Chasing the Unicorn: My Way

One of my main goals for 2015 is qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I need a sub 3:30, but will try for 3:25 or faster. Until April 25, I'll be chasing the unicorn (the Boston race "mascot"). As we know, unicorns can be elusive. Some people dream about unicorns, but never attempt a capture. Others try all their lives and never catch one. Not sure I'll wrangle one on April 25, but if I see one within my grasp during those last few miles, it's going down!

Over the last few months, maybe even the entire year, I've been thinking about training plans for Boston. Just in the last few weeks, I was settling on the Hansons Marathon method. It's an interesting and innovative plan. Long runs max out at 16 miles, with speed work on Tuesdays and tempo runs (marathon pace) on Thursdays. The difference between this plan and other "normal" marathon training plans intrigued me. It felt right. I could follow this plan for 4 months.

Unfortunately, I ran a couple of trail ultras at the end of the year. The Tunnel Hill 50 miler in November, and the December Winter Solstice 30 miler, got me to rethink what I enjoy. I prefer trails to roads. I prefer slow jaunts to fast runs. I don't run every day. I don't like detailed training plans. If I impose structure, it's usually heart rate related, not connected to mileage or paces. Basically, I want to do what I enjoy--and I don't enjoy following a plan. I especially don't enjoy a plan that has very specific speed work paces and mileage goals. So, my plan for the next 4 months is...no plan.

I'm not stupid. I realize that the same old lackadaisical training "program" will not get me to Boston. You can't catch unicorns without a plan. But you need to be stealthy. Unicorns are easily spooked. My plan will look very similar to my usual unstructured training...except I KNOW WHAT I NEED. I need long runs. I need some kind of speed training. I need hills. I need to remain injury-free. So, I'm going to run a lot of longer, hilly, trails. My initial speedwork will be fartlek style. Kind of sneaky speed. I'll charge the hills when I feel like it. Speedwork in disguise. I'll develop endurance, stamina, and strength. I hope that will translate into speed. I "only" need to maintain a 7:49 pace for a 3:25 marathon finish. An even 8:00 pace gets me a 3:30.

Honestly, I'm not that motivated to run the Illinois marathon. Twenty-six miles of roads is not my strong suit. But I am motivated to get in great shape between now and Apil 25. I hope that's enough. I'll have two tests between now and the marathon: Last Man Standing (early March) and Clinton Lake 30 Miler on March 28. Both will be excellent opportunities to get in ultra distances on the trails. They'll both test my endurance and will power. I'll need both of those traits for a successful marathon.

Time to chase the unicorn...my way. Wish me luck.

PEP Shevlin Running Shirt

About a month ago, I bought the Shevlin merino wool running shirt (long sleeve) from Pettet Endurance Project (PEP). They are a new company out of Oregon. The shirt has a crew collar and is 100% merino wool. I normally don't buy wool shirts--they are too expensive, and often use wool that is not from a sustainable and humane source. I checked with PEP customer service, and feel the wool they source is from sheep raised and grazed in a sustainable manner and sheared/harvested with attention to ethical standards. Plus, the price, while not cheap, is very competitive ($60 versus about $90 for competing products).

After several runs, ranging from a short 4 miler on roads to a long 30 mile trail ultra, I can confidently state that this shirt really performs well! It never caused me to overheat, didn't chafe, and it always felt silky smooth. The large fit perfectly for me (6' 3", 175 pounds). I love that the torso and arms are long (unlike many other running shirts I own). And the sleeves have a thumb hole to allow the shirt to be a pseudo glove covering your palm and hand. This is a great feature for central Illinois where the weather can change quickly. If I need extra warmth, I pull the shirt down and poke my thumb through the hole for more coverage. If I warm up, I simply slide the shirt up my arm.

Wool is known as a natural fabric that doesn't hold odors. I haven't tested this to the extreme, but I have worn the shirt on 3 runs in a row without washing. It smelled fine. When I do wash it, I don't give it any special attention--it goes in the cold wash with my other running clothes with sports detergent (Penguin or WIN). All  my running clothes are hung dry and this is especially important for wool. The shirt dries fairly quickly when laid flat.

As far as I can tell, you can only order their products online directly from PEP. This likely keeps the costs down. My order was pocessed and shipped very quickly. And it arrived with a cool, personalized, hand-written note. Nice. The company reminds me of Tailwind Nutrition sports drink. They are both newer companies targeting endurance athletes with great customer service and a small range of excellent products. I hope PEP succeeds (same for Tailwind!). As far as the Shevlin shirt, I highly recommend it for running (or other endurance activities). I haven't had it long enough to test it's durability, but it seems well constructed. If it lasts as long as my other technical shirts, it'll be my new favorite shirt! And one of my favorite running-related companies.

Did I Reach My 2014 Run Goals?

There's still a week left in 2014, but I can easily evaluate whether I met my running goals for this year. In my January 1st blog post, I stated five goals for 2014. Did I achieve them? Let's see.

Set at least one new personal record.
YES. I set new 50-mile and half-marathon PRs! Those now stand at 9:04 and 1:32. I can bring them both lower in 2015, but that's a story for next year's goals. I'm very pleased with these two personal bests. This old ultra runner still has some speed left in his legs.

Qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Nope. I needed a 3:25 at the Illinois Marathon. I ran a leisurely race and finished in 3:47. I was happy with that finish. Winter was BRUTAL last year in central Illinois. I didn't get in long runs or speed sessions. My goal for the marathon was to "easily" break 4 hours. Accomplished. Here's my race report from the marathon. It was my first marathon in 13 years. Now I know how hard (or easy) it is to run one. Much easier than trail ultras, but not so easy if I have to push the pace. I'll tackle this sucker again in 2015.

Complete my 100th ultra and/or marathon.
Nope. Even with this past weekend's winter solstice run (30 miles at Clinton Lake trail), I am finishing the year with 96 ultra/marathons. Not even close to 100. But, again, next year will see this goal achieved! Probably exceeded. Easily. Mark my words.

Run between 1500 and 1600 miles for the year.
Yes. I'm at 1534 miles today. I'll have a few more in the next week (but I won't exceed 1600). This was a perfect goal for me. I'll try something similar for 2015. Just enough miles to be effective, but not enough to push me over the limit. I can incorporate speed work, long runs, and ultra races and still remain injury-free. Once I close in on 2,000 miles, I break down.

Stay injury free.
So far so good. If I make it through December 31st, I'll consider 2014 a successful and injury-free year. Proud of this goal. Usually when things start going well for me, I push too hard and screw things up. I was disciplined and consistent this year. Even with the PRs, I kept a level head. This needs to continue next year. Maybe I am FINALLY older and wiser.

So, five goals for the year and I accomplished three of them. Not too bad. I need to start thinking about my 2015 goals. I'll post those on January 1, 2015.

Winter Solstice Celebration Run

We've had pretty reasonable "pre-winter" weather in central Illinois. Offically, winter begins on Sunday, December 21st. What better way to celebrate than with a winter solstice run? If you're in central Illinois, there's an even better way to mark the occassion...the annual Clinton Lake winter solstice run that begins at sunrise (7:14am) on December 21. The 10-mile northfork trail provides an awesome venue to celebrate the day. Lots of hills and great views of the lake. Several local runners, including myself, will start at sunrise, trying to go for 30 miles. Others will run only 10 or 20 miles. Come one, come all. Start early, start late. No rules. Just come and run. Or hike. This is the same trail utilized for the Clinton Lake 30-Mile ultra in March. Why not practice now? Need tips and strategies for race day? Chat with the race founder (that's me!) while circling the lake. One of the current race directors will likely be there too. And plenty of previous race veterans. This is your chance to sample the course with experienced runners. We'll start from the northfork canoe access parking lot at the iron bridge (marked on map with yellow arrow).

This winter solstice run is made possible by buffalo runner Matt. For extra info and maps of the DNR area, here are links to Clinton Lake State Recreation Area. Remember, we are starting at the north fork canoe access lot off of Parnell Rd (yellow arrow on the map above). This is different from the official Clinton Lake ultra race start (which is the boat access parking lot).

Marathon Training Begins!

I'm registered for the Illinois Marathon which takes place in Champaign, IL on April 25. That's about 19 weeks away. Perfect timing to start a full marathon training program. I plan on adopting an 18-week marathon program based primarily on the Hansons marathon method and their affiliated book. If I stick to the plan, it'll be my first time following a structured program. Why the more serious attempt for this marathon? I'm shooting for a Boston qualifier!

The Hansons method has a few key characteristics. The long run maxes out at only 16 miles. The program is designd to induce accumulated fatigue so the 16 miler feels like the last 16 miles of a marathon. You run 6 days per week and have two other "something of substance" runs each week--Tuesday speed or strength, plus a Thursday tempo run. Tuesday's faster session ranges from 5K pace to slightly faster than marathon pace. The Thursday tempo session is done at marathon pace...and it extends to 10 miles. With only one day of rest, and a long tempo session on Thursday, the weekend long run should be completed on slightly tired legs. Good training preparation for a full marathon.

My main worry with this program is that I don't do well on higher mileage and 6 days/week training. I tend to adavance better with more rest. Fortunately, I manage to squeeze out a lot of improvements from lower mileage training. If I stayed healthy and injury-free with higher mileage, I'm sure I'd run faster...but I normally get injured or burned-out. I'll likely add a second day of rest to the Hanson program. I'm running on older legs than a twenty year old...or thirty year old...and I need more rest and recovery.

When I run the Illinois Marathon in April of 2015, I'll be 49 years old. If I qualify and run Boston in 2016, I'll be 50. That means I "only" need a 3:30 at Illinois Marathon to qualify for the 2016 Boston race. Seems doable. You usually need a 2 minute cushion on your qualifying time to actually register for Boston. So, I need to shoot for a 3:28 or better. I'll be aiming for a 3:25 finish. In my dreams, I'll be crossing the finish line at 3:20. Maybe 3:19:59. We all need to dream.

Regular Running Route

I finally have a regular running route. I don't run it every single day, but it's my "go to" route when I have nothing else planned. It's a 7-mile, mostly trail loop, with an out and back road section. The begining (and end) road section allows me to warm-up and cool-down. Seven miles is just the right distance for me--not too long and not too short.  I can run it before or after work and still do other things. A one-hour run feels good. Not tired afterward, but I also feel like I accomplished something. Five miles doesn't cut it. More miles takes just a bit too long (especially before work). In addition to being the right distance, it's the right route. I have a short walk before I start running (and also at the end before walking home) and I know exactly where I start to run and where it will end. It's great having a regular route. I know each mile mark. I know each hill. I know where the wind howls and where I'm sheltered. It's comforting. And when I hit the stop button on my GPS watch, I know whether it was a good or bad run (timewise). I know what my average heart rate should be for the full route. There's certainly a place for variety in routes, but it's really nice to have a regular running route. It's not the fanciest route, but it's mine...and I like it.