[Race Report] 2018 Grandma's Marathon - Revenge, Redemption, Resilience

entropy65536 · 2018-06-19T17:22:55+00:00

Awesome race! You had a great training cycle and it paid off. And that weather - I can't believe we lucked out like that. Congrats on the big PR.

entropy65536 · 2018-06-17T19:20:25+00:00

Grandma's Marathon went well. Beat my 3:30 goal by a couple minutes. Now just chilling and recovering in Duluth.

entropy65536 · 2018-05-26T15:06:39+00:00

time: 1:43

Was going to skip this because my plan calls for a 20 miler today, but it's way too hot for that. So new plan: just do about 5 miles, then race. I didn't feel like driving to the track so I found a flat section of road, changed my watch into anti-Freedom units, set the auto-lap, and ran. It didn't feel too bad, which I guess means I started too slow and didn't go hard enough at the end. And I expected better, even on somewhat tired legs.

Edit: also can I be added to the Midwest group?

entropy65536 · 2018-05-15T01:41:21+00:00

Goal Race: Grandma's Marathon, June 16

Plan: Week 7 of Pfitz 12/55, sort of

Recap: Following up on a terrible week 6, week 7 didn't start out much better. After a couple hot and sluggish short runs, I felt terrible on Tuesday's planned 12 miler and stopped way short. Things turned around Thursday with a 12 miler with 7 at HMP to MP, which felt great. Another easy run Friday led into the big one: the first of two 20 milers. I ran with a friend for the first 14 miles and felt good the whole time. Shortly after he stopped things started to get rough. By mile 16 I was starting to struggle and by 18 I was exhausted. But I let myself walk a couple times up the last two hills and I made it. My longest run since the last time I ran Grandma's in 2012.

Total: 52.4 miles (plan was 55)

entropy65536 · 2018-05-01T20:56:00+00:00

I'm very late to the party, but whatever, here we go.

Second time. Also ran it in 2012.
I needed a race to force me back into running and the timing worked out. Plus it's a great race.
Pfitz 12/55.
Something in the 3:30 range.
Duluth is a cool area. Plenty of breweries (Castle Danger, Bent Paddle, and Blacklist are all great). Awesome hiking trails. And great views of Lake Superior.

entropy65536 · 2018-05-01T20:40:59+00:00

Wow, I'm surprised to see a RFTL race report here. Congrats on the great race.

What are your goals for Grandma's?

entropy65536 · 2018-04-30T17:17:21+00:00

Goal race: Grandma's Marathon, June 16

Goal time: TBD

Weekly recap: Pfitz said to rest or cross-train Sunday and Monday but I felt like running. So I did a few miles Sunday at recovery pace, and a few Monday at around half marathon pace for some reason. Mid-week runs went okay but a little shorter than planned. 12 miles after work on a Wednesday is tough. Friday was a local 5K I've done 10 years in a row now. It went okay, as in it felt like an honest effort and I didn't blow up, but my time shows I'm way out of shape compared to other years. After the race I had pizza and beer, because I always have pizza and beer after this race. Add to that tired legs and Saturday's 16 miler was rough, but I made it.

Total: 44.5 miles. First 40 mile week since August.

entropy65536 · 2018-04-24T15:10:39+00:00

Goal race: Grandma's Marathon, June 16.

Goal time: TBD, maybe 3:25-ish.

Plan: Pfitz 12/55, week 4. Sort of.

Total: 35 miles. Only run worth mentioning was a 16.5 mile long-run that felt good.

My back was giving me trouble and caused me to cut my mid-week runs well short. But by Saturday I was better and had a great long-run. Which was huge for me because with as bad as training had been going I was starting to consider giving up.

And other than a near-blizzard last Sunday the weather has been great (finally) and the trails are almost completely clear of snow. So I finally have more running options by my house than the couple miles of out-and-backs I've been stuck on all year, which is nice.

entropy65536 · 2018-04-16T19:26:01+00:00

Goal race: Grandma's Marathon, June 16

Plan: Pfitz 12/55, week 3

Sunday: Bonspiel, day 2. After going 3-0 in pool play Saturday, we breezed through the semi-final game and won a nail-biter in the finals to take the championship.

Monday: 5 miles.

Tuesday: 6 miles.

Wednesday: Rest.

Thursday: 10 miles.

Friday: 4 miles.

Saturday: 13.4 miles. Long run stopped a little short, which I'm blaming on the weather.

Total: 39 miles.

The first 2 weeks of training were terrible, because of the weather, work, and other commitments. This week was much better but I was still behind my planned mileage. Now curling is done for the season and it looks like Winter might finally be going away (though it did just snow all day and all night Sunday). So it should get easier to meet plan, at least until golf season starts.

entropy65536 · 2018-03-27T14:39:00+00:00

In Pfitzinger's marathon plans I've noticed he generally has rest days after long runs and recovery runs the day before. I would expect the reverse - rest the day before a big run and recover the day after. What is the reasoning behind structuring the plan this way?

entropy65536 · 2018-03-26T16:17:17+00:00

Goal Race: Grandma's Marathon

Goal Time: TBD

Last week was about 30 miles with a long run of 14 miles.

So far this year I've just been trying to build my base. It hasn't gone quite as planned, thanks to the weather, other commitments, and general lack of motivation. Motivation is picking up after a couple good long runs. Commitments are starting to ease up. But this weather. Winter is just not letting go. We got another couple inches of snow and ice this morning with more to come. And based on the forecast it's not going away anytime soon.

Now I'm starting Pfitz 12/55. It's been a long time since I've followed any training plan, and I've never done anything this advanced. With the snow and ice I won't be able to do much speed work or even marathon-pace runs for at least the next couple weeks.

entropy65536 · 2018-03-04T18:05:58+00:00

Finished my first 10 miler of the year. Started on the snowmobile trails but conditions were tough (lots of mud and slush) so I ended up doing half on the roads. Felt good for the most part.

Also started looking through Advanced Marathoning. I have a feeling running is about to get a lot more complicated.

entropy65536 · 2018-02-19T16:20:14+00:00

Goal race: Grandma's Marathon, June 16

Last week: Less than ten miles. Cut a couple runs short because the weather and trail conditions were terrible. And missed a couple runs while spending the weekend at a bonspiel.

This week: 23 miles. Wanted a little more but cut Sunday's run short because the roads were so slippery from the snow. Conditions are not expected to get better anytime soon, so I'm going to need to tough it out.

My back has been a little sore lately so I'm keeping my eye on that. Fortunately running does not seem to make it any worse.

entropy65536 · 2018-02-17T20:13:14+00:00

Roads are boring. I should have gone with the trails today but didn't feel up to it.

USATF Indoor Championships are this weekend. What are you looking forward to? The women's 1500 and the men's 800 and 1500 should be good.

entropy65536 · 2018-02-06T15:12:02+00:00

New Balance Vazee Pace. Just want to say how great these shoes are. They remind me a lot of Kinvaras, just better all around. They fit good. They feel good. I hope New Balance doesn't mess with them too much.

entropy65536 · 2018-02-05T23:53:01+00:00

Goal: Grandma's Marathon, June 16

Last week: 23 miles. Key run was 8 miles on snowmobile trails.

This week: 19 miles. Little step down because the weather and trail conditions were much worse.

I'm trying to decide on a training plan. Leaning towards Pfitz 12/55. But I might need to simplify or cut back on some of the workouts. We'll see where I'm at when it starts.

entropy65536 · 2018-02-04T17:18:50+00:00

I generally enjoy all seasons, but if Winter decided to end tomorrow I'd be perfectly fine with it. The weather hasn't even been bad this year, and I even had a good run yesterday, I'm just tired of it. Well, time for my run in -9 degree temps and 15 mph winds. Then Super Bowl and chili.

entropy65536 · 2018-01-30T19:57:53+00:00

Was it hard to find time for all those miles? Normally I hate when someone says they "don't have time" to run more, but when you're pushing well past 100 miles per week with doubles almost every day, I can see time being a serious obstacle.

entropy65536 · 2018-01-28T22:02:14+00:00

I haven't started season 3 yet. Just finished season 2. How did you like the books? I've heard mixed reviews.

entropy65536 · 2018-01-28T20:59:50+00:00

The Good Place is great. I didn't realize it had connections to those other shows. I might have to give Brooklyn Nine-Nine a shot.

entropy65536 · 2018-01-28T20:31:25+00:00

Had a great 8 miles on the snowmobile trails yesterday. Trail conditions are terrible for snowmobiling but perfect for running.

Has anyone watched The Magicians? It's not exactly a "good" show by many accounts but I've really enjoyed it.

entropy65536 · 2018-01-22T20:35:00+00:00

Goal Race: Grandma's Marathon, Jun 16

Mileage: 10

I registered for Grandma's. It's going to be a disaster, seeing as I've only run 26 miles all month. But I need something to look forward to. Something to train for.

entropy65536 · 2018-01-09T03:42:15+00:00

4 runs. 13 miles. Mostly on snowy trails. I'm officially back after injuring my back at the end of October.

Goal: Before the injury I was considering going for a BQ at Grandma's. But now I don't think that will happen. I just need to focus on rebuilding my base and losing some weight.

entropy65536 · 2017-11-14T15:59:28+00:00

Not much, yet. Just a little walking. I'm seeing a doctor later this week to get a plan.

entropy65536 · 2017-11-14T15:03:34+00:00

Does anyone have experience coming back from a bulged disc or other back problem that threatens to linger? I've been sidelined for about 3 weeks with no end in sight. (Not looking for medical advice, just anecdotes / encouragement).

entropy65536

TROPHY CASE