Month: July 2024

I sit here at my desk nursing a Lifeway Kefir and eating a bowl of steel cut oats for lunch. I’ve eaten 1 banana in the past 3 days after having what (I suspect) was some kind of stomach virus since Sunday. I put so much thought and effort into the race on Sunday, I didn’t even think about the plan after I finished.

Once I crossed the finish line I got my finishers medal and then one of the course marshals asked me what age group I was in — I don’t know. I told him my age and he gave me the 2nd place age group medal. Then I walked over to the drink table and had 2 small cups of gatorade and a banana and waited for my family to walk over and for my daughter to finish.

I don’t think I’ve ever run a more perfectly executed race. Some training highlights to remember:

• Long runs exceeded the distance. I think my longest long run was around 15 miles with a lot of climbing. Tabor to Council Crest and back is my long run jam.
• One 15 mile run close to race pace on the Leif Erikson trail in Forest Park – this one really simulated the course (it was on a gravel path through the woods near Snoqualmie, WA)
• A 10 miler at threshold pace – it was a 10 mile PR for me (before the race), and was good training for maintaining a hard effort in the later miles.
• Speed work at the track. I did a few sessions of 400s at max HR followed by a 400 recovery – usually 5-6 repeats, then a cool down on the way home.
• Threshold session at the track – this was the week of the race and was good to maintain pace at my lactate threshold heart rate.

The plan was to have consistent pace throughout the race, then negative split the second half and give it full gas in the last 5K. I did all of those things. My time was 1:37, average pace of 7:24 per mile. Personal Best half marathon and 2nd in age group (in preliminary results I was first, but someone must have been just ahead of me). Early in the race I had to pump the brakes to slowly build to the pace I wanted. In the first 2 miles as I started to dip to 7:20-7:10, I slowed down to keep it closer to 7:40 or even 7:50. My heart rate slowly started to rise, to gently ease into my race pace.

I carried 4 gels in my shorts rear pockets. There were supposed to be aid stations with water every 2.5 miles, but I didn’t see one until around mile 4. I ended up eating my first gel around mile 6 dry with no water. I just swallowed it in 2 gulps, then at the next aid station with water, took 2 cups and drank them to dilute the gel. It worked. I don’t think I would have been able to handle a cup and gel at the same time anyway.

Once I got up to race pace, I kept an eye on my heart rate and kept it between 154-163. Toward the top end. This was my lactate threshold and the fastest pace I could maintain without blowing up. A few times I needed to surge for a short time to pass another runner, but once I passed, I tried to bring it back down and maintain. I had a 2nd gel at mile 9 and swallowed it dry with no water, then got water when I got to the aid station. One mistake I made was that I was holding the top of the gel in one hand and the gel packet in my other hand and after I finished it, I accidentally dropped it. I was running in a pack and there was no way I could stop to pick it up.

Mile 9 was where I started to get worried I was going too early and tried to bring it back slightly to conserve for the last 5K. Once I hit mile 10, I just let it ride and started to drop the hammer. I caught a young guy, maybe a high schooler and ran with him for a mile, then started to pull away.

I could hear a runner at my back going into the last mile, but I really didn’t care to do a race at the finish line, I was at max HR and firing the afterburners. I finished at just under a 7 minute pace.

Final thoughts:

• I don’t think I could maintain this pace for a full marathon (AT THIS POINT). If I trained at this pace with longer runs thrown in – I think I could.
• It was really hard to get my gels out of my shorts pockets. I didn’t want to carry any waist pack or belt… maybe if I had shorts with better pocket access it would help. It was cumbersome while running fast.
• Water at the aid stations was fine. I was hydrated before the race, peed twice before the start and never felt like I had to stop for a bathroom break.
• I now realize why Tour de France cyclists hop on the trainers after they finish a stage. The lactic acid in my muscles came on strong once I stopped. I should have done a proper cool down. Soreness is gone after 2 days.
• I completely messed up my post race nutrition. I started pounding calories – another banana, a cookie, then had a subpar breakfast sandwich… and most disastrously – a Burgerville grilled chicken sandwich which destroyed my gut biome. Thus the kefir and oatmeal.

What’s next?

• I had so much fun racing. I was thinking during the race… it turns out I am a killer. Don’t sleep on Chris. I loved surging and passing, being tactical with the pacing. It was so fun to go for it. I was pushing the envelope of my training and fitness. Everything clicked.
• I want to ride my bike. I was doing some long (50-70 mile) gravel rides and I want to get back in the saddle for those long rides. And I want to get on my mountain bike. And do some more backpacking.
• I feel like I should capitalize on this fitness and look at Fall marathons. I need to think about that though… Do I want to put in the time?

The data:

Proper planning prevents piss-poor performance.

3 days to racing the Jack and Jill Half-Marathon and I feel ready to go. Nothing left to do but pack up my race kit and mentally run through the execution. Posting this here to put some skin in the game…and commit.

Goals

1. Have fun.
2. Run strong.
3. Fuel + hydrate properly.
4. Pace properly.
5. Stick to the plan.

Pace plan

• 5K (~3 miles) – Under 24 minutes.
• 10K (~7 miles) – Under 47 minutes.
• 10 miles – Under 1 hour 17 minutes.
• 13.1 miles – Under 1 hour 40 minutes.

That pace is around 7:40/mile. I’m planning to stick to 7:40-7:50 for the first 5-6 miles, then try to negative split the second half with a pace of around 7:20, and the last 5K at full gas. Based on training the past few weeks, my lactate threshold is around 160 bpm, meaning I can clear lactic acid from my muscles at the same rate it’s produced at that heart rate. Beyond that I only have a few matches to burn before I blow up. The trick is to not blow up until the finish line.

I’m not carrying any hydration (there is water every 2.5 miles). Pre-race meal will be half a banana and half a piece of bread with jam. I’ll eat one gel 20 minutes before the start, then another around 5 miles, and a final (caffeinated) gel around 9 miles. At a 7:40 pace I can delay glycogen depletion longer into the 2nd half of the race and then burn it all to the ground on one more gel. Leave it all on the pitch so to speak.

The course is a net elevation loss, so it’s going to take some discipline not to get complacent and fall into a comfortable pace pulled by gravity – I’ll need to stay on the gas to push the pace.

I had a good speed work session at the track yesterday, I held a threshold pace of ~7:20 for 20 minutes. For Sunday I’ll need to find another gear for the final 5K. I think I can do it.

And of course a final caveat… “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” – M. Tyson.

I started writing this post over a month ago, but didn’t quite know where it was going and I got really busy. Thus the title. We’re well into a string of 100°(F) days here in Portland. A couple of things to note going on this season.

I finally diagnosed the hamstring issued that has plagued me for years (I know). It was never bothersome enough to stop me from running a moderate pace, only running fast. I was focused on building a big base from around February – May and most runs were Z1/Z2 – super easy pace. And then I ran with my youngest daughter one Saturday and she kicked up the pace to put dad in the pain cave (successfully) and I aggravated the hamstring.

That led to a lot of research and the diagnoses that it was high hamstring tendinopathy. And the long path to physical therapy that mostly consists of hamstring strengthening exercises – but not stretching. A little counterintuitive. What I’ve found helped a lot is a prone hamstring exercise with a resistance band. Doing this exercise before a run to warm up the hamstring and tendon has done wonders for my runs (and pace).

In June, I finally had the gum graft that I had been putting off for a year – and required stitches in my mouth for 6 weeks. Double-yikes. I was advised not to run or lift for 3 weeks while everything healed up. The doc never said anything about cycling though, so I hopped on the gravel bike and went exploring. Happy to report I’ve cracked the code of long rides in Portland. I’ve been in a super-loop where the cycling has helped the hamstring, and my overall Vo2 capacity – which has helped my running. My running mileage is back up to 30 miles a week… and my cycling miles are up to around 100 miles with a few long rides thrown in the past month.

A couple of other things that have been like icing on the cake this year…. I stopped drinking coffee (which has helped my sleep and recovery, and I stopped drinking alcohol – which was wreaking havoc on my HRV (heart rate variability score). I didn’t drink much before, but a beer a week was messing up my sleep which messes up my recovery, which messes up my workout the next day. I have since discovered NA beer, so when I get the feeling, I reach for one of those.

A couple of other nutrition tweaks – no more ultra processed food poison… and I’m trying to hit over 100 grams of protein per day with protein shakes and protein in my oatmeal. I wasn’t carrying much extra weight, but I’ve managed to lose about 16 pounds. Which has boosted my cycling FTP and running V02Max. So yeah. I think I might be entering my 2nd act. I’m just below my racing weight when I ran Mountain Lakes 100, but more fit.

Oh… and almost forgot. And I got a mountain bike. Which I haven’t had in about 10 years. It was time. So I’ve been back on the local trails and trying to get the girls out riding with me. It’s a full squish YT Izzo. Bike geometry has completely changed in the past 10 years – this is a 29’er “down-country / trail bike”.

I’ve got a half marathon coming up in 3 weeks with my older daughter. I’ll try to stay with her as long as I can. Mrs. Rivard will be running a full marathon in the hopes of qualifying for Boston (again). It will be a fun weekend of racing!

I’m thinking of this season as a warm up for some more racing next spring. I missed a few of the early gravel races – but I’ve got them on the calendar for next year. And I see more more ultras in my future. This is the way of the endurance junky.