I love the fall. Running in cool weather is so much easier than running in the summer. I don't handle the heat well. Now that it's cooler I'm having some of my best runs of the year.

Monday the temperature was in the fifties and I had a great 4-mile training run with my neighbor, Duane Gentlemen. We ran up Quivira Road on the west side of the Overland Park Golf Course. Those of you familiar with the area recognize that as a decent hill workout with a half mile gentle climb. Despite the climb we took a full minute off the average pace of our recent runs. I was able to stretch out my stride and go into cruise mode.

Duane commented afterwards that if you do your marathon training correctly you should feel an abundance of energy once you start cutting back on your miles. I have to say that I do feel stronger, but I give most of the credit to the cooler temperatures. Speed sessions are helping too.

Skunks must like the cool weather because I've seen three in the span of a week. A week ago Monday, Duane and I saw one in a front yard in the next neighborhood, then on Tuesday I saw one wandering out of the woods at Leawood Park after the speed session, and yesterday we almost ran into one.

We came across the skunk just a few blocks from the start of our run, about the same spot we saw one last Monday. I was talking and not watching where we were going when I heard Duane say “skunk.” I glanced up, expecting to see it in someone's yard, and then realized it was crossing the street right in front of us. By the time I saw the skunk it had crossed over to the curb and was about to duck into the storm drain as I passed within spitting distance, or should I say spraying distance! That's way too close for me.

Something has changed, fundamentally changed, that made it possible to run 20-miles in the time that I did today at the Runner's Edge Saturday run.  Looking at running logs from my first ½ marathon in 2005 shows that my speed remained flat throughout my training.  Contrast that with this year and there is something remarkable, to me anyway, as my distance increased, so did my speed.

Breaking my endurance barrier – that's the only way I can describe it – means being less timid about running. I used to be afraid of not being able to finish long runs, so I held back, running a safe, slow speed.  Now, I've learned that if I push hard up a hill, or run hard to catch-up with someone, I can recover while running.  Breaking my endurance barrier means gaining the confidence to do these things, as well having the physical stamina to do them.

It was after my two hardest runs, the Topeka half and my 16-mile run a week later, that I noticed the change.  That is when I started adding hill workouts.  For the first time that I can remember I was able to dig-in and cruise up hills.  The hills on my route aren't monstrous, but they are long steady grades--enough to be a challenge. I was also able to add “hard miles” to my workout where I run faster than usual. 

Shaking my “fear of fatigue” also gives me a more relaxed running style.  I've gone from what can best be described as a rigid shuffle to, well..., actual running.  My legs are looser and my arms swing more freely. I'm still a bit tight in the shoulders, but my form is evolving. I'm now free to experiment with stride length, rate of turnover, and amount of spring.  Oh yeah, spring, I never had any of that before .

Today's 20-mile run was more-or-less routine. There was some drama when Lisa, the pace leader, had to slow down and fall behind when an injury to her abdominal muscle, from a fall two weeks ago, started to bother her.  By then, somewhere around mile 13, there were only four of us left, and there was a lot of debate about what to do.  In the end, Dan lent Lisa his cell phone and, at Lisa's insistence, we went on. 

Dan and his wife, Becky, were the one's promoting Gu Roctane and Succeed S!caps last week.  I gave both a try this week and I did pretty well.  Dan has done 11 marathons.  Becky is training for her first.  I learned that they got married at the Chicago Marathon last October, the day before.  Becky was the race horse today on our return leg.  She kept lowering the pace under 10:00/mile.  I noticed several times we were running a 9:40 pace.  That eventually caught up with me.  I was really huffing and puffing the last few miles.  Our elapsed time was 4:29, after deciding what to do about Lisa, waiting for port-a-potties, and what not, but our time in motion was only 3:53:46.  That's an average moving pace of 11:39, including walks.

Dan and Becky were a real source of inspiration coming back.  I said several times that I was going to drop off to run at a slower pace, but they refused to let that happen on my first 20-mile run.  They cheered me on and kept encouraging me.  I really appreciate what they did.

Here is how my speed improved over the last couple of months as my distance increased:

Distance / Time in Motion / Minutes per Mile:

12.10 miles / 2:28:04 / 12:14

13.34 miles / 2:41:14 / 12:05 (Topeka half)

16.26 miles / 3:29:43 / 12:53 (snow/ice)

18.25 miles / 3:31:26 / 11:35

20.05 miles / 3:53:46 / 11:39

Basically, I've shaved about 30 – 40 seconds/mile off my average pace, while increasing my distance.  I've got to be happy with that.  I would like to see if I can improve on that a little more on my final 20-mile training run in two weeks.

They say that “liars figure, and figures lie.”  You certainly would get the completely wrong impression by comparing the figures from last Saturday's 12-mile training run, which seemed so easy at the time, and today's half-marathon in Topeka.

Last Week's Training Run

Miles: 12

Time: 2:39:00

Pace: 13:08

Elevation Gain (ft): +2,127/-2,143

Today's Half Marathon

Miles: 13.1

Time: 2:41:07 (PR since my even more dismal 2005 ½ marathon was 2:47:55)

Pace: 12:17

Elevation Gain (ft): +2,645/-2,585

Today's stats looks good by comparison, but that could not be further from the truth.  I crashed and burned at the 9-mile mark.  The Topeka to Auburn ½ marathon is an uphill course punctuated by four huge changes in elevation.  The elevation graph looks like a Tour de France mountain stage. 

DaShaun and I tried to start out slowly, but with other runners passing us like we were standing still it was hard to sick to the plan.  We settled into our 11:30 pace 1 ½ miles into the course, just in time to start the first big climb.  By the time we reach the crest, 2 ½ miles later, I already knew that I was in trouble.  When we were on the second big ascent, around mile five, DaShaun could see I was fading.  DaShaun was feeling good, so he ran on ahead (finishing around 2:30:00, I believe).

I decided to switch into survival mode, walking the hills and running the descents. Well, it wasn't actually a choice <grin>.  Also, I started walking briefly every mile, like I do in training, except that every mile soon deteriorated to every ½ mile. My legs were like rubber.   I had nothing left when I got to the mile-10 aid station at the troth just before the last big climb.  I walked more than I ran the last three miles.   I was extremely happy to see the finish line.

I should be upset about bonking on both my half-marathons, but since I didn't train for a course with monster hills, I can't beat myself up about it too bad.  There will be other half-marathons between now and Oklahoma City (on flatter courses) to provide a better measure of how I'm doing.