Luke won the thing outright. Good job. Now don't be a dodo and try to run a marathon every weekend or you will have a short running career. take it easy and take that young lady runner friend out for dinner and a night on the town. M
The plan was to take it easy (7:00-7:30 pace) in preparation for the National Marathon. I used the week before to try out a light taper and a carbo-load. I guess this really got my legs ready to roll, because I started out running 6:35's and figured after 3 miles my plan should change and I should go after my PR (I ran 2:56 this past October at Steamtown). The last two miles of the loop, done three times, was uphill with the wind in the face. Besides that it was rolling, with no long hills. I was also on a relay team with my father and roommate. After I did the first leg (loop) I had my roommate to run with, which was a HUGE help because of the wind. He picked it up and we hovered between 6:17 and 6:30 for the second loop. Unfortunately, my father’s age did not allow him to keep up and he told me he "might see me at 25."
With the wind at my back, I threw in a 6:12 for the 17th mile. The leader at this point, Michael Rodgers (who had gone out hard in 58 minutes at 10 miles, 1:20 at the half), was slowing down and I dropped in a 6:17 for mile 19 to get by him. A mile after passing him I turned into the wind for the final 5.5 miles. At this point my miles started inching up toward 7 minutes. I started taking Gatorade with 4 miles to go because I feared I would cramp up if I took it earlier.
There were other club members/affiliates at the race I believe: Michael Rogers was rocking an older Georgetown Running Company racing singlet and I was running next to Dane for a little while in the beginning. I think he ran over 15 minutes faster than he did last year.
My right knee is pretty beat up… probably has to do with my right quad being tighter than my left in the later stages of the race. The marathon really brings out those imbalances. While I have run the past two days, I seriously need to just take a couple days off from running. Look forward to running with everyone… hopefully this weekend!
LUKE---seriously, you should not only take it easy but don't run for a week. swim or do biking or walking but allow your legs to recover, no matter how you feel. i know you feel strong and invlncible, but take it from someone who also felt that way and then gradually broke down. ask wilson or steve or Jim Hage or anyone else besides mike wardian about how to recover from a marathon to achieve optimal bennefits down the road.
Luke Merkel reportedly ran 2:53 in his marathon debut over the weekend. 
Luke won the thing outright. Good job. Now don't be a dodo and try to run a marathon every weekend or you will have a short running career. take it easy and take that young lady runner friend out for dinner and a night on the town. M
ReplyDeleteThe plan was to take it easy (7:00-7:30 pace) in preparation for the National Marathon. I used the week before to try out a light taper and a carbo-load. I guess this really got my legs ready to roll, because I started out running 6:35's and figured after 3 miles my plan should change and I should go after my PR (I ran 2:56 this past October at Steamtown). The last two miles of the loop, done three times, was uphill with the wind in the face. Besides that it was rolling, with no long hills. I was also on a relay team with my father and roommate. After I did the first leg (loop) I had my roommate to run with, which was a HUGE help because of the wind. He picked it up and we hovered between 6:17 and 6:30 for the second loop. Unfortunately, my father’s age did not allow him to keep up and he told me he "might see me at 25."
ReplyDeleteWith the wind at my back, I threw in a 6:12 for the 17th mile. The leader at this point, Michael Rodgers (who had gone out hard in 58 minutes at 10 miles, 1:20 at the half), was slowing down and I dropped in a 6:17 for mile 19 to get by him. A mile after passing him I turned into the wind for the final 5.5 miles. At this point my miles started inching up toward 7 minutes. I started taking Gatorade with 4 miles to go because I feared I would cramp up if I took it earlier.
There were other club members/affiliates at the race I believe: Michael Rogers was rocking an older Georgetown Running Company racing singlet and I was running next to Dane for a little while in the beginning. I think he ran over 15 minutes faster than he did last year.
My right knee is pretty beat up… probably has to do with my right quad being tighter than my left in the later stages of the race. The marathon really brings out those imbalances. While I have run the past two days, I seriously need to just take a couple days off from running. Look forward to running with everyone… hopefully this weekend!
http://www.lets-krong.com/jake/articles/lukemarathon1/luke.htm
ReplyDeleteLUKE---seriously, you should not only take it easy but don't run for a week. swim or do biking or walking but allow your legs to recover, no matter how you feel. i know you feel strong and invlncible, but take it from someone who also felt that way and then gradually broke down. ask wilson or steve or Jim Hage or anyone else besides mike wardian about how to recover from a marathon to achieve optimal bennefits down the road.
ReplyDelete