I’ve been off-and-on, hit-and-miss for most of this year. I had a good race in Boston, a decent race in Orange County, and a pretty lousy year aside from that. But I have one last chance to salvage 2009 in Tucson on Sunday. This is my last chance until 2011 to just go out, run hard and not worry about anything else.
Tucson is one of my favorite courses. It’s downhill, so it can be incredibly fast. But it’s like the Golden Goose. You don’t want to kill it. This will be my fourth year running it. The first year, when I was in shape to run 8:20 miles, I tried to run 7:15s and the Goose was cooked by 18. There’s nothing quite like running eight miles with legs that feel like they’re made out of bricks.
In 2007, I ran the fastest race of my life, a 3:00:05, by cruising perfectly down the hill. I was in good shape and locked in a zone. I think I ran better in Boston this year, but I’d still rate my 2007 run as one of the top 3 runs of my life.
Last year, I wore the wrong shoes (bad choice — lightweight racers, but I’m a heavy guy) and didn’t have the support I needed for the pounding the downhills issue. My legs were in excruciating pain for the last 24 miles. That was the most painful, miserable run I’ve ever had.
So, I’ve run Tucson three times. Twice I ended up in miserable pain, but the run in the middle was my fastest marathon to date. Feast or famine, I guess. But I’m excited about it. My goal is sub-3. I’ve been chasing it for a while and one of these days I’m going to get it. I don’t really think I’m going to get it, but I’m certainly going to try. I need to average a 6:52/mile pace and I have reasons to think I can do it.
My fitness over the past eight weeks or so has been getting back to where it was last year and when I ran Boston. I spent five weeks off this summer with a sprained ankle, and when I came back, I was pretty slow. My long runs that used to take 8 minutes per mile were taking 9, and I was cutting them short to 24 or 25 miles and walking at the end. But my last one was 26.75 at 7:56/mile. Also, my training runs are a lot closer to where they were. I’m feeling quicker in the mornings. I’m running a tiny bit quicker than I was in the spring, but I’m also running a tiny bit harder.
I’ve run stretches in the 6:30-6:45 range and they feel fairly natural. A little bit tough, but not like a sprint. By feel, a marathon isn’t going to be like a sprint or a 10K, but it’s definitely a tough run. I don’t feel like it’s out of the question. My weight is borderline where I want it to be. I was 197 yesterday morning. I’d rather be 195, but I’m not going to sweat it. I was 204 or so about a month or two ago, so I know that’s a plus. No sense carrying dead weight.
But, I’m not anywhere near peak condition. I haven’t done a ton of speedwork, I haven’t trained all that hard and I haven’t been tremendously focused. I know I’m hedging, but I really think anything is possible on Sunday. I could get the sub-3, but I think if I set an over/under on my time for Vegas, I’d set it at about 3:12. I just don’t feel like I’m fast enough right now. I’m not worried, though. I’ll be doing 26.2-mile marathon-pace workouts every week next year. I’m pretty sure I’ll get quicker!
Take a guess at what time you think I’ll run. I’ll send whoever’s closest an Operation Jack t-shirt. Speaking of Operation Jack t-shirts, they’re in and everybody seems to like them. If you want, check out the donation levels and get yourself one!
You Think I’m Nuts? Check Her Out!
OK, I feel totally lucky that I get to meet so many great people through Operation Jack. Maybe that’s one privilege I get by running myself into the ground. One person I’ve met is Ally Phillips from Dallas. Super nice, new marathoner, and really excited about helping Operation Jack. It absolutely blows my mind how people want to push so hard to help. I’m actually pretty shy about it and I don’t really feel worthy. But I really appreciate it. Check out what she’s doing in her blog today. Thanks, Allie! I’ll have my wife bake you some of her cookies when you come out for Catalina.
I Need 30 Seconds Of Your Help By Friday!
I’ve been pushing this, but I REALLY need your help by Friday! I’m sure you know by the annoying announcement I have on the page, and maybe you’ve already voted, but there’s a contest being put on by Chase that’s going to award $25,000 to 100 different charities nationwide. The winning charities will be the top vote-getters at a Facebook group page. So, this is a way you can really help out in less than a minute. Just take the following three steps:
1. Click HERE to go to the Chase Community Giving page on Facebook and join the group.
2. VOTE FOR OPERATION JACK.
3. (Optional, of course) Click the button to post in on your wall and tell your friends.
You’re all here because you believe in Operation Jack. Take a minute and help this thing go viral. 100 charities are going to get a huge holiday bonus. Let’s be one of them!
Facebook Changes
You might be a fan on the Facebook page, but we’re moving our Facebook home to a new group page. This will make it easier to communicate with you. I’m not going to spam you, but I’ll probably send brief updates periodically. Messaging will be more effective than having things fly down your news feed, so I’m going to use the group. Make sure you’re over there at here (or click on the Facebook button on this page).
And going back to that contest and going viral, PLEASE, if you have friends in your address book on Facebook who might be interested in Operation Jack, please send them an invite to join the group!
That’s All For Today!
I probably won’t write anything tomorrow, so have a great weekend! Ice cream streak is up to 50 days now, in case you’re curious!
Dan Merker says
Good luck! My guess is 3:06:22.
Ally Phillips says
Thanks for the shout out! Hopefully we’ll get some people to chow on some holiday yummies for Operation Jack.
Have a great weekend and an amazing race–I’m sure you’ll do great!
Katie Abdolhosseini says
I def think you have a sub 3:12 in you right now! I am going to go with 3:08:10. BTW, I will see you in Tahoe! Have a great race!