Ryan Hall Withdraws from the 2010 Chicago Marathon

Before he even ran the 2010 Boston Marathon, where he set a new American record in 2:08:xx (but still finished in 4th place), Ryan Hall announced that he would run the 2010 Chicago Marathon and attempt to set a new American record there. A new American record, which would be 2:05:xx, doesn't guarantee a win on any major marathon course these days. Is Hall trying to merely break records or win a major marathon?

After running nearly 64 minutes for a half in Philly two weekends ago (4 minutes slower than his PR and the current American record), Hall announced that he had withdrawn from the 2010 Chicago Marathon, citing poor training. Hall's American record in the half (59:xx) and his fastest marathon to date (2:06:xx) came after a solid track season. Since then, he's been racing two marathons/year. It seems that the 130-mile weeks, week in and week out, have finally gotten the best of him. A lot of people are saying that he needs to get back on the track, race some shorter distances, etc. Others are saying that he needs to change coaches. Still others are saying that he'll never break 2:08 again and that he's done. I don't believe that, but I do believe that something is amiss. It's been long-known that Hall likes to self-train and train alone, so a coaching change may not be the answer. Meb is up in Mammoth Lakes as well, and he's doing just fine. I wonder what'll be next for Hall.

Hall's marathon times:

4/22/07 London 2:08:24
11/3/07 New York City Trials 2:09:02
4/13/08 London 2:06:17
8/24/08 Beijing Olympics 2:12:33
4/20/09 Boston 2:09:40
11/1/09 New York City 2:10:36
4/19/10 Boston 2:08:41

Week 9 In Review

9-20-10
Strength training at NHHR.

9-21-10
12 miles (1hr 55mins)
Guilford after work. Got a late start; finished up in the dark. Need night gear/accessories. Ran up to Route 80 and came down Maple Hills. Legs felt very strong coming back into town.

9-22-10
Strength training at NHHR.

9-23-10
10 miles (1hr 24mins)
4x1600m at Wilbur Cross High School track. 6.37; 6:45; 6:45; 6:43. Felt ok. Cooldown was tough.

9-24-10
11 miles (1hr 42mins)
Ran up East Rock park roads and then over to Prospect via Armory.

9-25-10
Strength training at NHHR.

9-26-10
16 miles (2hrs 35mins)
Ran from South Hadley to Northampton. Picked up the pace for a few miles on the bike path. Based on perceived effort, I thought I was running a bit faster than this. Perhaps I wasn't keeping up the pace on the hills. It took about the first 15 minutes to shake-out/flush my legs. Once I hit Pearl, things started to come together. My legs started feeling heavy again after about 8 or 9 miles, but I had the strength to keep up the pace. I haven't taken a single energy gel this build-up. One bottle of water seems to get me through even my longest runs.

Miles: 49 (highest ever to date)
Time: 7hrs 37mins

Intervals

I did 10 miles tonight, including 4 x 1600m. This was my third track workout. Here's my progress, which I'm quite pleased with:

8/5: 2 x 1600m (7:25; 7:11)

8/26: 3 x 1600m (6:49; 6:55; 6:56)

9/23: 4 x 1600m (6:37; 6:45; 6:45; 6:43)

This is my first time ever doing track workouts, so I'm still new to it and trying to gauge the right intensity. Here's a video clip of me during one of the intervals:

1,000 miles

I ran my 1,000th mile of the year last night. 2010 marks the first year in which I have run at least 1,000 miles, and I still have three full months of running to go! I recently started rotating in a new pair of running shoes, but, last night, I ran in a pair that now has 825 miles on it. I swear that I'd rather run in the older pair.

Week 8 In Review

9-13-10
Strength training at NHHR.

9-14-10
8 miles (1hr 16mins)
To Sachems Head after work. Took it easy. Felt ok, I guess.

9-15-10
Strength training at NHHR.

9-16-10
10 miles (1hr 19mins)
To Sachems Head after work. One-mile warm-up; eight-mile tempo at 7:40/mile; one-mile cool-down. Felt ok. Tried to relax on the hills. Right hammy bothered me for most of the tempo.

9-17-10
8 miles (1hr 15mins)
To Sachems Head after work. Tons of pop in legs. Surprised me after Thursday's hard workout.

9-18-10
Strength training at NHHR.

9-19-10
19 miles (3hrs 7mins)
Guilford. Up to 320 feet and back. Had 20 and change mapped out, but couldn't find a turn, so wound up doing out and back instead. Wound up being only 19 miles. I'm ok with that, because I ran for plenty long. This wasn't a hilly route. It was one big, gradual hill to 320 feet. It really slows me down. I thought I was moving a bit faster than this, but I'll take it. The start was tough, then found a groove around 30 minutes in. Started feeling tired after about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Never got it back. Despite the cool temps and water bottle, I was dehydrated. Perhaps I shouldn't have had even those few sips of wine last night. I thought I had topped off yesterday, but I guess not. Although not my best effort, it's hard to not be pleased with finishing a three-hour run.

Miles: 45 (highest ever to date)
Time: 6hrs 59mins

Week 8 Tempo Run

I just finished the longest tempo run (8 miles) and, probably, the most difficult workout of this buildup. I was 17 seconds slower per mile over the 8 miles (7:40) than I was over 7 miles (7:23) last Thursday. A couple of thoughts as to why: 1) the most obvious is that this week's tempo run was a mile longer, 2) it came after the highest mileage week (44) of my life, and 3) last week's tempo run came after a recovery week, which included lower mileage (33) and no tempo or interval work. I'm pleased with the effort. I don't think that I can run a marathon at 7:40 pace, but I do think that I can run a marathon at a pace faster than 9:16 (which was my pace at Missoula). I hope to come out somewhere in between. There's no question that I'm 10x fitter, but I don't want to get my hopes up by posting any unrealistic goals here.

Week 7 In Review

9-6-10
Strength training at NHHR

9-7-10
10 miles (1hr 33mins)
Around New Haven. Felt decent.

9-8-10
Strength training at NHHR. Introduced some assisted, single-legged squats.

9-9-10
9 miles (1hr 9mins)
Guilford after work. One-mile warm-up; seven-mile tempo at 7:23/mile; one-mile cool-down. Felt very strong. Felt a bit of cramping in left hammy toward end of tempo. Didn't hinder the run at all, though. Some side stitches.

9-10-10
9 miles (1hr 23mins)
New Haven after work. Up East Rock park road to Ridge to Whitney via Waite to Davis back down East Rock over to Livingston. Didn't feel as bad as I thought I would after Thursday's 7-mile tempo run.

9-11-10
Strength training at NHHR

9-12-10
16 miles (2hrs 29mins)
Guilford to Madison and back. Seven minutes faster than last time (about one month ago) on same route at same effort. Felt decent given the circumstances. Legs ached toward the end.

Miles: 44 (highest ever to date)
Time: 6hrs 35mins

Tempo runs

Last night, I went to absolute war with an extremely hilly 7-mile tempo run in Guilford. My pace was 7:23. My pace for the overall 9-mile run (which included a 1-mile warm-up and and 1-mile cool-down) was 7:44. I've done three other tempo runs during this buildup so far:

8/19/10: 6 miles at 7:53

8/12/10: 5 miles at 7:54

7/29/10: 4 miles at 7:59

I think that the higher mileage, hip and core stuff that I'm doing is finally starting to bear fruit. My legs feel bullet proof out there (lunges and 1-legged squats?), not to mention that my hips are out in front of me the whole time, and that I can feel my hips and core driving my legs. After all, your core is your transmission, and without a strong one, you fall apart pretty easily.

A couple of notes/observations from last night: It's difficult for me to not get excited on the hills and hammer, as opposed to letting them come to me. It tenses me up pretty good. I need to relax and let the route come to me. Although my legs were burning up on the uphills, that didn't prevent me from flying down the other side of the hill. I got a few side stitches last night--nothing some additional core work can't help. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy about the effort.

City running and stress

I ran 10 miles tonight in New Haven and almost got hit by a car at the intersection of Orange and Trumbull Streets--a very busy one, indeed. The more I run in New Haven, the more stressed out I get. I absolutely loved running in Holyoke this past weekend. It was all off road and relaxing. I wish we had more of that around here. Having to constantly worry about whether you're going to get hit by a car is not fun and takes a lot away from what I love about running. However, running up East Rock tonight was nice. Part of of the park roads are permanently closed to traffic. I really enjoyed the steady climb to 300 ft and then coming back down the other side to Davis Street. Once I came out of the park, it was all intersections and traffic...and people yelling at me. Apparently, I "run like a fag." East Rock is okay, but it's small. You can't put together a longish run on the trails. West Rock is another story. West Rock is on the New Haven/Hamden line, and it offers a 10-mile trail loop, which I've yet to try. I hear, though, that some parts of the park are unsafe. Jessica and I will have to check it out together. Strength in numbers. Thanks for listening to me complain.

Beartown

Karolina and I did a trip to Great Barrington MA this labor day weekend. We left from my parent's house in New Hartford on Saturday morning and returned Monday. We did a 20 mile run in Beartown State Forest on Sunday. Killer hills. Killer. Karolina picked the route not surprisingly. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4022745

About 130 miles of riding in all. Here is the bike route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4020508. Highlights were Bash Bish Falls, riding through the Mount Washington area, and the dirt road down to Salisbury in 14 mins. Riding after run wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Week 6 In Review

8-30-10
Kayaked and swam in Long Pond; drove back from the island.

8-31-10
8 miles (1hr 16mins)
Up East Rock; down Whitney via Spring Garden after work. Legs ached toward the end.

9-1-10
Strength training at NHHR

9-2-10
8 miles (1hr 14mins)
Branford after work. Legs felt better than they did on Tuesday. Still tired, though.


9-3-10
8 miles (1hr 16mins)
Guilford before work. Hillier route than that of Thursday's. Tired.

9-4-10
Strength training at NHHR

9-5-10
9 miles (1hrs 23mins)
Holyoke, MA. Gravel path around Ashley Pond, Wright Pond, and McLean Reservoir. Nice to get off pavement. Used iPhone GPS. It worked very well. Now if only I could get it to work on the trails around here.

Miles: 33
Time: 5hrs 11mins

Recovery week

Monday started the first and only recovery week of my 12-week marathon training plan. It came after running 170 miles in the month of August. I don't think that I've ever run that much in one month. Already having 16 weeks of marathon-specific training under my belt certainly helped me get through it.

I ran 8 miles yesterday as a follow-up to a 20-miler on Sunday. I felt fine through the first half of the run but then started to drag. However, my legs were plenty strong to get me through it on pace. This is the difference between this training and last training.

I developed a pretty nasty blister on my left, big toe (on the inside) on Sunday. It's pretty painful and looks infected. I haven't popped it, but it's tempting. I think that I'm going to leave it be and pray that it heals. For yesterday's run, I covered it with an adhesive bandage. That seemed to keep it from getting worse. On my left, second biggest toe (on the outside), I have the remnants of a blood blister. This is the kind of foot/feet I had dreamed of. Without these blisters, I didn't have anything tangible to show for all the miles I've been running. So, the blisters are a good and (potentially) bad thing.

I've got about 750 miles on my current pair of running shoes. I have two other brand-new, identical pairs, but I'm reluctant to break them out and retire my current pair. I think I'm going to use my current pair until they fall apart. They feel fine and don't cause any new or unusual aches/pains in my feet/legs. But aren't they supposed to? Aren't we supposed to replace our running shoes after every three- to four-hundred miles, so that we won't develop injuries? That's what mainstream running literature prescribes. Can we trust it? For years, I had been buying up shoes pretty regularly in order to ward off the most preventable running injuries (supposed)--those sustained from using old running shoes. I'm not convinced that that's necessary anymore.

Think about the money that mainstream running literature makes for running companies. I suspect that it's usually the novice runner who has never run three-hundred miles, much less using one pair of shoes, that buys the notion that shoes must be replaced pretty regularly. Or, maybe it's all runners who run in a traditional running shoe with a midsole the breaks down relatively quickly, thereby no longer providing optimal cushioning for a foot that has become accustomed to it.

It's one thing if replacing your running shoes every three- to four-hundred miles works and you stay injury-free, but if you don't, you owe it to yourself to make a change. That could mean not replacing your running shoes at all, using less shoe, etc. Prior to the advent of the over-engineered, traditional running shoe, today's most common running injuries did not exist. That should tell you something. The rule of thumb goes like this: If you have flat feet (low arch), then you require a motion-control/stability shoe; if you have a medium arch, then you require equal parts stability and cushioning; if you have a high arch, then you require a neutral shoe with maximum cushioning. But why? Especially given the fact that these requirements are based on the assumption that these foot types cause varying levels of pronation? People with flat feet can have good biomechanics. People with high arches can have bad biomechanics. Some say that, with very few exceptions--usually owing to some congential structural problem, your feet are perfect for you. If that's the case, then why would anyone need any one of the hundreds of different kind of running shoes currently on the market? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.