Marathon training: then and now

Out of the 11 marathons I've completed in my day, my most successful one was two years ago at the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon.  My goal was to come in under 3:05 and qualify for Boston, which I achieved with a minute and 55 seconds to spare after a very intense and bumpy training cycle.

Now, two years later, I am throwing everything I have at one last training cycle.  It's one last effort for a big PR.  Namely, a sub 3 hour marathon.  The problem is, I'm constantly wondering if it's enough.  I'm constantly comparing this training cycle to the one I went through two years ago.

Then: 32 years old and married.
Now: 34 years old and married with a 14 month old son.

Then: Ran almost exclusively in the afternoons after work.
Now: Running almost exclusively in the mornings before work.

Then: Topped out at 73 miles per week.  No running on Mondays and some serious speedwork on Thursdays, including lots of stadium stairs and 100 meter sprints at 100% effort.
Now: Topping out around 60 - 65 miles per week.  Maintaining my running streak by doing one slow mile on Mondays.  Speedwork in the morning is difficult because it's still dark at 5am.  Also I can't sprint at 100% for fear of aggravating my left quad.

Then: No alcohol or soda.  Significantly cut down on junk food and restaurant meals.
Now: No alcohol or soda.  Significantly cut down on junk food and restaurant meals.

Then: Brought my weight down to 130 by marathon day.
Now: Currently at 139.

Then: Strict bedtime of 10pm, up at 6am for work.
Now: Loose bedtime of 8-9pm, up at 4am to run then get ready for work.  Quality of my own sleep largely depends on the quality of my son's sleep.

Then: Strength work after every run: pushups, pull-ups, abs, dumbbells, etc.  Also jump roping.
Now: Always pressed for time, my post run routine has been significantly decreased.

Then: Rode my bike to work 2.5 miles every day.
Now: Riding my bike to work 1 mile every day.

Then: Ran the Rock n' Roll Philly Half at full effort in September; backed out of Baltimore Marathon in October due to shin splints.
Now: Rock n' Roll Philly Half moved to end of this month due to Pope visit; slated to run Baltimore Marathon this Saturday as a long run.

Then: Took 1.5 weeks completely off of running in middle of October and another week at low mileage to recover from shin splints.
Now: No major injuries.  Hitting all the miles.

Then: Self doubt high.
Now: Self doubt high.

Then: Wanted a BQ more than anything else in life.
Now: Sub 3 would be fantastic, but a PR or 3rd BQ would also be good.

One year ago...

... I crushed it at the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon.

November 17, 2013

Months of hard work culminated in a PR of 3:03:05.  All for one goal: Boston.

A year later, both the confirmation e-mail and postcard have arrived, and we are currently 154 days out from the 2015 Boston Marathon.

Made the cut.

But it's kind of weird, if you think about it.  All that hard work really only earned me... more hard work.  Because the race is in the middle of April, the bulk of my training will be during the long, cold winter months here in New Jersey.

Was running Philly last year merely the prologue, with Boston as the main event?  Or was Philly the journey, with Boston as the proverbial icing on the cake, a sweet victory lap?

Yes, I'm excited for Boston, but as the temperature drops and the days get shorter, I can't help but think of the long road ahead of me.  One most likely filled with a lot of snow and ice.

I hope y'all follow along, because I know the next few months are going to be interesting.

Marathon photos

I was hoping to buy at least one of my race photos, if not the whole lot of them, from the marathon last month to commemorate such an amazing race.  But to be honest, I wasn't crazy at how they came out and didn't think much more about them.

Just before crossing the finish line, I had to work my way around a girl whose two friends had jumped in to cross the finish line with her.  To the best of my knowledge, this is a huge faux pas in the running world, especially with bigger races.  If you did not run the race, you do not cross the finish line.

So I swerved to the left, just behind a guy who then took up all the space in my pictures from another angle:

And then there's this picture from mile 13:

Funny, yes, but worth spending $40?  Probably not.

And finally, here is one that I screen capped from a brief video Amy took of me in the final push to the finish:

I like this one the best, and if it was higher quality I would simply blow it up and frame this one.

2013 Philadelphia Marathon Race Report

What a day.  What a day.

Ran the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon this morning in a personal record of 3:03:05.  So there's that.

I made my barbecue pizza last night and was in bed by 8:00pm.  Woke up at 4:00am and out the door by 4:30.  Due to the bombings at the Boston Marathon last spring, security had been enhanced and runners were advised to arrive at the course by 5am.  To be honest, security was an absolute joke.  There were multiple security checkpoints, some for runners and some for spectators - why the arbitrary divide when we were all headed right back to the same place?  Once past the checkpoint I could have easily had someone pass me something over the fence.  If someone wanted to do some harm today, the security measures in place wouldn't have stopped them.  While they may have made people feel safer, in truth they were nothing but an inconvenience.

Once close to my corral we sat around for 40 minutes waiting for the race to start.  I took the time to apply bodyglide, tape, and stretch.

Applying Bodyglide at 6:45am.

It was a bit warmer than what I'm used to this morning.  This was my first time opting for just a short sleeved shirt during the race.  It was a cool, slightly humid morning with light breezes, but shortly after I finished the sun came out and the temps picked up.

I started in the maroon corral, right behind the elites.  My plan was to mimic my training in which I started off slow and then built myself up to race pace after a few miles.  Instead, I got caught up in the excitement of the crowd and the pace of the runners around me and ran the first mile in 6:40.  I had the 3:00 pace group in view and rather than back off on the pace, I decided to just go with it as long as I felt ok.

The first half went like this, and I passed the halfway point in 1:29:22 - a half marathon PR - still feeling ok.  I saw Stevie and my dad at the beginning, and Alicia and Brian around mile 6, but missed everyone at mile 13.

I really started to struggle at the 18 mile mark.  The 3:00 pace group started to pull away, and the strain was too much to keep up.  I had gone up to then thinking I was capable of running a BQ, maybe even sub 3, but I started to lose faith at this point.  I picked the pace back up around mile 21.  My friend Tahsin was supposed to meet me at mile 24 to run the rest of the way in, and that's really what carried me that far. Unfortunately Tahsin wasn't there and I knew I had to finish on my own.

Around mile 26 I vaguely heard Stevie and friends call my name as I passed, but I was completely in the zone and could barely acknowledge them.  The finish line never appears when you think it should, and I started to fear I wouldn't make it in time.  Instead I dug deep and managed to finish almost 2 full minutes below the BQ time for my age and gender.

Team Sparteheimer post race.

I openly cried in Stevie's arms when I saw her after hobbling to our meeting point.  I drank some chicken broth, Gatotrade and water and started to feel better, and got a few pictures with everyone.That's where I saw that in addition to signs, she'd made T-shirts for everyone.

Some of the mile splits I drew on my arms.

The shirts Stevie made for everyone.

Stevie and me post race.

One of my favorite signs from the course said: "No Mud.  No Color.  ALL Heart."

Regarding the course, Philly loves to boast that it is a great place to PR due to its flat and fast course (I have now run Philly 5 times and set a PR every time), but others like to complain that it isn't quite as flat as advertised.  Indeed, the hills got to me quite a bit this year.  In other years I barely noticed them, but this year they were a large mental struggle.

I'm lucky in that I never had to stop for the bathroom, nor did I hit the wall in any way.  In past marathons I've felt spasms shoot through my calves or quads, but nothing like that today.  Just overall fatigue.

We stood around the finishing area for awhile taking pictures and swapping stories, laughs, and hugs. Before long some of us headed back to our place where we drank celebratory Jägerbombs, then drank beer and ate pizza all afternoon.

Celebratory drinks.

20th anniversary medal.

I'm naturally sore as hell right now, and will be sad when the day comes to an end and I have to take off my medal.  For now I am in incredibly high spirits.

Thanks to everyone.  The support means more than you know.

August and everything after

The post in which I formally declare that I am once again attempting to qualify for Boston.

I have been training consistently for the past month, reigning in my diet, running 6 days a week with rest days on Monday, doing speedwork and upping my long run to 12 miles so far.  Here's what the next few months will look like:

August

• Continue to run six days a week.
• Complete the Run for Tony 5k.  Beat all of my students that enter.
• Continue to crosstrain at the local pool while it remains open.

September

• Continue to train 6 days a week.
• Once school starts, start strengthtraining sessions in the school gym.
• Run Rock 'n' Roll Philly Half Marathon.  Hoping to break 1:29:26 for a new PR.

October

• Continue to train 6 days a week and strength train in school gym.
• Up mileage to 60 miles a week.
• Complete Baltimore Marathon as training run.

November

• Begin taper.
• Run the Philadelphia Marathon in less than 3:05.
• Bask in eternal glory of the BQ.

It's going to be a rough couple of months, and I'll need all the strength, focus, will power and perseverance I can muster.

Wish me luck.

A new way

Will you help teach me... about this... what is it?  A new way?

I'm home from the honeymoon.  Back from the sweet, sweet caresses of the Alaskan wilderness where temperatures never go above 60 degrees, and back into the foul, smelly breath of Jersey summer humidity.

I'm throwing myself headlong into a training regimen for the Philly Marathon this fall, and because it's so hot, it means getting up as early as I can to go running.  Here's me at 8 o'clock this morning after a very sweaty five miler:

This new regimen will definitely take some getting used to.  Going to bed early, getting up early... hard to believe I'm still on vacation.  Good thing I have nothing else to do over the next six weeks.