Week in Review

Another week in the books and I'm really getting used to this fall weather.  I'm finally not suffocating in the summer humidity but this stupid plantar fasciitis has stepped in mightily to provide those moments of feeling like a lead footed slug.  But nonetheless I trudge on in my new Superfeet insoles with bucket of ice water awaiting my return.

Fall also brings several notable races to Hickory including;

- 10/11:  Oktoberfest 5K / 10K on 10/11 http://www.racingtoes.com/carolina-orthopaedic-specialists-2014-oktoberfest-5k-10k-footrace/

- 10/18:  Komen Race for the Cure on 10/18 http://www.komenncfoothills.org/

- 10/18:  Night Crawl on 10/18 (7:30 PM) (http://www.nightcrawl5k.com/

- 11/22:  YMCA Turkey Trot 5K / 10K

Fleet Feet of Hickory is also sponsoring a series of untimed social runs over the Thanksgiving holiday called the Turkey Trifecta http://www.fleetfeethickory.com/events/turkey-trifecta.  These runs begin Thanksgiving morning with a 10-miler followed by a 10K on Black Friday then a 5K the following Saturday morning.  I mean what better way to justify gorging yourself on Thanksgiving than having committed to running 19 miles over the weekend, right?  And I'm assuming they aren't timed but I could be wrong.  I know that comes as a shock to some of you - me being wrong of course.

So back to my week in review....

I finally got a quality week of training last week and my first long run of 16 miles.  Since I've loosely committed to running the Richmond Marathon in November I figured I need to get serious about this.  I just checked the website and apparently we're 43 days away.  That means I'm really counting on it living up to it's name of 'America's Friendliest Marathon'.  I've done a lot of running and stayed injury free the past couple years but this foot thing has me a little nervous.  I feel like my base fitness is solid and I'm comfortable with the pace I'll need to run but I've got some work to do to build up to the 26.2 miles.

I'm going with 4 of my Blue Ridge Relay teammates and we're all targeting a '16 Boston qualifying time which for a bunch of 40 yr. old guys is 3:15.  We've all run the standard before but it's gotten to the point that if you want to assure yourself a place in Boston you've got to target something at least 2-3 minutes better than the standard.  Not that a straight BQ won't get you in but for the last 2 years qualifiers have been turned away.  The cutoff for the '14 race was 1:38 better than the standard and the cutoff for '15 is was 1:02 better.

Nonetheless we're going after it but considering my late quasi-commitment I really need that whole friendly marathon thing to be more than catchy slogan.  My training partners have enjoyed success with the Hanson Brothers plan so I figured why not test it.  Basically the Hanson Brothers plan differs from traditional marathon plans by limiting the long run to 16 miles with a systematic approach to quality runs 6 days per week and training on tired legs.  Effectively the plan is designed to train your legs for the last 16 miles of the race. 

I'll provide my two cents worth as it relates to the Hanson Brothers plan versus traditional marathon training assuming I actually get through it but I can tell you that my 16 mile Sunday on the heels of two 8 mile tempo runs and a 10 miler was not fun.  And since I'm blaming my BRR guys for the soreness in my legs I think it's only appropriate to share the video of our 2014 race experience.  By now you're surely sick of hearing and reading about it but I just couldn't resist.

And rumor has it there is a Palmetto 200 group in the making...