Let me tell you what I did right. Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon race report.

By the dawn's early light.

I had a wonderful weekend with my 2 sisters, Connie and Cherry along with our good friends Agata (the Polish Sensation) and Kevin Alldredge, as we all got up on a cold October morning to run the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon. This post is dedicated to my 2 sisters and their undying belief in the stuff I choose to do with running and other endeavors in my life that truly make me the person I am.

The Threes

The marathon has come and gone and I completed it. I got a personal best from the first time I ran this race last year and beat my time in the Fargo marathon just this past spring. This is my third marathon and I've built upon each one with pretty impressive personal best times. Did I get the time that I really wanted? In all honesty NO I DID NOT. But as I look back at the race and the months and weeks leading up to it, I can actually see where the heartbreak began and where my heart mends and where I had to learn to be somebody. And I couldn't have done that without a huge support system that was pushing me through to the finish line.

This isn't going to be a diatribe of what went wrong and how I didn't get the time I wanted (3:44:00) during the race, as that's a very detrimental thing to talk about for something I signed up to participate in, when I know there are many who would trade places to be experiencing the marathon or just being able to run.

Instead I'll borrow this quib that I got from a favorite blogger of mine, Emily who completed a 100miler race and when asked about it, she talked about "The Threes." “Three things you think you did well and three things you know you need to work on for your next one.”

Words to live by

1. I prepared and trained for this marathon as best as I could possibly know.

After Fargo, I sat down and wrote out my training plan. Took it to coach Dan and Erick and reviewed what I needed to do and set about doing it. I just finished getting over some personal challenges and running, training, running with the City Park Runner's group and hanging out with them was a great experience. I have to thank Dr. Phil, Lori, Paul, Roberto, Doug, Cheryll, Geoff, Barbara, Ron, Barry, Kathryn, Lourdes, my bro's Osty and Tyler (in no particular order) for all that they've done and their encouraging support and belief in what I can do. I had a great training cycle and there is plenty of room for improvement with me and the marathon distance, especially with all the stuff that will come with experience.

TCM 2014 Cherry, Aggie, Ruben, Kevin, Connie

2. I handled adversity well...with the help of Kevin

The night before the race, as Connie, Cherry, Agata, and Kevin were all gathered around with our families for a pre-pasta dinner that my sister Connie graciously hosted, Kevin and I were talking race pacing I told him I was aiming for 3:44:00 and I told him my plan was to run comfortably at a 9min/mile pace for the first 8 miles then pick it up and just keep going. We were in corral one and the 3:45 pace group was in corral two. I wanted to run to keep up ahead of them so in case anything went 'wrong' I'd have a buffer and at least be able to hold pace and help them take me home.

I remember Kevin telling me prior to this and I've read and heard from many experienced runners "The pace will dictate itself on race day." I felt a little cold going up to the start line and I told Kevin that my feet were freezing and he told me the same. It took us about 3 miles to finally get warm but we were on a great pace and my legs felt good, I kept reminding myself to relax and just enjoy this. Kevin kept me loose by throwing some jokes my way, he provided all of us with some throw-away running gear and glove liners (but who the hell wants to throw away nice Patagonia gear!) and we just kept the pace going. I knew this was a long distance and I kept my shit together when I wanted to speed up. The pace group caught us at mile 13 and we kept them within striking distance all the way to mile 17 when the balloons started to float off into the distance and it became a small red and white dot in the sea of bodies moving forward and suddenly my body did NOT WANT TO MOVE at mile 18 (30km).

My quads just seized up. Like that grounding halt, there was no indication of any twinges of things to come...it...just...happened...eff off. And while I was suddenly stopped and stooped over Kevin didn't know I stopped and was probably almost a quarter mile a head of me, and he came back for me and asked me if I was ok. I told him what the problem was and he just told me to relax. He kept telling me "It's ok" as I was almost in tears because I suddenly realized I let everyone down back home. Kevin must have sensed the gloom coming down on me as I can't remember exactly what he said, but was to the effect..."We are out here and very close to the end, let's finish this one step at a time" including his calm presence and demeanor help me get out of my funk and we continued moving forward. I kept running when my body didn't want to run and smiled when I was pretty close to tears.

When we got over Summit hill from Dale to Mackubin (the LAST hill on the course) I made it my mandate to not stop until we get to the finish line. He told me to take it easy on the downhill run to the finish line as my quads were thrashed and we were moving forward. But as we were getting close to the end he looks at me, points to a runner about 20 feet in front of us and says "If we are to do anything Ruben, we are going to beat that 70 year old runner!" And I couldn't stop laughing as we bolted to the finish line with a huge ass grin on my face. (Sorry 70 year old sir...)

3. I realized that running can be a team sport and I love that.

It's because of my sister Connie I became a runner. Two years ago, she wanted to do a bucket list item and decided to run the Chicago marathon. My other sister Cherry thought it would be a great idea for us to go down to Chicago and cheer her on. Turns out during the last minute I joined Connie where I had no business being there. I lost her at the half way mark and caught up and found her near the end where we finished together. I'm realizing now that this has been the metaphor and subtext of our lives between her and I...where we've drifted apart, but managed to find each other and always finish. She was there for me with the birth of my girls and through all of my rough patches in my life. She was there in Fargo, cheering the loudest on some lone street screaming my name and at the finish line screaming my name and comforting me during what I thought was a failure of a race.

I waited for her at the finish line of this one and as she was coming through the chute, we made eye-contact and no words needed to be said, except both of us reaching out for each other and hugging. She PB'd her time from last year :)

My sister Cherry and I are very close. She too has been there for me countless times and has always been a staunch supporter in all of the crazy I do. Ever since we were teenagers, we've had a pretty inseparable bond. She won't run with me, but she knows I will always be there for her no matter what. I can write forever about her....but she already knows. She PB'd her time from last year too :)

They both knew I didn't get the time I wanted, but the only thing they said was that they were proud of me and the accomplishment of this race. They knew everything that was going on in the background and without them, I wouldn't be able to keep myself motivated enough for this small personal gain that I get from running. They also have this undying belief that I'll be able to accomplish something I truly want out of this....

And now for what I know I need to work on for the next one.

1. Nutrition, Calories and backup answers.

I basically bonked...hit the wall. During my LSDs I was training with nutrition but I still didn't manage to get the proper nutrients. I practiced with taking clif shot gels and during the training runs, I had no problem with them going down and staying in my stomach. I mapped out when I was going to take the gels and packed the appropriate amount with a couple of extras for that just in-case moments. And during the race I plotted out that I would take one every 4 miles. And by mile 16, I couldn't stomach it anymore. Which was strange because during the training runs I had no problem eating 5 of them. So I was seizing up, and Kevin told me I must be electrolyte depleted and no matter how much Powerade I was trying to down, it was already too late to recover.

Kevin and I talked about this after the race and he gave me some suggestions, and I also talked to coach Dan who gave me the same suggestions. I'm going to need to carefully look at electrolyte and calorie balancing. So for the next training cycle, I'll start incorporating this into my LSDs.


2. Pace management

If I want to get into the 3 hour ranges, I'm going to have to train to get a little more faster. My current cruising pace is a 9min/mile(ish) and I'm going to need to get past that comfort zone and get into the low 8's and train consistently to achieve this. I'm looking at this soberly because I'm learning that building endurance and speed takes a lot of time, especially for me because I came from an anaerobic sport background. I know I'm on my way because one year ago I could barely keep up with the CPR gang. This year I'm making huge improvements and I've built another base that was built upon the Fargo training cycle which will help me get faster and stronger for the next training cycle.


3. Race day preparation and execution

I was cold and I didn't really prepare for that. Even though I had a throw away, I should have grabbed an oversized garbage bag to keep the heat from escaping my body. I don't think I should have run 5 miles the night before even if it was 'easy.' I should have just relaxed and just not do a thing. And I know I shouldn't have over-thought and over-tried the race. I should have had more faith in my training and just go with the flow and trust in the process and live in the moment. I couldn't tell at the moment everything was falling apart (you rarely ever do...) and it was only after a day and talking with my sister Con and with Cherry on the long drive back home where we did a lot of reflecting.

Cherry told me that my best race was the WPS half marathon, where I didn't over think the race. I just ran it and I incidentally PR'd. This same phenomenon happened to me during my last match in Tae Kwon Do. I was freaking out and practicing so hard, but I couldn't find the the distance control for my kicks to connect to the practice bag whenever my coach countered. It was driving me crazy, and this was an hour before leading up to my final match. He took me aside and told me to just get in the ring and kick. Don't think about spatial control, ring management, target acquisition...but just kick. Incidentally I won that match....so yeah...over-thinking, over trying. Just learn to be in the moment. It's one of the reasons I'm seeing my training runs are always better than my races. I'm over trying, over-reaching. When I'm in my training runs, with the CPR gang, I know I'm flying and I'm having fun doing it....just have to learn that part and that will come with more experience.

Final notes:
The marathon is hard. It's hard for me, and I'm loving the challenge. I want to do well...I want to get faster and stronger, because I know I have great races ahead of me. Will I get there? I believe I will, and my sisters and my girls believe it too and that's pretty much all that matters.

Twin Cities Marathon 2014 Race Bib Number

There is now exactly one month to the Twin Cities Marathon and looking back into my training log I've done over 600kms in training runs over the summer, not including the base building I did when I joined the City Park Runners (CPR) marathon training clinic in February.

I had a disappointing last outing in Fargo where I was trying to go sub 4:00:00 but just collapsed in the middle distance. But I didn't let that get me down as I used that as learning tool and gleamed inspiration into what I need to get better. Instead of a pity party, it was just chalked it up to another step to improving myself in the marathon distance.

As I've noted before, I went back to coach Dan and Erick from CPR and hashed out the race and then sat down and figured out what I needed to do to improve. And I took to writing out all of my training in my log book and I'd fill it up with post-it notes with observations and I'd always do a review every week and when I look back upon what I've done, it gave me more confidence in my training and helped me figure out if I could run more or dial it back a bit. As I've been pretty good at keeping myself injury free this training cycle.

That puke feeling indeed...

Since I ran the course last year, I'm at the advantage of knowing the course layout, and I remember so fondly where I died (mile 20 hill). I've studied the map layout and marked out the areas I'd need fueling and actually practiced the fueling strategies during my long runs so there should be no surprises. 

Check that elevation chart and mile 20!

The other valuable resource I've tapped into, is using the running group at CPR. And I would talk to all of the veterans and ask them how they prepared, their mileage, their mindset because they've been there and I can't say enough, how their experiences and stories have helped shaped my thought patterns. Nanos gigantum humeris insidentes (Standing on the shoulder of giants).

But right now this is all heresay, as I haven't even got to the start line yet, and that is the proof in the so called pudding. A lot of my anxiety now is just mental. I'm just going to continue my training for the next two weeks, then start the taper and on race week, just completely chill out and relax and have faith in all the preparation and training to help me get to the finish line.

Again going the wrong way on the track.
Big thanks to Erick for taking this picture of me during a CPR Speed Clinic.

Summertime...and the Living is...

Last time I wrote in this blog I talked about my daughter's 10k race and how she managed to gut through the whole race. That was a cold and rainy father's day and I think most of Winnipeg feared that that weather was a harbinger of things to come for the rest of our such short summer after such a cold brutal winter.

But shortly after, the sun did manage to come out and summer came into full swing and it's been pretty decent and warm since but I had a bit of trouble getting focused to run and train for my upcoming marathon in Minneapolis. I had some personal issues that needed to be taken care of and on July 3rd, I was able to sort a good chunk of it out. I then drafted out a training plan and showed it to coach Dan and Erick from CPR and they in turn adjusted to more realistic outlay.

So from July 1 up until present day I've been running...running with consistency and elevating my mileage longer and longer and also spending more time on my feet. I'm very glad and lucky to have taken the Marathon and half-marathon training clinic offered by City Park Runners over the winter as that built this huge base of fitness where I can build upon to get stronger and faster.

Starting from June, I logged in 126km (78mi) and July was 146km (90mi). As of August 13, 2014 I've logged in 90KM (55mi) and this is the month in my training where I really start hammering out the LSDs and getting in 90 - 100 km (55- 62mi)weeks. After June, I managed to get a little bit stronger and healthier and have been running without any noticeable pain in my legs or body. My recovery time between runs is getting quicker, but I still play it smart in taking the time to rest and recover for the next run or workout.

A more granular view of everything so far

As I've reasoned after a May race, I took some time off to rest and sort out my personal life. Then June was spent just getting back into running and healing from a lot of the aches and pains I was suffering from running. I was doing a lot more core work and leg strengthening exercises. My most notable aches were my achilles and the hamstring on my left leg. I spent a lot of time foam rolling and read and learned a lot from this book "Anatomy for Runners" which gave me a lot of insight in how my body functions when I'm in the state of running.

I still kept going to the CPR Thursday(tempo) and Saturday(LSD) runs and then I received a message from Dr. Phil asking me to join them running Tuesday evenings. So I added the Tuesday get-together's as another part of my training and kept going every Tuesday for another 10km which was another Tempo paced run. I can't stress enough how running with a group that is faster than me, has helped me tremendously.

My training week would be Monday an 8km run in my neighborhood and I'd call that Prep run. Then Tuesday would be gym workout at work then in the evening with Dr. Phil and Lori, Doug and Roberto and sometimes Paul and we'd run from The Crescent to the Legislative building and back which would be roughly over 9km and we'd do it tempo style. I'd then do Yoga on Wednesday and the regular Thursday CPR tempo, rest Friday and do the LSD on Saturday with a recovery slow 5-8km run on Sunday. July was mostly focused on running tempos and just getting in the mileage to prepare my body for the big miles that will come in August.

August is the crucial month in my training. I signed up for a CPR speed clinic which replaces the Tuesday tempos with Dr. Phil and the gang (since they signed up for the speed clinic too). I entered a 14km Trail race in the 2nd weekend of August to test my fitness. I wanted to see where I was in my training, and I'm happy to say despite the severe heat (thank goodness I brought my water bottle with me) I managed a 7 minute PR from the same race last year, so I'm improving. I know what I could have done better, but with the improvement it gives me a measuring stick of where I'm at and what I need to do to. The next day I banged out 24km as I wanted to get that feeling of running on tired legs.  And from what I'm seeing I believe I'm improving and should do well. I know I still have a long ways to go to be where I want to be, but running is a process I can't rush as I'll just hurt myself which will sideline me and set me back.

The other thing I can't stress enough is writing all of this down in a training diary. Even though I upload my runs onto Garmin Connect and I sync across multiple fitness sites. In the Garmin Connect site I write down how the run went, what I ate or my mood so I can look back and review my training cycle. But writing it all down in a training diary is so invaluable. I have it with me always and I'm always looking back and reviewing my week. The checkboxes of Mood/Energy/Nutrition/Water and Sleep are great for seeing patterns. The training diary I got is laid out nice and neat and I'm able to put in quick notes and just fill in the blanks and I'll add post-it notes to the days I do gym workouts.

So for the rest of August will be long mileage and speed work. September I'll enter another practice race to see where my fitness is at from over the HOT summer months and then taper just in time for the Twin Cities Marathon slated for October 5, 2014.

Sometimes it's the little things or ones that matter the most.

My 11 year old daughter likes her old man, so I should count myself lucky, and she keeps wanting to run with me. I've signed her up for the MB Marathon Super Run (2.6 mile) that is sponsored through her school, we've done one together and she did last year alone while I ran the 1/2. The last race we did was "Run Through History" hosted by City Park Runners last fall. It was a 5km run and even though her old man had to pull off to the side of the road and pee into the Red River (classy) she jetted towards the finish line to take first place in her division. And so she's been bugging me ever since to run a 1/2 marathon...

Every Father's day in Winnipeg marks the annual Manitoba Marathon. Mackenzie called me up at school 3 weeks before and asked me if I can sign her up for the 10km race, she joined the cross country team at her school so she got in some mileage. I logged into the site and signed both of us up. We did a couple of practice runs and she joined me during one of my speed sessions. She commented to me after the practice with Coach Dan, Yves and Tracy how fast I could run (I can't believe it myself...), but more marveled at how fast the girl was. I told her it takes practice and consistency and to start small first before taking on long distances. I told her it took me almost 2 years to get comfortable to run 10km (6mi) and I don't want her to suddenly hate running because of the toll it can take on your body if you're not prepared.

So we find ourselves at the 10km start line of the Manitoba Marathon. It was a cloudy and cool day, which I told her makes it perfect for distance running. I told her going into the race, that there is no pressure, that I didn't want her to rush off the start line and to slowly build up. Mackenzie is in awe of the starting coral, how the mass of humanity is all crushed into a tiny space and how many people recognized me and were met with warm welcome. I told her this will start to happen as she gets older, how personality can truly go a long way.

And the 'gun' goes off and we're running.

The course took us through University Crescent over the Bishop Grandin on Pembina Hwy into Crescent Drive Park. And for the most part the run was pretty good, Mackenzie kept a pretty good pace and I could tell there were a lot of moments that she didn't want to quit because of me. She knew that 10km was a normal run for me and even though I stressed to her that there was absolutely no pressure, she really dug deep to keep herself moving forward. It was those moments where I just force her to slow down and walk for a couple of minutes, then I'd get her to pick a landmark on when she wants to start up again and I'd get her to start off slow and regain her pace. When we got to the 5km mark I told her that she matched her Run Through History time of 35mins which seemed to pick up her spirits.

As we were looping back over onto Pembina Hwy, I could tell she was delirious and exhausted. When we picked up the race kits the previous day, I got her to buy some GU gels and energy gummies for her run. I encouraged her to take water at the water stops and told her to pop 2-3 gummies. At the 5km mark I told her to take the GU with water. I would ask her how she was feeling at the water stops and she told me she couldn't believe how much she was sweating and how awfully hot she felt. She told me she wanted to take one of the sponges the aid stations were offering. I gave her that "What the Hell?" look as I found it to be very cool out, but she's young and probably just a metabolism machine so she grabbed a sponge and was dousing herself and I kept along side her smiling that shit eating grin that I got my little girl beside me.

At the 7km mark, she was dying...this is where she was having doubts. We were just looping back onto the Pembina overpass and she was telling me she couldn't believe how much her feet hurt. She was wearing the new New Balance Minimus shoes I bought her at CPR which are basically flat barefoot type shoes. I told her after this race we can pick up a new pair of shoes with cushioning if she wanted. She told me that she actually likes running in the minimals and she's used to them but she's just tired and wasn't used to this distance. I told her that all the pain she's feeling will disappear when she sees the finish line. Now it was her turn to give me that WTF? look.

At 8km we were back onto University Drive and she told me she was feeling very hungry. We got up at 5am that morning, I made her Maple and Brown sugar oatmeal and some juice for breakfast. Plus I got her to eat the gummies and take the GU, she probably burned a ton of calories just willing herself this far and I kept talking and encouraging her to keep moving forward, she was in pain and as much as I hated seeing her like this, I told her that we would walk for a minute but no matter how much pain you're feeling, bottle it up inside and put it away. And when you cross that finish line, everything that you've done today will be so worth it. Plus we'd go for a huge pancake breakfast!

As you get to the 26mile chute that will take you to the old University track field and finish line, Mackenzie was just dying. She was telling me how much she hated this and that she wanted to quit. I told her it was just around the corner when we get into the chute and then the finish line. She kept telling me that she was hurting, especially her feet and she couldn't believe how much she was sweating, she was almost in tears. This was the only time I got all "Strict Asian Father" on her. I told her there was NO WAY she was quitting. I told her to stop for one moment and turn around and look back...I told her that she ran 10kms...6 miles in the rain with me, you ran for over an hour and covered a lot of ground. There is only a little more left...whatever pain you're feeling Mackenzie, leave it all on the ground that you covered today....just put one foot in front of the other and go forward.

She did just that...as we turned onto the track, I told her the finish line is right THERE! She just bolted....damn, she ran like a demon possessed and I ran right behind her telling her to go go go go...1:14:54 later she made it, with me right behind her.

Next up for us is Color Me Rad. Happy Father's day indeed.

Next up on the horizon

The City Park Runners Marathon and Half-Marathon training clinic came to a close this past week. And for this spring season, I've run 2 half marathons and 1 full, and I feel I did pretty decent time-wise, even the bad moments were positive, in that I was able to learn a great deal from the failures as much as the successes. There's a lot of work still to do in order for me to get to where I want to go, but with this year's past clinic I got in a great base and foundation for my next target race, and that's the Twin Cities Marathon on October 5th, 2014.

I wrote out a new marathon training cycle plan and I spoke with coach Dan and Erick about it and  got a lot of positive feedback in the layout with plenty of suggestions and tweaks. It's a living document that will be modified but the one thing I learned this year...and that was from fellow CPR group runners Paul and Dr. Phil, was consistency is the key. To be consistent with everything and stay healthy is where I'll see the big jumps in performance. Asides from my Garmin GPS watch, I've taken to writing out my training in a journal to help me track my progress in a more organic way.

Recovery is also an important aspect in training and I've learned to listen to my body a lot more. So I'm taking a full week off before I start my new training cycle as I realized I was over training after doing a tempo-paced run early in the week and the next day both my achilles and hips were painfully sore. I spoke with Osty about this and he determined that I have been running too much the past month as I pretty much ran 3-half marathons in one week (WPS 1/2 and Fargo Full) and then took 1 week off and basically picked up from where I left off running the CPR clinic and doing the Thursday and Saturday group runs at quicker than normal paces as I 'felt' good but I wasn't really letting my body rest and it all caught up to me just this past week. Hence the self-imposed break...

Take a break!

This summer, with my base intact, I'll be working on hills and trails along with track work for my speed training and longer LSD runs as I want to get acclimatized to running 2+ hours with marathon pacing in between the middle miles of the LSD and the slow coming in the beginning and the end. Tempo runs will be a little longer too as the normal tempo distances CPR does on Thursdays are 10k, I'll be going 12-15k. Erick is not into the junk miles and quite frankly I don't like running too much for the sake of running so this summer a lot of my focus will be running with specificity in mind to boost my aerobic engine and train with paces that will bring me closer to that sub 4 hour marathon time. I'll also key in on a nutrition plan as I find it easier to eat healthier during the summer months and also learn the fine art of nutrition intake during LSDs as I want to get my body used to taking energy gels so I can go the longer distances. I've got a couple of key practice races pegged this summer that will test my fitness so I should have some indicators where I'm headed and what I need to tweak along the way.

Four months of preparation for one race...sounds about right.

Mileage since January
670.04 km / 416 miles

Aftermath and lessons learned - to keep going forward towards that horizon

“Set patterns, incapable of adaptability, of pliability, only offer a better cage. Truth is outside of all patterns.” Bruce Lee, Tao of Jeet Kune Do

Last week I ran the 10th Anniversary Fargo Marathon and I didn't reach the goal I set out for myself. Yes, I could have prepared better with more precision, but it is what it is and I ran as far and as fast as I can and I got the time circumstances gave me.

Now I can whine and complain about what happened, looking for fault in my training, preparation or any other outside or inside influence. But what's better, at least to me, is to take the time to feel sorry for yourself, then pick your sorry ass up and figure out how to do better.

So I took the following Tuesday and Thursday off to just basically recover and heal my body from all that running. I did a re-assessment on my body and found no real aches or pains so I came out of this race unscathed and my sister Connie, set me up for a re-match at the Twin Cities Marathon this coming October. I went back to City Park Runners store and joined the gang for the Saturday morning LSD. Aggie came early to pick me up in the morning and I, along with my Fargo running mates were greeted warmly with plenty of congratulations on the accomplishment. Osty was out at the cottage and he and his wife did a nice 5k run around the surrounding beach area. Red came by on his bike to ride alongside us runners and Aggie.

Erick gave me some sage advice on marathon preparation. And he gleamed that from reading my last entry on the race...it was because I applied Body Glide on my feet which caused a lot of slippage between my feet and the compression socks which then bunched up in between my toes which caused my feet to cramp which then caused me to slow down and drop off the course to make re-adjustments and then learn to get comfortable running sockless in my shoes...ugh. "Don't try ANYTHING new on race day" is what Erick told me and gave me that 'duh' look that I so deserved.

I didn't Body Glide my feet for the WPS 1/2 marathon...so why the hell now? No excuses as that was just plain idiocy on my part. This quote can pretty much sum up the folly of my ways. Oh to live and learn and dream and keep going again...

"All my days I have longed equally to travel the right road and to take my own errant path" Sigrid Undset

2014 Fargo Marathon race report - There is always Plan C...

So the Fargo Marathon just completed on Saturday which was cool as normally Marathons are run on Sundays but it was really convenient to take the day off from work on Friday and arrive Friday morning, get into your hotel, then check out the expo and get your bib then chill and prep for race day...race...party...sleep then drive back home in time for work on Monday. Or for the SMRT people, also take the Monday off for a nice full recovery.

I traveled with Osty and my sister Cherry to Fargo and we got our race kits along with Tyler and Aggie's as they would meet up with us later in the evening. And then I would then be in bed for 10ish to get ready for race morning.

Since this was the 10th year anniversary, the course was changed from last years (I did not race it) which started and ended at the Fargodome to the original start line at Main Ave. Bridge. The expo was small, not too much to write home about, although the race kit bag was really nice. They gave you the option to have 3 letters ironed onto your Under Armor bag for free. Osty picked SKO, Cherry CCC, I chose ZEN and for Aggie...since she and Tyler weren't there for their bag pick up we chose SXY and RED respectively.

Ok...Race day...woke up at 3AM because I had to pick up Cherry at her hotel which was about 5 mins away and bring her back to mine then we would all leave together. I pretty much wore the exact race kit I wore the past Sunday for the WPS half marathon with the exception of not wearing my Icebreaker merino wool baselayer. Breakfast, hydration and stretching was all the same for the past 4 days leading up to race day so there was no deviation in my planning.

Weather was +6C and clear sky. Barry, Osty, Tyler, Aggie, Cherry and myself took the bus shuttle together. We got dropped off into an unknown part of town, and had to walk a mile to the Athlete's village as the bus driver didn't know where the start line was. I had a Canada rain poncho on to keep me warm, and Osty and  I did our CPR marathon clinic warm ups and ambled up to the 9:00 - 10:00 mile corral and waited it out.

 

After the national anthem, we get ready to go...The first mile is just an influx of humanity moving forward. I had a pretty decent pace going at 9:47min/mile and as the crowds started to thin out I was able to keep it going to 9:00 min/mile and go into cruise control as I knew this was a long race and I've been studying the map and saw the youtube video of the course so I just let my body dictate my pace and let everything flow. My plan was if I can get to the half way mark under 2 hours, and keep my wits about me, I should have a good chance for a sub 4hour race. Osty and I were pretty much in eyesight of each other but I lost him after mile 3 or 4. I was sure he sped up ahead of me and I just focused on what my legs were telling me and kept things going at an even pace. I heard my name called around mile 7 and I look and see its TYLER! He was alone and running and I was happy to see him, but the poor guy has been injured the past month and he wasn't fully healed. I was looking for Osty but thought he was way ahead of me. I kept my focus going and I had mental images of me running with the elites and thought about my stride and when I knew I had my glutes firing up the kinetic chain, I knew everything was feeling good and right and it just felt like my day.

When both my feet are in mid-air I knew I had my stride firing.

The weather started off perfect at +6, but around 9:30am, it really started to get hot. Everyone was feeling the heat and I could tell I was starting to slow down a bit, but I heard my named called again. And this time it was Connie, my sister who drove in from St. Paul MN, to cheer all of us on. She kept screaming my name, "Ruben! Go Ruben! You look great, you're looking strong!!!" And I was feeling strong, this was around mile 11 and I just ran underneath 2 underpasses with the last one with a bit of a steep incline. Because I was averaging 8:55 min/mile to 9:17 min/mile, I knew I had to pick it up a little bit and get re-focused. I was being a bit of a dick on the course as I wouldn't slap any kids hands as they held them out. It was one reason I wore sunglasses as you can't see my eyes and was hopefully void of any emotion showing. Albeit, hearing Con cheer me on, brought a lot of emotion in me. But the heat was suddenly starting to get to me. I was drinking water, through the whole course but then decided to go with water then powerade for the electrolytes. As I suddenly realized that I wasn't sweating anymore and this was just before the 1/2 marathon mark. (Which made me think I wasn't hydrated as I thought I was)

When I finally passed the 1/2 marker I checked my watched and discovered that I just got under the 2hrs...I knew I wasn't going to get a 3:50 time as I knew I didn't yet have the training, physically to speed up enough to start negative splitting. I went under another underpass with not a very steep grade so it wasn't that bad, and the way I was attacking the hills was to drop my arms, lean a bit to save my strength. But I knew something was wrong about mile 14. There was that burning feeling under both my feet. I liberally applied half a stick of body glide on them early morning but that itchy burning feeling was at first a minor irritation and as I was rounding the corner into mile 15, it was getting unbearable. Both my feet cramped up and I was in literal pain. I actually stopped (which pissed me off) then I dropped on the grass and fell on my back as I was trying to rip my socks off my legs. 

Mile 15 was also the medical drop off marker and I had medical crew come rushing to my aid. They asked if I was alright, I told them I was and was just trying to take my socks off. I asked if they could help me, and the medic whips out surgical scissors and I quickly told him "NO! Please just help me pull them off." So with the help of the medic, he was able to pull both socks off and then I slipped my bare feet into my Hoka's and then asked him if he could pull my lock laces for me as I was a little cramped up from lying on my back with my feet in the air (I'm sure it looked ridiculous). And as he got the tension right, I locked them up and he helped me up and then asked me one more time if I wanted off the course. I declined the offer and just started to pick up whatever pace I was able to run as my swollen feet were just getting comfortable in the Hoka's. 

Of course by this time I lost a lot of time and was already if "F' it Mode" I knew I wasn't going to sub 4hr or even get close to a 4:15. I just resigned myself to finish, then it suddenly became a LONG course. I guess, when your mind and focus are shot, and the heat bearing down on you, you've mentally given up and are just in 'finish' mode. Between miles 18 to 24, was very hard. It suddenly wasn't fun and every step was becoming a bit of a struggle. My feet were rubbing in my shoes as I've never gone barefoot in these Hoka's before and it was rubbing on the top of my right big toe pretty much through the rest of the race. I was wasting a lot of energy focusing on trying not to feel the pain, and when I crossed the overpass onto the last mile, everything was hurting, especially my ego as I thought I prepared so well for this race. All that training over the winter culminated in this moment and I thought I had it and it was all there and it slipped away.

By mile 26, you turned a corner and you can hear the finishers cheering everyone on. I dialed onto a mark who was about 100m ahead of me and I could tell he was going for a strong finish and stopped feeling sorry for myself and told myself that whatever I had left, it had to be left on this last stretch of the course. I told myself to bring up the images of me running with the elites and finish strong. I passed by that mark and as I rounded the corned, I heard my name being said by the announcer "Ruben Cervantes of Winnipeg." I crossed the finish line, raised my hands in the little victory of 4:37:41. 

Then I heard my named being shouted again...I turn around, and again it's my sister Connie cheering me on...and I started to cry...ball like a baby cry. (srsly wtf?) I cried because of the disappointment and how much it sucked. I cried because I knew Cherry and her believed in me and most of all I believed in myself and I let myself down...I also think I cried because the product in my hair didn't hold too well in the heat...I'm sure I cried because of that.

Dejection personified :)

But there was Con who reached over the rail to hug me, I sniffled into her shoulder and she told me I did well and to get my medal, recover and to come back and look out for the others to finish up. After getting my medal, bundling up in the recovery jacket they were giving out and drinking 4 chocolate milks, 3 danishes and a bananna, I got to see Osty, Tyler and Aggie cross the finish line. Then Con and I waited for Cher.

It was about 2 PM in the afternoon on the course and it was over 5:30 hrs into the race. I decided to walk back to the last mile and wait at the last turn to see her come in. I had to admit I was getting nervous wondering if she dropped out of the race...but I knew in my heart that she wouldn't quit and as I was looking down the street I could see blue shirt and long hair flowing. I got up and ran along side her for the last mile, as we were nearing the corner she kept asking me where the finish line was. I told Cher it wasn't far now and as we rounded the corner I told her "Now is the time to give it all." And she ran and I stopped and watch her cross the finish line and her victory became so much more for me because what she did personified what a true Cervantes was.

So after the race, my sister Con drove us back to the hotel, I lay in a fetal position for 10 minutes then showered up and got ready as Osty, Tyler, Aggie, and my sisters met up with Coach Dan, Haidee, Becky, Barry and Sarah along with some other runners for a post race dinner and celebration. Again, another learning experience with the marathon, but more importantly about myself and the people who believe in me.

...and believed in me enough to have my sister Connie sign me up to run the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in October. This one I'm looking forward to as, I'm going back to the race that started it all for me...but I just need to not run for a week so I can catch my breath, literally and figuratively.

Week 13 CPR Marathon Training...tapering and the horses it rode in on.

We really didn't get them April showers...if followed by clumps of snow, is considered showers...ugh. But April has come and gone and May springs about a new hope as for a lot of my CPR clinic brethren are in the apex of their marathon training and preparation. The Fargo, ND marathon is coming on May 10, 2014. I'm in the tapering portion which wikipedia says:

In the context of sports, tapering refers to the practice of reducing exercise in the days just before an important competition.[1] Tapering is customary in many endurance sports, such as themarathon, athletics and swimming. For many athletes, a significant period of tapering is essential for optimal performance. The tapering period frequently lasts as much as a week or more.

Oh that's precious....

Week 13 CPR 5k Time Trials

April 29, 2014

Week 1 class 1 was a 5k time trial which we did in a deep freeze and sheets of ice. This day was +12C and on dry pavement. The one thing coach Dan wanted us to do was write down what we think our time would be for this time trial. My week 1 time was 24:21, Osty was ribbing me throughout the day encouraging me to go for a 19 minute 5k. Plenty of eye-rolls later, I wrote down 21 mins, as I know I realistically don't have a 19 minute 5k in me yet. 

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	22:51.0	4.80	4:46
1	4:20.3	1.00	4:20
2	4:38.8	1.00	4:39
3	5:05.3	1.00	5:05
4	5:00.0	1.00	5:00
5	3:45.8	0.81	4:39

The big almost...damn...big mistake was running way too fast at the start. I was about 100m with Yves then he took off and then coach Dan, Travis and Barry just blew by me and I knew I over did it when I checked the first split. At the 3km split I could literally hear Tracy and Becky right on my tail with Erick. This was around the Zoo parking lot and as I was trying to muster up some courage...the most dreadful thing I can hear was said upon me...and by Tracy of all people..."Hey my dear friend..." and then gone...I was literally watching Tracy, Becky and Erick pull away from me. I wasn't upset...more that deflated feeling when you know you started off way too fast and you don't want to use the after burners to catch them in the middle of a race when you still have 2 more kilometers.

It was when we got to the Formal Gardens that I was able to get my shit together and put up a good fight. I was trying to close the gap with Becky but she was just too fast and it was her day. I ended up with 22:51 and it was very humbling but overall I was happy that I did at least improve from week 1...and I should be tapering...

Week 13 CPR Tempo

May 1, 2014

Nothing really special about this run. (I lied...every run is kinda special...) A little bit of a tune up before the WPS Half Marathon & Relay. I had the pleasure of running with Tracy, Lori, Joshua, Dr. Phil and Doug on this run as they are fast. With the spring thaw we decided to run our summer 10k route through the Assiniboine forest. Osty was running alongside me but then had to drop when we were running by the golf course. He's been feeling shin splints and wanted to let himself heal before the marathon. I commend him for listening to his body as I know he's got this iron will that would get him through a full marathon...I've witnessed it.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	50:12.0	9.86	5:06
1	5:38.4	1.00	5:38
2	5:19.1	1.00	5:19
3	5:21.4	1.00	5:21
4	5:15.5	1.00	5:15
5	5:07.4	1.00	5:07
6	4:56.7	1.00	4:57
7	4:54.3	1.00	4:54
8	4:55.0	1.00	4:55
9	4:38.5	1.00	4:39
10	4:04.8	0.86	4:44

At the 5km turn I noticed that Tracy started picking up the pace. Then Lori decides to join in the fun...this was heading back through the golf course. Doug, Lori, Tracy and Dr. Phil decided to turn it on once we got to the park on our way to the Formal Gardens and that competitive fever took over me and it took a lot of mental arguing to keep myself in check because I knew I only had enough afterburner for the last kilometer which is just the end of the Formal Gardens loop to the bridge. I just needed to keep myself up within striking distance of Tracy as when we rounded the corner I think everyone was starting to get into that last push.

This is where I can attest A LOT of the speed training our clinic has done shines. I've been practicing that kilometer kick for the past 2 months and lengthening it a bit at a time. This was something I gleamed from Erick whenever we did the tempo runs, he always knew where the last kilometer was and he'd look back at us and say "Lets take it home!" and he'd push. With the interval work we've been doing, I would take those feelings and emotions of pushing and transfer it to the tempo run and sometimes the LSD's. And the more I practiced it, I'd lengthen the distance a bit more. 

As Tracy and Lori were exiting the loop, I attacked. I gave the kick and went for it. I can hear Doug saying "Must be those Hoka's" and I smiled. I felt great just giving it and I can sense Tracy going in for the kill and it was such a rush when you know you got this and there's nothing anyone else can do. It was a small victory in my mind, not because I 'beat' everyone but it proved to me that after a year I can keep up with the CPR Thursday regular group and I was able to manage my energy and reel in those anxious feelings of wanting to take off for the sake of taking off...and I should be tapering.

But wait! There's more....you know about tapering and how you should REDUCE exercise in the days before a big event? About that...