Here I am at the third and final week of training! I am feeling a little bit confident that I'm going to be able to complete the half-marathon in the required time of 2:30. I am able to run between 9:30 and 10:00 miles over my 4 mile runs, which leaves a decent safety margin under the 11:26 pace required to break 2:30. This week, my plan is to run one fairly long run, and one short run later in the week.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
This morning I did a fairly easy bike ride from my house on the West side, to the Pride Soccer Complex on the east side. This was a 15.5 mile ride, with just a few hills along the way.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
This morning was cloudy and a bit drizzly, but I met two friends to do a ride at the Air Force Academy, just north of town. The drizzle cleared up for us, then we rode around the Academy on a 22 mile course with some hills.
My original plan was to run on Sunday as well, but the weather was not cooperating, so I decided to defer my long run until Monday at lunch time.
Monday, August 31, 2009
At lunch time, I drove to America the Beautiful Park the start line for the half-marathon a week from today. My hope was to go 8 miles along the course, as long as I felt OK. It was a fairly warm day, and I had no water along the course, but I did drink about 16 ounces just before I started running. Running today gave me 3 full days off from running. Just like last Thursday after 3 days rest, I felt pretty good from the start. I ran fairly slowly the first half mile, then got into a fairly good pace, under 9:30 for several miles. I decided early on that the full 8 miles was achievable. I took my first walk break at the 1.5 mile mark, then took a 1 minute walk break each mile after that. My calves have been feeling completely fine the last few runs. I have gradually altered my running style, moving slightly away from the pure Pose running method, and moving towards my previous running style, based on "Chi Running". The styles are actually very similar, but Chi uses less of a hamstring lift at the end of the stride. I am being cognizant about landing on my fore foot, which forces the calf muscle to absorb some of the pounding, but its not enough to hurt me. I am also focusing on using as little energy as possible. I try to focus on applying energy to forward movement, keeping my body from "jumping" in the vertical direction as much as possible.
I covered the first 4 miles in 39:00. I held that pace for the next two miles, then began to feel tired in the legs. It is likely that the tiredness was partially a result of not having fluids on the run, and simply running out of internal fuel. Nevertheless, my pace dropped off to the point where I finished the 8 miles in 1:20, exactly a 10 minute pace. I had slowed down to about a 10:30 pace that last mile.
As I formulate my strategy for next Monday, I have one of two options in mind. The first one is to simply try to hit a 10 minute pace, mile after mile. The second option is to try and run faster in the first half of the race, which is very slightly up hill, then just hold on for the return trip. I am leaning in this direction, to build up a time buffer so that I can slow down if needed towards the end of the race, and still break 2:30 without killing myself. Also, there is a pacer running to hit 2:00 exactly. In the back of my mind, I would love to keep up with this pacer (9:09 per mile pace) on the way out, then just hold on coming back in. I feel that pace is something I could do, but I would have to scale back or cut out my walk breaks on the first half of the race. Each walk break costs me roughly 30 seconds. So the 9:45 pace for my first 4 miles today could fairly easily be a 9:15 pace, at which point I'm very close to the 9:09 pace. This probably is a bit too fast for me, but I'll see how I feel on race day.
After today's run, my knees are feeling no worse than my last 4 mile run. My legs are tired, my left knee feels just very slightly swollen, and my right knee is just a little bit sore. I have concluded that 3 days rest for my knees is probably what I want to shoot for before Monday's race. I need to get one more run in later this week. I'll shoot for 2 days rest (Tuesday, Wednesday), then a 4 mile run for my second run of the week, then 3 days rest for the knees. I will probably ride my bike on the first of those rest days, then take 2 days completely off. I have found that taking two days off before my other triathlon/multi-sport events leaves me feeling nicely rested on race day, without losing any conditioning.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Week 2, Run 2
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
After 2 full days off, I went for a fairly rigorous, 13 mile ride through Garden of the Gods, Ridge Road, and back. This was almost 1100 feet of vertical, and I averaged 18.3 MPH and a heart rate of 148 BPM (178 maximum).
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I decided to take 3 days away from running for my second run this week. Today, I started with a bike ride over lunch time, and deferred the run to the evening. The bike ride was the Peregrine Triple, a quick 12 mile course with 3 good hills covering 1200 feet of vertical. It was a very windy day, and I didn't push it too hard. Average speed was 16.0 MPH with a heart rate of 143 BPM average (175 BPM maximum).
After work, I ran on the New Santa Fe Trail again, and planned on either 3 or 4 miles, depending on how I felt. I really felt pretty good from the beginning. My swollen knee was almost back to normal, with just the slightest feeling of swelling deep in the back side. I ended up keeping a pretty good pace, 9:30 for the first 2 miles. I slowed down just slightly on the way back, but still felt good, and decided to go with the 4 miles (instead of just 3). I ended up at 39:00 for 4 miles. I iced my knees as a precaution in the evening, but I didn't feel like the swelling in the right knee was nearly the issue it was a week ago, though there was still a small amount of swelling.
After 2 full days off, I went for a fairly rigorous, 13 mile ride through Garden of the Gods, Ridge Road, and back. This was almost 1100 feet of vertical, and I averaged 18.3 MPH and a heart rate of 148 BPM (178 maximum).
Thursday, August 27, 2009
I decided to take 3 days away from running for my second run this week. Today, I started with a bike ride over lunch time, and deferred the run to the evening. The bike ride was the Peregrine Triple, a quick 12 mile course with 3 good hills covering 1200 feet of vertical. It was a very windy day, and I didn't push it too hard. Average speed was 16.0 MPH with a heart rate of 143 BPM average (175 BPM maximum).
After work, I ran on the New Santa Fe Trail again, and planned on either 3 or 4 miles, depending on how I felt. I really felt pretty good from the beginning. My swollen knee was almost back to normal, with just the slightest feeling of swelling deep in the back side. I ended up keeping a pretty good pace, 9:30 for the first 2 miles. I slowed down just slightly on the way back, but still felt good, and decided to go with the 4 miles (instead of just 3). I ended up at 39:00 for 4 miles. I iced my knees as a precaution in the evening, but I didn't feel like the swelling in the right knee was nearly the issue it was a week ago, though there was still a small amount of swelling.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Week 2, Run 1
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Its been 2 full days since my last easy workout on the bike, and 3 days since my last 4 mile run. My left knee seems to be getting slightly better. Swelling has dissipated slightly, though I can tell a small amount still remains. I've bagged the idea of running 8 miles this weekend and 10 miles next weekend. I'm leaning towards taking Brenda's advice of running 3 miles a couple times a week, then gutting out the half-marathon. Regardless, I've taken enough time off, so its time to run again. Today's strategy is to do a bike ride first, then run my short run a bit later. I'm figuring that 2 workouts in one day should help a lot with my conditioning. I'm also speculating that the bike ride will get the blood flowing nicely through my leg muscles, and actually help my run.
Bike Ride
I rode the "Peregrine Triple" today. This ride is just 12 miles long, but rises 1200 feet across three passes: Flying W Ranch Road, Centennial Road into Peregrine, then up Woodmen Road and around back to Centennial. I averaged 16.8 MPH and a heart rate of 149 BPM for a strong overall effort.
Run
I ran the Santa Fe Trail starting at Uintah Street, heading north. This is the trail the half-marathon is run on. My plan was to run either 3 or 4 miles, depending on how I felt. The first half was very slightly up hill, then a turn-around and down-hill the second half. Both knees hurt just slightly the first half mile until I got warmed up, then I felt fine. I felt good enough at the turn-around point to go an extra half mile, so I completed 4 miles total. I used the run/walk/run strategy, with the Pose stride, landing on the fore-foot. My calves felt fine, but that may be because my knees are aching! Its funny how you usually only feel the body part that hurts the worst! As far as the earlier bike ride is concerned, I do think it helped warm me up, plus I had plenty of rest between sessions so I did not feel tired from the bike ride. My pace today was pretty respectable, despite walking 1 minute per mile: I went the 4 miles in 39 minutes, with a moderate effort.
Its been 2 full days since my last easy workout on the bike, and 3 days since my last 4 mile run. My left knee seems to be getting slightly better. Swelling has dissipated slightly, though I can tell a small amount still remains. I've bagged the idea of running 8 miles this weekend and 10 miles next weekend. I'm leaning towards taking Brenda's advice of running 3 miles a couple times a week, then gutting out the half-marathon. Regardless, I've taken enough time off, so its time to run again. Today's strategy is to do a bike ride first, then run my short run a bit later. I'm figuring that 2 workouts in one day should help a lot with my conditioning. I'm also speculating that the bike ride will get the blood flowing nicely through my leg muscles, and actually help my run.
Bike Ride
I rode the "Peregrine Triple" today. This ride is just 12 miles long, but rises 1200 feet across three passes: Flying W Ranch Road, Centennial Road into Peregrine, then up Woodmen Road and around back to Centennial. I averaged 16.8 MPH and a heart rate of 149 BPM for a strong overall effort.
Run
I ran the Santa Fe Trail starting at Uintah Street, heading north. This is the trail the half-marathon is run on. My plan was to run either 3 or 4 miles, depending on how I felt. The first half was very slightly up hill, then a turn-around and down-hill the second half. Both knees hurt just slightly the first half mile until I got warmed up, then I felt fine. I felt good enough at the turn-around point to go an extra half mile, so I completed 4 miles total. I used the run/walk/run strategy, with the Pose stride, landing on the fore-foot. My calves felt fine, but that may be because my knees are aching! Its funny how you usually only feel the body part that hurts the worst! As far as the earlier bike ride is concerned, I do think it helped warm me up, plus I had plenty of rest between sessions so I did not feel tired from the bike ride. My pace today was pretty respectable, despite walking 1 minute per mile: I went the 4 miles in 39 minutes, with a moderate effort.
Knee Woes
Thursday, August 20, 2009
My left knee definitely has something wrong. The knee is stiff and slightly swollen, mostly in the back. Experience with my right knee more than 20 years ago points to an internal knee injury. This feels like an ACL strain. But I can't figure out how I would strain my ACL on a simple 4 mile run. I wonder if my hard bike rides early in the week could have somehow worn me down. But in years of biking, I've never had this type of problem with the inner knee structures. Regardless of how it happened, I need to keep a close eye on this. I'm icing again today, and will watch it to see when I can run again. In my original plan, I wanted to run 8 miles on Saturday, then work up to 10 miles the following weekend. That seems unlikely now. Brenda tells me to cut back those plans, and maybe just run 3 miles a couple times a week. I'll keep tending to the knee and see when and how far I can run.
Recovery Ride
Today, I did a fairly easy ride, despite the left knee problems. I am able to ride with no knee pain, though the slight swelling is annoying. I rode 10 miles with a 670 foot vertical rise, with an average heart rate of 136 BPM, reflecting an easy to moderate effort.
I didn't mention it, but during this 3 week period, I'm being diligent about taking a joint supplement with glucosimine and chondroitin, 1500mg per day. I'm not sure yet if this helps. I've talked to others with knee problems who say it does help them, so I'm giving it a try.
My left knee definitely has something wrong. The knee is stiff and slightly swollen, mostly in the back. Experience with my right knee more than 20 years ago points to an internal knee injury. This feels like an ACL strain. But I can't figure out how I would strain my ACL on a simple 4 mile run. I wonder if my hard bike rides early in the week could have somehow worn me down. But in years of biking, I've never had this type of problem with the inner knee structures. Regardless of how it happened, I need to keep a close eye on this. I'm icing again today, and will watch it to see when I can run again. In my original plan, I wanted to run 8 miles on Saturday, then work up to 10 miles the following weekend. That seems unlikely now. Brenda tells me to cut back those plans, and maybe just run 3 miles a couple times a week. I'll keep tending to the knee and see when and how far I can run.
Recovery Ride
Today, I did a fairly easy ride, despite the left knee problems. I am able to ride with no knee pain, though the slight swelling is annoying. I rode 10 miles with a 670 foot vertical rise, with an average heart rate of 136 BPM, reflecting an easy to moderate effort.
I didn't mention it, but during this 3 week period, I'm being diligent about taking a joint supplement with glucosimine and chondroitin, 1500mg per day. I'm not sure yet if this helps. I've talked to others with knee problems who say it does help them, so I'm giving it a try.
Week 1, Run 2
After Sunday's initial 6 mile run, I felt a good amount of soreness in my running muscles. It's somewhat surprising that my biking muscles can be in great shape, yet running differs just enough to make other leg muscles extremely sore. My right knee, the worst of the two, has been a little bit sore as well. I "rested" my running muscles on Monday and Tuesday, getting on the bike for both days with these workouts:
Monday, 8/17/2009: 13 mile Bike Ride around Garden of the Gods & Ridge Road. My bike computer, a Sigma Rox 9, has an altimeter which tells me the vertical gain, as well as a heart monitor. This ride is 1100 feet of vertical climb, providing a very good workout. Average speed was 18.5 mph, one of my better rides on this course. I also gauge my effort using the heart rate monitor. My average for the ride was 145 beats per minute, maxing out at 178. I also wore this same heart rate monitor on my run on Sunday, and I seemed to range from 145 to 150 for what I'd consider a moderate effort. My hope is to be able to maintain this level of effort for the half-marathon in a couple weeks.
Tuesday, 8/18/2009: 20 mile Bike Ride on a route my friend and I call the "Little Kahuna". This was originally designed as the toughest long-lunch bike ride we could manage, but since we first started riding it, we found a few tougher routes. The Little Kahuna is similar to my ride yesterday through Garden of the Gods & Ridge Road, but starts a few miles further away, and adds another hill on Flying W Ranch road. This ride was my best Little Kahuna ever, averaging 18.7 MPH over the 20 miles with 1750 feet of vertical rise. Average heart rate was 153 BPM. I felt strong the whole way, and this ride gives me confidence that I should be fine for my half-marathon, at least on a cardiovascular level.
Wednesday, 8/19/2009: The time has arrived for my second run. This one's important, as it will show me that my knees and running muscles can recover enough in two days to support a consistent running schedule. I figured if I can't run on 2 days rest for the knees, I will have trouble getting in the 2-3 runs per week over the next three weeks that will let me survive the half-marathon. I ran from work, which happens to be just a half-mile from the New Santa Fe Trail, the same trail as the half-marathon, though we are a bit north of where the actual course. Today, I ran 4 miles at just a hair over a 10 minute per mile pace. I used the run/walk/run strategy where I would walk 1 minute each mile at a decent clip to help recover and re-energize. The run/walk/run method is proposed by Jeff Galloway, and I've been using it since the first of the year, even in competitions. My knees felt a little sore for the first half mile. I wore my monitor and saw that my heart rate was between 145 and 150 BPM. About what I expected, and again a moderate level of effort which I feel I can sustain (or close to it) for the two and a half hours on race day. The Peak Ascent qualifying time is just 2:30, which amounts to an 11:26 per mile pace. Towards the end of the run, the last 1/2 mile or so, my lower right calf muscle began to show early signs of strain. This is the muscle that completely broke down on me last fall while training for a half-marathon. Using the Pose running method, the calf takes a lot of stress, as each stride lands on the ball of the foot (as opposed to the heel). The feeling of strain is very slight, and I'm hopefully just being over-sensitive since this is the injury that ended my last attempt. If the strain turns into pain, I do have a solution: I will alter my stride to land more towards my heel. I've found I can control the stress on the calf by simply altering the landing position. More towards the ball of the foot means more calf-stress and less knee stress. Moving towards the heel reduces stress on the calf and increases pounding on the knee.
After making it through today's run, I am confident enough that I registered for the half-marathon on September 7th.
As a precaution, I iced both knees. I'm a bit surprised, but my left knee, the better of the two, seems to be slightly swollen. I can feel swelling pressure on the back side of it. I don't remember tweaking it in any way during my run. I occasionally get slight pain in the front, seemingly on the front top surface of the tibia, where the lower bone meets the knee. I bit of pain there sporadically when I walk, which I've been able to deal with in the past. This swelling, though, is completely unexpected, and something I'll need to keep an eye on.
Monday, 8/17/2009: 13 mile Bike Ride around Garden of the Gods & Ridge Road. My bike computer, a Sigma Rox 9, has an altimeter which tells me the vertical gain, as well as a heart monitor. This ride is 1100 feet of vertical climb, providing a very good workout. Average speed was 18.5 mph, one of my better rides on this course. I also gauge my effort using the heart rate monitor. My average for the ride was 145 beats per minute, maxing out at 178. I also wore this same heart rate monitor on my run on Sunday, and I seemed to range from 145 to 150 for what I'd consider a moderate effort. My hope is to be able to maintain this level of effort for the half-marathon in a couple weeks.
Tuesday, 8/18/2009: 20 mile Bike Ride on a route my friend and I call the "Little Kahuna". This was originally designed as the toughest long-lunch bike ride we could manage, but since we first started riding it, we found a few tougher routes. The Little Kahuna is similar to my ride yesterday through Garden of the Gods & Ridge Road, but starts a few miles further away, and adds another hill on Flying W Ranch road. This ride was my best Little Kahuna ever, averaging 18.7 MPH over the 20 miles with 1750 feet of vertical rise. Average heart rate was 153 BPM. I felt strong the whole way, and this ride gives me confidence that I should be fine for my half-marathon, at least on a cardiovascular level.
Wednesday, 8/19/2009: The time has arrived for my second run. This one's important, as it will show me that my knees and running muscles can recover enough in two days to support a consistent running schedule. I figured if I can't run on 2 days rest for the knees, I will have trouble getting in the 2-3 runs per week over the next three weeks that will let me survive the half-marathon. I ran from work, which happens to be just a half-mile from the New Santa Fe Trail, the same trail as the half-marathon, though we are a bit north of where the actual course. Today, I ran 4 miles at just a hair over a 10 minute per mile pace. I used the run/walk/run strategy where I would walk 1 minute each mile at a decent clip to help recover and re-energize. The run/walk/run method is proposed by Jeff Galloway, and I've been using it since the first of the year, even in competitions. My knees felt a little sore for the first half mile. I wore my monitor and saw that my heart rate was between 145 and 150 BPM. About what I expected, and again a moderate level of effort which I feel I can sustain (or close to it) for the two and a half hours on race day. The Peak Ascent qualifying time is just 2:30, which amounts to an 11:26 per mile pace. Towards the end of the run, the last 1/2 mile or so, my lower right calf muscle began to show early signs of strain. This is the muscle that completely broke down on me last fall while training for a half-marathon. Using the Pose running method, the calf takes a lot of stress, as each stride lands on the ball of the foot (as opposed to the heel). The feeling of strain is very slight, and I'm hopefully just being over-sensitive since this is the injury that ended my last attempt. If the strain turns into pain, I do have a solution: I will alter my stride to land more towards my heel. I've found I can control the stress on the calf by simply altering the landing position. More towards the ball of the foot means more calf-stress and less knee stress. Moving towards the heel reduces stress on the calf and increases pounding on the knee.
After making it through today's run, I am confident enough that I registered for the half-marathon on September 7th.
As a precaution, I iced both knees. I'm a bit surprised, but my left knee, the better of the two, seems to be slightly swollen. I can feel swelling pressure on the back side of it. I don't remember tweaking it in any way during my run. I occasionally get slight pain in the front, seemingly on the front top surface of the tibia, where the lower bone meets the knee. I bit of pain there sporadically when I walk, which I've been able to deal with in the past. This swelling, though, is completely unexpected, and something I'll need to keep an eye on.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Three Weeks Training for Half-Marathon
I have fond memories of my last ascent race to the top of Pikes Peak, 20 years ago now. Crossing the finish line is exhilarating. At 14,000 feet above sea level and 3,000 feet above timberline, the air is thin and dizziness takes hold. But the feeling of accomplishment is unmatched. The 13 mile course has a rise of over 7,000 feet from the Manitou Springs starting line. It seems like a tall order even for the best conditioned athletes. Yet every year, normal, every-day athletes like me complete the course in fine order, experiencing the adrenaline rush of crossing below the finish banner, among the craggy rocks at the pinnacle of Pikes Peak. Serious distance runners choose the full marathon option, an event run the following day where the ascent is the first half of the race. Marathoners turn at the top and race back down the trail the same 13 miles to the finish line.
This year's Ascent finished last weekend. Sadly, my goal of being a part of the race did not pan out. Now, at age 47, having gone through 4 knee operations over the years, I can no longer train long distances. I have 40% of protective cartilage remaining in one knee, and just 20% in the other, which also underwent ACL reconstruction in 1986. I am essentially bone-on-bone, and the constant pounding of distance running exacerbates the arthritis that has begun taking hold in my knees. I can no longer train for long distance events. Yet every year, I am drawn by this event, and feel almost deprived as others experience what I can no longer achieve.
Having grown in popularity over the years, the race organizers established qualification guidelines for entrants. This approach makes sense, as it ensures a minimum level of conditioning to avoid health emergencies on race day, as well as dramatically limiting the number of eligible runners attempting to sign up for the fixed number of runners allowed by the national forest service.
A year ago, I established a goal for myself to get qualified for the Pikes Peak Ascent. The qualification is achievable my just the average runner. Run a half-marathon in 2 hours, 30 minutes (11:26 per mile pace), or a full marathon in 5 hours, 30 minutes. I set my sights on the Las Vegas Half Marathon in December, and turned to the popular Hal Higdon site for a half-marathon training plan. My wife Brenda used his plan successfully to complete the New York City Marathon last fall, and again to complete my favorite race, the Pikes Peak Ascent this. In addition to a training plan, a friend of mine who has run several Ironman-length triathlons, and also happens to have knee problems, told me of a running style that is less stressful on the knees. The "Pose" running method emphasizes a shorter stride landing on the ball of the foot, rather than on the the heel. This positioning causes energy to be absorbed by the calf muscle, reducing the pounding on the knees associated with a more typical heel strike.
I studied up and practiced the Pose running style, and progressed fairly well through the training plan. But about two thirds of the way through the program, my calves broke down as I pulled a lower calf muscle in my right leg, and I had to abandon the race. My running plans were over, along with my dreams of running the Ascent again. I went back to lots of bike rides to keep me in shape over the winter months. Fortunately, I love biking and I have several friends who I bike with on a regular basis. In my area, so close to the base of Pikes Peak, we have many hilly roads, so a great workout on the bike is just out the door.
Coming into the summer months, I decided to focus on biking, multi-sport, and triathlon events with minimal running requirements. I rode a century ride (100 miles) in June, did 2 sprint triathons, and did 2 aquathons so far this summer.
But with the passing of another Pikes Peak Ascent the familiar longing has returned. I've got a new plan now. In three weeks, the American Discovery Trail half marathon takes place right here in Colorado Springs. My plan is to essentially gut out a half marathon, with a minimal training plan over three weeks. I will use the Higdon plan as guidance, and try to build up to a 10 mile run over the next two weeks. If I can run 10 miles, I can surely gut out 13 miles on a race day.
My cardiovascular conditioning is very good due to my multi-sport events this summer. But I know from experience that running emphasizes different muscle groups, and so my great biking conditioning does not directly translate to good running conditioning. Sunday, August 16th was the first test. I would run 6 miles at a pace that would comfortably qualify me if extended over a 13.1 mile half-marathon. Then, over the following weekends, I would increase the mileage to 8 and then 10 miles. That would place me one week before the event on labor day, September 7. I would also put in at least one shorter run during the week, as well as continue with rigorous biking workouts a couple times a week.
Sunday's run went fairly well. I ran a 6 mile course on the New Santa Fe Trail, along the route of the upcoming event. I set a fairly easy pace at about 10:30 per mile. For reference, for my short 3 mile runs during a sprint triathlon, my best pace is a bit over 8 minutes per mile. For my run, I used the Pace running method, taking short strides and landing on my fore foot. My knees felt good, except for some soreness that developed in my right knee (the worst of the two) over the last couple miles. In the afternoon, I felt a slight amount of swelling, so I iced a few times over the course of the rest of the day. I should mention that I would have taken an anti-inflammatory, but I'm allergic to aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Alleve, so that's not an option for me. The plan now is to avoid any severe knee pain that would prevent me from leading a normal, active life, and at the same time recover for 2 or 3 days so I am able to run 3-4 miles mid week. If I can do that, I believe I am fully capable of running a half marathon at the end of the three week program.
This year's Ascent finished last weekend. Sadly, my goal of being a part of the race did not pan out. Now, at age 47, having gone through 4 knee operations over the years, I can no longer train long distances. I have 40% of protective cartilage remaining in one knee, and just 20% in the other, which also underwent ACL reconstruction in 1986. I am essentially bone-on-bone, and the constant pounding of distance running exacerbates the arthritis that has begun taking hold in my knees. I can no longer train for long distance events. Yet every year, I am drawn by this event, and feel almost deprived as others experience what I can no longer achieve.
Having grown in popularity over the years, the race organizers established qualification guidelines for entrants. This approach makes sense, as it ensures a minimum level of conditioning to avoid health emergencies on race day, as well as dramatically limiting the number of eligible runners attempting to sign up for the fixed number of runners allowed by the national forest service.
A year ago, I established a goal for myself to get qualified for the Pikes Peak Ascent. The qualification is achievable my just the average runner. Run a half-marathon in 2 hours, 30 minutes (11:26 per mile pace), or a full marathon in 5 hours, 30 minutes. I set my sights on the Las Vegas Half Marathon in December, and turned to the popular Hal Higdon site for a half-marathon training plan. My wife Brenda used his plan successfully to complete the New York City Marathon last fall, and again to complete my favorite race, the Pikes Peak Ascent this. In addition to a training plan, a friend of mine who has run several Ironman-length triathlons, and also happens to have knee problems, told me of a running style that is less stressful on the knees. The "Pose" running method emphasizes a shorter stride landing on the ball of the foot, rather than on the the heel. This positioning causes energy to be absorbed by the calf muscle, reducing the pounding on the knees associated with a more typical heel strike.
I studied up and practiced the Pose running style, and progressed fairly well through the training plan. But about two thirds of the way through the program, my calves broke down as I pulled a lower calf muscle in my right leg, and I had to abandon the race. My running plans were over, along with my dreams of running the Ascent again. I went back to lots of bike rides to keep me in shape over the winter months. Fortunately, I love biking and I have several friends who I bike with on a regular basis. In my area, so close to the base of Pikes Peak, we have many hilly roads, so a great workout on the bike is just out the door.
Coming into the summer months, I decided to focus on biking, multi-sport, and triathlon events with minimal running requirements. I rode a century ride (100 miles) in June, did 2 sprint triathons, and did 2 aquathons so far this summer.
But with the passing of another Pikes Peak Ascent the familiar longing has returned. I've got a new plan now. In three weeks, the American Discovery Trail half marathon takes place right here in Colorado Springs. My plan is to essentially gut out a half marathon, with a minimal training plan over three weeks. I will use the Higdon plan as guidance, and try to build up to a 10 mile run over the next two weeks. If I can run 10 miles, I can surely gut out 13 miles on a race day.
My cardiovascular conditioning is very good due to my multi-sport events this summer. But I know from experience that running emphasizes different muscle groups, and so my great biking conditioning does not directly translate to good running conditioning. Sunday, August 16th was the first test. I would run 6 miles at a pace that would comfortably qualify me if extended over a 13.1 mile half-marathon. Then, over the following weekends, I would increase the mileage to 8 and then 10 miles. That would place me one week before the event on labor day, September 7. I would also put in at least one shorter run during the week, as well as continue with rigorous biking workouts a couple times a week.
Sunday's run went fairly well. I ran a 6 mile course on the New Santa Fe Trail, along the route of the upcoming event. I set a fairly easy pace at about 10:30 per mile. For reference, for my short 3 mile runs during a sprint triathlon, my best pace is a bit over 8 minutes per mile. For my run, I used the Pace running method, taking short strides and landing on my fore foot. My knees felt good, except for some soreness that developed in my right knee (the worst of the two) over the last couple miles. In the afternoon, I felt a slight amount of swelling, so I iced a few times over the course of the rest of the day. I should mention that I would have taken an anti-inflammatory, but I'm allergic to aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Alleve, so that's not an option for me. The plan now is to avoid any severe knee pain that would prevent me from leading a normal, active life, and at the same time recover for 2 or 3 days so I am able to run 3-4 miles mid week. If I can do that, I believe I am fully capable of running a half marathon at the end of the three week program.
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