I've been busy with Ironman training and with work at the hospital. After Wildflower, I jumped into Marathon mode. I ran Back to Back marathons in mid May. First off was the Palos Verdes Marathon on Saturday May 14. It was a tough and hilly race. The downhill running actually took more of a toll on my legs. By mile 18, I slowed down significantly from my marathon pace. I decided to treat this as a training run and after mile 20, I turned it back way down. I even walked most of the last 3 miles. In the back of my mind I was a little concerned about my marathon the next day. My legs were very sore, again probably from the downhill running. When I finished, I immediately went into refuel and rest mode.
The next day, Sunday May 15, was the Pasadena marathon. It was a great course. Some hills, but not as bad as PV. It rained the first couple hours, but the sun came out and the last couple hours were very pleasant for running. I ended up running more than 10 minutes faster in Pasadena on tired legs than at PV the day before on rested legs!
What was my reward for this Marathon Madness? The most important reward was the mental strength I developed which I will need to draw upon during Ironman. Another reward is stronger legs and a more robust cardiovascular system. Oh yeah, I also got a Phiten necklace for completing the PV to Pasadena Ultra Challenge.
On Memorial Day, I ran the Laguna Hills Half Marathon which is a hilly course as well. I actually set my Half Marathon PR here in 2008. I was out late the night before the race with my neighbors. I probably had too much Johnny and Jack. My sleep was not optimal at all. So I actually had second thoughts when my alarm went off that morning. Since I needed to at least get a training run in, I decided to attend the race. I started the race feeling crappy. My legs felt sluggish. My breathing labored. But after a couple miles, I started to find my groove. Soon I was running at my 5K pace. I knew I couldn't keep this up, but I decided to run fast as long as possible before turning it down and treating the rest of the race as a training run. By mile 6, I had slowed to 10K pace, but I was still feeling strong. I eventually started tiring around mile 9, but I knew at this point that I could race the entire course. Well I just missed my PR by about 30 seconds! I had not taper. In fact with Ironteam training, I just went on a 5 hour-90 mile bike ride against a strong headwind 2 days before the Half Marathon! This race just reconfirmed how far I have come from my ACL Reconstruction in 2009.
So my running is at Ironman level. My cycling is close to Ironman level; I have a 6 hour ride tomorrow in which I should go well over 100 miles. My swimming is another matter entirely. I have been suffering from a sore Left shoulder for about 3 weeks now. I would start to feel better, but after the 90 min swim workouts, I would go back to square one. I finally rested and avoided the pool for 10 days. This week I had a 60 min swim and the shoulder felt OK, but my swim stroke deteriorated. I know I'll have to put more time into the pool.
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