Day Fifty Three - "Atlanta Half Marathon Week"

"Having a true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you."
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Sunday was an awesome day even though the rains came and the temperature was on the cold side. We got a lot accomplished yesterday and were able to watch the Patriots beat the Jets at Gillette Stadium with a big huge Rib-Eye steak. Life is great…

The upcoming week is Thanksgiving. Traditionally work starts to peter out after Monday. This time is good time to take advantage of all the little projects that I have been procrastinating on over the last couple of months. This week is also the start of tapering for the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thursday as well. I have only 2 runs scheduled prior to Thursday. A track workout and a 3-mile EZ run. I also have been fortunate to be picked to be a running sponsor for “Men of a Certain Age” that will be airing on TNT in the couple of weeks for the Atlanta Half. With this sponsorship I receive a technical running shirt, 5 T-shirts (with “Men of a Certain Age” logo) a $75.00 AMEX gift card (pays for my entry into the race) and I am getting my picture professional taken on Tuesday night down at the Expo.

The sponsorship for this particular TV show is bitter sweet. It is great that I the opportunity was extended to sponsor a TV show, but one of the qualifications for being picked is that you have to be 40-49 years old. We all get older as the years fly by, but when you are singled out because of the age you are really makes you think that the years are flying by.

Though the years are adding up, I have nothing to be sorry for in my life. My family is healthily, I have good friends, I am stronger than when I was in my 30’s and my health is okay. We will find out how well next week.

Monday morning came quick. I had a lot of tossing and turning throughout the night, mostly about nothing. No bad dreams, no worries but just a little pain from the memory foam that we put on the bed last week. I like a firm bed, Sarah likes a soft bed. After a couple of years of having the bed firm, Sarah wanted to “soften” it up and she went out to purchase a memory form. I am not the biggest fan of it, but it makes Sarah happy and well…

Ann Marie last week requested that we run the track workout on Monday in order to rest up for the Half on Thursday. In my mind, this is the signs of a race for her which it should not be. This is a simulated race at marathon pace only and in order for her to stick to the plan I am going to make a wager with her. AM is shooting for a 3:40:00 Huntsville time. This equates to an 8:23 minute pace. For the Half AM needs to pace herself for a 1:49:49 race. The wager will be (with a 10-second variance on both ends) for every 10 seconds under this time she owes me a monetary amount (T.B.A.). I am banking that this will hold her to her pace with a friendly wager in place. Sarah and Wren are also running the Half but I am not as concerned with their pacing. I think they are truly seeing this as a “mock race” and hold true to the time of 1:54:50 half. This is going to be a good race and a good time with Sarah, Wren, Ann Marie, Chris, Susan, Stacy and anyone else we see at the race.

As for the track workout this morning. The group was smaller than normal but Jay, Bob, Susan A., Ann Marie and myself. The majority of the group was hitting 8 X 800’s (a shorter rendition of the Yasso 800’s) as I was running 6 X 400’s.
As we left the parking lot we were stopped by a guy who was trying to find Verizon’s Head Quarters. The four of them kept running across Northpoint and I stopped to give him directions to the facility. I sensed that the group thought it was weird that a guy was asking directions at 5:45AM in the morning, but he seemed harmless enough. Heading down Webb Bridge the wind started to pick up where we all knew it would have an impact on the timing around the track. The run would need to be pushed a little more in order to hit the marks. Ann Marie was apprehensive on her ability to make the 3:23 time for her 800’s. Susan, Bob & Jay seemed to be unfazed by their times and wanted to get the 800’s going. I gave AM a dose of encouragement and we all started out track.
Bob & Jay were consistent around the oval with Bob being the pacesetter. I could tell from Bob’s form and stride he was pacing well. Jay, tended to start out too fast instead of building to a pace. Overall the paces were dead on at 3:12’s. Ann Marie and Susan were even more consistent on achieving the 3:23’s for their times. Even with the doubts looming in her head, AM’s physical toughness shows on her workouts. Susan is the quite horse. She just runs without a peep and achieves her times consistently week and week out.

As for me, I was the variable in the mix with my 400’s. I timed my 400’s and recovery in order to finish around the same time as the group. My time for the last workout before the Half was: 1:18, 1:16, 1:17, 1:16, 1:16, 1:15. The pace for my 400’s was 1:17. I was a little fast on a few but with a longer than usual recovery in between the 400’s I was not taxed at 100%.

After the workout and heading back, we talked about Yasso’s theory of 10 X 800’s. Bob wanted to hit two more 800’s to see if he could stay on pace. No problem for Bob or Jay for that fact. In short, Bart Yasso’s theory states if you can maintain 10 X 800M’s at a consistent pace that pace will dictate your marathon pace. If the 800’s are run at 0:03:23’s then you should be able to run a 3:23:00 marathon. Susan tested this theory last year and it worked for her. We all have some doubts especially when I trained last year on all my 800’s at 0:02:51’s.

Bart Yasso will be at Huntsville on Friday giving a seminar. I plan to attend his seminar to hear what he has to say. Maybe if I buy into his belief than I will be able to take some of Yasso’s belief and apply it to a faster time at Boston in 2010.