The Deep End? My #HFLC experiment begins…

Am I off it? Time will tell. My research into electrolytes and optimal carb loading during the marathon has led me off in an unexpected direction. Nelson has been quoting and recommending Prof. Tim Noakes for some time – mainly his seminal work “The Lore of Running.” I started following him on Twitter a while back, but recently became intrigued by a linked podcast where he was interviewed on the HFLC/LCHF (I’ve seen it both ways, c’mon people let’s pick one) High Fat Low Carb Diet. I also picked up his book “Challenging Beliefs” which has several chapters on the subject and uses the more cumbersome term “high-fat/high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet.” I’m going with HFLC.

This is going to be (for me) a quick post, but the point of this method of eating is getting off the carb/blood sugar pendulum and teaching your body to burn fat with the attendant health and performance benefits (no wall?)

I decided to launch into it Thursday evening. There was a fairly short and fairly mild acclimatization period. My only symptom was a light headache (to be expected from what I read) on Friday. I felt great on a long run Saturday with 12 sub-7:30 miles on my way to 16. It was a depletion run – nothing but water. There was no bonk like I had experienced a couple of weeks before on an attempted depletion run of the same distance. My Sunday morning recovery run found me about 0:30 faster than usual – I struggle with a decent pace on this run although I realize it doesn’t need to be that fast.

With any luck this means my body has happily switched over to using ketones for fuel. I’m still researching what to do during/before a race. Ultramarathoner Timothy Allen Olson eats this way. I am looking forward to listening to a podcast interview with him on the way home today. I figure he’s fairly credible since he won the Western States 100 in 2012! [EDIT: and 2013! Wow. Article with podcast link predated WS 2013.] Wish me luck!

The Electrolyte Debate: What to drink during your marathon?

I’ve previously dabbled in the alchemy of finding the magic elixir of running. Look for a future post on my weird marathon carb-loading regimen (I use the Western Australian method). I’ll also probably write one about what to eat on race morning, so I am excluding those subjects from this post.

I have fought to push GU down during my previous 4 marathons. I just can’t seem to stomach it at race pace, although I don’t have nearly the problems others note. This, coupled with a recent depletion run bonk, caused me to rethink what I should intake during a race.

There is a significant debate out there over hydration, electrolytes, and calories during a run. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, and I don’t even play one on tv. So, take all this with a grain of salt (or don’t, more on that in a minute).

I am not going to plow any new ground here. I’ll lay out the basics, give you my conclusions, and pose a few questions along the way. I’m interested in what works for all of you though – what have you tried?

My main sources for my conclusions here are “Advanced Marathoning” and “The Paleo Diet for Athletes.” There are 3 components in this equation: 1) how much fluid?; 2) how many calories?; and 3) electrolytes – yes/no/which/how much? (obviously the muddiest issue).

#1 – Virtually everyone agrees that you need to take in some fluid during the race. Except maybe Alberto Salazar. Elites will dehydrate themselves to a certain degree during a race, but there is a point at which this becomes counterproductive. Studies show that a certain amount of dehydration does not decrease performance. You can also drink too much during a race – especially if you’re out there for a long time and are drinking only water: this condition is called hyponatremia, and it can be just as deadly as dehydration – it’s just not as well-publicized. Exactly how much fluid you need depends on your sweat rate – which varies based on the environment and you. You lose 3-4 pounds of water during a marathon on a hot day, 2-3 on a cool one. Also, your stomach can only empty so much fluid per hour. It looks to me like average consumption should be around 24-28 fluid oz. per hour. Conclusion: I’m shooting for 6 oz. every 15 min.

#2 – My two main sources agree on the amount of calories you should intake during a race – basically 200-300 per hour. Conclusion: for 3 hours out there, I’m targeting 700+ calories.

#3 – Electrolytes. Sodium is the biggie. AM says you need it – recommending a ratio of 250mg/L. AM specifically recommends it to avoid hyponatremia and improve caloric uptake. The Paleos don’t agree as to its benefit – but waffle on the conclusion. To be fair, I think what they are saying is that it really doesn’t help as much as we think, although on balance it seems to recommend it. Also, I think I see a flaw in their reasoning. Basically the theory is that the sodium content of your sweat is less than in your body, thus sodium becomes more concentrated in your body as you exercise and sweat so you don’t need to replace it. But…(and I didn’t go to the source study so maybe they just skipped a step) if you’re sweating out sodium and other electrolytes and drinking straight water (or something with calories and no electrolytes) during a race, that should dilute the concentration of sodium in your body, right? Duh? The Paleos admit there’s no known downside to taking in sodium during a race and may be a slight advantage – improving the rate of absorption of water and carbs – thus ultimately concurring with AM. That’s enough for me. Conclusion: a dash of salt. The AM ratio is designed to not exceed the level of palatability. I have seen other formulas with 5-6x the sodium. I tried one. It’s barely drinkable. The new Gatorade Endurance formulation boasts 3x the sodium and 2x the potassium of regular Gatorade. However, it doesn’t have sufficient calories in my estimation – 80 per 12 oz – only 480 if you drink 72 oz. It also has a lot more sodium in those 72 oz. – 1740 mg – than the AM formula would recommend (532 mg). Plus, I can make this stuff way cheaper than a $30 canister of powder, and without any food coloring. I’m going to split the difference between Gatorade Endurance and AM: 1120 mg/72 oz.

On to potassium. AM and the Paleos are silent on the subject, but Gatorade includes it in their formulation. PDA does discuss it in the context of cramp prevention – but says available studies show no benefit. PDA does recommend it as part of recovery. Anecdotally, whenever I had a huge calf cramp after 2-a-day soccer practices in HS I’d make sure I had a banana or two that night. I eat a lot of bananas these days, which seems to ward off the cramps for most purposes, however I have experienced significant calf cramping in 2 of my 4 marathons. Also, one of my other sources – a Doctor/runner who passed along the World Health Organization’s Oral Rehydration Solution (“ORS” – for treating severe dehydration) includes potassium as an ingredient, but again in a fairly high concentration. Since I am not planning on suffering a bout of explosive diarrhea before the race, I’m going to compromise with a lower concentration closer to the Gatorade number of 840 mg potassium: 795 mg/72 oz.

There are other electrolytes to consider, but I am not adding them to the witches brew at this time, primarily magnesium. Spinach and pumpkin seeds have a lot by the way. So does swiss chard.

The recipe:

72 oz. of marathon electrolyte/fuel/fluid (that’s a lousy recipe name. Maybe MEFF72? Sounds vaguely Victor Conte-ish. Maybe I should go register that with the PTO).

  • 1 cup of dextrose
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp. Nu Salt
  • 1/2 cup lime juice (or to taste)
  • water to fill to 72 oz.

Notes: 1 tsp of dextrose has 15 cal. There are 48 tsp. in a cup. So 1 cup of dextrose is 720 calories. Dextrose aka glucose is used because it is a simple sugar – a monosaccharide – rapid absorption. It’s also more easily tolerated than fructose. Sucrose is an ok substitute, but it’s a disaccharide, so there’s a metabolic process there. You can get dextrose at a brew shop or Amazon. Sea salt is sodium chloride, obviously. 1/2 tsp. yields 560 mg of sodium. Nu Salt is potassium chloride. It’s sold just about everywhere as a salt substitute. There are alternatives, but watch out for Lite Salt that also contains sodium – then you’re doubling up. I’d really prefer 1/6 of a tsp., but who has that measuring spoon. 1/4 tsp. yields 795 mg of potassium. If that sounds like a lot, you need a lot more K per day than you do Na. A banana has over 500 mg. So I’m not worried about OD’ing on K. Lime juice is purely for flavor. I like Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key West Lime Juice. It’s the next best thing to fresh.

Using the recipe:

I am going to be such a wannabe at the Heart of America marathon. I’m going to split these 72 oz into 6-12oz. bottles and have the RHSW place them at aid stations for me. The advantages of a small race! Run like the elites! I’m going to try to pick one up every half hour and drink 1/2 right away, the other 1/2 15 minutes later. I’ll start the first bottle pre-gun.

I’ve tried it out once already and tolerated it well. I think it will be easier than GU to get down. I was a bit nauseous in the first few miles of the Garmin marathon. AM tells me that’s because I’m pushing harder than I should at the beginning. Well, that’s how I race. I can race a bit better than my training would predict, but not without a price.

As with any “new” thing – try it before you race it. If you try it, let me know what you think!

@skoraRunning BASE Shoe Review

Since receiving the SKORA BASE to try out (gratis – thanks!/objectivity disclaimer) just under a month ago I’ve run in them 8 times and put about 90 miles on them. It’s an instant favorite – so much so that I’m considering running my 5th marathon in them, my return to the Heart of America Marathon on Labor Day in Columbia, MO. Quick tangent: the HOA has some great history as the 4th oldest marathon in the country. Hal Higdon won it in 1968 just after dropping out of the Olympic Trials. Easley Hill climbs 240 feet in less than a mile. By such objective measures – including elevation change and mean temperature – it might be one of the toughest road course marathons out there.

To me, the ultimate test of a shoe is its overall function during a long run – anything 16 miles or more. Does the shoe interfere or stay out of the way? If I’m not thinking about my shoes while running, that’s ideal. If I come out of a long run (especially with some goal pace miles in it) without having to stop to adjust the shoe, without any blisters, and without unusual aches or pains in recovery, that’s my definition of a shoe that functions properly. The BASE functions the way I want a shoe to function.

Because of my current racing goals I race on pavement. If I could race 26.2 miles through a lush field of grass, I wouldn’t wear any shoes. I haven’t found a marathon yet that’s billed as fast, flat, and well-irrigated. Thus, I think every minimalist runner is looking for the ideal level of cushioning. I do run barefoot fairly often – but (mostly) not on pavement. Concrete doesn’t really occur in nature – so I think you need some cushioning. On the other hand, you don’t want so much cushioning that you’re disconnected. I think the BASE strikes that balance effectively, especially for race tempo. In a recent training long run which included both pavement and a limestone gravel trail, I think the sweet spot surface for the BASE is gravel – but given the choice who would prefer pavement to gravel? I haven’t done a true trail run but I did try them on a surface generously described as grass (non-irrigated scrub over hard-packed clay) and loved their feel on that.

Personally, I’m a function over form guy when it comes to running shoes – but I still appreciate good design and execution. The level of material quality and design in the BASE is simply outstanding. The shoe is seriously cool in a purposeful way – there is nothing extraneous. I also like how the name is only found on the heel of the shoe. Where else would anyone need to look while you’re running in them? 🙂

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My personal preference on a shoe is laces. I will say that the BASE is the best-executed version of a bootie/Velcro closure/strap upper I have come across.

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Fit is an important component in any shoe – the manufacturer has some limited control here and SKORA uses it to its advantage. A better way of putting it would be flexibility of fit. The criss-cross Velcro closures on the BASE combined with its snug but stretchy upper allow you to adjust the fit to your preference. It even has an adjustable band at the heel, although I haven’t had to futz with it since I haven’t experienced any heel slippage or tightness. The toe box is roomy enough without feeling like you’re in a cave. I really love how the BASE allows my toes to flex and spread while keeping the rest of my foot in the shoe.

As to the functionality of the BASE’s design, there are several elements I consider to be objectively superior to the design of some other minimalist shoes I’ve tried. The first is that the toe is slightly turned up. When running barefoot, no one is going to drive their toes straight into the ground – they’re slightly turned up so that the forefoot can make contact. I’ve run in some flat-footed minimalist shoes that I catch pavement heaves with – not a problem with the BASE. The BASE isn’t flat from side to side – and neither is your foot. The fancy term is that it allows for proprioception. In this context it means the shoe is letting your body do what it needs to do whilst running without interfering. If you’re thinking about it you’re not doing it – it’s unconscious.

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No one wants a shoe that’s going to fall apart in under 100 miles. I’ve had a few in my early minimalist days. The BASE is built to last. No discernible wear or construction issues at this point.

Believe it or not, I have several minimalist shoes that have zero reflective material on them. That’s just unacceptable. The BASE lights up like a Christmas tree at night.

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A good subjective test for a shoe is: given your available shoes in current rotation, do you find yourself gravitating to it? With the BASE, I do – it’s easily the best multi-purpose shoe in my closet right now. I’m as likely to put it on for a tempo run as a long run. I even wore it non-stop at Webelos Camp for 3 days where it proved to be an excellent trail hiking shoe. I know this is a purpose-built running shoe, but an added bonus is that it’s one of the most comfortable casual shoes I’ve had on my foot in recent memory.

Bottom line: if you are looking for a minimally-cushioned shoe that disappears on your foot – look no further.

“Web” Cam

I was away on a float trip and then Webelos camp last week, so the blog has been pretty quiet.

Webelos camp made my 18 mile Saturday morning long run impossible – I just couldn’t (a) leave the campsite for that long; or (b) get up early enough to be back at Reveille, 7am. So, I crammed it into Sunday morning with a 5 am wakeup call. Obviously it was dark.

I managed to avoid the cobwebs on the trail on the way out with a combined strategy of avoiding overhanging branches, slowing down for notorious web-infested stretches, and holding my hand in front of my face. However, on the way back, I had a lapse in concentration and ran full-face center into a web, complete with big spider and last night’s catch. This gave me an idea:

It would be fun to set up a “web cam” (pun intended) to capture runners doing their spider web freak-outs. I know mine would have been hilarious. And I don’t even have arachnophobia!

Alternative solution: run with a headlamp. I recently purchased a set of them, but as I have blogged previously, I hate having any extra stuff attached to me. I suppose I will have to give it a try as the days get shorter, or give up the trail in the dark.

Dennis Longboat’s Secrets to Marathon Success

This is a combination post – one part film review, one part observations on a not-so-great long run this weekend.

Since the film review will explain the title, let’s start there. I recently watched another running movie: “Saint Ralph.” It is the fictional tale of a 14 year old boy who trains for and ultimately runs in the Boston Marathon. His motivation is non-traditional. With no prior interest in running, he joins his school’s cross country team after deciding that winning the Boston Marathon is the miracle necessary to bring his sick mother out of a coma.

I enjoyed this movie on several levels. As a former Catholic, there was a lot there to hold my interest with the parochial school, good priest/bad priest motif, and themes of adolescent angst/guilt and superstitiousness.

As a running movie – I will say it is ultimately unrealistic, but with just enough authenticity to hold the interest of a runner and provide amusement — if not credibility. Set chiefly in Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada some 50+ years ago, Ralph’s cross-country coach is a young priest who was formerly the best marathoner in Canada and an Olympic hopeful. He gives up running entirely upon entering the priesthood. Since the movie was made recently, it’s hard to say how many modern training methods are confounded with outdated thinking. The title of this post comes from a book Ralph checks out from the library. While some of the initial quotes (with an accented voiceover from the “author” of this apparently fictional work) seem wise enough – albeit primarily and ironically mental outlook on the distance, Ralph is informed by his mentor that Longboat was a crackpot who was later institutionalized. That makes sense as we see Ralph consuming a 6000 calorie lunch and looking forward to a full moon workout. On the unrealistic end of the spectrum, Ralph is unable to finish a 10 mile race with less than 4 months to go to the Boston Marathon. An unspecified period of time later, he WINS a local tune-up race. His training is sufficiently documented to keep it from being a 5 minute “Rocky” sequel montage, but it’s just crammed into such a short period of time that you can’t believe that Ralph goes from couch to Boston contender. In the “Rocky” spirit, there is one particularly grueling training session Ralph passes with flying colors – 20 one mile intervals in the dark, up and down over varied terrain including steps, in the rain. I seem to recall he’s running 4-5 minute splits.

I won’t spoil the ending. I rate the movie 4 out of 5 stars.

So, turning to part two, that crackpot Dennis Longboat came to mind as I conducted an experiment of sorts on my Saturday long run. I ran the first 15 miles of the KC Marathon course. I dropped my bike in Waldo/Brookside, parked at the start, ran to my bike, then rode back to my car. I decided to do it as a depletion run – zero calories before (that morning) and during. Confession – I did have a double espresso with a tsp. of sugar before heading out the door, but that’s it. My target pace for this run was 7:32 to 8:13. I was fine through mile 6 – all sub 8’s. I stopped at QT and opted for water – things were going fine – so I stuck with the program. I started to fall off over the next few miles slowly – but still 3 more in the target range. It wasn’t until I was leaving the Plaza that I felt a bit funny. By the Sunset Hills my pace was dropping. I was 30s to 1m slow by the time I limped down Ward Parkway to 75th. I was practically shouting at myself to keep moving at that point. Unfortunately there were no aid stations (convenience stores) in sight, so I gutted it out through the last few and made it to my target distance of 15 miles, plus a little extra to get to 75th Street. From there it was a short walk to a convenience store for a sports drink and some Sweet Tarts. I hit the Sweet Tarts first since I was already well hydrated. First two ingredients: dextrose and maltodextrin. Dextrose is glucose – a naturally occurring sugar. Maltodextrin is a processed carbohydrate. Not exactly an all-natural foodstuff, especially considering the rest of the ingredient list, but it was the quickest way to get out of zombie mode. I felt 1000 times better after eating half the roll. The 10 mile bike ride back to the car was no big deal at that point.

So, the depletion run went from “teaching my body to burn fat” to feeling more like “teaching my body to hate itself.” The moral of the story was that I’ll take some fuel for an “emergency” the next time I try this. I regularly do 8-10 mile runs totally unfueled. I wonder if I had too few carbs the day before and ran through my glycogen stores quicker than usual. Ah well, that’s what training is for. I would never race depleted. I’m just trying to simulate and/or avoid the wall come 26.2 race day.

Who Fartleked?

I did! This morning! Ten times! The training program I am on right now uses “strides” aka fartleks as a primary speed component. Generally speaking there are no track-based speed workouts in the Advanced Marathoning plan. Rather, strides and longer speedwork (e.g. 800 and up) are incorporated into medium and even recovery runs.

In the “laughing at myself” category, I knew I wasn’t going to measure the 100m strides on my Garmin, so I decided to count off 10 seconds by one-one-thousand etc. After completing the first stride, I sheepishly realized that I wasn’t Usain Bolt on an off day, and did the next 9 for 15s instead. Probably a little more realistic.

77 degrees as I headed out the door this morning at 5:30. At least I’m not doing it now – as I write it’s 98 with a heat index of 106.

Saw and was greeted by Nelson headed the other way on his bike – with a brand-spanking new helmet! Your noggin is an important commodity. You can’t be protecting it with a helmet you bought 20 years ago – a fact I realized last year myself. Spreadin’ the word.

Inaugural Black Hoof Half

I put together a new training loop I’d been meaning to try for a while on my Saturday long run this weekend. This is no dissertation on the relative benefits of loops vs. out-and-backs, but they both have their merits from a psychological standpoint. I was getting bored of the OAB, so I figured up this loop ahead of time.

If I’m not able to train on the course I’m next racing on (my preference) I usually do an out and back on the Mill Creek trail – there’s a trailhead 1m from my front door. Other recently developed trails link up to this, and I’ve been meaning to put them together into a loop.

Saturday I headed at the door at 5:15 with the temp at 63. It doesn’t get any better than that for a summer run. I headed north on the sidewalk for a mile and came to a paved trail that runs West along K-10. Bonus: first heard, then saw two owls. One took off, the other held his ground on top of a utility pole. After about a mile, that trail becomes more of a sidewalk as it turns north, but I kept heading west for a bit further before turning north – these roads had a rural feel you still find in parts of Olathe. At the 3 mile mark I got to turn back onto a trail that went down into some wetlands and worked its way over to Black Hoof Park, which frames Lake Lenexa. I took the north loop over to the dam and stayed on the trail below the dam past mile 5. Just before mile 6 there was a big uphill as the trail became 91st Street, which then heads straight back down to the Mill Creek trail. I had to turn north and run a short out and back of about a mile to get the distance I wanted, otherwise I came back on the MC trail as usual after the turnaround.

I didn’t push the pace as much as I probably should have on this run. I wasn’t quite hitting marathon goal pace, but I did get 8 quality miles in a range from the low to mid 7s. Even with warmup and cooldown it was nice to see this training run clock in at less than the first half I ran as a race in 2011. Total distance 13.18 miles.

#OneRunforBoston

I’m really glad my neighbor, John Kohler, asked me to come down and run a leg of this cross-country relay with him. Check out the website and consider donating to the One Fund. You’ll have to drive farther than I did to catch it now though – they are east of St. Louis by now.

We began the morning in Newburg, a small community southwest of Rolla. This is one of those towns that used to be bigger than it is now, but my initial impression of a ghost town was later turned around by the appearance of a huge group of kids that came out to cheer us as the baton was passed from the previous stage to ours.

John and I were joined by Amanda, from Rolla, and Tony, from St. Clair. A pair of local runners from another stage also joined us through the streets of downtown Rolla. Nice folks, all. Committed runners, all. The four of us all found that we had shed significant weight through running in the last decade.

We had great support from local law enforcement. A Phelps Co. Sheriff’s deputy followed us the whole way, and various municipalities – Doolittle and Rolla, at least, were on the point through intersections. An over-used term – it was rock star/parade type treatment. The added safety and visibility was much appreciated. Thank you!

It was a hot day! The baton was about an hour behind, so it was every bit of 10am when we started our 11 miles. Some new blacktop in places pumped up the temp. I needed more water than I could carry – so it was great to have a support crew in John’s in-laws. The enthusiasm and support of his family was fantastic.

It was a great day for a great cause!

There was a nice article about John and the run in the KC Star sports section on Thursday. We also got some coverage in the local Rolla paper:

http://www.therolladailynews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130621/NEWS/130629710/1020/SPORTS#axzz2WxDVpgK0

Let the training begin! Topping 300 miles in the @mizunorunning Wave Evo Cursoris

Just noticed that the Cursoris – my go-to training shoe right now – went over 300 miles on the odometer this week. Love this shoe. It’s holding up well with no signs of imminent failure.

I started a new training program Sunday – albeit with a recovery run. 4 months to October 19th, 18 week program. I hit the elliptical Monday and Tuesday so I could do a tempo run with Nelson this am. We did 5 miles at pace (ok, I did 4.5, but there was a good reason which I am not going to describe…). Plus a 1 mile warm-up, 1 mile cool-down. Also a 2 mile round trip bike ride to our meet-up on the trail. I’ve decided I’m going to motivate myself for the KC Marathon by doing a running tally of goal pace miles. My goal pace is 6:51. I’m going to count any full mile that’s sub-7 minutes as a GP mile. So, I logged 4 of those today. Now if I can just string together 26.2 of those, I’ll break 3 hours. Easy, right?

Here’s a few shots of the soles:

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The Next Step(s)

I sat down last night after work to finish personalizing a training plan from “Advanced Marathoning” by Pete Pfitzinger and Scott Douglas. My training plan is for my next goal race: the Kansas City Marathon in October. It’s based on the 18 week AM plan with mileage up to 55 miles per week (max). AM has 8 sets of plans. Four different mileage max amounts, 2 different lengths – 12 and 18 weeks. The mileage levels START at 55 miles per week and go up in 15 mile increments from there, with the most intense plan bearing the foreboding, open-ended label “Marathon Training on More Than 85 Miles Per Week.” So I’m on the “starter” plan.

I’ve plugged everything into an excel spreadsheet so I can use it in the future by simply plugging in the date of race week. The spreadsheet will then calculate the rest of the dates (not hard).

Just in time, too! I knew in the back of my mind I’d have a few limbo weeks after Hospital Hill, but as I was constructing the training plan I was one week off because of the way it’s labeled. When I finished it last night, I realized that training starts Sunday. Yikes! Err, I mean, yay!

Here’s a link to a PDF version if anyone’s curious:

Advanced Marathoning 55 Miles per week 18-week schedule

I made some modifications to the AM plan which hopefully don’t mess up all the good exercise physiology that Pete and Scott put into it. The AM plan is based on a Sunday long run, which doesn’t work for me – I’m just not going to get up that early before church. Also, I usually do a recovery-effort run with Nelson Sunday am. It would be possible to splice a long run into either end of that, but it’s just not ideal, again particularly given the necessary alarm-clock setting.

I tried to give the most attention to the day before and after the long run. I have always preferred an “easy” day before and after – duh! Generally speaking that’s AM’s thinking too, especially the day after. However, AM usually puts an “easy” run the day before the long run, and rest or cross-training the day after. So basically I am subbing a recovery run for the cross-training. Hopefully I am not hindering recovery too much, but I have been doing recovery runs the day after long runs for a while now anyway.

Due to my modifications there are some “extras” I may have to ignore on the Sundays that are more than recovery runs. E.g., tuneup races and a little bit of striding.

While I’m on that subject, there is a lot less speed work in this plan than in the Eladio Valdez plan I’ve used in the past. The authors acknowledge this: “Looking at these schedules, you might be wondering, Where are all the “speed” workouts?” Their response is that their workouts focus on endurance, lactate threshold, and VO2max. Speed is less important for the marathon.

On the other hand, that’s the perfect segue to pace. There’s speed, then there’s speed. Chances are, if you’re trying to follow a plan out of a book called “Advanced Marathoning,” you have an ambitious pace goal. My new pace goal is very ambitious – a sub-3:00 marathon, averaging a 6:51 min/mile pace. Backing out the predictor paces (half marathon, 15K, 5K) that leads to some pretty crazy-fast paces at times – brief spurts of sub 6:00 min/mile, e.g. These training paces are intimidating! I am rationalizing it this way: I seem to be able to race a bit faster than my training paces might predict. So, if I am not hitting these pace goals during training, I’m not going to become discouraged. Also, I don’t expect to blow through 3:00 on the tough KC course. That doesn’t mean I won’t try, but my PR is 3:11 on a flatter course, and just under 3:14 on the KC course. I’ll look to go sub 3 perhaps at Boston in Spring 2014, or find a flat fall 2014 race like Chicago.

So, there it is. I’ve been blessed with injury-free summer training the last two years. I pray my body can hold up to this schedule. If I follow the plan to a T, I’ll be adding another running day to what I typically have done – which is to run 4 days a week. If I feel like I am overtraining, I’ll have to sub back in a cross-train day for one of the lighter running workouts – something I may just do preventatively.

I’m looking forward to the next step(s)!