12.18.2005

That Was Easy - and the Envelope, please

A few interesting revelations came out today. I had today and three more long runs before my taper for the January 29 Miami Tropical Marathon. My schedule said go 17. My intention was to go 18. Then I remembered something that gave me great comfort. I listened to Jeff Galloway speak here a few years ago and got in a discussion with him about long run training. He said it's about the time spent running, not the distance. So in that I am aiming for a 4:00 marathon time I need to get up to that amount of time in training runs, no matter the distance. Hence, today I ran three hours and I'll add 15 minutes to the next three to be at 3:45 before I taper. That'll be close enough.
I ran 18.7 miles this morning in 64 degree overcast skies with a brief misting period. It was pretty darned nice except for the humidity. When I finished nothing hurt. Not the ankle, calf, knee or hip.
Which led to the revelation that fueling really really matters. I stashed Gatorade along the route and packed two Gus. I spread them out over the three hours and never felt dead tired or sore. That was very rewarding. It gave me a sense that "this" can be done.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Three are true. Two are false.
1. My dad is a priest. True - My dad is an Episcopalian priest which makes me a PK which I used liberally as my excuse for rebel behaviour in my youth; which is not to say my youth is over or that I am not still rebellious.
2. I immigrated with my family from Ireland. False - My dad immigrated from Wales at the age of 25.
3. I skipped fifth grade, with an IQ of 140. False - I skipped kindergarten, not fifth grade which always made me the baby of my class until high school when future actor Treat Williams was the only person younger than I was. The IQ still stands.
4. I can wiggle my ears. True - and, for some reason, I can wiggle the right one by itself but not the left.
5. I attended seminary in Berkeley, Calif. True - The Pacific School of Religion held my attention for one semester back in the early 70s. Actually the San Francisco Giants held my attention more and I chose a career in sports instead. Hey; sports is a religion, sort of. Look at us devoted runners.

5 comments:

David said...

A few more comments from you dear reader and I'll edit the last two True/False statements so we can retire this exercise.

Jack said...

I have read a lot of Galloway's material and have basically followed the same advice that you mentioned. For my long runs I always look at the total amount of time I am in flight, not the distance. I also add on 15 minutes to each subsequent long run. This works very well for me and helps even out things a bit when my pace changes due to increment weather or when I'm just having a lousy day.

David said...

Susan. Go shopping. You'll feel better than gloating.

Unknown said...

Nice job on the long run David. I have heard many experts say that time is more important than mileage as well. I am not quite ready to give up tracking my mileage yet though.

Rae said...

Great run!! I'm totally with you, when you back out of the mileage and think more about how long you'll be running it makes a huge difference on 'the plan'. I think we are BOTH going to have an awesome first marathon!!! It won't be much longer!!