19 days and counting...

My race countdown clock is now at 19 days. What was once an abstract, future date is now just three weekends away. Many runners I know have competed for years. They have t-shirts, running bibs, PR's and stories. Aside from a corporate challenge I ran in 1992 that is disturbingly fuzzy in my memory, I am a complete newbie.

I do appreciate the encouragement that I've received from more accomplished and experienced runners. Unlike other sports where I've competed, ice hockey, karate and, yes, tennis, there seems to be little in the way of trash talking among those who run. The Runner's World Loop community is an interesting and eclectic group of runners at all stages. Some are new to the sport and others are quite experienced. I often see RW Loop blog posts from people who run 6 and 7 minute paces and wonder what they think of those (like me) who brag every time they break a 9:00 mile. My guess is that they think "good for you" based upon the encouraging comments I've seen on mine and other's blogs.

I weighed in today exactly where I wanted to be. I ran 1.8 miles at 9 min/mile and, by stretching before I ran, I had minimal leg soreness. I'm ready for my first race. In fact I wish it was this upcoming weekend. But since it isn't happening for 19 days I'll take the opportunity to refine my performance a little more. I hope to maintain or exceed an 8:50 pace for the 4 miles. I've heard that racing provides extra motivation and adrenalin and I'm counting on that for meeting this goal.

Racing toward race day

I received a notification yesterday that I am officially confirmed for the 5K run that is part of the upcoming LI Marathon event. This event occurs over two days and includes a kid's fun run, a 1 mile run, a 5K, 10K, plus half and full marathons. This is actually the second race I'm running in early spring. Two weeks before the 5K I'm running a 4 mile race. I have about six weeks to refine my run strategies and work on my conditioning so that I can meet my goal of under 9 minute mile paces for both races.

This morning I tried to make up some time from yesterday's short run. I ran 20 minutes at about a 9:10 pace. Adventure Girl says that a treadmill pace equates differently to street pace so that 9:10 on the treadmill would translate to 8-something on the street. I think that's true, I've noticed that my weekend runs, though longer than my weekday runs, generally have faster pacing. It also may be that I can precisely measure outdoor running using tools like Gmaps while I have to rely on less precise tools (like the treadmill's speedometer or the Garmin foot pod) for indoor measurement. If I'm underestimating my normal pace and working on my speed it may help me make my timing goals for these upcoming races.

Now for the big question - what do I wear on race day?

A PR for the ER

 This past vacation week has been great fun. We stayed close to home but did a lot of different things. I've also enjoyed the opportunity to run outdoors every day and I've covered a lot of distance: 25 miles since last Sunday. I'm 56 days away from my 4-mile race and I'm confident that I can cover that distance at a credible pace. I'm feeling ready and what was once a comfortable buffer measured in months is now looking like an unnecessarily long gap that's making me a little impatient. I'm tempted to look for a local race between now and April to just get one under my belt.

One reason I'm feeling this way is that I reached a new distance milestone this morning, covering 5.26 miles in about 52 minutes (9:53/mi avg pace). This broke my previous distance record by about .8 miles. Although I was off my normal pace I was very pleased with the run. I struggled a little at the beginning (I'd expected that since the first half mile was up an incline) but quickly settled into a good stride and knew that I was in for a long run. One of my biggest de-motivators has been the adjacency to my house. As I get closer to home, near the end of my run, I usually begin to feel the struggle to finish.  I decided today that I'd double back a few times far enough away from my house that I wouldn't have an expectation that I was nearing the end. It worked. I was at least 2.5 miles from home at the 2.5 mile mark so I knew that I had to cover 5 miles unless I stopped or walked. And I never do either.

I was surprised by how well I felt when I reached my house. My pulse rate was slightly lower than average and although my legs felt tired I knew I was good for another mile if I had to run it. For the first time I understood how people can get through 10Ks, half-marathons and even full marathons. I can't do any of those but I understand a little more how conditioning prepares you to run for hours at a time without needing to stop.

I may take Sunday as a recovery day, either an easy run or light cross training. 4:00 AM Monday morning will come soon enough and I'll need to be ready for a fast 2 miles to start my workday.

Racing toward Spring

I have discovered that anticipating a race is a great way to focus on your training goals. Moving closer to pace and distance targets requires a re-thinking of training methods and priorities. The joy of running must give way, at least a little, to the rigors of training and conditioning. Everyone has a different method and I am fortunate to have heard from people who have shared theirs. The interesting thing about this blog is that those who read it are likely to be better and more accomplished runners than me. There are many articles on the web and in magazines about preparing for your first race, but when I hear about the experience directly from a fellow blogger or reader it seems more valuable to me.

Preparing for my 4 miler in April and then a 5K two weeks later is relatively easy right now since I have about 12 weeks to reach peak conditioning. I’ll need to figure out what methods I should maintain and what changes I should make to best prepare for these events. My new focus on core seems correct since it's about building running strength. I think my diet is pretty good but I wonder if I'll need to increase protein intake for strength as I approach my race dates. Established and accomplished runners do lots of interval training, uphills and tempo runs. I've done some but I have to admit it's tedious. Perhaps it's important to get past that perception if I want to hit my goal of running a 10K this year.

So what's the key advice to preparing for a race? How is it that most runners I know (online and off) are capable of running six to ten miles at any given time? How long does it take to get there? I've heard from someone who started running last September and is now preparing for a 10K in April. Even with a setback or two she has easily surpassed me in terms of distance progress despite my daily dedication. That tells me I should be doing something different but I don't know exactly what to change.

Today I will get out there and do my best against a 4 mile target. I'm hoping yesterday's 3.6 mile run won't be the best distance I can do this weekend. With the holiday on Monday I'll have an extra day to try. I'm hoping that the temperature will rise enough to allow me to hit the track. However, as we've all discussed, the treadmill is also a great resource for the dedicated runner.

99 days and counting

I noticed that it's 99 days to my four mile race. That gives me 13 more weekends to work on speed and distance. I'm confident that I can handle the distance, as I've run further, but now it's about pace. Earlier this week I started increasing the pace of my daily run and I've noticed that running a little faster than my usual pace (about 15 sec./mile) has been surprisingly easy. In fact, I believe that stepping up my pace has been more energizing and is helping me finish stronger. Right now I aim to complete the race with a 9:30 or better pace and I'm going to work on my splits this weekend to determine the best way to use my energy in the race. Since New Year's I've increased my weekday run distance by an average of 25% and I plan to step this up incrementally each week going forward. I'm hoping for a good result in April and plan to run a faster pace two weeks later for the 5K.

Trail running - the Emerging Runner's next frontier?

I was looking at a magazine called Trail Runner which focuses on running in more rugged terrain. AG, one of the Emerging Runner advisers, had told me about a good running trail near where I live and I was looking for information about running trails in the area. There was another running trail, about three miles south of my town, listed in the magazine's directory of races as well. I'm going to try the Muttontown Mystery Trail because it's very convenient to my home. My wife and kids like hiking so perhaps I can mix a run with a hike. The only downside to trail running is that the shoe requirement is different and I don't have trail shoes. Yet.

Today is the last day off from holiday break. Although it hasn't even been two full weeks I feel like I've been away for a month. I had a great time with my family and many great opportunities to run under many different conditions. I'm very pleased with the progress that I've made. After yesterday's difficult run I was concerned that today's would be hard but I got an early start and ran 3.2 miles through the neighborhood. I felt great from the first step and although it was over ten degrees colder than last night there was little wind. I wasn't going for speed and my pace reflected that but I really enjoyed the experience. Tomorrow will be a return to 4:00 AM running and shorter distances until the weekend. I plan to map my distance progress to see what adjustments are necessary for proper conditioning for the 4 mile race.