The Death Ride, Tour of The California Alps (130 Miles) - July 2000
No Data Available ...
Training Run "Baylands : MV to Duck Pond" (16 Miles) - 7/29/00
Time : 2h22 - Est. pace : 8'42" / mile
Total Mileage =~ 16.5 miles
Avg HR : 158
Training Run "Baylands : Home to PDI" (16 Miles) - 8/3/00
Time : 2:19 - Est. pace : 8'42" / mile
Total Mileage =~ 16 Miles
Avg HR : 148
Training Run "Baylands : Central Expwy to EPA" (20 Miles) - 8/19/00
Time : 2:56 - Est. pace : 8'45" / mile
Total Mileage =~ 20 miles
Avg HR : 156
Wght : 157.5
Training Run "Rancho San Antonio / Black Mountain" (18 Miles) - 8/26/00
Rancho San Antonio - Up Black Mountain to Monte Bello Road
& back ((1.3 + 7.5) * 2)
Time : 2:53 - Pace : 9'49" / mile
Total Mileage = 17.6 miles
Avg HR : 156
Training Run "Foothill / Arastradero" (20 Miles) - 9/2/00
(Bernardo - Fremont - Foothill - Arastradero to Preserve - [9.6]
Old Page Mill - to Page Mill / Foothill - [2.2]
Foothill - Fremont - Bernardo - [8.2])
Time : 2:57:47 - Estimated Pace : 8'53" / mile
Total Mileage = 20.00
Avg HR : 149
RHR : 50 bpm - Wght : 156.5
Training Run "Crystal Springs" (14 Miles) - 9/9/00
12 miles + 2 miles warmup - 0.5 mile cooldown
Time 1:23:53 - Pace = 6'59" / mile
Total Mileage = 14.5 miles
Avg HR : 176 - Max HR : 182
Wght : 153
Training Run "Stevens Creek / Baylands" (20 Miles) - 9/17/00
Time 3:06:51 - Estimated pace : 9'40" / mile
Total Mileage =~ 19.3 miles
Avg HR : 151
Slower pace, hip stiffness. Heat.
Training Run "Los Altos with Gary Auten" (20 Miles) - 9/23/00
Time : 2:53:03 - Pace : 8'32" / mile
Mileage : 20.25 Miles
Avg HR : 147
Wght : 153
Light right hip pain after 2:00, sharper pain towards the end.
Training Run "Crystal Springs" (13 Miles) - 9/30/00
12 miles + 1 mile warmup
Time : 1:28:42 - Pace = 7'23" / mile
Mileage : 13 miles
RHR : 51 - Wght : 152
Pinching hip pain in the last 3 miles, and again later in the afternoon.
Training Run "Burke Gilman Trail" (22 Miles) - 10/08/00
In Seattle -
Time : 3:18:49 - Estimated Pace : 9'00" / mile
Estimated Mileage : 22.1 Miles
Wght : 151
Training Run "Crystal Springs" (10 Miles) - 10/14/00
2 Miles warmup
Mileage : 12 Miles
Time : 1:12:51 - Pace : 7'17" / mile
RHR : 46.26 - Wght : 151
Silicon Valley Marathon (26.2 Miles) - 10/29/00
Placed : 82nd overall (out of 4000) - 20th in 35/39 age category
Time : 3:16:40 - Pace : 7'30" / mile
Splits :
10k : 0:45:46 - 7'21" / mile
1/2 : 1:36:23 - 7'21" / mile
31k : 2:22:22 - 7'23" / mile ( about 19.4 miles )
Mileage : 26.2 Miles
Wght : 148
Feeling great until hit the wall around mile 23 and slowed down dramatically. Had I been able to maintain a 7'21" pace, I would have finished in 3:13:00.
Some post-marathon emails:
Subject: congratulations
to Philippe G - for running his first marathon yesterday!
Finished in about 3:16! Oh, and please offer him a chair
during rounds -
he'll probably be in pain for a few days.
I ended up having a really good race.
I was feeling so good
that I ran faster than my target pace (about 7'22") without
slowing down until ...
Mile 23, where I hit the wall in a
big way.
Those last three miles were probably the hardest
thing I've ever done.
At that point, I don't know how I managed
to keep running, but I did slow down dramatically.
I ended up
finishing in 3:16:40, which is about as good as I could hope for.
It was so intense that I wept uncontrollably at the finish line.
I wish there had been more food along the way (or at the finish
line for that matter), next time, I'll carry my own.
Philippe,
Not bad for your first marathon....3:16.
I am trying to decide which of the two Philippes
that I know now is the biggest sandbagger.
Congratulations! Another minute off, and
you would have qualified for the Boston Marathon.
It was my first Marathon and I'm pretty happy with the way I did,
but those last 3 miles were probably the hardest thing I've ever
done.
I "hit the wall" at mile 23, and it's only a miracle that
I managed to keep running to the finish.
Past the finish line, I
started weeping uncontrollably, and the first familiar face I saw
was Jeff's.
Then I ran into Cecile & the kids, and realized I better
get some food into me before I fainted ... (The food was very poorly
organized by the way).
Anyway, I'm happy I got that out of my system, and I'll do it again
in another year or so. Right now I can hardly walk ...
Well, as it turns out, I had a great race.
I was able to maintain a fast pace *almost* throughout :
At mile 20, my average pace was 7'23" / mile, higher than my
targeted 7'30". Probably too high ...
I hit the wall in a big way at mile 23. Those last 3 miles are
probably the hardest thing I've ever done.
And to think that it's
just 3 miles !
I had to literally scream after myself to keep
running, which I managed to do, but had to slow down dramatically.
I ended up finishing in 3:16:40, which is really about as good as
I could hope for.
The last effort was so intense that after crossing the finish
line, I just wept uncontrollably for a while.
And then I realized
I'd better get some food (which was really hard to find) or I
would faint ...
Anyway, I'm really happy with the whole thing (even the agony
at the end), and I'm sure I'll be crazy enough to try it again
in a year or so.
In the meantime, I may try racing shorter
distances, although right now I can barely walk ! It's a good
thing PDI has an elevator ...
> Given that this was your first marathon, I am interested to know
what kind of training you did to get such a good result (your
detailed training schedule would work...).
I have been keeping a detailed training diary but I'm sure it has far
more information in it than you'd ever care for.
Here's a summary :
Basically, my training bible is "The Competitive Runner's Handbook"
by Bob Glover.
I find this book perfectly suited for my needs, and love
to go back to it often, in times of joys or distress...
I roughly followed
his 16 week marathon training, placing myself somewhere between his
"competitor" and "advanced competitor" categories.
I started my Marathon training shortly after the Death Ride.
Note that for all that time (4 months), I've focused almost
exclusively on running (virtually no cycling).
After having ramped up, my average week was this :
Monday : 5 to 7 miles - moderate pace
Tuesday : 5 to 7 miles - moderate pace
Wednesday : 5 to 7 miles - moderate pace
Thursday : Speed training - Typically 4 mile intervals +
warmup & cooldown
Mile intervals speeds usually ranging from 6'15" to 6'30".
(note that I'd rather do that on Wednesday but Thursday is when my wife
can take the kids to school)
Friday : 4 to 5 miles - easy pace
Saturday : Long run (20 miles) or
Fast run (12 miles at about 7' / mile)
Sunday : Rest (whew...)
Typical weekly mileage : 42 to 52 miles.
At a few times during training, I had to scale back a little,
due to overtraining or injury, but luckily, I never lost
significant training time.
And of course I did a nice 3 week
taper at the end which was actually the most stressful time
of it all.
Training Run "Three Sisters #1" (7 Miles) - 11/23/00
Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle -
Time : 1:04:37 - Estimated Pace : 9'00" / mile
Estimated Mileage : 7.2 Miles
Training Run "Three Sisters #2" (9 Miles) - 11/24/00
Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle -
Time : 1:22:54 - Estimated Pace : 9'00" / mile
Estimated Mileage : 9.2 Miles
Wght : 155 - RHR : 58
Training Run "Three Sisters #3" (12 Miles) - 11/25/00
Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle -
Time : 1:48:27 - Estimated Pace : 9'00" / mile
Estimated Mileage : 12 Miles
Wght : 152 - RHR : 58
Training Run "Borrego Springs #1" (10 Miles) - 12/29/00
Up Route 22 (Hill) -
Time : 1:27:16
Estimated Pace : 9'00" / mile
Estimated Mileage : 9.6 Miles
Training Run "Borrego Springs #2" (13 Miles) - 12/30/00
Up Route 22 (Hill) -
Time : 1:56:43
Estimated Pace : 9'00" / mile
Estimated Mileage : 12.9 Miles