Saturday, October 18, 2008

Kansas City Marathon 2:41..

It was the best that I had.. I went through 13.1 in 1:14:45, hilliest 13 mile run I've ever done. From an energy and effort standpoint I was alright. From a structural standpoint I fell apart. IT bands, quads, neuroma in my foot... they all went to shit. 2:41 was my best and I never gave up. I didn't really enjoy any part of this race and I'm sort of sick of performing like crap and coming out feeling defeated. I guess I can't run <2:30 on any day just with my brain... back to the drawing board.

5 comments:

Wassdoc said...

Coach,

I understand the hills, Halfmax was arguably the hardest 1/2 ironman I've every done, there wasn't a flat part on the course and the net elevation gain on the bike was over 1,000 feet. I started the run with my quads feeling like they were going to cramp up right at mile 1. That didn't change, but I ran anyway. So, in that regards, I really understand. Part of my brain kept saying, "I can't wait to finish and lie down", but the other part kept saying, "keep moving". I think the brain training actually helped me today! That said, my time was 5:43, far from my best time, but everyone's time was higher. The good news is that was good enough for 10th in my age group, which qualifies me for the 2009 Long Course Worlds. I know you had a tough race, but you also need to know that you're an incredible coach!

When I get a chance, I'll put more about my race on my blog.

Lucho said...

Awesome Mike! You qualified for Worlds.. that'll be fun. We don't train enough on hills ;)I'm proud of you for sticking with it.
T

Wassdoc said...

Coach,

Thanks for the kind words. I looked at your race results. You were 7th overall. The winning time was 2:34 and the next seven people were between 2:38 and 2:41 (including you). Having just done a race on a tough course, I must beg the question, no one else came close to going under 2:30. Is it possible you actually persevered and ran a pretty decent race? Is it also possible that this race will translate well from a training perspective for Las Vegas? I know I'm just the student and you're the coach, but you seem a little too focused on the result, rather than the effort, which seemed good despite the fact that you didn't feel well.

Lucho said...

Ya- It was a good effort, I see that. But I know I'm better than that. I had some pretty harsh mechanical breakdowns from carrying 'damage' in to the race. My IT bands tightened fairly early, then my quads became very sore at ~10 miles. The neuroma in my foot forced me to stop several times.. the most amazing pain. That was more a poor shoe choice. It was what it was though. I'm not too distraught and I'm motivated to get back at it. From a training perspective the physical effort was solid but the mental aspect is more valuable. I really think (as I've stated before) that running more volume at goal race pace is critical for me. At 13 miles I felt comfortable, at 16 I was breaking down.. it's that point where the pace work is needed. My legs feel good today, even my IT bands aren't sore. From a recovery perspective it'll be quick.

Brett said...

I noticed the same thing in the results as others - only 1 person broke 2:38 and you ran a 2:41.

Being that you did meet your goal of < 1:15 at halfway, I'd love to read a bit longer race report. Were you leading at the halfway point? Was there a group of several of you all through 20 miles? etc.