Adjusting to Uncontrollable Events

The title of this post probably sounds much worse than the situation really is. In fact, I never really had to think about how to adjust to the circumstances that changed earlier today. Just before 11 am this morning I was notified that the 2-20-2 Duathlon originally scheduled for February 23rd would take place on February 16th due to a scheduling conflict at the race site. This race is extremely low-key, but last year was my first overall multisport victory, during which I absolutely decimated the field by more than 12 minutes.

Despite being such a low-key race I was the 2nd person to register for the 2013 edition way back in mid-July last year. I knew that I wanted to defend my title and attempt to improve upon my course record of 1:22:48. With training going so well this year it seemed that both would be almost certain come race day. Unfortunately, fate intervened and the race was moved to the same morning that I will be running the Myrtle Beach Half-Marathon, the site where I set my half-marathon PR last year (1:17:43). Choosing to drop out of the duathlon rather than the half-marathon was a no-brainer for various reasons, not the least of which was my belief that I can also better my half-marathon time given the right conditions. While not being able to race the duathlon is unfortunate, I also know that it's not the end of the world. My course record is an extremely strong time that took two sub-12 minute 2 mile runs and averaging 22 mph on a challenging bike course to set and I have no doubt that it will stand up to the competition this year.

The developments left me with an interesting quandary, however, as it makes my first planned multisport race  of the year the Double Oak Duathlon on April 6th - my world championship qualifier. It is not ideal, nor practical, in my opinion for my first multisport race in almost 6 months, and first duathlon in 10.5 months to be my biggest race of my spring campaign. I turned to the internet in search of a possible race to replace 2-20-2 that would fit into my hectic race schedule. Enter the Winter Warrior Duathlon down in Bluffton, SC on March 9th.

Whilst there is every possibility of the Winter Warrior Duathlon being even less competitive as 2-20-2 was last year, it could actually suit my strengths even more. The format is a 2.5 mile run, an 11 mile bike, and another 2.5 mile run for a total of a mile extra running and 10 fewer miles biking compared to 2-20-2. Last year's winner won with a time of 1 hour and 10 minutes... I would aim for breaking the 1 hour barrier at the very least. The extra running distance and the flat out-and-bike bike course both play to my strengths and would allow me to see my competition at the midway point, whether that is to see the gap I must close down, or to intimidate my opposition with an insurmountable lead.

The change of schedule ultimately means slightly more travel as I'd be racing down near Savannah rather than close by Greenville, but it has some overall advantages:

• Instead of racing another 80 minute race the week following a hard PR attempt at Myrtle Beach I'll have 3 weeks to prepare for a strong duathlon performance
• A 1 hour race with almost half of that on the bike should still allow for a strong race in the NYC Half the week after
• The race would provide a vital tune-up just 4 weeks before Double Oak rather than 6 weeks before
• It provides a good reason to visit friends in Charleston after the race who I promised I'd see during this semester at some point

In the end the focus remains the same for this season - race my absolute best at the Double Oak Duathlon in order to qualify for the World Duathlon Championship and make a big statement.

2013 Week #1 Recap

I couldn't have asked for 2013 to start much better than it has for me athletically. Having trained far more consistently over the past month than I have in a long time my two low-key races last week showed that I am in great shape for so early in the season.

NYRR Thursday Night at the Races 3000m

On January 3rd I went into New York City to run at the Armory for the first time. The Armory is one of the fastest indoor tracks in the world and now plays host to the world famous Millrose Games each year. It was my first indoor track race in almost 4 years, and first time ever running the 3000m distance. I knew my PR outdoors in high school was around an even 10 minutes as I had run 10:40.4 as my best ever time for 3200m. I thought I'd have a good shot at breaking 10 again, despite that being my outdoor PR from when I regularly broke 2:10 for 800m and 5 minutes over 1600m - two distances I certainly couldn't compete with my high school self at right now. Nonetheless, I took off in the middle of the pack and came through the first 200m in a quick 36.6 seconds. To run 10-flat I'd have to maintain 40 second laps so when I came through the 400m mark in 1:13.8 I knew I was well ahead of pace. I consciously allowed myself to drift back from the lead pack and started to settle into laps right around the 40 second mark. The next 2 laps were actually dead on 40 seconds apiece followed by a 39.2 second lap to hit the first kilometer in 3:13.1. I then proceeded to rattle off 5 more laps of 39.1, 40.0, 40.7, 40.7, and 40.7 seconds to reach 2000m in 6:34.2 which may also have been a new personal best over that distance. I struggled a little over the next 800m running laps of 41.9, 42.0, 42.5, and 40.9 seconds to reach the bell lap with the clock at 9:21.4 - I had to run under 38.6 for the final 200m to break the 10 minute barrier. 37.2 seconds later I hit the line with a new 3000m PR of 9:58.6! Although I didn't place particularly well against the high-level of competition (22nd fastest on the night which put me right in the middle of the field), I was overjoyed with my time.

Boston Buildup 10k

Three days after my 3000m race I lined up for a local 10k in Rowayton, CT. Despite being a local race, it tends to attract a competitive field as it's the first and shortest race of a Boston Buildup series that features progressively longer races for athletes leading up to the Boston Marathon in April. I ran this race 2 years ago and struggled to a 39:19, a time that certainly did not reflect my fitness at the time as I ran new half-marathon and marathon PRs the following week and 3 weeks later, respectively. As I mentioned in a recent post, however, I have become increasingly confident in my racing ability over the past year and I've enjoyed a good amount of success that I feel has stemmed directly from that extra mental edge over my competitors.

At the start I saw a pair of runners who I knew would beat me, even if they had a bad race they'd probably beat me, and then there were several others who I thought might be close. One of those I'd knew would be close to me was Nick, the runner I had outkicked over the last mile of the 5k I won just 3 weeks earlier.

The course doesn't lend itself to a negative split very well at all. In fact, it doesn't really allow for a good even split run. The first couple of miles drop straight downhill to the shore of Long Island Sound before leveling out to reach the 5k mark. The next 5k features several challenging uphills and a long stretch in the 5th mile that seems fairly flat but steadily gains elevation. To put the icing on the cake, at 5.5 miles there is a steep quarter-mile climb before the relief of a slightly downhill stretch to the finish.

The race went out fast. I am used to going out fairly fast as I tend to go to the front in races, but this time I didn't really have a chance. Through the first mile in 5:39 I was sitting way back in 8th or 9th. I gradually moved up during the second mile but was still sitting 7th despite dropping down to a 5:35 second mile and hitting the 2 mile mark in 11:15. Nick was about 15 yards ahead of me and it was beginning to seem like he wasn't going to come back but I waited, knowing that there was plenty of time left to strike. I hit the 5k point in 17:45, just 8 seconds slower than my time 3 weeks earlier. With Nick still ahead of me I knew he had just broken his PR over the distance, surely he couldn't hang on much longer!

As we hit the first few big hills I maintained my effort and caught Nick. Now I was up to 4th overall and I could feel 3rd place within my grasp which would have been "best of the rest" in my opinion, given how far ahead the 2 leaders were. On the long straight rise in the 5th mile I did my best to close down the gap to 3rd place but I slowly lost ground. Just after 8k my focus turned to maintaining 4th as a developed a painful side cramp. Doing my best to keep going and aleviate my cramp as best as I could I managed my only mile over 6 minutes up the steep final climb. I still felt like 3rd was almost with reach but even my final quarter mile at 5:14 pace couldn't close the gap enough.

I'm still very happy with my 4th place overall in a fairly competitive race that saw 13 runners break 38 minutes, and I managed to hold off the 3 close behind me who also broke 37 minutes. My time of 36:35 is also my second fastest 10k ever and on a very challenging course, that bodes well for my upcoming half-marathons!

Training Update

So far in 2013 training also couldn't be going better! I'm finally into a great routine of doing my workouts and I am determined to execute each to the best of my ability whether that means suffering on a trainer to do bike intervals or easing back for a light trail run. In the first 9 days of the year I've trained for 8, it's almost a shame that I happened to have a rest day to start off the New Year!

Week 1 was a fairly light training load with the two races and an off day for New Years, but for January 2nd-6th I hit 18.54 miles of running and rode 24.01 for an easy recovery ride on the trainer. I am going to add a tab at the top of this blog to keep a log of my weekly training miles and time. This will also hold me more accountable to getting my workouts done!

January-May Preview

With the cold winter weather upon us, the early months of the year have always been my favorite months to focus on improving my run fitness. Two winters ago I broke through into marathons with a shocking 2:51:03 in Miami improving my PR by almost 28 minutes! Last year I was running extremely well building up to the Boston Marathon and lowered my half-marathon time from 1:22:33 down to 1:17:43 in the span of a month. Unfortunately a foot injury, but primarily the heat, kept me from running fast in Boston but I rebounded and raced well for the remainder of 2012 including 3 overall victories.

In 2013 the year will start off in much the same way as 2012 with 3 big half-marathons mixed in with some serious bike training in preparation for 3 duathlons that I hope to be competitive in.

My spring schedule (aside from a couple of tempo races this week) looks like this:

• January 27th - ING Miami Half-Marathon
• February 16th - Myrtle Beach Half-Marathon
• February 23rd - 2-20-2 Duathlon (Defending Champ & CR Holder)
• March 17th - NYC Half-Marathon
• April 6th - Double Oak Duathlon (World Championship Qualifier)
• April 15th - The Boston Marathon
• May 11th - Clemson Triathlon
• May 19th - Shamrock Duathlon

Three half-marathons, three duathlons, one marathon, and one triathlon. Bring it on.

2013 Goals & Resolutions

Now that it is officially 2013, here are my athletic goals for the coming 12 months:

1. Qualify for and race well (AG podium?) at the World Duathlon Championship in Ottawa in August
2. Set a new marathon PR at the Boston Marathon in April (sub-2:51:03)
3. Break my half-marathon PR (1:17:43)

In order to accomplish these goals I have 3 resolutions to stick to everyday:

1. Train diligently and consistently
2. Eat better and stay hydrated
3. Stretching and strength work are important, do them!

If I can do those first 2 things everyday and the last when I am supposed to, good things will happen this year and I will accomplish all 3 of my goals.