Category Archives: Marathon

Marathon Training Week 1

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This will be my first marathon. I am training for the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon on October 5, 2008.

I had planned on using a training program from Running Planet designed specifically for the 3:10 goal time. It was a highly structured program that included goal times for each workout and lots of specific training geared towards that time. I decided that for my first marathon I should try to enjoy myself at least a little bit and not get burnt out during training. So I looked into some other plans!

I have decided on Hal Higdon’s Intermediate II program. Hal’s website is pretty adamant that first time marathoners (even for experienced athletes at other distances) should use his novice plan. Well I disagree! I think the Intermediate II is a good program that will provide adequate mileage and a mix of harder runs to accommodate my needs. I might adjust it as time goes on adding more speed work if I feel up to it. It will be a little different than I am used to since most of my races and thus long runs have been on Saturdays, now they will be on Sundays. I plan to continue bike commuting through most of my training time. So we’ll see how it goes! My goal is still a 3:10 BQ which is a 7:14 pace.

It was supposed to rain or storm pretty much every day this week, so you will notice a common thread of high humidity throughout the week. I think the lowest was in the 70% range. Here’s the week’s summary:

Monday: Comparative Rest (cross-train 30 minutes) It seemed a little wrong to start marathon training with a day of cross training so I did an easy 3 miles. I know my first act of training was the break from the schedule! Oh well. 3 miles in 23:18 on the Little Earth loop. It was 63 degrees and humid at the start.

Tuesday: Run 3 miles at a comfortable pace. Today’s loop ended up being closer to 3.5 miles in 27:33. I ran down to Powderhorn Park, around the lake and back enjoying the cool 57 degree weather, despite the high humidity.

Wednesday: Five miles. This is the “mid-week longer run”. I’m not sure I’ve called a 5 miler long outside of track when we were competing in the 800, but oh well. I ran this along the Greenway in 37:35. We are allowed to pick up the pace on this run so I ran one of the miles at what felt like a faster pace, it was actually 6:56 so that is faster than marathon pace. It was 55 and humid again.

Thursday: 3 miles, comfortable pace. Follow the run by doing some stretching and strength training for about 15-30 minutes. I did the Downtown Loop this morning which is 3 miles in 23:45. It was 61 with 88% humidity at the start! It felt pretty good. I stretch after ever run but did push-ups, sit-ups, and back exercises today and Tuesday.

Friday: Rest It is a little weird to have Friday as a rest day. I was contemplating going to the gym to do some stretching when I remembered that I still had a massage to redeem from the gym. I had bought a couple of 30 minute sessions awhile back for my wife and I but we’d never used them. So I got a 30 minute massage focused on my lower back and legs. It felt really good and probably will become a somewhat regular part of my routine.

Saturday: Five miles at marathon pace. Hear I go messing up the schedule already again! I have a 5K on Sunday so I switched the two workouts. Hal is ok with this although he really prefers that the long run follows the pace run, but such is life! I did 10 miles along the Mississippi River on some unexplored parts of the city thanks to twitter friend AEnglesrud who gave me the route idea. It was a lot of fun! I did it in 1:21:59, incorporated some hills and it was a nice morning with starting temps at 65 with 85% humidity. I felt pretty good throughout the run but I hadn’t completely mapped it out so I ended up hitting 10 miles over a mile from home – so I just stopped and walked home!

Sunday: Run 10 miles. I ran a 19:51 5K on the track as part of the USATF-MN Outdoor Championship track meet. Look for the full review tomorrow! But it totaled about 5 miles total. Another cool but humid day.

Weekly Totals:

Running – 29.6 miles

Biking – 40 miles

Hal’s Running Tip of the Week: With the marathon 18 weeks away, plan the training now that will permit you success. Marathon training works best if you start easy and build gradually: A long run of 10 miles in June becomes 20 miles in September. Most important at this time is to establish a goal, whether that goal is to finish or to run fast. Once that goal is chosen, everything else will fall in place.

Week 1

[tags] Marathon, Training, Hal Higdon [/tags]

Twin Cities Full

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As of Monday, the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon is full.  However there are still 150 “fundraising” spots still available.  These spots can be taken beginning Thursday on a first-come, first-serve basis.  To gain entry registrants must give a $100 tax-deductible gift which will benefit Bolder Options, YWCA of Minneapolis, and Migizi Communications.

The 11,000 runner field is set for the Oct 5 running of the 27th Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.

Source: Star-Tribune

[tags] Marathon, Medrtonic, Twin Cities [/tags]

A Monumental Marathon

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The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon has officially opened registration. The inaugural event will take place on November 1 and will highlight

a number of great buildings and features in our beautiful and convenient Indianapolis downtown including: the Indiana State Capitol, the Arts Garden, Lucas Oil Stadium, Circle Center Mall, Monument Circle, a number of federal monuments, the Cultural trail and the Mass. Ave. District. We are also happy to showcase several interesting and lovely neighborhoods including the Old Northside, Fall Creek Place, Meridian-Kessler, Butler-Tarkington and Broad Ripple.

The event is being organized and hosted by some of the best in Indianapolis racing. The official management company is Ken Long & Associates who have an excellent reputation in the community with support from the likes of Bob Kennedy.

Billed as a flat and fast course, this would be a good marathon. If I still lived in Indiana I would probably sign up for this one. The Indianapolis Marathon is a few weeks earlier and is also an excellent event that is well-established. The IM is a little hillier but also provides more natural scenery, while the new IMM is flatter and showcases some of the history of the city.

If you are undecided about a fall marathon I would recommend either!

[tags] Marathon, Indianapolis, Monuments [/tags]

Late Boston Article

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My Mom actually sent me this. She is a high school teacher in rural southern Ohio where I grew up. She actually taught at a rival high school – but I forgave her! My sophomore year in high school my school had its first cross-country team. I didn’t run because I was a band geek but I did run distance in track. All of this to make the point that we didn’t have a lot of distance running in the area.

Paxton is currently the coach at my Mom’s high school. I think this is a pretty good story about a local runner trying to be an example for the kids he coaches!

Here are a few excerpts:

Barely able to walk, unable to feel his legs or feet, moving in a forward direction probably on inertia alone, Matt Paxton found himself being escorted by two complete strangers to a waiting wheelchair.

“I just went 26 miles,” Paxton told them. “Two more blocks won’t kill me. Get that wheelchair away from me.”

Paxton crossed the finish line at the 112th running of the Boston Marathon shortly before 1 p.m. Monday afternoon in 2 hours, 50 minutes and 49 seconds – 492nd overall in a field of more than 25,000 runners.

Then, rather than rest, the Unioto High School track coach, headed for the airport.”We’ve got a track meet tomorrow that I’ve got to make,” Paxton said.

Catch a plane, drive home from Columbus, get a little sleep before heading into school the next morning … right?

Not so fast.

“You’re flight’s delayed,” was Paxton’s greeting at the check-in desk at the Manchester, New Hampshire, airport. “There’s another flight, but it’s leaving in 14 minutes.”

As if he hadn’t run enough in one day – a distance most don’t run in a year – Paxton was on the move again.

“At this point, I’m not through security yet. I’m still checking bags,” Paxton said. “Now I’m trying to run through the terminal, but I can’t move my legs. I look like a duck. My knees won’t lift.”

Plus, late in the race he found some added motivation in seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

“I started behind him but I caught him in the first few miles and left him behind me,” Paxton said. “Around the 23 mile mark he’d outrun his handlers (trainers, bodyguards, etc.). He came up on the right side of me just an arm’s length away and his bodyguard came up on the left.”

For runners, it’s almost a code or an unwritten law that in no way should any baggy or long clothing be worn. Most runners, in fact, wear short-shorts a la John Stockton during his early days playing in the NBA.

Armstrong had knee-length black shorts on.

“He looked over at me and I said, ‘Nice shorts,'” Paxton said. “Earlier in the day one of the other runners told me that in no way should I get beat by anybody with long shorts.

“So I outran him for the next two miles.”

With the finish line just a mile away, though, Paxton noticed a motorcycle carrying a television camera man come up alongside him – meaning Armstrong was on his heels.

Armstrong crossed the finish line around 30 meters ahead of the Shermans’ coach, but since he’d started first and the standings are based on cumulative time, the edge went to Paxton.

Lance Armstrong: 2:50.58 – 496th place.

Matt Paxton: 2:50.49 – 492nd place.

I thought it was a good story. The article says that Paxton was one of only 14 Ohioians to race at Boston. My search actually showed 572. But the 33 year old placed 12th in the state! Paxton has raced 15 marathons with a 2:53 in the 2006 Columbus Marathon. From the results I found at MarathonGuide.com this Boston time was actually a PR for him.

Congratulations Matt on a great run and thanks Mom for the article!

[tags] Boston Marathon, Marathon, Chillicothe [/tags]

Local Marathoner Catches Thief

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A St. Paul marathoner and medical researcher – Mark Laliberte – saw a robbery and took action.  The thief took about $350 from the coffee shop inside St Joseph’s hospital.  Laliberte happened to see it and decided to take action.  Initially confronting the thief and tackling him inside the hospital, Laliberte got caught up in the suit coat he was wearing which allowed the suspect get free.  After removing the sports coat Laliberte proceeded to run the thief down.

Used to running 6:30 pace Laliberte a marathon and triathlon veteran mustered up some sprinting speed and chased the thief for several blocks in downtown St. Paul.  Eventually Laliberte caught and wrestled the thief to the ground before horse collaring him and dragging him back to the hospital.  Eventually the hospital security and St. Paul Police arrived to help!

Once they were back in the hospital, Laliberte gave the suspect a quick leg sweep that he remembered from his college kickboxing days and brought the man to the ground. With his knee on his back, Laliberte waited to for hospital security and the St. Paul cops, who placed the man under arrest.

“We don’t usually suggest that people chase down suspects,” said St. Paul Police spokesman Peter Panos. “We usually suggest that people be good witnesses.”

This marathon-hero story brought to you by the Star-Tribune. A quick search of MarathonGuide.com showed a Mark Laliberte, but the ages didn’t match up.

Would you chase a criminal down the street??

[tags] Marathon, Robbery, St. Paul [/tags]