Cleveland Marathon 2010

The Prefect Race

Me (happy), Liz (not so happy)

As the date was approaching for the Cleveland Marathon, I was getting nervous. For two years in a row I have had my best marathon times in this race: 3:26 in 2008 and 3:22 in 2009. For some reason my body likes this race. So the question now was: Will I be able to PR again?

I had a bad feeling about a PR. First, my training this year has not been very good. Even though I have run a lot of races, I have not done any long distance training runs and no long distance tempo runs (other than the races, up to ½ Marathon). Plus, I have gained a couple of pounds from this time last year.

The last two days before the marathon I did not run, but ate a lot and felt lethargic. In addition to sleeping 8 hours a night (unusual for me) I was taking a couple of naps during the day and I could not concentrate on my work. I also felt like I could not run (sounds familiar?) But on Saturday evening I put on my newer shoes (the ones I had for the Hermes 10 miler) and they felt really good.

I went to bed at 9:30 pm last night and woke up at 3:30 am (the alarm was for 5:00). I took a shower, shaved, put on my light running clothes (the theme this year was “black”), ate a good breakfast, and, with my wife and daughter, headed downtown at 6:00 am.

The temperature at home was 50F. It went up by a few degrees. The forecast for the day was cool (50s to low 60s) and cloudy. It ended up being sunny and beautiful with a nice cooling breeze, really great weather for running.

I decided to join the 3:20 pace group, which was close to the start line. Took a few 3d pictures before the start and at 7:00 exactly, the race was on!

Singing the National Anthem:

Right from the start I saw Michele and ran together with Dan Horvath for a while but they are both faster runners so I let them go ahead.

Michele (orange shirt) at around mile 1 (finished at 3:15)

My first 10 miles were surprisingly fast:

1: 7:33
2: 7:11
3: 7:14
4: 7:07
5: 7:07
6: 7:17
--- 10K Split = 45:01 (7:15 pace!)
7: 7:14
8: 7:12
9: 7:22
10: 7:21

My pace was clearly faster than planned (I never saw the 3:20 pace group, left behind in the “dust”). I had some doubts that maybe I was going faster than I should and will “crash and burn” later, but decided to trust my body and ran with the pace that felt comfortable at the time.

The first 10 miles were touring the West side of Cleveland and they were nice and flat. But then we hit the Shoreway with a long uphill (mile 11 and partially 12), and then downhill by the Rock & Roll museum. The half point split was about there. My times:

11: 7:44
12: 7:36
13: 7:27
-- 13.1 (Half Marathon) Split = 1:36:44 (7:23 pace)

It is interesting that my 5K and 13.1 time splits would have been PRs for these distances just a few years ago. Also, 1:36:44 x 2 = 3:13:28, way too fast. I was expecting to slow down at the 2nd half, but how much?

Miles 14-17 are along a flat & rather boring stretch on Marginal road by Burke Airport, next to the lake. I could tell that I had slowed down, and my time splits show it too:

14: 7:46
15: 7:58
16: 7:51
17: 7:50

Along Marginal Road (not much to see, other than the runner in front :))

Somewhere on mile 17 I got passed by a 46 year old lady, Eileen Meisler. She is a good runner and I have seen her in other races too (I finished ahead of her in the Celebrate Nursing 10K recently). She started the marathon ahead of me but I caught up and passed her around mile 7, and now she is passing me. This was a bit of a “wake up call” to increase my pace. I ran with her for while but then she pulled ahead and finished ahead of me.

The next 4 miles are touring Rockefeller Park, a nice area on East Cleveland. My splits:

18: 7:50
19: 7:47
20: 7:37
21: 7:51

At mile 21 we exited the park and for two miles we ran along St. Clair Avenue towards downtown. These were my best miles in the entire race. I felt really rejuvenated and was running fast and full of energy, maybe seeing downtown Cleveland and knowing that the end was near.  It felt as if these were 7 min/miles but they were slower:

22: 7:38
23: 7:37

But I could not keep up this pace. The final 3 miles were a bit of a torture. I had to dig deep into my reserves, but the thought that I was “almost there” gave me the strength I needed to finish.  The last mile felt particularly long:

24: 7:58
25: 7:54
26: 7:59
Last 0.2: 7:23

My clock time was 3:20:09 and my chip time was 3:19:45.

Big PR!!

I am ecstatic!

I did not think I would ever be able to run faster than 3:20. Now I am thinking, with more training and minus 10 lbs, I might be able to do 3:15 one day.

In all respects, this was the PERFECT RACE. Everything went well. I cannot find anything to complain about:

- The weather was perfect
- I was well-rested
- I was dressed appropriately (not too warm, not too cold)
- I ate well and only had Gatorade and water during the race
- I did not stop for anything (no need to)
- The shoes felt great
- No pains or problems of any kind
- I like the course and I ran it with confidence
- I slowed down but did not crash in the 2nd half

This was definitely a day for a PR and I am glad I made it!

Ahhh... that free beer feels very good right now!

PS. Liz was a bit disappointed with 2:07:01 for this (her third) half marathon. She felt crowded and could not find her pace. She mentally quit after mile 8 and even walked a bit. With 20,000 people in the roads, it is time for Cleveland to adopt Corals like Boston and other large races have.

Cleveland Marathon next week!

Saturday morning it was beautiful, despite predictions of rain. I showed up at 7 am at lock 29 and ran with a group of runners I have not run before. One was Dan Horvath. He ran Boston at 3:17 and hopes to run Cleveland a couple of minutes faster.

The run was a bit fast. We did 14 miles. Here are my mile splits: 9:23, 8:51, 8:37, 8:12, 8:05, 7:44, 7:55, 7:46, 7:29, 7:35, 7:38, 7:59, 7:46, 7:52. It is interesting how the pace kept increasing, settling close to what my pace should be for the marathon next week.

Talking about the Cleveland Marathon, this is my 11th marathon.  My secret goal is to improve last year’s time and PR of 3:22:47. But any time faster than 3:30 will be fine.

Here are all my Marathon Times:

Year Location Time
1 2004 Towpath 3:55
2 2005 Towpath 3:45
3 2006 Towpath 3:36
4 2007 Towpath 3:42 (walked)
5 2008 Cleveland 3:26
6 2008 Akron 3:29
7 2008 Towpath 3:37
8 2009 Cleveland 3:22 PR
9 2009 Akron 3:38 (training)
10 2009 Athens-Greece 3:28
11 2010 Cleveland

Other news: I have been running to the Brecksville Rec Center twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday. I take the Buckeye trail. I did this last year too, but this time I am running back too! It is 7.3 miles each way. So I run to get there, take the 45 min exercise class and then run back. It is actually a bit easier going back. I leave home around 4:30 pm and come back at 8:00 pm. 3 ½ hours of exercise. I hope these trail miles will get me ready for Mohican 50 miler in June.

The Day After

The day after the Akron marathon brought a nice surprise: MY LEGS ARE *** NOT *** HURTING!!!

So, now I get it: If you want your legs not to hurt, don’t run fast… That’s what my wife is doing :) Seriously, the person who said “It’s not the distance, it's the speed that kills” is absolutely right! After the Perfect 10 Miler 3 years ago when I set my present PR (6:51 pace), my legs were hurting for a couple of days. And it was only 10 miles. After my half marathon at 6:58 pace 3 weeks ago, my legs were hurting. But, running Akron at 8:20 pace does not produce pain (even though it felt hard).

I am happy for that. For a while I was worried that I pushed too hard in this marathon. The reason you should not run a marathon too close to an important race is that the recovery from the marathon can mess up your preparation for the race. This does not appear to be no problem for me now. I still have 5 weeks for Athens. My goal is 3:30, which is rather conservative but very reasonable considering the difficulty of the course.

Predictions!

I have been fascinated with running times predictions, i.e., predicting your time in one race, based on times in other races, ever since I read a 1977 book by Manfred Steffny "Marathoning" (see previous blog). From Manfred’s book I first read about the possibility of predicting your marathon time, based on your 10K time. He gives a very simple formula:

Marathon time = 10K time x 4.666 (1)
He later modified to: 10K in 30 minutes -> Marathon in 2:20. For every extra minute in 10K, add 5 minutes to the marathon (2)
A more conservative estimate (recommended for beginners) is even more simple: Marathon Time = 10K time x 5 (3).

Right now my 10K PR is 41:20 (2007). My best marathon time is 3:22 (2009).

(1) 41:20 x 4.666 = 3:13
(2) 2:20 + 5x(41:20 – 30) = 2:20 + 56:30 = 3:16:30
(3) 41:20 x 5 = 3:26:30

Seems like my actual time is between (2) and (3). I think formula (3) is more typical for people without enough marathon experience/training and it is very easy to remember: Formula (1) might be my upper limit and (2) something to aim for.

Here is a table published in Manfred Steffny’s book:

Max. possible Realistic
10Km marathon time marathon time
------ ------------- -------------
27:00 2:05:00 2:08:30
28:00 2:10:00 2:14:00
29:00 2:15:00 2:19:30
30:00 2:20:00 2:25:00
31:00 2:25:00 2:30:30
32:00 2:30:00 2:36:00
33:00 2:35:00 2:43:00
34:00 2:40:00 2:49:00
35:00 2:45:00 2:55:00
36:00 2:50:00 3:00:00
37:00 2:55:00 3:07:00
38:00 3:00:00 3:15:00
39:00 3:05:00 3:20:00
40:00 3:10:00 3:25:00
42:30 3:22:00 3:42:30
45:00 3:35:00 4:00:00
47:30 3:47:30 4:20:00
50:00 4:00:00 4:40:00

The Realist time is more appropriate for someone’s first marathons. The Table stops at 50min. Older runners and women can use the formulas.

I have devised two more simple formulas to predict marathon times from 10mile and ½ Marathon times:

(4) Marathon = (10 mile time) x 3
(5) Marathon = (1/2 Marathon) x 2 + 15 minutes

(4) My 10mile PR is 1:08:31 (2007) x 3 = 3:25:33
(5) My ½ Marathon PR is 1:32:50 (2008) x 2 + 15min = 3:20:40

Both are reasonable.

But the mother of all prediction calculators in the internet is here:
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/rp.php

You enter your age, gender, and one race time and it gives you several predictors, plus an average prediction. Cool! But there is more in this web site... It will also calculate how weight loss will affect your running times and more.

Staying on the topic of Marathon time predictions, I tried this web site and here is what I get:

Distance PR ----------- Predicted Marathon
5K – 20:06 -------------------- 3:10:33 - 3:25:57
10K – 41:20 ------------------ 3:10:11 – 3:24:52
10 miles – 1:08:31 ---------- 3:10:35 – 3:23:29
½ Marathon = 1:32:50 ----- 3:13:57 – 3:25:09

The first marathon predicted time is an average of several formulas. The 2nd time is called the “Purdy Formula” and it seems more realistic to me. To read more about these formulas, go to the link above.

Manfred Steffny – Marathoning Book

There is a plethora of books on the Marathon and I have many books in my personal library. But one book that stands out is called “Marathoning” and is written by Manfred Steffny. It was published originally in German in 1977. I bought the English 1979 Edition at a local library sale for around $0.10. You can usually find a used copy in ebay for under $5.

This was one of the first books I read on Marathons and I liked it a lot. It reflects the running mentality of 1970s Europe, which is a bit different than the current US mentality, which is why I like it. I think his ideas are simple and solid, and not much has changed since the 1970s, as far as first principles are concerned.

Here are some ideas from this book (written mostly out of memory):

1. Regarding when to run your first marathon, he advocates a solid year of running, and weight loss. Yes, you can drag your overweight body over 5 hours in the marathon course, but why? I am amazed at the number of people who start running and immediately want to run a marathon. It is better to take time to adjust to running first and lose some weight to get “marathon ready”. When I started running I immediately declared that I was not interested in running a marathon. Of course, I changed my mind but it took 3 years or running before attempting my first one.

2. Predicting your marathon time: I first read about the possibility of predicting your marathon time based on a 10K time from this book. He has an interesting discussion on the topic, and his formulas work for me (more about this in a future blog).

3. Diet and marathon running: He advocates natural diet and losing weight. He says what when your friends say that you look bad (too thin, etc), then you are in the best form for a marathon. This is the first book I encountered the idea of running and fasting (more about this later).

4. Hydration during the race: I think his basic philosophy is like mine “Let thirst be your guide”. For top runners: Would you rather finish 2nd and well-hydrated, or 1st and dehydrated?

5. Running with different shoes (variety is good). He says something like this: My suitcase if filled with different running shoes. Other runner’s suitcases are filled with pain pills. On the subject of injuries, he is against pills, injections, etc. but prefers natural remedies.

6. Ultramarathon Running: He claims that it is easier to run 100K than a marathon and maybe you should train and run a 100K first. When I first read this, I thought it was crazy and I had no plans to run anything longer than a marathon. But since then I have run several 50K trail races, and now I know that 50Ks are actually easier on the body than a marathon, even though the distance is longer.

These and other ideas about training, pacing, etc., are found in this little gem. I recommend it to all runners.

I searched google and found that Manfred Steffny is still around and doing well, still running at the age of 68. His web site is: http://www.steffny.de/ (use google to translate it in English). He has been the Editor of the Spyridon running magazine, the oldest running publication in German (since 1975).

Cleveland Marathon – The Aftermath

It’s been 2 weeks since the Cleveland marathon and things are going fine. I recovered really quickly with only minor pain/discomfort for a couple of days. My time has been officially changed to 3:22:47 (pace: 7:44) My placement is 191 out of about 2000 marathon runners, and 16/495 in the 45-49 age group. For the fun of it, I tried some other statistics, and I see that I am 5th out of 20 Brecksville residents, 1st out of 10 named “George” and 1st out of 42 marathon runners who are 49 years old.

Here is a picture of me at the finish... I was well aware that my picture will be taken at the finish, so I made an effort to look happy :). Actually, I felt great. I was not too tired or ready to collapse.

When my wife tells me that her legs do not hurt after a race, I tell her that she did not try hard enough. Applying this to myself, yes, my legs were hurting for the next few days, but they did not hurt bad enough. I did not feel the need take an ice bath as I did in previous marathons. And I felt fine at the finish. So, maybe I could have gone faster too. I feel I could have finished at 3:20, but I had no reason to push myself. Also, I have not done any speed training (not only for this marathon, but in general).

The bottom line is that I feel I can improve this time next year with better training and equally good running weather conditions.