Boston Marathon Preliminary Race Strategy

Twelve days and a wake-up to race morning in Boston on Patriot's Day.   Yesterday I had my first look at the 14 day forecast which included Monday, April 18, which called for a high of 56 with showers and light/variable winds -- perfect for Marathon racing.    While I am hopeful on having optimal weather come race morning, it's Spring after all and I am sure what shows up standing in the starting chutes out in Hopkinton at 10:00 am on Monday, April 18 will be different than what the weather forecast is currently saying.   I'll be more trusting 3-4 days out, but fingers are fully crossed nonetheless.    The only forecast I don't want to see is for temperatures above 70 degrees.   Given how rough the winter has been in Seattle with rain and wind dominating nearly all of my outside runs, I'm prepared for about the worst weather Boston can throw at us on race day. 

Since the next couple weeks are a taper with the exception of a 5-mile pacing session today and 12-mile time trial this Thursday, I've got a little more time on my hands to begin my race plan for actually running the Boston Marathon.    Below is a detailed first draft that I am working with my running coach to refine and then boil down to just a handful of simple objectives and tactics I can focus on while actually racing.    Experience has taught me on numerous occasions that a cluttered mind and high performance don't translate into optimal results (at least for me); additionally, the cumulative mental and physical fatigue I experience above mile-20 slowly erodes the foundation of even the best laid plans as it's simply just hard to think clearly after 3 hours of running at race pace.   

What I have found that works for me is to start with my overall race objectives and break them into A and B goals.  An "A" goal represents an optimal performance and a "B" goal is my fallback plan for a day where things simply don't go as planned and I can still find something to focus on achieving while out on the course vs. simply completing the race.    I've found on off days performance-wise that having a fall-back plan keeps me focused and still leads to an overall better result than simply capitulating and finishing.    Once I've got my goals set, I break the race into segments that are governed by mileage and terrain.     I typically approach a marathon as a race of 3 segments:  miles 1-10, miles 10-20 and 20-26.2      For the Boston Marathon I will approach the race in 4 segments:  miles 1-10, miles 10-16, miles 16-21, and miles 21-26.2.   The reason being is that the section of the course through Newton from miles 16 - 21 are 4 significant hill climbs each separated by a 1 - 1.5 miles followed by a significant downhill stretch into Boston from miles 21 - 24.    The Newton Hills requires a different race tactic than what I would normally do given where the hills fall in the race and the fact that they occur in sequence over a relatively small distance.    

In summary, I am thinking of my draft race plan as follows:

• Miles 1 - 10 Run relaxed with special attention given to not going out to fast in the first 3 miles out of Hopkinton given how downhill that section of the course is.   Where possible build some buffer time faster than goal pace without unduly straining.   Find what my natural race pace is for the day.

• Miles 11 - 15 Increased focus and locking in on race pace with little split variability. Aggressively run the downhill out of mile-15 into the first of the Newton Hills at mile-16 building up some buffer time ahead of goal pace.

• Miles 16 - 21 Run the Newton Hills at even effort.   Attempt to accelerate out of each hill and run the slight downhills / flat sections between each hill at or better than race pace; don't be afraid to hold back and just run a pace that feels good -- saving up for the last hill climb up Heartbreak Hill at 20.2 and then accelerating out of Heartbreak downhill through Boston College and into Boston Proper.   

• Miles 22-26.2 The race begins!   Aggressively run the downhill taking in the energy from the crowds and trying to get back or below race pace through 24.   From 24 - 26.2, suffer in the pain cave knowing that it's only another 16-18 minutes of running for the Unicorn!   

Boston Marathon Race Plan (DRAFT)

My top goal for this year's Boston Marathon is to create memories for a lifetime and to maximally enjoy and soak up the experience of the whole Boston Marathon weekend from the time I get to the marathon expo on Saturday morning, running and enjoying the route, crowd and experience along the way up through finishing the race on Boylston (injury free) including a big celebratory dinner Monday night with family.    I won't place a finishing time as my top goal as there are too many factors that are out of my control as possible impediments that can serve to lessen the overall experience (such as running the race at 88 degrees in 2012 when my goal time was 3:14).   

My A+ finishing time goal is a BQ running a sub 3:30:00 and 8:00 average pace per mile.

My A finishing time goal is sub 3:33:19 and 8:09 average pace per mile.

My B finishing time goal is sub 3:43:26 and 8:32 average pace per mile.    

For the Boston Marathon Course I am going to adjust my race strategy into 4 tactical segments as follows: 

Boston Marathon Course and Elevation Chart

Segment 1 (miles 1 - 10) -- Same as standard strategy except I will consciously hold back on the first 4 miles out of Hopkinton which are predominately downhill.  I may work to build up a slight buffer here in the first 4 miles,  but will try and rein it in due to the early load on my quads.  After the slight hill climb out of mile 4 to mile 5 I will resume my normal Segment 1 strategy.  

A-Goal: (< 1:20:00 / 8:00 segment pace / 8:00 race pace)  

B-Goal: (< 1:23:20 / 8:20 segment pace / 8:20 segment pace) 

Segment 2 (miles 10 - 16) -- Same as standard strategy but at mile-15 in Wellesley I will aggressively run the downhill into mile-16 and the start of the first Newton Hill building momentum for the first hill climb as well as trying to bank for losing some time running even effort through the Newton Hills.   

A-Goal: (< 2:08:00 / 8:00 segment pace / 8:00 race pace)

B-Goal: (< 2:13:20 / 8:20 segment pace / 8:20 race pace)

Segment 3 (miles 16 - 21.0) --  Newton Hills Segment.    I will run the 4 hills of this segment in even effort (8:30 - 9:00 pace) while trying get back to my race pace in the 3 flat segments spanning the first and fourth hill.    Hill-1 is .64 mi in length and ~3% grade.   Then run .96 mi from the end of hill-1 to the beginning of hill-2. trying to get back to race pace.   Hill-2 is a short .34 mi in duration but steep at 4.4% grade.    Then run 1.36 mi between the end of hill-2 and hill-3 trying to get back to race pace.    Hill-3 is .47 mi in duration and 3% grade.  Then run .48 mi between the end of hill-3 and hill-4 (Heartbreak Hill).     Hill-4 is .48 mi in duration and 4% grade.     I will attempt to accelerate out of Heartbreak Hill at mile 20.75 and resume race pace as we pass Boston College and descend into Brookline and then Boston proper.  

A-Goal: (< 2:50:30 / 8:30 segment pace / 8:07 race pace)

B-Goal: (< 2:58:20 / 9:00 segment pace / 8:29 race pace)

Segment 4 (miles 21.0 - 26.2) --  From the top of Heartbreak Hill at mile 21 down through mile 24 is predominately downhill.  My goal in running even effort through the Newton Hills is to have enough gas in the tank physically and mentally to attack this 3 mile downhill stretch at or below race pace and then hanging on and letting the crowd pull me in from Fenway Park to Boylston to the finish line.   I think a realistic race pace for this segment is 8:20 if I am having an A race and 8:40 for a B race.   

A-Goal (< 3:33:19 / 8:20 segment pace / 8:09 race pace)

B-Goal (< 3:43:26 / 8:40 segment pace / 8:32 race pace) 

In Summary 

In summary this is a simple plan to execute with a lot of details that go into the creation of the plan.  I plan to run all the hills even effort while making up time on the downhills or in sections of the course where I can still some extra time based on how I feel.   I need to get up and over Heartbreak Hill no slower than ~2:58 and then hang on into Boston and across the finish line.    Easier said than done -- but that's my plan and I'm sticking to it for now.   

I'll post a final plan once I get my last time trial run, see a race-day weather report that's closer to race day, and consult with my coach.    

Boston Marathon Training -- Week 12 Wrap-up

It's hard to believe that with yesterday's 21.7 mile long run that my training cycle for the 2016 Boston Marathon is nearly complete.   I still have several runs of substance remaining, with a final 12-mile time trial set for this coming Thursday on a flat 2.8 mile run loop around Seattle's Green Lake, but I am otherwise proceeding into taper mode letting my body heal up after what's been nearly continuous marathon training since Labor Day 2015 over 7 months ago.   In fact as I was running yesterday, I realized that since last October 30th, I've done runs of 20 miles or longer 8 times (including the December 2015 Honolulu Marathon) with the Boston Marathon in 2 weeks being my 9th.  

I designed yesterday's run route to try and simulate the Boston Marathon course through the first 22 miles.    If you've been reading my blog posts for this training cycles, you know I've been battling a lower right leg tendon stress injury to my Peroneus Brevis which has taken me out of my normal training cycle that would've included weekly strength intervals (6 x 1 mile, 4 x 1.5 mile, etc.) including virtually no hill training since around week 4.  

I first ran the Boston Marathon in 2012 (qualifying in the 2011 Scotia Bank Vancouver B.C. Marathon with a 3:20:30) on an 88 degree Patriot's Day -- and was absolutely crushed by the heat and then just destroyed over the course of the 4 Newton Hills that begin from mile 16 and end with Heartbreak Hill just past mile 20 finishing in an abysmal 4:27:00.   I'd resolved at the start of this training cycle to incorporate hill intervals as well as hills during the end of a few of my longer tempo and Saturday long runs so as to run the Newton Hills with strength and confidence -- and even more importantly be able to take advantage of the downhill finish from Boston College through the end of the race on Boylston.     Normally, Seattle is such a hilly place to run this wouldn't be much of a challenge, but I found after sustaining the tendon injury that any sort of hill work (uphill or downhill) aggravated my pain so I was forced to run on mostly flat, asphalt surfaces.

The picture below is the elevation map of my course yesterday in Seattle that begun on top of E. Madison (near the entrance to Broadmoor) heading steeply downhill towards the water before making a turn to the south and following Lake Washington 7 miles out to Seward Park and around before heading back and hitting the first 1/2 mile long hill at about mile 14.    The climb back up E. Madison is brutally steep (guessing around 5%) and was nearly 1/2 mile and occurred at mile 16.   I then proceeded to run a brisk downhill into the Arboretum and then climb up through the Interlaken Hills before getting to mile-19 and turning around and hitting the same hills in reverse with the final climb back up E. Madison and into Madison Park at mile 20.    This is about as close as I can get to simulating the Boston Marathon Course.

The Boston Marathon's Newton Hills are as follows: Hill 1: Mile 16 .64 length 2.83% incline; Hill 2: Mile 17.6 .34 length 4.4% incline; Hill 3 Mile 19.3 .47 length 3% incline and Heartbreak Hill 4: Mile 20.2 .48 length 3.96% incline.

Yesterday's run went exceedingly well.  I was a little worried given I'd traveled out to Virginia and back from Monday through Wednesday last week, which most often saps the intensity from any runs that follow for a couple of days.   However, I was able to get onto the Alter-G treadmill Thursday AM (after returning at Midnight Wednesday) and knock a run out that was painful, but got me out of the post-cross-country-flying physical funk which afflicts me these days.

I covered the first 8 miles in 8:17, miles 9-16 in 8:10 before slowing for the hills from miles 17 - 20.5 and a final closing .8 miles in 7:55 pace or so.      After yesterday's run which leaves me completely confident for Boston in 2 weeks as I got through the entire run very comfortably, I believe my strategy for the Boston hills will be to simply run even effort with my emphasis being to accelerate out of each hill into the downhill keeping my leg turnover high.    This takes a huge amount of concentration and commitment during the later stages of a Marathon.  That I was able to do this comfortably yesterday is a good sign for race day.  

This will I will meeting with my running coach reviewing my first draft of my race day strategy and fueling plan.  Once I get through Thursday 12 mile time trial, I will have a final idea on how to approach Boston on April 18 and what my A and B goals are for the race.  Stay tuned.

Lake Washington Blvd looking south and towards the 520 Floating Bridge

Cherry blossoms are in full bloom and made for a vibrant run with nature in full bloom in Seattle.

The hills of Interlaken Park at about mile 19 yesterday.

Mt. Rainier beckons nearly 90 miles away at over 14,416 feet.

Running southbound with Seward Park just off in the distance which is a 2.2 mile loop.

Boston Marathon Training -- Week 11 Wrap-up

Writing this post as I fly east today via Chicago to VA for meetings through Wednesday.   It's always a challenge -- especially late in a marathon training cycle to incorporate in work travel with striking a training balance over the last 2-3 weeks.    I've found over the years that after any flight of more than a couple of hours, my training the next day will be mediocre at best and a slog at worst.     I'm hoping tomorrow and Wednesday to at least get 2 hours of aerobic volume in running on the hotel treadmill -- which is always a hit-or-miss proposition.

Three weeks from right now I should be through my first 5K of the Boston Marathon on April 18.   I'm still working through a lower right leg tendon rehabilitation; but with a lot of PT it appears to be holding up.   This last week I managed to runs of substance on the Alter-g for my intervals and tempo workouts followed by a pair of outdoor runs on Saturday and Sunday that were 10 miles each.   Given I ran 22 miles last Saturday, I normally would've run a 14 on Saturday 3 weeks out but wanted to load up 10 miles on Saturday afternoon and then run a 10-mile cutdown run Sunday early before Easter festivities kicked in.      I felt especially strong on Saturday's run with temperatures in the low 60's, no wind nor rain and running in shorts and a t-shirt.   Rolled 8:20's on a 5 mile out and back tossing in a 7:17 mile-4 and a 7:42 mile 9 for good measure.         Sunday's workout was a cutdown run with a 1 mile warm-up followed by a progression from 8:30 down to miles 8 and 9 at 7:30's pace. As luck would have it, the sky opened up and it was torrential rain (and about 45 degrees) from miles 5 - 7 which slowed me a bit (at one point I could barely see the running path in front of me as I was quickly soaked and chilled to the bone thinking it wouldn't rain on my run).    I managed to dig a little deeper and got miles 8 and 9 down to 7:45 and 7:40 respectively before an easy jog in for mile 10.

While it's too early to predict what time I will run in this year's Boston Marathon (I qualified with a 3:27:30 in the 2014 Portland Marathon), I will say that 44" of rain in Seattle from October through March and training for 2 marathons (Honolulu in December) has prepared me for the absolute worst that Boston has to offer on April 18 (short of a hot day in the upper 80's which is what I got the first time I raced there).    

Stay tuned, the next couple of weeks will be interesting with a final 18-20 mile Boston Newton Hills simulation and a couple of more pacing sessions.

Boston Marathon Training -- Week 10 Wrap up

Week 10 of Boston Marathon is nearly a wrap with today's workout including stretching, foam rolling, core and a 30 minute spin to help my legs recover from yesterday's 22-miler.  Race day is 4 weeks from tomorrow and I am hoping to make the most of the next 3 weeks and train as hard as I can while still allowing for a taper starting about 10 days out from the race on April 18.

As I've mentioned in my other blog posts, the last few weeks of training have been light on actual running mileage but heavy on core muscle strengthening (for balance) and aerobic volume as well as a ton of PT (dry needling, ART, fascia stretching, alter-g treadmill, etc.) due to a strain of my lower leg tendon (peroneus brevis) which happened in January while running track intervals.  

The focus of this week's training was on executing a pain-free 22 mile long run.  I had two 60-minute runs of higher intensity on an Alter-G treadmill on Tuesday and Thursday which stretched my HR into Zone-4 which for me is critical as I typically race in mid-Z4 when I am in optimum marathon racing shape.     Much of my lower intensity aerobic volume has been with my HR in upper Z1 and lower Z2 which is great for burning fat and weight loss, but nonetheless leaves a hole in my otherwise typical training which would include 6 miles of varying length strength intervals every Tuesday and an 8 - 10 mile tempo run at marathon pace every Thursday.  

After talking with my sports chiro on Wednesday about how I was fueling my long runs (he was preparing to run a 50K ultra this weekend), he mentioned that he'd found a new product called Vitargo S2 which had dramatically transformed his carbohydrate intake efficiency on long endurance events.   Apparently, Vitargo S2 is a much faster source of glycogen (re)fueling than other micro-nutrient fuel sources claiming up to 1.7x faster than maltodextrin.    

When I am training for a marathon, I typically use gels for any runs 16 miles or less (the speed of the run will determine whether I take any gels at all or fuel every 4-6 miles for faster runs).  For runs above 16 miles I will carry two 10-oz water bottles mixed with some form of carbohydrate micro-nutrient.  For the past several years I've relied on EnduroMAX by Max Muscle which has worked just fine.   Each scoop of EnduroMAX is 120 calories and 23 grams of carbs and includes BCAA's, etc.   In comparison, the Vitargo S2 product is 140 calories per scoop (slightly larger scoop than EnduroMAX) and 35 grams of carbohydrate.    

Yesterday's 22-miler was a major confidence booster as I was able to get through the entire distance pain free (including after the run) as well as covering the course in 3:05:00 (PR for this route is 3:01:00 before the 2014 Portland Marathon where I ran 3:27:30) at 8:25 pace and a comfortable average HR in low Z4.    I negative split each 11 miles going 8:27 and then 8:23 over the final 11 with mile 21 at a comfortable 8:12.     I took 22 grams of gel at miles 4 and 12 and consumed 8 oz of water mixed with 1 scoop of Vitargo at miles 8 and 16.      While it's impossible to say whether the Vitargo had anything to do with my strong performance yesterday, it's remarkable that after 4 weeks of basically no tempo runs nor interval work I was able to roll a 22 mile run that just within a few minutes of what I'd otherwise run on a full marathon training cycle with all the tempo and interval work.     It may be that losing 15 lbs of extra weight is also a major factor in yesterday's run (figuring each extra pound is 2-3 seconds per mile of speed loss -- especially above mile 16).  

The Vitargo is a bit more viscous and thicker than other micro-nutrients I've worked with which made the intake of the fluids a bit more challenging, especially at mile 16.  However if this product continues to perform well on my runs of substance over the remaining 3 weeks before tapering for Boston, it may find its way into my race bottles in Hopkinton on April 18.

The beauty of racing marathons is not just running the race itself, it's all that one has to manage over the course of 14-16 weeks to even get to the starting line.   Hopefully the next 4 weeks will be more straight-forward as I feel like the last 10 weeks have thrown me some hard curveballs I've had to navigate to stay on track.  

Boston Marathon Training Week 10 -- Alternate Measures

The 2016 Boston Marathon is 4 weeks from this coming Monday and week's 9 and 10 of training have required me to pull out all the stops in order to stay on track for the starting gun on Monday April 18.    My lower right leg muscle/tendon tweak (See Peroneous Brevis image here) from the first 4 weeks of this training cycle has continued to slow me down.   While it hasn't prevented me from my long run progression (3rd 20+ miler tomorrow), it has kept me from my usual 50 mile training weeks and weekly rotation of 8 - 10 mile tempo runs and 6 miles of strength intervals (6 x 1 mi, 4 x 1.5 mi, etc.).    I've managed to maintain a high level of total workout volume (8-9 hours a week) of which 6-7 are aerobic but not marathon race specific work -- which could haunt me around mile-16 at the start of the Newton Hills.    

Like so many goals in life, achievement of a goal is rarely (if ever?) measured as a straight line between the beginning and end.  Most often achievement is a function of managing the unexpected, perseverance, commitment and a level of grittiness that boils down to doing what it takes regardless of pride, peer pressure, and even sometimes the voice in your own head telling you that it's just not worth it.   The latter is most often the strongest detractor.  

In pursuit of getting to the starting chutes for this year's Boston Marathon, I've pulled out all the stops in terms of finding alternate methods to train while trying to rehab my grumpy leg tendon.     I'm sure most everyone who's a serial marathoner is well aware of Alter-G treadmills, dry needling, graston technique, etc.  

This week I found a local PT clinic that has an Alter-G treadmill, purchasing five 1-hour blocks over the next 2 1/2 weeks so as to continue my interval and tempo work while not overly aggravating my leg tendon.     I was able this week to get 1 hour tempo and interval workouts in at 88% - 92% of my actual weight which pushed me into my Zone 4 (HR) and also gave me great range of motion while not aggravating my tendon and promoted more blood flow into the injured area (since I could use it and not risk injury).

The Alter-G is basically a treadmill that you can zipper into (the facility will give you a pair of shorts that resemble cycling pants but with an outer zipper) around your torso while allowing your legs to rest on the treadmill.   Before beginning, the Alter-G is then pressurized (it feels like a balloon inflating except your hips are inside the balloon) to 100%.  At that point, you can select what % of your actual weight you want to run at and dial that % into the treadmill.   For example, if you weigh 150 lbs and run at 90% you are effectively running at 135 lbs which greatly reduces the strain on your hips and lower body (and is also an incredible reminder as to just how good it is to be lighter weight when it comes to running since we all have to overcome the force of gravity which is easier in proportion to the lower your weight).  

In addition to my Alter-G workouts this week, I've also had Dry Needling therapy.   Dry needling in simple terms is a form of acupuncture that promotes a neuro-muscular response in the area of attention.   In simple terms, acupuncture gauge needles are inserted around the area of injury or within the muscle/tendon eco-system which often promotes a "twitch" or "contraction" response.   This relaxing or twitching of the muscle allows it to relax the injured area promoting blood flow and resumption to more normal muscle function.  It doesn't heal the injury, it simply promotes a level of blood flow for a period of time to flush waste matter and promote blood flow which can drive the healing process.   My treatments the last 3 weeks were very intense (the PT also used low amp voltage on the affected area to promote more twitching which can be quite intense) but each time resulted in me feeling as though I could gently work the affected area helping to promote healing.  

Lastly, I saw my sports chiro this week with whom I've worked through each of my prior 7 marathons.  We do a combination of ART, Graston, Fascia Stretching and now Cold Laser treatment (which was a first for me) (see picture below).

Will this all result in me getting to the start of the Boston Marathon on April 18th?  I'm optimistic.   With 2 1/2 more weeks of hard training remaining before I begin to taper, I will have more than enough time to continue to train, rehab and hopefully strike the right balance of still showing up in racing shape while also not aggravating my injury to the point I can't run a pain-free race on Patriot's Day.  

Tomorrow is an easy 22 miler.   If that goes well and the level of tendon pain Sunday morning is low to negligible I may just be back on track.    Stay tuned.   

Boston Marathon Training -- Week 8 Wrap-up

Sitting on a plane headed out east on business this week and looking ahead to 6 weeks from now when we'll be just a few moments from starting the Boston Marathon.    Week 8 of training was solid with 7 hours of volume and over 9 hours including core and mobility work.  The week ended with my first run in 7 days due to healing a lower right leg tendon issue which has cooled down quite a bit thankfully.   Yesterday's 20-miler was decent given I've only run twice in 2 weeks going 20 miles in 2:53:00 but feeling quite strong through 16 before fading 9:00 minute pace.    I will continue the tendon rehab this week but try to get back into my routine of doing interval and tempo work weekly to complement my weekend long runs.   This week is an 8 mile tempo at or around 7:30 pace with a mile w/u and w/d.  It will be a little more challenging as I need to fit this workout in while on the road (hoping for a trail vs. a hotel treadmill).   My other workout of substance is 6 x 1 mile intervals which are always one of my favorite marathon training sessions.

Due to my minor injury, I'm about 2 weeks off where I should be relative to strength intervals, but hope to make it up based on having lost 15 lbs the last couple of months getting down to racing weight.

We shall see.  Stay tuned.

Is Discretion the better part of Valor?

Sitting here on a rainy Friday afternoon spinning some Miles Davis Quintet (circa 1956) on my Rega RP8 turntable while it pours rain outside.  This is typical weather for Seattle in early March.   I am also very much enjoying a day off after 8 straight days of full-on training including a medical procedure this morning that required fasting all of yesterday which was extra special given my average daily caloric intake is 2800 or so at this stage of marathon training.

As I reflect on reaching the halfway point preparing for this year's Boston Marathon (7 weeks from Monday) - I'm once again managing a marathon training cycle where a minor injury has become something a little worse and pulled me off of my 50-mile a week regimen the last 2 weeks.  In January I made a classic mistake and tried to jump start my speed work loading up on two heavy 8,000 meter track workouts over the course of 4 days which also included a very hilly 14-mile run in between.  Roll forward to mid-February and the tweak turned into a fairly painful repetitive-use running injury. Typical for me.   As much as I've trained and experienced injury over my years of running hard, I still struggle with the desire to push the expectations of my body right to the edge -- and sometimes over -- resulting in exactly what I am now dealing with preparing for this year's Boston Marathon.  

I guess the question one has to ask is how does one know when it's better to do one less vs. one more of something?   I find that in the U.S. business culture -- especially in technology -- pushing harder and driving forward even in the face of issues with quality, disappointed customers, etc. is the bias. Get to market quicker -- even at the risk of reputational harm.  It's worth the risk to gain faster feedback and cycle more quickly on product innovation so as to win "hearts and minds" faster.    But when is it prudent to actually not do one more of something, not go as fast -- and do one less -- go a little slower -- figuratively take an extra slow lap around the track vs. sprinting to the finish?

There's obviously no business or marathon training formula that can answer this question for all situations; however, as someone with a strong bias to action -- it's clearly wise to error on the side of discretion from time-to-time to see what can be learned from exploring alternate paths and developing a deeper level of understanding before pushing forward.    If anything, from a leadership perspective it will lead to higher decision quality at some future juncture when it is indeed appropriate to take a risk, go full throttle and manage the resulting turbulence to a positive outcome.

For my own 2016 Boston Marathon training, my gut tells me that taking 14 days to focus on high-volume, low impact aerobic workouts in conjunction with a rigorous rehab and core workout routine is going to this time lead to a higher quality outcome at Boston than for the case I'd simply pushed through the pain and kept to my original training schedule.   I won't know for sure until I make that final left hand turn from Hereford Street onto Boylston on April 18th at about 2:00 PM EDT -- but I am sure it will make for an excellent story when I post my race report.   I know my Coach is happy with my discretion these last 2 weeks -- let's see what happens on race day.