Trying to finally kick a long-lasting cold/cough and start to introduce some longer runs into the rotation to slowly get back into hard running. Fairly quick turnaround from Honolulu overall back into training.
Monday: 3 Miles- Westerly, RI
After the weekend runs seemed to really aggravate my cough symptoms, I figured it was better to cut this one down from 5 to 3. Easy Newbury loop. Didn't feel as bad as the weekend but chest burn was definitely there.
Tuesday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Easy VG loop with Dad + Brady. Felt a little better than previous days.
Wednesday: 12 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Longer loop around pretty much all of the ninigret paths. Been having wet and dreary weather in the upper 40s. Felt significantly better on this run from a respiratory standpoint which was a good sign.
Thursday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI
I was a little nervous to do a workout because just running longer on the weekend had made my cough symptoms worse and if the workout made it worse, Millennium Mile would be out for Monday. But it was a lot smarter to go into the race with some kind of workout under my belt and see how ready I was. Burlingame campground loop (approx 5K) tempo aiming for 5:45-5:50. Went out fairly hard and went with that. Felt a bit chilly with the wind and wet air. The effort felt hard but never forced/racing and averaged 5:32 pace which is pretty good for an opening workout.
Looking back my first hard effort post 2022 fall block was almost identical- 5K at 5:33 average in the Niantic Jingle Bell 5K. I think this felt a little better overall so hopefully that means some of the fall strength work carried over. I'm opening 2024 with the Millennium Mile in NH as I did last year. A major difference is last year I had 22 days between that initial workout and the mile, this year I have 4. So definitely not expecting as much and may not even go 100%.
Friday: 7 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Easy Carter loop with Dad + Brady. Pretty slow constantly having to stop and get around downed trees. Nice now to have these shorter runs, won't have that luxury in a few weeks. Had some hamstring discomfort which is really rare for me, likely went a bit too hard in the workout.
Saturday: 12 Miles- South Kingstown, RI
Run with Dad from Great Swamp with a loop around URI/Stony Fort road/biscuit city and bike path. Nice and quiet. Fairly even and comfortable 7:00 pace with breathing finally feeling good again after recovering from sickness. Some hamstring discomfort again which was pretty concerning on the strides. Spent a lot of time rolling/stretching that night with better hopes for tomorrow.
Sunday: 8 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Final run of the year, comfortable jaunt around Ninigret park. Served as hamstring tester. Definitely still some tightness there but overall felt it a lot less than the last few days. Strides I felt too but really just a tight spot and didn't feel at risk for tearing anything like yesterday- will go ahead and race but be careful.
Weekly Total: 59 Miles
2023 Mileage Total: 3,600 Miles (nice round number)
Weekly Highlight: Finally kicking a long cough/cold and getting in a good workout.
Weekly Lowlight: Developing a new (hopefully) short-term problem with the knot in my hamstring.
Movies Watched: Groundhog Day, Trading Places, Crazy Rich Asians, Hot Fuzz
I've pretty much locked down early 2024 races for myself. The plan will be to continue to with longer road events. This went well in the fall and the next 12 weeks will follow a similar pattern with higher volume, longer road workouts on a consistent basis to try to get really strong. After a week of 3 mile runs (that's a week off in 2023/running every day), I took an easy week to get back into it and then a slightly higher week with a workout after that. What will follow the first week of January is some short rustbuster races just to push the body back into intense running, then committing fully to marathon training again with the goal race being the Los Angeles Marathon on March 17th. I felt the fall went pretty well culminating in running 1:10 for the half twice, many weeks over 80 and a few over 90s for the first time, four long runs over 20s, a debut marathon and ultimately keeping my volume and training pretty consistent. I am disappointed that I didn't run faster in Honolulu but the tropical heat was always going to be a wild card and I'm confident I gained a lot of strength over the full block that will benefit me in 2024.
A key difference in training for Los Angeles versus Honolulu is amount of time to prepare. Honolulu I had a full 16 week block (excluding the last three weeks in RI- Blessing/Kerri/Doyle, for Los Angeles I'll only have 12 weeks to prepare (and technically that's 10 if only looking at full volume weeks). For Honolulu I was never rushed and had plenty of time to get in all my key workouts, long runs and even two half marathons whereas Los Angeles I'll have to be careful to make sure I don't miss a long run and I'll go in with considerably less volume under my belt. This sounds like a poor setup and while it'd be wiser to wait until I can get a full block, this will essentially be a home town big race and I probably won't race marathons in California after moving back to NE. So I don't want to miss the Los Angeles marathon the year I'll be living in that area. While I don't feel as great about the training, the hope is that all the work I put in the fall will carry over somewhat and I'll be in similar shape to Honolulu by when race day comes. It should be an advantage that everything I'm doing for this upcoming block I did for the first time in the fall. Another big difference is that Honolulu was a flat marathon and Los Angeles is very hilly. This is something I'll have to figure out for training. Here are the races I'm doing up until Los Angeles.
January 1st- Millenium Mile: Londonderry, NH
Like last year, I'll open up the year with a downhill road mile in NH. It was a fun event and easy decision to return. As both an opener and shorter event, the expectations will be pretty low. I'll be going in with considerably less running in my legs than last year so this is more a "for fun" type of race than anything serious.
January 4th/5th- Indoor Track Double: New York, NY
This probably isn't the greatest training decision, but only being back in RI for a few weeks into January and running a March marathon meant no indoor track for 2024. I've run indoor pretty consistently every season since 2014 and wanted to get in at least a race. After spending a lot of time on the Boston tracks, it seemed nice to return to the Armory and get in a race at Ocean Breeze which I've wanted to race on for a long time. Like the mile, these will really be racing just for fun to get in my track fix for 2024 and reintroducing hard efforts. I'll be racing a 3K at the armory on the 4th and a mile at Ocean Breeze on the 5th.
February 4th- Surf City 5K: Huntington Beach, CA
After two weeks back in SoCal, hopefully I'll be in good shape and will race a road 5K for the first time since April 2023. With a super fast and flat OAB course plus potentially good competition, I'd like to take a crack at sub-15:30 again.
February 25th- Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon: Las Vegas, NV
After getting the bulk of my marathon training done, I'll hope to be in good shape for this one and take my fitness to Las Vegas. I won't have as much under my belt as did going into Berkeley but hopefully I can be similar shape. Unlike Berkeley, this course is pancake flat and should be a really good PR opportunity. I'd like to get sub 1:10 here if things go well.
March 17th- Los Angeles Marathon: Los Angeles, CA
This will be the big goal for the winter/spring. Hopefully get really fit and hold things together much better in the second half than Honolulu. Course is pretty similar to Boston- point to point course that's pretty hilly and a net downhill with a lot of downhill early on. Decently competitive but nothing crazy, should be in top 30-40.
I don't have anything locked in post-Los Angeles, but here are some likely events in that period:
April 7- Bakersfield 10K. Decent loop course, could use as a return to racing post L.A., but a maybe.
April 13- Point Mugu Trail Race. Very hilly trail race nearby along the ocean, will likely race this one.
April 28- El Segundo 5K. Reasonably close looped and flat course, could be a good opportunity.
May 5- Orange County Half. Relatively close half marathon. Net downhill but not a huge drop, could be another opportunity to run fast and work off going into summer.
TBD after that, I have a few events that are likely but mostly will make decisions later on.
After taking a year or so to work on the half I knew I wanted to make my marathon debut shortly after that. I had long wanted to make a marathon debut at Hartford in October 2023 but my plans changed after relocating to California in the fall. Besides, I only had about 2 months for quality training post Quebec Mega Trail and the October date wouldn't have worked anyway.
While spending my time in Thousand Oaks, part of the Los Angeles metro area and only about 45 minutes from downtown Los Angeles (without traffic) it made perfect sense to make my marathon debut at the Los Angeles marathon while it was a local race. I'd be on a time crunch to complete quality marathon training for anything in the fall, and the West Coast options were quite limited anyway. But there was one "West Coast" option falling in December in Honolulu, meaning I'd be able to have a full 16 week build up for it. This would also benefit me to race Honolulu, a hot weather marathon with lower time expectations and approach the debut trying to get a feel for the distance rather than have lofty goals. Then with the experience, I could head to in Los Angeles having already done one. This plan presented a concern of having a shorter build for Los Angeles coming right off Honolulu, but I liked the idea of having a big fall goal race and being able to get in an additional marathon under my belt with a long-term goal of Boston 2025. So I signed up in late August and devised a 16 week marathon plan that peaked in the low 90s and 22 mile long runs.
After a lot of grinding in the California heat and sun, race week was eventually here. While I never enjoyed 70 to 80 degree hot days in what would be comfortable temperatures in the Rhode Island fall, a huge advantage to myself was getting some acclimation for Honolulu. Flew over to Honolulu Friday morning, then uber and some walking in Downtown. Finished up some final schoolwork for the semester and got in a 6 mile run. I felt flat and was glad I had arrived 2 days early and not one. The Hawaii weather felt jarringly hot, not the same as CA at all and I readjusted my time goal a bit. It was going to be tough. Pre-race day felt much better and did 4 miles with Andrew with the morning feeling a lot better. Note Honolulu is not a good running city but was able to make it work.
Went to bed early for what is easily my earliest start time ever of 5AM. I have a 3 hour rule of eating before so that meant a 2AM wakeup which I had been worried about the entire fall. I ended up getting a quality 6 hours of sleep and felt good shortly after getting up, so the time was not an issue at all. Hung around for a bit, usually I get in a 2 mile warmup in this time (prior to the jog to the start) but didn't see the need before the marathon. We met up with my Dad and ran over the start line before a 10 minute wait in the port-a-potty line. There were cockroaches crawling all over the ground which was interesting. Like usual, I have to make multiple #2 stops and ran over to the other end of the park where there were real bathrooms with a short stall wait. I thought I was a genius hanging out in this park and getting out last minute peeing before heading to the start 10 minutes before. Ran over to the start only to realize I was on the wrong side of a canal and had to turn around and go 200m in the reverse direction before running the 200m back on the proper side (with giant crowds on both sides). Yikes! Got the 200m down before getting to the bridge over the canal which was totally packed with people and not moving at all. I knew I'd get separated from Andrew here (Dad was still in the bathroom and would be totally screwed with these crowds) so I wished him good luck and tried my best to push through the crowd without being too much of an a-hole. The canal ended before the bridge did so I (very awkwardly) crawled over the side of the bridge and jumped onto the grass below. Then made a mad dash 200m sprint up the dark grass dodging people and roots while trying not to fall into the canal. I got 25 meters from the start and now to get over a fence to the start, but fortunately someone was in the same predicament and opened a gap in the fence for them so I was able to slip in and force my way up into the 3rd row or so. I got pushed back to the 5th row or so but was content with that not wanting to start too fast in a marathon. I was more concerned that I was a bit out of breath from the effort to get up to the front. There were a bunch of "recreational" runners on the start line and the race did a terrible job not making/enforcing better corrals in this respect. I spotted mountain runner Andy Wacker in the second row and Molly Seidel in the front (10K) and it wasn't before long that we were off. I used to feel a lot of anxiety and nervousness in the moments before a race but the only worry I had at that moment was wasting energy getting to the start line.
Here's a picture of the bridge that got clogged up (the day after)
We went off in the dark and I was officially running a marathon. My only thought in the first half mile was just to relax. It's not a half, pace doesn't matter just don't push at all at this point. And of course my watch is showing close to 5:00 pace as it's impossible not to start a little fast with race start adrenaline. The road was divided into two sections with barriers and the elites had started on the opposite (right) side of the road. People were sprinting across the grass median to get to the right side but I didn't see the need and stayed in the left lane until the two merged. I could see Sage Canaday just ahead. My pacing plan was to go through the half marathon in 1:16 and hope to run a relatively even split for a 2:32-2:33 but would be okay to fade up to 2:35. I thought I was in roughly 2:29 shape and thought that was a fair adjustment for the heat (given some acclimation in CA). Basically my goal layout was:
A goal- 2:32
B goal- 2:35
C goal- qualify for Boston (approx. 2:55)
This was essentially 5:50 pace or so which I hoped to hit dead even and feel very relaxed at least through the half. I expected this to feel like a jog compared to running 5:15s in a half marathon and it really didn't. Not a super hard effort by any means, but it wasn't easy either. I was very much intimidated by the longer distance, but had to focus on where I was now and get to the halfway point first. I ended up attaching myself to a pack of around 6 people- 2 guys plus the 3 lead african women. We made our way through downtown Honolulu without much drama or action, and had an additional guy join us for a pack of 7. I noticed the splits were a touch fast- about 5:45 instead of planned 5:50 but I took a look back and there was no one in sight. So run a little fast now with a big pack to stay in or risk soloing the entire marathon. The effort felt right to me and I stayed with the pack. I was also about 100m behind Sage Canaday and had seen from his pre-race blog he was shooting for 2:29 and that seemed like an appropriate distance behind him for 2:32. 18:15 through 5K pretty evenly.
Downtown Honolulu Mile 3
Ala Moana Boulevard Mile 4
Went back past the start and into Waikiki which I recognized from the runs the last few days and the race went right by my hotel. Watch beeped for mile 4 in a 5:34 which had me questioning my decision to run with the pack. 5:45s were fine, 5:30s are not. I was running in the front of the pack at this moment and thinking I'd drop off here and solo it. But I passed the official 4 mile marker and could see the lead women's clock with the split being awful close to 23:20/5:50 pace (a bit slow if anything). I decided to disregard my watch split and go off the mile markers as clearly there was some inconsistency there. Honolulu has a lot of tall buildings that could be throwing off the signal. Our pace was good, if anything slightly slow and I made my way to the front off the pack and would lead the group for a bit.
Leading the group through Waikiki Mile 5
I actually got a slight gap on the pack/women without really trying but not far enough to get past the lead vehicles. I could still see Sage Canaday and another guy one spot but a good 100 meters ahead. This was pretty relaxed running in the dark here but I'm not sure it felt good enough to hold for 20 more miles. Made my way down Waikiki and past the finish line. The race had a 10K starting at the same time and I was worried most of the pack would be running the 10K and peel off for the finish here. This was not the case as no one turned off for the 10K. About a half mile back I came up on a guy walking and clearly struggling and a few minutes later he surged back past me so I figured he was in the 10K. He continued on the marathon course but dropped back shortly after so probably a rough time for him. 35:56 through 10K, so a little faster for the second segment but pretty much on target pace overall. Mile 7 continued past the park on flat ground and I felt pretty good. Mostly solo through this part. I had a panic moment here as I realized I had completely forgotten to take my first gel which I usually take every 6 miles or so. Then I remembered there was a weird gap without any water stops between 5.5 to 8.8 and I was going to have my gel somewhere in Mile 9. I felt a little warm and quite wet but far from overheating at this point.
We turned out of the park and began the climb up Diamond head. On this turn, I suddenly notice a weather condition I had completely forgotten about up to this point in the race- the wind. There was a forecast for 16mph winds in the race and I guess the tall buildings had shielded us thus far. No more tall buildings and now I could feel it. It wasn't brutal, but noticeably more difficult than running without the wind. At this point, the lead women had caught up to me and were happy to use me to draft behind. The effort didn't feel different so early on but my body started to feel heavier with the resistance of the uphill and headwind. I got to the top without too much problem but my legs feeling notably worse. I almost instantly regapped the women on the downhill even though my mile split indicates I didn't pick it up much. A shirtless guy who seemed a good downhill runner also caught me and kept me company for several miles. I wish this downhill came effortlessly but my legs felt heavy now and I didn't really pick it up much compared to flat ground. My hope was that things would feel pretty easy through the half at least but everything from this point on felt somewhat hard. Still controlled, but with more fatigue and tightness than I was hoping for. A positive was that I had probably picked up the pace ever so slightly and was slowly gaining on Sage Canaday. I was thinking about how cool it would to pull up next to him and offer to take the wind. Mile 10 was pretty tedious and went by slowly as I ran side by side with shirtless. Noted my 10 mile split going by the marker just under 59 minutes or so.
Climb up Diamond Head Mile 7
5K more to check out the mental barrier of getting the first half done. Another boring slightly fatigued mile on a wide road. I was begin to slip off the pace very slightly and allowed shirtless guy to get a bit of a lead on me, solo running again. Mile 11 marked a turn onto Kalaniana'ole Highway which a significant portion of the remainder of the race would be on as an out and back to East Honolulu. This section was not going to be particularly fun. I noted we got one section of the highway closed off and the four lanes were divided into two, with one section for the return trip. There was one waterstop on the opposite side of the cones and I almost ran across to get that before realizing there was one on my side of the cones just after. I felt the headwind and cumulative fatigue as shirtless guy began to drift further and further away from me and he gained on the guy Sage was running with as Sage also began to reopen the gap.
Half marathon came up. I had a disappointing .2 mile buffer between the watch distance and actual race distance, so I'd have to remind myself to add that back when considering distance I had left. I was starting to tick towards 6:00 rather than 5:50 keeping the effort in check from running solo in the headwind. My plan for a while had been to hit the half in 1:16:00 and I came across 1:16:35. I had mixed feelings on this- the positive being I was very close to goal range and while my heavy legs and being somewhat tired indicated I'd probably run at least a one minute positive split, I was still on track realistically for a 2:34 which would definitely be a good day. The downside was I had projected myself for a 1:16:00 and I came a full 30 seconds slow off that while feeling more fatigued than I wanted. I wasn't getting those 30 seconds back and if I gave up 30s in the first half to fatigue, how much would I give up in the second half?
I ran pretty evenly at 6:00 for the next three miles, which finished up the out section of the highway. While the highway racing got pretty dull after a while, especially into the 15mph wind a few notable things happened during this stretch. I took my second gel just before the 14 mile mark and this went down without issue. I remember really struggling to take gels for the first time in the half marathons of fall 2022 and can definitely say practice has made this a much smoother process. Right around this point after enjoying 6 miles ahead of the lead women, they caught me again. Now with a new male "pacer" leading the charge. My first instinct, as usual when being caught many miles into a race is that I'd slip out the back and get depressingly dropped. That didn't happen, fortunately as I forgot the extra effort taking the wind and dropped into the back of the group and it didn't feel particularly hard to stay at that pace. But I'm naturally a front runner as a racer and have a hard time falling back and letting others do the work. It was absolutely the right move to hang back and let others take the wind for the next few miles, but I slowly made my way back up and shared the lead with the other guy. My body quickly realized that it was a harder effort with the wind and I ended just getting dropped. The sky also slowly got less dark during these miles and after hitting Mile 16 and turning off the highway, it was no longer pitch black for the remainder of the race. I had been concerned about the last hour of the race being in the sun, but the sunlight really isn't direct or intense until late morning and I never really thought about that after this point.
Getting caught again- Mile 14
Mile 15.5-17.7 went around a loop in East Honolulu before returning to the long stretch of highway. While I had been dropped, the women's pack was running basically the same pace as me and was right there. The waterstops would give me some energy as I'd drink about half the cup and pour the rest on my head. I quickly reattached back to the pack and over the rest of the loop would alternate leading/co-leading this group, running in the back or a few meters behind. I really have not mastered pack running in road races at all. We turned out of the wind at the top of this loop, and I was able to run a slight pick-up getting the pace back down to 5:50s.
Back of the pack in East Honolulu- Mile 17
Back on the highway and through the 30K in 1:50:03. I guess I took charge of the pack here as my split is a few seconds faster the women's but I don't remember leading the group again on the highway. The next few miles on the highway were really rough mentally still having a full 8 miles to go. I got some entertainment for the next half mile watching people going the other way and eventually able to see my Dad go by but this was really tedious and exhausting with a full 4 miles on this stretch before turning off. The lead women's vehicles had been right in front of me the whole race and I had enjoyed seeing the lead clock and there was no clock at the mile markers, but this section just felt endless. I remember my next barrier to check off was to get to 2 hours elapsed (while at 1:52 or so) and those 8 minutes felt endless watching the seconds tick up and seeing every kilometer and mile marker pass. I was still running pretty close to 6:00 pace but quickly feeling worse and worse by the minute and my confidence that I could hold this was decreasing. I got to that 20 mile marker and 2:00 hour, and this was the beginning of the end as the women made a small move here and dropped me (and the other guy, who also dropped me) for good. One tiny advantage of this was no longer breathing in the lead vehicle exhaust or having to stare down the seconds on the clock.
Coming back on the highway- Mile 19
The water stop for my 3rd gel was about 20.5 miles but I was starting to crash before then for the first time in the race. Also for the first time in the race I was seeing my pace around 6:20s consistently rather than 5:50-6:00. Got the gel in and this was harder than the first two as I felt pretty weak and little things like that take a lot of energy. My head was starting to get really hot and I was overheating for the first time as well. These two miles were a very tough spot for me. The marathon is supposed to be two parts: running the first 20 miles, then the real race is the last 10K and I was very much feeling that. Mile 22 I just felt atrocious as I watched my pace tick up into the 6:50s. The wheels were totally coming off now. The kilometer markers seemed to take 20 minutes to get from one to the other. I saw 7:30s pace getting off the highway and 8:00 on the incline ramp off. This was a dark moment here thinking I'd be running 9 minute miles soon and 10 minute miles later. I was hitting the wall. Any thoughts of running 2:34/2:35 were long gone and I'd be lucky to finish with the BQ at this point. People were cheering me on "you look great" and all I could think was "Really?" as my arms drooped and I felt atrocious. I thought about dropping out to save myself from the embarrassment of going out in 1:16 and finishing over 2:50, but quickly dismissed that idea given my hotel was exactly in the same direction as the finish line and there was no was workaround to get off the course. 35K in 2:10:36, giving up a full minute to the guy I had been running with and a minute and half to the lead women.
Turned off onto a much nicer road and by far the quietest/most low key area of the course. Slight downhill and just a few minutes after I felt considerably better and was running pretty close to 6:30 pace again. After a little while of that not ticking up past 6:45 at at any point, I was able to be confident I wouldn't have a complete meltdown into the 9 minute range and the new goal was to salvage this for a sub-2:40. I did mental calculations at every kilometer after 35K of what I would finish if I ran the rest of the race at 7:00 pace and it seemed I would have a small time cushion, but running back up diamond head would be a big question mark. The miles passed really slow as each km mark seemed to take forever, but eventually I made it about 2 miles to go and heading up Diamond head. Just before that stretch, I heard someone coming up on me quick and became concerned it was Andrew. I definitely talked confidently pre race about my chances of finishing ahead of him and was glad to see it wasn't. Interesting when the guy passed I instantly recognized him from the back as Trevor Dunbar, a 3:55 miler and was surprised he was racing.
After a quiet and empty mile 23 and 24 through nice backroads, things got much busier now starting the climb up Diamond head. There were drums and re-merging with the marathon course going out meant lots of cheering. This hill climb would make or break my chances of sub-2:40. The hill is pretty gradual and I was pleasantly surprised only to slow down to about 6:45 pace. I crested the top around the 40K and now had the advantage of all downhill to the finish and truly only have 2K left here. 40K split of 2:30:30 and did the mental calculation I'd only need a 9 minute last 2K to break 2:40 (downhill) which I felt pretty good about. The descent I quickly got back to a decent pace seeing sub-6 again on my watch. Passed a japanese runner who had been running with Sage Canaday around the half who was completely stopped and stretching. Got back to the flat running and my pace quickly adjusted to 6:30 again and my energy ran out as well. Felt pretty terrible again but I only had a kilometer left to run and likely had the sub-2:40 done with. Even making the final turn and being in the finish area there was still a half mile to go. With a seemingly comfortable cushion on the 2:40 barrier, I was hoping to also slip under 2:39 but this was one of the situation where the finish line was in sight but just wasn't getting any closer. The last 400m was like running on a treadmill. Saw Trevor Dunbar finish just over 2:38 which looked really far away and knew the sub-2:39 wasn't happening. Just tried to keep my form as I felt wobbly and weak and get across that line. Got a huge crowd/cheer coming through the finish and finished 14th for 2:39:15.
I instantly felt really weak and unstable past the finish line and it was a slow walk back through there. My whole face was throbbing. I got asked multiple times if I wanted to go the medical tent which I declined. I got my medal and then the water showers were annoying all turned off which I could have used as I felt quite hot. The water they handed out was fortunately really cold and this helped a bit. I ended up going the wrong way because I was confused and saw my brother. I was pretty out of it for about 10 minutes and then things got much better. The volunteers here were nice and let me go back through the wrong way to get my shirt and bag I had dropped, although the way to get there and back was really long and confusing. The refreshments were terrible with just a fried pastry that was way too sugary and bananas, plus the gatorade coolers were empty. Didn't really feel too great until the next morning, although not quite as bad as post-QMT. Andrew and I walked a mile back to the hotel which was brutal post marathon.
Full results. Really great finish line video below. I came across at 24:20.
That was the race, ultimately I have mixed feeling feelings on it. My rough final goal was about 2:34 and to get top 20. This is a big marathon for the United States and while the post-COVID fields have been weak, I had a feeling this year would be stronger when I heard Andy Wacker (4th, 2:23) and Sage Canaday (7th, 2:31) were running. I was right as I'd be pretty close to top 10 last year. I was definitely satisfied with place and got the 20-24 age group win comfortably. As for time I ran a 1:16:35/1:22:40 race which is a positive split of 6:05. I think in a hot weather marathon a 2-3 positive split can definitely be justified but 6 minutes is simply poor. The reality was I working way too hard in the first half to hold on to my 1:16 goal and there was no was way I was running a 1:18 return. I think 2 minutes faster could seen as a strong run, but the overall fading during the race and falling off significantly the last 10K wasn't pretty. In a worst case scenario, I was expecting about a 2:36 based off fitness and was still a good 3 minutes behind that. So I'm definitely disappointed with the race, how hard it felt and how early things started to hard and mostly with my overall time. I felt I was excellent shape, had great training behind me that largely went to plan and even accounting for heat/humidity and running the distance for the first time I thought I could run a 2:35 as a conservative estimate.
I think I do a get a slight bump given this is my marathon debut. Something is always tougher the first time, and especially so for the marathon given how much the distance increases from the half. It wasn't great, but I knew coming into this one that being the first time racing the distance and the heat that I wouldn't run super fast. That being said, I got fitter/stronger than I thought and perhaps a little overconfident. Looking back, I also think I made a bunch of rookie mistakes that all probably lead to accumulated time. On the whole while, while not thrilled with it because it didn't match up to my fitness I think it was decent and the heat clearly is not ideal for marathon racing and added at least some time.
Here are the factors I think led to a slower race time than I had anticipated:
1) Stressful experience sprinting through start line crowds. I started the race a bit stressed and out of breath. Hard to know how much that is worth if anything but of course I'd prefer to walk to the start line with plenty of time. Definitely a learning experience trying to get over to the start so late in a big marathon. There's a frustrating trade off between choosing to use the bathroom late or get to the start line without stress.
2) The weather. This is by far the biggest factor. I thought running in 70s with occasional 80s in Southern California would prepare me well for this and minimize effects of the heat. In the end, I don't think it did very well. I didn't really feel hot or overheat until Mile 20 but it's very likely it increased fatigue throughout. 74 degrees plus 80% humidity is hard enough, but a full 8 miles running into 15mph headwind certainly adds quite a bit of extra fatigue as that I don't get back. It's really difficult to make a time conversion from those conditions to 50 degrees and calm but I'd like to think it's at least 5 minutes, if not more. My World athletics HM score is equivalent to about a 2:33 marathon which would be a 6 minute difference.
3) Personal pacing/race decisions. I think I played the first 3-4 miles smartly sticking at the back of a pack, relaxing and running very close to goal pace. But then I got a bit cocky about how easy it felt and just wanting to lead the pack, I took the lead, did some work and gapped that group now running 5:40s instead of 5:50s. The lead women caught up and I led them taking the wind and dropping them again on the downhill leaving myself to run about 5 miles solo into the headwind. At this point, these mistakes were done but after getting recaught I once again tried to lead rather than tuck in. Overall, I think I could have saved a lot of energy especially in the first half tucking into for some parts and not taking the wind and not dropping the pack but running more evenly. I think the weather was a much bigger factor in the 6 minute positive split, but maybe this would be a 4 or 5 minute positive split instead had I been patient and smarter. Very much a learning experience never having so much distance to go in a race before and hopefully a lesson I take going forward.
Like QMT, I think I managed hydration very well. Here I took 3 gels and took water at every single stop trying both to drink a good amount and pour some over my head to reduce overheating. Not something to improve upon in my opinion.
I'm glad I had the 6:30s in me at the end. While I was disappointed to fade to that point and in my overall time, sub-2:40 was a bit of saving grace for a race that did not go to plan and it would definitely be hard to stomach a total meltdown.
As for the event itself, I felt it was a mixed bag. The start line crowds and lack of corral enforcement, plus huge bathroom lines was significantly worse than much better managed half marathons I've done. There was just about no scenery on the course which is disappointing for a race in Hawaii and the long out and back lollipop in the second half makes for a really dull section that is tough mentally. The finish area was really confusing and didn't seem well set up, plus the lack of refreshments was a bummer too. There was one hose on the course and there really need to be more than that for the marathon distance in that weather.
What the race did best was fairly large and full cups. This is an absolute must for a hot weather marathon as hydration is key and this allowed me to be constantly drinking fluids and have excess to cool off my head and neck. I liked the finish line setup and while the crowd support wasn't really there for most of the race, going over diamond head coming back was quite loud and finishing I got by far the most cheers I've ever gotten. There were also markers for every mile and kilometer after 4K which was impressive, although there were zero clocks on the course other than the finish.
On the whole, it probably falls a bit flat for being such a large marathon and that's before taking into account the hot weather.
That's a wrap on Honolulu Marathon. It went okay, but definitely left unsatisfied. Really tough race and I'm hoping that's more due to the heat as I felt training went really well for this one. I know I got in an excellent training block behind me that should help in 2024 races. The plan right now to go forward and race the Los Angeles marathon on March 17th. It's a very hilly course but it's basically a hometown marathon while living in SoCal so that'll be the next project. Not exactly making it easy on myself running the first marathon in tropical heat and the second on a tough course, but hopefully this makes me stronger and feel better on a faster course when I get to it.
6PM rockridge loop with Nick Turo. Windy out there but at least avoided the all day rain. Good transition back to cold weather running as this one was in the 50s and slowly dipped down during the week.
Tuesday: 5 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Burlingame loop with Dad + Brady. Trails are really nice and packed down, good to skip the slippery leaves season (although not really because the alternative was hot and sunny weather).
Wednesday: 6 Miles- Westerly, RI
Christmas light group run. Felt pretty cold to start running first times in the 30s in quite a while. Felt pretty weak on hills and breathing a bit off from the cold.
Thursday: 8 Miles- Exeter, RI
Arcadia dirt road loop with Dad + Brady. Form/mechanics feel great lately, just waiting for my respiratory system to catch up. This was pretty nice and quiet.
Friday: 7 Miles- Westerly, RI
Watch hill loop with Nick Turo. Unremarkable although ran a little faster than usual around 6:45 average and did feel slightly harder than this would in shape. Pretty cold in low 20s but didn't feel too bad.
Saturday: 9 Miles- Westerly, RI
Another watch hill loop with Nick and Jake Serra. Cold felt noticeably worse on this on this as I was constantly blowing my nose and coughing. Generally felt pretty flat too.
Sunday: 10 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Around Watchaug ponds on roads, longest run since the marathon. Was hoping to do the final mile (downhill, same as little rhody) moderately hard for a taste of harder running but just felt terrible on this. Bad chest burn from the start and legs felt like complete junk. Massive coughing fit post run. Pretty disappointing 11 days into the cold and have to consider the possibility of dropping the January 1st race now. We'll see how it develops through the week.
Weekly Total: 50 Miles
Weekly Highlight: Rough week on the whole with the sickness, but other than Sunday my body felt really smooth. Everything feels great mechanically, I just need to kick this annoying cough/cold. Many times on the first week back of running my body will feel heavy, creaky and a lot of weak spots. Although I didn't have any true time off this year running every day.
Weekly Lowlight: Still working through this cold. Usual 7-8 days is enough for me, but clearly more severe this time around. The last time I got sick was in Scotland in July 2022 so perhaps too much time between sicknesses to get rid of it quickly.
Movies Watched: 50 First Dates, Tower Heist, Shazam 2, Violent Night, Uncut Gems, Goodfellas, Billy Madison, Christmas Vacation
As with Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose, I opted to check off this
race in the bay area due to a lack of good options in greater Los Angeles. The
race wasn’t super appealing with a weird course, super hilly, questionable
website and not especially competitive but you take what you can get and the
timeframe fit well into the training. I had briefly considered the City to the
Sea half marathon which was closer in San Luis Obispo and Chris Garvin had
raced while out here, but Berkeley was considerably cheaper and for some reason
the bay area hotels are very reasonable price wise but the central coast of CA
is not. The biggest reason I did this race was I was able to get free entry
versus paying $130+ anywhere else.
Andrew liked the idea of free entry so much that he decided
to fly over and race, so at least I’d have company. Like San Jose, I’d be
driving up not to deal with the hassle of driving, parking and flying out of
LAX plus it makes it easier to get around at the race destination. While
California has massive metro areas and is the most populous state in the
country, the drive between Thousand Oaks (greater L.A.) and the bay area is
empty. There’s a few cities here and there, but most of the drive is quite rural
and isolated.
Training wise, I did a rare move for me and this was my
first race in 42 days. Generally I like to race every 2-3 weeks or so to break
up training and stay mentally focused on what racing feels like, but between
needing recovery from San Jose/Manhattan Beach and not being able to find
events that I liked and worked well I had a long block of training. This was
probably a good thing as quality training is definitely better for fitness versus racing all the time, but it would have been nice to break that
up with a 5K or trail race. I got in the best volume training of my life during
that time with several weeks 88+ and several 20+ long runs. I knew I was fit
coming into this one- I ran 1:10 high at San Jose and now had another 7 weeks
under me. The question was how fit was I and how much would the hilly course
affect the time. This would serve more of a tune up than a goal race, but I’d
certainly try to run well. I probably would have had big ambitions if this was a
fast competitive race, but it wasn’t. With 600’ of elevation gain, this would
be by far the hilliest half marathon I’ve done. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and
Detroit were around 400’ with rollers or a big hill here and there so this was
significantly more. San Jose was fairly flat with only gradual inclines. The
expectation was not to PR (1:10:51) as the hills would add so much time. I
figured if I ran a similar strong effort to San Jose, I’d be right around 1:12
with the hills. Yes, I was probably a good amount fitter than SJ but I didn’t know
for sure plus I went too hard at SJ and I felt great that day. If I didn’t feel
quite as good, went out a bit more conservative and still ran a great race then
under 1:12 would probably be a good day.
Race Weekend:
Made the drive up the day before. It’s about 6 hours. Not
particularly enjoyable but way better than flying. 30 minutes into the drive, I
realized I forgot to bring my trainers. I thought about going back but then I’d
risk missing packet pickup. I stopped at a dick’s sporting goods in Santa Maria
and looked for whatever cheap pair I could. Ended up picking up an ASICS.
Stopped in Morgan Hill, just south of San Jose and ran on the same bike path as
last time. Felt a little stiff from the drive and brand new shoes but overall
fairly smooth/good. Better than the same run last time. Strides in race shoes.
So easy to run fast but always feels weird if I haven’t run in the supershoes
in a while. Next leg up to Oakland then took the BART in Berkeley. The train station
in Oakland (just outside the Coliseum where the Athletics used to play) was
probably the worst area I’ve ever driven through. Literally couldn’t stay in the
outside lane because the amount of trash and homeless encampments that couldn’t
fit on the sidewalk. And just a block over where I park are really nice-looking
apartments. Berkeley surprisingly also had a good
amount of tents on the sidewalk which was disappointing.
Coyote Creek Bike Path. Sorry there aren't more photos but race photos are super expensive these days.
Back in Oakland where I stayed for the night near the
airport area, which was much nicer than the train station part.
Race Day:
Up at 4:30 for my typical 3 hours before a morning race.
Normal oatmeal breakfast and clif bar. We did 2 miles around the parking lot
and I was feeling pretty good. Mostly good race weather in upper 40s, but some
wind (8mph). I’ve generally gotten pretty lucky with race conditions for goal
races.
Made the drive to Berkeley. I had been worried about finding
parking as seemingly every public garage didn’t open until 8am or so on Sundays
but there was a lot of free street parking within half a mile of the start. I
think the race did a really bad job on making this clear as they suggested to
use Spothero where the closest spot was over a mile away. Used the nearby
port-a-potty a few times before a short jog and some strides. Andrew and I ran
over to the start maybe 20 minutes to go and I wish we had gone earlier because
the bathrooms were in the opposite direction and the line was super long, so
had to skip that and have the feeling of having to pee during the race. Also
could have used another stride or two.
Waited around for race start. The people on the front line
didn’t look very fast and I was concerned about the level of competition. We
were off. I felt pretty relaxed but shifted into what felt like an appropriate
effort. I pulled even with the front and absolutely no one was going for it, so
I pushed ahead and got an easy lead. I was disappointed as I didn’t want to
solo a half marathon. A third of a mile in I hear someone yell “I think I’m in
the wrong race, is this the 10K?” before someone confirmed he didn’t start for
another hour. Hit a small incline around there and I saw the pace was around
5:20 which seemed right. There were 5-10 lead bikers. The next road we turned
onto was narrow and wet. I cruised on what was now on a downhill feeling good
but not as relaxed as San Jose. The course would follow this pattern on going
on more narrow side roads rather than main ones and going around many
roundabouts. I thought the first mile would come out to around 5:20 so I was
surprised to hit a 5:06. Okay, that’s a bit quick. But also shows my
progression- 5:06 would be a crazy (stupid) split in any previous half marathon
but today it just seemed a touch fast.
Mile 2 was mostly uphill with a gain of about 80 feet. Made a few
turns and looked back at 90 a degree turn to realize I very much did not have
the win in the bag as second was only 30 meters back and gaining on me. With
this being an uphill section, I decelerated and took it a bit easier to let him
catch up. I wasn’t going to turn on the jets any further after a 5:06 and it’d
be a lot easier to have company. This guy caught up (I’ll call him bald guy)
and pulled even with me. I asked him what he was looking to run and he
responded “Good job.”. After repeating myself he said “I have no idea”. Great,
that’s helpful. I ended up pulling slightly ahead on this uphill but with him
directly in town. Mile 2 uphill in 5:33 (5:16 GAP). Was feeling a little
flat/fatigued but overall engaged.
Next section went through the UC Berkeley campus with some
very questionable course designs. Running through past barriers (as in ones to
stop vehicles coming on pedestrians) on cement walkways, lots of tight turns
and roundabouts. Mile started with some climbing, finished with descent. After
having lead the race for 2.5 mile with the guy sitting on me, I slowed slightly
for him to take the lead. I meant to tuck in behind him but a downhill was
after that and he started to gap me. We came around a wide roundabout and I was
able to see Andrew and a decent size chase back maybe 45 seconds back. The race
would between me and bald guy. The bald guy was a great downhill runner and
started to put some cushion on me. I was wondering if I was a complete coward
for letting him go but looking back at the splits, running my own race was
definitely the way to go. The bikers were actually pretty courteous here and were careful not to cut me off when running the tangents, which I can't say the same for some other races. Bald guy got a 40 meter gap on me that was very slowly growing. I can't remember much about Mile 4 other than the road conditions being absolutely atrocious with lots of cracks and bumps in the roads that were uncomfortable to run on. 5:14 and 5:17 mile splits with GAPs in the 5:00s.
Mile 5 was the hardest of the races with a series of short but pretty steep climbs (around 12% grade) in some neighborhood backroads. These inclines felt tough but I kept the gap even with bald guy and my pace never slowed drastically. I was starting to feel some heaviness/instability in my legs that made me wonder if I had gone out too hard considering the hills. The last half of this mile switched to a steep downhill that mostly made up for the uphill earlier as I was able to run sub-5 pace here. Went through a 6-way roundabout and I was glad bald guy was still in sight as I wouldn't have known where the turn was otherwise. Something weird happened as the cars were stopped by a volunteer and all of sudden the volunteer was screaming and swearing at the drivers. Distracted by this incident, I lightly rolled my ankle on a crack but fortunately no damage was done. The next two miles were fairly steep downhill and I was able to make up some time. Mile 5- 5:27 (5:13 GAP).
This next section was not well organized as I wasn't sure to run in the middle of the road or the shoulder as it was open to traffic. Fortunately I didn't have to worry about that much as we turned off to a closed road. There was one weird section where the bald guy and I were apparently running on the wrong side of the barriers and had to cross over, not sure how that happened. I thought I was running the downhills pretty well but realized I was probably only losing ground to bald guy. Out of nowhere, a guy in a shirt catches me easily and blows past me, probably running around 4:30 pace. He suggests we try to catch the leader together but clearly he's held back up to this point and has a lot more in the tank than me. By the end of the mile, he takes over the lead and building a gap. I hit the 10K around 32:45, which was about 10 seconds faster than San Jose. This was surprising as I thought I would be up to a full minute slower given the hills. My legs were feeling heavy and wobbly so I had some concern I'd blow up, but I felt good if I could make it a few more miles that I'd have a pretty great run in the bag. Bald guy and shirt guy were now a good 75+ meters ahead so I stopped worrying about racing them and just trying to run under 5:20 pace. Took my gel just after 10K and enjoyed the last of the downhill. While taking my gel, I was wondering if the top 2 guys took a gel also as I don't think I've ever seen someone take a gel next to me in a race.
Mile 6 was 4:54, by far my fastest half marathon split and 5:04 mile 7 (171 and 79 feet of drop respectively). Mile 8 was now flat and had a few turns and without the help of the downhill, I could feel my legs were getting pretty weak and I was not going to be able to hold that forever. I tried to run relaxed with still 6 miles to go. Mile 8 headed towards the water and had an unexpected cone turnaround to go over a bridge. While not blown up like San Jose, I could definitely feel the increased effort and fatigue running uphill versus early in the race. Mile 8 in 5:21. The next section was slightly more than a mile out and back on a bike path. Pancake flat and right next to the bay. It felt calm here. With 5 to go I just tried to relax with tired legs and kept a sustainable effort. I enjoyed the views across the bay as I could see downtown San Francisco and even the golden gate bridge. This mile went by quickly without any hills or turns and I was pleasantly surprised to hit a 5:13 as I felt I had eased off the gas a little. I felt pretty good about chances of a sub-1:10 which I was pretty happy about given I did not expect to chase that at this race.
Turned around the cone which wasn't a huge pain but a small momentum killer. What was much harder was realizing I had hit 5:13 comfortably due to a tailwind and now had to deal with a tough headwind for the next 1.5 miles. My hopes and dreams were crushed as the same effort yielded a pace in the mid-5:30s and now I'd probably just miss sub-1:10. I gutted out the headwind and mentally passed the time watching people go the other way. Andrew seemed awfully close to me and I was wondering if he had a breakout race and would only finish a minute back (in reality, the gap was bigger than it looked). The 10 mile marker took a lot longer to get to than I was expecting as I hit it around 53:25 which was only slightly ahead of San Jose and I thought I had a much bigger gap.
Mile 11 was pretty tough as most of it was also in a headwind but with the added challenge of going back uphill. The rest of the race was uphill and while at a pretty gradual incline compared to before, my legs were quite fatigued at this point. 5:30, 5:25 for 10 and 11. Finally turned out of the wind into a more protected area, but slightly uphill for the remainder of the race and plenty of turns. The last few miles were really tough trying to press enough to take a crack at sub 1:10 but it just felt really long with the uphill and many turns. I ran 5:28 and 5:25 (5:15, 5:14 GAP) which was a good effort but losing time to the sub-1:10 barrier. It also appeared I had gotten some ground back on bald guy, but it was hard to tell. After 3-4 turns that felt like the last turn, I finally made the last turn and could see the finish line. I passed through the 13 mile mark and could see sub-1:10 clearly wasn't happening as it was ticking towards it and I was still pretty far away. One of those races where you don't realize how much extra distance you had on your watch until the final stretch. I tried to keep a respectable finish but now we were going back into the wind, plus uphill and I knew I wasn't going to break 1:10. Got there 20 seconds later for 1:10:20 in 3rd.
Half Marathon progression:
1. Surftown (RI) 2013- 1:27:56
2. Surftown (RI) 2014- 1:26:14
3. Detroit (MI) 2022- 1:15:10
4. Philadelphia (PA) 2022- 1:11:18
5. Pittsburgh (PA) 2023- 1:13:47
6. San Jose (CA) 2023- 1:10:51
7. Berkeley (CA) 2023- 1:10:20
I waited for Andrew who finished one spot and 4 minutes behind me for a PR for him (1:14). Got out of there pretty quickly. There were homeless tents in the finish line park.
Race analysis: Strava gives me a 5s/mile GAP faster than what I actually ran so I'll call that 5:17 pace which is equal to about a 1:09:20 or so. Maybe add another 10 seconds given a 40' net downhill to 1:09:30, which is about what I feel this run is worth on a flat course. Adding in the 8mph winds, 2 cone turnarounds and standard 20 or so turns, I think it's pretty clear that all those factors + the elevation clearly make this a run worth a sub-1:10. Overall, this is definitely my strongest run on the roads to date. I ran 31 seconds faster than San Jose despite this course having an additional 400' of elevation gain, windier and less competition. I ran a pretty even GAP between 5:05-5:15 pace the entire race and while I gave up about 40 seconds or in the last 4 miles which was the difference between breaking 1:10 or not, this was largely due to the placement of hills and headwinds on the course. I actually ran pretty strong the last 4 miles and kept it together well but hadn't accounted for that slow down.
I think my assessment of being in 1:10:30 shape being equal to about a 1:12:00 on this course was mostly correct, the difference was I was about in 1:09:00 shape and a slight reduction in mileage made me able to deliver a really strong run here. There's been times I've wondered if what I'm doing is working or if I've improved much since the initial 1:11 at Philadelphia. Now running a full minute on a harder course is a clear indication that it is. I was really happy with this run and probably about 30 seconds faster than I was I expecting in a best case scenario. In my mind, this is head and shoulders above anything else I've done on the roads (probably period but WA still gives a higher score to my indoor mile/3k). The downside is doing this on a difficult course means I won't get a great time out of it and am left to interpret what the results mean as I am doing here. It would have been easier to have just run a pancake flat course in perfect conditions and actually get the sub-1:10, but I'll have to leave that for a future race. I'm not a 1:09 guy but I think this run showed the potential to run that and maybe even into the 1:08s. Hoping to get into similar shape and race a faster course for time, but training worked out really well this fall and it's hard to stay that consistent and healthy.
As for the race itself, I was happy to get a free entry but largely was not impressed with the race organization. There's many things I could rant about here. I won't do so, but let's just say this was a one and done and I wouldn't recommend it.
The rest of the day Andrew and I went to the Oakland Zoo which was fine but I was pretty tired and the drive back was a real slog. That's a wrap on Berkeley. 2023 half marathons started a bit rocky blowing up in Pittsburgh but I showed up in better shape in California and came out with better results. Just Honolulu Marathon left in this block.
Trip to Hawaii. May expand on this post in the 2023 highpointing/travel post.
Monday: 3 Miles- Honolulu, HI
Last day in Honolulu/Oahu. Easy loop around Ala Moana. Slept 12 hours post marathon. Quads super sore and generally just hard to move.
Tuesday: 4 Miles- Kona, HI
Out to the big island. 4 mile hike in Hawaii Volcanoes NP before this run. Extremely sore, more so than Monday and just shuffling along. Running not very good here at all on very busy roads, but at least a small shoulder to run in on the main road.
Wednesday: 2 Miles- Kona, HI
Post hiking 16 miles up and down Mauna Kea. Had a headache from the altitude and overall just exhausted but needed to keep the streak alive. Compromised between a usual 3 miler for an off day and the minimum 1 needed to continue the streak. Not as bad as I expected, but still quite rough. Dark OAB on the main road.
Thursday: 3 Miles- Kihei, HI
Got pretty sick over the last few days- not surprising with flights (lots of people) and being run down from the marathon so this wasn't super fun either especially once again being a dark evening run post day of activity (6 miles of hiking this time). New spot on Maui which was actually much better for running with both large shoulders and quiet neighborhoods similar to SoCal.
Friday: 3 Miles- Kihei, HI
Replicated yesterday's route.
Saturday: 3 Miles- Camarillo, CA
Improvement on yesterday's nasal congestion but now a uncomfortable chest burn which was arguably worse. Pretty warm here again at 78 degrees but felt fine after being in Hawaii.
Sunday: 3 Miles- Westerly, RI
Another tough run post an overnight flight and hardly any sleep. Plus dark and raining.
Weekly Total: 21 Miles
Weekly Highlight: Fun exploration in Hawaii (non-running).
Weekly Lowlight: Terrible running week, just battling exhaustion, sickness and soreness in some combination on every single running. Definitely the toughest week to continue running every day.
After what felt like a really long build (16 weeks if not counting summer training/racing in RI), marathon debut is here.
Monday: 7 Miles- Camarillo, CA
Typical camarillo loop. After excellent weather last week, pretty warm again with low 70s on this one. Not complaining as I'll take all the acclimation I can get going into Honolulu.
Tuesday: 8 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Did a shortened version of my usual Tuesday road/trail mixer from Del Prado playfield. Still got on the vista del mar trail so a nice run.
Wednesday: 7 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Shortened road loop with 2xmile on 2 minute rest, my typical pre big race workout. First mile started uphill and slow, then fast downhill finish onto Lynn road- 5:30. Second one a slight downhill throughout and hit 5:17. Pretty smooth and controlled on both, legs feel pretty good which is a nice turnaround after being so flat last week.
Thursday: 6 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Road/trail mixer from Kimber park into the trail system south of lynn road.
Friday: 6 Miles- Honolulu, HI
Arrived in Honolulu around 12:30PM. Got lunch, picked up bib and checked into hotel. Was a bit tired so I ran at 4pm. Turns out Honolulu is an awful running city- this route was sidewalks and cement pathways super crowded with tourists (think Manhattan) and lots of traffic stops. Not very enjoyable and the combination of travel/cement had my legs feeling pretty flat. Also felt really hot.
Saturday: 4 Miles- Honolulu, HI
Pre-race run with Andrew. Tried running to the North to check out the start area (Ala Moana Park) and that was definitely better (not great but okay for 4). Legs felt much better.
Sunday: 29 Miles- Honolulu, HI
Honolulu marathon. Ended up running 2:39:15 for the debut, struggling that last 10K. Overall neutral feelings on this- hot weather and debut with lower expectations, but felt I was in much better shape than that based on the half which I felt was worth low 2:30s. Regardless, glad to be done with that and a good experience for the next one. I was happy to get 14th overall in a field of 15,000 and I was shooting for top 20.
Weekly Total: 66 Miles
Movies Watched: None
Weekly Highlight: Running and completing my first marathon without injury.
Weekly Lowlight: Fading and running a 6 minute positive split in the marathon.
All true marathon training is complete, last two weeks really just to maintain enough not to lose fitness and get pop in the legs. So some light workouts this week. Legs were super flat all week. Good cooler weather for a change.
Monday: 7 Miles- Camarillo, CA
Short camarillo run. Super windy yet again here (20mph) but fortunately only really feel it for a half mile on the soccer fields.
Tuesday: 11 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Usual kimber park trail loop. Talked out loud to myself for the first half to practice for a presentation in the evening. With the upcoming marathon and then a winter break in RI, this week was the last time doing a lot of my staple routes.
Wednesday: 10 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
2x2 miles on half mile rest on the typical hilly loop. Normally I do 12 but had a bit less this week so no peppertree loops for warm up. Felt pretty flat on first rep uphill going 5:59-6:07. Then a little better on the downhill part 5:19-5:18. Overall feeling strong, but legs haven't come around yet. I believe working out on this hilly loop (400' of elevation gain over 6 miles) so much has made me a lot stronger, especially on hills.
Thursday: 10 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
I have set routes for most days, but not Thursday or Sundays. So more exploring the central Thousand Oaks area. There's some really fun cactus-lined trails behind California Lutheran University, so road-trail mix with trails in the middle. Felt pretty tired and out it, especially on the roads where the legs were just junk. Some of the road climbs here are comically steep (running up 20% for a few minutes).
Friday: 10 Miles- Agoura Hills, CA
Last cheeseboro of the season? Such a nice loop but went a little later in the morning and had to deal with a lot of horseback riders. I find that to be pretty annoying, plus they pretty much get all the trail rights (everyone has to yield to the horses). And the horses get poop all over the trails. Had to stop and walk past horses twice.
Saturday: 14 Miles- Ventura, CA
Last real bit of work or longer running one week out. 6 miles warm-up, 4 tempo, 4 cool down on the ventura river trail. Warm up felt fine. Workout felt just okay- not particularly hard to hit pace for a shorter distance but got fairly heavy and breathing felt off. 5:40 average. One of those got it done perfectly, but wanted to feel better. Cooldown to the ocean, absolutely epic views.
Sunday: 9 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Hadn't run in Santa Rosa Valley in a while so came here. Mostly flatter loop except an add-on I hadn't done before with a giant road hill again around 20% grade. Connected to a trail from there which was briefly a super rocky washed out riverbed. Largely this is a great loop though, flat manicured dirt mostly.
Weekly Total: 70 Miles
Weekly Highlight: Nothing really great about this week, but nice to close in on the end of the block and be done with the bulk of the work.
Weekly Lowlight: Flat legs/breathing issues. Nothing really to worry about with a full taper still to come, but certainly would be nice to feel better.
Post half marathon recovery + a quick trip back to RI for thanksgiving. Nice to return but so short that I was pretty tired.
Monday: 8 Miles- Camarillo, CA
Mid-day my lab for Tuesday got cancelled. Ended up getting a last minute flight from Wednesday morning to tonight. I was happy about that as 1) I'd get an extra day and half in RI, 2) better window for some schoolwork I had to do, and 3) I didn't have to wake up super early Wednesday to get my run in (and could do my shorter run today).
Waited too long for this one and basically had to rush to the airport when I got back. Of course, the traffic was awful but got there without issues. Awful security line, took about 45 minutes then the LAX food options are terrible too (at least for whatever terminal I was in). LAX is not a great airport. Bailed on trying to use a stall in the bathroom as they were all full, disgusting and some guy was screaming at someone on his phone.
Tuesday: 12 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Walked around Boston a bit in the morning. Felt so frigid in upper 20s and windy. Definitely some cold-deacclimation after not being in New England for the summer-fall transition for the first time ever. Love Boston though, really feels a great city compared to Los Angeles.
Nice return to Burlingame with Dad + Brady. Just a completely different vibe from SoCal. Open, sunny, and dry hills in one versus cold and dreary woods in the other. I like both. Despite the CA trails having much more elevation gain, they're still a lot faster as the singletrack with roots/rocks here is tough to run sub-8 minute pace on. One thing I really like about NE that there isn't much of in SoCal is pine forests. Super weird day as it just felt like an extension of Monday because I can't sleep on planes and had a overnight flight. But didn't feel too bad on this.
Wednesday: 11 Miles- Charlestown, RI
Slept 12ish hours after no sleep the previous night. Solo ninigret in the afternoon. Very dreary, wet and dark day which is kind of depressing to look at but I also kind of like the gritty and winter-ish vibes but it's so quiet. Full tour of Ninigret, quite nice besides a few unavoidable puddles.
Thursday: 18 Miles- Westerly, RI
With travel back early Saturday morning, I thought it would be best to knock out my long run on Thursday. Dad let me know about a weekapaug fun run so I figured I could use that as a workout and do a 2x5K tempo shooting for a 18 mile total. This would be my last true long run before the marathon 2 weeks out.
Got there too late and had to cut the tempo to 2 mile + 5K. Did a round the loop loop feeling okay but with flat legs. Not surprising 4 days post half marathon and the flight. Another SoCal/SoRI comparison- so few bathrooms in Southern RI. They even removed the port-a-potty from the breachway which was pretty lame as I was hoping to go before the run. Ended up going at the town beach which seems to be the only place that still has it. Thousand Oaks on the other hand has many parks with real bathrooms and it's not typically something I have to worry about.
Had to rush to make the fun run, so I got down my gel and some water quickly, then right into the 2 mile tempo. 2 mile shorter weekapaug loop (wawaloam-shawmut-meadow-chapman) at 5:33 pace which is pretty solid. Mile around 6:30 over to the fun run start, before 10ish minutes waiting around so a true full recovery. They did some weird group stretches before and the start line was angled really poorly (hard right immediately instead of going out straight) but I can't complain too much for a free fun run. Course was mostly marked well and a lead biker. I looked around at the start and assumed I'd be running solo but one guy took off at the line. I ran a reasonable 5:20ish effort and got gapped immediately. I thought he'd come back really quick and I'd get him easy. So a bit surprised to take a while to reel him but I caught up slowly, especially with winding turns, some rollers and wind.
OAB section on Noyes Neck and I pulled up right behind and tucked in behind to block the wind. He didn't like that and motioned for me to take the lead. I was kind of annoyed as he was the one who went out super aggressively, but it was also just a workout for me so I didn't really care. I pulled up aside him before he retook the lead anyway before the turnaround. I felt a little more comfortable on the downhill and took the lead but he tucked in right behind. I could feel he was holding on. I was not comfortable by any means as my legs felt super flat but I certainly didn't want to lose to a guy who went out that hard, so I slowly increased the effort. It felt like he was hanging on so I just kept up the mid-5:10s pace here and started to get a gap. Didn't hammer the last mile but stayed strong enough to make sure I'd get a comfortable win without having to kick. More or less cruised when back on the flat parts. Think I ran 16:40s or so, so like a low 5:20s effort.
Definitely a solid workout, as I'm typically in the 5:40s-5:50s range for a long run workout so it was nice to hit 5:30s/5:20s. On the flatter side of workouts, but also pretty windy. Bit of a grind feeling flat but that's just how training is sometimes. 5 mile cooldown, half with Dad.
Friday: 11 Miles- Exeter, RI
Arcadia classic dirt road loop with Dad + brady. Love this run any time of the year. Winter you get the solitude and summer the route is pretty and green. Every few months or so I have an allergic reaction while running and my eyelids swell up. It happened on this day and was pretty bad. Super annoying. Definitely did not get lucky with my eyes (poor eyesight + allergies). Took until mid-Saturday to completely clear up too.
Saturday: 10 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Cross country flight days where I run post-flight is not enjoyable at all. Timeline basically was 3 hours of sleep, at PVD at 4:30am. Two bad American airlines flights. Haven't flown American for a long trip (or at least not in recent memory) and I have to say they're really bad compared to JetBlue. Jetblue has significantly more leg/seat room, much better/more snacks, and entertainment systems. American was super cramped and just not enjoyable at all. I've decided I don't like flying very much.
Got to LAX just before 12pm and between getting to my parking spot and the drive back, I wasn't back at my apartment until 2:30PM due to awful traffic. Took a brief nap but had to keep it short to run somewhat in the daylight. Got out around 4:30 and ran from Banyan park (Southern Newbury Park) on a mix of neighborhood roads and some of the Santa Monica Mountains NRA/Point Mugu SP trails at the southern edge of Thousand Oaks. Hilly route as I ran the full descent down into Sycamore Canyon (-500'), but the trail back up was surprisingly really nice singletrack and I got to enjoy the sunset. Perfect weather too upper 50s.
The rest of the run wasn't as good when it got dark, I really don't like headlamp dark trail running. Surprisingly good christmas decorations. Didn't feel great but brought a gel and some electrolytes which got me through it. First time trying birthday cake GU which was pretty good and chocolate salt LMNT (or any LMNT) which I did not care for.
Sunday: 12 Miles- Calabasas, CA
Back to Malibu creek. Okay route, got on some pretty overgrown singletrack early on and then halfway through the route got to a very clear no trespassing sign and barbed wire fence. Wish this was more obvious on the strava routes. Went around the fence at first but it went behind someone's property and I could see people on the far end, so didn't seem worth getting in trouble. Had to do some weird OABs after that but made it work. Legs really tired on this one.
Weekly Total: 82 Miles
Weekly Highlight: This wasn't a great week honestly, but glad to hit mileage goals. Still a solid long run too even if it didn't feel great.
Weekly Lowlight: Lots of things here. Absolute exhaustion from the cross country flights + low sleep combination. Legs feeling really flat post race. Swollen eye issues Friday was really annoying.
Movies Watched: Monsters Inc., Shrek, Zootopia (on plane rides)
