Well, after a short break (two weeks of no running at all following the Frederick marathon May 4, one week in the Bahamas partying hardy), we've started training for the Baltimore Marathon. It's running this year on October 11 and it's part two of the Maryland Double Challenge (the things we do for a medal to hang in the closet!). We've decided to start over, from scratch. Sort of. We (my turtle partner and I) are determined to break 4:30. Our fastest times are around 4:39. So we're close. But how do we train for a target speed?

After looking at lots of plans on the internet and talking with other marathoners, here's the basic idea: interval, tempo, and distance runs every week. We're starting out with intervals -- 4x800s with a couple easy warmup and cooldown miles on Mondays. Except that every other Monday will be hill work -- 4x hill ascents and descents. Increasing the number of reps every few weeks. Since we're trying to hit a target finish time of 4:30, we're working the intervals based on the Bart Yasso 800's theory -- so we are aiming for intervals in under 4 minute, 30 seconds.  As I understand it, intervals should be run at a speed just short of gasping for air. 4:30 is too slow for that for us. So last night's intervals ranged from 3:40 to 3:50. Perhaps too fast, but I would like to have some extra gas during the marathon. I haven't figured out how fast to do the hills yet. These are especially important because the Baltimore marathon is very hilly. 

Every Thursday is the distance run.  A 4:30 marathon means a 10:18 pace.  So we are planning to run at a 10:18 pace during our long runs. This may not hold up as the distance extends beyond 16 miles or so. I've personally run 18 miles in 3 hours, which is a 10-minute pace, but after that I faded. But I have to believe that if we want to improve our speed, we need to actually run faster. I guess it's a balance between running fast and having enough recovery time between distance runs. We'll start with only 10 miles, so we should be able to build nicely. We'll run each distance for a couple of weeks, then drop back a bit for a recovery week and then increase by a couple of miles. Gotta work out the water, especially as the DC summer rolls in.

Every weekend will be a  tempo run -- 70% effort as I read it. I really don't know what that means except for a loose definition that we can converse (like all-stars), but it's hard.  I think for me, this means running at about a 9:30 pace. I ran a 10-mile tempo run earlier this spring in 88 minutes, so I think somewhere between 9 and 9:30 should be about right. Maybe a little slower, but under 10 for sure.

So, that's the plan. I'm working on putting it all down on paper (or spreadsheet). Hopefully it will pay off.

Well, I've now completed 2 of the 3 marathons I scheduled for 2008; yesterday was the Frederick Marathon and I finished it (just). I've decided to call this a "learning experience" which will be my euphemism for "I had a hard time". I'm also going to rename this marathon from the Frederick Running Festival to the "Stinky Marathon", for reasons I'll 'splain later. But here's the blow-by-blow.

I spent the day Saturday working in the yard doing gardening and tree moving and so on. Drank lots of fluids and a lot of gatorade, though maybe not quite enough. I then drove out to Germantown to stay with my running buddy - he lives 30 minutes from Frederick, whilst I am about 90 minutes and with a 6:30 am start, I didn't want to have to leave so awfully early. We got up around 4:30 and ate some breakfast (eggs, juice, bagel) and headed out in the pre-dawn darkness to try and find our way north to the Frederick Fairgrounds. The trip up was smooth until we got to the exit for the Frederick Fairgrounds. That was backed up for at least a half-mile and traffic did not seem to be moving. We sat for long enough to be worried about making it to the start and then decided to bail and follow the GPS another way. This turned out to be much better as we got in and parked at only a few minutes after 6am. We then lined up for the porta-potties, which took another 20 minutes and so we got into our "corral" for our pace group only a few minutes before the start.

We ran into two runners from the Striders (Renee and Willie) who were planning the same pace we were. We heard the start and crunched forward, only to stop and start a few times and eventually cross the starting mat about 3 minutes after the gun.  We made a point of sticking close to our pace group leader (Pacer Dan) for the first few miles. The whole first half was a delightful run through downtown Frederick with the old architecture and then out into the country with the farms and animals. Well, there was one area that was not so nice -- the route around the parking lot and the back of WalMart was just wierd. But it was cool, though very sunny, and because the forcast was for rain and overcast, I had neglected to apply sunscreen. That bit me later. But the first half was a nice rolling run -- some bumps, nothing serious. We passed back through the fairgrounds where the half-marathoners were finishing (and which cut the crowd down significantly!) and began the second half of the run.

We ran through another nice downtown park area and then almost immediately we headed east out of town. I have to say, the second half was not as nice as the first. We were mostly running alongside a busy road/highway and though there were cones to keep us in the correct area, it wasn't pretty or nice or anything like that. And the sun was in our faces. Then, starting at about mile 16.5, we got to the hills. These were by far the longest and steepest I've ever run.

The first was the worst. It just never seemed to end --up and up and up! We got over that and started the descent and even that was hard -- too steep to just let go. Our pace group passed us. At the bottom, I was suddenly exhausted. I had to walk for a few minutes. After that I felt a little better and pushed on into the hills of the next 5 miles. None were as bad as that first one, but they were significant nonetheless. I took to walking the steepest parts.

As we began one descent through a neighborhood, my legs just cramped up. I had to stop. My RB said maybe I needed more salt, so I took 2 tabs and walked a bit. That helped and soon I was able to struggle onward again.

After the last hill and the 22 mile marker, things got a little better. The sun was behind us, though there was a strong headwind which made the last hills even harder. Our goal now was to break 5 hours. We had lost a lot of time to cramping and walking. So we tried had to keep up a pace toward that finish. Spencer (RB) was the real hero -- pitching me up the remaining hills and minimizing the walking to "just enough". As we came back into town we were routed out toward the Frederick airport and then past the cow farms. This was the stinky part. Especially so late in the run. The smell was godawful and overpowering, almost making me lose my gel/lunch.

As we came back to the fairgrounds area and passed mile 26, we picked up the pace to a slow-sprint, still trying to beat 5 hours. We entered the fairgrounds and ran on the horse track towards the finish, looking at the watch, trying to keep it up for another 100 feet, 50 feet, 25 feet. And my legs cramped one more time. I was hobbling along like a cartoon character, legs swinging to the  sides to minimize cramping. Crossed the mat, 4:59:55! We did it.

I think, in retrospect, that the biggest issue was dehydration. I think after working in the garden on Saturday, I was already a bit low on fluids. And the  weather was deceptive -- a little warm but very dry air and a strong breeze. I think this meant I was losing fluids and electrolytes much faster than I realized. And while there were lots of water stops, the little cups were often only half full. So I should have drunk 5-6 at each stop to make up for the loss. I think.

So now I'm taking a few weeks off. In June, we'll start training for the Baltimore Marathon and the second half of the Maryland Double Challenge. I hear there are even more hills there. We'll be ready (I hope).