New Schedule

I am a notorious snoozer. I can hit my snooze button for literally hours. Having flexible hours is a blessing, but sometimes I think it just gives me an excuse for over sleeping and putting things off until lunch or after work. Most mornings I intend to be awake by 6 or 7 but I find myself waking at 8 and rushing around to be out the door by 8:30.

Well with it getting dark around 5 now I do not want to have the excuse of "it is too dark and dreary" rearing its ugly head this winter and screwing with my progress and goals. I need to get on a schedule that makes sure my running is done in the morning or at lunch, that way post work runs are a last resort option, not a mandatory thing. This means I need to suck it up and get the heck out of bed when I intend to!

In order to help with this I am going to start meeting friends to run in the early AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I am going to commit to a boot camp class in the afternoons on Mondays and Wednesdays which means I have to be to work early in order to get in a lunch run and get out of work in time to make it to class. And I am sure at some point soon these days will also have a 2nd run which will mean 6 am runs on these mornings too.

So starting today I will be at work by 7:30 so I can get everything in, which means I will be awake by 5 on days I run in the morning and by 6 on days I intend to run at lunch (and I will be in bed by 9 or 10 to make sure this happens!). Most everyone else already does this so I need to stop being a slacker and get it done! I've been too spoiled by my 9-6 hours and need to get on the early morning program. Now let's just hope my boss is on board with that even though everyone else here is on the 9-6 program.

Let's hope this snoozer can turn into a morning person! I really think it will help my attitude this winter if I can consistently wake up early and get things done before sun rise.

Unfortunately this will mean more driving and less bus riding, but I am sure I will adapt.

Weekly Rundown- Turkey Trot Race Week

Plan:

Total Mileage 50.

Monday - Friday miles in the 7's and 8's.
Have a good race.
Weekend:
Miles @ 7:20
Long run 12 miles @ 7:00


How it played out:

56 miles

Monday- Rest (38 minute walk/jog with David)
Tuesday- 8 miles 7:43 pace (5*20 second strides)
Wednesday- 4 at 8:21 (4*30 sec strides)
Thursday- 2 mile warm up with strides, 37:24, 3 mile cool down 10 minute pace
Friday- 6 miles 7:48 pace
Saturday-12 miles 6:53 pace with MY on towpath
Sunday- 15 miles with FD 7:28 pace (First 8 averaged 7:20 then ran easy)

I haven't been feeling too badly while running the past week. But in the mornings and at my desk I have been feeling a bit out of whack. My hamstrings have been cranky, my wonky left hip has been acting up, and my feet have been killing me. Definitely was due for a massage which I had this morning. And I am hoping some diligent stretching will keep me from having all this soreness translate into injuries this winter. Hoping it is just a case of everything being too tight and nothing serious, but going to keep an eye on my right foot.

I've been making more time for social stuff too which means my sleep schedule and eating has suffered a bit the past few weeks, so hopefully once I get that back in line it will help things along. Like most everyone else I was not as diligent as I could have been on my intake the past month so I also need to hunker down and try to get my diet back in control and my weight a little closer to race weight before the New Year.

Base training starts today so no workouts for awhile, but hopefully building up the mileage before getting back into it for some indoor track races before Boston!

Had a great holiday with the family and rounded it off with a fun night out at the Beachland Tavern last night. Looking forward to a good nights sleep tonight though!

Detroit Turkey Trot 2010

It's mostly an annual tradition for me to run the Detroit Turkey Trot every year since high school. I haven't done it every year, but I've been doing it since before they added a 5k and 1 mile fun run. I toyed with doing the 5k this year instead of the 10k, but decided that the 10k was better in the scheme of all things Thanksgiving. Meaning I over indulge on food so I should run a few extra miles to make up for it :)

Weather report did not look fun and I had a heck of a time deciding what to wear and how to deal with warm ups. I didn't bring anything to throw away so I decided on leaving my race shoes in the car a few blocks from the start and warm up then going back to drop off warm ups and change into my racing shoes. I didn't time everything really well and I was feeling pretty rushed to get to the line. Did a few strides on the way over but didn't get in all of my regular dynamic warm up drills. Nerves started to kick and and I felt like I was going to vomit when I toed the line. Saw one of the women who raced at Johnnycake and said hello. She was running in the 5k and she's fast so I knew I shouldn't be ahead of her from the gun.

Despite adding a 2nd wave this year it was still pretty packed in the "Fast and Fit" wave. I started about 2 people back from the line and was in a pack of guys for the first 2 miles or so and could see a steady stream of guys in a line up ahead. Given that the 5k and 10k run together for the first 2 miles or so it is hard to tell what place you are in. I figured if I ran a fantastic race I might be able to eek out top 3. I speculated that in order to do that I would have to run under 37 minutes. Which was good because I wanted to go sub 6 pace, and on a good day I thought that was possible. After the mile mark you make a hairpin turn and go back against the crowd so if you have good eyes you can get a look at who is ahead of you and in front of you. I saw DC who was in the 5k but couldn't pick out any other women. I knew that meant I was likely in the top 3 even if there were some gals hidden in the throng of men. As usual Hansons had a huge pack of men leading the race far ahead of everyone else.

I just left my garmins autolap on and decided not to worry about time too much and just race how I felt. First 2 markers may have been short because my autolap was going off after them. But to my delight the autolap was right where I wanted it to be around 5:53 to 5:54 for both miles. Add in the possible bonus of it being long and I was running right where I wanted to be. I was with a small pack of guys but as we turned into the wind we had a large gap in front of us. I worked to catch up to the next group this mile and tried to key off a runner in yellow sporting the runmichigan.com logo. It was windy but I felt pretty strong and just worked on keeping my effort high.

I had a pair of gloves and two hand warmers from the start because it was supposed to be pretty cold, but by mile three I was feeling pretty toasty and stuffed the gloves in my bra and one of the hand warmers in my sleeves, but was still holding the second hand warmer. I didn't need it for the race but I knew after I would be cold so I kept it. Probably wasted some effort fooling with all of that.

Missed the 3rd mile marker and my watch going off, but it felt like effort was the same. The course deviated a bit from last year after the 3rd mile marker and we went further out on an out and back stretch. It felt slow and I was falling back from the guy in yellow a bit. I caught the 4 mile marker but missed my watches split somehow. Saw the first girl had quite a bit of time on me and on the turn around the next girl looked like she had a chance to close on me if I didn't keep it together. Looked down and average lap pace was at 6:14, awwe crap! get it back together Hansen!

At each out and back along the way I kept hearing cheers for Ben. "Run your own race Ben" "Looking good Ben". Around mile 4 I finally figured out who Ben was. He was 14 years old and running strong, but unfortunately a bit too skinny to block any wind for me ;) With about a half mile to go he asked how far we had left. Glad to know I wasn't the only one who was ready for the finish!

We had long ago passed our last costumed runner which was a blessing, did not want to get beat by any of those this year! But we had some sand baggers obviously out for a training run coming up behind us. Discussions of leap frogging and holding hands across the finish were amusing, but not very motivational as I struggled to relax my stride and try to bring the pace down.

Mile 6 was at the corner of Cobo Hall and I knew when my watch beeped long before that any time I had put in the bank early was long gone and I needed to haul ass to the finish! Thankfully the downhill brought me back to a decent pace but it was too late to salvage sub 37 as I could see the clock already out of 36 territory ahead. I sprinted into the finish and had to dodge a photographer standing on the line right where I was supposed to be crossing. Looked down to see that I had most likely tied my time from the Columbus 10k (37:24). Not the PR I was hoping for and not the time I felt I could run at my current fitness. But somehow crossed the line in 2nd place and was pretty stoked about that. Retrieved some fleece gloves for coming in top 100 and then headed back out to look for my sister and my cousin who had started in the "fun" wave and would be aiming for around an hour to and hour 20 for the race.

Thank goodness for those fleece gloves. My cheap gloves were soaked from stuffing them in my bra and I was cold! Ran backwards through the course cheering occasionally and trying to spot my sister. Thankfully she spotted me a bit after the 4 mile mark and I hopped back in with her to run her in. She did great, surprising herself with a new PR despite less than her best training. And our cousin came in not far behind. I spotted my parents and we cheered her in before heading down to the awards. 2nd place garnered me a cool clay turkey with a medal around his neck. A for originality.



Results show someone else taking 2nd. So it's possible I got chipped. We'll see in a few days. Either way glad to have been top 3 despite not running quite the time I was hoping for. Need to decide if this is the race I want to end the year on or if I will go back to the Reindeer Run and try to squeak out a 5k PR...

Thank You

I cannot believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. This year has literally flown by. I obviously have a lot to be grateful for on the running front this year, improving pretty much every area of my running regime. But who are we kidding, none of that would have been possible without the amazing support system that has been built up around me.

This starts with a loving and supportive family. I have the best parents in the world, a very lovable and understanding husband, and some seriously fantastic siblings. The extended family of cousins and in laws is also top notch. They may not all understand my goals or what I am doing but they all rally behind them and are the first to cheer me on towards them.

Somewhere between college and now I have accumulated this huge network of friends who like me are endurance junkies. This includes all my wonderful training partners, my coach, my club, and my team. In addition I am honored to still be close friends with many from Team in Training, our local triathlon club, and the local ultra scene even though I haven't been able to do those things lately. I have met some phenomenal athletes along the way who help drive me to do my best and who inspire me to dream even bigger.

I am lucky to work in a small satellite office, where unfortunately I am the only runner. But I am so grateful for the flexibility and support my coworkers have shown me over the years. I appreciate the ability to get out on lunch runs and the post race enthusiasm we share even though they most likely think I am nuts.

On top of that, as if it isn't enough, I have somehow found myself the recipient of a whole lot of virtual support. Who would have ever dreamed I'd have friends rooting me on from across the world who I have never met in person, but feel like I have known forever. For all of this virtual love, support, knowledge, and constructive criticism, I am also thankful. It has definitely helped bolster me along my path.

So this year I want to send my thanks out to all of those in my life who have made everything I do possible. I am very blessed and it continues to amaze me every day. Thank you!

Weekly Rundown - Interim Turkey Trot Phase Week 2

Goal for the week:

Total Mileage 50 - 55.

Monday: Easy
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo 4 miles @ 6:35. 1 mile @ 6:20
Wednesday & Friday upper 7's lower 8's.
Weekend:
Miles @ 7:20
Long run 12 miles @ 7:00

How it played out:

55 miles

M-Rest
T-5.5 at 6:44
W-8 at 7:41
Th- AM 8 with tempo, Lunch 8 at 8:04
F-5 at 7:54
Sat-8 with track
Sun-12 at 6:56

Tuesday night was pouring like crazy which means everyone in Cleveland forgot how to drive and it took me over an hour to get to the track, by the time I got there we would have 30 more minutes with the lights on so we opted to bypass on our planned track workout and just get some miles in. I was more than a little aggravated (had planned on getting in a quality workout and 9 miles) and this turned into a hodge podge workout. 2 mile warm up around 7 minute pace, a mile of striding the straights and jogging the curves around 6:40 followed up by a 2 mile "progression run" ending with the last mile sub 6 followed by a short cool down when the lights went off. Not ideal, but at least it was a semi fast workout and no harm done in the process.

Thursdays tempo went well. My Garmin has appeared to be very generous with me this week, not sure if it is time to reset the thing or if I am just feeling better at all my paces because of the cooler weather and better fitness. We ran a little fast on the way out with the winds at our back and managed to keep the pace down despite the wind in our faces on the way back, the effort was increased, but honestly it all felt very controlled.

06:29.4
06:24.9
06:23.7
06:26.7
06:14.3

Ave pace 6:24

We decided to make up the track workout on Saturday. It didn't seem like it would be too bad. Plenty of rest and the paces weren't crazy.

Plan was 5 x 1000.

2 @ 3:40 2 min rest (10k pace)
2 @ 3:32 2:20 rest (5k pace)
1 @ 3:20 2:30 rest (3k pace)

The first 4 felt pretty controlled but I could tell the 5th would be a stretch. We ran a little fast on the first 4 alternating taking the inside lane. Last one NC got into a slightly faster gear from the get go and I couldn't quite catch up in the home stretch and neither of us made the 3:20, but it was one of the fastest 1000s either of us has done in a workout the past two years. (I think we did a 3:21 at the end of a workout in June, but given it is November and speed is not the focus right now I was happy with the effort)

03:36.9
03:38.3
03:30.9
03:29.2
03:22.9

Sunday the legs didn't feel too bad, just felt a bit fatigued, but we managed the 12 under 7 pace without issue.

Really felt pretty good all week, hopefully that means a good Turkey Trot ahead!

Weekly Rundown - Interim Turkey Trot Phase Week 1

Still recovering from Columbus but since my training partner and I are both running Turkey Trots we are still keeping a few speed workouts until that is over. Then base training for Boston will commence.

First track workout back was AWFUL. I felt horrible despite a slow pace and extra rest. Had to bail on the 4th repeat, but thankfully the extra rest allowed me to salvage the last repeat. My piriformis was seriously tweaked after that workout but seems to be fine after some serious stretching. My sinuses have been a mess since last Monday. Hoping they will pipe down soon!

Weekly goal:

Total Mileage 50.

Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo 5 miles @ 6:40.
Wednesday & Friday upper 7's/lower 8's.
Saturday: miles @ 7:20.
Sunday: Long run 12 miles @ 7:00 - 7:10

How it played out: 52 miles

Mon-Rest
Tues-8 with track
Wed- 8 at 7:44
Thur- 8 with tempo
Fri- 8 at 8:04
Sat- 12 at 7:07 (10 miles easy jog/hiking trails at Bill BadAss 50k later)
Sun- 8 at 7:10

Track Tuesday November 9th: Goal 5*1200 at 4:21 with 2 minute rests
4:20.80 (2:01.90)
4:21.16 (2:03.34)
4:21.82 (2:02.80)
3:00.00 (3:25.70) (Only did 800)
4:19.35

Thursday Tempo:

We started running these in the morning and so far so good. Pace felt comfortable so we ramped it up a bit the last few miles.

06:37.9
06:36.7
06:35.9
06:31.0
06:24.6

Ave 06:33.2
The weekend runs got flip flopped since we had parties to attend Saturday night. Saturdays run felt pretty sluggish, not sure if it was because we ran on the towpath or the late start or my sinuses, but it was not a comfortable run. Sunday was the complete opposite, legs felt fantastic and was just trying to run easy.

Weekly Rundown

Slowly working my way back into the start of winter base training. But first I have the Detroit Turkey Trot so we are keeping up some light speed work until then.

Coaches instructions for Nov 1-7:

This week 40 - 45 miles.
Tuesday: Track.
Long run 12 miles @ low to mid 7's.
Normal easy days and the other days at mid to upper 7's.

How it played out:

46 miles

Monday- Rest (jog/walk with David)
Tuesday-7 miles with track
Wednesday-7.25 miles 7:42 pace
Thursday-9.4 miles with 5 at 6:56 (helping pace friends for their tempo)
Friday-Rest
Saturday- 10 trails easy
Sunday- 12.5 at 7:32 pace (couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a new route and check out some rock formations so we were a bit slow the first half and hammered the last half a bit)

Track: goal 8*400 with 90 second rests under 90 for the quarters, just loosening up the legs basically. split (rest)
86.87 (94.98)
85.34 (91.98)
86.40 (93.72)
86.58 (97.13)
83.89 (1:41.08)
84.45 (92.15)
85.00 (93.42)
84.03

On a positive note for the year I have already run more miles this year than I did all of last year!

Still feeling a bit sluggish. I'll be happy when we get the mileage back up, I don't respond well to a less structured training plan for some reason.

Training Catch Up

Yep I am still running, albeit with the focus on recovery and not workouts right now.

Race Week: 58 miles
Monday-Rest
Tuesday-7 miles with track (2 miles at 6:20 pace and 4*200 at 38)
Wednesday-7.2 at 8:09
Thursday-7 at 7:08
Friday-4.6 at 8:19
Saturday-4 at 8:17 with 4 strides
Sunday-1.7 warm up with strides, race

Post race week 1: 24 miles
Monday- Rest
Tuesday-9.5 at 8:04
Wed- Rest
Thur-Rest
Friday-Rest
Saturday-4.4 at 9:00 pace
Sunday-2.2 warm up with strides at 8:12, 10k in 38:10, cool down 1.3 at 9:36

Post race week 2: 27 miles
Mon-Rest
Tue- Rest
Wed-3.5 costume "run" like 10 minute pace
Thur-6.7 trails at 8:19 pace
Fri- 1.5 at like 9:50 (3 miles walk/jogging with david)
Sat-7.5 trails at 8:12
Sun- 8 at 8:22

I started doing 2*10 pushups at least 3 times a week. Add to that (2 or 3 times a week) 20-30 bicycle crunches, 10 side leg lifts on each side, 10 clam leg lifts each side, 10 leg lifts each side, 10 supermans each side, 10 bridges on foam roller, 10 side leg lifts standing each side, 10 knee lifts standing each side, 10 bicep curls each side, 10 shoulder lifts each side, 20 shoulder circles forward and 20 back, then 10 big circles forward and 10 back

I'll probably try to add some lunges and squats to that routine, or do those on an alternate day.