Race Information

• Name: Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
• Date: November 9, 2024
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Indianapolis, IN
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/12861398378

Goals

Training

(I wrote this along the way before the race, so that it wouldn't be influenced by the result. Also I don't write short reports, so skip to the race itself if you want)

This was a deeply personal cycle and it's impossible to write this report without describing the circumstances around it, but need to keep it vague for reasons. When I started this cycle in Mid-August I was really going through some tough times that were self inflicted, which made it even worse. Definitely the lowest I've ever been in my life. I would not recommend throwing yourself completely into running as a coping mechanism, but I huffed some grade A copium and I was very fortunate that I didn't break myself completely. I lost about 10 lbs in extremely rapid fashion (8 of them in just a week) the week before I started this cycle, and ended up dropping from 183 lbs to 169 lbs by the end of August. I managed to pull myself back up to the 172-175 range since then, which is still anywhere from 7-10 lbs less than my typical race weight. I'm 6'4" for reference. The first 3-4 weeks of the cycle was pretty tiring as a result, with lack of sleep, lack of eating properly and just a lot of stress in general. After that I slowly pulled myself together and just kept focusing nearly 100% on running. I did stabilize the diet and sleep finally and from mid-September on at least this facet of my life was stable. I treated the missing 7-10 lbs as a gift. Again, not recommended, but sometimes life throws you curveballs and you just have to roll with it - life isn't always fair & you learn a lot about yourself during those times.

With that said, I had signed up for Indy just before all of this went down. I had run a hilly half marathon in 1:37 in early August, and that was a course PR by 3 minutes - I had run it every year since 2016. My HM PR is 1:32 from 2021, and that year I ran 1:40 in that particular August race so that told me with a good cycle I'd be primed to take a shot at a BQ, which has always been my dream. The revised BQ for me, a 52 M, is 3:20. I figured I needed to be at least at 3:16 to feel safe and that seemed within the realm of possibility with a good cycle.

Backing up a bit with my history, I started running in 2016 when I decided to stop being sedentary behind a desk for 2 decades.I started hardly being able to run a quarter mile without being hopelessly out of breath. Then I made it to a 5k, and then a 5k without stopping. My first HM in 2016 was a 2:10, I ran a full in 4:56 and then whittled that down to 1:39 and 3:41 respectively in 2018. Then I took a break from marathons, focusing on HM and shorter distances until I felt like I could run a BQ. I lowered the HM PR to 1:32 in 2021 and that was my sign. In 2022 I ran Grandma's but I got hurt halfway through my cycle and had to jog in the same time of 3:41. I took another crack that September at BQ.2 in Chicagoland and was on pace halfway through but pulled a muscle in my quad and had to post my only DNF of my entire running career. That one hurt in more ways than one and put me out of commission for a while. 2023 wasn't a great year, but I just very gradually built back up. That August HM race saw me struggle to a 1:53, but in late September I ran the Akron HM in 1:43 and things were finally looking up. Then I caught COVID in October and had to reset everything... again. 2024 saw me do a 5k/10k cycle for an 8k race in June. I had a great cycle for a while but flirted with overtraining and horrible race day conditions had me only post a 38 min 8k. Very disappointing at the time. Took a couple weeks very easy on pace which was sorely needed, had an amazing start to summer, built back up, ran the 1:37 HM and I was clearly on the upswing. I had been around the 50 mpw mark as well. Indy would be marathon number 8 and my 4th state. (OH, IN, IL, MN)

I went with Pfitz 12/55 for the plan, but I ran every day (I have a 320 day running streak as of the posting of this report now) and occasionally I added a mile here or there to the MLRs and LRs. The MLRs is where the sausage is made in Pfitz plans IMHO as you're almost always running them on tired legs. I also did easy doubles usually once a week to add a little more easy mileage. I seemed to be fond of doing these on Monday, or on the evening after a morning workout. I kept the pace on "rest" days as easy as needed, sometimes that meant miles that started with a 10 for pace. All that mattered is that I was moving, and I always felt better afterwards. Ultimately I ran 750 miles for the 12 weeks and from weeks 2 to 10 I averaged 69 mpw. Mileage by week was 52, 72, 72, 76, 64, 66, 75, 69, 64, 65, 50, 23. Did I mention that prior to this I'd only run greater than 70 miles for 3 weeks in my entire running history? See above about throwing yourself completely into running as a coping mechanism, and again, I'm incredibly fortunate I didn't break myself. In fact, shockingly I never had any niggles. I -was- occasionally very weary though. I remember a couple of MLRs where I just wanted to lie down and die afterwards, and one LT workout early on where after I finished the LT part in humid conditions I was just so drained physically/emotionally that I sat on a bench and cried for a minute. The only other bad decision that I made (at least with respect to marathon training!) was volunteering at a soup kitchen and the food bank. These would be 3-4 hour sessions standing on my feet a lot and found that more tiring than running 2+ hours! But from a non-running perspective it was really important to get me by - I needed to stay occupied. Giving is what gives me happiness.

Training breakdown - after that first week I really ramped up the miles but as noted above I tolerated it somehow. Starting training while it's still August in Ohio is always tricky but tolerated that as well. The key is to just be realistic about workout paces and not stress about being slower. A not-so-brief summary of how it went:

August:

First 14 with 8 MP session went great at 7:24 for the MP miles. The first LT session was not with obscenely warm/humid conditions and averaging 7:09 for 4 LT. However I knew that was all weather related so I didn't stress about it one bit.

September:

LRs this month were very solid. One thing I started to do, because it just really helped me to do things over the weekend, was to make some road trips for most my long runs and do other things while there. The LRs this month were in Cleveland (16 at 8:32), Cuyahoga Valley National Park (17 at 7:40, with 10 at MP at 7:20 with the last mile in a comical 6:47 because I felt strong and ripped one), Pittsburgh (19 at 8:19), and Cincinnati (20 at 8:24) The first LT workout this month was all over the place but averaged close to 7:00 for 5 LT. The 2nd one was a shot in the arm averaging 6:55 for 4 LT. By mid month I was really starting to feel the fitness take shape. I ran the hilly Akron HM on Sept 28 in 1:34 for a big course PR on a tropical morning (thanks Hurricane Helene!) and that told me again that my BQ goal was very doable. More importantly, I ran positive and with joy with every step, the first sign that I was pulling myself out of my malaise. The very next day I ran 13 miles easy and I wasn't even that tired, which just reaffirmed how awful the weather was for the race - I had been limited by my lungs, not my legs. The weather most of this month sucked. The last 20 days of Sept were all above normal and frequently humid. I knew it would pay off later though, even if it didn't help me in the moment. I ended up with 310 miles this month, which blew away my old monthly record of 250.

October:

The weather finally broke, and I took off. 7 days after that HM I did the infamous 7 LT workout and absolutely crushed it averaging 6:51 with the last mile at 6:42. Followed it up 2 days later with a 21 mile LR in Columbus at 8:06. The next week I did a 10k TT in 41:58 for a pretty good PR. The next day I did a hilly 17 mile LR in an easy 8:44 in Monaca PA (which is really good the day after a 10k race) but almost had catastrophe strike as I tripped over my own feet while daydreaming and fell going down a hill. Busted up my forearms pretty good, lots of road rash as well, tweaked my left ankle and knee and had a nice cut on my head. However I avoided actually breaking anything and didn't have a concussion so I got incredibly lucky. I wasn't feeling that way while running the 8+ miles back to the car though hurting the whole way with dark thoughts swirling (why do these things always happen when you're at the furthest away point?) Metaphorically this was just me picking myself up off the ground, yet again.

I powered through the next week while very sore with a decent 4x1200 workout (roughly 6:35 pace but it was rainy, windy and only 39 degrees, just an ugly morning & in a dour mood) a 14 mile hilly MLR on that Friday and then a killer 22 mile LR on Sunday in Athens OH at 7:42 pace with a negative split. I honestly was stunned at that one and this is where I was asking if I was overcooking things, or if I really was that fit. Evidence pointed to me actually being that fit though. I wrote in my running journal yet again that I had no idea where I was drawing this strength from, but maybe it's because running was the only thing I had in my life at that moment so I was wholly committed to it. In this case, I really was trying to make the best of a bad situation, but I became more and more positive with each day that dawned. After the 3rd week of October I felt like I was peaking or very close to it. The question would be how broad I could make that peak last, but it was only 3 more weeks to the race so was already close to the taper. A lot of times this month I started to visualize the finish to Indy. Just putting myself into the mindset, knowing I'd have to embrace the grind, be willing to suffer, and how good it would feel coming down the finishing chute realizing my dream at last. I particularly seemed to keep visualizing seeing the mile 23 marker and telling myself only 5k to go, time to hammer it. I had no idea what mile 23 at Indy looked like but I was ready to find out.

Last weekend of October was the final 10k tuneup and I aced that with a 41:30 time and an estimated 5k PR along the way with very even splits. In fact this was my best age graded score & time of 74% / 36:17. The very next day I went back to Pittsburgh and cruised through 17 miles at 8:06. It shocked me just how little fatigue I had in the legs the day after that 10k. October ended up with 290 miles, so 600 miles total between Sept/Oct.

Running continued to be a metaphor for me putting myself back together - I just kept getting stronger and stronger somehow, pulling from some unseen well that somehow never emptied. The gradual confidence that I kept gaining from running was exactly what I needed as I had been just so incredibly down on myself. Then it was the taper and hoo boy, the taper crazies hit big time for the first time ever. I'm a very calm/patient/stoic person but not this time. I just wanted to run ALL THE TIME - not because it would keep me from losing fitness, but because I was just going stir crazy not being out doing it. It had been such a huge part of my life for the prior 10+ weeks, the structure being the lattice that I clung to while pulling myself up off the floor and I had to figure out how to fill the extra time and all the extra energy that was spilling over. The taper ended up being symbolic of me learning to stand on my own 2 feet again. Gotta stand before you can run, right? And I had about 26.2 miles to run still.

The last workout 10 days out was the 3x1 mile one. Despite not really feeling that great for it, did well averaging 6:27/mile for the splits. I set a (very soft) mile PR of 6:25 in there. Time to close the barn door, because it was bursting with hay.

November:

Not much to add here. As alluded to above, the taper crazies raged at first, and this really was the first time in my entire running career that I had them. It's just this running cycle had meant EVERYTHING to me. Time passed at a glacial pace. Race day would never get here. I'd probably trip going up the steps and hurt my knee. Or I'd pull my back getting out of bed. Or I'll catch a cold or worse, COVID again. Ok doomer.

Pre-race

Of course none of that happened, and we made it to the Friday before the race and I made the 4.5 hour drive to Indianapolis and the expo for packet pickup, did my 3.5 mile shakeout feeling light and easy and settled into my hotel for the night. I had entered a tranquil calm, my last long run the weekend before had been 13.1 miles at 7:43/mile while still feeling easy and that was just the final piece of this jigsaw puzzle that I had laid out for myself 3 months ago. The "race prep" 7 with 2 at MP workout felt hard, but it was also nearly 80 degrees in November and windy so I dismissed it. The whole week I just thought of how far I'd come and kept visualizing the race, how easy it would feel for a long time as I was well prepared and reminded myself many a time not to get carried away too early in the race. Being patient and calm is a strength of mine, and I needed to lean into that all the way.

At the very start of this cycle I had penciled in 3:18 as a goal time. I had slowly settled in on low 3:1X for my goal as the cycle went on. Nothing dissuaded me from that on race week. I've been running long enough and had enough data to know that this was a reasonable goal. (my watch suggested 3:29 - thanks for the vote of confidence, Garmin!) A 41:30 10k would suggest 3:11. My HM (adjusted for hills and weather conditions and my prior experience running flat HMs 6 weeks after that hilly one) suggested 3:11 was reasonable. My MP workouts early in the cycle suggested that high 7:1X pace was reasonable. 3:11 would be 7:17 pace. 3 solid to great 20+ LRs and carrying 70 mpw for most the cycle told me that my endurance was more than fine.

All in all I'd target 7:15 on the watch, knowing that the actual pace would probably be 2 sec higher due to GPS. I subscribe pretty religiously to the 10/10/10 rule for the marathon in which the first 10 miles should feel easy, the 2nd 10 should feel moderately easy, and the last 10k is where you do the work. I'd re-evaluate at 10 and 20 miles to determine what I'd do with the pace, but ideally I'd still be cruising at 20 and then could ever so slowly ratchet up the effort. My goal was still somewhat binary (I wanted that BQ more than anything else) so I could afford a bit of a drop off on the second half. I'd be fine if I split 1:36/1:39 for example. I think that really gave me a little bit of comfort headed into the race; I had some wiggle room. I knew I had an outstanding block of training behind me; going all 12 weeks and not missing or compromising on a single run was an incredible feat. If I failed, it wouldn't be because of training. But I wasn't going to fail, and my mood was extremely positive headed into race day. Running sometimes can be half mental, and I was going to ace that part. I reminded myself every time I set a big PR in a race I was always full of quiet confidence on race morning. I thought of how far I had come in 12 weeks. The one time I wasn't mentally strong had cost me so much. It wasn't going to happen again.

I really nailed race week prep. I got 8-9 hours of sleep most nights up until the night before, and I carb loaded pretty well. My sleep schedule has been hilariously off kilter since August and the time change the prior weekend did not help one bit, but I wasn't worried about trying to correct it until after this cycle was over. I crashed around 8 pm, woke up around 2 am, was up a few times, caught some brief winks of sleep between, then was up for good around 4:30 am. Had my usual poptarts & Gatorade for breakfast, took a long hot shower to relax, knocked out the Final Poop(tm), checked out of the hotel and got to where I was parking at 6:30. This ended up being quite early but being in an unfamiliar city meant I'd rather be safe than sorry. So I just chilled in the car for a while, then walked over to the convention center a block away which was open, found a bench I could sit on, and relaxed there watching the minutes tick away agonizingly slowly. Re-tied my shoes and went to the corrals around 7:40 and worked my way up toward the front of corral B. I should have tried to switch to Corral A at the expo but didn't think of it. The 3:15 pacer was at the back of A. Oh well, I figured there'd be plenty of people in the same boat as me and this was a big marathon anyways.

Weather was about ideal as you could ask for - mid 40s at the start with some scattered layered clouds. A beautiful fiery red sunrise greeted the day, and just put me in an even better mood. I looked around the corral. Everyone here had their own personal story, but we were bound by the commonality of it all. Mine was pretty simple. Complete the journey, and get that BQ. I reminded myself how I ran the Akron HM in late Sept - positive and full of joy and how it felt like the dark clouds were finally parting for at least a time. We're going to latch onto that, and just keep the good vibes flowing I promised to myself. This race is a celebration of me and the culmination of a journey unlike any other in my life. I knew I was going to get it. I was 100% positive of it, even if a little voice told me being overconfident is the devil's work. But damnit, I'd earned the right to be confident. It's a fine line between that and being cocky, and I was hopefully staying on the correct side.

Corral A went off at 8, B was to go off at 8:05 and I ditched my throwaway sweater - forgot the sunglasses were on top of my head and they went flying off - oops. Grabbed them off the ground, put them back on, had took my first GU a few mins prior and we walked up and we were off. Finally.

Miles 1-5

I was right in that all of us in the front shot out fairly fast, so I pretty quickly locked into the 7:15 pace that I was shooting for. These miles just passed away with hardly a thought. I'd brought 6 (now 5) gels with me and the only changeup was I had to hold 2 of them in my left hand as all of them in my shorts were too heavy. Whoops. Turns out losing 10 lbs will do that. I started hitting the fluid stations right off the bat, taking water at first. Gel 2 was at mile 4. GPS got very jumpy headed back through the downtown circle, but I just kept the effort even and it smoothed back out. Everything felt free and easy and I just cruised.

Splits: 7:14, 7:14, 7:16, 7:14, 7:13

Miles 6-10

We start heading north out of downtown here. Indy serves Nuun as their sports drink and I hadn't realized that - never had it before. But it tasted fine to me. Gel 3 was taken at mile 9. Keeping with my "running with joy" directive, every time I saw a spectator with an Ohio State shirt on I'd yell "O-H!" and I'd get the "I-O!" back. I'm not even really an Ohio State fan despite being from Ohio, it was just me being cheerful. Headed west on E 38th for a bit, my reverie was broken by the sound of several sirens as an ambulance and fire truck came down the road behind us - fortunately on the other side. Shortly after turning north again on Meridian St for a few miles, a blonde pulled up alongside me to the right. She said she had been just 5 seconds behind me for a long time now and thought she would catch up. We chatted for a bit about goals etc and she was looking to finish under 3:15. Told her she was well on her way for that, as I was aiming for 3:11 and just making sure every mile was under 7:20 at the least. The conversation lasted for a couple of miles, then I gradually pulled away. At mile 10 I took stock of how I was feeling, given the 10/10/10 philosophy I follow. First 10 felt easy, we're good. Lets just keep on cruising.

Splits: 7:16, 7:14, 7:15, 7:16, 7:13

Miles 11-15

I kept hitting most fluid stations, alternating water and Nuun. Started to pick up a few minor rollers here on the course - nothing major, just enough to keep it interesting. I remember seeing in the distance the halfway checkpoint for the marathon and I was surprised - I thought I was coming up on the mile 12 marker, not 13! I'd been idly daydreaming and completely lost track of the miles. Cool, free mile! I rolled through the checkpoint at exactly 1:35:30 per the official race split - I was proud of that one. Just gotta do it again, that's all. Around mile 14 I hit another fluid station for water, and I must have took too big a swig and some of it went down the wrong pipe because suddenly I started coughing and choking on it. Well, that's cool. First time for everything I guess. I slowed up slightly for a few to work that out and got back to pace. It did however set my stomach off slightly and I delayed my next gel for a bit until that settled. Other than that, kept on cruising.

Splits: 7:15, 7:13, 7:14, 7:13, 7:14

Miles 16-20

We'd started to turn back around to the south here and the southeast wind made its presence known - it was fairly steady around 10-13 mph. Also picked up the most notable hills of the course here - it's all relative as Indy is a flat course but this was definitely the hilliest section. Gel 4 was taken at mile 17 after I judged the stomach was fine again. Around mile 19/20 finally had some downhills and that gave some bonus seconds. However, this also was an empty part of the course. When I hit mile 20 - it was time again to take stock. Felt like I was working pretty hard, enough to where picking up the pace I figured was an unwise gamble - better to just stick to the mid 7:1X's and go for the even split, and with the wind it might get tough because I knew it would be a headwind for almost the remainder of the race. I was so proud of my incredibly even splits so far though.

Splits: 7:19, 7:15, 7:17, 7:07, 7:14

Miles 21-23

I knew 21-23 would be the key point of the race going in. If I felt good at 20, I would have the BQ in the bag (barring some awful catastrophe) but the final 10k was where I was going to find out if my top end goal was in play or not. The marathon is long enough to where you make all these plans and there's a million possible ways it could go sideways. The wind was enough to start slowing me up a touch and I finally saw a 7:2X mile for 21, but halfway through 22 I started to feel a side stitch on the right. I was hoping it would go away. Spoiler: It did not. It grew from an annoyance to becoming actively painful. Legs were tired and sore - mostly the quads, but were able to keep on, but I had to slow up in hopes of somehow working the side stitch out. Wasn't happening. The wind started to feel more annoying because of that. It became a delicate balancing act of how fast could I run without the side stitch getting worse. I was willing to suffer a lot, but with 4 miles to go it was a bit too far still. The pavement was a little rough in spots, and spectators were rather uncommon on a fair part of this section as well.

Splits: 7:24, 7:34, 7:54

Miles 24-26

I saw the mile 23 marker and it took me back to my visions in October. I had thought about this for a long time; now the moment was here. I'd visualized having a message of strength and picking it up. The message I got instead: Pain. I heard a female voice beside me saying "Lets go" - it was the blonde. She had caught back up to me, and she was rolling. I half grunted side stitch and she pulled off. I didn't see her again, so she had an amazing race. My right side hurt like hell but my new goal in the moment was just to keep the miles under 8, no matter what. Somewhere around 23.5 you turn south on the long straightaway back to downtown Indy and holy shit, the skyscrapers look impossibly far away. THERE IS NO WAY ITS ONLY 2.5 MILES TO THERE. It looked like 7. I realized I was starting to feel negative for the first time and was like fuck that, so I flipped my sunglasses down and just didn't look that far ahead. I endured, and there was some carnage along the way. One person laid out in a blanket with EMTs attending to them. People cramped up stretching or walking. Here I was still running sub 8 miles and staying steady, even if it hurt badly. The wind was incessantly annoying at this point but as we finally closed in to downtown it lessened a touch. Anytime a negative thought of how it was hard entered my mind, I shoved it away. Nope, not going there. I'd hurt worse before. I'd force a smile and remind myself how far I'd come. Saw another Ohio State person and did the "O-H!" thing again. Catching back up to the crowds helped.

I got to about a half mile to go, where you make a right turn, then a left turn, and then a right turn to the finishing chute. I made one last request. One last request to the unseen well I had pulled from for the last 3 months. Give me whatever you got left, and I'll finish as hard as I can. The answer I got back was: "Go, run!" And somehow, mysteriously, miraculously the side stitch just... vanished, and I took off. My body just felt like it was tingling. Nobody passed me in that last half mile and I blew by people, with mile 26 managing to be a little faster than the prior 3, and then the last 0.36 on the watch being under 7 with the closing kick in the chute being around 5:30 pace. I completely fed off the crowds that were roaring. If dopamine was a PED, I'd have been busted. This was enough to get me just under 3:14 for a 28 min marathon PR. Yeah, I think I'll take that!

Splits: 7:54, 7:54, 7:41, 6:43 pace (last 0.36)

Post-race

I knew immediately when I got that tingling feeling that 2 things were going to happen: I was going to finish incredibly strong, and I was going to cry the second I stopped. Both were true, I veered to the right to an empty section of the rail and just leaned over it and the tears flowed - tears of happiness this time, just all the emotion spilling out, not just from the prior 3 hours and 13 minutes, but from the last 3 months. I was just completely emotionally spent. How I had pulled myself back together and somehow put this cycle together and this race together, and didn't give in. Official time was 3:13:47, which gave me a very nice 6:13 buffer off my BQ time. Age graded that's 72% and the age graded time is 2:50. You figure the splits were 1:35:30/1:38:17 so not really that bad.

u/theintrepidwanderer found me shortly after and we slowly made our way out while chatting for a quite a while - it was nice catching up with you! I had to skip around noon as I still had a 4.5 hour drive back to Akron, and with all the stops I needed on the way home to stretch and eat etc I didn't get home until almost 7. Going down stairs are still fun today but outside of that, I'm quite fine.

Reflections

Interestingly, I never hit the wall. My slowdown was purely because of the side stitch, and once that went away I had so much juice left in the legs still. I'm not sure what caused it. I don't know if the half-choking incident at mile 14 threw everything off, or if it was because I'd never had Nuun before (even though it tasted fine?) that it reacted differently eventually or what. Maybe the wind made it a bit harder. Sometimes it's just one of those things too! I never did take another gel after 17 and no other fluids after 20 - certainly wasn't going to while side stitched. But I had all the strength I needed. I really leaned into the running with joy this race. The execution was nearly perfect - stuck right to the plan with the splits, and if you skip past the side stitch part, I'd never closed feeling so strong in one. Best feeling ever to hammer it home at the end like that.

It took 8 years from absolute scratch with ups and downs along the way, but I can type this out - I'm going to Boston. This, this was my race of a lifetime.

What's next?

I honestly don't know. I had wondered for a bit what I would do after Indy as this was my singular focus, my driving purpose for the last 3 months, but then put those thoughts away in a box. I'll run a Turkey Trot & Christmas 5k and see if I can carry this fitness into my first sub 20 5k - would be cool to get at my age. After that, I just don't know what 2025 will bring. One day at a time has been my mantra and I'll keep on with that for a while. I do know I'll be running Chicago in October though, so perhaps I'll do a shorter distance cycle in the spring to unlock even more speed. I see a path to a sub 3 marathon out there (which is 2:38 age adjusted) but I'll need to stack another cycle or two like this one. I know I can do it though. Nothing will ever be harder than this one, or maybe my strength was just forged out of the circumstances.

Splits

Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

November 9

Background and Training

This was my fifth attempt to get on the five decades sub-3 marathons (aka 5D/S3) list, there are only a few dozen runners who have done that. Previously I ran 2:34 in the 80s, 2:44 in the 90s, 2:54 in the 00s and my last sub 3 was in 2018 with a 2:58. The 2020s attempts have been 3:02, 3:00, 3:01, and 3:05.

Otherwise, this was a big year of racing with a 25K and two half marathons on the docket. I knew going in, that it would be a big ask to fit in a late-year marathon.

In August I ran the world masters half marathon in Europe, got sick on the return, and it took a couple of weeks to get my legs back. Going back to the first week of September mileage was 50, 57, 70, 70, 61, 70, 64, 70, 68, and taper weeks of 36 and 31 miles. I got in four decent long runs of 19, 20, 22, and 20 miles, and a mid-long run of 11-13 on most of those weeks.  The long runs included progression efforts to marathon pace or just a little over, and most of the mid-long runs had tempo or threshold workouts.

The Race, How Did it Go?

Listening to the evidence on carbo loading, I carbo-loaded a bit more than usual on Friday, but not too extreme. And for the race I had Maurten 160 in a handheld for the first 50 minutes and after that used Maurten gel every 30 minutes (so 480 calories for the race). That was about all I could take in.

Cut it close getting into the corral before the start. The first 4-5 miles of this race are very crowded. We hit the first few miles a bit slower than race pace the 5 mile split was in the 34:30s.

Through 10 miles I felt heavy from the carbo loading, but not terrible. I kept clicking off 6:55s or so and was 68:40s for 10 miles. Then I fell into a funk, and was questioning whether I should continue with this return to sub 3 quest, and also wondering if I could maintain or increase pace, to keep o the sub 3 quest. That was not a good headspace.

We passed the half, a bit off pace and then 15 miles n 1:44, and knew that sub 3 was no longer on the table. I just resolved to keep on the pace for as long as I could.

My mantra for the day was to live in the mile, and that’s what I tried to re-focus on. And I also thought about resilience. The mostly the downhill 19^(th) mile felt great! But then my pace fell off to 7:10s or so. Came through 20 miles in 2:18. 10K to go. Once we got back onto the city streets after about 21 miles I focused by making it from stoplight to stoplight and that helped keep my head in the game.

The last few miles weren’t terrible, nor were they great. I could not ratchet my pace down to sub 6:50, that just wasn’t in the tank. But 7:05-7:10 was sustainable.

My wife and son (he’d just finished the half) were on the side of the course with about a half km to go, before the last couple of turns. With less than a quarter go however, my little toe blew up (ended up being a popped blister, and I’m certain to lose another toenail), so I had sort of a sprint-hobble over the last bit of the course, crossing in 3:03.

Post-race

I grabbed some food and got my medal and made my way to the gear tents, but soon after getting my bag I got nauseous and started throwing up. That only lasted for a minute or so, but it felt longer. Then I felt better. Lolled around the area for an hour or so until we all reconvened. Enjoyed some good meals later in the day a couple of beers in the evening.

Post Hoc, What worked and What Didn’t?

I’ll give the training block a mixed review. I did get an adequate amount of mileage, with long runs and workouts, but an 8-week marathon-specific build may not have been enough. However, I did have solid a summer HM block preceding that, but it was hard to come back from a peak week (in August) in just a couple of months.

Fueling and hydration went okay. I did not bonk or cramp. That was more gels than I’m used to, but still it was less than some are now recommending.

My mental prep and attitude? Also mixed. I was probably less nervous for this race than any marathon I have done, going back 40+ years. That’s good. But I have never felt so off in the middle of a race—that time between 10 and 15 or so miles, I when I was questioning whether I should do any more of these, in particular another sub 3 attempt. Fortunately, I was able to pull out of that and get back into the mindset of just being in the mile.

The Future?

I don’t know. No doubt I enjoy distances, say 25K and under (down to about 5K) more than I do the marathon. What does that tell you? I would at least like to get NYC done to complete the North American WMM tour. And my son and daughter-in-law are already talking about doing Berlin someday. But breaking 3 again? Has that ship sailed?

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

I am taking two weeks off for shin splints and am getting tired of the bike and Stairmaster. However, I tried walking on the treadmill at 3.5 mph and 15% incline and was able to get my heart rate into the 140's! I was also sweating a lot! This is normally hard to do when I cross-train, as my quads get tired before I can get my heart rate up. Is this an effective way to cross-train? Has anyone tried this and found it beneficial for running?

Race Information

• Name: Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
• Date: November 9, 2024
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Indianapolis, IN
• Website: https://monumentalmarathon.com/
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/12860958099
• Time: 2:48:08

Goals

Splits

Training

The build up for this race went really well. I averaged around ~80 MPW. I started working with a coach after my spring marathon and it has been great. I basically spent the summer building up race distances, starting with some 5k training, then 10k, a half, then on to the marathon.

For the marathon training, I've not only been getting in the big marathon specific sessions, but hitting a bit of everything, so it has been very well rounded with nothing left behind. Some of the big types of sessions were straight fast long runs, like 20 miles at 90% of MP, and then alternating intervals building up to something like 5 x (4k MP / 1k 90% MP).

Pre-race

Leading up to the race, I didn't do too much different. We just tapered the mileage down a bit to 60 MPW in the prior week and then continuing about the same daily mileage in the final week. I did do a slight carb load two days out of the race, but it didn't really sit well with me, so I kept it normal for the day before. I usually eat a pretty high carb diet anyway, so I just had a tiny bit extra.

The morning of I stuck to my standard breakfast and headed over to the race area. I decided I wanted to shell out for the "VIP Experience" for the race, because it offered private restrooms and reserved parking. Not worth it. Parking was good, but there was only a single bathroom with two stalls as the private restrooms. So, we still had to wait in line forever anyway.

I went out and ran my normal 10 min warm-up and strides before the start, took a pre-race gel, and was ready to go.

Race

The race itself got off to a pretty slow start. I must have started a bit too far back (I was near the 2:55 pacer at the start), because the crowd held me back to closers to 7:00 min/mi for awhile and it took around a half mile to get down to the 6:30's. In hindsight it probably helped in the long run to start that slow. After that, it was really just cruising along with the crowd for awhile and keeping things really relaxed. We had a fast mile in there at mile 3 when the GPS watches were useless. I just followed along with everyone else during that time.

My fueling plan for the race was to take Maurten 160 gels starting at 4.5 miles and then every ~4-5 miles after that. So I had them around 4.5, 9, 13.1, 16, 20. I usually tried to do water around those times as well and not in between unless I felt thirsty.

Most of the miles for the race really breezed by and there isn't much to say about them. I did find that I would stick in a group for only a bit, and then after a while I would see the pace start drifting down into the 6:30's and would jump up to the next group. Rinse and repeat.

The later miles when you hit the parkway, which I think is the around 20 were definitely the hardest ones. At that point there wasn't many people grouped together anymore and there aren't any crowds out there to give support. But, once we hit around mile 23.5, you meet back up with the half marathon runners, the crowds return, and that when it was time to push. I tried to push the pace down to 6:10-6:15 and while the legs could do it, I would feel my heart rate starting to creep up too high and it made me feel sick, so I ultimately made the decision to just hang on in the 6:20's.

Ended up coming in a time of 2:48:08. I ran a negative split by about ~1 minute between the half's. This is a big PR for me, as I have been in shape to run this fast for awhile but kept missing due to things like the heat. So, my PR before this for the marathon was only 3:07 from years and years ago.

Post-race

After the race was done, I grabbed a few snacks and made my way back to the car for some rest. I had a 3 hour drive ahead of me, so I tried to get out of there pretty quickly and celebrate when I got home.

I was pretty stiff and sore post race, but now the day after, I'm feeling pretty good. Looking forward to starting planning next years season and seeing if I can improve on my time! I'm thinking about another crack at Chicago or maybe something in Europe?

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BEEP BEEP! It's weekend time! What are you up to?

There's actually a decent amount of us running this it seems! So I thought it might be helpful to split this out into another subject, it's not like we have a ton of actual topics in the sub anyways.

For any who are still unaware, I'm a degreed meteorologist, though I put my talents to use in the insurance industry. So the weather is still important to me, has always been my passion and I follow it very closely.

The forecast for Saturday morning is starting to come together with a little more confidence now. All the players are well known - think of it like a party. You have the guest list and you know everyone who is going to come. It's just a question of timing and who arrives first, and who is fashionably late.

In this case, the 3 main players are a deep Four Corners trough, and there will a fairly deep low pressure system lifting out of this eventually by the end of the week through Oklahoma and Kansas tracking to the northeast. Flow ahead of this will be southerly and quite strong. Blocking this will be a strong Southeast ridge, which has been very persistent this fall. That will keep deflecting the system to the north and slow the progress down, and as I noted yesterday, usually models eject storms out of the Four Corners a bit too quickly in these patterns. This morning's models runs have indeed slowed it down slightly.

The 3rd player I hadn't mentioned yet was Tropical Storm Rafael, soon to become a hurricane, and will move into the Central Gulf and then start to weaken. The models also were too fast with his movement, and NHC doesn't have him touching land through Sunday. However, moisture will likely be advected north ahead of Rafael over the weekend. It looks like this will largely happen after the race, but the timing on all these factors are still very sensitive.

Looking at the NBM this morning, the range for lows for Indianapolis on Saturday morning has tightened up a bit from yesterday's 19 degree spread, showing the confidence growing. The 10th percentile is 38, the 50th percentile is 42, and the 90th percentile is only 53 now. Chance of rain is 0% until the 90% percentile when it shows up as a 10% chance. That increases during the afternoon, but we'll all be done by then.

What could mess this forecast up? If the ridge is weaker (the party host says "screw it, we're partying early) then all the other players show up early and crash the party. Not very likely - this ridge has been an introvert all fall, but that's the failure condition here.

Okay Siawyn, that's quite the word vomit, can you ELI5 for me?

Bottom line is I'm getting fairly confident in a forecast of mid 40s at race start, expecting a fair amount of clouds around, and a very low chance of rain that won't increase until the afternoon. Temps will rise into the 50s by 10 am, and be in the 60s a little after the noon hour. Winds will likely be out of the southeast at 5-10 mph so not a strong wind, but will be more or less a headwind on the stretch coming home.

Next update tomorrow, or I'll gladly answer questions inbetween when I can.

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

#Is your question one that's complex or might spark a good discussion? Consider posting it in a separate thread!

BEEP BEEP! It's weekend time! What are you up to?

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

#Is your question one that's complex or might spark a good discussion? Consider posting it in a separate thread!

BEEP BEEP! It's weekend time! What are you up to?

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

#Is your question one that's complex or might spark a good discussion? Consider posting it in a separate thread!

BEEP BEEP! It's weekend time! What are you up to?

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

#Is your question one that's complex or might spark a good discussion? Consider posting it in a separate thread!

BEEP BEEP! It's weekend time! What are you up to?

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

#Is your question one that's complex or might spark a good discussion? Consider posting it in a separate thread!

BEEP BEEP! It's weekend time! What are you up to?

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Race Information

• Name: Akron Half Marathon
• Date: Sept 28, 2024
• Distance: 13.1 miles
• Location: Akron, OH
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/12523769777

Goals

Training

I'm (52 M) in the middle of training for the Indianapolis Marathon on November 9th. Training has been going exceptionally well despite other issues going on, I've been focusing pretty much exclusively on running and it's shown with my volume and paces. Mileage for the last 6 weeks: 52, 72, 72, 76, 64, 66. I've already posted a 20 mile long run (at 8:24 pace) and had a 19 mile one at 8:19. MP workouts have been around 7:20 and smooth. LT workouts have fallen below 7:00/mile despite being warm and humid. One of my things I've taken into this cycle is just focus on 2 runs out of each week, those are the only 2 that matter. Everything else is easy or recovery. I've really taken that to heart by running some recovery runs as slow as 10:30/mile. It just doesn't matter, and helps me be fresher for the runs that matter. I'm also currently in the middle of a running streak that has reached 277 days as of this writing.

I've run the Akron race series every year since 2016. It consists of 3 races:

• Late June: Mile/8k combo (usually I run both since they're on separate days)
• Mid August: 10k/HM (I run the HM every year. This year I ran a 1:37:21 on a surprisingly cool morning)
• Late September: HM/Marathon (ran the full the first 2 years, HM every year since)

Needless to say I know the courses extremely well. The fall race almost always falls halfway during my fall cycle so it's a good benchmark and is a consistent point of comparison since I'm always training through the race. No exception here as I logged 66 miles this week. I did structure it to where I had 2 recovery days of 4 miles each on Thurs/Fri though, but I had the 'ole workout+MLR combo on Tues/Weds so I needed it.

Goal was hopefully to beat my PR on this course from 2021, which was my PR year for pretty much everything. I felt that I was in better shape now than then, the only wildcard would be the weather, as 2021 was cool and dry (57 F at race start.) That wouldn't be the case this year, with the remnants of Hurricane Helene overhead, leading to a start time temp of 69 F with near 100% humidity.

Pre-race

As mentioned above, race morning dawned feeling rather tropical. It had rained a bit overnight and the streets were still damp and the moisture clung to the air like a heavy wet blanket. I declared that there would be good vibes only though, and my 1.8 mile warmup felt light and easy, even if I was sweating profusely by the end of it. Got in the corral a bit earlier than normal to give myself a good 15 minutes to cool off.

Race

I like to break this race chiefly into 3 parts -- the part going north out of town and back, the part headed south out of downtown, and then the part headed back to the finish after making the turnaround. This is a very rolling course (about 500 ft of elevation) but the toughest part is definitely that middle section and I know that the first miles will be the fastest and the middle miles the slowest. The question would be how much I'd have after that, especially given the tropical weather.

Miles 1-3

I shoot out reasonably fast, headed across the long Y-Bridge north out of downtown, and then circling back around to cross it again coming back. The good news is the legs felt really good. The bad news is my singlet was completely soaked by the end of this already. Good vibes only I kept telling myself, and fed off the crowds around downtown which were great. Mile 3 was a bit fast seeing sub 7 but it was downhill and we're banking a bit of time here.

Splits: 7:09, 7:05, 6:55

Miles 4-7

Now comes the tough section of the course, overall you climb a net 150 feet but it's rolling. I slow up on the uphills and claw part of it back on the downhills. I latch onto the female masters marathon leader during this section and just trail her the whole way. She looks strong. Usually I don't hit but one fluid station (if that) during a HM but I start hitting every single one here. During the full race I grab Gatorade twice, and otherwise I grab water, taking one swig and dumping the rest on my head to try to stay cool. Toward the end of this section I'm approaching my neighborhood and that's always a pick me up. Breathing is still okay but more importantly the legs still feel good. Shoes did start to get that squishy feeling here though.

Splits: 7:25, 7:21, 7:12, 7:17

Miles 8-10

Miles 8-9 are through my neighborhood and my mom is waiting on one corner to cheer me on, and at the turnaround to head back north my dad and his wife are waiting to give me a boost as well. It's always a boost to see anyone cheering for me and I might have goosed it a bit but (foreshadowing) those seconds came in handy later. Female masters leader takes advantage of the downhills a bit more than me though and slowly pulls away. However I'm still feeling really good here, I'm working hard but it's still mostly comfortably hard. The air is just so thick and every single inch of my singlet and shorts is soaked. I can feel a slight blister or two on the feet but nothing terribly annoying.

Splits: 7:08, 6:57, 7:20

###Miles 11 to the end

Headed back downtown to the finish and now it's getting hard, with that familiar heavy feeling in the legs. I know a good downhill awaits at 12 though and just need to grind it out until then and then it's (mostly) clear to the finish. Mile 11 does have a gradual climb but nothing ridiculous. The last dumping of water on my head before the downhill helps freshen me a bit, but I also have my last card to play - I flip my sunglasses down, now nobody can see how much it's hurting. It was kind of a mood changer - like "okay, it's business time now."

12 has that good downhill that I attack well but in turning back around to the finish have to climb about half of that back. I allow myself to slow up, telling myself once I make the right turn onto Main, I'll hammer it with everything I have left. I'm too lazy to do mental math at this point but I think sub 1:35 might be in play but it's gonna be real close even with a kick.

I make the turn and start to open it up. I see the clock way off in the distance; it's still at 1:33. I get closer and it's at 1:34. I close in and it's mid 1:34 with about 200m to go. I break out into the fastest sprint I can summon and cross exactly at 1:34:59 with the tiniest second to spare.

Splits: 7:20, 7:12, 7:12, 6:24 pace (last 0.24)

Post-race

Puke lights are flashing here with the sprint and the humidity and I lean over the rail for a full minute - think that's the closest I've ever come. After I get it back together, I just kinda laugh at the sky for a second. That's almost a full 2 min course PR on a stupidly tropical morning, and it's actually my 2nd fastest HM time ever. Ended up finishing 5/101 in my age group, 91/2235 overall. The 1:34:59 age adjusts to 1:23:39 as well - I'll take that!

What's next?

Well, I ran 13.1 miles more on Sunday morning, legs loosened up surprisingly quickly. That tells me all I need to know, legs had plenty to give, it was the lungs that couldn't get enough with the humidity.

6 weeks to go to Indy and I'm well on course for a BQ. I am penciling in low 3:1X as a time to shoot for. Okay, wait, you might be thinking - how do you think you can do something like 3:11 when you just only ran a 1:34:59 HM? Here's why:

• Indy will be flat and cooler than this
• In 2021 when I ran the 1:36:44, I turned around 6 weeks later and ran 1:32:58 on a flat course and cool day. Plus the weather was great for for Akron in 2021 vs this one. I think I'm in 1:30-ish shape on a flat/cool combo now.
• MP workouts and LT workouts support the time.
• I'll probably be a bit conservative anyways come race day.

Regardless, I have 4 more weeks of solid training with 2 tuneup races to give me a few more data points, so we'll see how accurate this assessment is. Pretty excited where I'm at now though.

Splits

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Background

I had planned to run my first backyard ultra in the spring of 2023 followed by a 200-miler in the fall. That training was going pretty well until my whole world got upended in January 2023 when I had a stroke. Woke up one morning with a numb arm (“Must have slept on it wrong.”). Next, I noticed a bit of weirdness with one side of my face as I was brushing my teeth (“This can’t be a stroke. That couldn’t happen to me. See, arm and face are back to normal.”). Then I went to tell my kids goodbye before I left for work…and couldn’t speak. I could think of the words, but couldn’t get my mouth to form them. Yep, time to go to the ER.

Three days in the hospital, numerous tests, sooo many doctors, but no real info except that they found evidence of a stroke (and possible evidence of a previous one). They weren’t sure of the cause as I had no other contributing factors, but were fairly confident it was from a PFO (patent foramen ovale). A hole between the atria of my heart let a small blood clot bypass my lungs and go to my brain. Fortunately, the stroke I had was very mild and the symptoms resolved within a day (difficulty forming words and some slight weakness on one side). I was able to go home as they scheduled more tests to get a firm confirmation of the PFO.

Any training was out the window now, but I was able to still get some slight running in as I waited for more tests. In February, I was able to get an echocardiogram that confirmed the PFO. This is something everyone is born with. The PFO allows blood to circulate in the womb, but it is supposed to close as you grow older. For 1 in 4, it doesn’t close completely and I was one of the unlucky ones. Considering the alternative causes for the stroke, this was pretty fortunate as it can be treated with out-patient heart surgery. Yes, that’s correct, out-patient heart surgery. The other likely culprit was atrial fibrillation which would have meant a lifetime on blood thinners.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the surgery until April so still only light running (3 mile runs, 15-21 mpw). The surgery went great. They passed a camera up the vein from one leg and a plug up the other and it was done. No running for a week, light running 3 weeks, then back to training. Building back was tough, but I took it slow over May, June, and July to get my mileage back to 40-50 mpw. No real workouts, just getting in mileage. I kept building mileage and half-heartedly did a marathon plan for a race in November, but without a lot of good training, it ended up being more of a training run. So, not a great year, but I had at least built my base back up to be ready for ultra training for the races in 2024.

Training

I’ve had good luck with Koop’s training format from Training Essentials for Ultrarunning so I went with this again. I used his Beginner’s 100 miler plan (which is pretty insane for a beginner’s plan) as a starting point and tweaked it as needed. My plan was to get some high mileage in with the main focus being back-to-back long runs and then try and get as much of the faster run Koop prescribes (intervals, tempos, steady state runs). He has a lot in his plans, but I dropped those as needed.

My goal race for the spring was Eternal Damnation Backyard Ultra. This was my first backyard ultra and on a fairly tough course (mountain bike trails with 250-ish feet per loop). Koop recommends training time per week for a 100k to 100-miler to be at 9 hours per week for 6 weeks starting at 9 weeks before race. I averaged 64 mpw for this training cycle, with 13:01 hours of training per week. The race went fairly well with me completing 17 yards for 70.8 miles. I had hoped for more, but the terrain got to me as well as some lingering metatarsal discomfort that I was still working through. After a recovery week, I eased back into training again following the same plan again although slightly abbreviated to allow for recovery. I dropped some of the interval quality weeks and just focused on building miles again. I added in some races too which forced me to change things around a bit.

Training through the summer was challenging, I certainly did not get as much of the quality speed runs in, but again, my focus was overall mileage and back-to-back long runs. I worked my race run/walk strategy into almost all of the longs runs as well as race hydration/fueling. One of my planned races was a 24-hour track race in June so I worked on heat training by doing some runs in the afternoon and most of the long runs leading up to that race on a track.

KUS Mini Race Report

24-hour track race on Wednesday which is strange day of the week for a race, but was chosen for a reason. This is the Kansas Ultrarunners Society (KUS) 6/12/24 hour race which is normally held in November on a 2.1 mile trail-ish loop. The RD couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have the race on 6/12/24 this year and decided to try a track race as he had been requests for it.

I really enjoyed this format although the heat did a number on everyone. As expected, it can be hot in June in KS and the temps hit mid-90’s. I planned to use this as a test for the 200-miler and employ a similar walk/run strategy. All-in-all, the race went well, at least through the first 12 hours. I was able to stay on race strategy with pace and fueling through about 8 hours (40 mi) then the heat became brutal. Slowed things down and focused on heat management with ice and water on my head, but the constant water and sweat was causing some serious chafing and waterlogged shoes by 12 hours (~60 miles). Took a 45 minute break to change clothes and dry and retape my feet. By the time, I got moving again, my legs had tightened up quite a bit and my quads were pretty sore. I worked to get moving again, but ended up with a lot of walking and couldn’t quite get resettled from the heat. I ended up calling at 16:26 hours with 71.3 miles. Although I was not happy with the result based on how I could have done with current training, I was content with the result considering the conditions. It was a good test of a lot of things for the 200-miler. Gear choice was good and would have been fine except all the added water from dousing myself. Nutrition and hydration went great. I have also been dealing with some forefoot issues on longer training runs (sometimes popping up after 10 miles), but have added metatarsal pads to my insoles recently. I had no foot issues (other than being waterlogged) for the entire race. I tried taping my feet for the first time in a race and that worked great. No blisters or hot spots at all. Run walk strategy worked good and gave me some data to try and optimize that as well. Finally, it was great to try this race on a track. I really enjoyed the format and very much want to try it again, but in better temps. The RD posted the next day that he went back to the track when the temps were similar to the high on race day and measured the track temp at 116 F. Woof!

Back to training

After a recovery week and easy week to get back into training, it was time to get into the meat of the plan and focus on mileage and race conditions. I never hit my weeks as planned, but felt like I got the bulk of what I needed to each week. Another goal on this cycle was to stay up on supplemental work including Myrtl routine (3/wk), yoga (1/wk), and a core/strength routine (2/wk). I was able to do this for most of the cycle as well as get a trail run with the local running group in once a week. This also included a great group run with the group from one town to the next for 35 miles. I used it as another race test with similar nutrition and walk/run pacing. Tough run, but great group of people to do it with. Six weeks before the race, I planned a tune-up race to really help test out everything.

NIGHT TRAIN Mini Race Report

Night Train is a very small, timed race on a rails trail (3, 6, and 12 hour options). The course is a 2.5 mi out and back on the rail trail (although they misplaced the cone so each lap was 5.4 miles). Plan was to mimic Cowboy course stations and only stop to refill bottles every 10 miles (2 loops) and aid station stops every 20 miles (4 loops). I was shooting for 60 miles over the 12 hours, so average moving pace (with walk breaks) of 11:30/mi to allow some AS time. Run comfortable for 0.4 mi at around 10:00/pace, quick walk for 0.1mi. Fluids every 0.5 mi, nutrition every 2.5 mi, heavier solid food at AS breaks. Rinse and repeat. At first, I really tried to pay attention to my run but eventually started going with what was comfortable and it was good not to stress over it much. Sometimes it was 9:45, sometimes 10:45, but typically in the 10-10:15 range. As long as the mile splits were close to 11:30, I wasn’t concerning myself about it. Temps got much more comfortable as midnight approached (race start was upper 70’s) and really had no issue with the heat. Everything was still going well through 40 miles. Besides the general fatigue, no physical problems. Feet were good, stomach was good, energy levels good. 45-ish miles things were getting a bit more difficult. Nothing major, just needed to focused more on my pattern. Sunrise gave me a bit of a a great second wind. I was still running the run sections by feel, but when I looked at my watch I kept seeing paces closer to 9:15 rather than the usual 10:15. :shrug: Just keep grinding. Came back to the finish for the last time with 2 minutes to spare for 60.4 miles, 1st place, and a course record. All in all, it was a great practice run and everything went great. I did see where I need to tweak a few things for the big race, but I was very happy how this one turned out. I was able to keep the loops very consistent and minimized time at each AS stop.

Loops: 1:01:03, 1:01:31, 1:01:03, 1:02:09, 1:02.34, 1:04:16, 1:03:31, 1:01:44, 1:03:02, 1:02:16, 1:02:14, 13:18

AS: 4:49, 5:09, 1:23, 4:46, 3:29

Last weeks of training

Recovery from the race was probably the best yet and I was able to get back to training quicker. I wanted a couple of more big mileage/time weeks before tapering down for Cowboy. I also worked to add in more walking (not counted in my mileage) to work those muscles too, especially over the taper weeks as I decreased mileage. I was able to add in 10-12 miles of walking on those first 2 taper weeks.

Weekly mileage progression

40, 54, 63, 70, 74, 30, 83 (KUS), 40, 60, 70, 75, 50, 55, 81 (NT), 52, 79, 68, 55, 33.7, 215 (Average = 67)

Avg weekly run time for 6 wks before taper = 11:46

Conclusions from Training Plan

Although I wish I did not have to drop so much of the quicker miles during training, I felt good with the volume I did run. I had consistent back-to-back runs of 20 to 24 miles as well as a couple of good long race efforts to practice. I was also happy with being fairly consistent with the supplemental work and the added strength/core routine felt good.

THE RACE

The Cowboy 200 is a point-to-point foot race along the Cowboy Trail (converted rail trail) winding through many small towns in Nebraska with views of pastures, fields, and more than 200 bridges in total, with the largest being 1/4 mile long and 148 feet high. It starts in Norfolk, NE and ends in Valentine, NE with 11 manned ais stations and 8 water stops along the way. This looked a great option for me as a way to try out the 200-mile distance without having to worry about technical trails or high altitude. Both of which are hard to train for as a Kansas flatlander. Plus, I like fast and flat ultras.

Fueling

Plan was 300-ish calories per hour with about 150 cal in my bottle (Proxima-C) and some solid food every 30 minutes (applesauce, baby food, Naak purees) during a walk break, and then water as needed. I planned to get more substantial solid food at manned aid stations (~100-200 cal each time).

Goals heading into race day:

I typically set aggressive goals and this one was no different. I planned to start out with the goal of average moving pace of 12:00/mile. Later in the race as fatigue sets in, the goal was to keep overall race pace to 14:20-ish/mile for a 48-hour finish. Considering this was my first time running something like this, I had no idea if that was feasible, but I wanted to have something to target.

Race Day

Up at 4 am to get ready for the 6 am start. Fueled up with Pop Tarts and a Mt Dew, breakfast of champions! I tape my feet, get dressed, and check all my gear, then time to head to the start line. Once there, got my GPS tracker, spoke to a couple of runners I knew who were also running, and then get lubed up in the needed areas (thank you, Squirrel’s Nut Butter!). Temperatures are nice, but I know it will be getting warm later. I plan to wear a long sleeve sun hoodie for the day knowing how well it can keep me cool. Short pre-race talk, line up at the arch, and we’re off into the darkness!

Start Line (Fri, 6:00)

People separate out fairly quick and I settle into my pace strategy, trying not to let the race energy sweep me along too fast. I still end up running a bit too quick, but enjoy the excitement of starting this long trek. Once out of town and off the paved section, we get on the crushed gravel trail and settle into fields, pastures, and open space. I enjoy the sunrise as it comes up and focus on not getting behind on fueling.

Battle Creek (manned), 10 miles (Fri, 7:58)

The first aid station is a manned station and since it is so close to the start, I had my wife skip so she could enjoy a bit more time in the hotel. I roll in quickly, refill bottles, grab a snack, and head out again in less than a minute.

Not much to report through this section. It’s still early, so legs feeling good. Sun hasn’t gotten up much, so temps are still feeling good. Just enjoying the quiet and open country.

Meadow Grove (water), 17.1 miles (Fri, 9:25)

Quick water refill and keep on running. Although it is not too warm yet, the plan is to refill any bottles with water to make sure I have plenty of fluids. It’s a short stretch to the next manned AS and the chance to see my wife again.

Tilden (manned), 22.4 miles (Fri, 10:36)

Temps are not too bad, but I can tell it’s going to start getting warm soon. I take a bit of time here to go to the bathroom, reapply lube, get some ice for my bandana, and grab half of PB&J sandwich, on top of refilling bottles for the next stretch. I’m trying to drink one bottle of Proxima-C every hour plus some water as needed. Grab the food I need for the next section and get back on the trail with about 9 minutes spent in the AS.

Still no issues. Run, walk, drink, eat, repeat. The ice bandana felt great, but just didn’t last as long as I would have liked.

Oakdale (water), 29.7 miles (Fri, 12:03)

Quick stop for water and keep on grinding. It’s time for the first reroute off the trail due to downed bridges. I catchup to several groups of runners here and chat a bit as I roll past. We’re on to some rolling paved roads so I try to stay with my planned walk breaks, but mostly just walk the uphills and run where I can. It’s getting warm and the heat is reflecting off the asphalt pretty fierce. Still staying up on eating and drinking and start taking in more water here. Last stretch of the reroute was onto a unpaved road which got me excited until I realized it was going to be sand. That was tough and made these miles kind of tough. I passed some confused cows along the way who were wondering who all these weirdos running by were.

Neligh (manned), 38.2 miles (Fri, 13:45)

Crossed the old train bridge into Neligh to see my wife and get resupplied and reset for the next section. This was going to one of the toughest of the course. 16 miles to the next water stop and 26 miles until the next manned AS, all during the hottest part of the day. I loaded up with more ice, added in a handheld with water as well as a small bottle of water I could throw away later. 7 min in the AS, then back on the trail.

Still running by myself, which I am used to and don’t mind so much. I’ve been listening to some music when I wanted or just zone out and enjoy the quiet. Unfortunately, in this section I somehow turned the brightness on my phone to 0% making it impossible to see the screen enough to use. And since it was so bright, there was no way to fix it. This section had the second long reroute which started on a winding gravel road, reminding me of my usual routes at home. It was so windy though, I really wanted to check the course GPX on my phone, but just had to hope there were enough course markings. Luckily enough, the course was marked well enough for me to keep going. It was getting really hot at this point and my legs were starting to feel the effort of running 50 miles to that point. We’re back on paved road again and just baking from the sun above and the pavement below. Stomach is not feeling great but still able to keep eating. I’ve slowed my pace down for the heat and just concentrate on getting to the water stop. Once there, it will only be 10 miles until the manned section.

Clearwater (water), 54.5 miles (Fri 17:42)

Once back on the trail, it’s a short stretch to the water stop with amazingly cold water. I refill water, mix up some Tailwind to get me to the next AS and get back to it after about 5 minutes at the water stop. I’m through the worst part and the sun going down really helps cool things off. I catch the first sunset of the race and look forward to getting to the manned AS to have a rest.

Ewing (manned), 64.3 miles (Fri, 20:03)

Got to this AS in the dark, but it was a sight for sore eyes. The last stretch had been rough, but I looked forward to seeing my wife and taking a break. I took the opportunity here to change shoes and address a hot spot on my back. My race vest had a seam that was curled over and rubbed on my lower back. To avoid any chafing, etc., I had put a large bandage on that spot to protect it, but it wasn’t quite in the right spot. We added a few more as a precaution. I took a moment to sit and get off my feet as well as get some warm broth in. It was amazing. I was also able to finally fix my phone screen. Hallelujah! I also changed into a t-shirt for the night section. After about 40 minutes, it was time to load up again and hit the trail with a brat to go.

Inman (water), 77.6 miles (Fri, 23:59)

With the cooler temps, I was able to get back to a good run/walk rhythm and cruise along listening to music and podcasts. A quick one minute stop in at the water stop to refill, then keep on motorin’.

O’Neill (manned), 85.4 miles (Sat, 2:02)

The As was another welcome sight after a long stretch between crew. This was going to be the last time seeing my wife for awhile as I was having her skip the next AS since I wanted her to get some rest after getting here so late (close to 2 am). The next manned AS (Stuart) had no crew access so it was going to be about 12 hours before I could see her again. Took a few minutes to sit and rest my feet. Bathroom break, reapply lube, and repack my food for the next leg. I changed back into a sun shirt since it woud be afternoon before I saw crew again and I knew I was going to need it. Starting to get tired and sleepy so downed a Redbull and took some chocolate covered espresso beans to go. After about 20 minutes, it was time to get going again.

Emmett (water), 93.6 miles (Sat, 4:34)

This was a lonely stretch, but I enjoyed the dark and the stars. No real issues, just cruising along maintaining pace. Average pace had sped up from the afternoon, but as fatigue set in, I was increasing my walk breaks some as well as having a slower running pace. I was still on target for 100 miles in 24 hours so I was content. Crossed 100 miles in about 24:08 as the sun came up again.

Atkinson (manned), 103.9 miles (Sat, 7:13)

Atkinson AS was where the 100-milers were starting in about an hour so lots of activity. Same routine: bathroom, lube, sit a bit, eat, reload, and get back on the trail. Spent about 20 minutes here and had some wonderful hashbrowns and sausage.

Stuart (manned), 113.9 miles (Sat, 10:30)

It was a short jump to the next manned AS (10 miles), but no crew. I had planned for this with my drop bag. Made good time here and was running fairly well, but it was starting to get warm already. Took a bit longer to make sure I had a rest and got some food. By this time, the faster 100-milers were coming through.

Newport (water), 123.7 miles (Sat, 13:03)

Made it to the water stop with a decent pace, but the sun was high and we were completely exposed. I was sapped and resigned myself to just walk until the AS. I also realized my hands had started to swell so I concentrated on getting my electrolyte balance under control. I had been taking salt chews as my water intake increased, but obviously not enough. This was a rough section with very little shade and no places to sit if I wanted to rest. None except on the ground and I didn’t trust my legs to get me back up if I did.

Bassett (manned), 134.8 miles (Sat, 16:48)

Finally rolled into Bassett hours after I had planned to see my wife. I felt so much better seeing here there. Took quite awhile here to try and cool down inside (a bit over an hour). I changed clothes and shoes which was little difficult as my legs were really getting tight and sore. Balance was not the best either. I took a bit too long with my shoes off as I noticed how much they were swelling when I put the fresh pair on. Luckily, I bought them half a size bigger. It was tough to get out the door, but night was coming and the next few AS were close and manned. Pace picked up for this section which was good, but the fatigue was definitely setting in as the sun started going down. I had not planned to sleep if I could help and hoped to be fast enough to not need it. Long Pine was a sleep station with beds, but I wanted to avoid that trap. A slight reroute here on some hilly, sandy back roads to get into town with lightning flashing in the sky. Radar showed the cell was pretty far so I wasn’t too worried.

Long Pine (manned), 144.7 miles (Sat, 20:51)

Spent about 25 minutes here doing the usual reset and got some sausage and bacon. No new problems had come up so sucked it up and kept on going. I don’t know if I sat too long or what, but the sleepiness hit hard on the next section. Luckily, there were no reroutes and it was just a wide open trail as I was starting to weave around. I hit one of the scenic bridges here (I think), but it was too dark to see anything. It seemed high and stretched for quite a distance. It was getting hard to run at this point as the soles of my feet were getting tender and my calves were on fire. Not too sore, but super tight. I just focused on getting to the AS so I could take a nap.

Ainsworth (manned), 152.5 miles (Sat, 23:52)

Rolled into the AS, dropped my gear, and went to the van for a 45-minute nap. It was wonderful! But so hard to get back out the van. I had stiffened up so much and cooled off enough that it felt chilly. Motivation to get back on the trail was very low. Went back to the AS to get restocked to go and had some broth and a Redbull. Both helped tremendously. After about an hour and 20 minutes, I was back on the trail.

Goal on this section was just to keep moving, especially after the rest. It took awhile to get my legs loosened up. With the way everything felt, I wasn’t concerned about the run/walk and just went by feel. Ran when it felt good and then walked when it didn’t.

Johnstown (water), 164.3 (Sun, 5:04)

I took a couple of extra minutes at the water stop to sit on a convenient bucket, enjoying getting the pressure off my feet. As the sun come up for the third time during this race (hard to believe saying that), I managed to get a third wind. I realized my feet didn’t hurt that bad and my calves seemed fine. I started back to a run/walk. That felt great! I shortened the walk breaks and things still felt good. I passed several people in this section. I ended up running some of the fastest miles of the race and almost got to the AS before my wife.

Wood Lake (manned), 174.9 miles (Sun, 7:49)

As I restocked for the final push, I really hoped the good feelings would last. Nothing really look appetizing at the AS so I took some candy for the road after about 20 minutes in the AS. Otherwise, nutrition had been going good with the apple sauce and baby food pouches and my energy levels had been great. Unfortunately, my third wind only lasted for a few more miles, but I was happy with what I got being 180 miles into a race. I walked the last few miles to the last water stop as the morning temps started to rise. I wasn’t looking forward to the 90 degree temps forecasted for the afternoon. I had really hoped to be done with this part.

Arabia (water), 184.6 miles (Sun, 10:50)

Short stop to refill water and stopped to chat a bit with a 100-miler who caught up to me. He only wanted to make the cutoff (which he could do with walking), so we set off to trudge the last exposed miles. This was tough. We finally had some hills to deal with and there was nothing but pastures surrounding us. I was so done, and like the previous day, there was very little shade and no place to sit. We chatted some, trudged in silence some, and slowly made our way towards the finish. After a few hours, he went on ahead at a faster walk to make sure he made the cutoff. I had no worry about that so I continued with my trudge.

Eventually, I started getting closer to civilization but town seemed so far away. I knew the impressive bridge was coming up, but I never seemed to make any progress toward it. It was a welcome sight when I finally got there and it did have an impressive view. The best part though was the bench on the other side with a shade. I rested here with a deep sigh as I gathered my motivation to finish. My only thoughts now were to move from one shade patch to the next as I crept into town. On the map, the finish line looked so close from the edge of town, but in reality, I felt like I had to walk for miles.

Finish, 200.2 miles (Sun, 16:13)

Finally, I rounded the last corner and could see the finish arch….a block away. I never though a block could feel so far. I crossed the finish line in 58 hours, 13 minutes, and 30 seconds absolutely spent. I was 8th place out of 45 finishers (76 runners started the race).

https://www.strava.com/activities/12420268936

Post-race

I was so happy to get into the finish line building and get off my feet and out of my pack. I got my medal, finish pic, and sat down to get drink and snack. It was then I realized the RD gave me the 100-mile buckle. I got up to tease him that he was trying to short change me on my race. He laughed and said he hadn’t gotten much sleep either. With the right buckle in hand, it was time to head to the hotel to assess damage, get a shower, and soak in the hot tub.

What’s Next?

Although I had hoped for closer to a 48-hour finish, I was happy with the results. I had really wanted to spend more time running later in the race, but the afternoon temps were pretty brutal. During the tough parts with aching feet and legs, I questioned whether my training had been enough, but I think it was. I was super stiff the rest of that day and the next morning, but besides tender feet, I had hardly any muscle soreness. The main issue was swollen feet (which is to be expected) and tenderness on the soles of my feet.

I plan to carry what I’ve learned into the next race which is a 48-hour race in April where I hope to get closer to 200 miles. It’s a short loop race (1.8 mi) so logistics will be much easier. If that goes well, I have my eyes on a 72-hour race in June where I can test out a longer format race on a loop course.

It’s the Weekly Rundown! This is the place to post your last week of training. Feel free to include links to wherever you track your runs. (Strava, Smashrun, etc.).

Your weekly place to discuss or ask questions.

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