“A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I loose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself.” – Steve Prefontaine

Pace, like most things in this universe, is relative. What is a fast pace for me, is a comfortable pace to my runner friends who can WIN marathons or an exhausting pace for some of my fellow mid-pack runner friends. Also, depending on where you are in training, a certain pace is untouchable without the proper training. So what does pace have to do with it? For finishing in a certain time… everything!

Most of us have delusions of grandeur, mainly because races these days make us put what our “expected time” will be on the race form. I’d LOVE to do some statistical analysis on the expected vs. actual time difference. Of course, I’d want some good variables for proper analysis (ooooo, a subject for a new blog post -YAY!). Sorry… SQUIRREL… back to the pace stuff:

Delusions of Grandeur… we “think” that we can run a race in a certain time and even put it down on our entry form. I know that I put down, by default, a PR time on the race form. After all, why not dream a fast dream. Seriously. As if, I have any clue what I am going to run weeks and weeks from now. I’ve even been there, on race day, before the gun goes off thinking that I could run the race in a certain time, but the reality was going to be much, much different.

So for my upcoming Publix Georgia Marathon (thanks to 26.2 Quest!) on March 18th, I’m pretty sure I put down 4 hours and 4 minutes to finish the marathon. A PR time of 3 minutes and change at a pace of 9:18 min/mile. I’ve included some pace calculators here… most just give you what the average pace for a certain distance and time.

Cool Running Pace Calculator

McMillian Running Pace Calculator

Marathon Guide Pace Calculator

Runner’s World Pace Calculator

My fave, is the McMillian calculator… this one gives you paces for various distances which is very handy for training. One great myth of distance runners is that we run the same pace, usually perceived to be something fast, every time we go out and run. Hardly, because there are different “types” of workouts with different “paces”. The McMillian calculator makes the math easy for you and lays out the pace range for certain types of workouts. By using these different pace ranges for the different workouts, you are unifying your training for the ultimate goal… the marathon finishing time.

However, there are some obstacles. Unless you are some ‘Robin Hood’ type runner, you aren’t going to be able to hit the pace accurately each and every time. Hills, turns, fatigue, traffic and the occasional lost person asking for directions are things that we encounter while we run that keeps us from hitting our pace each and every mile.

Another thing that I have noticed about trying to train and keeping a certain pace is that the fastest and slowest paces are the hardest to keep in check. The fast pace is obvious why it is hard to keep. We get tired. Running fast is hard. The slower pace, however, is more difficult to understand because why would it be harder to run slower. Slower doesn’t equate one-to-one with Easier.

Take my 9:18 pace for example. My most recent 5k race (1.1.12) was at a 7:50 pace. This is actually 13 seconds FASTER per mile then the recommended 8:03 pace (but I am not worried) for that distance. For my long distance runs, however, my pace should be between 9:49 and 10:49 which is pretty comfortable, but I can tell you that if I run ALONE, I will tend to have a pace that is around 8:50 or 9:00.

Whenever I can, I try to run with people who run at a slower pace, so that I can discipline myself to run that slower pace. I benefit from the camaraderie and the disciplined pace. Running isn’t all about trying to run as fast as you can, each and every run. It’s a symphony of organized runs which harmonize together for a grand finale on Race Day.

Here are my suggested paces to finish a marathon in 4 hours and 4 minutes:

Recommend Workout Paces

I put the anchor workout, the Long Run, on Saturdays. The placement serves two purposes: first, it gives a concrete event for the family on Saturday mornings to provide structure and second, it allows me to use the Knoxville Track Club’s Long Distance Races as part of my training without having to take any “extra” time away from the family. The other workouts are scheduled to fit with my work schedule, so that I can do them at lunchtime.

Mondays are my Tempo Runs, Wednesdays are the Strenuous Runs (Hills, Speed and Track workouts), Thursdays and Fridays are Easy Runs. This leave Tuesdays and Sundays as Rest Days. Probably the workout that gets the most response, usually in the realm of “What The…”, is the ‘Easy’ workout out. For most, an ‘Easy’ run workout would be walking the distance or even sitting on the couch imaging walking the distance. Nope, an ‘Easy’ workout has it’s own unique goal.

Remember that I said earlier that training programs are plan of the ‘WORK’ a person should do to have the endurance and fitness to complete a marathon, hopefully at some desired level. That is, we hope to finish with a specific time or maybe just finish at all. To figure out if the training program is working, sometime has to be observed and/or measured. Most runners will use Heart Rate or Pace as a measure of how they are doing in their training. For super geeky runners, they’ll use a variety of gadgets to measure both, at the same time. Elite Runners can even be fitted like lab rats (in a lab) to have even more bodily functions measured, such as the amount of oxygen needed.

The premise is that the more you run, the easier it gets. The easier it gets, the more fit (maybe) you are. A 1 mile run at the beginning might make us heave lunch onto the ground, but as we workout more and more, the one mile run becomes easier and we keep our lunch. We can look at a heart rate monitor that our heart rate at the beginning was higher then after some training. Also, the time that it takes to reach a heart rate where we don’t hear the pounding in our head is reduced. Therefore, if we can reach a certain level of fitness then we should be able to complete the race in a certain time and the training program helps map out what we need to do. This requires at least the basic or entry level heart rate monitor and we are able to measure our heart rate, in real time, and can make immediate changes to the level of effort in our workout.

The other way to measure our level of fitness is pace, or how fast did I complete that distance. Like the 1 mile example above, the more that we train, the faster – at least in theory – we can run the mile at the same pace. By running the same routes, we can estimate a level of fitness based on perceive effort in conjunction with the amount of time that it takes. This method doesn’t give us immediate feedback (unless we have a GPS on us) and we have to rely on perceived effort which can either be a stepping stone or a stumbling block to our workout. This is the methodology that I use for measuring the level of success of my workouts. I do have a heart rate monitor that I could use, but I am not a huge gadget person when it comes to my running.

Okay, so what is missing from my training program? Drum roll please… It’s the mid-distance runs. These are runs that are usually between 6-8 miles and are run in between a Tempo and Easy pace. Since the max that I can do at lunchtime, my more reliable workout time, is 5 miles I had to make a decision to either (1) use vacation time to cover the extra time required for the additional distance if ran on a work day, (2) Run the distance at night, which cuts into family time or (3) Not run that far. I chose #3. Now there is a (4) option which I am beginning to entertain the possibility of doing it and that is to do a “two-fer” or a “Two-A-Day”. That is, I could run, say 4 miles at 5am before the Morning Routine, and then run again at lunchtime which I would be able to get in the 6-8 miles in one day, for that workout. I used this technique in 2008 to get my “High Mileage” training days completed.

Now, I know the runners out there are still not satisfied because I have not shared a crucial element. I wrote about it earlier in the post… my pace. The next blog will be about my target paces for this training plan.

I had to enter in my estimate for my finish time when I register. Since that is the driving force for my training program, I’ll share that next post. I’ll also, free of charge, highlight the target paces, not only for race day, but also all for all the workouts. Yes, even an Easy workout has a range of where your pace “should” fall. And let me tell you, sometimes trying to get an Easy workout at the prescribed pace is hard!

###

Here’s a PDF version of the whole training program, my plan is to periodically upload it with updates with my actual workouts.

A training program, unlike the question of poor Schroender’s Cat, is not a reductio ad absurdum, it is something dynamic that has been thought out by someone at some level at some point in time and probably has some real life data to back the reasoning. There’s a good probability that it will work, if followed. But following a training program is so much harder to do and even if two people follow the same program results could vary.

If a training program is a predetermined written plan of what to run and when, how Terry can it be… ‘dynamic’. Easy, add a human. A training program becomes dynamic when a runner commits to running that program. That is, a runner takes something factual and makes it actual and we’ve seen that when humans interact with things, all bets are off!

But know that a training program is dynamic at the beginning is a good thing. When we miss a training run, it does not mean that it is the end of the World. Unless it is, literally, The End of the World, a missed run or a reduced mileage will not make trying to run the race futile. Why we missed that run is WAY more important and might be an indicator of something that needs to be addressed more seriously then missing a mid-week 5 mile run. It could be an injury, sickness or a psychological issue that is causing us to feel negative about our performance and those ARE issues that need to be addressed sooner, rather than later!

Change comes with the territory. If you are able to follow a training program from start to finish without missing any workouts, that is so totally awesome. I have learned that, I’m guessing here, probably 99.999999% of all runners training for a marathon have to change their training program to some degree.

So what do you do if you have to change your program for some reason? The answer to that is easy, just ask. There are TONS of experienced runners that are extremely helpful and have probably been in that situation more than once who can offer suggestions on what to do. The bonus is that these runners have gone through the same situation under their own trial and error making them more than willing to share what worked and definitely what didn’t.

I can’t say it enough that you learn SO much more from a less than stellar, or just down right horrible, experience than with a good one. Let me be clear, good experience are essential, but we LEARN so much more from bad experience which, in turn, increases our good ones.

My next post, probably on Monday Dec 5th, will have my Georgia Marathon training program, and I’ll pick it apart.

So what about the training program. What is it good for? What is it not good for? Can you do with out one? Which training program is best? Can you miss a day? The answer is “Yes, No, Maybe So… (Can you repeat the question)” and I am going to explore the training program on a somewhat shallow level. I’m not really wanting, at this time, to get into an in depth philosophical debate on things like VO2 levels or frequency of 20+ mile runs.

That was MY plan (cue evil laughter)

Just like a plane doesn’t take off with a flight plan, a runner should have a some form of training program. It provides the basic structure a runner should follow in order to be at some level of training on race day. Ideally, we’d like to have some sort of goal on the level of training, but in the beginning of a running career, being too specific is a disaster waiting to happen. So we find a plan, or have someone lead us to one, to follow that we think will work. The core of it being: I am here at point “A” with physical condition “X” and I would like to be at Point “B” with physical condition “Y” at time “T”.

A training program is not something set in stone but more like a guideline or a best case scenario. I’m guessing here, but for most, the training program is as much as a “Work in Progress” as the actual training. Life happens and that causes us to tweak it, usually pretty frequently.

Training programs can be very simple and straightforward to highly technical with the need for some electronic gadget attached to the body. In the end, a runner does what scientist call “Work”, which is the running part and it “teaches” the body, if we things correctly, how to handle the rigors of running. Some training programs concentrate on different ways of measuring the “Work” being done on the body and this will result in feedback on how things are progressing (or regressing). I’m thinking I will touch on some of the different ways of measuring “Work” in an upcoming blog post, but for now it is just about “The Plan”

The experienced runner may not use one particular training program but rather create their own hybrid program consisting of the core components shared by almost all training plans. Of course, the danger in making your own is that it becomes so complicated or so bloated with technical mumbo jumbo that it is ineffective and gives you a big fat DNF (Did Not Finish). But I bang on the pulpit that you will learn so much more about yourself from a DNF then any completed race. (Ooooo, a post about DNF… more ideas for future articles are being birthed).

###

My original idea to write about the Training Plan, since I was in the process of making my own, has started to morph into something larger. I’m now to at least 2 other blog posts about training programs (changes and components) but there may be more… who knows my own training plan for the Georgia Marathon might end up being a post by itself.

Persistence paid off! I won the contest over at 26.2 Quest in the “What about the Georgia Marathon” contest. It consisted of first, writing why you would want to run the Publix Georgia Marathon (@georgiamarathon) which was worth 1 entry and then second, using social media to spread the word which each social media outlet (twitter, Google+, facebook, etc) was each worth 1 entry. The contest ran for close to 2 weeks, so in theory, you could get multiple entries each days and then add more each day.

(You can use the code: 262QUEST to get a $10 discount, courtesy of 26.2 Quest +262Quest @262quest)

My strategy was fairly straight forward. In Google+, I would type up an entry with some sort of “theme” for that day, which was 1 entry. Then I would Copy & Paste that into Twitter and then, if had the time, clean up the URL and make sure that it fit the correct character limit. Once it was sent to Twitter, it would automatically be forwarded to Facebook, thus giving me 3 entries for about 5 minutes worth of work. I streamlined the process by have a URL link in Chrome which would sync depending on the computer I was on (Work, netbook, laptop, etc), so all I needed to do was change the fluffer text around links each day.

The statistician in me knew that based on the given rules of each entry put into a big pool and then randomly selected, I needed to put in as many entries as I could. It wouldn’t guarantee a win for me but would increase the probability of one of my entries being chosen. The only days that I didn’t get entries in were on the weekends when I am normally not online, but since I had at least one entry in the contest, that was all that was needed! So I am running Georgia on March 18, 2012.

Marathon training for this race officially started on Monday Nov 28 which is 15 weeks out Race Day. Next on my agenda is to create a training program for which to train for the race while incorporating the Holidays and family travel plans, local race as training events, plus everything else that comes up being a husband, father, employee, etc.

I’m pretty excited because this is another step toward putting myself (at least my inner perception) back into focus.

I case you were wondering about WHY I wanted to run the Georgia Marathon, here is my entry which plays on the Hoagy Carmicheal song, Georgia On My Mind: “I want to run the Publix Georgia Marathon  for free because not only do I have Georgia on my Mind, I ALWAYS have running on my mind!”

If I have won, then I am going to make that my 2012 Spring Marathon and training will start almost immediately. I usually don’t like the 16 week program because I have found that a training program that long seems to drag on for ages and I have gotten bored with in the past. Now, this was at a time when I was doing a long distance race fairly regularly and while I wouldn’t be in “marathon shape”, I would be familiar with training that my body remembered and I would find myself over training because I would make shorter runs longer.

This caused me to burn out or be over trained for the goal race and have a bad showing on race day. I benefit from the “It’s better to be under trained, then over trained” adage and so I would hand craft 12 week training schedules for me to follow. Only problem with the shorter schedule is that you have to follow it more adamantly, because you can’t miss as many training days or talk yourself into shortening your run from say 10 miles, to 8 miles, eventually to 6 miles… just because.

This time is different. I’m coming off what is a longer rest period for me than what usually happens. My last marathon was last year in November, Flying Monkey Marathon on 11/21/2010. My last long distance races were this spring (Calhouns 10 miler, Strawplains 1/2 Marathon and Whitestone 30k) and with my quad and hamstring pulls of the summer, my running was pretty much zilch.

There was also the mental aspect of running which kept my mileage down. I wasn’t motivated. I was actually not motivated from a “whole Terry” perspective and so not running was a by product of that. Now that things have gone through a mental shift back to a more normal (as normal as normal can get with me) way of thinking, the desire to RUN has come back to life.

If I don’t win the contest, then my training program will be starting on 01/15/2012 for the Flying Pig Marathon.

I don’t think I have a preference for either race. While I have not run the Georgia Marathon,  I do have Georgia (2007 Chickamauga Marathon) completed in my journey for running a marathon in all 50 states. I ran the 2009 Flying Pig Marathon, which had the largest crowd size that I had ever experienced at a marathon and wouldn’t mind running through the streets with tons of spectators cheering, just for me.

3/18/2012 Publix Georgia Marathon Atlanta, GA http://www.georgiamarathon.com/

Currently, there is a contest to WIN a free entry to the race over at 26.2 Quest blog. It’s a $95 dollar value!

4/1/12 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Knoxville, TN http://www.knoxvillemarathon.com

8/1/11 – 11/30/11 $65.00
12/1/11 – 2/15/12 $75.00
2/16/12 – 3/27/12 $85.00

I haven’t inquired about being a pacer yet, mainly waiting to see about Georgia. I think unless I am asked to be a pacer, that I will be a volunteer.

5/6/12 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Cincinnati, OH http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com

$90.00 registration (11/1 through 1/31)
$105.00 late registration (2/1 through 4/20)

The kids absolutely LOVE Cincinnati, so going there would be like other family going to Disney World, except with lots of pigs… instead of mice.

###

If I win the Publix Georgia Marathon, then I am going to run that one. My Lovely and Talented Wife has friends and we have family down there, so it would be a good trip for us. If I don’t win then I think I am going to eye The Pig. Oink!

Either way, I plan to use MyCokeReward points to get some “really nice” for my Guess My Time, Win Crap contest. More on how that’s all gonna work when I decide what I am going to do and when.

I don’t think it would have been possible for me to drink enough water to compensate for all the toxins that were released from the massage on my back.

By Thursday afternoon, I was feeling pretty bad. So bad, that when I arrived home from work, I went straight to bed and went right to sleep. This was about 5:30pm and I never made any attempt to get into Pajama Jammy-Jams; I crashed. I’m not sure of the first time I woke up, I think it was a couple hours later but I was soaked in sweat. I had soaked my shirt and Jacket, I told you I went straight to bed. I even soaked completely through my jeans, so much that even the bed and the comforter was wet.

I pretty much slept through the night and was very thankful for My Lovely and Talented Wife for taking up my end of putting the kids down for bed. In the morning, I was cognizant enough to do the bare minimum to get the kids ready for school, but then went straight back to sleep afterwards. About 9:30am, I woke up, feeling better or at least on the side closer to fine.

Despite feeling somewhat better, and the rattling in my chest about 90% gone, there was still work that needed to be done. More Massage Therapy. While the main mass of knots in my back had been broken up there were more in hiding.

Now that the rattling had gone down, I noticed something else that wasn’t right. It felt that my throat/air pipes were either covered with a layer of something or they were swollen. It did not seem that I could get the volume of air through my mouth and into my lungs. I made a note to mention this to my chiropractor for my next visit.

My next visit was 8 days after the first attack on my back. During this visit, I told him about the last week of events after the initial massage. I went upstairs to see Jeff who told me that the culprit muscle was under the scapula (shoulder blade). The bad news about the muscle was that it’s well covered by the scapula and you have to go (Basically) from the armpit to reach it. The good news was that it was accessible and after a few minutes of moderate massage, it felt pretty good.

Over the weekend, my symptoms improved even more. The rattling was non-existent but I was stilling coughing, but only occasionally. I decided that on that Monday (9/26), I would run a lunchtime to see what condition I was in. My condition was good. I only ran 2 miles and had some congestion during the run, which I didn’t think wasn’t out of the ordinary. There was still residual stuff in my chest and throat and so being active was just a catalyst to get it out.

The first half of October, I didn’t log any miles for dedicated runs, but I was active with walking (and sometimes running) to and from the bus stops. I could tell each time that I was getting back to normal. And for some of the runs where I was running to make a particular bus, despite a heavy backpack and up hill, I was noticing that I could run longer while still maintain a particular pace.

Looking at the calendar, it was an 8 week ordeal and by no means is the issue gone. However, there is no more rattling, no congestion and I can manage the knots in my back pretty efficiently with a K’NEX building piece that I “borrowed” from the kids. It’s long enough that I can reach back with it and get good pressure on the muscles. It’s strong enough that I can push the underlying muscles and it’s not too pointed as cause me to poke holes in my back.

With a new mental attitude to running and a somewhat working back, I’m starting to focus on training and racing again. I don’t have anything set right now, but I am in the process of seeing what races are on the horizon. Who knows, I might even WIN a free entry to the Publix Georgia Marathon and the decision of determining my next marathon might be a no-brainer.

3/25/12 Virginia Creeper Marathon Abingdon, VA http://www.runtricities.org/creepermarathon

It’s full.

4/1/12 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Knoxville, TN http://www.knoxvillemarathon.com

8/1/11 – 11/30/11 $65.00
12/1/11 – 2/15/12 $75.00
2/16/12 – 3/27/12 $85.00

Now, this is the marathon that I usually volunteer for as a course monitor, since monitoring the course while runners are on it is fun and full of surprises. Now, I could inquire if I could run as a pacer, which is like having your cake and eating it to… just replace “cake” with “energy gel of your choice”.

5/6/12 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Cincinnati, OH http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com

$75.00 early registration through 10/31
$90.00 registration (11/1 through 1/31)
$105.00 late registration (2/1 through 4/20)

The kids absolutely LOVE Cincinnati, so going there would be like other family going to Disney World, except with lots of pigs… instead of mice.

###

I’ve run all 3 both of these, there’s a logistics cost involved which may be offset by the Super Happy Fun Factor. I don’t know. Maybe there is an obscure event that hasn’t found their way over to Marathon Guide yet.

 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
   he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.

 3 He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God.
   Many will see and fear the LORD
   and put their trust in him.

The 40 Milestone has arrived. I’m now officially a “Masters” runner, which is just an euphemism for “statistically slower runner” but even in this new age group, it’s not the most difficult (30-34 group is very tough) but it has enough “still fast” elite to fill the top spots. I’m thinking that I will keep an overall Personal Result (PR) time with denoting Masters or not.

Looks like the first race of my newly entered age division will be the CrossKnox 10 miler on Sunday Oct 16th. I haven’t worked a race since July 3rd and it’s been even longer since I ran one. I’m signed up for a pre-race volunteer spot! I need to make up the 3 that I lost this spring due to the flooding of my Civic and by a flesh wound I received at the Strawplains Marathon, during registration! Freaky! That’s like $15 of race fees that I have lost or have succumbbed to natural disasters.

I haven’t ran this race either… so it’s new to me. It’s a point-to-point 10 miler, which is highly unusual for this area. The idea of the run is to showcase the Knoxville Greenways as almost all of the course is run on them. The other thing that is different is that it is a Sunday afternoon race, we have so few races that aren’t Saturday morning. I just have to juggle the Church schedule to make sure I can get to where I need to be. Since it is point-to-point transportation is provided.

So “Welcome Forty“… I might just have to drink one in Recognition.

###

“FORTY” by U2 (link if the embed doesn’t show)