I'm Running the Colfax Marathon

I have decided to run the Colfax Marathon, May 18 in Denver rather than the Colorado Marathon, May 4 in Ft Collins. Denver is a lot closer than Ft Collins, the Colfax is an out-and-back meaning there is no 4 am bus ride to the start and I'll get another two weeks of training in. The Colfax was previously a one-way with the last 13 miles rising 400 ft in elevation. Last year the port-a-potties didn't show up and some underling reset the course in City Park so it was 27.5 miles. This year's course looks really good on paper. The start and finish are both located in City Park where there is adequate parking. The marathon heads West on Colfax Ave while the half marathon heads East and I will not be tempted to keep up with the faster half marathoners. The first three miles are flat, in mile 4 there is a drop of 100' down to the Platte River, there is a 400' gain from mile 4 to mile 10, miles 10-13 are flat, miles 13-21 drop 450', miles 21-23 gain 150', and mile 23 to the finish is flat. My plan is to run the first 13 miles at a heart rate of 137 bpm. I used this strategy several years ago in the Boulder Backroads marathon that also has an uphill first half and I felt strong at the finish. I will increase my heart rate to 140 bpm for miles 13-21 and 143 bpm to the finish. Typical strategies for running a marathon using target heart rates call for 3-4 beats increases at miles 13 and 20. I am delaying the increase to the low elevation on the course at about 21.3 miles.I really have no idea of what time I'll run. My 21:28 in the Kickoff Classic 5K last September predicts a 3:33 marathon according to the Bolder Boulder conversion charts. I ran a 3:54 in the 2005 Boulder Backroads marathon using this target heart rate strategy but that race is on gravel with much more elevation gains and loses. Actually, I don't care what my time is, I just want to not go out too fast and be strong at the finish.

Eight Weeks of Training to Go

The marathon I plan on running is May 4, 2008 and I have 8 weeks to go. I have been increasing my long run by 2 mi every other week since February 1. I reached 20 mi on the second week in March. The 20 milers will be the cornerstone of my training from here on. I will do three of them and taper for 3 weeks. My two hard workouts during the week will be 6x800 and a 35 min threshold run. The spreadsheet is published here.

Marathon Training Plan

I have decided to enter the Colorado Marathon, May 4, 2007 in Ft Collins, CO. I last ran this race in 2003 with a time of 3:29. Runners are bused 26.2 miles up Poudre Canyon to the start. The course runs alongside the Poudre River and is breathtakingly beautiful. I completed 5 weeks of 45 mi/wk on Sun, Mar 9. During this 5 weeks I increased my Long run to 16 mi by adding 2 miles every other week. I also ran five of 6 hill repeats to strengthen my glutes. I am ready for anaerobic runs of 18-20 miles. I am 60 years old and need extra time to recover. To enhance recovery and lower the risk of injury I am going to change to three runs per week. These will be Speed, 6x800 or 5K race, Tempo, 4-5 mi at my anaerobic threshold or slightly higher, and alternating anaerobic long runs of 18-20 mi or 7-8 miles at marathon pace.

January 2008 Running

My plan for this month is to increase my weekly total to 45 miles in 10% steps. I will then run 45 mi/wk for 12 weeks in preparation for the Colorado marathon in Ft Collins on May 4. This is pretty ambitious for a guy that has only run 26 mi in the last week of 2007.

Running 2007

It was a good year for my running. I ran a total of 1683.5 miles. I figured out why I kept getting hurt with shoes that did not have the necessary stability for me. I could run 58 mi/wk by September. I ran 3 mi of speed work at Potts Field about once a week starting in June. I ran the USATF cross country championship in Boulder. I was the 6th fastest 59 year old male in the Bolder Boulder. I ran a 21:28 in the Kickoff Classic 5K for 1st place in my age group. I learned to only increase my mileage by 10% per week.

December Running

I finally realized the reason I got hurt in the Boulder half marathon was because my Nike Structure Triax were worn out. I switched totally to my Nike Equalon but they were worn out and I continued to aggravate both Achilles and ACL's. The last week in November I ran exclusely in my Brooks Axiom. They are not as stable as the Nike's but only have 30-50 miles on them and will do for short distances that I'm going to run in December.

November Runs

My goal in November is to recover from my injured Achilles and run a Thanksgiving 5K. My plan is to run the same miles for two days in a row and then increase the distance by .5 mile. I'll add distance until 4.5 miles then start hard/easy/long.