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robzand.com

DateComments
Sun 12/11/20052up. 10m race. 2down.

aside from a couple runs with marc, and a couple others where the weather was shitty and i hammered a little to get the run over with, i haven't really run hard since chicago. i wanted to use this effort to get an idea of where i'm at before i start working out - i'm going to stick to tempo's and strides in december - then hit the track a little come january. more importantly, the store team was racing, and i was to complete a team.

the course was clear, although there was quite a bit of snow in the park alongside the road. for this reason the course was somewhat different from the norm. while i really didn't care, there was general agreement that the mile-markers and distance were off. someone with a gps measured 10.19. the race was essentially 2 loops, although this is an insult to loops everywhere. it was more like, out and back and out and back.

i started pretty conservatively, but was going pretty decent by 4 miles. i'm not even going to list splits since they were so obviously off. i am also confident that i ran the second half faster than the first. i was tenth overall. 4th on the team. scott and rob d. were 1st and 3rd overall, bill hoffman was 4th, i was 10th and dickson mercer was 11th. pace was something like 5:30/mile. some miscellaneous trivia: bill hoffman ran 23 miles with marc when both ran 2:24 at chicago in 2004. dickson mercer was second to me at a 10k on the track at christopher newport in 2002 - there were 7 people total in this race. this is really funny to me. the running community is really small.
Sun 10/9/2005chicago marathon - 2:31:18.

1 - 5:34
2 - 5:50 (11:24)
3 - 5:36 (17:01)
5k - 17:31
4 - 5:34 (22:35)
5 - 5:38 (28:13)
6 - 5:37 (33:51)
10k - 35:05
7 - 5:41 (39:33)
8 - 5:34 (45:07)
9 - 5:39 (50:47)
10 - 5:36 (56:24)
11 - 5:34 (1:01:58)
12 - 5:44 (1:07:43)
20k - 1:10:07
13+14 - 11:15 (1:18:58)
13.1 - 1:13:59
15 - 5:29 (1:24:28)
25k - 1:27:24
16 - 5:41 (1:30:10)
17 - 5:42 (1:35:52)
18 - 5:40 (1:41:33)
30k - 1:45:09
19 - 5:41 (1:47:15)
20 - 5:51 (1:53:06)
21 - 6:02 (1:59:09)
35k - 2:03:26
22 - 5:54 (2:05:04)
23 - 5:53 (2:10:57)
24 - 6:07 (2:17:05)
40k - 2:22:27
25 - 6:16 (2:23:21)
26.2 - 7:57 (2:31:18)

i'm trying not to be disappointed with this race but basically i am. it's not so much the time, but how i got there. had i finished strong i would be happy, but having faded so badly isn't sitting well.

i went into the race feeling pretty good physically. i didn't have the bursting at the seams levels of energy that one sometimes feels, but since this is how i've felt since labor day, and my workouts have been pretty solid since then, i think nothing of it. ironically i felt great on labor day at new haven, but couldn't get it done that day either.

there was no countdown to the gun before the race, so all the sudden it went off and we were running. i was running fairly easily and was surprised with the first mile split. i thought it was a hair fast and backed off a bit for mile 2, but came back to the original pace for 3 and stuck with it. around 5 miles 2 packs were starting to form in front of me. i caught the first by 7 and was gaining on the next thru 9. a couple people made "hard" moves to join the next pack, but since i was running 5:30s already, i consciously decided to try and catch them gradually. well i never did, save for a few stragglers, so i ran the core of the race by myself. had i not run such a slow second mile i would have been with this pack as i was less than 10 seconds behind them at 10k, but by the half they were 30 seconds in front of me. i am not upset with this decision not to join them, but would have preferred not to run alone. the point of going to chicago is that there are always packs.

i felt fine thru 30k. by 20 miles my quads were just starting to hurt and the wind was becoming quite noticeable as we headed north back to downtown. it seemed like a fairly quick transition from feeling good to survival mode, and that was disappointing. i've tried to take some solace in comments from matt lane and deena kastor, that their experiences were quite similar to mine. basically, i started to lose leg lift over this last stretch. my turnover was good, but i wasn't getting as much per stride. the last mile was all about getting to the line, not much else.

my recovery is going as i would expect from such a finish. i was unable to pick up my legs monday and tuesday, though i was walking alright except down stairs. wednesday i felt decent and i ran on thursday. i'll take it easy for the rest of the month and do base work through the end of the year. i want to focus on shorter, faster distances in the spring and plan a fall marathon, which barring a huge pr, and i mean huge, will in all likelihood be my last uber-competitive marathon and probably my last competitive race.
Mon 9/5/20052shakeout.
2up. 20k - 1:09:16 (5:35pace) 2down.

felt great thru 10k then hit the wind which just messed everything up. i never really recovered.

i messed up my splits again. i was 26:40 at 5m, 33:22 at 10k. downhill from there.
Sat 7/9/2005belmar 5 - 26:32.
2up. 2down.

1 - 5:12
2 - 5:14
3 - 5:18
4 - 5:27
5 - 5:17

didn't suck it up enough for 3 and 4 but about what i expected timewise.
Mon 6/20/20052up. 5k - 16:12. 3 down.

as motivation to start getting back in some kind of shape i ran this race. wow. didn't know pace for shit. thought i was out slow in 4:55. that actually felt ok until the last mile. 2m in 10:05. then death. for the most part i'm satisfied though.
Mon 4/18/2005when i ran poorly at chicago last fall, i just put my splits up here. i actually felt good on race day, and given how badly my knee had hurt i was pleased with the effort. i was satisfied that if i got my knee healthy i would be successful today.

if it were only that easy. i'm posting this 2 weeks after the fact, and i'm still in some kind of denial, some kind of disbelief. but i need to get some of my thoughts down here so i can start to move on.

going back to chicago 2003, i did an 18 week buildup. it was magical. everything fell into place. so, i've stuck with an 18 week build-up. this boston cycle was my second post "quality" fall marathon cycle, and at this time i would definitely say it doesn't take me 18 weeks to hit a peak. i haven't gone back over my logs thoroughly, but i know in 2004 i was fit as hell at the end of february and ran great at gate river in mid-march. although i ran 2 pr's in april and may, those races didn't feel like pr's and in my other races - broad street, spring lake - i was flat.

this year i was really surprised when at the end of january i found myself running 5:25 pace with matt downin in "something more than a tempo but not quite a race". i was even more surprised when 2 weeks later i nailed a 15k in the park, coming close to a pr with 100+ miles and no taper. things were looking good i thought. sometime after i nailed a mile repeat workout with hans pacing me through the 800. i think i peaked right about then, though i didn't realize it at the time. now, i think the signs were there.

the first workout that went badly was when i returned to the northern hills. i thought i was really fit and given that i hadn't run it in a while i would nail it. i didn't run badly, but i wasn't any faster either. my next workout was a typical "relaxed" workout prior to a race - 2x1m,2x800m,4x400m. the first interval was too slow - christ, i just looked back, it was 5:17 - so i pushed the rest of the workout to hit the times i wanted. looks ok in the log, but the effort was wrong. even though i won the half marathon 5 weeks out, i was atleast a minute slower than i expected. moreover, i couldn't shake the guy running off me. and i tried. i thought i was just tired, ready to start tapering. well it never kicked in, things just got worse. the tuesday before the 8k championships i ran 6x800 with marc, generous rest. no offense to marc, but when we run short stuff it's usually me doing the pacing. after one, i couldn't. i was expecting 2:20-2:24, they were more like 2:26. the good feeling i had in february was gone.

i think it was the next day, marc and i ran 10 miles in some slush. i was dead. i was running pathetically slow and was winded. ask marc. then, the 8k. 26:15 or so. enough said. i was expecting 25:30 at worst. no way i was going out there to run 26:15 when i signed up. i planned on 4:55 for the first mile. even though i hit 4:58, i was dead. shouldn't have been. first thing nick said.

the thing is, despite what seems obvious to me now, i didn't expect things to go so badly in boston. in other words, i don't feel like i psyched myself out. but here's what i know happened:

1) it was hot. maybe not 86 degrees hot like the year before, but hot for anyone who hadn't seen a day over 60 degrees in 4 months or so.

2) i had nothing. i was flat. no race day magic, whatever you call it.

3) despite consuming what i thought to be plenty of fluids in the days prior to the race - and i mean plenty - i felt like the water stops couldn't come frequently enough. my mouth was dry before every water stop.

4) worst blisters ever. i almost always get blisters during the marathon. i've never figured out why. i can eliminate shoes and socks. i wear the same socks for every race, and do all my tempo runs in my marathon shoes. i don't know if my feet swelled from the heat, or what, but instead of feeling the blisters starting to form in the latter half of the race, i felt them at 2 miles. any surface that i pushed off of was a blister, they still aren't healed. officially, this is why i dropped. i know. l-a-m-e. i'd make fun of me too.

my splits thru 20 are below. i seriously considered dropping out at 15, when i saw marc for the first time, but i couldn't. he and julie came to boston to see me race, julie's sister and her boyfriend were there, and i just couldn't do it when i went by. but i should have. instead i trudged through 20, and up a big hill i might add, and then people started going by in droves. that did it. i didn't want to be that guy that everybody passed and said, "well he went out too hard", because that was the least of my concerns. in fact, big picture, i thought i was out too slow, and had expected to be faster. the last mile is relatively slow because i started the "i'm dropping out shuffle" about 400m from the 20m mark.

1 - 5:35
2 - 11:10 (5:34)
3 - 16:44 (5:34)
5k - 17:17
4 - 22:21 (5:36)
5 - 28:12 (5:51)
6 - 33:50 (5:38)
10k - 34:59 (17:42)
7 - 39:30 (5:40)
9 - 50:53 (11:22)
15k - 52:40 (17:41)
10 - 55:39 (5:45)
11 - 1:02:24 (5:44)
12 - 1:08:00 (5:36)
20k - 1:10:26 (17:46)
13 - 1:13:38 (5:38)
13.1 - 1:14:13
14 - 1:19:24 (5:45)
15 - 1:25:26 (6:01)
25k - 1:28:31 (18:05)
16 - 1:31:15 (5:45)
17 - 1:37:26 (6:11)
18 - 1:43:48 (6:21)
30k - 1:47:47 (19:16)
19 - 1:50:05 (6:17)
20 - 1:56:37 (6:32)

physically, dropping out was the right thing. mentally i'm not dealing with the disappointment and failure too well. i have no future plans. i'm still processing. i'm more fit the when i ran 2:29, but it only counts if you do it in a race.
Sun 3/13/200510 minutes shake out.
2up. 2down.

13.1 - 1:12:05.

this was tough. i had no vim, vigor, mojo, whatever you call it. got to the park kinda late and didn't go thru my full pre-race routine. didn't clear my watch either, so i didn't have enough room to capture what would be some very slow splits.

pace was ok for the first mile, 5:18, and there were still 3 or 4 along for the ride. after the rollers on the west side and unfortunately before the great hill and the 3m mark, i realized that this was not going to be an easy day. nothing felt smooth and the pace was kinda all over the place.

at 3 miles there was one guy left, so even though he wouldn't take the pace, i kinda let him dictate it, speeding up and slowing down sporadically trying to get him to either take the pace or drop. he did neither. he did clip me at least a dozen times though, which started to tick me off, afterall this is the road, not the track, and there is plenty of room. once, twice, that's ok, as long as you apologize, but he didn't.

i spent the second loop of the race thinking about how nice it would be to drop out around 10, that since this wasn't a fast day, as a workout 10 would be good enough. the problem was there was somebody filming on a bike and i felt a little funny about just pulling off the course on film, though i'm sure that would have been funny for the editors. anyway, somewhere around 10.5 miles this guy actually pushed me, and that pissed me off. as we finished off the last up hill on the east side i turned it up a little and apparently that was enough for him. i ended up winning by a sizeable margin running 5:18 and 5:21 on the end.

i am pleased with the effort i gave on a subpar day, and on a tough course. it gives me confidence in my fitness and i know that i will run well on a good day.
Sun 2/13/200510 minute shakeout.
2up.
nyrr 15k - 50:08.
2down.

1 - 5:23
2 - 10:37 (5:13)
3 - 15:59 (5:22)
4 - 21:26 (5:27)
5 - 26:49 (5:23)
6 - 32:20 (5:30)
7 - 37:41 (5:20)
9.3 - 50:08 (12:27)

missed the rest of the splits because i was lapping people and missed the markers. i was pretty tired this week - had to take a couple 3hr naps when i got home from work - but also felt i could run faster than 2 weeks ago, which i did. very happy with the last 2 weeks. just need to keep it rolling.
Sat 1/29/20053up. 10m in central park. 3down.

1 - 5:27
2 - 5:29 (10:57)
3 - 5:23 (16:21)
4 - 5:29 (21:50)
5 - 5:21 (27:11)
6 - 5:36 (32:48)
7 - 5:26 (38:14)
8 - 5:33 (43:47)
9 - 5:33 (49:21)
10 - 5:19 (54:40) 5:28 pace.

2 loops in central park. first up the great hill down to 72nd, second across 102nd and around the bottom. ran the first loop with matt downin, or should i say he was nice enough to run the first loop with me. i faltered a little when he picked it up starting the second loop but then regained myself. this was faster than i expected so i am quite pleased at this point. my goal was 55:00. this was a pretty controlled effort.
Sun 10/10/2004chicago marathon - 2:33:34.

1 - 5:47
2 - 11:32 (5:45)
3 - 17:14 (5:41)
4 - 22:55 (5:41)
5 - 28:38 (5:43)
6 - 34:14 (5:35)
10k - 35:28
7 - 39:57 (5:42)
8 - 45:40 (5:43)
9 - 51:23 (5:43)
15k - 53:12
10 - 57:05 (5:42)
11 - 1:02:46 (5:41)
12 - 1:08:32 (5:45)
20k - 1:10:59
13 - 1:14:14 (5:42)
13.1 - 1:14:51
14 - 1:19:49 (5:35)
15 - 1:25:26 (5:37)
25k - 1:28:26
16 - 1:31:13 (5:46)
17 - 1:36:56 (5:43)
18 - 1:42:43 (5:46)
30k - 1:46:26
19 - 1:48:38 (5:55)
20 - 1:54:38 (5:59)
21 - 2:00:48 (6:09)
35k - 2:05:12
22 - 2:06:55 (6:07)
23 - 2:13:07 (6:11)
24 - 2:19:26 (6:18)
40k - 2:24:47
25 - 2:25:43 (6:17)
26 - 2:32:13 (6:30)
26.2 - 2:33:28 (75)

5:51 pace.
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