1,265 and counting. OBX next week, time to taper

Well, its finally time to pull back a bit and taper.  October is coming to a close, and the bulk of my marathon training is finished.  I am now at 1,265 miles for the year and I am looking forward to next week and the Outer Banks Marathon.

The last month or so of training has been fun.  I went with a Lydiard based training plan this year, and the last couple of months have concentrated on strength, speed, and sharpening drills.  Which translates as hill work, intervals, and pace based tempo runs.

I was worried that I would have problems with those types of runs.  Having had both hamstring and calf issues in the past, I thought there might be a good chance of repeating those problems with speed and hill work.  So, I eased into those drills.  I shouldn't have worried.  Having that type of training come after base building must have made a difference, as my hamstrings and calfs feel better now after speed work than they did a few months ago.

Another thing that worried me a little about the plan was how the long runs were structured.  Most marathon plans have you gradually increasing the long run until you get to 20 miles or so.  This plan didn't have any specific lengths for the long runs.  They were all time based, with the majority around 2:30.  But there were also semi-long runs mid week, and an out and back run each week at tempo.  So, my weekly miles were actually higher that what I did last year when I concentrated mainly on just the long run.  Of course, I do like to keep track of my miles, and for the record, I topped out with a 30K run as my long run.  Should be enough.  In fact, a lot of the long run based marathon plans top out at 30K (think about all those countries that use the metric system).

It should be a fun weekend.  I have signed up for the Blackbeard Challenge, which includes an 8K on Saturday and the Marathon on Sunday.  It's what I originally planned to do last year, until a nasty fall a few weeks prior to the event left me with a large bruised hip and no way to run for a couple of weeks.  So, its time to play it safe for another week, finish my taper drills, then hit the road and see how I do.

Until then, see you on the road.

Salem Lake 30K, 1,121 and counting

Finished up the month of September by running the Salem Lake 30K.

This was my first 30K race.  I have run 18 miles in training before, but my longest run in the last few months was just 15.  So, I was a bit apprehensive about the distance.  Instead of running this as a practice race in order to get a pace for next month, I decided to run it strictly as a training run, slow and steady.  My plan was to target an 11:30 pace for the first 15 miles or so, then if there was any thing left, pick it up a bit at the end.

Didn't work out that way.  I did keep the planned pace at the start, but then wound up slowing down towards the end, finishing at close to a 12:30 pace. I wound up with a time of 3:34.  Oddly enough, that is exactly what my pace calculator gives for running a 30K at an 11:30 pace.  So, either my garmin was wrong about my pace during the race, or the course was a bit short.  Doesn't really matter.  I finished the distance good and tired, but not too sore. Also finished with no issues.  Other than being very wet from running over 3 hours in the rain.

I enjoyed the course, a nice out and back around the lake, with a section of greenway in the middle.  Very well organized, lots of friendly people to run with.  One of the first races in some time that I didn't know anyone at all.  I'll do this one again in the future if scheduling works out.

Overall, the entire month went well for running. 158 miles for the month.  A couple of 10's, a 13, a 15, and an 18 mile run. Also a little bit of hill work and some out and back pace work.

One more month of training to go, then time to taper before the OBX marathon.

Until then, see you on the road.