Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon 2010 Race Report

This was the second annual Seattle Rock N Roll Marathon and my second attempt at it. This is a large race (25,000 entrants with about 6000 doing the marathon) and will probably be my last RnR and my last large marathon for quite awhile.

I had a bit of redemption given my performance in the 2009 race. I had trained very well for this run and felt quite ready with my base, tempo training, etc. Of course the last couple of weeks of taper always give you a bit of time to doubt your abilities. But I felt really good going in that I would be able to hit my goal of a sub 4:00 and possibly hit a 3:50 marathon.

One thing about marathon training is there are A LOT of plans on how to train. There is a A LOT of advice on how to taper. There just isn't that much about how to actually run a marathon on race day. With that in mind I sought out this advice during the taper week and found some good stuff.

Here is what I found.

Grand Ridge Solstice Trail Run - Race Report

After reading Anton Krupicka's blog yesterday I decided to screw my taper plan and go for a trail run (of course as a couple of my friends and I have been discussing what use is a taper when you're running a marathon one weekend (Seattle Rock 'N' Roll) and a 50k (Grey Rock Trail Run) two weekends after that?). The trail I really like is at Grand Ridge Park which I ran a month ago for the first time. It's very lightly traveled and I learned last night that there is an effort to get more people out to the park. The WTA (WA Trails Assn) has also added a couple of more trails and has plans to add more in the future. It's right in the foothills of the Cascades so you get a bit of elevation and plenty of up and down. This is also the local park where I'm planning a 50k in August (Grand Ridge 50K) so I figure get as many miles in running those trails as possible.

50 Back & 2 Forward

One year ago I was two weeks away from running my first marathon - the inaugural Seattle Rock 'N' Roll (race report). Two weeks from now I will compete in my third marathon - the 2nd annual Seattle Rock 'N' Roll. As I begin my taper I thought it important to take a look back and take stock of where I am.

Training Time
This time last year I had put in a measly 37 hours and 21 minutes of running training. I have put in 66:19 this year.

This time last year I had put in 41:08 in total training. This year - 86:35.

Note that this year I broke my toe and was thus out for six weeks. I did, however, add cycling into my cross-training during this time and have also added yoga into my routine this year.

Injury
At this time last year I had developed ITBS due to overuse and a rapid increase in mileage run. This year, I have had some minor issues with my ITB but have adopted the roller and kept it looser. I have also added yoga, trail running, and done specific IT Band workouts to strengthen my lateral leg muscles.

Green River Marathon - Race Report

The Green River Marathon is a free marathon put on each year (this was the 14th annual) and is what I would describe as a community-driven event. I had not run a race like this in awhile and frankly I was looking forward to it. I have three "big" marathons on the books this year - Seattle Rock N Roll, Portland, and Seattle and after this year I plan on seriously limiting myself to trail runs and smaller community runs.

Luck led me to the start line this year. I found this race somehow online last year and thought it would be good training for the Seattle Rock N Roll. Unfortunately a bout of ITBS during my training led me to bail on the Green River Marathon even as a training run. I put the run on my calendar this year but it was soon trumped by the Blanchard 50k as I wanted to finally get my first ultra trail run under my belt. Last Monday (T-6 days) the race organizers canceled the Blanchard run due to lack of permits so I emailed the race directors and secured a spot for the race on Tuesday.