Saturday, August 2, 2008
Marathon Training, A Big Deal (For Me)
Well, today I ran 15 miles as part of the buildup for Milwaukee on Oct. 5. I had plenty of company with my Elmhurst Running Club compatriots and had a pleasant experience that was enhanced by the cool temps and slightly lower humidity. This kind of distance is not my comfort zone and requires caution. It was my longest run since 2004 when I last ran a marathon (Boston in the 86-degree heat). I started very slowly (10:12 first mile) and worked my way up to the 8-8:30 training pace window. That gave me a 2:08:42, about an 8:32 pace, which works out to about 3:43 pace for 26.2 miles. Even with a fade, I think I have a shot at my new old-man qualifying time of 4 hours (60-64) at Boston. One thing I've learned though. Never, ever, count your chickens.. . Good luck to everyone else training and competing this weekend.
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7 comments:
I stumbled onto your blog yesterday (for the first time) and noticed you've written about a few races I've won recently, such as the Run for Gus 5k and Jim Gibbons 5k. I saw this post this afternoon and wanted to let you know, I am running Milwaukee as well (and I ran '04 Boston). I did 19 today along Sheridan from Wilmette to Highland Park and back in about 2 hrs and 2 minutes. This might sound crazy, but I hope to run Milwaukee between 2:23 and 2:29 (we'll see how my training goes?).
Anyway, it looks like your training is going well. Maybe we will meet on Oct. 5th? I hope to see you across the finish line under the 4 hr. mark!
Brent Alexander
Brent, it's great to hear from you. I see your name at the top or near the top often, but haven't known you until now. I am trying to cover the local running scene with a few personal episodes thrown in. Wow. 19 miles today is awesome. I'm trying to be ready without injuring myself while competing on the CARA Circuit etc. etc. etc. . . . See you in Milwaukee. Bob
Marathon training is indeed a big deal! Great job on your 15 miler! I'm half your age and couldn't possibly keep up with you...yet. :)
Nettie: How is your own marathon training going? I'm taking it literally one mile at a time.
-Bob
I'm training for New York, so I haven't hit any big mileage yet. I look forward to some nice cool long runs in the fall (or so I hope!).
New York, ehh? Better get your hill training in!
Hey Bob, I remember your Boston race well and the call you made from the race course telling me about the crazy heat and related issues for runners. My friend Cathy thought the essay you wrote about the experience in Chicago Athlete was so good, it's still up on her 'fridge.
Here's the link:
http://www.chicagoaa.com/features/bostonmassacreJune04.html
Cheers!
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