Niantic Bay 1/2 Marathon

Today was the Niantic Bay 1/2 Marathon and 5K - what a splendid day for a race. The entire TL family drove up to Niantic where my sister has a beach house. Both of my sisters ran in the 5K, as did Mrs. Torn Ligaments, and yes my little hombre ran his second official road race in as many weeks.

It has just over 1,000 runners combined for both events - last year I did the 5K, my first, which sparked a fire within me - and it's been burning ever since. I set a pre-race goal of 1:40, which as I mentioned, was extremely aggressive - 7:40 min miles - but I wanted to push and see if I could do it. The course was essentially two big loops that begin in Rocky Neck State Park and then go through a seaside residential neighborhood, that reminds me a little bit of Marblehead.

I wore my Ironman watch which does track mile splits, though in the heat of the race I missed a few mile markers. I need a Garmin so it tracks automatically, but I digress.

Mile 1 I cranked in 6:47, felt light and balanced, but knew I had to dial it back a bit. Mile 2, my split was 9:00 exactly. Just awful. So I picked it up again, and Mile 3 split was 7:46 - more like it. Mile 4 7:53, Mile 5 7:54, Mile 6 6:29 (my fastest of the race). Apparently in my euphoria/delirium after turning out a scorcher I missed the next mile marker, and didn't get back on track until I saw the Mile 8 sign and staring keeping tabs again:
Mile 9 7:41
Mile 10 8:33
Mile 11 7:23
Mile 12 7:56
Mile 13 ? (I didn't press the button) to finish in 1:44:00.

My last mile I pushed hard, and after realizing 1:40 wouldn't happen, then besting 1:45 became the goal, and beat that by a minute.

144 35/75 M3039 1:44:14 David Costantini 39 M 375 Kittery ME 1:44:00 7:56

So 7:56 min miles, not bad. The real test will be if I can run 8:00 min miles next Sunday for the Maine Marathon in Portland, which includes a fair amount of hills.

I want to beat my Sugarloaf time of 3:39:19, and the rest is gravy.

12 Marathons in 12 Months

I've been inspired.

I am going to run 12 marathons in 12 months, and video record document my training and each race.

This is my tentative race schedule for my 12 month marathon challenge:

10/3/10 Maine Marathon, Portland ME
11/7/10 ING New York City Marathon
12/11/10 Roxbury Marathon, Roxbury CT
01/30/11 ING Miami Marathon, Miami FL
02/27/11 Hyannis Marathon, Hyannis MA
03/06/11 Napa Valley Marathon, Napa CA
04/18/11 *I didn't get into Virgin London Marathon so we'll see - Boston???????
05/22/11 Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon, Halifax NS
6/11 NipMuck Trail Marathon, Ashford CT
7/11 Around the Lake 12 Hour Ultra, Wakefield MA
8/11 *Going to Italy so not sure yet
9/11 Vermont 50 Ultra, Brownsville VT

I couldn't be more excited. I have to be pragmatic about which races to run (there are so many incredible ones to choose from) and have a tremendous amount of variables to consider, but I am committed to making this happen. Miami and Napa are the only ones that require flights. I still hope to squeeze a 70.3 triathlon in next year as well.

Needless to say, if there is anyone out there who wants to join me in a race, I would LOVE the company!!!!

Tuesday's run

Did a 12.5 mile run on this wonderful September day. I wore my North Face fleece pants for the first time since April and again wore a long sleeve HH performance shirt.

It was warm in the sun but most of my route was shaded and I felt pretty good. I had TKD last night and did a lot of sparring which takes more out of me than a usual class. At one point I backed my opponent into a corner and unleashed a fusillade of roundhouse kicks, one after another after another, maybe 8 or 9 in rapid succession, something I've never done before. So my legs were feeling it this morning.

Anyway, I didn't run a traditional route, just re-ran several hilly roads to the tune of 12.5 miles according to mapmyrun. Time was 1:48 and change.

I need to commit to a goal for the Niantic 1/2 marathon this Sunday. I will shoot for 1:40 - that is an extremely aggressive time for me, but it is flat and I will attempt to use the race day intensity to my benefit. To quote Bruce Lee, “A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

So 1:40 it is.

Kittery PTA Seaside 4 Miler

OK, this is amusing. My 6 yr old son insisted on running the actual 4 mile race, not the kids fun run. "Those are for babies," he said. He had a meltdown of epic proportions back in May when we didn't sign him up for the Fire Station 5k, so I wasn't sure how he would do running 4 miles but figured he'd probably go out strong, run out of gas, and walk the rest of it.

He crushed it! He ran most of it, took a few walking breaks here and there but for the most part was on the move running hard. I was side-by-side with him the entire way and he did great. Mile 1 was 11:01 and finished up 48:35 I believe. 12:09 avg min/mile for a 6 year old?

Great stuff, and he loved every minute of it.

20 Miler

I didn't run all week long but managed to get in my much needed 20 miler this afternoon. I ran to the York Golf & Tennis Club (waved to the bridal party) and continued along through York Village and York Harbor, before turning around. Very nice run.

Time was 2:56:28. Mile 1 was 8:24 and was doing 9:00 min miles for most of it, but the last few I was running out of gas. Could've used GU/Gatorade.

I can run a 12 and feel fine, but tack on another 8 and my body feels it.

I am craving a big giant porterhouse medium rare right now.

Long run

My Saturday was very hectic and I only had a small window in which to run so I left the house at 6:30am and ran for 2 hrs. I returned at 8:30am, and not sure of pacing or exact distance but best guess would be 14.5 miles.

I ran the hilliest roads I could find. Today is a rest day.

Thursday 12

Another 12 miler to York Golf & Tennis this morning. Mile 1 was 8:00 on the screws and wound up finishing up in 1:43:23, :11 seconds off my Saturday run of the same length.

It was also about :10 seconds slower per mile than yesterday's 13 which is interesting because it is a flatter course. I pushed, but seems I have hit a temporary plateau in terms of time. Need to improve.

I will run a 20 on Saturday, then run this again next week.

I've run 41 miles the past 7 days, 53 if you include last Thursday's sweltering 12.

Wednesday 13

I am back to my 12.99 Wednesday routine of my 4.33 loop x 3 and today I set a goal of 1:45, or three consecutive 35:00 loops.

1st loop was 35:47, and I pushed hard. Second loop was 36:11. Last loop 37:22. Final time 1:49:20. So I'm still averaging 8:20 min/mile for 13, but I want to shave :20 per mile and get down to 8:00/mile.

A lot of hard work ahead.

57:49

Did an out-and-back 7 mile run on this spectacular Labor Day morning. Wore a long sleeve Helly Hansen performance tee, first time since April? Just perfect running weather.

Mile 1 7:45 and at the 3.5 mile split I was exactly 29:00. My goal was to crack 29:00 on the way back, and did the back half in 28:49 for a total time of 57:49. Good run.

8 miler

Did an eight mile run this morning. Perfect weather. Didn't wear a watch but best guess would be around 8:30 min/mile, roughly same pace as yesterday's 12.

Incidentally, I am looking for a good road bike. I've decided to get into the triathlon game. My goal is to finish the Timberman 70.3 next Aug as well as the Pumpkinman 70.3 next Sept, which is right next door to us in South Berwick, ME.

Saturday's 12

Did another 12 today, once again to the York Golf & Tennis Club and back. Soon I they will start charging me membership dues...

Wore my brand new Brooks Adrenalines size 10.5EE and they felt very comfortable. Had them shipped from Bozeman, MT - when I was out West I walked into the Bozeman Running Company and struck up a nice conversation with the owner. He's a former collegiate runner, and we talked for a 1/2 hour about marathons, trail ultras, and as a former sales rep for Brooks recommended these shoes. He ordered them and shipped them to Kittery. Perfect fit.

Anyway, Mile 1 in 8:13 and finished up in 1:43:12 but had to stop to take a leak, maybe 30 seconds lost. I pushed hard on the back half and gave it a strong effort.

September training

Started off September with a 4.3 mi run in 36:19 yesterday and then another 12 miler this morning. It was the same 12 mile out and back to the York Golf & Tennis Club that I did the other morning in 1:39 - in today's outrageous heat I did it in 1:50:29, a full minute slower per mile.

2nd run of August..

So this morning,Saturday 8/28 I did only my 2nd run in nearly four weeks - a 12 miler to the York Golf & Tennis Club and back. Left the house at 6:30 sharp, and 1st mile was 7:21 and finished in 1:39:12, avg. 8:15 min/mile. So I didn't lose too much during my hiatus, probably because I kept very active out West, hiking 8-10 miles at 8,000+ altitude nearly every day. I really enjoyed today's run however and am excited to kick my training back into gear.

Race schedule is as follows: Niantic 1/2 marathon in a month, Maine Marathon the week after, and then New York Marathon 11/7.

Falmouth Road Race Recap

I ran Falmouth on Sunday, August 15, 2010. Given my utter lack of preparation for this race I was happy with my performance, just squeaking in under the 60 minute mark at 59:22. This time, while not my fastest, was also not my worst and was only about 11 seconds slower/mile than last year. If there were races for beer drinking etc. I'd be starting with the elites, but there aren't so I was one of the pack on Sunday.

This race was special for a couple of reasons. I ran in support of the Falmouth Military Support Group -- a local charity that offers support to Falmouth-area troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their families. I got a shirt from them and wore it during the race. It's the first time I've ever run in a tank-top and it was really cool to have a team logo on my chest. I think that I represented it well and it definitely helped me power through -- I wanted to make a good showing to all of the spectators and the folks who supported me and the group with their donations. You all ran with me.

I'm also happy with this race because it was a race in which I really felt like a runner -- I relied on my experience as a runner, my knowledge of my body and the course to just find a comfortable pace and run a decent race. I dropped all pretense of ego and just ran. I stayed relaxed, I smiled, I high-fived the little kids along the course and generally enjoyed the experience and the comfortable weather -- usually Falmouth RR is a brutally hot and sunny affair and this year was a bit overcast and very comfortable.

Based on last year's time is was in the flight right behind the elites which was a bit intimidating but also motivating. I think that I acquitted myself reasonably well. Race bibs are color coded and mine was purple this year. I arrived at the start thinking that I'd been bumped way back (purple was the masses, 12 minute/mile crowd last year) because I was wearing a charity number. Nope.

I didn't eat much before this race, but did drink on the course which helped. I relaxed through the rolling first half, and felt good coming onto the beach. Again, the sun was behind clouds so it wasn't brutal as it usually is there, and I said so to a couple of women. The breeze was a bit stiff, and slightly ahead of us coming from the right -- it did wear on me a bit toward the end of the beach.

Coming off the beach you make a big left hand turn. A bunch of 20-something guys were there, drinking and goofing off. One of them, as a joke, held out his Corona. I grabbed it as I went by and, looking over my shoulder, toasted them and took a swig. They were howling with laughter. I spit out the warm beer and tossed the bottle. Unfortunately it bounced back onto the road and some guy was like "woah!" but it didn't break.

Between 5 and 6 I saw Charlie Gibbs (I think) in a Chicago Cubs hat and a guy around 6 with a HC football t-shirt on. I gave him a big high-five. My legs blew up just bast 10K. I walked for about 15 paces and then hammered it up the final big hill and finished with a nice kick. Good race, good day in support of a good cause. It's inspired me to get back on the road and train better, but I'm not going to race again (after this weekend's tri -- which is all about fun and for which I feel good given my attituede and result this past weekend) until The Hingham Turkey Trot.

Race Recap - Around the Lake Ultra

On Friday evening I ran the 24 hour Race Around the Lake in Wakefield, MA. I did the 12 hour race, and I had set a pre-race goal of making 16 loops, or 50.75 miles. Add the .85 distance to make the first eight loops an official marathon, so 51.6 total miles was what I was striving for.

It was a fantastic event from start to finish. Mrs. TL and I drove down on Friday, she checked into the Sheraton Colonial, and we headed to the Lord Wakefield hotel for packet pickup. There were 54 runners doing the 12 hour race, a similar amount doing the 24 hour, and about 150 doing the marathon. There were also 10 teams doing the relay, where they have a team between 6-8 runners who split distance over 24 hour span.

The vibe was excellent. We camped out near the chute with a cooler and a few folding chairs. It had a tailgate atmosphere, as people set up tents, folding tables, grills, and every amenity a runner and their support people could need.

I felt good at the start. Now I didn't train specifically for a 12 hour, 50 mile ultra, but about a month ago I learned about this race and felt I could handle it. The next 2-3 weeks I increased my milage, so if the Higdon plan said 14 for a long, I'd to 16-17, and etc. I knew I could run 26.2, and anything after that is icing. Last week was a taper week, as I did two 8 mile runs just to stay loose. I wanted to be fresh for the race.

I didn't want to focus too much on the fact that I'd be running two back to back marathons - just running loops. 8 loops made a marathon, so my strategy was to run nice and easy for the 1st 8, then taking short walking breaks after completing each loop.

7pm and it was on. My biggest challenge early on was making sure I didn't go out too hard. I ran a deliberately slow pace, and settled into a nice groove. 1st three laps felt great. I made sure I drank HEED sports drink at the 2 mile water stop. I had GU roctane at the start, and one at lap 3. Lap 4 I took a gatorade from our cooler, and walked while I drank it.

It was cool to see the moon rise over the lake - like I mentioned to someone during the race, you know you are going a long way when you get lapped by a celestial object. I had a 24 lumen head lamp, which helped a good deal. The lake is well lit, but I used it for several sections where the walkway was bumpy from roots and where the curb drops down to the road. Even though I had a reflector vest on, I chose to run on the walkway because you just never know when someone will come screaming around the lake, possibly drunk, and mow you down. So no chances.

Mrs. TL left for the Sheraton after my 4th lap to get some shuteye, about 10pm or so. She planned to return around 5am. Agricola was going to arrive around 4am to run the final 3 hrs with me - more on that later.

The weather was ideal - cool, maybe high 60's when the sun set, and gradually eased into the high 50's. Insects were not an issue either. Lap 5,6,7,8 - I maintained a steady pace. Finished the marathon in 4:45, and that was when the hunger really kicked in. I grabbed 2 slices of pizza from the food tent, put one slice on top of the other, downed 2 cups of HEED sports drink, and gobbled a huge handful of pretzels. I ate as I walked, about ten minutes or so, covering roughly a 1/2 mile.

Refueled, I then ran a quick lap just to get it out of my system. I ran it like a 5K road race, about 8 min miles, and that cured the desire to go pedal to the medal. A questionable thing to do, but I felt terrific at the time knowing I just finshed 26.2 and had the steam to crank out an all-out 5K at race pace. I then returned to my regular, conservative pace.

After finishing lap 9, my routine was consistent - pass through the chute, go to food tent, grab whatever my body craved at that moment, take it with me, and eat while I walked for 5-10 minutes. This worked. At times it was pizza, other times salty foods, still others outright sweets. I was pleased with my fuel intake to that point - I stopped to pee twice, my sodium levels were good, and if I felt hungry I ate before it became an issue.

I also grabbed my iPod and from midnight through 3am I ran to music. My standard long distance running mix, with NFL films soundtrack, Rocky selections, The Hives, The Killers, Green Day, etc.

I had some great conversatons along the way - the runners were all so friendly, willing to chat. Around 3am I struck up a conversation with one of the 24 hr runners - he was 43, and done VT 100 5 times, and last year attempted the Grand Slam of Ultra Running - the Western States 100 (complete with river crossing), Leadville 100, VT 100, and Wasatch 100. He DNF'd Leadville and Western, but got the Buckle from the others (100 mi in under 24 hours). So impressive. He's friends with Scott Jurek, and talked a lot about his training - being from CT, all the miles in the world just don't prepare you for the altitude out west. By far the biggest challenge he faces.

Lap 12, feeling great. That was when I noticed I was lapping some of the other 12 hour runners.

Around the 2.5 mark of lap 13 was one of the darker stretches and I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have and didn't realize the sidewalk was ending and I stepped down into the side street, a good 12-16" down, and really banged down hard on my left foot. Immediate pain. Up until that point my cardio and overall muscle fatigue was feeling good, but where my shin met my ankle was now throbbing. Not good. I pressed on.

At 4am I rounded the mile 3 marker into the parking lot and saw Agricola. I was stoked beyond belief. I was finishing lap 14 (44 miles) and he gave me an enormous boost. Felt pretty decent overall with the exception of my shin.

Three more hours, and two laps to go until I hit my goal of 50. My left lower shin area was only getting worse. We walked a good part of lap 15 while the sun rose, and when I went through the chute to complete 15 Mrs. TL joined us. We walked the first 3/4 of a mile, then Agricola said something - I don't recall precisely what he said - but whatever it was it got my engine going. I began to ran, and it was excruciating. My shin was burning with pain.

Those last 2 miles were the longest 2 miles of my life, but both Agricola and Mrs. TL made it bearable. I would not have run if they weren't there. As we approached the Mile 3 marker I started to break down emotionally. I pride myself on getting by with mental toughness, and when I saw that big 3 sign I picked up the pace as best I could. I babbled "I can do this" over and over to Ted, and when we hit the final turn and the chute was in sight I sprinted as fast as I possibly could, completing 51.6 miles in 11:00:16.

I was done. I broke down in massive tears. I did it. I gave Mrs. TL a big hug, and one for Agricola as well for pulling maximum effort out of myself despite being a complete state of agony. But agony is temporary; the achievement lasts forever. I am forever grateful for their encouragement.

An hour was left on the clock but I knew I couldn't complete another lap with the pain in my shin. I knew I was done, but not before the run of my life.

I am still waiting for the official posting from the Somerville Road Runners, but the printout at the race table showed I finished 19th out of 54 runners in the 12 hour. I feel good about that. The winner of the 12 hr did 23 laps, 2nd place did 20, and 3rd did 19.

I will definitely do this again next year. Perhaps even the 24. I will know what to expect, and will have specifically trained for an ultra.

For giggles, here is what I consumed in that 12 hour period. Reads like Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar:

9 bottles of 12 oz. Gatorades
30 (?) cups of HEED (guess)
3 GU roctane
9 slices of pizza
2 giant eclairs
2 giant oatmeal raisin cookies
1 bag of pretzels (approx)
3 bananas
1 peach
1 pb& honey sandwich
8 slices of watermelon
2 shots of 5 hour energy for caffeine
more M&M's and jelly beans than I've eaten in my life....and STILL lost 3.5 lbs.

Prepare the right way - do the work, don't cheat yourself - and the results can be astonishing. I have learned not to impose artifical limits on myself. I will keep pushing forward, in running, and in life.

24 Hour Race Around the Lake

So it's official - - I am registered and running in next Friday's 24 Hour Race Around the Lake.

I've been thinking about running this race for about a month now and have decided I have the stamina and endurance to do this. I will be doing the 12 hour ultra marathon beginning at 7pm and have 12 hours to run around Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield, MA as many times as my body can endure. It is a 3.16 mile loop, well lit, and paved - ideal conditions for a first ultra. Proceeds go to the Rabb Clinic at Children's Hospital Boston.

I want to keep pushing myself, shun complacency, and see what I can achieve if I put forth enough effort. My goal is to complete 16 loops in under 12 hours for a total distance run of 50.56 miles.

So it is on. 50.56 miles in 12 hours. I can do this.

Some Thoughts

A radical double post from me.
I want to take a minute to comment on some of the posts that I've been reading here and catching up on after my hiatus.

@Tom: you put in the grittiest performance of the year in VCM. You warriored that thing to the end. It was a brutal run this year, and I ate a bunch and still had issues. I know I've declared a hiatus but something clicked in me this week -- I need to run VCM, again. I need to master the training. I know I can finish a marathon, maybe not quickly, but I can cover 26.2 in a (somewhat) respectable time. The time comes from the training, and marathoning, now, for me, is about mastering the training and that's what I need to try again and submit myself to.

@David: you are a force of nature. I admire & envy your drive. Crewing for you would be cool -- but do you think could find a closer ultra? the keys are kind of far away, and it could get expensive. But send me the details, and we'll see if it's doable.

@Noel: it's all about the flow, I've been saying that for two years. It's not corny, it's true. You need to habituate yourself to the training and embrace its ups and downs. It's time to put the pedal to the medal on the Timberman... crash training time baby!

@Red: where are you? let's go for a ride ;).

@Steve: good luck training for Schroon 1/2. I'd be happy to do a training run with you if you want, but it will take some coordination, August is full. I considered Schroon with you guys for a bit but it's not going to work out this year. Some time in the future.

Weston 5 Miler

So, here it is the Torn Ligament Blog... left alone with the blog and his miles and a bunch of slacker training partners who are offering zero support and seemingly the same number of miles.... Sorry David, I'm back, and will participate again here, we need to.

Well, I'm back after a long hiatus in which I basically got really good at drinking beer and working my tail off on miserable projects with miserable clients and partners.
I got in one run during my vacation, three weeks ago, a mellow 3.3 miles. I signed up for the Weston 5 Miler months ago, and thought it was next week until they thankfully sent me an email reminder Wednesday. So, I bucked up and did the race in a rather moderate 42 minutes (gun time). It was about what I expected after my layoff, 8:30s, and didn't hurt too bad. I uncorked a scorcher between 2-3 (7:26 by my estimation) but starting at the back of the pack and running a really slow first mile it went for naught and hurt me at the end.

Anyway, I needed something to kick my butt back into gear and this hopefully did it. I'm running Falmouth in a few weeks, but I need some help: I'm getting in by raising funds for Falmouth Military Support Group. Phat and Torn have kindly donated to my cause, and I'd be stoked if I could get you other Distance Trainers to pony up some cash by 7/30/10 -- you can donate online here: Firstgiving. Thanks guys.

Week 8

Started off Week 8 training with a 7 mile run this evening. About a 1/2 mile into it I had to use the restroom and without any promising opportunities just ended up holding it the entire run. On top of that, I had eaten an early supper of scallops, spanish rice and broccoli - mistake. Should have waited until I returned to eat, like I do after I return from evening TKD class. Left calf is also still sore. So not a great run, but it's done. 1:06:42.

First Ultra

Today is my off-day, and time for some brief introspection. My little grasshopper and I tested yesterday for our high green belts and it went well. Sparring, breaking, Taeguk poomses, everything. The journey to eventually attain our black belts has given me the mental strength and confidence to embark on a quest to achieve some audacious goals - and do the work to achieve them.

My next goal is to run a 50 mile ultramarathon. I will do it, and see the race to its end.

My committed race schedule the next 6 months is as follows:

08/7 Beach to Beacon 10k
09/25 Niantic Bay 1/2 marathon
10/3 Maine Marathon
11/7 New York Marathon
01/30 Miami Marathon
04/26 London Marathon (subject to lottery)

SO I will run a 50 miler early summer 2011. If I do not get into London I am leaning towards the Keys 100 in 05/11 (the 50 mile event)from Mile Marker 51 in Marathon, FL and finish in Key West. Proceeds go to the Richard J. Fox Foundation to fight prostate cancer. (Second option is the North Face Endurance Challenge next June from Washington D.C. to McLean, VA.)

Would anyone be interested in the shared experience of an ultra? Or possibly being part of my support crew?