1/2 marathon disaster: September 11-17, 2011

13.1 race

62mile week

Weds-Sat in Milwaukee

Sunday, September 11: Crystal Lake 1/2 marathon

Monday, September 12: 7miles easy

Tuesday, September 13: 5mile doubles (run with mom:))

Wednesday, September 14: 6x800

Thursday, September 15: 6miles easy

Friday, September 16: 8miles

Saturday, September 17: 5miles, drills and strides

Well, a win's a win, right?

That's what people kept telling me after my performance in the Crystal Lake 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I was supposed to run it as a 26.2km simulator....yeah, that wasn't quite how it worked.

I truly felt awesome going into it and had the plan all ready to execute: 2miles at 6:30, 2miles at 6:25, 2miles at 6:20 and then GO. The first two miles of this course are on the crushed limestone path in Lippold Park. Dad told me that it started there, but I was thinking something different in my head, so running on loose limestone for the first two miles definitely fatigued my legs a little (it isn't something I'm used to unfortunately). I went 6:27/6:30. The next two were right on as well in 6:24/6:25 and I still felt okay. Then the hills came in.

My dad had told me the night before that there was just the Ballard/Haligus hill and then the one on Haligus before where you turn for Turnberry. In my head that was four hills total. Apparently they changed the course from when my dad did it, because he was even surprised at the hills. GREAT. I definitely would have had a different strategy going into the race had I known, but oh well.

I just couldn't get into a rhythm. I went 6:31, 6:41 (Ballard hill), 6:28, 6:41 (Haligus hill), 6:51 (slowed down at mile 6 to rest for a bit and told myself that I'd treat it like Batavia and just run a great second half--major fail), 6:43 (asked dad how close the next girl was, because coming in 1st was now the only goal), 6:37 (thank GOD the race is almost over), 6:16 (made it!).

On the bright side, Cari told me that another of her athlete's Garmins showed the course as 13.29 miles, so my 1:25:17 was really a 1:24/high 1:23. My Garmin lost signal in Lippold for some reason, annoying. What I did take away from this race is that I really need to know the course. Know if it's hilly, know if it has inclines, know where fuel stops are, etc.

The best part of the race was for sure Nic's performance. He ran a 1:15, shattering his former (debut) PR of 1:17ish, so I have to give him a shout-out. I'm so excited for him to run Chicago this year and crush that 2:40 barrier!

This week I was also fortunate enough to be able to split my 10mile run on Tuesday into two 5s and run with Mom:) It was so nice to catch up with her since I don't see her very often these days!

On Wednesday, I had to run my 6x800s in the morning as I was leaving for Milwaukee for an install (usually 9a-9p type days Weds-Sat) and didn't want to do it after being in a dealership for 12 hours. Unfortunately, we stayed out until almost midnight hanging out with Jerry, Katie and Carter (Ryan's brother, sister-in-law and nephew). Oh well, I've done plenty of workouts tired before, I can handle 6 800s.

I ran these on the Alexandria-Woodscreek school street.

2:44

2:43

2:47

2:47

2:45

2:44

My last 800 workout went better, but I also had sleep the night before and did them on the track. The only thing that I don't like about this course is the inclines at the end. I'm usually on sub-2:40 pace, but going either direction, I end with a slight incline that just always gets me a little tired and slows my overall average. But, I still averaged total under goal marathon pace:) :) :)

A pretty good "down" week of 62 miles. The install went really well and the manager asked me to be their Rep (give monthly visits and such), so I'm pretty happy with life professionally as well right now.

Life. Is. Good:)

Longest Long Run EVER: Sept 4-10 weekly recap

Sunday, September 4: 22miles

Monday, September 5: easy 7

Tuesday, September 6: AM 4, 30tempo

Wednesday, September 7: 4miles easy (travel day)

Thursday, September 8: 9miles

Friday, September 9: 8miles

Saturday, September 10: 6miles with LTF group

I did it!!! A long run over 20 miles!!! Sunday, September 4th was the Buffalo Grove Stampede 5k/10k race that I've done since high school (on and off). This year, it was a Saucony Dick Pond Fast Track team race, so I knew a lot of my teammates would be there. I convinced Ryan (who was taking some time off of running as his legs were super sore) that we should go and support our team and personally planned to be running on the course literally encouraging them. Part of the plan worked.

I read on the website that the race started at 8am, so I planned to do one full 10k loop before the race started. Success. Everyone was ready to start and at the line when I got back....too bad it was for the 5k and I didn't know it. Turns out, they now do the 5k and 10k with separate starts. So, I got to run some with the 5kers until they turned left and I turned right about 1.5miles in. Oops. Game plan changed as I saw the first few male 10k runners and I decided to make it my goal (hey, when you're running 22 miles, you need something to think about) to not let them pass me. It worked. Even though I knew I had one 10k loop and one 5k loop waiting for me when I finished, mentally I was set to go.

A lot of the volunteers and police out on the course thought it was funny that I was running the course so many times and were amused that I had a smile on my face every time they saw me... well, duh, it's something I love to do:) Anyway, finished with an overall 2:35 for a 7:05 pace. Pretty darn happy with it and felt good throughout.

The tempo on Tuesday I anticipated would be a little rough since I didn't see Dave Davis after the 22. I wanted to, but also wanted my legs to be okay for the tempo. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I felt AMAZING. I went 6:14 (oops, too fast), 6:15 (I thought I slowed down?), 6:12 (how is this feeling so easy?!), 6:09 (whooooa) and 6:12. I just did a full 5miles instead of 30 minutes since I was at like 4.88 anyway. 31minutes total for the 5... super happy!

The rest of the week was pretty easy. Wednesday morning's run was a little exhausting at 4am, but those type of runs usually are. I was off to Rochester, NY for Wednesday and Thursday for work. Just holding back and getting ready for the Crystal Lake 1/2 on Sunday!

Training week (almost 2) in review: August 22-Sept 3

Sorry for the delay in recap! I traveled all week for work so forgot!

Sun 8/21: 2x4mile simulator (next Sunday is Batavia 1/2 2x6mile simulator)

Mon 8/22: easy 4

Tues 8/23: 10miles (supposed to be my long run of 15)

Weds 8/24: 6x800 track workout

Thurs 8/25: 9miles--5in AM and 4in PM with the LTF Run Club

Fri 8/26: 9miles easy

Sat 8/27: 5miles super easy with LTF Run Club, 4strides after

SUN 8/28: BATAVIA 1/2 MARATHON (see recap on previous post), 20miles total

Mon 8/29: 4mile easy run

Tues 8/30: 8miles easy

Weds 8/31: 6x1600 with 1:30 rest

Thurs 9/1: 9miles on MN River Trail that I finally found!

Fri 9/2: 10miles

Sat 9/3: 5miles planned with LTF Run Club

Well, the week of August 22-August 27 wasn't what I had planned going into a half marathon, but everything went well. My 2x4mile run was AWFUL. I slept in with Ryan because we hadn't seen each other in such a long time again. I felt great for the first three miles (6:10, 6:10, 6:15) and then had a long stretch of uphill on Weathersfield Way that killed my split in 6:28. I took a gel but felt like I needed water too so stopped at Deerfield's Bakery on Roselle Road to ask for a cup of water....the cashier said, "Take the biggest one in the frig" Um, what? I don't have any money. "yeah, it's on me, take the biggest one in the frig." I couldn't even believe it. SO appreciated! The second set I slowed down on the first mile and finished with 6:28, 6:23, 6:23 6:25, so more consistent like I was supposed to be, but just frustrated and I ended the workout just hoping that it taught me the "don't go out too fast" lesson (which it did).

On Wednesday, I was NOT expecting the 6x800s to go well as my legs were pretty fatigued still from the 2x4mile then 10miler. I was wrong. The last time I did this workout, I went 2:52, 2:48, 2:46, 2:49, 2:46, 2:46 (around a mall in Jersey). This time I went 2:41, 2:41, 2:44, 2:45, 2:44, 2:42. When I did the first two in 2:41, I almost had a heart attack--it was 88degrees and very humid! VERY pleased with the workout.

The half marathon is recapped in the post below. So happy!

THIS past Wednesday, I had 6x1600. This workout has progressed from 4x1600 in March (5:58, 6:01, 6:03, 6:08), to 5x1600 in May (5:57, 5:56, 5:59, 6:02, 6:03) to the 6x1600s this week.

WOW. I chose to do this workout after work as I woke up very stuffed up (Wednesday after the Sunday 1/2). It was over 90degrees out in MN, so I decided to do the repeats on the treadmill instead. I went 5:56, 5:55, 5:53, 5:52, 5:48, 5:46. I was very happy with this workout considering the TERRIBLE calluses I have on the outsides of my big toes (could possibly be bunions is the verdict). I decided to start off the workout a little easier so that the pain would slowly decrease, and my theory worked! Overall a great workout and I'm getting anxious for the marathon!!

The rest of this week is easy as I have a 22miler on Sunday. This will be my longest run EVER (well, of course besides the marathon) so wish me luck!

Batavia 1/2 Marathon Results

When Coach Cari told me that "when you PR, you'll PR big," she wasn't joking.

The purpose of this half marathon was for it to be used as a simulator workout: 2x6miles at Marathon Pace (6:22) with 5 minute recovery between sets.

I felt AMAZING from the beginning. Splits and recap below:

6:29 even though they changed the course, we still went up a big hill. eh, relaxed first mile.

6:18 (12:48) much better. averaging 6:24 now, good.

6:24 (19:12) well, still on target for the 6:22 goal pace, just a few measly seconds off.

6:19 (25:31) YES! back on track here. Gel time!

6:19 (31:51) only one more mile for the first half here!

6:25 (38:16) tried sticking with the pack around me too long. time for a rest!

6:34 (44:51) this was my 5 minute rest plus the rest of the mile. caught back up to the group! can't slow down too much as there is a lady right behind me, but it's okay because I feel good!

6:22 (51:13) perfect start

6:12 (57:26) woah, gaining some speed here, let's have a gel

6:29 (1:03:56) much better controlling the pace

6:12 (1:10:08) well, there was a little bit of a downhill-ish

5:59 (1:16:07) no excuse, I just was feeling really good! another gel to get through the 20 total

6:14 (1:22:22) did the volunteers really not tell me to turn on the bridge? that could cost time!

:25 for a 1:22:46

2:10 PR... holy cow!

1st place female!

I honestly can't believe how this turned out considering the 2x4mile I did last Monday was AWFUL. I guess it is true that we learn from our mistakes: I started off too fast in the first 4miler and that killed me for the second one (that and not hydrating properly I believe).

I truly felt that I could hold that pace for another 13.1, which is great to feel at the end of a 2:10 PR! I ended today's race by running with one of the guys in the group I was with for the first 6 miles and Jen, another real good female Chicago-area runner. We all had 20-milers, so it was PERFECT.

Thanks to all of my friends and family for their constant support and belief in me. HUGE thanks to my wonderful mother who spent the night at the hotel (that Ryan won a gift card for--thanks!) with me and took me to a GREAT dinner the night before. See the picture of my OSTRICH BURGER at the top of this post!

I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by two newspapers:

http://www.kcchronicle.com/2011/08/28/runners-flock-to-half-marathon-in-batavia/avdw8tr/

http://batavia.patch.com/articles/batavia-2011-peapod-half-marathon-top-finishers#photo-7546503

Training Recap: August 14-21,2011

I knew going into this week that it would be tough. Last week, I ran my furthest ever (68miles) with an 18mile Fast Finish (last 4 miles sub race pace) and a 3-turned-4x2400 workout.

Sunday, August 14: 21miler at 7:37 average on the Steelhead 70.3 course (hilly)

Monday, August 15: 5miles AM, 4miles PM after massage

Tuesday, August 16: 4miles before flight to Boston

Wednesday, August 17: 60min Tempo at 6:22 pace

Thursday, August 18: 8miles easy on hotel treadmill

Friday, August 19: 6miles easy in hotel/shopping center parking lot

Saturday, August 20: 9miles with the LifeTime Run Club

Sunday, August 14th was Ryan's 70.3Steelhead so I chose to run my 20-miler then (see prior post for recap). I felt amazing and still made sure to get a massage in on Monday. After traveling for the past two weeks (Jersey 8/1-6 and Georgia 8/15-19), I figured how to always fit my foam roller in so that I can make sure my ITs aren't getting too tight in between massages.

Tuesday morning I flew out to Boston after my 4mile 2:45am run. I knew I had a 60minute tempo on Wednesday, so was a little nervous since the day after flying is usually a little rough. I checked out the fitness center...to find out that it smelled of rotten rubber. I figured, despite the hilly area we were in, running outside would be better for me than running on a treadmill inhaling those fumes.

I was sort of right. While I know I would have maintained a faster pace and faster overall average running on the treadmill, I'm glad I ran outside on the hills as it made me tougher mentally. I went 6:28, 6:37, 6:22, 6:40, 6:12 (finally a flat mile!!!!!!!!), 6:15, 6:03, 6:23, 6:26, and 2:30 to get a total of 9.45miles in an hour. This is a 6:22 average, which is the EXACT pace I need to break 2:46 in the marathon.

The best part of this workout was that I wanted to stop and wait to do it until Friday at only 2.5miles in BUT toughed it out. I told myself that they were slow because of the hills and to stop being a baby and just get it in. I took a gel at 3.2 miles and again at 7 and I honestly can say that they gave me a HUGE boost of energy. PowerBar gels (which, ironically I bought as I forgot to bring some--go figure, I get them for free from Ryan yet I paid $2 for them ha!) truly work!

The rest of the week was all just easy runs, which was nice to have. I was supposed to run a 10k (DeKalb Cornfest) BUT the date originally listed (8/20) turned out to be wrong and it is on 8/27, which conflicts with a HUGE long run workout. Oh well.

The week concluded with a 9mile group run at LifeTime Fitness to put me at 70miles!! Biggest mileage week ever! I am definitely noticing the fatigue, but am staying healthy, so know that Cari is training me to rock this marathon:)

GREAT NEWS: Ryan bought these things called "Recovery Boots" that are supposed to be as good as getting massages, SO I'm testing them out and will recap them next week. Check 'em out:

Less racing = Key to success?

Since the Viking Sunset 5k (previous post), I have yet to race and it is currently August 21st, almost a month after the 5k. If you know me, this is NOT normal.

Am I getting the "itch" to race? Every time I go and support one, which is pretty much every weekend...

The Saturday after the Viking Sunset 5k was the Hoffman 1/2 Marathon in which members of the DPFT team ran it as pace group leaders. I ran with Joe for the 1:40 (7:41) pace group. It was GREAT--with a mile to go, Joe took the front of our 10-person group and I took the back. The VERY last person in our group finished in 1:40:02! It was SO fun motivating fellow runners to push to PRs and I am so happy to have been a part of it!

The few weekends that followed were not nearly as hard to not want to race; I had AWESOME friends to run my long runs with in Barrington and ended each run feeling more confident than the previous week. I have also been ice bathing a lot and going to Dave Davis for weekly/10day massages as this definitely helps my recovery.

Travel for work has increased greatly so I've done a LOT of runs on treadmills lately, which is actually better for my body than the harder pavement of roads, but definitely more boring to me! I've been lucky enough to stay at hotels that have TVs connected to the treadmills AND Ryan got me a pair of wireless headphones for when this isn't the case and I use my iPhone to listen to Pandora instead.

Last weekend was Ryan's 70.3 Steelhead. Well, not quite 70.3; the swim was canceled due to 6-8 foot waves, so they did a time trial start for the bike. Ryan raced as a Pro like he has the past two years, for US Pro Tri Team. Right after he took off, I started my 20miler. Ryan's dad biked the first loop with me--we did the 2-loop 13.1 mile course for the run. It felt SO easy and the volunteers were AMAZING. They kept offering me drinks, and even though I told them every time that I was just doing a 20mile run and not actually in the race, they ran alongside with me to give me the drink! These 70.3 volunteers seriously rock!

Because I was doing my 20-miler, I didn't actually see Ryan on the bike. After the race, he told me that he was riding close to a pack of riders and with 5 miles to go, his water bottle cage started bouncing around and hitting his calves so he was forced to take it off. Next, he went to grab a gel and they ALL fell off. He got close enough to the pack to ask for fuel, but no one offered him any (I'm not sure they heard him though since people bike so fast on the last portion of this bike!). The last 5 miles he said he kept feeling like he was going to pass out and that he was "seeing those black stars" (you know, what happens right before passing out). He later told us that he saw a cup and full gel on the ground within the first mile of the run and downed both right away. This probably saved his race...

I continued to do my loops on the 5.5 mile loop (1mile out to the loop, 1 mile back to equal the 13.1) and got a little nervous when I started to see runners with numbers 20ish on as Ryan was #15 so should have been close to them. When I finally did see him, he gave me the same look that I give when I'm struggling. He wasn't very far back though, so I continued to encourage him. Something must have clicked because his overall 13.1 was 1:17, which isn't bad for not having fuel.

I ended up finishing my 20-turned-21-miler with a 7:37 pace (the first four miles were all over 8minutes, so I was pretty happy) and was so excited to see Ryan. He told me the news and I was even more impressed with how well he did. He finished 15th out of 38, and had he been able to run the 1:12 he would have (provided he had been fueling properly), he would have been in contention for the prize money. Just another one of those "lessons learned the hard way." NEVER tape all of your Gels together as if they all fall off, your race will suffer!

I guess I should have mentioned too that Ryan didn't go to sleep as early as he would have.... because I surprised him. I drove up to Benton Harbor on Saturday and arrived right as the expo was ending. I snuck up to his car and asked, "Do you need any help loading things?" and it took him a second to realize it was me, but I can't tell you how AMAZING it was to be reunited after 12 days. We for sure stayed up too late talking about our past 12 days, but both did well:)

I definitely need some motivation to continue with this "just running" training as it gets more difficult every time I go to a tri/du. For the first time in my life, I ran a 70-mile week. I used to think that was CRAZY in college, but now it's enjoyable! I do truly enjoy the running, but think I am much more of a duathlon kind of girl. I can't wait to get this marathon over so I can get back on the bike:)

"Flat and fast" does not mean "hard and hilly"--Viking Sunset 5k recap

You know how you sign up (and encourage others to sign up) for races that advertise that their course is "flat and fast" in hopes of PRing?? The Viking Sunset 5k was one of those races for me. I did it in 2008 and PRd by like 20 seconds (doing it as a workout!), so I of course signed up and encouraged others to do the same.

I knew the course had changed from my 2008 PR, BUT the website and email both still noted it as "fast and flat" with a track finish, so I figured it'd be pretty similar.

WRONG.

I ran a warmup with a DPFT teammate and noticed a slight incline in the beginning 1/2 mile, not really thinking much of it because finding a 100% flat course isn't an easy task! We both figured it'd be flat the rest of the time.

After changing my race time goal due to the heat (85-90degrees and super humid), I was ready to run. In 5ks, I tend to start the first mile off faster and then try to maintain for as long as possible since that's how I've had success this year. The first mile was 5:39, perfect.

Then the hills began. Around mile 1.5 is when Ryan caught up to me as he was doing a workout himself. He could see I was struggling (and knows I have a history of passing out from the heat) so was great and decided to run with me. The second mile was 6:10, which again was fine with the heat, but I told Ryan I was dying with the heat. He told me that the last 1.1 was going to be just based on effort, so I agreed and just ran what I could.

I will say I dislike the finish of this race as it is almost a full lap on the track, which kills me because we are SO close to the finish it's like a tease! But, I still broke 19 (18:58) which was the changed goal and again something I could barely do last year.

A LOT of people were frustrated that this race was listed as flat and fast when it wasn't. After being a race director, I know how hard it is to please everyone and no longer complain about things that are hard to control from the director standpoint. However, advertising as flat and fast on a hilly course just really frustrated me and others, so I did respond to that on the survey. I heard the reason that the course changed was due to the old course's track being under construction. I sure hope that next year it is moved back to the original course.

On the bright side, I got to run with my DPFT teammates which always makes for a great day:)