Avid reader Jon has posed the question as to why I have not updated the blog in over two months, despite apparently having much to post about. Well, several factors are at play:

• Heavy load at work (recession, what recession??!)
• We are selling our house (hard to type with paint and caulk all over my hands)
• I’d rather see my wife and kid than write a blog post (fatherhood does change things)
• Lack of literary inspiration (I get dumber every day)

Well, my wife and son are in Michigan for another day, work happens to be slow right now, and the house is clean and perfectly staged, so that clears most of my obstacles, other than my dumbness, but I’ll just have to work with that.

In any case, it’s been an eventful couple months in my world of running and racing. After running 1:13:10 in the snowy windstorm that was the Striders Half Marathon, I was able to ramp up my training, get some quality workouts in, and prepare somewhat adequately for the 500 Festival Indy Mini Marathon. Weekly mileage leading up to Indy was 36 (missed two days from being sick), 72, 69, 55 (race week). I got a few decent workouts in, but kept it pretty simple: just some tempos, fartleks, and mile intervals.

Indy turned out to be a perfect day: great temps, no wind, and a very flat, fast course. I ran some of the early miles too aggressively for my fitness level, but managed to stay steady during the second half and keep all miles under 5:20. The race yielded a huge 50-second PR of 1:08:35.

The only downer was that I ran most of the race in 10th place, then got passed around Mile 10/11, but then closed hard on another runner who was dropping back, but could not seal the deal. I got outkicked, ended up 11th, and lost out on $100. Now, I can almost care less about $100, but it’s more about what the money symbolizes. It represents the value the race puts on a certain placing. 10th place is worth $100, and 11th place is worth nothing. In addition, the depth of money always drives the depth and competitiveness of the field. If I place in the money, it means that I out-competed my peers, and perhaps even some people faster than me. So for me, winning money indicates that I competed well against the field, and it is competition against others and against myself that I seek.

Unfortunately, when analyzing the Indy race, I feel that I did not “want it” enough. I think I could have beaten my competitor with a decisive surge with 600m left, but did not have the inner drive to make myself hurt enough to do it. I’ve found over the years that kick is always there, it’s just a matter of engaging that extra gear.

Other than that, Indy was a great race, and a nice breakthrough. It was nice to get a half marathon time that I knew I was capable of. The race itself was well-organized, and by far the biggest half I’ve ran (35,000 people). The course was not terribly pretty, but was insanely fast. I thought running on the Speedway would be really cool, but that part ended up being the most mentally difficult, and rather grueling.  The track doesn’t look so big on TV, but it takes awhile to run a 2.5 mile loop at 12mph, rather than driving at 200mph. You can read my full race report HERE.

Immediately after Indy, I had targeted the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon for my next key race. I wanted another half marathon PR attempt, I wanted it to be at sea level with good competition, and I wanted it to be someplace fun. Seattle was perfect, and I have several good friends in the area who I could visit. In addition, when I contacted the race management, they were very gracious, and I was able to obtain an elite spot in the race. Perfect!

In terms of training after Indy, I decided it would be wise to regroup, and spend a few weeks in base-building mode. In the past, I’ve been caught in the trap to “keep the ball rolling”, and do hard workout after hard workout, and race after race. I ended up re-building a base for the rest of May. Mileage during this phase were 60 (recovery), 72, 60 (sick for a day), and 71. Typical workouts were “slow” long tempos, and fartleks.

The “slow” tempo is something that I introduced for the first time, and I ended up really liking it, and I think it helped build aerobic fitness. Basically the idea was to do a 11-12 mile progression tempo, but not ever push the pace too hard. I would start at 6:15/mile and end up around 5:45-5:50/mile. I would pick a pretty flat, easy course, and focus on just hitting a good rhythm and feeling good. I figure hills are great, but you need to learn to run strong on flat before you can run strong on hills. In other words, focus on the bare foundations of running…which is running. It’s simple, but effective. I also like fartleks during this kind of base phase, as they are good workouts, yet are not too stressful on the body or on the mind, since there are no time goals to hit.

Beginning in June, I kept the mileage about the same, but ramped up the intensity. “Slow” tempos were replaced by MP and LT tempos. Fartleks were replaced by intervals at CV or LT pace. I also added more strides and 30-second hill charges after workouts to work on economy, form, and turnover. My June weekly mileage totals were 73, 37 (sick for half the week),  70, and 58 (race week). All of my workouts were really good, although no single run was longer than 16 miles (no need for a half marathon!). Each week my interval workouts and tempos were really strong and consistent, and gave me a lot of confidence, despite not racing since Indy.

The end of June finally rolled around, and I was excited to finally fly out to Seattle. The flight was short, the hotel was great, and I was able to meet and chew the fat with a lot of great runners and other people at the hotel. Along with getting to know several current elite runners, I also got to meet Todd Williams and Ed Eyestone, who work with the race management. A lot of good conversations, and I soaked in all the knowledge I could, plus they were all just really fun people.

You can read a full, very detailed account of my race HERE. In a nutshell, once again, weather was perfect with great temperatures and little wind. The course was more difficult than Indy, with several large hills, but still had enough speedy sections to get a good time. Indeed, I ended up with a 20 second PR over Indy, and ran 1:08:15, good for 5th overall and 3rd American. Moreover, I will end up with a hefty chunk of change for this placing, which vindicates my Indy experience somewhat. So I left with very positive vibes.

Some races you get a PR, but not a great placing. Other races, you place high, but the time stinks due to weather or topography. And sometimes you get both, and those are great days. I did have a goal of breaking 1:08 at Seattle, but I think I ran as well as I could given the course and the fact that I was all alone most of the race. Perhaps at Indy that effort would have been under 1:08, but I will have to wait for another day and another course.

And lastly, one week after Seattle I jumped in the Blacksmith Fork Freedom Run, a local 15K on July 4th. This race is pretty low-key, with a net elevation drop (although is at elevation). I’ve been wanting to do it for a while. Seattle was obviously still in my legs during the first few miles, but eventually I worked out the kinks and rattled off a pretty good race and took first place. Like most people, I rarely race the 15K distance, so a new PR was ripe for picking as well, and I got it with a time of 48:14 (or so…the timing chips were wrong, so I used my watch time). The full race report is HERE.

Now it’s time for a little breather. I feel like I put in a series of good training cycles, and now it’s time to rest, lower the mileage down to 40-60 mpw for a while, and then rebuild a good base.