The Race Plan...

I'm putting it in stone... Cementing the strategy for all to see... Putting my "cajones" on the table. It's:

The Plan for the Vancouver Marathon...

Here's how it goes... I have, basically, a goal of running the marathon on "tired legs". This means running the marathon the day after a "more-than-light-but-less-than-severe bike ride." I've downgraded my bike to a 60km-ish on Saturday morning.

Last night, we ran some 90-second "bursts" going at just slightly faster than my projected race pace for Sunday. So, I tried at roughly a 7 minute mile, getting my heart rate to about 160 steady for each burst. That sounds pretty high and, according to most common calculations, it is about 80% or more of my max heart rate. Having run long distance for a few years, however, I know that this is roughly the heart rate I can hold for a marathon. Actually, it is slightly higher, and during some 30k races I have actually managed to hold a heart rate of 175 or so the whole time.

Maybe I'll get around to trying to explain the science of this all sometime but I find that my explanations make for boring conversation... I'll just say that's the effort level I'll be going for.

So, my goal pace is about a 7:15/mile. This would mean I would finish the marathon in 3:10. That is, I would say, my "I've had an outstanding race" mark... Realistically, with my tired legs, I believe I can hold about a 7:30 pace/mile, which would put me in at 3:20 or so. Again, not anything to be disappointed with.

The question that has rolled around in my mind is how to begin. Discussing the matter with my coach, we decided to start out at around a 7:30 pace for the first 2 miles, and slowly break down to a 7:15/mile pace. And, based on my own knowledge of my body's response to endurance, this makes sense, if a 7:15 pace is in the cards. I tend to take about 20 minutes or so to really get "going", and my performance is better if I ease into it rather than get off to a blistering start.

With all this in mind, I should be at the halfway mark in about 1:35.

Now, as to other preparations. I'll be going for the bigger breakfast tomorrow morning before my bike ride, to give myself the optimal chance of having more energy at the end of the ride than necessary. I also plan on getting to bed early tonight if that is at ALL possible.

I want to get up early on Sunday morning and eat my bagel with peanut butter, a small yogurt cup, and a banana. Usually I find this is best about 2 1/2 hours before the race, as it gives me time to flush out some of it before the race. I don't tend to drink a ton of water on race day because a) I don't want to be peeing all the time and b) there is water on the course. Some people do forget this, and if I have had enough today and tomorrow, then I should be fine for Sunday. Same thing with food, really. I am not one for severe carbo-loading as I think the protein is more significant the days leading up to the race than the energy. That being said, tomorrow night (Saturday) I will have some pasta and a salad. But I tend to like to eat lighter the night before and then go to bed early.

Saturday, after the ride, I'd rather keep my plans simple and steady. I've done my "chores" for the week, and I really don't need to be doing anything on Saturday. I do intend to jump into the ocean for a little ice bath after my ride, in order to refresh my legs for the race. I like hot tubs, but I think that I'll save that for Sunday.

Otherwise it is just about getting mentally ready and keeping myself relaxed. I'm lucky to have supportive family and friends around me who will be kind enough to understand my aloofness for tonight and tomorrow. It's just my nature and my concentration just doesn't come down to earth at this point. I'm quite a dull date!

The race itself has Ultima drink, so I'll be drinking that every 2 miles and drinking a cup of water every other mile. A small cup is good just to get a little. My best races have involved me not slowing down to walk when I grab the water. I find keeping my legs going is better, although I will slow down enough to grab the drink.

I carry with me 3 clif shots in a small flask, to drink as needed. I tend to dump it at about the 30k mark if I haven't finished it.

I'm going to park around False Creek and jog across the Cambie Street Bridge in order to warm up. When I ran my fastest time in Kelowna in 2001, I jogged for about 10 minutes from the hotel to the start. I want to arrive around 6:30am so that I can relax, stretch, and try to chat with other runners who will be meeting up.

So, there's my best James Joyce-impression of my race plan in writing... I'll give a little post-race synopsis next week.

Good luck to all those who are running this weekend!

"Everything depends upon execution; having just a vision is no solution." – Stephen Sondheim

Taking risks

Today I read in the province the story of a 35-year old mom who had been struck by a car while riding her bike in Chilliwack. It is a heart-breaking story. The driver, a seventeen-year old girl, was talking on her cell phone, became distracted, and veered off the road, hitting the cyclist.

It's a tragic accident. Obviously, people are blaming the young girl. She made a horrible, haunting mistake that will be with her for the rest of her life. And the victims family will wake up every day, from this moment on, with the realization that their lives were irrevocably changed in an unceremonious instant.

The truth is, accidents and mistakes happen. I can personally sit here and say all I want about cell phone users in cars, but I am guilty of this too sometimes. So, yes, there is blame and someone will be held accountable...

The article gave me another reason to pause, though, as the first thing that hit me was "motorist hits cyclist". How many times are we out on the shoulder of the road with hundreds of cars passing us, oblivious to the trust we have placed in each and every driver remaining in control of their car as they pass by us?

It's a sobering thought for me. On the other hand, I recognize that this is one of the risks of being a cyclist/triathlete. Of all the plans we make and decisions on how, where, when and what to train, some events are just out of our control.

We are not made for "quiet ports", as the saying goes. Taking risks makes us come alive in some ways. Not knowing the outcome is scary and unnerving, and I sometimes think we try too hard to be completely in control of the results. Risks have rewards, but also have disappointments.

I do not subscribe to the school of foolhardy risks. Doing something stupid is not the same as taking a risk. Columbus did not leave port with a broken down ship and a bunch of idiots who couldn't sail in the bathtub.

But calculated risks, like the ones we take training for an Ironman, or climbing Mount Everest after suitable training and with suitable equipment, are necessary and the adventure comes in not knowing, always, that we'll be safe.

But still, always wear a helmet and keep an eye on the traffic...

Training log:
Wednesday - morning - 2500 meter swim - 55 minutes (with breaks)
4:30pm - 50km ride to Iona Beach (easy pace, a few hills), 1 hr 45 minutes.
On the schedule tonight (Thursday):
Run - easy intervals
Swim - 2100 meters (moderate intensity)

Vancouver weather...

Don't like it? Wait a day...

I swear it must be the easiest job in the world to be a weatherman in Los Angeles... Chance of sun? 100%... May see a cloud next week. And then, when you DO have a rain front, it comes like a mallet to the head and there is no doubt. Chance of rain? 100%

Here, the Vancouver weather has multiple personalities. It cannot seem to be a "great day" without there being wind, or a "miserable day" without that brief glimpse of sun-respite that makes you think "it could happen, it could happen" and cross your fingers.

So, it's beautiful today. High of 20 Celsius, and I'm like that puppy dog who wants desperately to get out into the sun soon (or, at least, my opera singing cat who won't leave me alone).

And for this weekend? Rain...

Not that I am complaining. I'd take the year-round outdoor activity of Vancouver to the minus temperatures anywhere else in Canada. I am just that way, I wake up every day with a sense of hope :) that this could be a better day.

The Vancouver Marathon is fast approaching, and it's down to 4 days. Tapering for the marathon is a never-ending battle of "enough? or too much?" thinking. It's almost like I'm trying NOT to try too hard... And the bottom line response from the experts is not very helpful sometimes. It's a mixture of "keep moving" and "don't move a muscle"...

The nutrition is no less ambiguous. To carb-load or not to carb-load... that is the question... Recently, I've read reports that it is important, actually, to add a little more lean protein throughout the week to aid in recovery, and then rebalance in favour of the carbs by Friday Friday and Saturday, since my activity level will be less and the need for energy is higher. But the protein helps accelerate recovery, so that makes sense.

Since I started marathon running, I've gone through the gambit of taper and nutrition ideas leading up to race day. My 12th marathon in November, 2005, I actually decided to have a couple of pints of beer and two glasses of wine the night before. My thinking (?) there was, "I am not PB'ing this race, and I just want to enjoy myself". And, lo-and-behold, I did enjoy myself. I wasn't trained well enough to get a personal best anyway. But I had one of the most enjoyable marathons of my life... Now, I didn't really decide to attempt THAT marathon until the week before.

There is pressure on this race. I have people I know will be out on the course, watching, knowing full well what I am CAPABLE of running. I know too. And I also know that this is not the time to prove it. My race strategy is to start out and attempt a 1:35 first half. It's not something easy, but I have done better before. After that, it's anybody's guess...

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail today... "No pressure... It's only pain"

Most encouraging...

No marathon can ever be taken lightly. It is a game and, even if you won't be going for your best "TIME" ever, it is certainly within your province to attempt your best "RACE". And, by that, I mean preparing properly, and sticking to your gameplan. In fact, racing in that manner is almost better than aiming for the PB every time. Learning strategy and what your limits are at different points, busting through the wall in the proper way (and not walking), and finishing strong and stretching after (recovering properly) are all parts of it. This is NOT my Stanley Cup race, but I still need the two points in the regular season. Those two points can come from feeling like I had a good race on Sunday, that I executed my plan properly, and so on...

So, that's where I'm at and, unlike the weather, that's the plan I'm going to stick to. Unless, of course, it snows... and there's a 50% chance of that.

Good luck to everybody else running this weekend.

This week's training log:

Monday: Bike: 2x2.5k repeats + 1x5k repeat
Other: 30 minutes of weight training
Tuesday: Run: 6.2km at marathon pace (moved swim to Wednesday morning)

What am I going to achieve today?

It is a really simple question, and yet I don't know if many of us ever ask it. Training weeks come and go, work weeks end in a Friday dash to the local pub, weekend's go unheralded...

I have these plans. They are big plans, and necessary in terms of thinking about the future and how what I do now is leading there.

But, what about today? This is a day of possibility. In fact, something will happen today, but will it be an achievement? Or just... something.

We are always "training" for something. And it's a long time to "wait" for the Ironman to arrive. So each day I am looking at whatever workout I have as one more accomplishment on the way to the Ironman. Our bike ride on Saturday, in the pouring rain, was a victory in and of itself. Yesterday I followed that up with some hard intervals on the highway. That was something new for me, as I've never really done hard intervals on the bike.

When training for anything, or studying, or "waiting" for something to arrive, it's important to take stock of the little things each day that one can accomplish and be happy about. All moments are key moments, and how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. I spend my days exercising. Six days a week. If it helps, define yourself AS a runner, or a marathoner, or an Ironman, even before you have a medal to prove it. Mike Reilly, the "voice of Ironman" for many North American Ironman races, always proclaims to each finisher "you are an Ironman" as they cross the line. But I think you're an Ironman the moment you make the decision to start training. Ironman is not 140.6 miles on one day... It's thousands of miles along the way in your daily routine. And each day you check off a few more miles on the way to the race.

And this makes the Ironman schedule, the daily "routine" more enjoyable each and every day, knowing that we can achieve something every single day that makes our dreams a reality. And, if I need more proof, or you need an example, I'll take two moments to convey two of my own dreams: to be an athlete and to be a writer... And each day I am achieving both. I'm living my dreams...