Run Derneld, Run!

3x(1 mile at 6:48/mi-ish pace w/ 2 minute jog). Did some strides afterward (6.25). Didn't seem like too crazy of a workout, but now I'm more sore than usual. Going to take it pretty easy. Recovery run with Ellie in the evening (3.28)

5.24 miles easy at lunch time.

2.01 miles easy with Ellie before dinner.

4.37 miles on the treadmill at work (nasty weather outside, not worth risking getting sick, which everyone is doing here). Did 1 minute on/1 off/2 on/2 off/3 on/ 3 off/2 on/2 off/1 on/ 1 off at goal marathon pace (7:30/mi). Then a few 20 sec burts @ 6:55/mi, 6:40/mi, 6:18/mi, 6:00/mi. 

2 miles easy with Ellie before dinner. The weather was quite threatening. 

No running today. Busy half day of work before I hurry home and drive down to SLC. Awesome dinner with cousins of chicken and dumplings. Not ideal for 2 nights before a marathon, but my aunt makes undeniable delicious meals. I'm not worried. I still like a good amout of protein two nights before, and this had quite a bit.

Just an easy run while staying at my grandmother's place. Went around temple square, the conference center, and some of the mall too. Feeling ready for tomorrow!

This race went better than expected. I have been feeling pretty awesome about this. The day before the race went pretty well, even with all the shenanigans involved with visiting in-laws that tend to conflict with good race preparation. They involved things like an undisclosed amount homemade caramel popcorn. For dinner we had a big simple salad with the normal iceberg lettuce, but also some spinach mixed in. As I've learned from past marathons, I've found that I haven't yet eaten too much fiber the day before a race. Also had pretty cliche things like several rolls that Cheyenne made for me, and some traditional cut oats (not sure exactly what they are, since they didn't taste like steel-cut oats or rolled oats). The morning started at 3:45am. Prepared myself some more oatmeal, and this time mixed in some grape jelly (I was kind of winging it at this point, just eating something that seemed suitable). Getting to the start line, CLIF had a a booth with gels and mini CLIF bars. I ate one of the bars, a half-banana, and drank a cup of hot chocolate. Then I sat for two hours and shivered. It was definitely colder than last year, which was a good trade-off as the race was also cooler at the end.

My goal was to go under 3:20 in this race. Since there was a 3:15 pacer, I decided that as long as I could keep him in sight, I would be keeping the needed pace. Another easy way to keep track of this was making sure my miles were close to 7:30 each, which is easy math (7:30, 15:00, 22:30, etc.). I found that except for the uphill at Veyo, keeping a 7:30 pace wasn't too bad. I was nervous that I would fade out later at that pace, but that never happened! I finished the first half in a little over 1:39, about as fast as I did the Ogden Half just last year, which was pretty exciting. Back in the SLC marathon in April, I decided to push harder at mile 19. I made the same mental decision at mile 17-18ish in this race, based on how I was feeling. I thought I had a lot left in the tank and I would regret it if I didn't try and empty the tank by the end of the race. The rest of the race was filled with so much energy. I have always held myself to 3/2 breathing in marathons, and around 23.5 I switched to 2/2 and started really hauling. It felt so good to catch a lot of people, but sadly this means I probably could've finished earlier if I kept a steadier faster pace through the beginning of the race as well. I guess I'm still learning to listen to how my body is feeling/learning what my capacity is. The last few miles I was really trying hard to get all my energy out into the race, evidenced by the splits: 7:11 7:04 6:50 6:46 6:39. It felt so good to run into a PR with my wife, daughter, father-in-law, and few other in-laws there to cheer me on. 

Things I think I did well going into this race:
1. Time - I probably averaged 9+ hours of solid running/week (70ish miles)
2. Nutrition - I have been eating a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and grains. My family has been doing better in general at rarely eating out and trying to get a full spectrum of nutrients. Nutrition during the race also went well. It was gross having a GU stroopwafel and 3 or 4 gels within a 3 hour time frame, but it definitely was good for my endurance.
3. Good rest during race week.

Things I think I can improve for the next race:
1. Workouts - Although I've been adapting them often, I pull a lot of my workouts straight from Jack Daniels' Running Formula. I'm trying to learn about different coaching styles and figure out how to create workouts tailored to my current conditions. Any suggestions on how to get more of this knowledge would be greatly appreciated (that's right, I'm talking to all you hundreds of people who will read this).
2. Better rest throughout training cycle. I typically get about 6 hours of sleep at night, but I ride the bus for an hour to work, and another hour back, so I can usually get close to 8. I also like to read though, and the bus is a good place for that. I just need to balance between sleep and books...
3. Pacing - This problem also exists in my half marathons, but it is becoming more apparent in my full marathons. My last marathon was a 1.5 minute negative split, and this one was a 6.5 minute negative split. I'd like to balance out my pace during the race a little better.