Some thoughts on training

I've been analyzing my finish time in Sunday's marathon and (for once), trying to nail down what I did RIGHT! I've already talked about the fact that I followed Hal Gigdon's training program more carefully and did ALMOST all my speed work and didn't simply run slower to avoid injury. However, there was something else that was different this time around. I didn't overtrain! I did follow Hal Higdon's advanced marathon training plan, but I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the plan I was following lacked an 8-10 mile run midweek, like the plan I had followed before had. There were no mid week runs over 5 miles.  I'm certainly ok with doing higher mileage, but I'm thinking that this allowed me to do my speed work more effectively. I also refrained from doing a bunch of extra cycling. I did weight train, but I really did try and save my energy and focus for my MAIN goal which was a sub 4 marathon. 

Now, armed with this feedback, I am looking forward to my next goal and FOCUSING on achieving it. One thing I will say though, my legs are still very sore and I have only run one mile since the race. The lower inside of my right shin STILL hurts, so,  I do see the potential for injury.  I will have to keep that in mind as I shoot for faster times. In any event, I am excited! 

I think I will be doing The OC half Marathon on May 6th, where I would like to do around 1:45. My PR is 1:48:17. I think that is doable, given my splits in the full where I was definitely holding back because it was a full marathon. The half is and has always been my favorite distance so I am looking forward to really nailing it. My Niece Stephanie and her Husband Jake will be doing the 5k as their first race (which I am very excited about, and hope to be the first of many for them) along with Brittany doing the half. Then, most likely the Long Beach Marathon on October 7th, where I will try and take everything I learned from Surf City and try and better my time. These three races make up the Beach City Challenge and earns you a cool medal, so why not? I love these races anyway! Brittany has committed to all three and I am looking very forward to doing them with her. It is great to be excited about doing races agin. I realize how much I really miss it! 

I am also registered for the Malibu Creek 50k on March 3rd. When I registered, I had thought I would be working until mid March, then have a little time off. The plan was to do my tour (whether running or cycling) from Blaine, Washington to San Diego, CA as soon as I was done with this job. If I was to run it, I figured it would take about two months. I have been also giving serious consideration to cycling it and making it more of a laid back trip where I could have the flexibility to see all the great breweries along that route and see more things and meet more people along the way. I got a call a couple weeks back and got offered to shoot Motocross starting in May, with a couple shoots at the end of April. I shot Supercross for three seasons and love the gig, the people and of course the travel, so I took it. This changes my plans a little for a Canada to Mexico trip. Hmm... what to do? I could fit a cycling trip into that window, but I would have to back out of the 50k since I would need to leave in a couple of weeks. I will be done with the job I am working on, BUT, I started thinking about my training for the upcoming races. Yes, I would be riding the whole time, but it is certainly not the same thing. I don't want to just run these races, I want to better my times and really focus. I've also been getting more dedicated to strength training and muscle building and riding a bike from brewery to brewery WILL be a bit of a setback in that area as well. SO... I have a lot to think about. Right now, it is just trying to prioritize and decide what appeals to me the most. I would also be doing the ride (running it does seem out of the question at this point, given the time constraint) in the rainiest season. I haven't decided yet, I will just keep an open mind and let circumstances point me in the right direction. Either way, I have great things to look forward to and that in itself is a nice change.

Paul