Ohh. Canada.

So the Mardi Gras Half Marathon was a mixed bag. One of my goals was to be in the top 20, and I did that with an 18th place finish out of a field of over 10,000. My time goal was sub 72 minutes(5:30 pace), and after being on this pace through 10k I fell off and ran 74:02(5:39 pace). If I was a professor I would give myself a solid B-. Which as we all know is pretty mediocre...unless school isn't your thing.

I got out conservatively as planned, and went through the mile in 5:31. I latched on to two guys that were pretty chatty so I figured they were comfortable at that pace. My next four miles felt controlled: 5:29, 5:27(16:27 at 3), 5:29, 5:28(27:25 for 5), and then at 6, when I allowed myself to think about a couple miles down the line..I went 5:38(33:04 at 6) and lost the pack I had been running with. I then went 5:38, 5:42, 5:52(ouch) as I came into the French Quarter. I fortunately had a guy to run with at this point and went 5:46(56:04 for 10 miles). My last 5k was pretty ugly, with it being a trip on the pain train up to City Park- 5:48, 5:49, and a blazing closing mile of 5:44. After flirting with the top 10 for the first half of the race, I gave up roughly 5 spots in the last couple miles. Not quite the close I was looking for. One of the first things that struck me after the race...other than being happy to be done...was that my overall pace- 5:39 a mile- was exactly as fast as I had done my quickest tempo run in the previous month. Another demonstration of how your workouts are pretty good indicators of what to expect in the race. The other prevailing thought was simply that I need to get faster. The only way I can do that is by bumping the mileage up- cautiously of course- but steadily. This coupled with being able to actually do hard workouts with the thawing weather cooperating more will be the "secret" to getting faster. Not really a secret, but rather a blunt truth.

After a wonderful weekend with friends and family in New Orleans...thanks again Dad, Kevin, Michelle, Uncle John, Aunt Heidi, Autumn, Andy and my long lost friend from Baltimore, Katie...it was back to business on Tuesday. Well after a 12 hour workday on Tuesday and a planned off day from running...I returned to the roads on Wednesday with a easy ten miler on the River. On Thursday I doubled, with a six mile run with Elkan in the AM and a brisk 6 miler in the evening in 37 min. and change back in Haddonfield. I had the privilege of getting worked on for the second time by Michael Libercci. Again, if you haven't checked his work out yet, google his name and his MAT discipline will be outlined in detail. He simply gets it done when it comes to getting the imbalances corrected in athletes.

On Friday, in 70 degree weather, Breton and I got a solid effort in. We ran out to Cooper River, and on Breton's trusty Garmin we were down in the low 6's early on. After cutting off to add some mileage on, I kept up a steady rate of 6-6:10 pace and for the first time since the Half on Sunday did my legs feel bouncy. I ran the 10 in a brisk 63:59. That's a good sign for my 16 miler tomorrow. So after thinking for months that I would likely run the Vermont Marathon in May, I have changed directions and have decided to go after the Ottawa Marathon on May 29. The course is flatter, and the times up front are much faster. Vermont will have to wait until after my time of chasing times is through. Although it is supposed to be a great race, and cool course.

I had gone up to Ottawa a couple years back with family to watch the FIFA Under-21 World Cup...where we saw Adu, Bradley, and Altidore take down Brazil in an ass kicking...and I got a chance to run throughout the city. I also got to see the White Stripes in the Ottawa Blues Fest(bummed out about them breaking up- Kerri's boyfriend Jack becomes even more elusive). I am excited about the prospects of running my next marathon there. I have already committed to running Chicago in October, so after taking all of June to recover I will have July through October to get ready. A fairly short turn around sure, but I feel it is my best competitive opportunity to hit some fast times.

My Spring Season looks like this: Coogan's 5k on March 6 in NYC, Adrenaline Run 5k on March 19 in Haddonfield, Cherry Blossom 10 miler on April 3 in Washington DC, Broad St. Run 10 miler on May 1 in Philly, and then Ottawa on May 29. It is a schedule that I feel will force me to work on my speed early in my training and racing with the 5k's in March, and will allow enough time in between races to get in the heavy volume and quality workouts to maximize my fitness by Ottawa. I am excited about the prospects, and although I would consider the first race in New Orleans as a sub par opener, there is only one way to go now. Forward.

Eric

Edit. Note- Kim Smith, a New Zealand Olympian, set the All-Comers record on US Soil at the Mardi Gras Half in 67:36(5:10 pace- which happens to be two seconds faster than my PR). She was out from the start just off the men's lead pack, and absolutely killed it. She is running Boston in April, and I would have to say she is one of the favorites. It's gotta be a tough combination when you are world class as well as super cute. I would love to have just one of the two. Some of us are just mere mortals though. Also, I tried to upload some video that Kevin and Michelle took of the race, but after 15 minutes of not loading up I scrapped the idea. If I can figure it out I will put it up by next week. Try not to get too excited. My half tights and singlet are pretty damn hot.