Colfax Through Hanson's

I started training for the Colfax Marathon on November 18, 2013.  Because Hal Higdon's training plans have never worked that well for me, I wanted something different.  I wanted a training plan that would hold me accountable and tell me exactly what paces to run.  I bombed my first attempt at running Colfax in May 2013.  By mile 8, I was cramping and miserable.  After mile 14, I felt beat down and defeated.  Mile 20 told me I was going to finish but at what cost?  Mile by mile went by and I held back tears and surges of emotion until I finally crossed the finish line in 4:24.  Ironically, when I crossed the finish I felt unstoppable.  After everything I'd pushed through to get to that moment I could get through anything life might throw at me.  I could have stopped at any moment.  No one was holding my legs to that flame.  It was all under my own will and stubbornness.  I've never felt pain like that before.  Every muscle in my body begged me to stop and yet I pushed forward. 

At the finish line last year

Six months after the race, I would think about the finish line and smile so enthusiastically you would have thought I finished just days before.  I wanted to recreate that feeling, but I didn't want to hurt this time.  I wanted to have an actual goal, beyond finishing, and I wanted to feel good at the finish line.  No walls, no screaming calves, no regrets. 

I felt like I'd been hit by a bus for weeks after the race.  I remember being completely delirious at mile 24 and for an hour after finishing.

After far too much research I came across the Hanson's Marathon Method.  Essentially this plan tells you to run at varied speeds to work the different muscle groups and create a level of cumulative exhaustion so that you never run feeling fresh.  Mimic the last 16 miles of the race during your long training runs, not the first.  Don't take days off because you are sore, push through it and get stronger.  Last year, I skipped easy days, I didn't pay attention to paces and I ran without focus.  The Hanson's Method doesn't work if you don't follow it very closely and I figured that out right away.

A sincere thanks Luke Humphrey and Hanson brothers.

I became obsessive about my running routine.  As the months went by, I got up earlier and earlier to fit in distance, speed work, strength and easy runs.  I felt it working and I kept thinking about that moment last May when I felt unstoppable.  This time would be better. 

Last Sunday I crossed the finish line in 3:55, just under 30 minutes faster than my previous time. I never felt truly tired until mile 25 where I reminded myself, "Five months of hard work for a few more minutes of discomfort."  I ran negative splits with my final mile at 8:26.  When I crossed the finish line I expected to feel euphoric like I had a year ago, but I didn't.  I never pushed through incredible pain to remind me that I am made up of pure grit.  I had a blister the size of Mars under my foot that wrapped in between my toes.  I felt it for 15 miles of the race and the oozing liquid spreading between my toes as it popped at mile 25, but nothing begged me to stop. 
 

This is just the top side where it stuck out between the toes, the bottom of it is the size of a half dollar around the pad of my foot.  The grass was wet by the port-a-potties and all our shoes were soaked at the starting line.  I've never blistered in my Saucony Virratas before the race. 

If I wasn't that tired, did I push hard enough?  Could I have gone faster or would I have crashed sooner?  If there was energy to spare, how do I train to go faster and feel the same sense of strength throughout the race?

There is no doubt about it, Hanson's works.  Not only do they prepare your body for the beating it takes in 26.2 miles, but the method teaches you how to taper, carbo load, actively recover, and push yourself to limits that have never been tested. 

What I learned was this, training for a specific pace works.  I trained for a 3:56 and ended up one minute faster than goal time.  That was a success.  If I trained for a faster time and put in the miles at that pace, I have renewed confidence my body could handle it as I pushed faster paces throughout the training, but I need to be more aware of my body as I pick up the pace.  I think I got lucky this time.  I ran 60+ miles a week for a couple months and didn't incorporate strength training and weights into my regimen.  Halfway through the race, my right hip flexor started to ache and reminded me that I have work to do.   The second time running the same race, my head was in the game entirely.  I ran mile after mile calculating splits in my mind, seeing what my finishing time would be at current paces.  I did body checks continuously asking myself, "Do I need water or fuel?  Is my stride good?  What hurts right now, what is giving out, what is not strong enough?  What can I improve for next time?"  I never wanted to take off faster than my prescribed pace because I respect the distance too much.

Running marathons is humbling.  It becomes addictive and the effort itself becomes more satisfying than the finishing times and results.  This time I wasn't euphoric about the finale because I steadily looked ahead throughout this process.  For 26.2 miles, I celebrated 1,000 miles of hard work in 5 months.  The race didn't feel like the accomplishment, the training did. 


~Roadburner

Colfax Marathon Round 2 Game Plan

With six and a half weeks left until the Colfax Marathon, it's time to start creating a game plan.  How do I improve on last year's performance?  (Here is last year's race report.)

First of all, I am stronger this time around.  I've doubled my training, both in miles and intensity.  Before this round of training, I never ran tempo, strength, or speed runs.  I just ran to cover the distance.  Last year it was about the time on my feet, while this season is all about posting quality miles.  April 2013 drained me.  We moved, my whole family got pneumonia, and somehow I ended up with pleurisy.  My lungs burned walking from the kitchen to the couch but stubbornly I refused to drop out of the race.

Considering my goals to simply finish last year, I started too fast.  I wasn't ready to hold a 9:00 pace.  I hadn't trained for that and my lungs were still too weak.  I let the excitement of the day get the best of me.  Miles 5-15 are all uphill and instead of pacing myself, my splits were all over the place.  I wanted to run how I felt and I think this was detrimental.  I felt good in the beginning so I ran faster.  By the end, I had no energy left and I crashed.

At mile 15, I stopped to collect myself.  I was ready to drop out of the race altogether.  I realized that running marathons wasn't very fun.  It is work.  And focus.  Standing completely still in the middle of the race course while everyone else ran by me was surreal.  I let what seemed like a hundred people pass as I just stood motionless before deciding I needed to finish.    

At mile 17, I saw my husband on the side of the street.  He ran up next to me and joined me for about a quarter mile.  My sudden change in pace from an 11:00 mile to a 9:46 shows how much I needed to see him.  Randall told me he would see me at the finish line and I promised I'd make it.  It sounds really stupid but in my oxygen depleted state, I didn't want to let him down.  I said I would be there, I didn't want him to worry so I had no choice anymore but to finish.

Miles 23-34 suck.  Whoever designed this course is a sadist.  The hill is huge and completely out of no where.  I've worried about this damn hill ever since and quite honestly, I have no idea how I am going to get up that thing again.  I've spent a lot of time training on hills and finishing long runs on hills, so I hope that counts for something.  If not, wave to me from the sidelines, I'll be the one walking, cursing, and grunting.

So what have I learned in the last year?  Starting slow is key.  While I want to average right at 9:00 miles, I need to start the first few slower than that by a good 20 seconds per mile.  I need to reserve energy to pull me up that dreaded mountain at the end.  Second, I didn't take enough Gu last year.  I need to make a concerted effort to down carbs every 5 miles.  That may be a lot for some people, but when I practice this during training runs, I consistently perform better.

Next, I need my husband to be at the 20th mile.  The boost of energy he gave me at mile 17 was heaven sent.  I will never be able to describe what seeing him did for me.  I was covered in salt, sweat, and tears.  I was starving, my lungs were on fire, and emotionally I was falling apart.  The second I saw him standing there, I pulled myself together.  I wanted to look strong for him and I needed him to be proud of me.  Appearing solid for him made me feel more energetic for the next few miles.  This time I want to see him again closer to the finish.  I hope that surge carries me beyond mile 20.

Randall and me just before the race.

If I feel good between miles 17-23, that would be a good time to speed up by 10-20 seconds per mile to bank a little time for the hill.  I don't plan on it looking pretty as I trot up that thing, so if I can slow back down to a 10:00 pace without loosing overall time, I will curse less. 

I still have no idea how I want to carry my hydration.  Last year I carried a backpack but I've only worn it once in the last year and it was really heavy and hot.  I don't do well with hydration belts because they make me cramp.  I usually just carry a water bottle, but not for 20+ miles.

3:58.  That's my primary goal for this race.  I'm trying to cut off over 26 minutes from last year's time.  I need to run an overall 9:00 pace, while allowing for a slow warm up and an ugly finishing hill climb.  During my longer training runs, I consistently push that pace to 8:40 miles, but I don't want to get overconfident.  Last year I learned to respect the distance. 


How have you changed your strategy on the same course from one year to the next?
What do you use to carry your hydration?
Who or what do you need at your tougher races to pull you through?
How often do you take carbs during the race?

~Roadburner