Winter Basebuilding: Week 4

Posted on December 16, 2008 by threlkeld

09spr-base-04Ahh. A recovery week. And not a week too soon.

With a 25% reduction in volume, I was flying on my feet this past week. I truly needed the day off on Monday, as I was quite tired. Tuesday’s 20 minute effort at 10K was not that difficult physically — the real effort was mental for this run for some reason. I wonder if not running for a day had something to do with that.

I did Friday’s tempo effort on the track, which was a pleasure that day since there was almost no one there. Although at one point I was the entertainment for a PE class of bored eight year olds. I couldn’t help but wonder: did they find me fast or slow?

The centerpiece of the week was Sunday’s run, for which I was lucky to have good weather. Nice and cold and not too much wind. I felt fantastic during this run, managing to crank out eight miles at the end at around 10 seconds per mile faster than my early October marathon pace, all at a lower heart rate.

My resting heart rate is now solidly in the low 40s most days too.

I can hardly believe that I’m nearly halfway through basebuilding already. I’ve enjoyed doing the work and seeing progress, however subtle.

For Basebuilding Week 5 the mileage shoots back up to 85 and I start introducing doubles, on back-to-back days, no less. Then I test out my new and improved wheels and engine in a 15K race in Central Park on Saturday.

Filed under: basebuilding, central park, racing, training | 3 Comments »

“What’s it like to race a marathon?”

Posted on November 23, 2008 by threlkeld

Specifically, the New York Marathon? This race report from Pascal Lauffer vividly describes the agony and the ecstacy.

Filed under: central park, inspiration, racing | 4 Comments »

Race Report: Nyack Hospital 10K

Posted on November 22, 2008 by threlkeld

Just a short report, since this wasn’t technically a race for me. It was a training run, a “tempo on steriods,” with two miles at a quickish pace running sandwiched on either side, making for a brisk 10+ miler.

It was fah-ree-zing this morning. Jesus Christ. The wind chill was 11 degrees when I did my first two miles and probably “warmed up” to around 14 degrees by the 9AM start. There was also an impressive wind from the WNW, probably in the 18mph range, with gusts. That was most noticeable for miles three and four, although it made for a helpful tailwind for the last 1+ mile.

It was sort of fun to run in a race without caring about the results or feeling the need to push myself. In fact, I was not supposed to push myself, and there were times in the race when I was thinking, “Eh, this feels too easy.” Still, I had the pleasure of handily passing two women in the last 1.5 miles who’d been out of reach by a mere fifty yards or so since the race start. What I lack in raw speed (at least for now) I make up for in endurance.

Here’s another interesting thing: I felt very fresh during this race, despite all the faster running this week. Or maybe because of it? I also think doing a nice, long two mile warmup (which I started at a 9:30 pace and ended at around 8:10) got all systems nice and primed to go fast. I felt loose and relaxed throughout, even during the windy and hilly bits. I think I may try a longer warmup for shorter races in the future.

Although he’s recover(ing?)ed from his injury, Jonathan’s not ready to race just yet, so he opted out of this one. Instead, he graciously played the role of support crew, facilitating numerous changes to layering and accessories, and ferreting out secret women’s rooms. He did get a free bagel out of the deal, though, and the chance to sit in a hospital waiting room for 45 minutes, listening to Muzak.

We didn’t hang around for the awards ceremony because last year it took forever to get started. It turns out I was sixth female overall, third female master (and third in my age group, which was a broad — heh heh — women 40-49). I had a feeling I’d win something, but the awards last year were really cheesy. I know. I’m becoming blasé and snobbish about winning age group awards now. Only because my eyes are on bigger prizes now, like actually placing in the top three overall. I’m close: Had I actually raced today, I could have easily taken third place.

Filed under: racing, training | 5 Comments »

Fookin’ chilly!

Posted on November 21, 2008 by threlkeld

As in 2007, winter has arrived a month early in an instantaneous, nostril-freezing blast over the last couple of days. We had one of the longest winters in the quarter-odd century I’ve lived in New York last year, and I’m wondering if this year will be a repeat.

No matter. Except for the problem of ice and the demonic drivers who hurtle over it with aplomb in their two ton deathmobiles (we have precious few sidewalks in our suburban hamlet), I love winter training. The colder the better.

Racing in cold weather is even more delighted squeal inducing, and I’ll have a chance to race in wind chills of around 13 degrees tomorrow morning. I ran my measly five recovery miles this morning at embarrassingly slow pace in anticipation. Race report to come.

For now, it’s almost 4PM on Thanksgiving Week Eve, which means everyone I work with has ceased to care about anything, a situation that I happily embrace. I’m technically working today, but it consists of cleaning out my email inbox and addressing the 14 inch high stack of crap that’s accumulated on my desk over the last 11 months. My manager at Massive Nameless Corporation just dragged me into gifted me with two more months-long projects, so I’m feeling fairly confident that I’ll be able to continue to pay for running shoes, quality beer and interesting cheeses for another year.

Filed under: drinking, eating, everyday life, racing, training | 3 Comments »

2008 NY Marathon: the view from the curb*

Posted on November 3, 2008 by threlkeld

What’s more exciting: running a marathon or watching one? You can’t do both at the same time. But you should do at least one or the other once in your life. I’ve done the former four times, and now, the latter once. Here, I provide my awestruck impressions of watching the fastest people in the world running within 10 feet of me yesterday morning.

First of all, it was a total pain in the ass to get to the Bronx yesterday. I did it the wrong way, taking a train to Fordham and then walking about a half mile along Fordham Rd to the 4 line. That took forever to arrive and then I discovered that it doesn’t stop at 138th St, where I wanted to be. So I had to get off at 149th, walk into the bowels of the subway system to catch the local 5 train and endure another 15 minute wait in a rat- and cockroach-infested dungeon. I found myself wondering if it was all worth it.

Here’s the right way to get there from Westchester: Take the train to 125th St, walk two blocks, then hop on the 6 line north for one stop to 138th St and 3rd Ave in the Bronx.

I arrived at about 10:30 and milled around for 20 minutes, carefully setting up my camera to take poor quality pictures. I planted myself on 138th, just east of 3rd Ave (and just after the 20 mile mark), before a water table, thinking perhaps they’d slow a bit at that spot.

This little area was not the “dead zone” in terms of spectators I’d expected. There was a crowd on 3rd Ave and a band, and a few pockets of people to the west. But it wasn’t like the scene on 125th St in Harlem, where I went and hung out after I’d seen all the elites go by.

Here I will admit that I suck as a photographer. I may have learned never to experiment with new shoes or fueling strategies for the marathon, but I threw caution to the wind yesterday and experimented with the camera that I don’t know how to use properly. I tried the “burst” mode, which I thought would take a series of full sized shots of each runner in motion. Instead, I got a series of postage stamp sized shots. All of my runners are tiny.

So, I’m not going to embarrass myself further by uploading tiny photos. Especially when there’s a perfectly good series right here. Since I have no intention of running this race in the near future, I’ll go watch again next year and I’ll learn to use my camera properly by then.

The elite women

The excitement builds in the minutes before the first runners arrive. Someone barked “Ten minutes!” into a bullhorn at 10:50. Then, at 10:55, a new update: “Radcliffe first, Petrova second, Goucher third.” A few minutes later, we saw and heard the helicopter, followed by the roar of police motorcycles. They came around the corner and there was so much noise and activity that the two runners (Radcliffe and Petrova) were lost in the mayhem around them. The motorcycles and camera truck passed and suddenly it seemed very quiet.

The two women passed by me and I was struck by the fact that I could actually hear them breathing. Radcliffe, although only 5’8″, seems much larger in person. And she runs like a fucking machine. Petrova was hanging off her shoulder, looking like a little bobbing tugboat, but a tenacious one. One look at Paula and you knew she was going to win. Goucher came through about 15 seconds later, also looking larger than life, and wearing a facial expression that was, paradoxically, both relaxed and determined.

Incidentally, Petrova, 40, broke Priscilla Welch’s 1987 masters world record for the marathon yesterday by over a minute, with a finishing time of 2:25:43. I don’t think this was mentioned once in the televised coverage, which was too bad.

Tune came through shortly thereafter, followed by Wami (who is one of the most light-on-her-feet runners I’ve ever seen, and tiny). I was expecting Catherine “The Great” Ndereba next, but instead saw Jeptoo. Then a few others: Simon, McGregor and Morgunova. Then a big pause and the last few women who I would recognize came through: Lewy-Boulet, Scotswoman Hayley Haining (who is built like a tank; I wonder if that’s what I look like under my 24% body fat) and 19-year-old newcomer Ilsa Paulson, who is a tiny little wisp of a woman. I was disappointed to not see Kim Smith of New Zealand; it appears she dropped out just after the 30K mark.

The elite men

With the second-tier elite women straggling in one by one, the excitement began to build anew: In a few minutes, the elite men would start coming through. Once again, you could tell when the moment was near, with the arrival of a helicopter and phalanx of cops on bikes.

I was rooting for the Brazilian, Gomes Dos Santos, to win — and here he was in the lead! Goumri was right on his heels and looking very strong. Next up: Bouramdane, Tergat, Rono, Kirui, Macharia. And, finally, some Americas: Abdi, Rohatinsky, Lemkuhle. After that, I stopped recognizing people, with one exception: I saw James Carney, who looked awful. He was jogging along, looking slightly bewildered. He turned and asked another runner, who was passing, a question, and I thought, “He’s about to drop out.” When I got home and watched the coverage, I could see what happened: He went nuts and led the pack from the start, running like a rocket straight into a head wind for the first half mile or so.

Some familiar faces

Just a few: Takashi Ogawa, a friendly age group rival of Jonathan’s, was powering his way through to a 2:50 finish. He looked good when I saw him. A few minutes behind him, I spotted Zola Budd. She is no longer the barefooted rail that she was during her cross-country and track days. Perhaps 20 pounds heavier, she still managed to break three hours in her first marathon yesterday. Finally, after I switched positions to go watch the throngs in Harlem, I saw fellow running blogger Pigtails Flying (who I have not met, but who sent me a picture so I could look for her). She also ran a huge PR yesterday (42 minutes!), breaking 3:55. Go Pigtails!

*In honor of Paula Radcliffe, maybe I should say “kerb.”

Filed under: central park, elites, everyday life, inspiration, racing, westchester | 12 Comments »

NYC Marathon pacing guide

Posted on October 28, 2008 by threlkeld

Check this out: An Excel spreadsheet that helps you put together a pacing plan (and let your family, friends and fans know approximately what time you’ll be where) based on the actual NYC marathon course. Pure genius from author Greg Maclin.

Filed under: racing, resources | Leave a comment »

Easing back into running

Posted on October 26, 2008 by threlkeld

I ran every day this week except for Tuesday. I just couldn’t help myself. The weather is wonderfully cool (or even cold) in the morning and the leaves were so colorful this year; they burst into color over the last weekend and now they’re all falling, which is very dramatic on windy days.

I did a wonderful 10 miler this morning. The weather was gorgeous and perfect: sunny with temps around 52 and windy. I ran an average 8:40 pace at 78% heart rate and enjoyed myself immensely. I was truly sorry when the run was over. But it tired me out enough to nap for two hours on the couch after getting through the first few essays in the newish David Sedaris book When You Are Engulfed in Flames.

When I looked at my mileage this week, I could hardly believe it: I ran 39 miles. I hadn’t expected to get back up so quickly, but my legs have felt great and I wasn’t really paying attention to the cumulative mileage as the week wore on. I’ll probably keep it under 55 for the next couple of weeks, then start gradually working the mileage base back up into the 100+mpw range in preparation for starting up training again sometime around mid-January.

It’s nice to have such a long spell between races. The next one isn’t until very late May (that’s assuming we go through with our plans to run Newport, OR next year). I’m not going to do so much hard running during the base period again. Probably just one or two moderate-pace runs a week and the rest very easy. And I’ll probably do some racing for fun and training too, as there are some good ones coming up in the next few months: the Nyack Hospital 10K, the Hot Chocolate 15K, the Manhattan Half Marathon and the Boston Buildup series in CT.

Speaking of running 100+ miles a week, former champion Ingrid Kristiansen and 2008 gold medalist Constantina Tomescu-Dita had some training advice for Paula Radcliffe, who will be 38 when the 2012 Olympics roll around. Paula does not agree. I do, though, at least for myself. I’ll be cutting down on the mileage to average around 75 per week during training. I won’t, however, be having a baby.

Anyway, as for the next week, I have no plan. I will probably run almost every day again, once per day, with quicker running days determined by how I feel.

Filed under: basebuilding, elites, humor, olympics, racing, reading, recovery, training | 2 Comments »

An elite is an elite is an elite

Posted on October 24, 2008 by threlkeld

(With apologies to Gertrude Stein.)

This week’s running kerfuffle involved the Nike Women’s Marathon, in which Arien O’Connell, who describes herself as a “pretty good runner,” ran a 2:55 race and blew away the “elite” field by about 10 minutes. But since O’Connell didn’t register as an elite (and go with those who did 20 minutes before everyone else), her winning chip time was initially not acknowledged.

News articles began appearing, which led to reader outrage, which then led to complaints to Nike. Within a day or two, Nike reversed its decision, declaring O’Connell “a” winner (but not “the” winner). They also decided to do away with their elite start going forward.

Given how screwy their race was set up to be, I think they made the right decision under the circumstances. It seems unlikely that had O’Connell been running with the pack of 3:06+ “elites” one or more of them could have risen to the occasion and matched her time. But because she started 20 minutes behind them, we’ll never know.

The fatal flaw in Nike’s race design was their failure to properly define who qualifies as an “elite.” Registrants were left to their own devices to self-identify. Most knowledgable female marathon runners know that “elite” runners are fast. They are very fast. Not just the top 3% of runners, but more like the top 0.3% of runners. A 3:06 time might be considered “local elite,” but, again, Nike gave no guidance, so I can’t blame the slower runners who entered as elites any more than I can blame the faster ones who didn’t.

Also worth noting is the trend toward using chip/”net” time (rather than gun time) to determine order of finish. NYRR just started doing this. I think this is a good thing, because it measures and acknowledges performance in absolute rather than subjective terms. Although NYRR takes a hybrid approach in that the first place male and female winners are those who cross the finish line first. All other place finishers are determined by chip time:

In all NYRR scored races, each participant’s official time, the net time, is recorded from when a participant crosses the start mats to when he or she crosses the finish mats. This official time is used to establish the order of finish and to determine award winners. However, the first male and female runner to cross the finish line will always be the winner of the race.

Here’s something that illustrates what happens when there is no set standard. The table below shows the average finishing time for the non-elites vs. elites, based on the race result leaderboards. The first average time shown includes the top 19 runners in each category. The second average time in the non-elite column removes O’Connell’s time (since it could potentially skew the results considerably).

Non-Elites Elites
2:55:11 3:06:18
3:06:18 3:08:59
3:08:59 3:12:35
3:12:00 3:13:07
3:12:25 3:13:44
3:13:07 3:13:48
3:13:44 3:14:34
3:13:48 3:22:00
3:14:33 3:22:24
3:14:34 3:23:29
3:15:23 3:23:52
3:16:50 3:25:22
3:17:30 3:25:38
3:18:13 3:26:06
3:18:14 3:27:27
3:18:35 3:30:49
3:19:10 3:33:52
3:19:57 3:57:56
3:20:38 4:23:09
3:14:10 Average for all runners 3:25:32 Average for all runners
3:15:13 O’Connell removed

Even with O’Connell removed, the average time for the elites is still over 10 minutes slower than for the non-elites. So, in actuality, the non-elite racers were much more competitive than the elite racers were. The numbers do not lie.

Having a separate start for elites makes sense in many cases. Its purpose is to allow faster women runners the chance to compete against each other fairly, meaning they run only against other women without the opportunity to draft off of (or otherwise receive a pacing advantage as a result of running with) male runners. It also gives them the chance to shine in their own right rather than getting lost in a mass of slower male racers. But given that this is an all women’s race*, those are non-issues. In the all women’s races I’ve run thus far, there’s been no separate elite category for prizes, and the elites know who they are (and the non-elites know who they aren’t!) and line up accordingly.

But what do you think? Did Nike make the right decision?

*To further complicate things, the women’s marathon allowed about 350 men to race it this year. So the fastest runner in the race was, not surprisingly, a man. What on Earth is Nike trying to do with this race?

Filed under: elites, poll, racing | 7 Comments »

Saucony Fastwitch 3: my perfect marathon shoe

Posted on October 14, 2008 by threlkeld

I wanted to put in a good word for the shoes I wore on Sunday: the Saucony Fastwitch 3. I love these shoes for shorter races (half marathon on down), but had some misgivings about wearing them for a full marathon. Though I’d worn them on my longest training runs (up to 24 miles), my experience was that they’d feel okay until about mile 20, and then it felt like I was running on pieces of cardboard.

Jonathan convinced me to try out the Asics Speedstar. I started running with those a few weeks ago. They felt good on some mid-length runs and were definitely more substantial, yet still light. I’d decided to wear them for Steamtown, but at the last minute had misgivings. First, I noticed that the left foot was ever-so-slightly bothered by the shoe. Second, I have always regreted it when I haven’t I heeded the old adage “don’t try anything new before the marathon.” So while packing on Saturday, I went with the Sauconys.

My last few marathons have left me with varying degrees of mauled and/or blistered feet. As terrible as this last race was, however, the shoes did not make a bad race worse. Yes, my feet were tired after 20 miles, but when I took the shoes off after the race there were no problems anywhere; not even the hint of a blister. I’m sold on the Fastwitch. Now I need to start hoarding them again, since I’ve fast running through the three pairs I have now.

Filed under: racing, shoes | 1 Comment »

Race Report: 2008 Steamtown Marathon

Posted on October 14, 2008 by threlkeld

My race experience was summarized in my preliminary report: I ran under 3:20 — a 13 minute PR over April’s race — but it wasn’t a pretty performance. The detailed version follows.

Pre-race warmup

Steamtown has an excellent reputation, one that is well deserved. The volunteer-to-runner ratio is about 2:1 and it shows. The buses from Scranton to the start in Forest City were plentiful and easy to find, and they left as soon as they were loaded. I found a seat on a 6:20 bus and had a pleasant chat with my seatmate.

Once onsite, we were greeted by cheerleaders and lots of adorable teenaged volunteers, all of whom were friendly and proactive. Bag dropoff was easy, there was a gym to keep warm in. Most notably (and unnecessarily), the portapotties were segregated into Men’s and Women’s.

I had plenty of time to do some warmup running, stretching and sitting around attempting to relax. Jonathan couldn’t run this race due to an injury. Those last few minutes before race start, when I was warming up alone, were when I missed him the most acutely. My pre-race emotional “anchor” wasn’t there and it was a lonely feeling indeed.

We were called to line up early and, for the most part, people seemed to line up under the appropriate pace per mile sign. The national anthem was sung, start instructions were given and after a rib-cracking firing of a cannon just 50 feet away, we were off and running.

Early miles

The first few miles were worrisome. My thighs felt tight and my calves and ankles were aching. Not a great way to start a marathon. I was also having difficulty getting into a 7:10-7:15 pace as planned. I managed around 7:30 for the first three miles, and 6:59 for mile four (big downhill). I should have realized that I wasn’t in shape to run 7:15 the whole way and adjusted my plans. But I am stubborn.

At mile five I started to feel better. My legs were warmed up and I was cruising along in the 7:20 range. We were still mostly going downhill, but there were some bumps upward and flat sections. So I switched to my heart rate view and focused on keeping my effort in the 87-88% range.

Pace/heart rate

Mile 1: 7:33, 83%

Mile 2: 7:31, 88%

Mile 3: 7:28, 88%

Mile 4: 6:59, 87%

Mile 5: 6:58, 87%

Mile 6: 7:02, 87%

Mile 7: 7:34, 88%

Mile 8: 7:15, 87%

Mile 9: 7:24, 88%

Mile 10: 7:20, 87%

Mile 11: 7:26, 87%

Mile 12: 7:37, 87%

Mile 13: 7:35, 86%

Middle miles

The first half of a marathon is supposed to feel relatively easy. This was not easy. I was starting to feel the strain at mile 12. That’s also the point at which my quadriceps began to burn. I had a feeling that I’d taken the early hills too fast — and was possibly running at too fast a pace — but it was too late to undo the effects of those early hills.

Miles 14 – 17 were okay, but not great. We hit a section of cinder trail and it was sort of like running in sand. There were lots of roots and rocks to avoid too, and I was having trouble putting out the mental effort required to both avoid falling on my face and keep a decent pace up. Lots of people passed me on the trail, which didn’t help.

My watch lost satellite reception at around mile 16.5, so I was flying blind in terms of pace. I stopped looking, since I knew it would only depress me. I still had heart rate info, so I used that as my guide. For miles 18 – 20, I couldn’t keep up a good effort. The pain in my thighs was becoming more pronounced and it was difficult to move them at a fast rate anymore. It was at this point that I knew the hardest part was yet to come: an additional six miles that were going to hurt a lot physically and challenge me mentally.

Pace/heart rate

Mile 14: 7:30, 85%

Mile 15: 7:38, 86%

Mile 16: 7:47, 85%

[This is where my watch lost GPS reception, so the next few miles are a bit wacky. It reconnected by mile 19, but the splits from 19 on are guesstimates.]

Mile 17: 9:14, 84%

Mile 18: 11:37, 83%

Mile 19: 7:56, 84%

Mile 20: 6:40, 86% (big downhill)

Miles 21-26

Internally, I was suffering greatly at this point. I was trying to isolate the pain I was feeling in my legs from the feelings of dread that consumed my mind, as they only fed off of each other. This was the first race in which I got something out of the spectators lining the streets, as it allowed me to focus on something external. They were a helpful distraction and a few individuals provided the small act of kindness or the shot of humor I needed during those awful 45 minutes.

There was the woman at mile 21 who affectionately scolded me for slowing down to try to get my cup into the trash can. “Just leave it!” she yelled. “We’ll pick it up. This is your day.”

There was the elderly man rolling down the middle of the street in a electric scooter at mile 22, who yelled at me, “Lady, you gotta work for that mile!” That made me laugh out loud.

And there were the many, many people who clued me in to the fact that there weren’t that many women in front of me:

“See? There’s a lady runner…”

“We like to see the girls out front!”

“You go, girl!”

For miles 21 and 22, I had a younger woman right on my heels. This was both good and bad. Good because she pushed me to run harder. Bad because she was obviously drafting off of me. I would move way over to the side and she’d follow me. This began to annoy me and just as I was about to ask her to share the work and run with me, she passed me anyway.

Miles 24, 25 and 26 were the toughest. My heart rate was down in the low 80%s because I couldn’t get my legs to move faster. It was very frustrating to know that I am capable of running a full marathon at 88-90% heart rate, but not today.

Still, I didn’t resort to walking up the hills as lots of people around me were doing. And I did pass a few people in the final miles, despite the fact that my pace was falling off. Still, when I look at the final mile splits, I never really fell apart. And how I managed to run a 7:30 pace at mile 25 is a total mystery. I kept telling myself that regardless of whether I ran fast, ran slow or walked, it was going to hurt like hell; so I may as well try to run as fast as possible to get this over with.

Pace/heart rate

Mile 21: 7:42, 86%

Mile 22: 8:03, 83%

Mile 23: 7:48, 81%

Mile 24: 8:00, 80%

Mile 25: 7:30, 82%

Mile 26: 7:55, 85%

The finish

The finish at Steamtown is phenomenal. You are richly rewarded for those last three miles of hills with a .2 mile downhill that’s steep and lined with screaming spectators. It’s too bad my legs were trashed or I would have dashed down that hill at a faster clip than I did. Still, I tried to run as fast as I could.

Which wasn’t very fast, apparently. Jonathan’s description of my crossing the finish line:

“You were running a controlled pace, and you showed a lot of focus. Your form was still okay. You didn’t look as tired as a lot of the other people coming in, but you also didn’t look like you could have done much more.”

Finish time: 3:19:22. I was 19th female overall and the sixth masters finisher.

Post-race ponderings

This was not my best race, but it wasn’t my worst either. Unlike the 2007 Vermont City Marathon, the wheels didn’t completely come off. But, looking at my splits and heart rate for this one, it’s fair to say that I could have run this better. So why didn’t I?

For one, I overestimated my fitness and ability to run at a particular pace. This summer’s training was hampered by extreme heat and humidity, leaving me doubtful about what I could run. After the first few miles, when it was clear I was working too hard, I probably should have set my pace at 7:30 and stuck with that, but I really wanted to try for 3:10.

My most successful race was the 2008 More race, with “success” being defined as the improvement in time coupled with a confident, consistent race performance. My training went well for that one, and so once I’m recovered, I’m going to revisit that plan. What’s obvious to me is that running very high mileage didn’t help me very much, especially since it came at the expense of being able to do quality workouts well. I was never fully rested and recovered during this training cycle, and I didn’t do the requisite miles at marathon pace that I needed to in order to prepare.

I’m happy that I improved my time this time around. But I didn’t run a smart race; I simply lacked the necessary training. As a result, I suffered much more than I needed to. I don’t want to suffer like that again, at least not if I can help it.

Filed under: racing | 8 Comments »

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