feel good everytime I run, because their are days that I struggle or lack the motivation to put the shoes on and go run. I believe a big reason I run is the satisfaction I get from hard work. I actually developed a Hard work ethic from the sport of wrestling. Wrestling is a sport that talent isn't as important of an aspect as it is in other sports. If you are willing to work your butt off and be consistent in your training you can get good fast. Their are so many aspects in wrestling that you need to work on. You must work on you aerobic, anaerobic, strength training, flexibility, and nutrition. Not to mention how mental wrestling is. It is a tough sport to recruit kids to try, because it is so tough. Our society is a lot softer than it use to be.

I've read Dean Karnasez book 50/50 where he runs 50 Marathons in 50 days in 50 states. Pretty amazing and he talks about how running can teach you that there is a difference between working hard and feeling bad. That our consumer culture tries to teach us to live the easy life. Just watch tv and look at most of the commercials. They talk about making our lives easier. If everything you knew about life came from TV, your goal would probably be to live the easiest, most comfortable and unchallenging life possible. You would believe that the only good feelings are sensual pleasures such as the taste of a good soft drink and the fun of driving an expensive car and lying on the beach. It's not true. Challenging and testing your mind and body, even to the point of exhaustion, failure, and breakdown, can feel as wonderful as anything else life has to offer. It really bothers me when students I teach will brag about being lazy. I'll ask them why they don't try out for a sport or go to a gym to work out and they laugh and say they are too lazy. After school they would rather hit McDonalds and then go home and play some Xbox.

Marathon running is taking off in our country. The Chicago Marathon for example has over 45,000 runners in it. There are marathons in every state and almost every big city in the US. This running phenomenon could be in part a largely unconscious backlash against comfort culture and the easy life. Heated seats and online shopping have created a void that we're all sensing. Our modern comforts and conveniences have accumulated to the point that they have stopped making us feel better and started making us feel worse. Some primal instinct inside is trying to tell us that what is needed is a good, hard sweat-some struggle in our lives; some physical challenge. The marathon may fill this void for people.

Today I had a great long run. I met Jerry Ross and some of his training group at the Sports Dome at 10am. A group of 4 of us did 16 miles outside and then Jerry and I did 5 more in the dome to give us 21 miles. This also gave me 81 miles for the week. I do keep track of my mileage with a training log. It's always updated on the right hand side of my blog under "Tom Ritchie- Training log". It was a perfect day for running. It was about 35 degrees out and sunny. It was so nice to actually get outside after the crazy weather we had this week.

Quick run down for this past week:
1/12- 6 miles
1/13- 10 miles
1/14- 15 miles
1/15- 10 miles (6am/4pm)
1/16- 13 miles
1/17- 6 miles
1/18- 21 miles

= 81 miles for the week.

Sports Dome

2009-01-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

Another day of school cancelled. This day will have to be made up though. The kids were excited, but they were just on break and I'm starting to get tired of trying to entertain them. I'd send them outside, but it's an ice rink outside our house and they might blow away.

Today called for 13 miles and I really didn't feel like running on the treadmill. I sucked it up and paid 10 dollars to run in our sports dome. It is a super facility and I would use it a lot more if I was training for 5K/10K races. Or if I didn't have my own treadmill. It has a 400 meter (a little more) track inside that goes around field turf. The turf is used by soccer, football, baseball, softball, etc... It is great for our community!

I started at an easy pace to warm-up and I felt really good today. I progressively picked it up every mile. I would run in lane 1, lane 2, lane 3, and lane 4 for a whole lap each mile. That way it was easy for me to keep track of my miles. For some reason I took mile splits today. I'm not sure what the exact mile times were since the track is about 413 meters around and I also ran in lanes 2,3, and 4. If I were to stay in lane 1, I believe I would subtract about 3 seconds a lap or 12 sec. a mile. Here are my splits:

Mile 1- 7:32
Mile 2- 7:08
Mile 3- 6:58 (ex. 6:46 if I was to stay in lane 1 the whole time)
Mile 4- 6:54
Mile 5- 6:52
Mile 6- 6:49
Mile 7- 6:47
Mile 8- 6:45
Mile 9- 6:41
Mile 10- 6:33
Mile 11- 6:33
Mile 12- 6:34
Mile 13- 6:14

It was a good workout and it felt pretty easy. I didn't mind running in circles when I have good music on the ipod either.

Another Ice Day

2009-01-15T21:47:00.000-08:00

Woke up at 5am this morning to get my run in this morning because I had to run twice today. I brushed my teeth and then remembered that there was a possibility that school would be cancelled again today because of the severe icy roads and wind. I went downstairs and checked my phone and saw that Mike Montgomery called letting me know school is cancelled again. I went to bed late last night so I took advantage of not having to go into school and went back to bed for a few more hours. I have really enjoyed spending the last 2 days with the kiddos too. Today, I took them to the movie "Bed Time stories" with Adam Sandler. It was hilarious and the kids enjoyed it too.

Today was a recovery day so both workouts were super easy. I ran 6 miles in the morning and 4 miles in the afternoon. Of course they were done on the treadmill at home again, but I really would like to go running outside. I have the icebug running shoes, but it is seriously like an ice rink outside right now. I hope it snows soon.

Here is a great tune by Chemical Brothers called Galvanize. I like listening too a little techno when I have to run tempo or VO2 Max workouts on the treadmill.

Icy Roads and High Winds

2009-01-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

I woke up at 6am this morning, took a shower, got dressed, and headed downstairs and got the coffee going. Then I turned on the radio and heard that school is cancelled in Anchorage today. We got freezing rain through the night and it made the roads like an ice rink. School is never cancelled in Alaska, so it was nice to have the day off. Too bad I already took a shower and was wide awake or I would've went to bed for a couple more hours. We were also suppose to have our End of Season Wrestling banquet tonight at South too, but we will now postpone it until next week.

My training program called for 15 miles today. Normally I would do 9 outside and change clothes quickly and do the last 6 on the treadmill, but it was an ice rink outside and windy. I guess winds might be over 100mph in Turnagain arm tonight.

So, I did all 15 miles on the treadmill. It was a great workout though and I didn't mind being on the treadmill. The temperature outside was 38 above and I had my window open so I had an occasional nice breeze. I started out nice and easy and picked the pace up a little every mile. The last 9 miles were around 6:45 pace and it felt super easy. I'm definetly getting my fitness level up close to where I was last year. It's a great feeling when you get in the zone!

Feeling Better

2009-01-13T23:23:00.000-08:00

I'm definetly feeling a lot better today. Still trying to get my sleep and rest when I can. Today I did a Lactate threshold workout. It called for 10 miles w/ 4 miles at half-marathon pace. I wasn't sure what I should run my 4 miles at because of feeling a little ill. So, after a 3 mile warm-up I started with 6min. pace and it felt really comfortable. So the remaining miles were (6:00, 5:56, 5:56) then 3 more miles at 7min. pace. I was pretty pumped after the workout because I felt like I could've went a lot longer at 5:56 pace. I was actually singing along on the last 2 miles of the workout.

Lactate threshold runs are tempo runs in which you run for at least 20 minutes at your lactate threshold. Lactate threshold training should be run at close to the pace that you could currently race for 1 hour. For serious marathoners, this is generally half marathon pace. This should be the intensity at which lactate is just starting to accumulate in your muscles and blood. The extra mental toughness required to get through a tempo run when you may not be feeling great should come in handy during the Boston Marathon!

The temperature in Anchorage warmed up to about 20 above today, but the wind has really started to pick up. I guess we have high wind advisory tonight. Oh well, this is Alaska!

A little under the weather

2009-01-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

This saturday I did a nice and easy 6 mile recovery run after my son's soccer game around 3pm. I took it really easy and it felt good, but I had a little upset stomach. By 8pm I started getting the chills and my teeth were chattering uncontroablly. So, I grabbed my hot pad and climbed into bed. I felt weak and my whole body was aching. I stayed in bed until 12:30p the next day. I wanted to get up but I just didn't have the energy, plus I still had a very bad stomach ache. I was suppose to run 19 miles today and I was very excited to do so. It would of gave me 77 miles for the week, which would've been my all time high.

At 5pm I felt okay, but still kind of weak. I decided to try and run at a very easy pace (probaly a stupid move). I ended up running just 12 miles on my south loop w/ Service extention. It's a great loop to run when you are training to run the Boston Marathon. It has lots of uphill and some good downhill to give the quads some needed pounding. I took it easy, but could tell I was pretty weak. I had almost no energy going up Huffman hill. I almost felt like laying down on the side of the road. Of course it was 0 degrees out so I knew I had to keep running. When I got home I just crawled into bed and layed their for awhile. I'm not sure if running was a smart move. I just hate getting off my routine and my training program. I always feel that if I'm sick I can still workout, but just lower the intensity. I must have some type of flu bug running through my body right now. My body aches, I feel weak, and my stomach is upset. Hopefully this will all pass in the next couple days.

Treadmill Running

2009-01-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

When I woke this morning it was -20 below outside. When school was out it was still -15 below. Like I said before I have the gear to run outside and be comfortable, but I just didn't feel like going outside in this real cold weather.

The workout called for a medium long run of 14 miles. Usually I would split this up when its cold and do some of the workout outside and the rest inside on the treadmill. Well, I did the whole 14 miles on the treadmill.

Sometimes I can get real bored just staring out my window on the treadmill. But, today it didn't really bother me. It was still light out for half the workout, so I was able to kill some time looking at cars and people passing by. Sometimes I can get zoned out to pass time. 20 minutes will pass by and I forget that I was even running and can't really remember what I was thinking about. Usually I'm thinking about Wrestling or a race that I'm training for. It's also a good time to work out problems I have in my head. Maybe its work related or something I need to get done. Bottom line is that you do a lot of thinking while running on a treadmill.

I love the fact that I own a real nice treadmill and its located right in my house. I have it upstairs. I call the room my workout room, but it was suppose to be a spare bedroom. It's facing a window which is nice. I have an ipod home speaker system for music. I also have some motivational running poster and my Boston Acceptance cards on the wall. I could do more to fix it up and make it a better workout room. It would be really nice to get a nice TV with a DVD player to maybe watch a movie to pass the time. I'm sure someday I will. I just love the fact that I'm able to have a workout room in my house.

It's cold outside

2009-01-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

It was -15 below today when I decided to go out for a run. That may seem extreme, but I have some real nice running gear to help keep me warm. Plus, the sun was out and I wanted to run in it. I really didn't feel like running on my treadmill today. Especially since I have a 14 miler tomorrow and if the weather keeps it up I may be inside.

Today's workout called for 10 miles (general aerobic effort) w/ 10 X 100m striders. I've made myself a Pre-Boston playlist on my ipod to help with the first month of training. It seemed to help today. I took off from my house and did the south loop with an extra mile added on at the end. It felt great. At the end of the workout my time on my watch showed that I was running an average of 6:53 min. miles. Not bad considering it felt pretty effortless.

I can sure build up the frost around my eyelashes, eyebrows, and hat. I've looked in the mirror after runs and everything is completly white. I get some pretty good stares while I'm running. It must look like I'm freezing, but I'm really comfortable as long as I am moving.

I'm going to leave you with a good cold play song.

Doubles!

2009-01-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

Marathoners can sometime benefit from running twice a day. In my training schedule I have recovery days of 10 miles that are broken into 2 short runs. Running 10 straight miles on a recovery day may take too much out of your body. If you split it into 2 short runs you also speed your recovery because each run will increase blood flow to your muscles and take little out of yo$u.

I woke up at 5am this morning (since I had to be at work by 7am) and ran a super easy 6 miles on the treadmill. I can handle easy recovery runs early in the morning because I don't really need to be wide awake. After work I did another 4 miles super easy on the treadmill.

To get my mileage up to 80/90 miles a week I'll have to throw a couple doubles in each week. Hard to believe I'm already in week #4 on the Road to Boston!

Back From Hawaii to the ice cold temps of Anchorage.

2009-01-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

I returned from the land of Paradise to some extreme cold temperatures in Anchorage, Alaska. It was a pretty extreme temperature change. I boarded the plane in Honolulu with a temperature of 80 degrees and when I got off the plane in Anchorage it was -15 degrees below zero. A difference of 95 degrees. At least we are gaining daylight right?

I've neglected my blog due to the fact I had no internet access in our hotel unless I was wanting to pay for it. In a way it was kind of nice to not know what was going on in the world. I did have my cell phone which has internet connection so i could at least get sports scores and text message friends.

Hawaii was an excellent vacation. It was great to be able to spend some time with just the family. We spent everyday outside on the beach. The weather was very cooperative. It was right around 80 degrees everyday and never got below 72 even at night. It rained a few times while we were sleeping which made things a little humid in the morning while I was running. We didn't venture to far from Waikiki beach but that is what made it more relaxing. Swimming, snorkeling, and laying in the sun for 10 straight days.

The bonus of this vacation was that I was able to get some real good training for Boston. I ran every single morning and got 97 miles in on the island. I'm actually kind of proud that I was focused enough to get up at 6-6:30 everyday to get my run in before it got hot. Plus, I didn't take time away from the family to go run. They were able to sleep in, eat breakfast and we were all ready to head to the beach by 9am. Not once did I turn the alarm off and sleep in. It just proves that I'm going to be prepared to run fast in Boston this year.

Here is my mileage on the island of Oahu:

12/23- 8 miles
12/24- 13 miles
12/25- 5 miles
12/26- 11 miles
12/27- 6 miles
12/28- 18 miles
12/29- 6 miles
12/30- 10 miles
12/31- 14 miles
1/1- 6 miles

Total- 97 miles

Hawaii Here I come

2008-12-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

After having a great week of training I had to get this week started on a positive note. The plan called for a recovery run of 6 miles. For me to absorb the training from last week and get my run in today I had to take it real slow. I also decided to do the run on my treadmill. I figured it would be the last time on the mille for awhile since I leave for Hawaii this afternoon. The run went well as I started at 7:30pace and never went much faster. But once I warmed up a little I felt great.

I'm going to do my best to keep the blog rolling when I'm in Hawaii. I'm bringing my laptop, but it all depends on my internet service at our hotel. I don't want to pay a bunch of money to hook it up. I gotta go and get to the airport now. Hawaii, Here I come!

The Long Run

2008-12-21T15:51:00.001-08:00

Today was the first Long Run of my Road to Boston 2009 Training program. It was a perfect winter run in Anchorage. The temperature was only 5 degrees above at the start, but it you wear the right kind of gear it is really no big deal. We took off from Skinny Raven around 10 am just when it turns light in Anchorage (today is the shortest day of the year) and it was pretty cool to run in all the low laying fog. The running conditions were great. We did the twilight 12K loop up by Government Hill and then did the rest of the workout on the Chester Creek trails which were nice and hard snowpack. I ran with Jerry Ross and John Clark and we were cruising pretty good around 7 min. pace for the run.

The Long run is a very important ingredient for the Marathon. A long run is any run 17 miles or longer. The intention of long runs is (obviously) to improve your endurance in preparation for the marathon. They should be run 10 to 20 percent slower than your goal marathon pace. If you do long runs slower than this you risk being unprepared for the marathon. If you do long runs to fast you risk being too tired for other key workouts during the week. I have learned from runners here in anchorage and through books/magazines that it is good to start off slow in your long runs but by mile 5 you should at least be within 20 percent of your marathon pace. Gradually pick up the pace so at the end of the run you are around 10 percent or faster of marathon pace.

These long runs do take a toll on the body, so its a good idea to take a recovery day the following day.

In the zone!

2008-12-20T17:44:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been on a run and it felt effortlessly? That is exactly how I felt today. I did an easy easy 6 mile recovery run today and it was suppose to be real easy. I brought my watch, but I didn't pay close attention to it. Sometimes I can get so caught up trying to hit a decent mile split that I work to hard on the easy days. I just read a good article in the new JanuaryFebruary 2009 Running Times magazine. The article was called "Running on the Shoulders of Giants". It discussed how some of Kenya's great runners take it real easy on their easy runs. Some runs were 2-3 minutes slower than their tempo pace. The main concept I learned from the article is that you should go easy on the easy days, so you can go hard on the hard days. Since I'll be increasing my mileage to 80-90 miles a week in this training session, I'll definetly need to take these easy days real easy.

Today's run also gave me a big appreciation for being fit. I was running around 7:00- 7:15 pace and trying to run slower. I felt real aware of my body and I was in a pleasent zone. Maybe it was the endorphins kicking in. I definetly had a runners buzz going on. I felt like taking off and droping the pace down too sub 6 pace, but I was smart and kept it easy. It felt so good that I wanted to keep running for a couple hours, but I forced myself to stop after 6 miles.

Day's like today make me glad that I'm a runner.

I didn't have time to blog yesterday, but I did get my 10 mile run in outside. Pretty good effort.

Recovery Runs

2008-12-18T14:30:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day of school for students before they go on christmas break. It will be a much needed break for students and myself. It'll be nice to be able to train and not have to worry work for a couple weeks. Plus, I'll be going to Hawaii for 10 days. Running outside in shorts will be nice.

Today's workout was an easy 6 mile recovery run. I ran it outside from my house to Huffman and back. To do a recovery run correctly you gotta make sure you take it somewhat easy. A lot of time you can get caught up in running fast because you feel good, but you really aren't giving your body the rest it may need. I usually have to remind myself a couple times during the run to take it easy and slow down. I really like my recovery days. I still get a run in, but it's at an easy pace.

I bought a recovery drink for the first time in my life from the Power Bar Company. I've seen my friend Jerry Ross drink it after a long run. I'm going to give it a try during this training session for boston. With my mileage going up I will try to do everything I can to make sure I'm recoverd for the next workout.

Medium Long Runs

2008-12-17T22:47:00.000-08:00

The 18 week marathon plan that I'm following has several types of runs but follows somewhat the same plan every week.

Monday- recovery runs
Tuesday- General Aerobic
Wednesday- Medium Long run
Thursday- Recovery run
Friday- Medium Long run
Saturday- recovery run
Sunday- LongRun

I followed this plan last year and I really liked it. The recovery runs gave me a chance to really absorb the training (as long as I took them real slow). I usually only wear my heart rate monitor on the recovery runs to make sure I'm doing them real easy. I try not to let my heart rate get past 140 bpm.

Today I did a 12 mile medium long run. Medium long runs are usually from 11-16 miles long. 17+ is considered a long run. The temperature today was 9 above. I did the first 8 miles outside and the last 4 on the treadmill. When it's cold out I like to split the medium-long and long runs up and do some outside and the remaining miles on the treadmill. For one, it gets me out of the cold. It also gives me something to look forward too. Plus, I really like it. I change my clothes and get on some shorts (I try to change in less than 3 min.) Running on the treadmill gives me an idea of what my pace is at and plus I have my water right their too. I felt pretty good today. My legs felt a little tired. I think it was from the striders yesterday. Overall another quality workout.

I did some Christmas shopping tonight and bought my son an ipod touch. They are sweet. I think I may buy one myself.

Can I please just get my run done today?

2008-12-16T21:47:00.000-08:00

Today was Day #2 on my way to Boston. The plan was to do a General Aerobic 8 mile run with 10X100 strides. I was excited because the sun was out today (even though it was only 12 above). I really wanted to do this run outside because I feel it is important to get just as many days outside as inside in the winter. But, life got in the way. Our furnace stopped working last night and our house was freezing. So, after I picked the kids up after school I had to wait for the heating company to come over and fix the furnace. He didn't get here until 4:15 and it was 5pm and dark by the time he left. I was hungry and in a bad mood having to postpone my workout. Plus, I didn't feel like running in the dark. I ended up just jumping on the treadmill and did the workout. I had a good run but could tell I was a little tired and not in the groove. I did the striders on the treadmill too, which I find kind of difficult because of having to push the buttons to speed up and slow back down.
I had every reason to just take a day off, but I'm in Boston training mode.
When I set my mind to stick to a plan I am pretty good at following through with it. There are no excuses for not getting it done.

One of my favoriet bands is Coldplay. I'm going to leave you with a live version of Lost.

Road to Boston 2009 Begins today!

2008-12-15T22:13:00.000-08:00

Well, here i go. I'm officially training for the 2009 Boston Marathon. I'm going to follow the same 18 week program as I did last year, but up the mileage just a little bit. I am really excited to begin. Wrestling finished this weekend and my team had a very successful season. It's always nice to put in a lot of hard work and finish the season on a positive note. We had another individual state champion in Luke Shelley.
It was the 5th individual state championship for South. We also had seven kids place in the top six in state. I am really excited for the potential our team has in years to come.

Now that the season is over I transform myself from being a coach to an athlete myself. It may sound selfish, but if I going to continue to coach wrestling I need this off-season time to focus on myself as an athlete and to focus on my personal health.

So, my first workout of the Road to Boston 2009 was an easy 5 miler on the treadmill. It wasn't that cold outside and I really wanted to do this workout outside, but I was running out of time and it was just easier to jump on the treadmill. I kept the run real easy, but I was very excited at the same time. I was constantly visualizing myself running the Boston Marathon. My goal this year is to run a sub 2:40:00 marathon and to not falter from my training program. If I do this I should stay injury free and get in the best cardiovascular shape of my life. I'm Ready!

2008 Boston Marathon

2008-11-30T19:20:00.001-08:00

Since I was pumped about my success at the Mayors Marathon, I was ready to tackle another marathon soon. What better than the grand daddy of them all? BOSTON. I signed up for the Boston Marathon and bought my plane ticket that October. A good six months before the race. I was going to put more effort into this marathon than I have for any race in my life. I have had a good year of running up to this point. I got a PR for the 5K (16:48), Marathon (2:53:16), and 10K (34:49). I was pretty comfortable running 40-50 miles a week, but I knew I could step it up and do some higher mileage. I also made a huge investment that fall. I bought a precor treadmill (best purchase of my life). I knew if I wanted to get serious about training I would need a treadmill. Especially in Alaska where the elements can be too much outside. Or you just need a break and want to run with shorts and a t-shirt on. It was a higher end treadmill. I bought it on sale for $3,500.
Some people said I was crazy. I could've bought a nice snowmachine, etc... I just knew I would come out of the winter fit, which is better than sitting on a machine riding around the snow anyways. I also didn't want to have to go to the athletic club to use one. Most clubs only let you go for 30-60 minutes at a time plus I didn't want my sweat flying all over the people next to me. I put my treadmill upstairs next to the window. I have music set up and I can stare out my window to keep me busy. I would like to eventually get a tv set up in their to watch sporting events or movies to pass the time on an easy run.

I had a lot of help for this marathon. The people who helped me the most were Jerry Ross, John Clark, Monica Tibbetts, and Kris & Kristi Waythomas. I went into Skinnyraven one day to ask Jerry and JC to set me up a plan to get ready for Boston. Jerry pointed me to a book called "Advanced Marathoning" by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas.
In this book I found and 18 week-more than 70 miles a week plan. Jerry used this book a lot when he was preparing for Boston the year before. So, I trusted him and bought it. I followed the 18 week plan perfectly. I didn't miss one workout and I completed every single workout too. I guess you can say that I got lucky. I didn't get injured. I did get sick a couple times, but I just lowered the intensity a little but still did the workout. I have always been pretty good to follow plans I have set out for me. At least in my athletic life. Having followed this plan to the T, I had a lot of confidence going into Boston.
I had some family running Boston as well. My cousin Michelle from Kansas City Missouri, my uncle jim and aunt Lamae Ritchie from Bemidji, and my dad also came from Fairbanks for support. It was sure nice having everyone their. I also met a new friend named Kurt Fiene who is a visually impaired runner. He is legally blind and still gets after it. He is quite good too. He ran right around 2:52 I believe at this years Boston. I got to know him through my cousin Michelle. They met when she still lived in Omaha, Nebraska. Since my relatives knew Kurt and were on the "Team with a Vision" we all got a rock star start. I didn't have to take a bus to Hopinkton and wait 4 hrs. until the race started. We hoped in a van around 8:30 that drove us right to the start basically. I changed my shoes, went to the bathroom, and slow jogged to the starting line and only had to wait 15-20 min. before the start.
The conditions for the race were awesome. The temp at the start was in the mid 50's and may have gotten into the low 60's during the race. Their was also a very small cool breeze which helped. Their wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was out. I actually got a sun burn on the right side of my face and body during the race. The race starts with a downhill the first few miles and if I didn't watch it I could've started out way too fast. I purposely ran slow the first 5K. It ended up being the slowest 5K of the entire race. I ran it in 20min. flat. I knew I was a little behind my sub 2:45 goal, but I didn't panic. I was able to pass Lance Armstrong around the 3 mile mark.
It was pretty cool to see him. Shorter than I would've of thought. I was feeling great just about the entire race. Going past Wellesley college was awesome. You could actually hear them about 1/2 mile away. I couldn't believe how loud the screaming and cheering was.
I felt like kicking it down to sub 6min. pace but I knew better. I was just feeling good. I checked my splits every mile and I was getting a little faster than my goal time. I took a gu every 5 miles and drank gatorade and water at every water stop. I still remember pushing it pretty hard up Heartbreak Hill while people were dying and feeling great. Once you get to the top its pretty much downhill into boston. I stayed on pace even though the last 2-3 miles were pretty tough mentally. My last mile split was 6:08 and I finished with a time of 2:44:01 good for 252nd place overall. It was another great feeling that's hard to explain. I had finished the race and was greatful it was over. I started to reflect on all the hours I put into this race. To make a plan and stick with it. Then to actually achieve your goal that I set forth. It was quite overwhelming. It is a great feeling. It also left me with a taste to run even more. I knew I would be back for another Boston soon.

Mayors Midnight Sun Marathon

2008-11-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

My second marathon was a much bigger success for me. In the beginning I was going to run the Grandmas Marathon again, but I decided to teach summer school which kept me in town. The Mayors Midnight Sun Marathon was perfect because it fell on the same weekend anyways. I basically kept the same Dick Beardsley Marathon training program, but did a much better job following it and getting my long runs in. I was feeling pretty good, but still didn't know what to expect as far as time. My goal was to run a sub 3 hr. marathon. I ran the Curtis Menard 5K four weeks before Mayors in a PR of 16:48 almost a minute faster than my previous record. Plus, I did that with strictly marathon training and no taper. The next day I ran with Jerry Ross, Casey Miller, John Clark, and Jens Beck. All four of these guys were top runners in Anchorage and I wanted to gain some knowledge from them. They took me on the mayors marathon course up to mile 16 and gave me some pointers. The run felt really easy for me and I finished the run having run 22 miles. If I would've just finished the marathon course that day I would have been right around 3 hrs. So, this gave me some huge confidence that I was ready.

I had a plan on race day to go out conservative and if I felt good to pick it up. I really wanted to break 3 hrs. so I also printed out a pace band for 3 hrs. to follow if I needed. I also found Esther Jurasek who is a great female marathoner in Anchorage who always runs around 3 hrs. and I knew that her goal was to break it too. She had no idea who I was, but I followed her for the first 9 miles. We were just under 3 hr. pace. I was feeling really good so I decided to leave my comfort zone and pick it up a little. I took a Gu every 5 miles and a couple times I took a defizzed Coke.

The extra caffiene really did give me a quick perk when I was feeling tired. My good friend Kristi Waythomas was the one who taught me that trick and she was on the course handing them to me a certain spots as well. I was definetly flying pretty good the 2nd half, but was getting tired. I finished in 2hrs. 53min. 16 sec. I was very happy. My first half was in 1hr. 27min. and the second half was 1 hr. 25 min. So I had a negative split. My father and kids were their when I finished and I felt great. Couldn't walk, but felt great!

My First Marathon- Grandmas 2006

2008-11-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

Well,
What can I say? I guess I can call myself a runner now. I've taken running pretty serious for the last 3 years. I have always ran though. I ran cross country in high school, ran to stay in shape for wrestling in high school and college. I've done plenty of 10K's during college and post college. I've always enjoyed a hard 20-40 min. max run. But what really got me hooked on running was in 2006 when my uncle told me I should sign up for the Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota.

I was going to have a few of my cousins, aunts and uncles running in the race too. So, I signed up and did a moderate Dick Beardsley 18 week marathon training program. It was probably closer to 12 weeks since I wasn't very focused the first month and a half. I did some long runs (I did one 20 mile run), but mostly 6-10 mile runs. I really thought I could fake my way through it and run 7:00min. miles and run under 3:03 for my first marathon. Needless to say race day was warm and humid in Minnesota in June and I was on 7:00 min. pace up until mile 9 and by mile 15 I was finished. I wanted to quit and I was walking during every water break and then some. My friend Eric Christenson came to run from mile 20 to the finish and I slowly started to run consistently again. I finished with a time of 3hrs. 26 min. and very humbled by the marathon. My cousin Michelle who I really wanted to beat ran great. She ran around 3hrs. and 14 min. She kicked my butt. Instead of saying I would never run another marathon again, I came away with a lot of respect for the event and wanted to prove to others and mostly myself that I can run a marathon well if I trained correctly.