The 100 push-ups training program

Luka was just a pup in 2009

Five years ago I first came across the hundred push-ups training program. I decided to start it; my initial test of eight push-ups put me in column two. After writing one blogpost about it, I did not pursue the challenge -- I cannot remember if I even finished the first week.

But I thought of it again last month as I worked on a piece of my writing that will be published in an anthology later this year. In this piece I am citing Nicholas Thompson, who wrote in The New Yorker, “For someone who doesn’t run, the difference between a 4-hour marathon and a 2:50-something may seem inconsequential, and easy to confuse. But for someone who does run seriously, it’s immense. To make an analogy ..., it’s like the difference between doing 25 push-ups (not bad!) and 100 (holy smokes!).”

I couldn't help but think that doing 100 push-ups sounded a lot easier than running a 2:50-something marathon. Regardless, I wanted to work on improving my strength, and decided to make this push-up challenge part of it.

This time an initial test was not needed: I knew from recent efforts that I could barely make it to five push-ups. So I started in the first column of the six-week program.

Day 1 had five sets of push-ups, doing 2, 3, 2, 2, and then at least 3 (I managed 4). It was challenging but I did it.

Each week has three days of training, with a day of rest in between. The third, and final, day of the first week felt so hard that I doubted I would be able to move on to the second week: I did 4, 5, 4, 4, and the minimum of 5 for the final set and was absolutely spent.

But I managed Day 1 of the second week, and the next, all the way until today -- Day 2 of the fourth week of this program. To my surprise, I managed a total of 72 push-ups over five sets: 14, 16, 12, 12, and 18. Amazing. It was not easy but I did them (I had Tim check my form). You do not always understand what your body is capable of, and how quickly it can progress.

Clearly, this training program works. Check it out here. Whether I will be able to crank out 100 push-ups after finishing the sixth week is almost irrelevant to me because the improvements I have made so far are already completely worth it. 

Revenge marathons: risk vs reward

 "All it takes is all you've got," read a sign at about 39k into the Vancouver marathon. It made me smile as I struggled past it.

The mental and physical effort required to run a marathon -- 42.195 kilometres or 26 miles 385 yards -- is substantial. 

"Racing hurts, in ways both obvious and subtle," writes Joe Henderson in Marathon Training: the Proven 100-Day Program for Success.

Both your body and mind need time to recover from that effort. A general rule of thumb is that it takes at least a month to recover from a marathon, though it depends on a runner's preparation and experience as a marathoner.

Or, as Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter famously said, “You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming.” 

Perhaps that was the reason I had trouble writing about my Vancouver race; I was already trying to forget to make space for the idea of running the next.  

I always use one key tool to help me decide about a new running goal: does the prospect excite me? If I don't feel a few butterflies in my stomach thinking about a race, a goal, I don't bother. What's the point?

The verb excite is defined as 1. to stir to activity. 2. to call forth (a reaction or emotion, for example); elicit: 3. to arouse strong feeling in. Immediately after the Vancouver marathon, the idea of running another soon stirred me to activity: checking my schedule and race calendars.

It wasn't long before I found a marathon I liked, and one that fit in terms of timing, schedule and logistics. Now it was time for another key consideration: was it a good idea to do another marathon so soon?

I knew the general answer was: no. Definitely not if you are trying to race a marathon, attempt to run a personal best. I only needed to open some of my books on running.

"If you actually race your marathons (rather than simply trying to finish), it's not a good idea to do more than about two per year," writes Alberto Salazar in Alberto Salazar's Guide to Road Racing.

Tim Noakes, author of the 930-page Lore of Running, agrees.

"I suggest you race an absolute maximum of two marathons per year, or one marathon and one ultramarathon," writes Noakes. "But it is better to race only one marathon or ultramarathon each year if you wish to be running competitively in 20 to 30 years. Ideally, there should be at least four, but preferably six, months between these races."

Bob Glover and Shelly-lynn Florence Glover also offer a clear warning in The Competitive Runner's Handbook: the Bestselling Guide to Running 5Ks through Marathons when it comes to revenge marathons.

"What's the best way to improve your marathon performance? Don't do what many runners attempt -- jump into the next marathon they can find to try to lower their time," the Glovers write. "Most marathoners shouldn' t race any distance for at least four weeks. Ideally another marathon shouldn't be considered for at least six months, preferably a year for first-timers. Some experienced marathoners may be able to run another marathon in three or four months."

"If you marathon too often and too close together, you increase risk of injury and decrease the changes for a good performance," write the Glovers.

Nearly all runners, including myself, have found out the hard way that your body will signal clearly when you push it too far: it breaks down and forces you to rest.

"If we don't take enough recovery time voluntarily, the body will find its own way to get all it needs," writes Henderson in Marathon Training.

To be sure, not everyone agrees on the marathon rules.

"Well, no such 'rule' [of running only one marathon a year] exists. And if one did exist, some running rules are meant to be broken -- as long as you are well-trained and know what you're doing," according to Hal Higdon, who has contributed to Runner's World for longer than any other writer.

"On several other occasions, I have run multiple marathons. I ran six marathons in six weeks to celebrate my 60th birthday and ran seven marathons in seven months to celebrate my 7[0th] birthday. In between, I ran ten during the space of one year so I could run my 100th marathon at the 100th Boston Marathon in 1996," writes Higdon, a 2:21:55 marathoner, in Marathon Training Guide - Multiple Marathons.

Dean Karnazes, serial marathoner and ultrarunner, writes, "Having once run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days, I’ve learned a few things about recovery. Chiefly, I think it’s overrated."

These were all the things that went through my mind in the last few weeks. The cautionary advice exists for good reason, and I needed to do some careful thinking about the risks and rewards of a revenge marathon.

I have done them before, the first time in 2007, when I ran the Gold Coast marathon three months after the Canberra marathon. Those were not super-close but closer than all the advice highlighted above: in Canberra I had run a big PB of 3:08 (improving my previous best of 3:13) and I went a lot slower at the Gold Coast in 3:15, which also marks my slowest marathon of the 14 I have run in the past eight years.

In 2009, however, I ran the North Olympic Discovery marathon five weeks after the Vancouver marathon, finishing in 3:10:39 and 3:10:19 respectively. And in 2011, I ran the Victoria marathon in a then-personal best time of 3:06:06 only two weeks after finishing the Bellingham Bay marathon in 3:09:40. (I ran a 50-mile ultra four weeks after Victoria but that had nothing to do with "revenge").

So I have some experience with revenge marathons. They have been good experiences, and each time I made sure to listen to my body, and -- most importantly -- stayed healthy. While they brought good results (and awards), they never brought me quite the time I had hoped to run.

This time around, one key consideration was that I had slowed down markedly in the second half of the Vancouver marathon: I had reached 24K in 1:43:01, a pace of 4:17 per kilometre, or 6:54 per mile. The remaining 18.95K I covered in 1:23:45, a pace of 4:36 per kilometre, or 7:24 per mile.

While this was not a voluntary easing of the pace and felt as hard as I could run then, I did not cover the second half at the top speed I had planned and have shown to be capable of. A slower overall pace relative to capability should, or could, theoretically mean a shorter recovery.

I also took another good look at my training diary: In the 17 weeks leading up to Vancouver (excluding the final pre-race taper week) I ran an average 61K per week. I had looked at that number and felt that, if anything, I was undertrained, rather than overtrained.

But my long runs had been long, with three 35Ks and one 39K. And some were close to each other, including one after a hard race effort. The weekend after the April Fool's half marathon I had run 18K on Saturday, followed by 35K on Sunday at an average of 5:02 per K, my slowest long run, about which I wrote in my training diary, "hard, hard work."

Was it possible that, despite my low weekly milage, I was a touch overtrained, too tired, because of my long runs? I will never know for sure but this possibility informed my running schedule since the Vancouver marathon, with the prospect to run another four weeks later -- less (running) was more.

Daily walks and two yoga sessions a week (for a total of six post marathon), with a couple of great deep tissue massages, have formed the cornerstone of my recovery. So far, (as of Thursday morning), I have done only four runs, the longest about 13K. And I feel good about that. I'll do at least one short training run before Sunday, possibly two.

Last night I finally felt confident enough to commit and registered for the Windermere marathon, held this Sunday. Triathlete Tim will be racing too, in the half marathon, which starts at the halfway point of the marathon. On paper the course looks great, though it is clearly not downhill all the way.  
    
It sounds beautiful too. "The first 7.2 miles of the marathon runs through Liberty Lake’s upscale neighborhoods, pass Pavillion Park and well-groomed golf courses before connecting to the Centennial Trail at the Harvard Road Trailhead.  The Centennial Trail follows the contours of the winding Spokane River and the views along the race route are a big part of the attraction of this race," according to the race website.

"The visible and audible Spokane River is usually flowing with white waters, thanks to the melting snows running off the nearby mountains. The exciting downhill Finish is in Downtown Spokane’s Howard Street Bridge in Riverfront Park."

Last but not least the race director, Elaine Koga-Kennelly, was not only encouraging, but also inspirational. "She has finished 101 marathons across the U.S.A. including Boston and Internationally (London, Paris, Great Wall of China, Victoria, BC) and also five Ultra-Marathons," I read in an article profiling her on the Spokane Metro Woman Blog. She now races in the 70-74 age group and I cannot wait to meet her.

As for my goal, I will begin at 6:51-per-mile pace, in other words aim for a 2:59 finish. The only way to find out if I can is to try. I am excited that I get to race another marathon, on a new course!

Some post-Vancouver marathon analysis

Three weeks have passed since I ran the 2014 Vancouver marathon; I have had time to reflect and analyze my race. As usual, this event was superbly organized and I recommend it, especially on the new (since 2012) course, which is more scenic and offers a flat final 10K (except for a minor incline in the final 500m to the finish).

Most notably, I loved the cheering volunteers that lined Stanley Park this year.

I was grateful to be able to start, grateful to feel confident enough to aim at improving my personal best of 3:00:29, which I ran on the same course in 2012. My body has bounced back from a one-year layoff with injury starting in June 2012 better than I'd expected. Not being able to run for such a long time has renewed my love for running and my appreciation for the ability to train and race again.

Even so, the Vancouver marathon did not go as I had planned, hoped. It is hard to pinpoint a reason but I have a few theories. The analysis is done to help me learn from this marathon, my 18th, and improve in the next. It also helped me decide to race another, if all goes well, as early as June 1.

A few things stood out for me in my Vancouver marathon experience:

1. It was a wet day.
2. About 4K into the race, I was stopped to allow traffic to cross the course. I stopped my watch almost immediately and did not time my stop because it would ruin my ability to track my race time.
3. About 13K into the race, I felt I was running below goal pace and picked it up.
4. I passed halfway at 90:02 on my watch.
5. About 25K into the race, I felt flat, lacking energy, and it became a matter of slowing down as little as possible.
6. I made sure to celebrate my finish, regardless of my time. 

Re 1 the weather: since the conditions on race day are beyond a runner's control, I was determined to embrace whatever weather we were given. Perhaps that led me to ignore them completely, instead of adjusting my goals. Then again, the rain was not torrential (not that I can recall anyway) and the temperature was OK. I do not think the weather influenced my race much.

Re 2 While I had read about the possibility of being stopped for traffic, I had not expected this to happen to the runners on 3-hour pace. By 4K I had just found my rhythm, and was stunned when I, and other runners near me, had to stop. I tried to stay calm, but I might have spent a little more energy than was wise when we got running again. Did I go too fast here?

Re 3 After about 13K there was a short out-and-back section, and a timing mat. I remember thinking here that I was probably taking it too easy if I wanted to stick with my 2:59 goal, and that I needed to decide to commit to my goal now if I wanted to have a chance at achieving it. I might have sped up too much here.

Re 4 When I was stopped just after 4K, I also stopped my watch. There were timing mats to adjust our race time. So I did not take a split of our wait time, as I wanted to keep track of my race time overall. The official results show that I crossed the halfway point at 90:22, and they tracked my time at the 4K stop at 13 seconds, which would put me at halfway at 90:09. My own watch showed me passing halfway at 90:02--I remember thinking at this stage, great, I am on track for 2:59. 

Re 5 But after about 25K my energy levels just sank. My body also felt stiff, particularly on the right side. Was it just a dip? Would I feel better in a few kilometres? Had I run too fast? Was I having an off-day? I focused on running as well as I felt I could, trying to slow down as little as possible. But I knew I was slowing. And could feel my Sub-3 goal slipping away.

Re 6 As I ran to the finish line, I felt a surge of happiness. The clock ahead read 3:06-something. More than six minutes slower than two years ago. Seven minutes slower than my goal. But I was here finishing a marathon, when a year earlier I had still been unable to run, without any sign that I might return to training at all. So I celebrated. A 3:06 marathon is nothing to be disappointed about as an amateur runner. Heck, finishing a marathon at all is worth some fist-pumping.

As it turned out, photographer Pat Cheung captured that moment:

Each marathon finish is worth celebrating 

Taking stock before Vancouver marathon

Six days to go until the BMO Vancouver Marathon. A year ago I could not race, I could not even run. So I am extra grateful to be on the start line in 2014 as one of the elite runners again.  

It will be my fifth start at this event, which has brought me both my slowest and my fastest times for the 10 marathons I have run since moving (back) to Canada 6-1/2 years ago: 3:12:56 in 2008 and 3:00:29 in 2012. The latter was a breakthrough marathon, a personal best by 5:37. 

Like in 2012, I plan to start at 4:15/km pace, and aim to finish in 2:59. I am confident but also well aware that there are no guarantees in the marathon: this will be my 18th after all. While it may seem that I have been at this Sub-3 marathon thing for a while, this is only my third marathon that I am actually starting at Sub-3 pace.

Last December I began the Seattle marathon at Sub-3 pace too. Things were a little different. After a one-year enforced layoff from running starting in July 2012 because of injury, I had to build up my training again; I could not simply begin where I had left off. In the 17 weeks leading up to the 2012 Vancouver marathon, I had run 1,914 kilometres, an average of 112K a week.

In the 15 weeks leading up to the Seattle marathon in December 2013, I ran 915K, an average of 61K per week. Yet I had a fantastic race in Seattle, hitting  halfway in 89:14, or 55 seconds faster than ever, and passed 20 miles (32K) in 2:15:32, an average of 4:13 per K or 6:47 per mile. At the 2012 Vancouver marathon, I timed myself at 30K in 2:08:08. At Seattle's pace as timed by the 32K mark, I would have hit 30K in 2:06:30.

While this is a moot point in terms of finish time--Seattle offers a hilly final 10K and I finished in 3:05 there, I was encouraged to see that a year-long break from run training had not affected my speed as much as I had feared. In fact, that's an understatement; I was elated to see how quick I had come back to a similar level.

For the 2014 Vancouver marathon, I had planned to up my weekly mileage again. But I got accepted into a one-year creative writing program, landed a big book project, and also was still trying to keep up with my Czech language studies. Something had to give and it was the amount of run training I did in preparation for this marathon, though I made sure not to compromise on quality.

As it turns out, I have run 1,037K, an average of 61K per week, over the past 17 weeks, the same weekly volume I did for Seattle. This number, however, does not reflect the fact that I did longer long runs.

Before Seattle, my longest runs were three 32Ks; this time I did three 35Ks and one 39K. I managed to do them at a decent average pace too, with the first 35K at 4:57 per K, the second at 4:42, then I ran 39K at 4:45, and the final 35K at 5:02 (I was tired for that final 35K, a week following a 87:04 in the April Fool's half marathon, and after running 18K the previous day.) 

Before Vancouver 2012, my longest runs had been 32K in 5:09 per K, 35K at 5:00, 39K at 5:02, 35K at 5:03. Of course then I ran double the weekly volume from what I have been doing for this marathon, so naturally I was more fatigued for my long runs too.

In the lead-up to Seattle 2013 I ran my 32Ks at 4:51 per K, 4:56, and 4:53 respectively. (I had a few superb medium long runs including a 29K at 4:38 per K, a 17.5K at 4:28, and a 19K at 4:34.)

Last Wednesday, I did my final track workout: three 1-mile repeats. Before Vancouver 2012, I did those in 6:03, 5:54 and 5:53, hands down my fastest until then. Before Seattle 2013, I ran 6:15, 6:13 and 6:03. Last week, I ran 6:01, 6:01, and 6:04.

Photo Greg Herringer

In terms of racing, I ran the First Half in February in 88:40 (compared with 87:27 in 2012) and the April Fool's in 87:04 (compared with 86:54 in 2012). Though in April Fool's 2014, I hit 10K in 40:26 (41:00 in 2012) and 16K in 65:54 (66:32 in 2012).

I also did a couple of 10Ks, the first in fresh snow for a time of 41:52 and one race my Garmin measured at 9.5K in 39:16, or 4:09 per K -- a second slower per kilometre than I ran for more than twice the distance the following week in the half marathon. Go figure! Those 10Ks were helpful in terms of lifting my effort beyond what I would be able to achieve on my own in training.

Photo Rick Horne

In the last month, since the April Fool's half marathon, I have been quite tired, partly from running and partly from work and studies, and that has been reflected in the pace of my recent runs. It's also normal overall fatigue towards the end of marathon preparations, so I am not too worried about that.

Last week I already felt much better than the week before that, so the taper should have worked its magic by the end of this week, perfectly in time for race day on May 4.

I am grateful and excited to race! (And, yes, a little scared too but that's a good thing.)

First race of 2014: a half

It has been two years since I ran the First Half Marathon, a popular Vancouver race. In 2012, I ran 87:27, my fastest then over the 21.1K distance, and an improvement from my 89:39 in 2009 and 89:46 in 2011 on the same course. Since then, I have run three faster half marathons.

My best, 86:54, came in April 2012, followed by 87:02 in June 2012. Then injury and no training for an entire year. The first half since then, in October 2013, I ran in 87:14.

I am not sure what I will aim for this Sunday -- I am healthy and enjoying my training. My weekly volume has been low, barely half of what I was running in the lead-up to my fastest half in 2012. Partly I have been cautious as I returned to training following a 5-week recovery from the Seattle marathon 2-1/2 months ago. And partly I have been quite busy.

Most of my training so far this year has been focused on endurance, I have done very little speed.

I'd like to improve my time on the First Half course, ie better 87:27. In the 2012 edition I passed the first mile marker in 6:39, and ended up with an average pace of 6:41 mile, or 4:09 per K.

But I am also tempted to use the event as a marathon race pace run, ie 4:15 per K, or 6:52 per mile, as I just this week received confirmation of my spot in the Vancouver marathon on May 4.

I'll see how the legs and lungs feel Sunday morning and take it from there. I am definitely looking forward to the first race of 2014, especially considering that only a year ago I was not able to run at all.

Time for my first post-injury marathon

In six days I will start a marathon, my first marathon in 18 months, my first marathon since an injury stopped my training for more than a year, my first marathon since I ran my fastest in 3:00:29 in May 2012. I am excited. And scared, too.

After 16 marathons, I have great respect for this distance. And a return to training after my first injury-induced layoff in 18 years of running has only served to increase that reverence.

Forty two kilometres is a long way to run and anything can happen. There are no guarantees, except that it will be both exhilarating and hard.

I last wrote on this blog some three months ago when I had just started an 18-week marathon training program I had chosen, very excited and grateful to be able to do so. By then I had been able to build up to a long run of 18K, the longest distance I had run in 15 months, which I clearly noticed mentally and physically.

It was a challenge to start an 18K session, as much as I was grateful for my renewed ability to run that far following that enforced break. A year without run training is a very long time and, as I wrote in my previous blog post, I expected to need at least a year to get back to the level of training I had been able to do consistently before my injury.

In the lead-up to my 3:00:29 marathon, I ran more than 100K a week, as many as 140K, in daily training sessions. My mid-week runs alone were 24K, with my long runs topping out at 36K.

I could not expect to do this again straightaway. I had to return to marathon training carefully—my body would need time to get used to running again. I chose a program that maxed out at a weekly volume of 88K (though, as it turned out, I never did run that). The program had five days of running per week.

In fact, I was not entirely sure whether I would be able to get ready—physically and mentally—to run a marathon before the end of 2013.

Realizing marathon starts never come with guarantees about finish time, I also did not want to start one if I did not feel 3:15 was possible—the slowest of my last 12 marathons over the past seven years. Again, possible does not mean guarantee.

On September 14, I did a 15K race in Bellingham. I was surprised to finish in 61:41, an average pace of 4:07 per kilometre and 6:37 per mile. I remember passing the 10K mark in 40.44 there, 65 seconds faster than the Squamish 10K six weeks earlier.

Increasing my running volume was great but also tough. My weekly long runs, which slowly got longer again, felt challenging mentally and I was glad they would top out at 32K, equally glad I would only have to run three of them.

In that first post-injury 32K run at the end of September, it took me half the out-and-back run to shake the mental weight of having to go that far. I did not wear a Garmin that day, but ran for 2 hours 37 minutes to cover what I believe was 32K, so an average pace of about 5 minutes per K, just under 8-minute miles. A normal average pace for most of my (long) runs.

On October 6, I ran my first half marathon post-injury, my first 21.1K in 15 months. I was not sure what to expect. I used that race to gauge my appetite for a marathon, deciding at 16K into the race that the idea of racing 42K eight weeks later was very unappealing.

I ended up crossing the line in 87:14, my third-fastest time ever and only 20 seconds slower than my best. I ran an average 4:08 per kilometre, or 6:39 per mile, compared with 4:07 per K, or 6:38 per mile, for the PB I ran in April 2012.

Triathlete Tim helped change my mind on the marathon, saying, “I would -- you have just run 87 minutes.” I locked in the Seattle Marathon on December 1.

I had eight weeks of preparation left.

That same week, on October 10 I returned to the track for the first time in 15 months, for a session of five 800s, as per my program. I ran 3:00, 2:59, 2:57, 2:57, and 2:55, and was happy with those. By comparison, in March 2012, I had run six 800s on the same track, doing 3:01, 2:56, 2:59. 2:58, 2:59, and 2:59, while in July 2011 I had done six 800s in 3:06, 3:01, 2:59, 3:01, 3:01, and (wait for it) 3:01.

On October 14, I did a 10K race around flat Stanley Park in Vancouver. Conditions were great, and I felt good, strong. I crossed the line in 39:48, but wondered if the distance was accurate as the start line had been moved. If correct, it would mark my fourth Sub-40 10K finish ever (I ran 2 in early 2009, and No. 3 in April 2012).

On October 16, I did my second 32K run, ending up with an average of 4:56 per kilometre, covering the first half in 4:58 per K and the second in 4:54. I was very happy with that.

On October 19 I flew to the Netherlands to visit my parents and grandmother for two weeks. I had not seen them for two years, and did not want my marathon training to hijack my time there.

Over those two weeks, I (happily) ran less than half of what I was supposed to run and missed two key track sessions. But there was a great surprise too. 

I had axed a plan to do a race in the Netherlands and opted for a 29K training run instead. It was an extremely blustery Sunday morning as a big storm was about to hit the Dutch coast, later causing millions of euros of damage and claiming one life.

My Garmin showed a quick running pace in the first half, as I averaged 4:25 per kilometre over the first 17.7K. Smiling, I knew it had to be the wind that gave me wings and that it would come back to slow me down on the way home, as it did.

Still, I ended up with an average pace of 4:38 per K for those 29K—a marked increase over my usual pace of about 5 minutes per K. I wondered if something was wrong with my Garmin.

On November 4, the day after I returned home. I ran 17.5K at an average 4:28 per K, according to my Garmin. Huh.   
   
Four days later, on November 8, I did another semi-long run of nearly 19K, averaging 4:34K.

On November 10, it was time for my third and final 32K training run of this marathon preparation, and was pleased with a 4:53 per K average.

On November 12, there was a track workout, with five 600s. I ran them in 2:12 to 2:15, a solid pace but nothing stellar. They were hard work.

On November 16, it was time to race, a 10K in Richmond on a cold but sunny morning, with a flat out-and-back course. I felt good and ran hard, crossing the line in 39:04. If accurate, it is my fastest 10K by 35 seconds.

Four days later I ran three 1,600s on the track. I had been dreading this session because the 600s, which I was doing at the same pace I was meant to hold for the 1,600s, had already felt hard. A 600 is only 1-1/2 laps on the track, while 1,600 takes four of them.

I did not feel like digging super-deep, just 10 days away from a marathon I am still scared of running. I took 6:17, 6:13, and 6:03. Ten days before my 3:00:29 marathon in May 2012, I did the same session in 6:03, 5:54, and 5:53, i.e. a lot faster.

So, overall I take heart from some solid race results, crossing my fingers the courses were accurate, as well as some great training runs in recent weeks where I was able to hold a faster average speed than I am used to. I have three 32K runs under my belt, and I feel good, excited and am looking forward to testing my level of fitness.

On the flipside, this is the first marathon ever for which I have not done a single three-hour training run—I used to do three to five of those before each marathon! I certainly feel underdone when it comes to long runs, as those always give me confidence. This time my longest runs were still 10K short of the distance I want to cover at a fast pace this Sunday.

Also, I missed out on some key track speed sessions, as reflected in those 1,600s I did last week. That’s OK though.

I do not know the Seattle course, other than from what I have seen on online course maps, showing that it saves the hills for the end. 

Nine-time Seattle marathon winner Uli Steidl told The Seattle Times last year that it is unrealistic to expect to keep the same pace in the final third of the course, as in the first two-thirds.  "You just have to know it's coming," Steidl said of the hilly last third. "The Galer and Madison Street [hill], people are pretty afraid of it."

I am just so grateful at having been able to prepare for another marathon again and the thought of starting one, as scary as it is, is also a dream come true. I am going to keep an open mind and, as my wise friend Dessie Suttle says, "Relax and let it happen."

***
Marathon history (excluding my first 4 marathons of 4:18 in Ottawa 1999, 4:44 in Sydney 2001, 3:24 in Gold Coast 2003 and 3:36 in Honolulu 2003):

                                                     Finish   1st half 2nd half
5. July 2006              Gold Coast    3:13:01  96:25  96:36
6. April 2007            Canberra        3:08:48  93:04  95:44
7. July 2007              Gold Coast     3:15:13  93:14 101:59
8. May 2008             Vancouver       3:12:56  93:17  99:39
9. Sept 2008              Victoria          3:07:10  93:37  93:33
10. May 2009            Vancouver      3:10:19  94:26  95:53
11. June 2009            NODM           3:10:39  92:53  97:44
12. April 2010           Rotterdam      3:11:51  96:06  95:45
13. May 2011            Vancouver      3:07:41  93:5X  93:5X
14. Sept 2011             Bellingham    3:09:40  92:02  97:38
15. October 2011       Victoria          3:06:06  91:23  95:42
16. May 2012             Vancouver     3:00:29  90:09  90:20 * PB

A return to marathon training

Last week I started a new training program -- an 18-week marathon preparation.

It feels amazing, exciting -- and natural. After all, I am a marathon runner, I train for marathons.

It has been only 10 weeks since my return to running, following a year of enforced layoff to sort out mysterious heel pain that failed to respond to various types of treatments and stumped a top sports doctor.

In those last 10 weeks I went from running two 5-minute stretches, with a 5-minute walk in between, to running 85 minutes.

I went from wondering if I would run again to, well ... running, and increasingly running freely.

It is an amazing transformation that has taken a lot of hard work at the Bikram yoga studio over the past eight months, especially in the last 3-1/2 months during which I took 80 classes. It is progress that I certainly do not take for granted, and I am carefully starting to rebuild a running base.

As mentioned in previous posts, I used Pete Pfitzinger's Return to Running program; however, earlier in the year I had done another program, which began with four stretches of only 30 seconds of running in a 20-minute power-walk (after I had worked up to an hour of pain-free power-walking following a four-month complete break from running and, prior to that, three months of short and irregular runs because of the recurring heel pain), and gradually increased to four 4-minute stretches of running with 1-minute walks between each over a period of seven weeks.

Then I had started the Return to Running program (on March 26) and followed it for 3-1/2 weeks, getting up to 3 stretches of 10 minutes of running, with 2-minute walk breaks, before finding that a single 15-minute run brought back the heel symptoms. I did not run for the next 5-1/2 weeks, while doing 32 Bikram yoga classes over 32 days.

The Return to Running program, which I started for the second time on June 4, went very well and got me to running 40-45K per week, with my longest run at the end of the 7-week schedule at 55 minutes on July 22.

Five days later I ended up doing an 85-minute run, 10-15 minutes more than I had originally intended, joining Triathlete Tim for an awesome lap of the Ironman Whistler run course; my body felt OK during, and after, that session, helped by a deep tissue massage the next day 

With that, I decided I would try the lowest-volume 18-week program from Pete Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning, which begins with a 53-kilometre week and tops out at an 88-kilometre one, reducing some of the longer runs in the first few weeks by a couple of kilometres.

I began the program after, or in a way with, the Squamish 10K on August 4 as the fist session called for a lactate threshold workout.

The Sub-3 marathon is still on my mind. Of course it it. Indeed, it was a key motivation over the past year as I did the work required to restore my body -- but I expect it will take at least a year of training before I will be back to the level, both in training and in racing, I was before my injury.

And that's OK.

With this marathon program, I am aiming at getting back into regular training first and foremost, rebuilding my endurance, and in the process slowly start regaining some of the speed I have lost. I have mapped out the schedule to target a US marathon in December but since getting to the race involves booking flights and accommodation I first want to see how some longer runs and tempo runs feel before I commit any funds.  

I am in new territory, physically and mentally, and I am monitoring my body carefully to gauge how it responds to training consistently again after such a long break.

Bikram yoga is certainly part of my new marathon training regime. I believe that my body is in better shape than ever in terms of strength and flexibility and at the same time I know -- I see it in the mirror during every practice -- that there are many more gains to be made. That's encouraging.

I firmly believe that I have come out ahead, and I am truly grateful my body protested so that it forced me to listen to it better, help it perform better. I am excited about slowly rebuilding my running fitness over the coming year, with two 18-week marathon preparations -- the next one hopefully upping the weekly volume to between 88K and 113K -- followed by a six-week recovery in between each.

By this time next year, I hope to be ready for another increase in training volume, returning me to the schedule that helped me speed up my marathon time by more than five minutes last year, the schedule that also allowed me to set my current PBs at the 10K and half marathon.

But my mind is right here, right now, loving the fact that I can go for a mid-week 75-minute run and do a 90-minute Bikram practice later in the day. I love to run -- I have always loved to run, and now I love it even more. I am so grateful that I can.

Returning from injury: marathon thoughts

On Monday I had a 55-minute run to do. It was the final session of the seven-week Returning to Running program I have been following, and I looked upon this run as a graduation of sorts.

In the past seven weeks I have found the confidence that I have finally overcome the injury that has plagued me for the past year, stopping my training and racing dead in their tracks (for the first time in 17 years) just as I was at the peak of my fitness -- a 3:00:29 marathoner ready to go faster. 

Seven weeks ago, I tentatively did the first session on the program -- two 5-minute runs with a 5-minute walk in between. The roller coaster of hope and disappointment from the past year kept a lid on my optimism. Yet I knew that my body felt different too.

Yesterday I ran 55 minutes without stopping, bringing my weekly running total to 2 hours 20 minutes. Guesstimating a 5-minute per kilometre on average, I ran 40km for the week. While that's not even half of the 100km weeks I had grown used to doing, it now feels like a lot of running.

Throughout these seven weeks I have remained both careful and vigilant. I have done nearly all my runs on a flat course, first walking about 15 minutes and cooling down with the same (that's also the time it takes to walk from my house to the start of a flat running route.)

I have maintained my yoga routine, taking 30 Bikram classes over the past seven weeks, or an average of four per week, to keep increasing my flexibility and strength, particularly in the right hip / glute area. That's six hours of yoga a week.

And those 90-minute Bikram classes are challenging workouts in themselves each time. There is a reason teachers tell beginners that their main goal is to try to stay in the room. At the Sea to Sky Bikram studio, owner and teacher Jena often reminds us to "stop wrestling with the door, you have already decided to stay."

"Until you do it you can't comment on how difficult it is. It's tough. It's ugly," Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has said of Bikram, which has reportedly been a key part of his training for the past five years. 

Aside from Bikram, I also stretch after each run, using a sequence of at least eight stretches suggested in Pete Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning. As recommended I hold each stretch for about 30 seconds on both sides, doing each one twice.

And I roll. Daily. I use the TP Therapy ball and roller but especially the ball and particularly for the right side of my hip and glutes.

During the past seven weeks, I also had another five massages to help preserve and advance all the flexibility I have gained in Bikram. And I will keep working at that diligently. Especially as I increase my running.

It is exhilarating to be running again. I am so grateful.

I know that there is a long road ahead before I will be back at my fitness level from May 2012. But I am patient. And determined.

Over the next few weeks I plan to increase my long run slowly to 90 minutes by the end of August. With that, I'll be ready to start the training program for my next marathon.

I have already got my eye on one...  

Vanessa Fulfils Sub-3 Marathon Dream

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A little less than a year ago, Vanessa Gosselink was preparing for the Utrecht marathon in the Netherlands where her goal was to finish before the clock reached 3:00:00.

In October 2011, she had targeted Sub-3 at the Amsterdam marathon, but had to settle for 3:02:42, a stellar time that was not only a personal best but also fast enough to earn her the Dutch national masters championship.

Utrecht proved a disaster—rain, wind, and a wrong turn resulted in a 3:07:50 finish instead. It was a sharp time given the circumstances, but not at all what she had in mind.

Vanessa, a former pro cyclist, originally began running to recover from a leg fracture that ended her Olympic dreams. As a road cyclist, she had made the Dutch national team in 1988 and earned two stage wins in the Tour de France Feminin.

After missing out on a spot for the 1992 Olympic team, Gosselink swapped her road bike for a mountain one and excelled once again; she earned three Dutch national titles, two Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg) championships, and was ranked in the world's Top-10 for three years, from 1993 until 1996.

She was selected for the Dutch mountain bike team heading for the 1996 Olympic Games but it wasn't meant to be. A broken leg three weeks before the Games shattered that dream (read more here). Once recovered, however, she found solace and joy in running. And a fresh goal.

By 2009 she ran her first marathon in 3:47, finishing a second one six weeks later in 3:31. She knew she could go faster, and proved that by running a 3:08 and then a 3:06 in 2010. The following year, she went faster again, crossing the line in 3:05, before speeding up to 3:02:42.

Utrecht, held in April 2012, was the first marathon where she did not improve her time. She realized weather, organization, and plain bad luck had played a key role in that result. Still, doubt is never far away.

But the confidence she was capable of Sub-3 won out.

Six months later, she proved herself right when she smashed her personal best by a whopping eight minutes, flying across the Amsterdam marathon finish line in 2:54:09.

Another two months later she improved her half marathon time to 82:48, speeding up from her previous PB of 86:41.

To top it off, she ran the Apeldoorn marathon in February 2013, finishing in 2:53:57.

To what do you credit the breakthrough successes you have experienced in the past six months?
First of all, I have not been injured (knock wood), so I have been training consistently, day in and out, just taking a break once a week (mostly Saturday) and an easy run on the Mondays. I think this is the most important factor.

Second, I started to do some short-interval training seriously on the road, where every 100 meter is marked, which makes it easy to do short intervals. For example, 3 sets of 3x300metre and 1x 400metre at 100 percent. Really hard, but very effective.

Third, I lost some weight… I am not big in the first place, but losing some muscles in my upper body and thereby another 2-3 kilograms makes me just that little lighter. So all energy and oxygen can flow into my legs, and no "useless muscles" in my upper body are using any of the precious energy during the race.

Though I must admit that I have gained them again after the last marathon, because my body just needs a break. Getting into my next goal, I will have to cut back again on all the delightful chocolate.

Which result are you most proud of, or have you enjoyed most, and why?
The marathon in Apeldoorn was a big surprise. A hilly course and I never expected to run a personal best and almost winning the race. Finishing second feels great. And in the last 10K I made up almost 2 minutes, racing the last kilometers in 3:44, 3:52 and 3:48. I continuously felt like running in the flow….but maybe the memory is most fresh and therefore mentioned here.

Did you change your training since Utrecht?
Yes, I started doing more short intervals, continued running 6 times per week.

How did and do you silence your doubts, in training and racing?
I do have doubts of course, like everybody else. Not so often in training, because I just love to run. But whenever I am about to start a hard workout and motivation is lacking, I think about the last race where I had that ‘perfect feeling’ and try to get back into that flow. And make myself remember that I will only improve when training is hard and you keep pushing beyond the comfort zone.

And when race day comes, especially when it is my big goal, like a marathon or half marathon, I know that I should feel a little stiff and ‘not so good’. I have learned that feeling that way is a good sign for me—it means that my body is fully loaded with energy, and that it is just a little lack of endorphin that is making me feel that way….

What, in your opinion, were the key sessions that helped you improve over the marathon distance?
Short intervals as earlier mentioned and pyramid training at 95 percent, e.g. 4/5/6/5/4 minutes at (almost) full speed. Recovery is jogging half the time of the interval in between. It makes my technique better and forces me to be very relaxed in the upper body in order to be able to fulfill the training.

In addition, I build up the amount of running at marathon speed, starting with 40 minutes about 2 months before the marathon and finally running 70 minutes at marathon speed once a week. This makes my body get used to that speed, so that when running that pace in the marathon it feels good, familiar.

And are those the same that helped you speed up your half marathon time?
Yes, I do think so!

Did you change anything in your marathon race-day strategy that helped you go faster?
My race day preparation is the same.
In the week before the race, I keep running 6 times a week, but do short sessions, where I used to run only 3 times. I feel that I do need some tension in my body to feel good.

And what about your half marathon race-strategy?
Exactly the same!

Have you noticed a change in your mental approach to training and/or racing? If so, did you consciously seek or work on those changes?
I am just a little more confident right now. And after running a Sub-3, the pressure is off. I have reached my goal, and though I would love to improve even more, I am very, very satisfied with my current PB and just love to run and hope that I can keep doing it for a long, long time!

What are the most important lessons you have learned in the past year:
-    in training
Listening to my body is extremely important. Always feel how your body is recovering, and if I do not have the motivation to do a training session on a certain day, because I feel tired, then I know I have to give myself a break and adjust my training.

-    in tapering
Take a 2-week taper period and taper once in training a few weeks before the race. So build a mini-tapering period into a preparation race. This will tell you how good you feel. Then a 3- week training period, 1 week ‘rest’, 1 week preparation into the race, and….a PB might follow!

-    in racing
Never take off too fast! Let all the others go, take your time to get into your rhythm and speed up in the second half of the race.

-    in recovery
The hardest part for me….after a marathon, I always promise myself to take it easy, but always end up running on a daily basis. No training, just run-by-heart and do whatever I like. Not running feels like not breathing. Though I know it is good to take a break, I never succeed in doing so.

What is your key advice to other runners gunning for the Sub-3 marathon?
See all the above! And start running on a personal schedule, do not follow other runners blindly. A standard schedule is a schedule that will fit nobody; it’s in the name already!

Buy lightweight shoes, lose some more fat (if you have too much), lose some upper-body muscles and go for it. And always remember to just have fun training!

Now that you have more than accomplished your goals, what are the new ones? Are you setting your sights on Sub-2:50, Sub- 2:45 for the marathon and Sub-80 for the half? How fast do you believe you can go?
Tough question….I might crawl a little further to 2:50, but think that will be absolutely the maximum. My stride is pretty short, so I will have to move up the rate. It would be nice to hit a 2:49:59, but I honestly think that this will be a little too ambitious for me.

Which races do you have planned for 2013?
This weekend a 10-mile race [she ran 1:0:39, finishing first female], and I might run a small marathon just for fun in May.

I will seriously build up again into the Eindhoven marathon in October, which is also the Dutch Championships, and hope to improve myself again.

I would also like to run a very low 38 on the 10K, probably in the next few weeks somewhere. In order to become a little faster again.

Anything else I should be asking you?
The most important thing of all: enjoy every mile that you are running!!

(Read the 2012 Q&A about Vanessa's marathon training here)

When the universe conspires...

This year my birth month June decided it was time to slap me across my face in an attempt to wake me from a semi-conscious slumber concerning various aspects of life. It smacked me hard, not once but twice, as if to make sure the message really got through.

It did. I heard it loud and clear both times. I was reminded of the most important relationship we have in life -- that with ourselves. I have been working hard to understand what is going on.

As Deepak Chopra writes in The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, "You must learn to get in touch with the inner most essence of your being. This true essence is beyond the ego. It is fearless; it is free; it is immune to criticism; it does not fear any challenge. It is beneath no one, superior to no one, and full of magic mystery, and enchantment. Access to your true essence will give you insight into the mirror of relationship, because all relationship is a reflection of your relationship with yourself."

He also writes, "Whatever relationships you have attracted in your life at this moment are precisely the ones you need in your life at this moment."

And so I am grateful for this challenging month of June. The first smack came at the start of the month. It is a long, and naturally one-sided, story should I choose to tell it here and one that involves close family relationships.

So I will only say that, most importantly, the event triggered what one may call, as Brene Brown said in her superb Ted talk embedded below on The Power of Vulnerability, a Spiritual Awakening aka Breakdown. While initially it felt like the latter, I now realize, and choose to consider, it the former.

  
Anything that makes us unhappy in life is an opportunity to look at the reasons why that is so. And then consider what we can do about it. I cannot control what other people do, think or feel. But I can control how I think, feel and act. And that is enough. I am enough.

Like the universe's first slap, the second was also a culmination of neglecting obvious signs. For the past month, I have struggled with extreme tightness in my legs that, while being superbly released by my sponsor Chief Chiro, keeps returning and has now resulted in outright pain following Sunday's Scotiabank Half Marathon.

Finishing in 87:02 in the Scotiabank half, I was eight seconds off the PB I ran in April this year. I was pleased with my race on Sunday. I won the F40-44 age group, see division results here, as this event takes the top 3 open and top 3 masters out of the age categories. I was 12th female and 4th masters woman behind three inspiringly swift women who ran 78 (1st) and 82 (2nd & 3rd).

However, as the day progressed my right leg, in particular my heel, got so sore I had trouble walking. Clearly, I need to change something in my body's flexibility and strength if I want to get rid of the increasing level of tightness that keeps reccuring despite regular ART treatments.

I take it as the universe's way of asking me, "So how serious are you really about your running ambitions? For years, you have been talking about increasing strength and flexibility but you keep telling yourself it is beyond your energy and time. Well, here's an ultimatum so you'd better do something about it."

Bikram yoga might be the answer. Tim has been going to the Squamish-based Bikram Yoga Sea to Sky classes recently -- an initial blast in December and then as a regular part of his triathlon training for the past month -- so on Sunday night I went along with him. It felt great, though absolutely exhausting, and I think it helped. I could walk a little better the next morning, though running was out of the question, so I went again on Monday evening. I am going to try to go tonight again to take advantage of that first introductory week and see if it is something I can add to help my body -- and mind.

The universe has a great way of teaching us about ourselves and it certainly has done so for me this June. I am getting the message loud and clear, and have chosen to act accordingly.

Time to test 10K speed

Tomorrow I am racing a 10K in White Rock, BC. It's been five weeks since the Vancouver marathon and the recovery from my 3:00:29 effort there seems to have gone well.

My plan to take it easy during the four weeks after the marathon changed, not surprisingly perhaps as I joined a 10-week running clinic coached by VFAC's John Hill, hosted by the Squamish Titans.

John, based in Vancouver, comes to Squamish every Wednesday to coach a session of fast running.

The first was on May 23, 2-1/2 weeks after the marathon during which I had run twice; a 60-minute trail run with Amy on May 17 and a tempo run with the Squamish Titans on May 21 in which I covered 7K at 4:15 pace following a 2K warm-up on a flat out-and-back course marked each kilometre set out by Volker.

On May 23, John had 2 x 2-mile repeats on the road in store for us. He provided everyone, about 20, with goal times based on recent race times. Mine were 6:10 per mile, or 12:20 for the 2-mile repeats. I hadn't planned on running fast so soon after the marathon and asked John who said it should be fine as the fitness from the marathon should be kicking in.

I took his word for it. And he was right. I did the first in 12:19 and the second in 12:12. That works out to paces of 3:24 per K and 3:22 per K respectively. John helped pace me in the final K of the second 2-miler, which was great.

With plenty of runners in the group, we all have someone to run with, or to chase, or to breathe down our neck. Highly motivating! John had paired me with Tim and Sean for this session, and the three of us were a little surprised at our ability to reach the goal pace. A great start to the clinic.

John wrote individual programs for everyone, covering the next two weeks.

I ran 10K easy the following day and did 18.5K on Saturday. Sunday had 45 minutes easy to rest up for Monday's tempo run. John had given me 16K in total including 13K at 4:15 pace. There were six of us and Roger had set out a 4K lap on flat trails, marked each kilometre.

While I did 13K at tempo, I pressed the wrong button on my watch and only timed part of the run, 10.84K at 4:23 per K.

On Wednesday (May 30) John had 2 x 1-1/2 mile repeats, followed by 1 x 1-mile in store. He gave me a goal time of 6:00 per mile, or 9:00 for the 1-1/2 mile repeats, and a 5:50 for the final mile. Especially the latter sounded challenging to me, as I am not aware of ever having run a 5:50 mile.

This time Sean wasn't there and Tim was holding back as he was gearing up for the Oliver Half Ironman on the weekend, so I was 'on my own' at that particular pace for the first two repeats. I was glad to do both in 8:57 (3:43 per K), but wondered how much I'd have left for that last mile?

As it turned out, more than enough. I ran 5:42 (3:33 per K), spurred on by John in the final half, and partly by Jody who had started off a little quick thinking the final repeat was a half mile, though he held on well in that unexpected second half mile. 

The next day I ran 10K easy, before doing 21K on Saturday in Oliver. On Sunday I 'ran' as a spectactor cheering on Tim who had a great day in his first half Ironman (and triathlon) of the season, finishing 5th in his age group.

Monday didn't leave time or energy for a run. On Tuesday night I ran about 90 minutes easy with Luka.

Wednesday we met on the track where John had 10 x 400s for us (200m jog recovery). The goal he gave me was 77-78. That was hard work from the start! Thankfully I had both people to chase and people on my heels, and finished all between 76 and 81, with most done in 78-79 (about 3:17 per K). A tough workout for sure!

After the session John wrote out my program for the next couple of weeks, as he does for everyone in the group, and asked if I'd planned any races in that period. When I mentioned my plan to do the Sandcastle 10K on Sunday, he said: You gonna go Sub-39?

Hmm, well ... happy to try as he's been spot on with the challenging Wednesday goals he gave me for the past three weeks. My fastest 10K, as he knows too, is 39:39 which I ran in the Vancouver Sun Run in April. John said that people who run a PB in the Sun Run tend to do better again on tomorrow's 10K course.

The Sun Run was the first time in four years I ran Sub-40, having done it only twice before in early 2008. Based on my 3:00:29 marathon, I should be able to run a faster 10K. Merv's for example puts the 10K equivalent at 38:40.
 
Sub-39 is the plan for tomorrow. I trust John's goal for me and am looking forward to racing for the first time after the marathon.

Tim's gonna watch this one, as he's still recovering from the half Ironman. He told his Dad on the phone tonight, making sure I could hear it, "She thinks she can run faster than me." Tim ran a superb 38:42 PB in the Toronto's Yonge Street 10K in last month.

As an extra boost of confidence, Dr Paul Fleming from Chief Chiro in Squamish worked to loosen my calves today as I was very worried about the new level of tightness despite my efforts with self-massage, rolling and Epsom salt baths. My concern that it was an Achilles problem was unfounded, he said, which was a huge relief. Thanks so much for the great (last-minute) treatment and the reassurance Paul!

Rethinking running goals

I have had two and a half weeks to ponder my Vancouver marathon performance and what it means for the races ahead. It's interesting in that some people think I should be disappointed in not having broken the three-hour mark, but that's not at all how I look at it.

           

My 3:00:29 time is a new personal best and it's also a confirmation that the training I've done the last nine months in particular is helping to make me faster.

           

All I have thought about since Vancouver is that I managed to run 5 minutes and 37 seconds faster than I ever have in 16 marathons. Improving your time by more than 5 minutes is huge, especially when you have been at it for a while, like I have.

           

The last time I had a bigger leap in my personal best for the 42.2K distance was 12 marathons ago when I went from a 3:24:53 finish in the 2003 Gold Coast marathon (my 3rd marathon—excluding running that distance as part of a couple of Ironmans) to a 3:13:01 in the 2006 Gold Coast marathon (my 5th).

From there, I jumped 4:14 to 3:08:48 in the 2007 Canberra marathon (my 6th). I improved by 1:38 in the 2008 Victoria marathon to 3:07:10 (my 9th) and then needed until the 2011 Victoria marathon (my 15th) to finally eke out another advance in my personal record by 1:04 to 3:06:06.

So to have sped up by 5:37 in the 16th marathon, at the age of 41, is just such a boost to my confidence. Who cares about the 30 seconds that I have left to bridge before finishing in 2:59:59? I had a fantastic race in the Vancouver marathon 2-1/2 weeks ago, and feel that this is only the beginning of running at a new level for me.

While you haven't run Sub-3 until you have, I need a new stretch goal for the marathon as 2:59 doesn't quite do it any more.

I cannot wait to get back into training. As planned, I did no running in the first week after the marathon. In the second post-marathon week I did two 10K runs, both at an easy pace.

This week, the third after the marathon, I ran a Squamish Titans session on Monday. After a 2K warm-up, we did a 7K 'tempo' run—I opted for a pace of 4:15 per kilometre, which felt fast enough at this stage in my recovery. Tuesday I took a rest day.

Tonight, we're meeting up with VFAC coach John Hill who is leading 10 Wednesday nights of speed work in Squamish.

  

My next goal? Sub-39 at the Squamish 10K on August 5.

Marathon recovery & what's next?

Luka the 75-pound lap dog

I like to recover from a marathon with a complete break from running for at least the first week. Daily walks are on the menu instead, a normal part of life anyway given our four-footed kid Luka. We take him, or he takes us, for a hike along the local trails for about 45 minutes twice a day.

My body has felt surprisingly good in the week following a 3:00:29 marathon. After an eight-day break I was keen to try an easy jog. I headed out on one of my usual routes and enjoyed a nice 10K. I am planning to take it easy a little longer; this week I am certainly sticking to a relaxed pace.

As of next week, VFAC's John Hill starts coaching a 10-week clinic of Wednesday evening runs in Squamish for the Squamish Titans. His program is geared towards the Squamish 10K on August 5, a race that has naturally become a fixture on my schedule. As part of the 10-week clinic, the Titans are also organizing weekly tempo runs on Monday, beginning on the 21st of May.

I am keen to increase my speed, including over the 10K distance. For that I need more intense speedwork than I have been doing in my marathon training, so it's not surprising that my 39:39 10K best is lacking the 38:40 estimate of Merv's running calculator and the 38:28 estimate of McMillan's for a 3:00:29 marathoner.

In the three years I have raced the Squamish 10K, my fastest has been 40:14. I definitely want to run 39, but 38 would be better:-).

Focusing on 10K speed with the Titans under Hill's guidance will be a nice two-month 'break' before I get stuck into the preparations for my next marathon. I have yet to decide, but am eyeing one at the start of December.

A Toronto wedding coincides with the October 7 weekend of the Victoria marathon, a race I love and received an invititation for the day after Vancouver. I have done Victoria twice (in 2008 and 2011), running PBs both times on the mildly undulating course. The event is superbly organized and I highly recommend it. I hope to run there again in 2013.

The Toronto marathon on October 14 also offered me a spot, which is very tempting and I am seriously thinking about a way to extend our stay after the wedding there until then; I am not sure that I can.

Then there is the option to return to Bellingham in late September. I very much enjoyed that race last year.

Even before I ran 3:00:29 on May 6, I knew what would be next; the finish would mark the beginning of the next phase in the ongoing quest to improve over the 42.2K distance. "The desire to run comes from deep within us—from the unconscious, the intuitive, the instinctive. And that desire becomes a passion when the runner learns to race,'" Dr George Sheehan wrote in This Running Life.

Just 11 days ago, I wondered if I could do a Sub-3 marathon. In 11 marathons over five years, all between 3:06 and 3:15, a 2:59 seemed so close and yet so far away. The longer it took, the harder it seemed and the more room opened up for doubt.

Yet with each marathon I also found at least one reason to believe I could get closer to my dream goal. I had a gut feeling I could do it. Friends encouraged, yet nothing helped more than coming across runners with performances I could relate to and who had made such, or an even bigger, level of progress.

When I was interviewing women for Running Shoes Are a Girl's Best Friend, my first book, one of the questions was, What's your best memory/experience involving running?

In January 2008, Elizabeth Bennett told me: "There are too many to recount. Recent ones include running a 9-minute marathon PB to run 3:00:38 in the 2007 Canberra Marathon and then to break 3 hours a couple of months later and run 2:59:38 in the 2007 Gold Coast Marathon."

Her response gave me both goosebumps and hope; I had just run 3:08:48 in April 2007, in that same Canberra marathon, though then didn't know Elizabeth. And here was a longtime runner, a marathoner, who had just made a giant 9-minute leap to my dreamtime; it was possible. I filed away that knowledge mentally.

As nearly three years passed, and I had only managed to get 1 minute closer by running 3:07:10, I read Kathrine Switzer's Marathon Woman at the end of 2010. Switzer is of course most famous for being the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with an official entry in 1967, though organizers weren't too pleased when they realized K.V. Switzer, racing with number 261, was female and tried to stop her.

Yet I also found out that Switzer, after completing that first marathon in 4:20 in 1967, gradually kept improving her time until she ran Boston in a 2:51 PB in 1975. While I didn't expect to be able to get that fast, it reinforced my hope that I might be able to run 2:59.

Another piece of Sub-3 inspiration filed away for future reference, just like the fact that Switzer clocked up to 110 miles a week in preparation for her fastest marathon. She ran daily.

I love the focus that training for a Sub-3 marathon, a stretch goal, has brought to my running. Now, I am 30 seconds away. While you haven't run Sub-3 until you do, I am now absolutely certain I can.

"When we are enthusiastic, we develop a determination to equal the endurance of our muscles, a fortitude to match the courage of our hearts and a passion to join with the animal strengths of our bodies... Behind the enthusiasm, behind the inspiration, behind the passion, there must be the will. We can choose. We can decide. We can will to do it our own way. When we do, nothing can prevail against us," wrote Sheehan.

On pace for a faster time ...

Having just sped up by a whopping 5:37 on my previous best, and most recent, marathon, I know I can go faster. The big question is, how much faster?

There's only one way to find out...

Marathon recovery

After 16 marathons (and a few ultras), my recovery strategy has slowly but surely evolved into a simple one; I don't run for the first week after the race, but stay active with daily walks (the dog guarantees those) and get plenty of rest. Plenty of food, a glass of red wine or a beer are part of the post-race week too.

My legs have felt amazingly good after Sunday's 3:00:29 effort at the Vancouver marathon. Aside from some tightness in the hamstrings in the first couple of days, all was well. Funny, given the fact that I could barely make it down the stairs for a couple of days after the Sunshine Coast April Fool's half marathon a month earlier.

Even though my legs are fine, I am resisting the temptation to go for a run. What's helping is that I have been very tired. That is hardly surprising, yet another good reason to take it very easy.

"The day after the race is usually characterized by varying degrees of mental and physical fatigue and, in some, mild depression. Typically, your legs will be stiff on account of the muscle damage, and anything except sleeping will seem to sap all your available energy," writes Tim Noakes in Lore of Running.

"Little can be done about these feelings, except to accept them as normal, to sleep more, and to avoid excessive physical and mental activity."

After this marathon my legs feel pretty loose and limber but the level of fatigue, especially mentally, is very high. Everyone is different and of course a lot depends on how you raced your marathon.

I have found that my body generally doesn't enjoy running in the first week after a race of 42.2K (or more), so I don't. I prefer to err on the side of caution. Daily walks help loosen my muscles without jarring or adding any extra fatigue.

"Most marathoners don't take enough time for recovery. I must admit I was among the worst of them," Alberto Salazar writes in his Guide to Road Racing. "If you gave the race everything you had (or nearly everything), marathon recovery should be a 6-week process. Don't run at all for 2 weeks."

Once you resume running in the third week, Salazar recommends you begin at a third of the mileage you were doing before your marathon buildup, and then take another three weeks to slowly increase to "your original baseline volume."

No speedwork in those first six weeks and "don't even race a 5K until a couple of weeks after that," according to Salazar.
  
At this point, I plan to slowly ease back into training over the following 4 to 5 weeks as per Advanced Marathoning. While their five-week recovery schedule allows for three easy runs in the first week (totalling 26K for someone who has been running 100-140K weeks in their marathon preparations), the authors also stress caution.

"You have little to gain by rushing back into training, and your risk of injury is exceptionally high at this point, owing to the reduced resiliency of your muscles and connective tissue after the marathon," Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas write. "If ever there was a time to lose your marathoner's mindset, the week after your goal race is it."

Advanced Marathoning recommends keeping your heart rate below 76 percent of the max during all runs in the first few post-marathon weeks, and I plan to heed their advice as it has worked extremely well for me. I'll try some easy runs next week, see how that feels and take it from there.

It's not about the shoes - or is it?

The first time I came across the New Balance REVlite 890s was when I reviewed a pair for the March/April 2011 issue of IMPACT Magazine.

After a few runs in them, I wrote, "I'm in love with these shoes... These shoes are light, yet cushioned, with a great ride. I haven't owned a pair of New Balance for nearly a decade but these will get a ton of wear for sure. There's nothing I do not like about these shoes. These could be my Vancouver Marathon shoes."

I did indeed run the 2011 Vancouver Marathon in them, finishing 5th woman overall and earning the women's top master title. They stayed on my feet in the other races I did in 2011; earning 2nd place in the F40-44 age group at the Scotiabank Half (89:44); 3rd in AG at the Squamish 10km (40:14).

REVlites in Bellingham

They were with me when I won the Bellingham Bay Marathon in 3:09:41 on a blustery day in September, and again at the Victoria Marathon two weeks later as I ran a PB of 3:06:06, fast enough for the top master title there.

Four weeks after Victoria, I ran the Whistler 50 (mile) in them, where 7:57 was speedy enough to finish first in the F40-49 division.

REVlites in Honeywagon

My first race of 2012 was the First Half half marathon in February. The New Balance REVlite 890s carried me along for a 87:27 PB, 2nd in my age group.

Next up was the Run for the Honeywagon half, another blustery day but great boutique race in Washington state; my 89:20 was the fastest time among women and an improvement of the F40-44 age group course record.

REVlites in Sun Run

Last month, these shoes helped me run a PB of 86:54 at the Sunshine Coast half marathon (2nd AG) and then a 39:39 10K PB at the Vancouver Sun Run (10th among women masters).

Sunday, a fresh pair was on my feet in the BMO Vancouver Marathon as I (finally) smashed my best time at the 42.195K distance by 5:37 to finish in 3:00:29, again finishing 5th woman and top master.

REVlites after Sunday's 3:00:29

It's not all about the shoes but I do love the New Balance REVlite 890s.

A 3-hour marathon

At the 2012 BMO Vancouver Marathon I ran 3:00:29, improving my personal best by 5 minutes and 37 seconds. I am so happy ... and so tired!

The first half I covered in 90:09, before running the second half in 90:20.

The entire race I was focused on one thing: my finish time. I was gunning for a big personal record, 2:59:59. That's all I thought about.

I concentrated like never before, especially once I passed 25K. "From the halfway mark to 20 miles (32K) is the no-man's land of the marathon... Slowing during this portion of the marathon is often more a matter of not concentrating than of not being able to physically maintain the pace," according to Advanced Marathoning.

I noticed what was going on around me, and yet I didn't, as I was so focused on maintaining my pace. At 30K Tim apparently told me I was 9th woman. I didn't hear it, though I smiled at him to acknowledge his support, as I was high on focus and adrenaline. I reached 34K in 2:24:17.

I was elated to hold on to finish in 3:00:29 as I know I gave it all I had on the day.

Having crossed the line just 30 seconds short of the Sub-3 goal is a huge improvement from the 6 minutes and 7 seconds that separated me when I got up yesterday morning.

Tom Howard, me, John Hill w Master trophy

My 2:XX marathon will come. For now I am celebrating yesterday's fantastic result. As it turned out, I finished 5th woman overall and won the women's top master title for the second year in a row.

I am absolutely thrilled with my result yesterday because I confirmed to myself I am capable of running a 2:XX marathon. Confidence is everything; it has taken me 16 marathons to get this far, and I am looking to race No. 17 later this year.

Somewhere between 40 & 41K.

Tim, my No. 1 supporter, made sure I got to the start of the race on time, before cheering me on at 30K and again shortly before 41K.He also took these photos. Thank you!

A big thanks to my sponsor, Chief Chiro's Doctors Leah Stadelmann and Paul Fleming. Leah's treatments helped me sustain the training I needed to run a 3-hour marathon, thank you! Both Leah and Paul raced the half marathon yesterday, resulting in a fast PB and a stellar debut respectively.

Me, with Chief Chiro's Dr Leah and Dr Paul

Last but not least, thanks very much to the BMO Vancouver Marathon for hosting such a great event. The volunteers were superb, from start to finish; I especially loved the rockstar welcome every finisher received at the end.

I'll write a more detailed race report later.

Marathon race pace strategy

This week I have been going back and forth on my pacing strategy for tomorrow's BMO Vancouver Marathon. The goal is clear: cross the finish in 2:59, which means running a pace of 4:15 per kilometre or 6:51 per mile.

Theoretically, there are different ways of getting there and success hinges on choosing optimal pacing for the individual runner on that particular course. While there are simple tried and tested guidelines, the two key variables—assuming that crazy conditions won't throw a spanner in the works and the forecast for tomorrow indicates excellent weather—mean finding the perfect pace varies per runner and per race. 

The art of marathon pacing is a skill that can take a while to master.

Advanced Marathoning, my training guide for the past 10 months, discusses the various strategies: running the first half hard and trying to hang on for the second half, aiming to run steady, i.e. the same time for the second as for the first half, and finally, a negative split in which you cover the second half faster than the first.

Initially I was going to aim for a negative split by starting at a 4:20K (6:58 mile) average pace in the first 10K and then slowly speeding up. But, looking at the halfway times in my marathons, I realized that I have rarely covered the second half faster than the first. 

And Advanced Marathoning says, "[The] basics of marathon physiology indicate that the best strategy is relatively even pacing... Most runners shouldn't try to run dead-even splits, however.

"... your running economy will tend to decrease slightly during the race, meaning that your lactate-threshold pace will decrease slightly as well. The result is that your optimal pace will be slightly reduced during the latter stages of the marathon," according to Advanced Marathoning.

"If you ran negative splits for the marathon (i.e., the second half faster than the first half), chances are that your run more slowly than optimally during the first half of the race and could have had a faster finishing time."

In my past 11 marathons, all of which I ran in 3:15 or faster, I have done a slight negative split three times. That was in the 2008 Victoria marathon, where I ran the first half in 93:37 and the second in 93:33; in the 2010 Rotterdam marathon, where I covered the first half in 96:06 (with a very frustrating first 5K) and the second in 95:45; and in the 2011 Vancouver Marathon where I ran the first half in 93:5X, and the second half also in 93:5X.
 
In my fastest marathon to date, 3:06:06, I ran an average 4:25 per K and 7:06 per mile. However, I covered the first 21.1K in 91:32, or an average 4:20 per K and 6:58 per mile. By 30K, I was still on track for the same average pace, reaching this point in 2:10:01. This was also the point where I began slowing down; I ended up covering the final 12.195K in 56:05, an average 4:35 per K and 7:24 per mile.

Why did I slow down? Was my 4:20 pace too fast and catching up to me in the final 12K? Did I 'lose it' mentally, not willing to take the pain needed to sustain the pace until the end? Or was the 3:09 marathon I had run only two weeks earlier the reason? I think it was a combination of those three factors, though I'll never know for sure.

I do know that it was the fastest I had reached the halfway point as well as the 30K mark in a marathon. Two weeks earlier I had run the first half of the Bellingham Bay Marathon in 92:02, my second-fastest first half; there, strong headwind was a clear reason for my slowing down in the second half to 97:38, while the first half had only marginally benefited from a tailwind.

(Check out the brutal impact of the headwind here: Split1 is the first half, Split2 is the second half. Overall Bellingham winner Uli Steidl won the searing 2012 Boston Marathon Top Master's title in 2:23:08.)

Having looked at my first half times for the past 11 marathons, I also looked at my splits for the second half. The fastest I did in Victoria in 2008 in 93:33 and the second-fastest was in Vancouver in 2011 in 93:5X (the official half times displayed in the results are incorrect so I am taking my watch split).

Marathon history (excluding my first 4 marathons of 4:18, 4:44, 3:24 and 3:36):

                                           Finish  1st half 2nd half
5. July 2006          Gold Coast   3:13:01   96:25   96:36
6. April 2007        Canberra       3:08:48   93:04   95:44
7. July 2007          Gold Coast   3:15:13   93:14 101:59
8. May 2008         Vancouver     3:12:56   93:17  99:39
9. Sept 2008         Victoria         3:07:10   93:37  93:33
10. May 2009        Vancouver    3:10:19    94:26  95:53
11. June 2009        NODM         3:10:39   92:53   97:44
12. April 2010        Rotterdam   3:11:51    96:06   95:45
13. May 2011        Vancouver    3:07:41    93:5X  93:5X
14. Sept 2011         Bellingham   3:09:40   92:02   97:38
15. October 2011   Victoria        3:06:06  91:23  95:42

Tomorrow, theoretically, I am aiming to reach the halfway mark in 89:59, 74 seconds faster than I ever have, and then hold on to do it again in the final 21.1K; that would be 3:34 faster than my fastest second half (from October 2008).

2012 BMO marathon course profile

If I want a chance of finishing in 2:59, I will have to commit to a 4:15 pace in the first half. Having said that, the profile is quite varied in the first 10K. It will be important to go by feel rather than time, conserving energy on the uphill, and letting go on the downhill, though not too much as I need to save those quads.

At the start, however, I will certainly keep in mind Alberto Salazar's advice from his Guide to Road Racing, "By the time the race begins, your adrenaline is running full-bore, then suddenly (finally!) all that flight-or-fight hormone finds release. Your body knows what it's supposed to do: run! chase! go! The trouble is that it won't be giving accurate feedback for the first few minutes. A pace that feels easy will be way too fast."

"Be especially careful if a race starts on a substantial upgrade or downgrade. Starting too fast on an upgrade will suck energy out of you faster than doing so on the level."

While I have never run tomorrow's course in this set-up, the second half is familiar from different races; its key incline just before 30K is Burrard Bridge, which I have crossed in quite a few races now. And when I picked up my race package on Thursday, Tim and I drove the final 2K of the new course, as they are uphill. I have made a mental note to reserve extra willpower for this final stretch.  

The main pacing and race mantra I plan to use tomorrow is, Relax and let it happen, a serious piece of no-nonsense advice from Dessie Suttle, a good friend from Australia. Few people I know are more passionate about running than he is. A runner for more than 40 years, he visited us last year to run the Whistler 50.

While he considered this 50-miler his first real ultra, he technically had already done one—Six Foot Track in 1996, Australia's most popular trail 'marathon', when it was still a 47K course instead of the 45K it is now. Dessie ran a swift 5:00:07. 

A great storyteller with a photographic memory for every detail he's every read or heard about running, he's been a true student of the sport for most of his life. What I admire most about him is that he's kept running and racing all these years, even though he's no longer covering the 1500m in 4:23 (his 1975 PB), 3K in 9:23 (also 1975), 5K in 16:11 (twice, in 1985 and 1990) or the 10K in 33:06 (1985).

He also ran a 2:59:03 marathon in 1983.

During his visit, Dessie brought with him a well-thumbed paperback copy of the late Dr George Sheehan's This Running Life from 1980, and left it behind for me to read. I love Sheehan's Running & Being. I began reading it this week, and found another piece of advice I will keep in mind tomorrow.

"When I get on the line, I realize that the issue is 90 percent settled. My recent training, whether I am over or under or at my peak, the state of my health cannot be helped. These factors are out of my hands. They are behind me. I need no longer worry about them. I have to remember only two things; one, not to do anything stupid and two, not to quit," Sheehan wrote in the chapter called The Race.