California International Marathon

We arrived in Sacramento Friday evening for the Sunday race. A and I met my sister and some friends from Houston at the airport, then crammed into a tiny rental car and headed for our hotels. We dined well on Italian food and went to bed.

Throughout the night we were entertained by the drunkards next door, and were relieved to find in the morning that they would be checking out. We got up, had breakfast, and headed enthusiastically to the expo. There's nothing quite like a race expo, packed with vendors selling running/tri paraphernalia, and with other athletes. It's guaranteed to get you excited for the race!

After the expo, we walked over to Old Sacramento and had lunch overlooking the river. We wandered through the shops, then headed back to the hotel to watch the VT game. At halftime we walked to a nearby brewery, where we ate and watched the end of the VT game. Then we went back to the hotel and got our stuff together for the race.

Race Day: we got up at 4am, grabbed some breakfast downstairs (I had oatmeal), and went to meet the buses departing for Folsom at 5am (the CIM is a point-to-point from Folsom to the Capitol in Sacramento). The day was much warmer than we'd expected (uh-oh), with temps starting in the low 50's (instead of high 30's, as predicted). I spent the 45 minute bus ride with my head on the back of the seat in front of me (just like in school!). We arrived in Folsom, took advantage of the longest line of porta-potties I've ever seen (the race organization was flawless), and lined up for the start. I lined up next to the 3:10 pace group, and planned to run 7:06 pace for as long as I could, with the goal of finishing below 3:10.

I may have gone out a little fast (I was still with the 3:00 pace group after a mile), but I felt pretty good, and resolved to just take what the course gave me. The course was way hillier than I had expected, and judging the pace was very difficult when always running uphill or downhill. I finished the first 6 miles at just over 7:00 pace, and finished the Half at 7:06 pace (a 1/2 Marathon PR... Uh-oh!). So I went out a little fast, and I slowed down a good bit between miles 10 and 13. After the halfway point, I started having issues with my left glute/IT/piriformis (not sure exactly what it is, but it's been bothering me on both sides on and off for the last six weeks (although it's been improving of late). Anyway, the one on the left stopped working, and where I had been effortlessly holding 7:00 pace early on, I was now struggling to keep it under 7:40. I had a surge of energy and another fast mile at mile 19, and then the wheels were completely off, and I was running over 8:00. The day had warmed up considerably, and the sun was out for most of my race, which certainly didn't help (at mile 3, a spectator yelled:"the sun is coming out for you guys!", and I thought: "not for me!!").

I ran the last few miles pushing as hard as I could (but not getting much speed for the effort). Nonetheless, I was passing people by the scores. As I rounded the last corner and the finish line came into view, the guy I was passing decided he didn't want to be passed, and we both accelerated into a wild sprint to the finish (just how I like it!. I'm pretty sure I won by a nose, but will have to await the finish photo to be sure. I finished in 3:13, nit good enough for a PR.

After the finish, I hobbled around cheering for the finishing runners until the rest of my crew trickled in. No one was happy with their race (it's hard to be happy after a marathon), but post-race Mexican food lifted our spirits!

Nov 2 - 14

Boy, was I sore after that aggressively paced 20 miler on Sunday!
Tuesday: I was having a tough week at work, and I was exhausted (residual jet lag?), and I showed up at the track honestly wanting to just go home without running. I spent most of the warmup mile thinking about skipping the workout, but I didn't let myself off the hook.
Goal: 1 mi wu, 3000m @ 6:45, 2000m @ 6:26, 1000m @ 6:12, 800m @ 5:58, 1 mi cd.
Achieved: I beat my target pace on each interval.
My calves were already sore immediately after the workout.
Thursday:
Goal: 1mi wu, 8mi @ 6:45, 1 mi cd
Achieved: 1 mi wu, 8 mi @ 6:54, 1 mi cd
It was really humid, and thus was a really tough run. It took a lot of focus to stay on pace (more or less), and I wasn't sure I'd be able to hold it. I was pretty proud of myself for sticking with it, even I missed target pace by a little.

November 1 - 7

Monday: arrived in Pau, France for a training class. I spent the afternoon walking around town and checking out the sights. The town has some monster hills, and I actually got a pretty good workout just walking around.
Tuesday: Goal: mixed intervals, as usual
Actual: I was still running my warmup and looking for a good place to do speedwork, when I came across a group of runners. I followed them for about a mile (not particularly inconspicuously), and ended up talking to the guy leading the pack. It turned out to be the triathlon club of Billere, on their way to do a speed workout. So I joined them. Their workout was a series of "fractionnes" (intervals) on a 330m course. The idea was to run 10x 1 min hard, 1 min rest. The coach told me that the course took about 1 min to complete "if you're good". There were about 15 of us. Needless to say, I went out hard on the first one, and blew everyone away. I finished first on the second one, too. On the next three sets, the coach finished ahead of me, and on all of the sets after that, another guy did, too. I finished each set gasping for breath (and, I dare say, in worse shape than some of the others). After the workout, we did an acceleration up a half mile hill (8-10% grade), which Coach and I finished way ahead of everyone else, and I headed back to my hotel. Total distance: >6 mi.
PS: I checked out their website, and both guys who beat me in the workout turn out to have run 1:15 half marathons this year, and one had finished the London marathon in 2:33. No wonder I got my arse handed to me! PPS: the pace of our 330's turns out to be 4:50 min/mile (the slowest one I ran), slightly faster than my typical target pace.
Wednesday: I am ridiculously sore. Like it hurts to walk. It's mostly calves, but seems to hurt at least a bit everywhere. For some reason, its a different kind of pain than typical lactic acid soreness- it hurts!
Thursday: Goal: 1.5 mi wu, 5.5 mi @ 6:45, 1.5 mi cd.
Achieved: 1 mi wu, 5.25 mi @ ~6:50, .75 mi cd. My legs still really hurt. I wasn't sure if I should still run, but it seemed to get better once I was running (except the left calf, which I felt constantly, but which didn't seem to get worse). I stopped twice during the tempo, and both times getting myself going again was like pulling teeth. My legs are still really sore, and walking to dinner was an ordeal. Hopefully I'll be recovered in time for Sunday's run.

Oct 18 - 24 (Aftermath)

So...  I spent the rest of the weekend recovering from my idiotic pacing during my 19 mile Saturday run.  I pulled something in the middle of my right calf, and spent the weekend wearing compression socks to (hopefully) aid recovery.  We drove to Austin to cheer on some friends in the Longhorn 1/2 Ironman, so I had plenty of time in the car to unobtrusively wear my silly looking socks (I don't have the sporty looking sleeves; mine look like knee-high black dress socks). 
Monday: HRTC Beerathlon (chug a beer, run a mile, chug a beer, run a mile, chug a beer)
Averaged 6:10 min/mi, even counting the beer chug in the middle
My right calf was hurting noticeably afterwards, so I decided to take Tuesday off.  Since I had a 1/2 marathon coming up on Sunday, I wanted to give myself some chance at recovery. 
Wednesday:
I missed the group ride at work on Tuesday (meeting/injury), so I went out for a ride on my own on Wednesday.  I took it relatively easy, but did manage a 15 minute effort at around threshold power.  (probably not clever)
Thursday:
Goal: 1mi wu, 6.5mi @ 6:45, 1mi cd.
I made it through about 3.5 mi of my tempo interval (6:48), and suddenly felt something give in my right calf.  It hurt.  It felt suspiciously less pleasant than the "good" sore-muscle hurt.  I slowed up, and the pain wasn't nearly as prominent.  I ran about a mile at a slower pace (8:25), then gutted out 1.5 miles at a moderate pace (7:08). 
I am now very, very concerned about the calf injury, because it is clear that it has the potential to completely derail my marathon training, which had been proceeding so well.  Aaagh!
Rode the bike at lunch with my Thursday group (didn't want to miss riding with friends).  I took the ride pretty easy, but still was faced with pretty much constant calf pain.

I spent the rest of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday being nice to my calf.  Stretching, compression socks at night, the works. 

Sunday: Houston 1/2 Marathon.  Goal: 6:50 pace and/or finish without season-ending injury.  I went into this race very concerned about how my calf would hold up, and concerned that I would run through any issues that did arise, eliminating my chances of training well in the upcoming weeks.
Result:  It was hot and humid (78 deg, 90% humidity), and I started out on pace, but my speed quickly tapered off, and I found myself running consistently above 7 minute pace.  At mile 8 I developed a mean side stitch, that dropped my speed dramatically (I averaged 8:25 over a mile, pushing through it).  It took a significant emotional toll, as I felt my hopes for a great run completely shattered.  Eventually the stitch eased, and I finished out the last 3-4 miles at a 7:26 pace.  Result: ~1:36, 7:23 pace avg.

This actually was a PR for me, since I've only run one other half, and I ran it injured.  The real bright spot in an otherwise miserable race is that I finished with my legs feeling healthy.  This bodes well for the upcoming week of training, and I can't help but feel fortunate to have made it through the race without aggravating the calf injury or injuring something else.  I'll take being healthy over having a kick-ass race in this case.

Oct 11 - 17

Monday: 1000m swim
Tuesday:
20 mile bike at lunch
Run;
Goal: 1mi wu, 2000m @ 6:45, 1600m @ 6:26, 1000m @ 6:12, 800m @ 6:02, 1mi cd
Achieved: 1mi wu, 2000m @ 6:38, 1600m @ 6:16, 1000m @ 5:58, 800m @ 5:48, 1mi cd (7:00)
Felt great. Killed it!
Thursday:
Goal: 1mi wu, 6mi @ 6:45, 1mi cd
Achieved: 1mi wu, 6mi @ 6:48, 1mi cd
Felt good! Huge sense of accomplishment from managing to maintain pace.
Sat:
Goal: 18mi @ 7:40 - 8:20
Achieved: 19mi @ 7:55.
Today I was really, really dumb. First 4.5mi @ 8:48 (with the group), then was feeling pretty good; decided to aim for 7:15 pace, so 4.75mi @ 7:17. Slowed down to 8 min pace for 4 miles to talk with a guy in our group, then ran the last 5.6mi @ 7:35. Ran way too fast for my longest run in months, and regretted it the rest of the weekend. 

Oct 4 - 10

Boy, is it hard to recover from a race!


Wed: ran 3 miles; Goal: <7:00 pace
Achieved: 7:13 pace (and it was s struggle)

Thurs:
Goal: 1mi wu, 5 mi @ 6:26, 1mi cd
Achieved: 1 mi wu, 3.5mi @ 6:42, 1.5mi @ 6:36

This was tough. Somehow towards the end I found my stride (even though my legs were tired!), and running this pace didn't seem so hard. Early on I was working hard but never really found my stride.

Saturday: Long run/recovery run with A (14 miles).  We ran the first 8 miles together, averaging 8:30 pace, and I did a pick-up for the last 6 miles (7:06 pace), of which the last 3 were at sub-7 pace.  This run was a huge confidence booster, and the cool weather and low humidity definitely helped!

Sunday- cycling at park
Intervals- target power 95% - 105% FTP (213 W)
Achieved: 2 laps (2.36 mi @ 223w), 3 laps (3.5 mi @ 218w), 4 laps (4.7mi @ 216w), 3 laps (3.5mi @ 205w)

I noticed (during cooldown) that changing my hip angle made a difference in the feel of the pedal stroke (it also flattens out my back). I feel like I may be using my calves too much- I can pedal heel-down when I try, but it doesn't feel very natural.  I think I need to start getting in more time at threshold power- that will be one of my goals for the weekday rides going forward.

Halfmax Championship

Sept 27 - Oct 3
Race week: I had a massage on Monday (after a short swim). I'm not sure that this was a good idea, as I ended up feeling some strange twinges in my knees and calves during the week. I rode Tuesday and Thursday on my backup bike. The fit of the bike is pretty different, so I did my best to take it easy. I couldn't ride in the aerobars, as that setup is too aggressive to ride comfortably. Both days my left calf felt on the verge of cramping on the most anterior part- worrisome. Tuesday I did 3x 1000m @ 7:15, with 1.5mi wu & cd. Thursday my legs felt achy, and I decided I'd be better off without the run.


The race: We flew into Myrtle Beach around noon the day before the race, and went to the race venue and checked our bikes into transition. I had pasta for dinner, prepped my transition bag, and crashed early (~8?). On race morning, we arrived on site, and I realized that I had mistakenly racked my bike in the wrong section (I was surrounded by 20 girls). Aha! My race number is 105, not 150! So I moved my bike to the appropriate rack and got the last available spot. I got my spot organized (it was pretty roomy, since no one wanted the end), grabbed my wetsuit, and headed for the race start when the announcement was made that the swim would be cancelled due to high concentrations of bacteria (apparently a week of heavy rain had taken its toll on the intracoastal waterway). So... My best event: cancelled. To say I was disappointed would be a massive understatement. The race would now be a bike-run, with a random time trial start. A and I were near the front of the mass of starters, so we started near the beginning of the race.

Bike: It was a windy day (15-20 mph), Which made the bike more of a challenge. Two miles into the bike, I dropped my bottle of nutrition on the road (I used my half-size Performance bottle, which I'm not used to handling). I coasted on a bit, considering abandoning it, but eventually pulled a U-ey and picked it up. My goals for the bike (based on my dry run 2 weeks before) were to keep my power between 165 & 175 W, and my HR between 145 & 150. I started the race a little hot, and my first 12 miles or so my HR was well over 150, but I managed to rein it in. I was strongly hoping to average 21mph or better.

Bike result: 21.1 mph, 179W, HR 149 bpm. Right on target. (I'll have to look up what my pace would've been without the dropped bottle).

Run: I have spent the last several weeks reminding myself how to run fast, and over that time my pace goal for the run has crept downwards from 7:45min/mile to sub 7:30. I ran the first 3-4 miles at a sub 7:30 pace, fighting a side stitch the whole time, and eventually my pace slowed to ~8:15 (by that time the side stitch was gone, but it was hot, and I didn't have much kick). I had a few miles that were slower still between mile 6.5 and mile 10, then managed to pick it up a bit over the last few miles (still >8:00 pace). I finished with an 8:08 avg pace.

All in all, not too bad. With a swim (even a slow swim), I would have PR'd and had a good shot at qualifying. Without the swim, I wasn't even close to qualifying for Worlds.
Next time: Train better- more time running fast would've done me wonders. More runs after long rides. Bike pacing was good. Rode race wheels with latex tubes; no issue. Next time put Teflon tape on spare tube valve for extender. Avoid race week massage.