Running Through The Wall

Killerz

seanynova wrote: »

not 100% on a marathon yet but will be DCM or STWM.
the race was ok, gives me a chance but race pace is still TBC (should be ~6:28-6:32m/m).

how bout the 10k your doing, any goal in mind?

Well, hope to see you in toronto! To be honest, i really havent thought too much about the race on sunday yet- i'll have a proper think on saturday when i'm doing my usual hanging around the day before a race with too much pent-up energy! I ran 38 and a halfish in april, though i was holding off a bit with boston coming up a week after. Pb is 37:23- i'll be doing well to get to that level, but its prob what i'll aim towards.

Killerz

I'll do my log for the week another time, but this is just a recap on the 10k race I did yesterday.

This is held by Longboat Roadrunners Running Club, out on the Islands, which are c.15 minutes ferry ride from downtown toronto. The islands are traffic free, and are an oasis away from the hustle of the city centre - a world apart.

Anyhow, this was my first time doing this race. Weather was mid 20 degrees (albeit humidity was low), due to the late race start of 11:15. Course consisted of paved paths (c6.5k); grass (c1.5k) and boardwalk (c2k).

Mix of goals for it really. PB is 37:23 on a good pb course. pb this year (April) was around 38 and a half, so really, I wanted to get something in between.

....And thats what I got. 38:03 chip time, good for 9th overall and 3rd in 30-34 age group. So another nice little medal and a voucher for new balance gear. happy days.

Felt good throughout, and pushed the pace for the last 2km, making up the places from 11th to 9th over that time, just edging out 10th and 11th mere metres away from the line.

To gauge the standard, the race was won in 34:42, 3rd place was 36:34, and 1026 entrants.

No complaints really, mission accomplished and some confidence boosting ahead of Chicago in 4 weeks.

seanynova

good job killerz....your porb in pb shape by the sounds of it, good course, cooler weather, more competition to push you on....looking good.

how is the competition in TO? STWM had 90sub3 finishers last year...DCM prob had about 400+/-

Killerz

seanynova wrote: »

good job killerz....your porb in pb shape by the sounds of it, good course, cooler weather, more competition to push you on....looking good.

how is the competition in TO? STWM had 90sub3 finishers last year...DCM prob had about 400+/-

I believe Competition is lower in toronto than in dublin...well i suppose it depends on the race really. The likes of the sporting life 10k or stwm are very competitive, but then there are a load of smaller races too. Prob the same in ireland.

Yes, stwm had 90 sub3's vs dcm, but with only 2719 participants, that ratio is not too bad vs dcm (based on at least 10000 ppl in dub marathon?). The toronto goodlife marathon on the other hand is less competitive (lower prize funding), where 3:01 got me 25th place this year.

Killerz

Week ending 11th September

Tue: 8.01 miles in 1:00:47. Nice easy run after a couple of days away camping with mrs killerz
Wed: 6.60 miles. 2.5 miles at average 6:45/mile. Overall 45:45 or avg pace of 6:56/mi
Thu: 10.08 miles easy, total time 1:18:02, or avg pace of 7:44/mi
Fri: 6 miles, 7:20/mi for total 44:01
Sun: 10k race per report above. 6.24 miles logged, 38:03 or avg pace 6:06/mi

I found my legs a little heavy this week after a few big mileage weeks, and was worried that i wouldnt be at my best for the 10k race. Still managed okay. A nice easy week overall, with a solid result at the end. 4 weeks fro the 10k race til Chicago.

Looking forward to ramping up for a week and a bit now, before tapering for the big day.

Total miles this week: 36.93

Killerz

Week ending 18th September

Mon: 11 miles nice and easy, 7:38 pace for total 1:23:57
Tue: 6.4 miles total, average pace 7:25/mi. Still feeling the legs a bit after going all out in the 10k on sunday, but picked up the pace at 3.1 miles for 2 miles at 6:41/mi pace. Total 47:29
Wed: Morning run. 11 miles, 1:24:06
Thu: 7.77 miles relatively easy - 57:49 total
Sat: Got up at 4.30 am to watch ireland beat australia, then out for a long run, total 22.75 miles, avg pace 7:04/mi, total time 2:40:48, split as follows:

4 miles warm up at 7:45/ mi - 31:04
3 miles at 6:49/mi - 20:29
1 mile recovery: 7:27
2 miles at 6:48/mi pace - 13:37 then hit the lap button by accident...
4.5 miles at 6:41/mi pace - 30:03
1.44 mile recovery - 11:26
3 miles at 6:39/mi pace - 19:57
0.5 mile recovery - 3:46
2.02 miles at 6:37/mi pace - 13:20
1.23 miles to wind down at 7:30/mi pace

Weather significantly cooler (temp was around 10 degrees i'd say), making this long run a little easier than my last one 2 weeks ago.

3 gels and half a caffeine tablet consumed on the run. Gels at 11, 15.5 and 19.5 - all seemed to work well.

Sun: Nasty hangover, but went out for 6.43 miles, avg pace 7:31/mi for total time of 48:19.

A productive week overall, very satisfied with it. One more week of strong training before tapering for chicago, now just 3 weeks away.

Total miles this week: 65.35
Total miles this year: 1471.03

Killerz

Week ending 25th September

So, thats the hard yards out of the way now for this trainimg cycle. Just gotta trust my training now for the 2 week taper ahead.

Mon: 7 miles in 51:54. Easy enough run, avg pace 7:25/mi in heavy rain
Tue: 10 miles in 1:16:54, avg pace 7:41/mi.
wed: 5.6 miles, 40:44, split as follows:
3.23 miles at 7:28/mi total 24:05
1 mile at 6:39
1.36 miles in 10 mins even
Thu: 8.16 miles at nice easy pace of 7:55/mi, total 1:04:37, just what the doctor ordered, felt quite tired this week
Sat: Final long run of this training cycle. 17 miles in total time of 2:05:45, split as follows:

4 miles warm up, avg pace 7:49/mi, total 31:17
5 miles, increased pace, avg 7:25/mi, total 37:02
5 miles at pmp- 6:48/mi, total 34 mins
3 miles warm down- 7:48/mi, total 23:26

Sun: 4 miles easy in 31:16

I really felt the effort on the saturday long run. A bit of fatigue and partly the humidity i would say contributed to that.

I just need to concentrate now on getting as much rest as possible, whilst keeping the fitness levels up and building myself up for chicago.

Total miles this week: 51.76

Killerz

Week ending 2nd October

Tue: 7.5 miles total, split as follows:

2.5 miles at 7:36/mi pace, total 18:58
1 mile at pmp-ish of 6:47
0.8 mile at 7:30, total 6:02
1 mile at 6:46
2.2 miles to close it out at 7:09/mile, or c.95% pmp, total 15:45

Wed:4.31 miles easy, total 32:19
Thu: 8.81 miles easy, 7:58/mi pace, total 1:10:11
Sat: 11.5 miles easy, 7:57/mi pace, total 1:31:29
Sun: 4.8 miles easy, 35:31.

Total miles for the week: 36.92. Aim was region of 35 miles, so this is just fine. Plenty of easy miles in there and 2 rest days too.

I'd say i'll be maxing out 20-25 miles this week, prior to Sunday.

Getting excited!

pgmcpq

Good luck in Chicago, K. Time to cash in on the solid training.

Killerz

pgmcpq wrote: »

Good luck in Chicago, K. Time to cash in on the solid training.

Thanks, P. I agree- time to cash it in!

RacoonQueen

Best of luck Killerz. Enjoy it.

Killerz

Short report for now.....

Very tough conditions, but was still going strong until around the 25 mile mark. Next thing i know i'm waking up in Chicago Mercy Hospital, where i spent the day. Severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. Took me a long time to come around. So, even after training in the heat all summer in toronto, and being sure i had everything down to a t, something went boom!

Annoying thing was that the projected finish time was 2:59:49. But who knows what damage that may have done - a ny firefighter aged 35, with a number of marathons under his belt died.

I therefore consider myself lucky.

PDCAT

Killerz wrote: »

Short report for now.....

Very tough conditions, but was still going strong until around the 25 mile mark. Next thing i know i'm waking up in Chicago Mercy Hospital, where i spent the day. Severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. Took me a long time to come around. So, even after training in the heat all summer in toronto, and being sure i had everything down to a t, something went boom!

Annoying thing was that the projected finish time was 2:59:49. But who knows what damage that may have done - a ny firefighter aged 35, with a number of marathons under his belt died.

I therefore consider myself lucky.

Hard luck Killerz. Amazing that you were still feeling strong with only over a mile to go before heat/exhaustion caught up. Must have been pretty sudden onset.
Important thing is to give yourself some badly needed rest and take it easy when you get back. All the best.

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

Short report for now.....

Very tough conditions, but was still going strong until around the 25 mile mark. Next thing i know i'm waking up in Chicago Mercy Hospital, where i spent the day. Severe dehydration and heat exhaustion. Took me a long time to come around. So, even after training in the heat all summer in toronto, and being sure i had everything down to a t, something went boom!

Annoying thing was that the projected finish time was 2:59:49. But who knows what damage that may have done - a ny firefighter aged 35, with a number of marathons under his belt died.

I therefore consider myself lucky.

Sorry to hear that, but glad to hear you're ok. That is the problem with heat it is hard to know when you're in trouble - it turns the race into a cr@pshoot. Take it easy for a while and regroup.

Killerz

The Chicago Marathon

Ok, this is long, but I have a story to tell. I've wrestled with this race, its taken me time to get over it.

Before:

Finally getting around to putting my proper thoughts on this down at this stage. My preparation for this race was, in my opinion, very solid. My previous PB was 3:01 and change in May 2011 and I really stepped up the gears this summer on the training front, doing a lot of PMP miles in my runs, and doing quite well in maintaining the pace on the back end of 22 milers.

I rested well over the taper, ate well and felt good going to Chicago (1.5 hour flight from Toronto) on the thursday evening. A couple of days mooching around the city, not doing much walking. Hit the expo on the friday morning as these things can be stressful if the crowds are nuts. Got in and out fairly handy on the friday morning, had lunch etc and relaxed for the day. Did a boat tour on saturday morning and not much else, before a nice italian dinner on Sat eve.

Enough of the soft stuff.

In summary: well prepared, slept well on Sat night and got myself to the start in plenty of time on Sunday morning. Very smooth experience from bag check to portaloos to corrals. Excellent setup, cannot fault it.

I knew temps were going to be high on the day, but felt that training in high humidity over the summer would serve me well. Hydrated well, and was ready to go.

During:

And off we went. Was in Corral A, and sat in behind the 3:00 pacers.

Felt good throughout the race (other than usual marathon tiredness in the back part of the race), and stuck with the pacers all through. The temperature was rising, but much of the first part of the course was in the shade. I kept a nice pace, varying as dictated by the pacers for the most part, but within reach of my sub-3 goal.

Second half of marathon was more exposed to the sun, and had less supporters. Nonetheless, I felt good. My 3 gel strategy (10, 16, 21) worked well and I had 2 cups of water from each water station and a gatorade every second station. Felt I had this spot on.

40km marker passed at 2:50:28, and feeling good, pushed on towards the end, moving slightly ahead of the pace group.

After:

So you can imagine my surprise that that is my last memory of the race. I woke up in hospital. Long story short, I passed out due to severe dehydration, and woke up in hospital some time later.

Was in a pretty bad state for a while, and apparently I was considered quite serious on the way in. I was in my own world in the hospital bed - couldnt talk properly, each minute taking an hour and just completely out of it.

I was disgusted I hadnt finished the race, and was desperately worried as to where my wife was, not being sure if she had seen what had happened, and being pretty sure she was waiting for me in the family meetup section at the end. She arrived later on after putting 2+2 together and getting to the medical tent. Ultimately she found out I was in hospital and of course they wouldnt say what condition I was in, so she only knew i was okay when she got to me! I felt so bad for her.

So other than that, all i wanted was to gulp down litres of water, but this is a no-no for dehydration. Torture!

4 bags of intravenous fluids later, I'm still in a dream like state, but improving. I finally get the okay to get out of there at around 3pm. I collapsed around 10:20 am. While it felt like i was in there for hours upon hours, I was probably in there for little over 4 hours!

Chicago Mercy Hospital: Big shout out - fantastic people.

Aftermath:

In the hospital bed, I was telling myself "thats it with marathons for me - lesson learned" etc, and was starting to think of how I fkkd up. How would I explain this one? What the hell had happened? I cant even explain it to myself!

It pi$$ed me off seeing all the other runners with their medals on the streets of Chicago as I made my way slowly by taxi up Michigan Avenue and home (in my hospital scrubs).

It pi$$ed me off to hear all those Canadians on the flight back to Toronto with their Finisher tees and medals around their neck.

It pi$$ed me off that I was less than about 7-8 minutes away from a projected finish time of 2:59:49.

But then I remembered that a guy had died that day. That could have been me. If I had made it over the line in the state I was in, I may not have taken treatment and ended up going out on the beer with Krusty (which would have been awesome - sorry I missed you Krusty) or home to bed and worse could have happened. I could have fallen and hit my head instead of my knees.

These were my splits:

Dist Time Diff Min/mile
05K 00:21:38 21:38 06:58
10K 00:42:28 20:50 06:43
15K 01:03:55 21:27 06:55
20K 01:25:04 21:09 06:49
HALF 01:29:40 04:36 06:45
25K 01:46:23 16:43 06:54
30K 02:07:43 21:20 06:53
35K 02:29:10 21:27 06:55
40K 02:50:28 21:18 06:52
Finish

---

(Projected finish was 2:59:49)

In Conclusion:

Look, this wasnt a sub 3. It was 40-41km at sub 3 pace, and is something that can be built on. Sub 3 monkey is off the back, its now about focusing on someting better than that. I was speeding up as I progressed through the gears in Chicago Marathon. How many others did that in 2011 race?

Chicago Marathon is fantastic. I cannot recommend every part of it enough. Anyone considering doing it though needs to be very cogniscent of the weather possibilities if they are looking for a PB. Its a big factor.

What happened to me? Dehydration. How did it happen? I dont know, I thought I did everything right.

Shout-outs:

Mrs. Killerz: thanks for the patience leading up and supporting me on the day and afterwards.

LarryB/ RacingFlat: Thanks for the training advice and sorry for worrying you on the day!

Krusty: I didn't mean to stand you up in the post-race beer area, but I had an appointment to keep in the hospital! Great result too!

Chicago Marathon: You beat me, mofo!

Phonehead

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.

I look forward to reading about your sub 3 when it arrives.

Krusty_Clown

Hey Killerz, it sounds like you got everything spot-on. Just one small anomaly that prevented you from having something to throw in the back of your closet. Your splits on the day are the opposite of mine. Next marathon (when you get around to the idea of doing another one), set your sights on 2:53 or better and smile all the way to the finish line.

Love Phonehead's quote!

pgmcpq

Killerz, Thanks for sharing the report. It cannot have been much fun to write.

Two years ago I ran a marathon where about 1/4 of the field failed to finish. I got freaked out by the number of people who were down and wondered what so many had "missed" before needing medical attention. Your report suggests what I suspected - the answer is : "Nothing". It sounds like you did everything right - hydrating more than usual 2 water cups at each aid station and a gatorade at every other. And the fact that you were feeling good suggests you had it right ....

Glad that you are looking at this as something that can be built on. Hopefully you (and Mrs K) are recovering from the experience.

Ruu_Old

Thanks for writing and glad you were in good hands in the end. I was looking through the Facebook comments for Chicago and looked like a lot of people struggled with the temperatures, enough to put them off it next year. You'll be back and stronger next time around.

seanynova

thanks for the report, i sent larry a message saying that you were after speeding up from 35-40k, couldnt imagine you were going to be in trouble after that....wouldnt worry too much about sub3 either, the next step for you in lower down the clock!

how are you feeling after running toronto marathon just 1weeks later!!! you prob should have mentioned that in there somewhere also, fair play for getting back on the horse so soon.....i dont think id want to run for a while after that, let alone another marathon!

seanynova

what were you wearing in toronto? having a look through flickr and came across a guy in a tri coloured singlet wearing a wig!?!? and just about see his name on his bib.....lol

Killerz

seanynova wrote: »

what were you wearing in toronto? having a look through flickr and came across a guy in a tri coloured singlet wearing a wig!?!? and just about see his name on his bib.....lol

Yes, you found me!

Killerz

Thanks for all the responses folks. It was therapeutic writing that. More on my 'recovery' week in my next post....

pgmcpq

seanynova wrote: »

how are you feeling after running toronto marathon just 1weeks later!!! you prob should have mentioned that in there somewhere also, fair play for getting back on the horse so soon.....i dont think id want to run for a while after that, let alone another marathon!

You did what :eek::eek::eek: ??? Speechless ! Was that planned ?

Killerz

pgmcpq wrote: »

You did what :eek::eek::eek: ??? Speechless ! Was that planned ?

I was signed up fot it... report to follow....

Killerz

Week ending 16th October - Toronto Marathon

I don't know if it was stupidity, ambition to test myself, reckless abandon or maybe a combination of all three, but a couple of months back, I decided that I could not pass up a marathon on my doorstep here in Toronto.

Yes, the marathon was one week after Chicago, but my plan was to take it at a slow pace, enjoy the day and maybe come in around 4 hours or so. I've done a 50 mile race before, done 2 marathons in 3 weeks, etc etc so felt my endurance was strong.

No specific training was done, bar my plan being to rest up in the intervening period between the two marathons.

So when I woke up in the hostpital bed on the 9th of October (see post above), after a few "wtf's" and all that business, I was of course saying (understandably) that a marathon in Toronto (or ever again for that matter) was off limits.

Flight home the next day and wifey Killerz said not to rule out it out. Looking back, that could have been a ploy for life insurance money. Anyhow, the seed was sown, and I saw this as possibly a chance for redemption of sorts.

Coming up to the weekend

It took me a few days to get back to normal after the hospital visit. I did 30 mins on the ex bike on wednesday and 4 miles running very gently on thursday. Kept any thoughts of doing the marathon pretty close to my chest, and only made my final decision on the Sunday morning.

I felt relatively okay on the Sunday morning, except for tight quads. I knew the marathon course both from doing it last year (where I finished in 3:06 odd to qualify for Boston), but also as my training incorporates a lot of the route.

Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Slotted myself into the blue corral (3:35 to 4:00 predicted time), and met a friend of mine (a Wexican who for some reason goes by the moniker of Phonehead... not his real name thankfully), who was going for 3:45ish.

I was dressed up in all the Irish gear:

http://www2.brightroom.com/75738/2004

so had a few chats with some Irish people knocking around too.
Off we went, I really had no major goal in mind. Anything under 4 would be nice.

Wore the HRM for the first time, and kept it at an average level of 151 throughout (maxing at 160). I ran the race at an easy pace, and was feeling fairly fresh for the first 10km or so. Legs were like lead from there onwards, but I persevered through and lapped up all the attention that the Irish top and wig got me. "Go Green Clown" was the best that was shouted at me. Krusty would be jealous.

Chatted with some cool people on the route, including a girl from Boston who's bringing a group of 70 people to Dublin for the marathon in a week or so. Fair play to her.

Anyhow, was suffering a bit from around 32km but walked through the aid stations and I had Wexford's finest export keeping me company. Took it home in 3:54:10 chip time. Great crowd support for the last 4-500m.

I really wasn't 100% sure at any point during the race that I would finish it, given what happened the week before. Luckily, large parts of the marathon route aren't far from my apartment, given the out-and-back nature of the course.

Splits as follows:

10km: 53:09
Half: 1:51:36
30km: 2:39:08

Splits dont really mean anything, as time was immaterial really for this one, but thought I'd put them up there anyhow.

Finished it comfortably and apart from being sleepy, I was feeling great.

After

It was never going to erase the memories of Chicago, it was merely going to help me feel a little better after last week's episode. I had considered maybe giving a later Autumn marathon a go instead, but didn't really feel that I could extend the season by another 3-4 weeks at my current levels.

I did Toronto instead and just enjoyed the day and took it easy.

So, that was the end of the running season for 2011. No races of note in Toronto til March 2012. Plenty of time to rest up, rethink the plans and think about what lies ahead. Haven't run in a week now, which is a long time for me. I may extend it out by another week as I seek to give my legs a really good chance to recover for once!

pgmcpq

Amazed but delighted to see you back in the saddle so quickly. Not sure about the .... eh ... kit though!

...Flight home the next day and wifey Killerz said not to rule out it out....

Full respect to Mrs. K. Others (including myself) would have been talking out of it.

Phonehead

I'll have you know that my great grandfather was called Phonehead, it's in his honour that I use his name. It was emotional man, we fought our own demons - Chicago and snake park, let's also not forget we so destroyed old man Singhs time and I got to say I'm his hairdresser about 50'000 times (Only realise now, boy that must have been annoying to hear for 26.2 miles, sorry mate;))

Killerz

Rest period up to Sunday 30th October

So, after the second marathon, I decided to take 2 weeks off running, or close to 2 weeks anyhow.

Just did a couple of light sessions in the gym and a 30k cycle with Mrs. Killerz one week on from the 'thon.

Got back in the running saddle so to speak then on Saturday just gone (29th October). Did 8.7 miles in 1:12:45 - an average pace of 8:22/mile. Found the run tough after literally no running for 13 days. I really needed that rest though, due to the double marathon, the hospital incident and just the consistent training i've been doing over the last while.

A Recap

Yesterday's Dublin Marathon reminded me that the date more or less marked the 3rd anniversary of my first marathon, DCM 2008. That was a 3:49 ish result. That marathon came after only really starting running early in 2008 - my first race was the Docklands Fun Run in May 2008.

Since then, I've come on a fair bit, but haven't really focused on any one distance realy. I mean I've done 12 marathon/ ultra marathons in total in the 3 years, but only 6 of those marathons have I been pushing it in, moving from 3:49 in DCM 08 to 3:26 in Cork 09 to 3:11 in DCM 09, then down to 3:07 a year later in September 2010 Toronto Waterfront and then down to 3:01 in May and what would have been 2:59 this October in Chicago.

Its all progress, but perhaps if I'd left out the 3 ultras, the one pacing marathon, the 'fun' marathons in Boston and Toronto, I could have progressed more. Or maybe not? Maybe I wouldnt have enjoyed my running as much?

Its fair to say I have no regrets in my running. I've progressed at a rate that has allowed it to remain something I enjoy, and continue to make steady improvements, while keeping enough variety across shorter distances, trail ultras and the classic marathon distance.

Chicago was the first marathon I put some decent planning into. Okay, the end result wasnt quite right really as a result of a bizarre occurrence, but it was my strongest training preparation ever and I felt strong in the race. I need to build up my strength slowly over the winter and build up from the bottom for a late Spring marathon in 2012.

Total miles so far this year: 1637.59

Killerz

Back to some more regular exercise this week, though I am wrestling with some appetite issues that may be caused by a stomach bug or something... need to check it out.

Mon: 6.51 miles in 47:31. Felt really good during this run, average pace 7:18/mi. Solid.
Tue: Gym - 50 mins on the bike, upping the intensity from 7 to varying levels up to 12 at regular intervals for 3-5 min bursts. Followed this with 20 mins doing weights/ core work.
Wed: 6.63 miles in 50:28
Sat: 6.01 miles in 48:05, average pace 8/mile on the button
Sun: 6.05 miles in 49:01.

Slow but solid return to running, with just over 25 miles clocked. Slow build up planned over the next few weeks to get up to 10-12 mile long runs this side of the new year all going well.