Portland Marathon Race Plan … Take 1

Technically this could be take 2 but I wasn’t really grooving to my initial plugging in the numbers into the spreadsheet attempt so here it is. A few overall points:

• This is the most aggressive goal I’ve ever set for a race. Not just the time but how close to my limit this goal is. I usually race at a pace where it isn’t all the way at my limit.
• I decided a month ago to go from a 2:55 marathon goal to a 2:50 marathon, I’m hope I’m somewhere in that range.
• Hills … I don’t really like them so I need to account for the fun between miles 16 and 18 at Portland
• The paces listed are targets, I’ll be around that but overall I’ll be able to gauge how I’m doing looking at the overall time at each mile.
• This plan is for me, I didn’t write it as a template for anybody else. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and need to make our own specific adjustments.
• All of this may go out the window depending on what Steve says

I plugged in my plan into the Rogue Portland Marathon spreadsheet and here is my current plan … subject to tweaking and/or major changes I’ve broken up the race into 5 sections.

Mile 1 through 8

Take it at 2:50 effort (6:30 pace). In some races I’ve felt terrible in the beginning but things pick up. I’m going to rely on my training and stick to this effort and make adjustments at the points in my plan where I’m supposed to. One or two bad feeling miles can quickly go away so it’ll be about the entire 8 miles.

Miles 1 to 8

I’ll likely lose around 15 seconds in mile 2 and 3 and on the downhill mile 4 to 6 make up 10 of those. That should put me at the end of 8 miles +5 seconds for a 2:50 marathon target.

The plan is the same for A, B and C for the first 8 miles.

Mile 9 through 13

The beginning of mile 9 is the first checkpoint. The decision here is do I think I can hit a 2:50 or not. If I think I still have it in me then Plan A is in force. If not then it’s Plan C, a less aggressive race plan but hopefully still a PR.

Miles 9 to 13

Plan A & Plan B

If I felt good (relative term) through miles 1 to 8 then Plan A & B are the same for this section. I need to try and shave some time now for what I’m going to lose in the hill between miles 16 and 18, but not all in one mile. My MGP is close to my limit already of what I think I can sustain so I’ll try and go 5 seconds under that for 4 miles. That should shave 20 seconds and put me at -15 seconds overall for a 2:50 marathon target.

Plan C

This is if miles 1 to 8 are a real struggle and breaking 2:50 just doesn’t seem like it is in the cards. I’ll slow to a 2:55 marathon based pace of 6:40 minutes per mile for this section.

Mile 14 through 18

The start of mile 14 is another check point. Since I just pushed a little for 4 miles I need to determine how that went. More than that I need to get back into a rhythm and just run through the hill in this section where I expect to lose 30 to 40 seconds. If things go well I’ll end this section down 10 to 20 seconds from a 2:50 marathon target which I’ll need to make up in the last miles.

Miles 14 to 18

Plan A

Don’t push from 14 to 16, stick to 2:50 based marathon effort (6:30 min/mile pace) but no faster and expect to give up 40 seconds in the hills.

Plan B

If the shaving of time in Mile 9 and 13 seems to take too much out then switch to 2:55 marathon based paces. Another 10 seconds a mile slower than A.

Plan C

Keep on trucking at 2:55 paces.

Mile 19 through 22

Don’t push … HOLD!!!

Miles 19 to 22

Plan A

Stick at 2:50 marathon pace of 6:30 min/mile

Plan B & C

Stick at 2:55 marathon pace of 6:40 min/mile

Mile 23 through Finish

This is a downhill section (according to the map) with some rollers according to Ruth and Steve. So plan to hold effort, well it’ll feel more like pushing … it is a marathon after all. So the miles are 5 seconds a mile faster on the 3 miles that are downhill than Miles 19 through 22. And then back to flat effort last 1.2 miles.

Mile 23 to Finish

Plan A

3 miles at 5 seconds faster than MGP then at MGP to squeak under 2:50 hopefully

Plan B & C

I hopefully backed off early enough with the checkpoints where I can just run this by feel and push as hard as I can and see where I end up.

The coach, Steve Sisson, assesses Team Rogue’s Race Prep 3 for the Portland Marathon

This is a follow on to my post of my own experience with Race Prep 3, undoubtedly the toughest workout of the season for Team Rogue.

Steve discusses what we thought would be a good measure of a successful workout and also how he felt about his own run.

Also, Damon … one of two people I’ve been running with consistently this season had a tough day but pulled through. He’s just gotten back from a slight injury but he should be good by the time we run Portland in 5 weeks.

Race Prep 3: Didn’t nail it but I can’t complain too much

Today was undoubtedly the toughest workout of the season for Team Rogue. Here is the description:

1.5M Warm-Up
1M Build to Top Speed at Track
2M Recovery
5M @ MGP w/ 3-5 min recovery
4M @ MGP
5 to 6M Hills
6M Continuous Progression Run Track

• 2M @ MGP
• 2M @ HMGP
• 2M @ 10K (26.15)

1.5M Cooldown
Total: 27.5M

After my workouts the few months I decided to drop my training paces from a 2:55 marathon target to a 2:50, which makes each of my paces around 10 seconds a mile faster. Going into today’s run I knew it would be very difficult so anything I could manage once I got on the track without completely blowing up would have been a victory. I just couldn’t manage it once we hit the 10k part, I was just a little slow at the HMGP as well but all in all this is the best I’ve ever run this workout so I’m pleased. My 2:50 target paces are:

• MGP: 6:30
• HMGP: 6:10
• 10k: 5:50

Here’s how it actually went:

Mile on Track: 5:35
5M @ MGP Pace: 6:23
4M @ MGP Pace: 6:27
Track MGP 1 6:27
Track MGP 2 6:33
Track HMGP 1 6:11
Track HMGP 2 6:13
Track 10k 1 6:45
Track 10k 2 6:35

It was amusing, as soon as finished the last mile targeting half marathon pace instead of speeding up I just slowed down. It was really nice to have some of the people not racing Portland on the track handing out water and Gatorade and more than that encouraging us to keep pushing. I could have blown up a lot earlier if Mike hadn’t been there with his spatula threatening to scrape me off the track. Thanks Mike, Ken, Mus, Kristen for the support.

Steve has been running with us so we can’t really complain about the workouts anymore. I recorded a video interview of him after the workout that I’ll post later this weekend.

5 Weeks to Portland, 4 Weeks to Toronto. GO TEAM!

Resetting my goals and adjusting my training for the Portland Marathon

I started this season without a real time based goal for the Portland Marathon. OK that’s not quite true … I did have a range of between 2:55 and 3:00 in mind. As I stated earlier in the season my main goal was to get to Portland injury free. My training has been going much better than I expected, both from aches and pains and fitness standpoint. From the first tempo run, to the first race prep and the second race prep this weekend I’ve had good runs even with the heat this summer. After talking with Steve today I’ve decided to change my goal and training for the rest of the season (6 weeks) leading up to Portland in the following ways:

1. The next four weeks are when the Portland group switches to track work, tuning up and peaking for the race. My original plan was to switch back to a tempo phase, run Portland and then get into Boston training. I’m now going to do the track work and try and peak for Portland.
2. I’m going to try and run the workouts at paces for a 2:50 marathon instead of a 2:55. That’s 10 seconds a mile faster for marathon goal pace (MGP) and half marathon goal pace (HMGP). That means from a 6:40 mile/min MGP to a 6:30 mile/min MGP

The 10 seconds a mile faster won’t be easy and I’m not sure how I’ll do with all the track work and upcoming race preps. I’ll have to see how things go and set a target time for Portland. There are still a lot of variables including the weather, work stress, and how my body reacts to the stress of the faster paces but given how well things are going I need to try and see what I can do.

2 Soul Busters Down, 2 to Go before Portland

Today was our second “key workout” or what used to be called the Soul Buster for the Team Rogue. The last one was a 22 mile run with 10 at marathon goal pace (MGP). Today’s was quite a bit tougher. The total run was between 20 and 24 miles. After a 2 mile warm-up we ran alternating 3 mile sets at MGP and half marathon goal pace (HMGP). I’m aiming for a 2:55 marathon in Portland which puts my MGP at 6:40 min/mile and my HMGP around 6:20 min/mile

Going into today I wanted to start at those places and then run each set 5 seconds faster to see if I can get down to a 6:30 min/mile pace for my last three miles. I think I’m just where I need to be for Portland, as long as I don’t get injured I should be on track for a good chance at a 2:55 marathon. The workout today ended up being:

.            Mile 1  Mile 2   Mile 3   Avg Pace
MGP       6:37     6:33     6:50         6:40
HMGP    6:22     6:11      6:15         6:16
MGP       6:35     6:23     6:34         6:31
HMGP    6:13     6:20      6:12        6:15
MGP       6:23     6:22      6:26        6:24

That’s 2 soul busters down and 2 to go. The next one is one I’ve never managed to complete successfully in previous training seasons so that one will be interesting.

Still on track with the training

Today was our first long run workout, 20ish miles with 10 at my marathon goal pace (MGP) of 6:40 We started at the Gateway shopping center and ran down to Barton Springs. The warm up was around 8.5 miles which I ended up running at an 8:00 min/mile pace, then 10 miles at MGP. During the MGP section I ran with Jason the whole way and we were on pace the entire time. It hills were rolling so the up-hills were a little slower but overall the 10 miles were right at 6:40 according to Jason’s Garmin.

I ended up not taking my own Garmin. That worked out really well, since I wasn’t always trying to look down at it to continually adjust my pace. Jason read out our overall pace from his Garmin very quarter mile so we were able to stay on track. At the end of the run it was time to stretch, then soak at Barton Springs, breakfast at Austin Java and a little icing with a cup of ice of my posterior and anterior tibialis in both legs. Both from a strength and cardio fitness standpoint I think I’m still on track with my training. Two months till Portland.

Running Garminless a little more

I’m glad and somewhat surprised that I’ve been able to ignore and even not run with the Garmin after I bought it. I set a goal for not using it on critical runs where pace is a big factor, so I can run by feel and not become a slave to the geek-o-meter. The tempo run course on Shoal Creek when we ran it had cones at every mile mark and instead of using the Garmin for the mile marks I used the cones Steve set out, next time I won’t wear a Garmin at all but a regular old stop watch. On my runs I also don’t use the Garmin for instantaneous or lap pace, I look at it at each mile when it auto-laps to see where my pace is and then adjust if I need to.

This weekend is our first “key workout” (a.k.a. Soul Buster). It’ll be 20 to 24 miles with 6 to 10 at marathon goal pace. The MGP portion starts 8 miles into the run and Steve plans to have a cone at the 8.5 mile point and then at 10, 12, 14 … The cones may not be dead on but it’s close enough and in the ball park. This Saturday for the run I plan to use my regular stop watch, the same one I plan to run the Portland Marathon with and the Garmin will be charging at home. It’ll be a good test of where I really am fitness wise by trying to go on feel and not pace. Of course, I think enough people around me will have a Garmin so I probably will know what pace I’m running

First tempo run and beginning to define a goal for Portland

Today was the first tempo run for this training season. Steve is easing us into these faster paces in a much more measured manner than last year. The tempo part of the run was 2 sets of 2 Miles, so not a great deal of mileage. Over the next two weeks the length of the sets will increase until I think we’ll be at a longer tempo run by close to the end of the month.

At CIM I managed to run the marathon in 2 hours 59 minutes, putting my marathon pace (MGP) at around 6:50 min/mile. That would be around 6:30 min/mile for a half marathon or tempo. For Portland I’d like to try and be in shape for a 2h 55m marathon, which is a 6:40 MGP and around a 6:20 HMGP. Going into today I wanted to try for a a 6:20 tempo pace.

When we were starting Steve said we’d likely run a little fast so we should be careful. It was a pleasant surprise that the pace really wasn’t a struggle and was relatively relaxed. The first mile was a little fast since we got carried away at the start (I blame Damon and Andrew . The miles were 6:06, 6:14, 6:15, 5:56. The middle two miles (last of the first set and first of the second set) were comfortable, and that pace seemed sustainable today. The four miles are generally downhill, 80 feet net downhill over the 4 files. I decided to push a little harder on the last mile, not all out but a little beyond comfortable, trying to keep the distance between Damon/Andrew and me about the same as it was at the end of the third mile which is why it was 15 seconds faster than it should have been.

Overall I’m happy with where my fitness is and how my body is holding up so far. I’m not sure what a reasonable, low risk, goal for Portland is on the way to an A race in Boston yet but right now I think somewhere in the 2:52 to 3:00 range … ok 2:52 would not be low risk so 2:55 to 3:00

Steady state on a new course

A couple of firsts today. First steady state run of this season and a new course (from where we ran steady states last season). As it was our first steady state the instruction from Steve was to run comfortably hard. Last year we ended up running our steady states on town lake trail instead of the roads and they were more progressive so the last couple of miles ended up being a little fast. I found the combination of lack of traction on the loose dirt on the trail and the faster paces difficult to handle as they quickly pointed out leg and foot strength issues. An example was the foot sprain training for CIM. I really liked the course today which included Windsor, Enfield and Lake Austin Blvd, it had rolling hills which kept the effort honest. Steve also asked us to run today by feel, and if we had to look at our geek-o-meters to just keep our effort slower than marathon goal pace (MGP). The reason for this is to allow our soft tissues to adjust to the change from running Easy during our base phase to the strains of faster paces.

I don’t really know what my goal time is. I’m hoping somewhere in the 2h 50min to 3h range for Boston. For Sacramento Portland my goal is to get to the Marathon injury free, that’s it. I’ve struggled with injury since the end of last year and just some consistent training will help me more than anything else. Today my steady state miles were mostly at a 6:50 pace with a couple of faster miles. The effort, except for the steeper uphills, didn’t feel too hard but as I would exert any more effort I could tell my form was changing. I used my form to control my effort and pace today. The two things I was using to guage when I was collapsing or changing my form were the loudness of my foot-strike and if my strike was changing from mid foot to more flat footed. I’ll keep this approach of good running form as the “control” for my pace for a few weeks with the hope that as I increase my effort and speed my legs are ready to handle the addition stress that comes with faster paces.

Good 27+ mile run with the team

This was my first week back up on my mileage in the 70 mile per week range and my second run over 14 miles since January. February was spent dealing with my left leg which had a lingering injury that moved down the outside of the leg, around to the tendon sheath and then into the posterior. This has left my endurance and speed off where it needs to be so the 27+ mile run today was going to be a challenge. It was even more challenging for the people doing the real workout.

The “real workout” was a downhill run from North Austin down to some hills that included Red Bud, Stratford and Barton Hills. At mile 20 you hit the track at Austin High and ran 6 miles on the track. The first two miles at marathon goal pace, the next two at half marathon pace and the last two at 10 k pace … followed by a cool-down and soak at Barton Springs.

Since I’ve recovering from injury Steve gave me an out and wanted me to run the 6 miles at marathon goal pace. I’m still not sure what exact shape I’m in. When we did this workout for CIM I couldn’t keep my paces after a mile and a half, I mean I couldn’t keep MGP, I was running close to 8 minute miles towards the end instead of my 10k target of 6:10 … so let’s say that in addition to the injury/recovery phase I’m going through I also had some mental demons today.

I’ve decided I’m not in a 2:50 marathon shape, probably somewhere between a 2:52:30 and 2:55 marathon on a good day and a good course so I decided to try for the 2:52:30 based marathon pace which is 6:35 minutes per mile, or around 1:38 minutes per lap on the track. Here’s how the 6 miles went:

Lap1   Lap2  Lap3   Lap4   Mile Time
1:38    1:38    1:39    1:40    6:35
1:38    1:40    1:38    1:39    6:35
1:37    1:38    1:38    1:38    6:33
1:40    1:38    1:38    1:38    6:34
1:38    1:38    1:39    1:38    6:33
1:40    1:40    1:37    1:35    6:33

When I was running the miles I didn’t really feel like I was hitting the paces. I knew that Mike and the 3 hour train were going to be going from a 6:50 to a 6:30 to a 6:10 pace so I expected them to start passing me and Mike did come charging by the last couple of miles. The support on the track was great, Ruth, Steve and Karen were spread out on the track with words of encouragement and some tips (move your arms … thanks Ruth). All in all I’m happy with where I am, I wish this pace felt easier but this is where I am, a little over a month left for Boston and to figure out my plan.

Also, thanks to Mike, Damon, Kristen, and Jason for the company throughout the run. There were others there too but these are the folks I ran most of the run with together. The positive thoughts helped me with the miles on the track as the mental demons surfaced. I couldn’t give up on my 6 miles at MGP when everybody was giving everything they had for the “real workout”. Nice job out there today. And remember we just ran a sub 3:30 marathon today on our long training run … ok if you don’t include the water breaks