As a "spur" of the moment decision (I say spur because I decided a month ago) I decided to do another 1/2 marathon during the spring. My original plan was just to focus on mile build up and do one 1/2 marathon in May, but I was restless and really heard great things about this semi-local race so I decided to go for it. Even though the conditions weren't the best for the race, the race itself was super nice, the course was great, local support was wonderful, and there was a heavenly cinnamon roll (which I had been drooling over since mile 7) at the finish.
A few days before the race, my friends father passed away of cancer, so I only thought it fitting to run this race in memory of him since it was a race to benefit a cancer center. I can definitely say it was inspirational to draw on that throughout the race when I really started feeling beat up.
Pre-Race: I signed up to ride a bus down to the race through the local running group. We were scheduled to be picked up at 5:15 from a local running store. We were the second stop after the main stop 30 minutes north. At 5:15 we get a call they are running late, at 5:45 we get a call that they still hadn't left the city. At 6:00 they call and say they are finally on their way. The twelve of us at the second pick up start figuring if we will make it to the race on time and start worrying. Bus finally gets to us for pick up and we are on our way. We make it to the start line with 20 minutes to spare so we all throw on our race stuff, hit the porta potties and line up.
Start: It was a fairly small race - only 500 doing the half so the start line wasn't too crowded. They didn't have pace markers lined up so I errored on the side of caution and lined up about 3/4 of the way back. For the first quarter mile I had to pick through people but it wasn't too bad. The first mile was a major downhill. I held back some but allowed myself to run about 10 sec faster then pass since I knew the rest of the race would be a challenge with the predicted wind. First split was 9:26.
Miles 2-5: I got into a groove at this point. There was a slight down hill but it felt more like a flat course at this point. Somewhere around mile 3 we turn straight south and into the wind. At this point it was only around 16mph so it was strong but achievable. I kept track of my pace and made sure I stayed about 9:30, and when possible closer to 9:40. This worked well and I didn't have any problems. I passed a horse farm around 3.5 that was gorgeous and had horses running wild that came and greeted us. Made me smile for a while. Splits were 9:25, 9:37, 9:38, 9:30.
Miles 6-8: Water stops were hitting every mile around the half mile mark (they had amazing support for water, never went thirsty!) so I took my first gel around 5.5 miles and downed some water. At this point the race course starts and rolling hill section - ummmm wait no one said anything about rolling hills - it was all downhill till 9!!!! uggg, suck it up and started rolling. Winds weren't too bad still so I held my pace steady and ran. I could start to feel my legs some at this point, but my breathing was still steady and my compression socks were keeping my calves strong. Splits were 9:33, 9:31, 9:37
Mile 9: This was the uphill. And it was steep. Not that long, but it was steep - and of course the wind decided at that point to start gusting up to 30mph. So I was trying to hold it together as best I could without faltering. I slowed my pace just a bit to adjust and tried to draft when possible, but everyone was slowing down too much for me so I just kept passing people. I felt more tired after this mile, but I still felt like I could go on. Split 9:40
Mile 10-13: Now we had rolling hills, with an upward incline, plus massive wind. This was decision time - I either kept pushing using extra energy to battle the wind, or I called it a day with 9 miles at goal pace and take the rest home at an easier pace. Since this wasn't my goal race, and the weather just wasn't there that I would officially pull back and just ride out the storm. Took another gel at 10.5 and kept running. I mixed walking during the water stops, and some walking at the top of hills in the worst of the wind just to keep legs fresh. Splits were 10:02, 10:28, 10:27, 10:02 (it really pained me to see those times flash on the garmin, but I knew it was for the best).
Finish: Finally some relief. We turn and run with our sides and backs to the wind. I was able to pick up the pace some and started feeling better. My legs still had a lot of energy in them so I knew I had some extra miles in there I hadn't spent. The final 1/4 mile of the race was a lap around the high school track. I can do this. I took off running and finished with a 8:20 pace. Some of my friends from college were cheering me at the finish line so that was really cool. I finished in 2:08:06 which is actually a 30 second PR, so not too bad for throwing in the towel at mile 10. Crossed the line and felt great. Got my cinnamon roll and all was good again.
Post race: My hip is a little sore but the rest of me is just a typical sore. I think 2 days of rest (with a massage) will be plenty and I can get back on my training for my goal race. I really hope the weather cooperates for the May race so I can push it and get my goal (or better). I'm glad I did the race and will definitely be doing it again!
Monday, March 21
Monday, January 24
High End Tempo Runs
I'm back again - breaking down some more tempo runs. Took a break last week with the mid-zone because I had an unfortunate incident with a treadmill that left the run less then desirable, so I will hit that one on the second go around. This was week 3 of my 6 week base build 1. By far this was the best week so far that I've had. I felt very strong and had great runs - hopefully this will continue and I didn't either have a fluke or used up valuable reserves thinking I was running well.
My tempo run for week 3 was High-End run. This run is most like doing speed work - and the closest I will come to doing speed work for awhile. One of my goals/ needs was to get off the track and start building speed on the road - prepping for race situations. By doing High-End tempo runs consisting of mile repeats, my goal was to gain the speed on the road that I some how can't muster during a race. My original goal was to run the mile repeats at 9:10 pace - I didn't want to go out too fast...but just naturally my body took me to about a 9:00 min pace, so I stuck with it. While they were slightly difficult, it was still fairly easy, which is encouraging. As I build on this first week I would like to go from 3x1 mile repeats to 4x1 mile repeats and then jump up to some 2 mile repeats and really start pushing my endurance at an aerobic rate. Sticking with this plan through the summer, I would like to be at the point where I could possibly run 3x2 mile repeats at around a 9-9:10 pace.
The back end of this week was supposed to be a long slow run. Because I would be pressing hard mid week, I figured my body would be exhausted and would need the slow miles. Planned 12 miles at 10:25 pace. I headed out with the group and hit some high splits for the first two miles - around 9:35. I wasn't feeling any fatigue at this point but knew if I kept up the pace I would. I decided since I felt so good that I would just run by feel instead of forcing myself to slow down - I figured around 5 miles I would crash and sludge back at a 10:45 pace to even out. Well got to mile 5 and didn't feel any pain, it was like I had done 1 mile, and I was still holding an even 9:45 pace or so. Wow! Decided at that point, against my better interest to go for 12 and headed out for the extra mile on the out and back route. Got back to the water stop at 7 and still felt like gold. Headed back in and never really felt fatigue. Mile 11 my legs were getting a little sluggish after the hill, but I threw in some striders in mile 12 and came in at a 9:52 avg pace. Wow! that was supposed to be the pace the week before on my 10 miler and I couldn't hold that for anything. So I don't know if I blew it all, or if my legs are getting stronger from strength training and the extra running I'm doing.
I feel very encouraged after 3 weeks of the program and looking for great things in the next 3 to come!
My tempo run for week 3 was High-End run. This run is most like doing speed work - and the closest I will come to doing speed work for awhile. One of my goals/ needs was to get off the track and start building speed on the road - prepping for race situations. By doing High-End tempo runs consisting of mile repeats, my goal was to gain the speed on the road that I some how can't muster during a race. My original goal was to run the mile repeats at 9:10 pace - I didn't want to go out too fast...but just naturally my body took me to about a 9:00 min pace, so I stuck with it. While they were slightly difficult, it was still fairly easy, which is encouraging. As I build on this first week I would like to go from 3x1 mile repeats to 4x1 mile repeats and then jump up to some 2 mile repeats and really start pushing my endurance at an aerobic rate. Sticking with this plan through the summer, I would like to be at the point where I could possibly run 3x2 mile repeats at around a 9-9:10 pace.
The back end of this week was supposed to be a long slow run. Because I would be pressing hard mid week, I figured my body would be exhausted and would need the slow miles. Planned 12 miles at 10:25 pace. I headed out with the group and hit some high splits for the first two miles - around 9:35. I wasn't feeling any fatigue at this point but knew if I kept up the pace I would. I decided since I felt so good that I would just run by feel instead of forcing myself to slow down - I figured around 5 miles I would crash and sludge back at a 10:45 pace to even out. Well got to mile 5 and didn't feel any pain, it was like I had done 1 mile, and I was still holding an even 9:45 pace or so. Wow! Decided at that point, against my better interest to go for 12 and headed out for the extra mile on the out and back route. Got back to the water stop at 7 and still felt like gold. Headed back in and never really felt fatigue. Mile 11 my legs were getting a little sluggish after the hill, but I threw in some striders in mile 12 and came in at a 9:52 avg pace. Wow! that was supposed to be the pace the week before on my 10 miler and I couldn't hold that for anything. So I don't know if I blew it all, or if my legs are getting stronger from strength training and the extra running I'm doing.
I feel very encouraged after 3 weeks of the program and looking for great things in the next 3 to come!
Thursday, January 6
Low-end Tempo Run
Yesterday was my first tempo run in a 3 week cycle. In an effort to increase my endurance and stamina I am going off "track" and hitting the road for some real race training. Instead of intervals at the track I am focusing on tempo runs and road endurance. This was inspired by an article in Running Times the Full Spectrum of Lactate Threshold Training. The basic idea of the program is that doing three different styles of LT training will help to boost overall performance. I decided to do a 3 week cycle incorporating each cycle and keep repeating to building up my LT endurance.
So yesterday was week 1 - Low-end Tempo Run. This is a slower pace - closer to a marathon goal pace. This seemed so easy to me. I've never run races of this distance so I felt like I was crawling. This is the pace that I normally do my long runs, not a 45 minute tempo run. Yep - that is exactly what I thought. Well apparently all the breaks and slow downs I take in my long runs makes me soft because the 45 minutes was tough. I do need to blame the weather and my low calorie intake a bit for this, but by the end of the 45 minutes my legs were struggling. I was holding my pace about 10 seconds per mile faster then intended (9:50), but it was still a slower pace as I'm concerned for a tempo.
Over the weeks my goal will be to add to the distance of the pace. Even when I'm into my 1/2 training I want to keep this on my schedule to keep me going at a steady hard pace with no breaks. Every week I will add approximately 10 minutes to the previous week total. probably when I get to 65 minutes I will hold for a week and decrease pace some, not sure on that.
I'm interested to see how this will affect my ultimate training goal of the marathon next Winter, as I will need to be able to hold this pace for a good 4 hours, not the 2 hours I am use to on weekends. Only time will tell how effect this will be.
To round out my week I will pair this tempo run with a progressive long run. My goal is to train my body to run negative splits better on race day. My horrible habit of going out to fast has got to go. This week will be an 8 miler with pace ranging from 10:30 for the first two miles to 9:30 by the end. The slower tempo run mid week should keep my legs fresh enough to hit this easily.
So yesterday was week 1 - Low-end Tempo Run. This is a slower pace - closer to a marathon goal pace. This seemed so easy to me. I've never run races of this distance so I felt like I was crawling. This is the pace that I normally do my long runs, not a 45 minute tempo run. Yep - that is exactly what I thought. Well apparently all the breaks and slow downs I take in my long runs makes me soft because the 45 minutes was tough. I do need to blame the weather and my low calorie intake a bit for this, but by the end of the 45 minutes my legs were struggling. I was holding my pace about 10 seconds per mile faster then intended (9:50), but it was still a slower pace as I'm concerned for a tempo.
Over the weeks my goal will be to add to the distance of the pace. Even when I'm into my 1/2 training I want to keep this on my schedule to keep me going at a steady hard pace with no breaks. Every week I will add approximately 10 minutes to the previous week total. probably when I get to 65 minutes I will hold for a week and decrease pace some, not sure on that.
I'm interested to see how this will affect my ultimate training goal of the marathon next Winter, as I will need to be able to hold this pace for a good 4 hours, not the 2 hours I am use to on weekends. Only time will tell how effect this will be.
To round out my week I will pair this tempo run with a progressive long run. My goal is to train my body to run negative splits better on race day. My horrible habit of going out to fast has got to go. This week will be an 8 miler with pace ranging from 10:30 for the first two miles to 9:30 by the end. The slower tempo run mid week should keep my legs fresh enough to hit this easily.
Monday, January 3
A new year, A new plan
2011 is here and it is time for those pesky New Years Resolutions. I'm just as bad as everyone in making promises I can't keep so this year instead of swaying from my normal everyday patterns I'm going to adapt what I currently do to make myself better. I'll spare you the details on personal life resolutions and stick to the running and health focused ones.
1. I'm tired of bonking in a race. Getting to mile 6 at my goal pace and feeling great then getting to mile 8 and falling apart. After my last 1/2 marathon I sat back and criticed my training schedules in the past and where I tend to fall apart in a race. I'm beginning to notice a trend that it is not the speed that I need to work on in my training. When I run a shorter race at the equal goal pace to my half training plan I have no problems. It is the endurance and stamina that I seem to have issues with. I have the speed in my body to run a 2:05, I proved that at my last 10K, what I need is the ability to not wear down at mile 8. I can run around the track for 800m just fine, but when I transfer that speed to the road I just can't sustain it. This year I am going to focus on base building and training plans that allow me to build my endurance. Each week will be a tempo run at various speeds and distances (Low end is a slower pace for longer duration, mid zone is a 1/2 goal pace for mid range distance, and high end is more like a long track workout with 10K pace for mile repeats) as well as a run on a hilly area in the city or the treadmill. My long runs each week will vary between a shorter progressive run to a long slow run. Hopefully all these together will give me a good base to build my endurance for the length of the race. Not sure what my race training plan will be yet, but it will follow in the same form with no track!
2. I plan on running a marathon a year from now. My goal with the above is to give myself a great base to build off when training time comes. I don't want to compete in the marathon, but at the same time I don't want to be miserable and finish in a painful amount of time. I would like to be able to cross before 4:30 - but that will require me to be strong going into training and not building my mileage during training.
3. A few years ago I made the effort to lose a lot of weight. I love about 35 pounds over a 4 month period. I have been successful in staying at the same weight since that time (mid 140s) but I'm ready to make another push and get into the 130s and stay there. I've gotten close but have never been able to break through. This year I am going to get back to the healthy eating life, not the eat healthy some of the week and break down on the weekends. Everything I put in my mouth is a conscious decision - striving to eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins; making sure I stay away from unhealthy and calorie lading desserts and meals that don't benefit me in the long run. There will be no food restrictions - no can't eat chocolate, can't drink coke, can't have fries - but if I eat them I want to be completely aware of what I'm doing and how it affects me.
4. Finally I want to hold true to these resolutions the whole year. I guess this is why I'm writing them out like this - so I can go back once a month and read what I am striving to do, when I start to forget and go back to my old ways I can catch myself and regroup. Next December when I have the desire to throw it all away and pig out between Christmas and New Years I will have a new perspective to think about and will go for the veggie sticks instead of the chicken wings.
So there it is, there is my goals not just for this year but to make as a part of my life so that I can focus on something different next year and not on repeating the ideas of the year before. I'm sure I will be back to reflect on how things are going (and hopefully with some great race reports).
1. I'm tired of bonking in a race. Getting to mile 6 at my goal pace and feeling great then getting to mile 8 and falling apart. After my last 1/2 marathon I sat back and criticed my training schedules in the past and where I tend to fall apart in a race. I'm beginning to notice a trend that it is not the speed that I need to work on in my training. When I run a shorter race at the equal goal pace to my half training plan I have no problems. It is the endurance and stamina that I seem to have issues with. I have the speed in my body to run a 2:05, I proved that at my last 10K, what I need is the ability to not wear down at mile 8. I can run around the track for 800m just fine, but when I transfer that speed to the road I just can't sustain it. This year I am going to focus on base building and training plans that allow me to build my endurance. Each week will be a tempo run at various speeds and distances (Low end is a slower pace for longer duration, mid zone is a 1/2 goal pace for mid range distance, and high end is more like a long track workout with 10K pace for mile repeats) as well as a run on a hilly area in the city or the treadmill. My long runs each week will vary between a shorter progressive run to a long slow run. Hopefully all these together will give me a good base to build my endurance for the length of the race. Not sure what my race training plan will be yet, but it will follow in the same form with no track!
2. I plan on running a marathon a year from now. My goal with the above is to give myself a great base to build off when training time comes. I don't want to compete in the marathon, but at the same time I don't want to be miserable and finish in a painful amount of time. I would like to be able to cross before 4:30 - but that will require me to be strong going into training and not building my mileage during training.
3. A few years ago I made the effort to lose a lot of weight. I love about 35 pounds over a 4 month period. I have been successful in staying at the same weight since that time (mid 140s) but I'm ready to make another push and get into the 130s and stay there. I've gotten close but have never been able to break through. This year I am going to get back to the healthy eating life, not the eat healthy some of the week and break down on the weekends. Everything I put in my mouth is a conscious decision - striving to eat more veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins; making sure I stay away from unhealthy and calorie lading desserts and meals that don't benefit me in the long run. There will be no food restrictions - no can't eat chocolate, can't drink coke, can't have fries - but if I eat them I want to be completely aware of what I'm doing and how it affects me.
4. Finally I want to hold true to these resolutions the whole year. I guess this is why I'm writing them out like this - so I can go back once a month and read what I am striving to do, when I start to forget and go back to my old ways I can catch myself and regroup. Next December when I have the desire to throw it all away and pig out between Christmas and New Years I will have a new perspective to think about and will go for the veggie sticks instead of the chicken wings.
So there it is, there is my goals not just for this year but to make as a part of my life so that I can focus on something different next year and not on repeating the ideas of the year before. I'm sure I will be back to reflect on how things are going (and hopefully with some great race reports).
Thursday, December 23
10K Reindeer Run... Massive PR!!!
So after the disaster that was the weather of my half marathon I decided I wanted one more shot to have a good race after all the hard work I put in this fall. I didn't think that my workouts were targeted enough for a 5K PR so I found a rare 10K (around here atleast) to run in since it would require more of the endurance that I was tapping into. The Reindeer Run was the winner - it was 3 weeks after the half marathon giving me ample time to recover from first race, get a good hard week of running in and then have a mild taper. It was also the day before I went on vacation which would be a good point to give my legs a good week of rest. Everything seemed like a great idea so I signed up.
I had no clue how big the race would be until the morning of, and even then it was hard to tell because it was run on the same course as the 5K at the same time. At the start of the race it appeared that there were about 200-300 people running, I could be totally off since I was toward the front though. The course was an out and back with a slight detour around the half way mark - 10K ran the course twice. Going in I wasn't crazy about this set up, but it turned out to be a great thing so I could judge how the wind would affect me along the way, and to give me a landmark to put in the final kick on my second lap.
Once again it was a blustery day in Oklahoma - winds about 12mph out of the North, not to bad if it wasn't a bitter cold wind! Thankfully most of the race was run east-west so I only had to deal with the wind in small sections no more then 1/4 mile in length. Right as the gun went off and I went to hit Garmin start, Garmin went to screen saver - so as I'm navigating walkers off the start line I am also trying to restart Garmin...lost about 11 seconds off the overall time in the mess, but worse was that Garmin couldn't find my pace - it was saying I was running a 6:15 pace for awhile, 7:30...finally it settled at about 8:30. That had me messed up on the first half mile because I couldn't figure out how fast to go out. Once I got it settled I was already stuck in an 8:30 pace mode (was shooting for an average of 9:10) so I figured I was in for a long day and a massive bonk at the 5K mark. I worked to pull my pace down slowly so I wouldn't loose too much speed and feel like I was walking. Somewhat successful because I had the best positive splits in a race that I have ever had.
There were a lot of people running around me the entire race, lost about half the field at the 5K turn around so the second half of the race I ran quite a bit on my own, but I was focused so that didn't bother me. Also kept my mind occupied by watching the front runners come back in and watching the walkers and slower people pass. If I hadn't had that to keep me entertained I might have crashed. Some how I managed to push through. In the final mile I finally had to stop at the water stop and take a quick walk break. My pace had been so fast that my legs were turning to jello. This saved my PR I'm sure, if I had kept pushing I wouldn't have made the last mile without slowing to a 10minute pace.
Anyways - this is rambling so I will tie it up...writing a race report 2 weeks later is tough, I just don't remember enough. As you can see on my splits I started out really fast but managed to slow down throughout the miles to keep from crashing. Going into the race I was hoping for a 9:10 pace which would give me about a 3 minute PR. Due to my fast start and being able to push through the pain I ended up with a much bigger PR (about 4 minutes I think). Hopefully with my adjusted training plan for the spring I can pull this into longer races and finally make it through a half marathon without crashing. My secret is in endurance, I don't have the mind set for the longer races so I have to prep better in training.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 8:36
Mile 2 - 8:47
Mile 3 - 8:58
Mile 4 - 9:04
Mile 5 - 9:05
Mile 6 - 9:17 (walk break and into wind)
.2 - 8:52
Avg - 8:57, overall time 55:41
4 people in my age group finished in the 30 secs before me so I thought I was going to be in 4th place but ended up in 8th, oh well - 30-35 is a really tough age group in our city. I will get there!
I had no clue how big the race would be until the morning of, and even then it was hard to tell because it was run on the same course as the 5K at the same time. At the start of the race it appeared that there were about 200-300 people running, I could be totally off since I was toward the front though. The course was an out and back with a slight detour around the half way mark - 10K ran the course twice. Going in I wasn't crazy about this set up, but it turned out to be a great thing so I could judge how the wind would affect me along the way, and to give me a landmark to put in the final kick on my second lap.
Once again it was a blustery day in Oklahoma - winds about 12mph out of the North, not to bad if it wasn't a bitter cold wind! Thankfully most of the race was run east-west so I only had to deal with the wind in small sections no more then 1/4 mile in length. Right as the gun went off and I went to hit Garmin start, Garmin went to screen saver - so as I'm navigating walkers off the start line I am also trying to restart Garmin...lost about 11 seconds off the overall time in the mess, but worse was that Garmin couldn't find my pace - it was saying I was running a 6:15 pace for awhile, 7:30...finally it settled at about 8:30. That had me messed up on the first half mile because I couldn't figure out how fast to go out. Once I got it settled I was already stuck in an 8:30 pace mode (was shooting for an average of 9:10) so I figured I was in for a long day and a massive bonk at the 5K mark. I worked to pull my pace down slowly so I wouldn't loose too much speed and feel like I was walking. Somewhat successful because I had the best positive splits in a race that I have ever had.
There were a lot of people running around me the entire race, lost about half the field at the 5K turn around so the second half of the race I ran quite a bit on my own, but I was focused so that didn't bother me. Also kept my mind occupied by watching the front runners come back in and watching the walkers and slower people pass. If I hadn't had that to keep me entertained I might have crashed. Some how I managed to push through. In the final mile I finally had to stop at the water stop and take a quick walk break. My pace had been so fast that my legs were turning to jello. This saved my PR I'm sure, if I had kept pushing I wouldn't have made the last mile without slowing to a 10minute pace.
Anyways - this is rambling so I will tie it up...writing a race report 2 weeks later is tough, I just don't remember enough. As you can see on my splits I started out really fast but managed to slow down throughout the miles to keep from crashing. Going into the race I was hoping for a 9:10 pace which would give me about a 3 minute PR. Due to my fast start and being able to push through the pain I ended up with a much bigger PR (about 4 minutes I think). Hopefully with my adjusted training plan for the spring I can pull this into longer races and finally make it through a half marathon without crashing. My secret is in endurance, I don't have the mind set for the longer races so I have to prep better in training.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 8:36
Mile 2 - 8:47
Mile 3 - 8:58
Mile 4 - 9:04
Mile 5 - 9:05
Mile 6 - 9:17 (walk break and into wind)
.2 - 8:52
Avg - 8:57, overall time 55:41
4 people in my age group finished in the 30 secs before me so I thought I was going to be in 4th place but ended up in 8th, oh well - 30-35 is a really tough age group in our city. I will get there!
Monday, November 22
Route 66 1/2 Marathon
A note about this race before I start in on the race report. I have run this race twice and both times a runner tragically died doing something they loved. RIP to our fellow runners who have passed on. (I am beginning to think I am a jinx for this race and should stay away).
Downtown Tulsa, OK is very hilly. I should have remembered this from last time I ran this race, but somehow between the course change and 2 years away I had forgotten just how hilly it was. Now just to make it interesting we will throw in 20 mph winds from the South and make it humid. Okay - now race!
Pre-Race: Nothing drastically different here. Followed my eating from the Flying Pig almost to the bread stick. I wasn't near as hungry this time as last though so it was harder to eat as much. I don't feel that pre race fueling had anything to do with this race. Woke up morning of the race to the wind whistling through the downtown sky scrapers. hmmm, this doesn't sound good. Good news was that it was going to be a nice day so I wouldn't have to worry about being cold the first few miles.
Race: The race used starting corrals this year. I wish more big races would go to this, it really kept the walkers out of the front of the line and kept most of the log jams minimal (as in a 10 min pace runner in with 9 min pace group). I was in the second corral and positioned myself about midway through with the 2:05 pace group right in front of me. The first mile of the race was an uphill and I knew I wanted to take it slow. I figured I would see what the pace group did and go from there. Because it was so crowded at the beginning we couldn't get much over a 10 minute pace going up the hill, so good things had no trouble going out to fast. Apparently the first 7 miles of this race was through the hillest portion of Tulsa. Even though I had done no hill training I was able to tackle all the hills while sticking to a 9:30 pace (I think I would slow down on the uphill then speed down). We went through some really rich areas of town, very scenic. The wind also was not a factor in this part. If we were running into the wind we would either be sheltered by the hill we were running up or thankful for the wind to cool us as we ran down hill(humidity was about 80% for the race - ick). Took a gel around 5.5 when my legs started feeling the effects of the hill and I kept pushing myself. I hit the 10K mark at about 59:30 and was really happy with my time. Things seemed to be going just as planned.
Mile 1-7 splits: 10:02, 9:37, 9:26, 9:26, 9:19, 9:28, 9:24
At mile 7.5 of so we leave the nice neighborhoods we had been running in and head out to an overpass crossing the river through the city. We made a giant 3 mile triangle over several streets, and i swear the entire time we were running into the wind. Somewhere around 8.5 my legs just gave out. I had been steadily in front of the 2:05 pace group the entire time and figured when I started to tire I would just join them. Well I guess there pacer's idea for the race was to run some serious negative splits so that the hills were easier and time was made up on the flats. They flew by me. I had to revert to a run walk strategy, but made sure I ran atleast a mile between each walk section, and if possible made it to the water stop. I really hated that I had to get to the point, but by this time we were running along side the river, straight into the wind, on flat road. There was no way around it. My pace dropped drastically. I took my second gel but I felt like it did no good. My legs kept getting heavier and heavier and I fought just to keep going. Finally made it to the turn around so the wind was at my back, but I was so spent I couldn't utilize the wind to pick up speed. I concentrated on just making it through mile 12 so I could sprint the final bit. And can I say that the final .1 miles was up a hill! Seriously made us climb to the finish??? Once I got to the top and saw the finish line I took off and managed to find a 7:00 pace.
Miles 8-13 splits: 9:59, 9:34, 10:00, 10:33, 10:20, 10:00, 8:41
Final time: 2:08:36
I was disappointed. When I found out the wind was going to be strong I changed my race goals to 2:05 outside chance, PR, and finish without crashing. I reached one goal of a PR (40 seconds that it was). I felt like I lost it at 8ish, which I was worried I would because I had such a problem with tempo runs the last 8 weeks. I've come to some conclusions looking ahead to training next year that I will address later. But most of all I want to go back out and try again, I wish I could have a redo on a great day, because I know I could do it. But once again I will take what I have learned and apply to the next race.
Ultimately I have to remember that 4 months ago I hurt my back and had to take a month off running. I have to realize I lost alot in that time, and that I wasn't going to be at the same level I was at the Flying Pig. If I can hold onto this training I know I can apply it to next Spring and really hit it hard, I just have to keep things in perspective. It's just so hard to do when you have your ultimate goal in reach and you drop it.
Downtown Tulsa, OK is very hilly. I should have remembered this from last time I ran this race, but somehow between the course change and 2 years away I had forgotten just how hilly it was. Now just to make it interesting we will throw in 20 mph winds from the South and make it humid. Okay - now race!
Pre-Race: Nothing drastically different here. Followed my eating from the Flying Pig almost to the bread stick. I wasn't near as hungry this time as last though so it was harder to eat as much. I don't feel that pre race fueling had anything to do with this race. Woke up morning of the race to the wind whistling through the downtown sky scrapers. hmmm, this doesn't sound good. Good news was that it was going to be a nice day so I wouldn't have to worry about being cold the first few miles.
Race: The race used starting corrals this year. I wish more big races would go to this, it really kept the walkers out of the front of the line and kept most of the log jams minimal (as in a 10 min pace runner in with 9 min pace group). I was in the second corral and positioned myself about midway through with the 2:05 pace group right in front of me. The first mile of the race was an uphill and I knew I wanted to take it slow. I figured I would see what the pace group did and go from there. Because it was so crowded at the beginning we couldn't get much over a 10 minute pace going up the hill, so good things had no trouble going out to fast. Apparently the first 7 miles of this race was through the hillest portion of Tulsa. Even though I had done no hill training I was able to tackle all the hills while sticking to a 9:30 pace (I think I would slow down on the uphill then speed down). We went through some really rich areas of town, very scenic. The wind also was not a factor in this part. If we were running into the wind we would either be sheltered by the hill we were running up or thankful for the wind to cool us as we ran down hill(humidity was about 80% for the race - ick). Took a gel around 5.5 when my legs started feeling the effects of the hill and I kept pushing myself. I hit the 10K mark at about 59:30 and was really happy with my time. Things seemed to be going just as planned.
Mile 1-7 splits: 10:02, 9:37, 9:26, 9:26, 9:19, 9:28, 9:24
At mile 7.5 of so we leave the nice neighborhoods we had been running in and head out to an overpass crossing the river through the city. We made a giant 3 mile triangle over several streets, and i swear the entire time we were running into the wind. Somewhere around 8.5 my legs just gave out. I had been steadily in front of the 2:05 pace group the entire time and figured when I started to tire I would just join them. Well I guess there pacer's idea for the race was to run some serious negative splits so that the hills were easier and time was made up on the flats. They flew by me. I had to revert to a run walk strategy, but made sure I ran atleast a mile between each walk section, and if possible made it to the water stop. I really hated that I had to get to the point, but by this time we were running along side the river, straight into the wind, on flat road. There was no way around it. My pace dropped drastically. I took my second gel but I felt like it did no good. My legs kept getting heavier and heavier and I fought just to keep going. Finally made it to the turn around so the wind was at my back, but I was so spent I couldn't utilize the wind to pick up speed. I concentrated on just making it through mile 12 so I could sprint the final bit. And can I say that the final .1 miles was up a hill! Seriously made us climb to the finish??? Once I got to the top and saw the finish line I took off and managed to find a 7:00 pace.
Miles 8-13 splits: 9:59, 9:34, 10:00, 10:33, 10:20, 10:00, 8:41
Final time: 2:08:36
I was disappointed. When I found out the wind was going to be strong I changed my race goals to 2:05 outside chance, PR, and finish without crashing. I reached one goal of a PR (40 seconds that it was). I felt like I lost it at 8ish, which I was worried I would because I had such a problem with tempo runs the last 8 weeks. I've come to some conclusions looking ahead to training next year that I will address later. But most of all I want to go back out and try again, I wish I could have a redo on a great day, because I know I could do it. But once again I will take what I have learned and apply to the next race.
Ultimately I have to remember that 4 months ago I hurt my back and had to take a month off running. I have to realize I lost alot in that time, and that I wasn't going to be at the same level I was at the Flying Pig. If I can hold onto this training I know I can apply it to next Spring and really hit it hard, I just have to keep things in perspective. It's just so hard to do when you have your ultimate goal in reach and you drop it.
Friday, November 12
Fall 2010 training changes
So here I am a week or so out from my next 1/2 marathon, and I've taken a different direction in a sense to training this time. I'm anxious to see how this will affect my race and see if it will result in better times.
To start, after a month off this summer due to a back problem, I learned how to cross-train and discovered swimming. It has been a wonderful cross training tool - I go about once a week after either a long run or speed workout. It really relaxes my legs. I don't know that I get much aerobic benefit from it, but I don't feel bad for not running and sitting at home.
Next, I used a training plan for Runners World that utilized running 3-4 days a week at an easy pace, around 45-60 seconds slower then goal pace (some short runs, some long runs) and one day of speed work of some sort. I've never subscribed to the idea that running at an easy pace for 75-80% of my weekly mileage could equal a faster time, but everyone swears by it so we will see how it works. One thing I can say is that my body is not as exhausted 1 week out from the race like it usually is. I feel stronger at this point, but we will see how that equals out on race day.
One thing I have had to fight is my goal pace/ finish time. At the beginning I really wanted to shoot for a 2:00 time, but as I trained I realized that the month off left me a little short on endurance in speed. I've adjusted my speed workouts over the last 6 weeks to more of a 2:05 time. I will push to get that 2:05, if I can do more I will, but if I don't make it I won't be too disappointed is it is more around 2:07 - i have to accept what my body can do post injury.
So hopefully next Sunday I will have a successful race - I'm working on my mental game: going out slow up the first hill, taking in plenty of carbs and hydration, and not bonking in the final 5K. Here goes nothing! (again)
To start, after a month off this summer due to a back problem, I learned how to cross-train and discovered swimming. It has been a wonderful cross training tool - I go about once a week after either a long run or speed workout. It really relaxes my legs. I don't know that I get much aerobic benefit from it, but I don't feel bad for not running and sitting at home.
Next, I used a training plan for Runners World that utilized running 3-4 days a week at an easy pace, around 45-60 seconds slower then goal pace (some short runs, some long runs) and one day of speed work of some sort. I've never subscribed to the idea that running at an easy pace for 75-80% of my weekly mileage could equal a faster time, but everyone swears by it so we will see how it works. One thing I can say is that my body is not as exhausted 1 week out from the race like it usually is. I feel stronger at this point, but we will see how that equals out on race day.
One thing I have had to fight is my goal pace/ finish time. At the beginning I really wanted to shoot for a 2:00 time, but as I trained I realized that the month off left me a little short on endurance in speed. I've adjusted my speed workouts over the last 6 weeks to more of a 2:05 time. I will push to get that 2:05, if I can do more I will, but if I don't make it I won't be too disappointed is it is more around 2:07 - i have to accept what my body can do post injury.
So hopefully next Sunday I will have a successful race - I'm working on my mental game: going out slow up the first hill, taking in plenty of carbs and hydration, and not bonking in the final 5K. Here goes nothing! (again)
Sunday, September 26
Tie-Dye Tri
So I had the crazy thought to try a tri- can't be that bad, right? God help me if I ever have a crazy idea like that again!! The race was put on by the local YMCA and was a 500y snake swim, 12 mile bike ride, and 5k run. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong! Add a cheap mountain bike and 20 mph winds and you have the recipe for a rough day.
I went in without expectations. I knew the bike would slow me down, and I had never done anything like this so I didn't want to give myself the oopurtunity to be disappointed. My only hope was that I would break 2 hours. I did that with a time of 1:47:51! Field was a little over 300 people with what looked like a good mix of athletic ability. At 7:30 we lined up for the snake swim. We were numbered by our anticipated finish time for the swim. I had guessed 11 minutes and had been rewarded with a middle of the pack number - 155. Took about 30 minutes to get in pool and I was off. I had trained some for the swim so felt pretty strong there. Started getting tired about 300y in and taking more time at the wall each time. I was passed by 2 people. The guy right behind me who confessed before the race that he timed himself at 9:30 the week before and then one other guy. Nobody else "caught" me so that made me happy. Finished swim in 12:09 which included a short run into the transition area so I technically swam under 12 minutes, yea!
Transition went pretty well. Had a 2:22. Had not anticipated how tired my legs would be and being out of breath so that slowed me down some. Funny point- my ghetto bike was too short to use the rack so mine sat under with the kickstand down. Oh well. Started to jump on bike in transition but then remembered that I had to walk out so I did. Jumped on bike at the line and was off. This is when I discovered the massive wind of the day. Luckily the worst of the wind was out of the north which was only half of the two loop section of the course- overall about 4.5 miles of the ride (felt like 12 though). I had to just bite down and push through the wind. There were times I felt like I was standing still. Just couldn't get the power on the bike to do anymore. I got passed by many people - which I expected- but did pass one person which surprised me! Finished the bike portion in 59:17- which broke the hour mark I was expecting to hit so another win. I did finish 132 of 144- award for coming in the 90th percent anyone???
Transition 2 was a quick one, just had to rack my bike and grab a new water bottle. Needed a few seconds to get my legs back so I walked through it. 1:01 was the time. Headed out on the run. Took my second gel (first was on the bike) and worked on keeping my pace down. I had forgotten to start my Garmin on the bike so I decided to do without and just run. I left with one other lady who seemed to be keeping about the same pace as me so I stuck with her in my sights. It felt like the run was taking forever! It wound through some back streets and parking lots before hitting an asphalt trail. By the time I got to the 1K marker I felt like I had already gone over a mile. Legs were just tired, no pain from the bike though. Around 2K I could start feeling the affects of the bike seat on my butt which started to slow me down some. Lost my pacer at this point and started shuffling. Only walked once through the water station, which I was proud of my stamina in the run. Overall run time was 33:00 (same time as my very first 5K 4 years ago!).
So looking back: From the second I hit the water I was already thinking what did I get myself into. I guess because of that I never really relaxed. I just didn't get the enjoyment of doing a tri like I do a road race. At the finish line I just felt relief to be done, not the amazed satisfaction of doing a tri. I guess in a way (especially because of the bike) I didn't feel like I belonged in the field, like I was inferior to the rest of the athletes. I know alot of that is due to the fact that it is my first attempt, but overall just didn't enjoy it enough to go through it again.
Stats: (all rankings for overall female)
Overall 1:47:51 (124/144) (28/32 age group)
Swim 12:09 (93/144)
T1 2:22 (80/144)
Bike 59:17 (132/144)
T2 1:01 (40/144)
Run 33:00 (90/144)
I went in without expectations. I knew the bike would slow me down, and I had never done anything like this so I didn't want to give myself the oopurtunity to be disappointed. My only hope was that I would break 2 hours. I did that with a time of 1:47:51! Field was a little over 300 people with what looked like a good mix of athletic ability. At 7:30 we lined up for the snake swim. We were numbered by our anticipated finish time for the swim. I had guessed 11 minutes and had been rewarded with a middle of the pack number - 155. Took about 30 minutes to get in pool and I was off. I had trained some for the swim so felt pretty strong there. Started getting tired about 300y in and taking more time at the wall each time. I was passed by 2 people. The guy right behind me who confessed before the race that he timed himself at 9:30 the week before and then one other guy. Nobody else "caught" me so that made me happy. Finished swim in 12:09 which included a short run into the transition area so I technically swam under 12 minutes, yea!
Transition went pretty well. Had a 2:22. Had not anticipated how tired my legs would be and being out of breath so that slowed me down some. Funny point- my ghetto bike was too short to use the rack so mine sat under with the kickstand down. Oh well. Started to jump on bike in transition but then remembered that I had to walk out so I did. Jumped on bike at the line and was off. This is when I discovered the massive wind of the day. Luckily the worst of the wind was out of the north which was only half of the two loop section of the course- overall about 4.5 miles of the ride (felt like 12 though). I had to just bite down and push through the wind. There were times I felt like I was standing still. Just couldn't get the power on the bike to do anymore. I got passed by many people - which I expected- but did pass one person which surprised me! Finished the bike portion in 59:17- which broke the hour mark I was expecting to hit so another win. I did finish 132 of 144- award for coming in the 90th percent anyone???
Transition 2 was a quick one, just had to rack my bike and grab a new water bottle. Needed a few seconds to get my legs back so I walked through it. 1:01 was the time. Headed out on the run. Took my second gel (first was on the bike) and worked on keeping my pace down. I had forgotten to start my Garmin on the bike so I decided to do without and just run. I left with one other lady who seemed to be keeping about the same pace as me so I stuck with her in my sights. It felt like the run was taking forever! It wound through some back streets and parking lots before hitting an asphalt trail. By the time I got to the 1K marker I felt like I had already gone over a mile. Legs were just tired, no pain from the bike though. Around 2K I could start feeling the affects of the bike seat on my butt which started to slow me down some. Lost my pacer at this point and started shuffling. Only walked once through the water station, which I was proud of my stamina in the run. Overall run time was 33:00 (same time as my very first 5K 4 years ago!).
So looking back: From the second I hit the water I was already thinking what did I get myself into. I guess because of that I never really relaxed. I just didn't get the enjoyment of doing a tri like I do a road race. At the finish line I just felt relief to be done, not the amazed satisfaction of doing a tri. I guess in a way (especially because of the bike) I didn't feel like I belonged in the field, like I was inferior to the rest of the athletes. I know alot of that is due to the fact that it is my first attempt, but overall just didn't enjoy it enough to go through it again.
Stats: (all rankings for overall female)
Overall 1:47:51 (124/144) (28/32 age group)
Swim 12:09 (93/144)
T1 2:22 (80/144)
Bike 59:17 (132/144)
T2 1:01 (40/144)
Run 33:00 (90/144)
Saturday, August 7
Tri again
Well it's been a summer so far. Was doing great. Finally had an awesome long run after 4th of July weekend. I was feeling better about running, was a little tired of P90X but was gettingback on the ball. Then bam my back went out not like normal after a race. Really bad. Couldn't move. Couldn't stand up straight. More pain then I've ever been in. It required me to take a break. From Everything. I sat for a week in pain. Getting to the fridge was a workout. I was bummed and depressed. I saw people running and craved it. I let my friends downi wasn't there to motivate working outso they slipped. Second week was better I could walk again and the pain was mostly gone (thanks to a marvelous massage). Still was afraid to run so I went to the pool for a swim. I got out the bike and went for a ride. I did things that required no impact. That's when it hit me. It might be a few weeks before I could run like I wanted too. I was going to need something to keep me on track until I could run(had to be in shape for vacation). So I decided to tri that right. I have joined the triathlon revolution I said I would never do. I was forced to do these activites anywas so why not give it a shot? So I am now riding and swimming 3-4 times a week and I'm settling for 10 mile run weeks for now. I'm playing it smart. I don't want to be hurt come September when I want to train for that 2 hour 1/2 marathon so I'm taking it easy. I'm hoping in the end it pays off. That I'm strong and gain muscles from the cross training. Find new sports to fill time.
One thing is for sure at this time- swimming an hour in the pool sure bets an hour of running in this 100* heat. So tri on!!!
One thing is for sure at this time- swimming an hour in the pool sure bets an hour of running in this 100* heat. So tri on!!!
Saturday, June 19
Sitting on the edge of 30
So many times I sit in a car reading a running magazine thinking the next run I do will be perfect. I'm so inspired by the words on the pages. Inevitably this always happens on a dark time in my running, I go out and fail feeling worse then I did before reading anything. So here I sit again with the same thought in my head. I'm stuffed silly from dinner, contemplating ice cream, and thinking tomorrow I am going to get up and conquer the beast. So the real question is how will I make tomorrow different?
The first thought rushing to my head is that tomorrow will be the last time I run in my 20s. As of Monday I move into a new age bracket in the racing world. And it's a hard bracket. The winner of most races comes from the 30-35 especially if it is a more casual event without college and high school competition. So do I really want my last run as a 20 something to be bad? End up in tears like the last couple of weekend runs? Do I want to head into 30 something thinking I've lost my running swager? No. I want to be strong amd happy. Even if it means a slower pace earlier in the morning to miss the horrid heat of June. I want to come in and feel as strong as I felt crossing the finish swine in cincinnati.
It's all mental. Yes there are physical hurdles- the heat, the early wake up call, etc. But those don't have to throw me off my game. If I can keep a positive attitude then I can win this run and come in with a good experience. Amd a good experience can pull me through some many more tough days to come this summer. So the mental I really need to conquer is that of my own preceived failure. If I can make what I can do given the conditions a success then indeed I will win.
The first thought rushing to my head is that tomorrow will be the last time I run in my 20s. As of Monday I move into a new age bracket in the racing world. And it's a hard bracket. The winner of most races comes from the 30-35 especially if it is a more casual event without college and high school competition. So do I really want my last run as a 20 something to be bad? End up in tears like the last couple of weekend runs? Do I want to head into 30 something thinking I've lost my running swager? No. I want to be strong amd happy. Even if it means a slower pace earlier in the morning to miss the horrid heat of June. I want to come in and feel as strong as I felt crossing the finish swine in cincinnati.
It's all mental. Yes there are physical hurdles- the heat, the early wake up call, etc. But those don't have to throw me off my game. If I can keep a positive attitude then I can win this run and come in with a good experience. Amd a good experience can pull me through some many more tough days to come this summer. So the mental I really need to conquer is that of my own preceived failure. If I can make what I can do given the conditions a success then indeed I will win.
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