After work at 7pm, I had my tenth and last swim lesson yesterday. I am just barely starting to acquire the basics of the swim technique, so it's too bad that I don't have any more lessons. Now the challenge will be to find a convenient, not too crowded not to expensive swimming pool to go to so I can keep practicing and lock in the learning. Everything I learned can easily be forgotten if I don't practice right away. I will also miss the constant feedback of the coach.
After the swim at around 8:30pm, I went to the track for some intervals.
I was catching up my aborted Sunday session. The workout was a 2 x (2 x 800 m) with 3 min recovery between reps and 10 min between sets.
This is a lot more recovery that I have used in previous 800 meter repeats but trying to tackle them at a 5:30 min/mi pace turned out to be more difficult than expected.
The goal was 2:45 per 800 meters. I started the first lap a bit slow and tried to catch up in the second lap to finish the rep in 2:46. Not bad, but I was quite winded after the last lap at faster than 5:30 pace. The 3 min turned out to be barely enough time to rest. I completed the second rep in 2:48.
The 10 minute rest really helped recover but as it turns out, the fatigue in the legs was still there as I started the 3rd set. I started the first lap of the 3rd rep way too fast. It felt easy at first, but after completing the first lap in 1:18, I started slowing down significantly. 3rd rep 2:50...
By the end of this rep I was exhausted and the 3 min recovery did little to help me recover. I completed the first lap of the 4th rep in 1:24 (almost on pace) but then completely exploded to finish it in 2:58.
Tom cleary beat me on this workout...Despite the conditions being perfect for me to run, I just could not be fast enough, giving the lead to Tom in the speedwork competition 2 / 1.
Somehow, I feel like I should have been able to perform better given the rest time. I remember recently doing 6 x 800m with a lot less recovery and doing each one in less than 3 min. The knee did not bother me too much so there are 2 explanations in my opinion:

1. I was still a bit tired from the week end's half.
2. I was coming from a swim workout and was getting a bit hungry and lacked energy
3. 5:30 pace is actually quite a bit faster than my near 6:00 pace I was using for the 800m repeat. Even with the extra recovery, this pushes my body to a new level

I believe the 3rd option is the biggest contributor to my perceived mediocre performance. And when I think of it this way, it is in fact really positive. I am actually doing the workouts that will help me go beyond my current level of performance.
More speed to come. I am going to try to run again tonight...

Today my legs are a bit sore despite yesterday's slow race. I tried to go to the track to do my intervals but my knee did not agree with it. I will have to try again tomorrow

I approached this race without too much pressure. I do not have a goal for half marathon race so for me, this was an occasion to set a benchmark for myself for this distance and an opportunity to have fun (This is a costumed race).
I decided to go as the zipper face zombie and this "costume" was quite a hit. Countless runners asked me a picture with them or raved about the goriness of my complexion.
I shocked a few but most were enthusiastic about it. 

After a bus ride up the canyon to Sundance, the runners waited for race started in one of those giant instant sprung tents. The wait was long (about 3 hours) and cold. The temperature outside was just below freezing and the tent did not feel much warmer at first. However, after a costume contest and several hours of a few thousand people breathing in it and the temperature was a bit more bearable.
The goal for me for this race was to finish under 1:25:00. In the back of my mind of course, I was going to try to catch the 1:20:00 mark if possible, but my training suggested that I would not be able to run that fast yet.

The race started at 9 am sharp. At the start things were a bit hectic. Not much room for hundreds of runners pressing down a steep canyon on icy roads.
I managed somehow to avoid slipping and slalomed my way close to the lead of the race. After starting slow near the starting line, running around runners and avoiding collisions, I still managed a blistering 5:20 in the first mile.
Perhaps a bit fast for my level of fitness... But no matter.. In this type of race, where there is no real pressure, it is a great time to experiment, make mistakes and learn. 
Shortly after passing mile 1, I felt my right shoe laces coming lose and soon they were flapping against my left calf. Damn! I decided not to stop right away. I wanted to take full advantage of the fast downhill section to get away from the pack and besides, my hands were nearly frozen, making the task of tying my shoe nearly impossible.
I pushed on and completed mile 2 in 5:44. I was still feeling good but by the end of mile 2, this sub 6 pace started to remind me that I was running a bit out of my league... A stitch on my right side forced me to slow down just a bit. By the end of mile 3, the steep downhill section was over and a gentle 1% decline took its place. Mile 3: 6:18.
Shortly after mile 3, I decided it was time to tie the shoe. The constant slapping of the calf was really starting to piss me off. I took a short break on the side of the road, kneeled down and my hands were so numb, it took all my focus to be able to tie my shoe. I lost about 30 seconds.
At mile 4, I started feeling very winded, somehow I was not feeling quite right. So that's what it feels like starting way too fast... Runners started passing me slowly but steadily as I slowed down to slighlty over 7:00min/mi pace
I decided to try to stay around that pace to recover for a while:
Mile 4: 7:03
Mile 5: 7:08
Mile 6: 7:04
When I passed mile 6 I started feeling good again. Sure the pacing had been stupid. Had I maintained a steady 6:15 pace from the start, I would already be 1 minute ahead. Well, no time to dwell on mistakes...I was focused on the remainder of the race at this point. 
Mile 6 started great and I was able to complete the first quarter mile at about 6:15 pace without too much difficulty. I was back in the race! But at mile 6.5, the uphill portion of the race started. I knew I just had to hang on close to 7:00min/mi, without blowing up, as the climb lasted only about 1 to 1.5 mile. Then the rest of the race was downhill.
However, shortly after mile 6.5 as I was straining a bit to keep on pace, a jolt of pain hit by left knee. The pain was so sharp and sudden that it stopped me in the middle of my stride. I walked a few yards trying to assess the situation.
I knew going in the race that there was a real possibility that my knee injury would play up. At my last long run a week before, the pain had hit me only after 8 miles but the pace was much slower. I had come with a mind prepared for that possibility and had decided beforehand that I would fight through the pain.  The injury, probably an overuse injury : tendinitis / ITB or something similar, would probably not get much worse by running 6 - 8 miles on it. 
I resumed the run, but after only a couple of strides the pain hit me again with a vengeance. This time, the pain was so severe that the muscles in my left leg contracted all at the same time in reflex and I nearly lost my balance. 
There was no question in my mind that I would not be able to fight through the pain on this one. Even the walking required careful consideration to prevent horrendous pain. A slight twist of the foot would bring me agony. 
I decided to walk to at least the end of the hill. Hell, I might have to walk the whole way...
Mile 7 took 10:18. Mile 8, 13:18. Shortly after mile 8, I decided to attempt to run again. I started very carefully, shortening my stride as much as possible to limit the strain on the knee and surprisingly, this felt okay. I decided to accelerate very progressively:
Mile 10 : 7:23
Mile 11 : 7:15
Mile 12 : 7:11
Mile 13 : 7:12
In the last 0.1 mile, aside from the leg, I felt fresh. I allowed myself a strong finish at 6:12 min / mi.
I completed the half marathon in 1:39:49. Sure I wanted to do better (much better) but this is one of these times were I did not feel I had the full control of the outcome. So I did the next best thing: I finished the race.
This is the first time I have to cope with an injury while running a race. It was painful but I learned a few things in this race again:
     -The importance of early pacing and its effects and consequences later in the race
     -The importance of careful preparation of smallest details, like tying your shoes properly!
     -At last, another experience that continues to strengthen my mental fortitude. I will need it if I intend to become an Ironman.

Last week end (Saturday 10/20/12), I had my 9th and second to last swimming lesson. I finally learned to breathe while swimming. Well, I have so much more to learn! At the moment, I am able to swim about a length of pool and no matter how many times I try to breathe, I always end up completely out of breath on the other side...Next (and last) lesson on 10/29/12.

In the afternoon, I went running with the dogs. The weather was great although a bit warm. I went about 3 hours after a later (and heavy) lunch and really did not feel up to it from the beginning. I pushed through but at mile 8, the knee pain started coming back. I stopped running at mile 9 when the pain was becoming too overwhelming but it meant that I had to walk about 4 miles back home. The dogs didn't seem to mind...I ended up running 9.65 miles total at an average pace of 8:15/mile.

Monday was the start of my new training focused on speed. As I explained before, the goal is to concentrate on speed rather than endurance for the next 18 weeks in order to help improve my running speed. The later part of 2013 will be a transition back to endurance and marathon running and triathlon specific training towards the end of the year with an November Ironman race goal.

For this speed training I am duplicating the training described in my favorite running podcast Marathon Talk. In this podcast, the co-host Tom Williams has completed this training and I have decided to take on the challenge to follow it as well and try and beat his times. In the training I outlined (Excel File on the training page) I score my performance for each speed workout against his.

This first workout on Monday was a brutal 3 x 6 minutes with 4 minutes recovery. The conditions were particularly windy on Monday night. I went to the high school track in Draper and found the wind so strong that I had to lean forward to walk against the wind.
The wind was against me on the long side of the track one way and I had it in my back (which didn't seem to help much) on the way back.
For the first interval, I completed 1.02mile in 6:08 (about 6min /mi pace). In my previous speed workout the week before I had completed a mile in 5:36 with my injured knee so I estimate that the wind was giving me roughly a 25 sec per mile handicap.
When I started the second 6 min interval, it really felt exhausting almost immediately. In 6 minutes I completed only 0.94 mile (6:23min/mi)
Last interval was equally painful: 0.93 mile (6:27min/mi).
Okay Tom... this time you beat me.

On Tuesday, I wanted to run an easy 10k but my knee remembered the abuse of the day before. I could only manage 4.74 miles at 7:15min/mi pace.

Wednesday was the second speed workout of the week. A weird 1000m, 600m, 400m with a full 15 minutes recovery in between.
I went to the West Jordan high school after work and nobody was at the track. That night was pretty glacial too and I have to get used to breathing hard that cold air. Probably not a good idea but I started the workout without warm up. It was already 7:30pm and I was eager to get back home...
As a result, I started the first 1000m way too slow but I did not realize it before the first lap of the track was over. I pushed hard towards the end but managed only a disappointing 3:34 (5:46min/mi).
It was so cold, that I went to recover in my car for the 15 minutes between the intervals. 
I started the 600m much faster, determined to make up some time on Tom. I completed the second interval in 1:37 (4:57min/mi)
I finished the last interval (0.26mi)  in 1:12 (4:34min /mi).
Performing a weighted average of the paces puts me just in front of Tom for this workout with 5:16 min/mi against 5:24 min /mi.
After 2 workouts Tom: 1  / Me : 1

Now it is rest time until Saturday's race... 
Hopefully my knee does not give me any trouble, but given that I have not been able to run more than 8 miles on it without pain, this week end's half marathon may prove to be one painful ordeal...
 

Ever since the St George marathon, my left knee has bothered me. As a result my training has suffered a bit. In fact I decided to shift my speed training by one week which will leave me almost no time for my half marathon prep. 
Well there is no choice but wait for the knee to feel better. The last thing I'd want is to start the race with a painful injury.
The knee has been feeling better and better though. Last week end, I started an easy run only for the soreness to stop me after just 2 miles. On Monday I started the speed training and the first mile felt good even though I was pushing hard. On Wednesday I went for a hard 8 miler and was able to push for a good 5 miles without pain (at mile 6 the pain reappeared and I stopped). 
So there is definite improvement. I am taking another couple of days of rest and will try an easy 10 miler this week end.
If everything goes well, I am starting the speed training on Monday, while the Provo half marathon will be the following Saturday.

Monday I also went to my swimming class and it was horrible. I went at 7pm after a 14 hour work day and felt unfocused, uncoordinated and after 2 weeks without swim practice I felt like I did not improve and perhaps went a bit backwards. I still have not learned the full movement yet (breathing) and I just have 1 or 2 lessons left). I scheduled another lesson on Saturday, hoping that by keeping the lessons closer I will retain more.

It has been only a few days since St George marathon but I can't help but wanting to plan for more racing. Getting so close to the 3 hour mark (sort of unexpectedly) made me get a feel for how great it would be to wrap up the year achieving such a goal that not long ago I thought to be long term and out of reach. 
Consequently, I could not help but sign up for another marathon race, the California International Marathon in Sacramento on 12/2/12.
Hmm... maybe a bit impulsive and not my greatest decision ever...

A day later after making all the arrangements, I am wondering if it would not have been better to take a break, regroup and refocus for the next season.
I started thinking more about what I really wanted to accomplish. Would more marathon running this year (the 7th marathon of the year) be in line with my ultimate IronMan goal? Eventhough I have been quite successful this year going from race to race and managing 4 marathon PRs in 6 races, I am not convinced that I can keep this up without changing my training. 

If I think back about my training this year, I have not varied the training much. The occasional speedwork, some tempo and never failed going for the long runs.
Sure, it seems like I am hitting the basics, but I believe that another year like this would result in a plateau-ing of my performance. I just do not believe that my average 40 mile/week mileage can take me much further than a 3 hour marathon.
What to do then? Increase the mileage? What about triathlon training?
What do I really want? 
At nearly 40 years old, I do not have years and years of fast running in front of me. I believe that with the right training I can dip significantly under a 3 hour marathon within the next 2- 3 years. After 45 (gees just 5 years away) my performance is likely to dip significantly. My life circumstances might change as well. I might become less motivated...etc

I am also not willing to back down from my 2013 IronMan goal. However, I believe that for a first event participation, I can not expect to finish an IronMan fast. There will be so much learning involved  finishing will be a feat in itself. I have not expectation of time for it.
Keeping these thoughts in mind I decided the following:

1) I am going to refocus / rethink my training for a fast marathon training in 2013. My training will start ASAP with a heavy emphasis on high intesity/short distance (mile to 5k) for the next 18 to 20 weeks (until February). The goal is to significantly increase my running speed. In the meantime I will keep improving my swimming technique. It will not take much energy and I should have time to go to the pool once or twice a week during that time.

2) The following 6 months will be focused on improving my mid-distance (10k to half marathon) running ability while maintaining the running speed on shorter distances.
During that time, I will be running the Boston marathon. This means that this marathon will not be a primary goal for me. I plan to just go and enjoy the experience.

3) Around August 2013, I will start training for my IronMan (light base building training as time allows) with an emphasis on marathon running since I will pick my marathon A-goal around the September time frame. 

4) Once my marathon is done (and my goal of sub 3 hours hopefully achieved) I will switch to triathlon training with emphasis on biking.

5) Ihave been wanting to do some ultra running starting next March, but clearly this is incompatible with my plan for next year and therefore, I will have to resist the temptation and push this back to 2014.

I will post my new training plan until February (emphasis on running speed training) in the training section shortly.

I have been pretty busy since Top of Utah Marathon. Unfortunately for my training, nothing that involves much running. 2 weeks before the marathon, I was working a few 16 hour days, occasionally escaping work for 30 min to go for a quick speed run. 
Last week, I went to a friend's wedding in Normandy, France and aside from a last half marathon long run 8 days before the marathon, I did not get to run at all. Instead, I enjoyed unsparing quantities of celebratory wine, and did not waste an occasion to visit the amazing French bakeries. I consumed reckless amounts of pastries. I so miss them! 

After the wedding, I traveled to Paris to visit some friends and again yielded to the art of fine cuisine and alcohol enhanced "moments of life".
A couple of days later, I was traveling again to Clermont-Ferrand, in the center of France to visit my family. My mother was prepared and greeted me with her finest dishes and of course, my cherished pastries from the amazing local pastry shop.
This last Friday, I woke up at 5:45 am to prepare for the trip back home..Hm well.. the trip to the St George marathon. This involved 3 flights and nearly 24 hours of travel. 
I finally reached St George at about 7pm Friday night and caught a cab straight to the expo. I shopped for a few Gu's and supplies I had not been able to take in my trip. Fortunately, the expo was huge and there was no problem finding anything I wanted. The main challenge was navigating through the tight aisles and crowds at the expo with my bags and suitcases.

I walked from the expo to my hotel which was less than a mile away.
I laid down all my marathon gear on the floor for the next morning. It was going to be a 3:30am wake up. At this point I was so jet lagged that I did not care that much. I just wanted to get a few hours of sleep before the race.
I went to bed at about 10pm and could not sleep at all. Not because of the stress of the trip, or the angst of delivering the best performance of my life. No, I was much too tired for all that. 
Some kids playfully screaming, excitedly slamming doors, joyfully sprinting in the hallways and their parents blissfully ignoring them is what kept me awake until about 11:30pm.
I still woke up every hour after than to check on the clock.
I can't say this was my best marathon preparation week, or month even!!

My goal for this marathon was to beat my previous best (3:06:42) and if at all possible, slip under 3. I had no illusions though. With my poor preparation, I was well aware that I might just implode midway.
With this course profile, I had strategized to maintain a sub 7:00 min pace till mile 7. Miles 7 through 14 were likely to be tough and so trying to stay as close to 7:00 min/mi as possible, maybe 7:10 was going to be the goal. Then I would have to be very consistent well under 7:00 min/mi to the finish line, without any significant fading at the end to get close to the 3 hour mark.

The pre-marathon start was well organized. Many 'bon-fires' had been set up and kept me warm till the very last minute before the start.
The race began in pitch black obscurity at 6:45am.
I started a bit in the back of the pack. The crowds had prevented me from reaching my desired spot on the starting line. I was not too far though. I had managed to position myself between the 3:15 pacer and the 3:05 pacer.
The start was a bit chaotic. I slalomed to make my way through the crowd, avoided the slow runners and after a few minutes I passed a big chunk of runners surrounding the 3:05 pacer.
One thing that is beyond me is why at this stage of the race I was still passing running barely doing 12min/mile. Why do people do that!? It is dangerous...and so very annoying.
The first few miles felt easy. I was careful to stay within my planned pace range and comfortable effort level:
Mile 1     6:45
Mile 2     7:01
Mile 3     6:51
Mile 4     6:41
Mile 5     6:51
Mile 6     6:40
Mile 7     6:38
Right after reaching mile 7 a big surprise was waiting for me. Yes, that mile 7 hill was no joke. I really was not expecting this. The climb must have been close to 10% incline and seemed never to end.
I increased my effort drastically but I was careful not to hit the "red zone" too much. At mile 8, there was going to be a lot of work to do after that hill. So I held back just a tad. Everyone was passing me in that hill...Maybe 200 people I had just passed in the previous miles rushed back pass me. 
I did not panic though. I have enough marathon running experience at this point to know that all these people were most likely not managing their effort properly. I would see them again at mile 20 or before...
Mile 8     7:51
Mile 9     7:25
Mile 10   7:12
Mile 11   7:36
Mile 12   7:02
I lost a lot of time is these few hard miles.. Just about 2 minutes. But this was a necessary slow down for me. I felt that I could not have gone faster and leave too much energy to get back in the pace in the last 3rd of the race.
After mile 12, the course started going down again, and I was glad to still feel relatively fresh. My knees were a bit sore, but nothing too unusual. I probably should have changed my shoes about 50 miles ago...
Now all I had to do was to maintain a 6:45 pace to the end, and I should get close to 3 hours. 
As expected, from mile 13, I started to pass a lot of runners. Slowly at first...Then the difference in pace was really obvious, culminating around mile 20-22.
Mile 13   6:50
Mile 14   6:52
Mile 15   6:30
Mile 16   6:22
Mile 17   6:40
Mile 18   6:43
Mile 19   7:01
Mile 20   6:48
When I completed mile 20 in well under 7 minutes, I knew it was going to be a good race for me. Even if I completely blew up in the last few miles, my time would be respectable.
I started calculating splits to see how close I could get to 3 hours. I was going to be very close. I needed to run the last 10k in less than 41 minutes.
41 minutes seemed do-able. But even on fresh legs, a 41 min 10 k is a challenging time for me.
I had to really push hard every mile till the every end to have a chance.
However at this point, the legs were anything but fresh. I was not feeling terrible, but I had blisters on both my feet and my legs were starting to complain about the abuse. The perfect time to crank it up!
Mile 21   6:36
Mile 22   7:00
Mile 23   6:45
Mile 24   6:40
Mile 25   6:57

At mile 25, I feared my worst nightmare had finally come true. A distinct cramp of my right calf was starting to appear. I modified my stride slightly, trying to raise my toes to stretch the muscle and thankfully, the cramping stopped.
The last mile felt like it was never ending. I had planned to rip it as hard as I could, but I really did not have much left in me...

Mile 26   7:10
Mile 27   7:08 (min/mi)

When I crossed the finish line, my left knee immediately started to hurt like hell. The pain continued throughout the evening but after icing the knee and resting it overnight, the pain is gone.

I was initially a bit disappointed to slip just beyond 3 hours but in retrospect, I really could not have hoped for a better performance given the circumstances. And really, I am not sure where I could have shaved another 1+ minute off my time on this race. My pacing was near perfect. It is my 4th PR out of 6 marathons this year and I can only be thankful for a great running year.

This marathon gives me just enough to be desired to fuel my motivation for another great running year in 2013.