Las Vegas Marathon Report

Now that I have a few days between me and Las Vegas, I'm ready to do a race report!

First of all, I have to commend Devine Racing for really shaping up the LV marathon. I ran the race last year and the race organization left a LOT to be desired. This year, I thought the race organization was much better, and certainly being able to run up the strip was a super highlight.

The best part is always the expo for me -- it's so full of hope and excitement! The booths seem to scream "Of course, this doohickey will make you run much faster!". As usual, I buy into the whole thing and grab a bunch of stuff, which of course I use the next day, because I am a total sucker for running nerd stuff.

After the race and seeing Avenue Q at the new Wynn hotel and casino (both of which are fantastic by the way), we went home to organize. I take setting my race day equipment out for the morning as seriously as I used to take triathlon transition area organization, so it takes me a bit to get everything organized just so.

At 5am my Dad and I started out from our hotel towards Mandalay Bay. Perhaps it is my Alaskan-climatized blood, but I found it downright warm! On the way, we had to pass through the casino (nothing like walking through smoke filled casinos to get you ready for a marathon!).

I will say that the start was a bit disorganized. The entrance to the area was a very small opening in a fence, and it took a while to get through. There were also not enough signs to indicate where the bag dropoff was, for example. Once it was 6am, there were fireworks and the "Viva Las Vegas" anthem, but it took at least 10 minutes to get to the start line!

Once on the strip, things were great! It was still dark, so all the casinos were still in their neon-filled splendor. LOTS of people were lined up and cheering for us! I really enjoyed the first few miles, and, since it was windy, was trying to take a bit out of Lance Armstrong's book and tried to keep aerodynamically positioned behind someone bigger so that I did not have to be in the wind (like last year).

I felt pretty good through the strip and Freemont Street. We had had fun at Freemont Street the day before, with a security guard almost kicking me out of Golden Nugget for taking a picture, and Mom being accosted by "the Bead Lady" who had "free beads" apparently only for those that came into the casino. I made faces in their general direction while running by.

I think around mile 12 I really started to feel not so good. Maybe I should have preempted my nutritional plan around mile 11, because I think I was just hungry. I also was in that uncomfortable place between being too hot and too cold. In addition, there is a significant stretch in the middle of the course that was windy and also kind of barren. These factors contributed to a HUGE slowdown between mile 12 and mile 15.

When we turned onto Torrey Pines, I started to feel better. There was a wind at our back, which certainly helped push us forward. But honestly, most of the race is a blur to me until about mile 18, where all of the sudden I had a wave of I-FEEL-GREAT! come over me...so I ran strangely fast all of the sudden.

It's that great feeling that got me through the rest of the race! It definitely was not my best day, but I did try to make it special and am proud of finishing in 4:51.

Three more days to go...

There's three more days until the Las Vegas Marathon. The last week before a marathon is relaxing and nerve-wracking at the same time. On one end, I always enjoy the relaxing part, but spend a lot of time worrying if I have done enough to prepare. The fact is, there is very little you can do other than take care of yourself in the last week -- no extra training is going to do any good, and will probably hurt.

So I did my last real run before the race -- I ran about 30 minutes at race pace, and felt pretty good. Hopefully I can remember what that feels like on the day of the race!

So I can spend the time I used to spend training getting the "important" parts of the running done -- I mean, it's one thing to run a marathon, but one also should be coordinated and have good music to run to, shouldn't one? :)

Currently I am working on music, but I'll likely bring my ipod mini so that I can also listen to books as well. I have been especially saving C.S. Lewis' "The Problem of Pain" for the marathon, and am also determined to get through "How to Practice" by the Dalai Lama. I figure, a marathon is a great time to learn how to transcend suffering :).

Viva Las Vegas! Marathon Update

I got mail saying that the marathon is 12 days away while eating a grilled stuft chipotle steak burrito...how ironic! Here are some new

Entertainment

Apparently, there will be entertainment along the route (not including the "elvi" and the run-through chapel)...including an x-box lounge at mile 19! What a great mile to take a few minutes to chill out and play a few video games! I wonder if they will have promotional trinkets for the marathoners? There will also be entertainment called "Milk and Cookies" at Mile 16 -- I don't know about you, but milk and cookies are not the best thing to be eating in a Marathon!

God loves Marathoners.

Just in case you need some extra help keeping your shoelaces tied, there will be a blessing of the shoes at Our Lady of Las Vegas on Saturday.

Track me!
Just like the Marine Corps Marathon, you can Track your favorite participants in the race (me!)-- including split times! This not only takes all the challenge out of Frank and Mom's support duties, but also allows anyone anywhere to send good vibes to runners. Heck, maybe I should wear my cell phone to find out my own splits...

Rundown -- NYC Marathon Edition

Derek Rose posts a special edition of the Rundown for the NYC marathon.

Other people's marathons, and a 20-miler completed!

Anne ran the USMC Marathon today, and survived! Dad ran the Silicon Valley Marathon, and turned in a 4:16!

Way to go to both of them!

While waiting for their results to come in, I redid my 20 miler that I should have done on Saturday. I was so happy to have kept on the treadmill for that long -- every once in a while, I'd veer right and almost fall off. I celebrated with a Big Mac -- after 20 miles, nothing tastes better than a Big Mac to me :)

After the McD celebration concluded, I unfortunately had a LOT of stuff to do. First on the list was shovel snow. I figured that I should get that out of the way first before the soreness started to set in :) The next thing? Clean the house! Another very unpleasant thing to do after running 20 miles. Now, I am looking forward to picking up Frank from the airport and going to sleep!

For this week:
Monday: Killer XC class. Anytime you are reminded not to eat two hours before, there will likely be some unpleasantness.

Tuesday: 12x400m/hilly run. I've got to get used to running hills since the LV marathon is not totally flat this year.

Wednesday: Killer XC weights class. Yikes.

Thursday: Run 5 miles tempo at 9:20. Yikes again.

Friday: Free day! Perhaps there will be snow enough to go skiing???

Saturday: "Easy" 15 miler. This is prep for next week's other 20 miler.

Sunday: Free day! Skiing again?

The Mind of a Marathoner

I've got about five weeks until the marathon, and I'm a bit nervous. I was going to run my long 20 miler today, but had such a struggle with it that I'm going to retry tomorrow. What went wrong? My insteps were blistering, and I was stuck on the "bad" treadmill with a choice of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Space Patrol Delta" or the Breeders' Cup. This is because I found I can only concentrate on the TVs right in front of me -- if I veer off course, I tend to run sideways, causing my legs and feet a lot of pain. So, I ran six miles, and felt so awful that I felt that perhaps running tomorrow during the steelers' game will help. This means I'm going to run 20 miles, then turn around and do a hard workout in XC class the next day!

Eventhough I've done 26 miles four times before, running long takes, well, forever! I am convinced its' longer on a treadmill. However, I know from experience that unless the weather is over freezing, I just don't do well on long runs, because my body overheats, then underheats. In addition to the failure of my body to retain a constant temperature, I also am not so good at running on slick surfaces. So running 5 miles outside is generally no problem, but 20 miles would be pushing it.

In any case, my problem currently has to do with a side of marathon that is often overlooked-- the mental marathon. The experts say that if you are mentally prepared and focused during your race, your body will follow. From personal experience, this is true -- my best race was Columbus, where for some reason I was very happy. I believe this was due to the fact that I had groupies running with me. The groupies were all first-timers that saw me as the "marathon veteran". Noone wants to let down groupies, do they? I remember cheering at each mile as I pressed my little stopwatch and seeing the numbers in the 9-ish minutes. Anyways, it was like a dream until about mile 18 when it finally got hard. Luckily, I saw Dad turn the corner at mile 23 ahead of me, and we ran/walked the rest of the race together.

Most of the sports psychologist websites I have seen talk about two types of mental focus in races -- Association and Dissociation. Association, or internal focus, is when a runner constantly monitors pace, stride, form, and body sensations. During this strategy, a runner feels "in the moment". Dissociation is the complete opposite strategy. For dissociation, one focuses their mind externally, distracting the mind from the current body situation. TV, music, chatting with others, or just enjoying the scenery are all ways to employ a dissociative strategy.

So which ones are best? Well, for first timers, using a dissociative strategy tend to work best. However, there is good research showing that dissociation is also linked to reduced performance and increased injury, since the runner is not paying attention to the body. On the other hand, internal focus could really bum a runner out due to the fact that this can accent pain and fatigue that a runner is experiencing.

My suggestion is to try both techniques, and make sure you know how to use them, and in either strategy, be as positive and as flexible as possible. If one strategy is not working, you will need to be able to flip your mind as necessary to keep moving. For example, at mile 18 if you are enjoying the beautiful scenery and suddenly your legs feel really tired, sometimes repeating "My legs are telling me they are working hard, but I feel great!" sounds cheezy, but truly can help you get through the pain. I like to do a mental check (association) every few miles and say out loud if necessary "I feel great!", then go back to my music or book (dissociation).

So make sure, especially in the last month before your marathon, to do some work internally on preparing yourself mentally for the marathon. Believe me, I will be working a LOT on this on my way to Las Vegas! Here are some good sources for additional information:
--GR Sports Center -- The Marathon Mental Game: What You Think Matters
--Marathon Guide -- The Mental Marathon
--eHow: How to use Mental Focus in your Marathon Race

Happy Running!

Running Report, October 23

Last week, I stayed "pretty much" on track, except that my entire Thursday workout was shot. I'm finding that the speed workouts really do make me run faster, although I still prefer to do my long runs at a slow pace.

Speaking of long runs, I had to complete my 18 miler on treadmills at the gym. Yes, it's become the time of the year in AK where running longer than an hour outside is not so fun. Yuck! I tricked myself into thinking I was outside by running on three different treadmills. I really caused myself a lot of grief through chafing -- we had to make a late-night stop at the Fred Meyer for spray-on band aid stuff and burn pads.

This week's schedule:
Monday--XC training (plyometrics)
Tuesday -- Tuesday Night Trail Run/4x1600 at 8:15
Wednesday -- XC training (weight training)
Thursday -- 8 miles tempo at 9:20
Friday -- easy day!
Saturday -- 20 miles Long run (hopefully outside)

Las Vegas Marathon -- Drive Thru

The Las Vegas Marathon has a new Drive-Thru video that shows the complete course. It feels...so....long! I especially like the middle part of the soundtrack where it sounds like the music is getting tired too!