Yeah I completely slacked off and did not come up with a new fantastic video this week. Instead this is a shameless plug to send you over to Salty Running at noon. It's Wednesday, you know what that means! Pepper is revealing a few secrets to racing success :) Plus this is a throw back to when yours truly was an avid MTV watcher :)
S&P
Yeah I completely slacked off and did not come up with a new fantastic video this week. Instead this is a shameless plug to send you over to Salty Running at noon. It's Wednesday, you know what that means! Pepper is revealing a few secrets to racing success :) Plus this is a throw back to when yours truly was an avid MTV watcher :)
Boston Quickie
Get your mind out of the gutter ;) This is just a quick post to say, uggh I don't have a post yet! Life does not stop just because of the Boston Marathon and I had obligations to get a post up on Salty Running first! But never fear I will have a detailed report up here and yes I will have much more to say about the race! But if you are jonesing for a recap I do have one up at Salty Running! http://www.saltyrunning.com/2012/04/19/7th-times-the-charm/
In the meantime this will double as last weeks rundown and a few quick pics/stats/shout outs!
I somehow did get in 30 miles despite taking some unplanned days off and shifting things around a bit due to travel.
30 miles, 5 days running, one mini track workout, and an up-tempoish run in Jamaica Plains! Add in a massage and some fun times with friends and that's the brief summary of all training last week!
I finally met ILikeToast! And even got to party with him and some really fast Australian marathoner Saturday before the race!
Huge shout out to all my Cleveland/NE Ohio friends who raced Monday. We didn't all have killer days but everyone did great in the heat and tackled yet another Boston marathon!
Special shout out to my roomie Barb Broad who dominated her age group again!And my high school friend Mylene killed her first Boston and only 3rd marathon coming only 3 minutes shy of her personal best despite the heat and no hill training!
And big shout out to Kam Lee for staying tough and gritting it out for top Ohioan at Boston again. Pretty cool to have SERC place top Ohioan on the male and female side! Kam was 9th in his age group too which is no joke at Boston!
CED killed it too, Barb, Lizzie, and I had great races and we were part of the SERC women's team who managed to be in the top 10 teams at Boston!
Many many thanks to Kurt and Janine for kindly letting us stay with them in Jamaica Plains Saturday night! And for feeding us and having some relaxed chill time before all the race weekend frivolities!
Many thanks to my boyfriend for treating our room of marathoners like Diva's. Treating us to waters, Nuun's, ice, schlepping our bags around, fetching me wine etc all weekend. We were very spoiled!
And a little something you didn't get to see on Salty Running! Very happy Ohio finishers!
In the meantime this will double as last weeks rundown and a few quick pics/stats/shout outs!
I somehow did get in 30 miles despite taking some unplanned days off and shifting things around a bit due to travel.
30 miles, 5 days running, one mini track workout, and an up-tempoish run in Jamaica Plains! Add in a massage and some fun times with friends and that's the brief summary of all training last week!
I finally met ILikeToast! And even got to party with him and some really fast Australian marathoner Saturday before the race!
Huge shout out to all my Cleveland/NE Ohio friends who raced Monday. We didn't all have killer days but everyone did great in the heat and tackled yet another Boston marathon!
Special shout out to my roomie Barb Broad who dominated her age group again!And my high school friend Mylene killed her first Boston and only 3rd marathon coming only 3 minutes shy of her personal best despite the heat and no hill training!
And big shout out to Kam Lee for staying tough and gritting it out for top Ohioan at Boston again. Pretty cool to have SERC place top Ohioan on the male and female side! Kam was 9th in his age group too which is no joke at Boston!
CED killed it too, Barb, Lizzie, and I had great races and we were part of the SERC women's team who managed to be in the top 10 teams at Boston!
Many many thanks to Kurt and Janine for kindly letting us stay with them in Jamaica Plains Saturday night! And for feeding us and having some relaxed chill time before all the race weekend frivolities!
Many thanks to my boyfriend for treating our room of marathoners like Diva's. Treating us to waters, Nuun's, ice, schlepping our bags around, fetching me wine etc all weekend. We were very spoiled!
And a little something you didn't get to see on Salty Running! Very happy Ohio finishers!
The Show Goes On
I am a huge Lupe Fiasco fan. I love his song Superstar! And pretty much have enjoyed everything I have listened to by him. I think The Show Goes On is quite appropriate given this past Monday's crazy temps. More on that whole marathon thing to come soon but in the meantime real life calls and that whole "show" must indeed go on too.
Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 2012 Boston Marathon | |||||||||||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hiser | |||||||||||||||
| Latest Results: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 2012 Boston Marathon | ||||||||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hiser | ||||||||||||
| Latest Results: | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 2012 Boston Marathon | |||||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hiser | |||||||||
| Latest Results: | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 2012 Boston Marathon | ||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hiser | ||||||
| Latest Results: | |||||||
| |||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
1993 not F36
I'm Boston bound in a few days here for the 7th time and as always chatter begins to start about what my goals are, what time I want to run etc. To be quite honest I really hadn't thought about it, at all, until the big 16 miler a few weeks ago. I really thought Boston was going to be a hard training run where I went, had fun, and finally sneaked in under 3 and just enjoyed myself.
Then I went and ran a fast 5k off two weeks of training, I started running fast track splits, I felt like an animal at Youngstown and couldn't run the prescribed slow pace despite having fun and running relaxed on some gnarly hills, and then 16 at 6:36 pace felt like a pace job (and it basically was as I was helping my teammate). After all that I had to admit I should probably think about a goal for Boston other than have fun and run a hard training run.
Before I knew all that I opted out of the elite women's start this year. I really didn't feel I would be in shape to cash in on it, and to be quite honest I wasn't sure if I was mentally ready to race 26.2 by myself again. Originally my thought process was if I was in shape to PR I should take the mass start and have more men/bodies to work with, and if I wasn't in shape take the EWS and force myself to learn how to race better in a stacked field. i.e. don't run anyone else's race but your own even when the stakes are high and the field is really fast. I didn't really discuss this with my coach but decided to leave it in his hands whether or not I would take the elite start and we decided I wouldn't this year. Given my high fitness, and now knowing the EWS field, I am glad we made that choice. Out of the 50 or so women in the start my qualifying time was only faster than 7 or so. The real race in Boston for women certainly isn't around 2:50 :) But in the mass start there will be plenty of men to race around that time!
I'm not setting any real time goal, the marathon has too many variables for that and my experience with Boston is that every time I get my hopes up I suffer and come very short of the goal. But I do have the goal of racing my best on Monday and I have an idea of where that should put me. I want to be competitive in the field, I want to represent my teams well, and by all means if that results in a fantastic time I will be very stoked. No limits and no expectations, just hard racing on Monday for me!
Feel free to follow along! Bib 1993
Then I went and ran a fast 5k off two weeks of training, I started running fast track splits, I felt like an animal at Youngstown and couldn't run the prescribed slow pace despite having fun and running relaxed on some gnarly hills, and then 16 at 6:36 pace felt like a pace job (and it basically was as I was helping my teammate). After all that I had to admit I should probably think about a goal for Boston other than have fun and run a hard training run.
Before I knew all that I opted out of the elite women's start this year. I really didn't feel I would be in shape to cash in on it, and to be quite honest I wasn't sure if I was mentally ready to race 26.2 by myself again. Originally my thought process was if I was in shape to PR I should take the mass start and have more men/bodies to work with, and if I wasn't in shape take the EWS and force myself to learn how to race better in a stacked field. i.e. don't run anyone else's race but your own even when the stakes are high and the field is really fast. I didn't really discuss this with my coach but decided to leave it in his hands whether or not I would take the elite start and we decided I wouldn't this year. Given my high fitness, and now knowing the EWS field, I am glad we made that choice. Out of the 50 or so women in the start my qualifying time was only faster than 7 or so. The real race in Boston for women certainly isn't around 2:50 :) But in the mass start there will be plenty of men to race around that time!
I'm not setting any real time goal, the marathon has too many variables for that and my experience with Boston is that every time I get my hopes up I suffer and come very short of the goal. But I do have the goal of racing my best on Monday and I have an idea of where that should put me. I want to be competitive in the field, I want to represent my teams well, and by all means if that results in a fantastic time I will be very stoked. No limits and no expectations, just hard racing on Monday for me!
Feel free to follow along! Bib 1993
Marathon Week Track Workout
Last night we headed to the track for the last "workout" before the race. I've gotten used to feeling fantastic on this workout. It is just 2 miles at marathon pace followed by 4*200. It's over quickly, and it's fun, and the pace feels so easy compared to the normal 5k paced stuff we do!
Well last night mother nature decided to make marathon pace feel a little harder. From lovely weather every day last week we showed up to the track in snow and around 36ish (don't ask me how that works but it was snowing). I hate doing anything fast in layers and it took the entire first mile for my little legs to loosen up and my lungs to agree with the pace. But we got it done, 2 miles at 12:50 followed by 4*200 at 41, 40, 40, 39. Here's hoping fast feels a lot easier in Boston on Monday once I am in buns and a singlet! (We all know despite extended forecasts being completely unreliable that I have sadly already looked at the weather for Monday and that singlet may get demoted to a sports bra if the predicted temps hold true) From snow to summer in less than 7 days. Welcome to the midwest!
King and Lionheart
I was really hoping this would have a real video. Bummer!
Just heard this tune and liked it instantly. The bootleg is pretty groovy too! I cannot wait for the Boston after party and dancing!!!
Just heard this tune and liked it instantly. The bootleg is pretty groovy too! I cannot wait for the Boston after party and dancing!!!
Blast from the past and looking to the future
What's that? Yeah I never did get around to a 2011 recap and I would just move forward without one but I think it was a year worth remembering. Turning 30 seems to be a big milestone and despite some setbacks and lows, 2011 had a lot of high points too. Lots of life changes between October of 2011 and now that I might at some point discuss here but for now let's focus on the running.
2011 was set to be the year of the marathon OTQ, not just for me but for many aspiring sub elites. Unfortunately for me it was not in the cards. Fortunately for me life moves on, OTQ or not!
Despite being stubborn and trying to race several times while less than 100% I did walk away from 2011 with an awesome 10 mile race, a Boston best, and a solid fall marathon. I also ran some solid 5k and 5 mile races while competing against some of the most stacked fields I have ever been privileged to race with. It was no 2010, but it was special in its own right.
At some point during the year running became a detraction from life, it became negative, and it lost it's fun. I think the official break down can be charted back to the week or so before the Indy Women's half. I did the unthinkable, in my mind, and lost myself somewhere along the way. I always prided myself on being above that. I thought "no matter how fast I get I will never become a shell of myself". But unfortunately I was not above that, and I did become a shell of myself. Thankfully the rock bottom was followed up with some self discovery and a renewal of my love of running, and racing, and the marathon. I was forced to make other pieces of my life a bigger priority and that allowed me to see that I can still pursue running excellence without losing myself in it.
I learned a lot from 2011 and I am hopeful that I can take those lessons and make 2012 my best year yet. I have a feeling my 30s are going to treat me well and I have high hopes that my running will continue to improve! Let's hope that holds true at Boston next week and see if I can run my 7th consecutively faster Boston!
In the meantime life hasn't slowed down at all and I have taken on some roles in the running community this year above my racing. I am once again president of my local running club and I am helping out on Salty Running this year as Pepper! The posts there will likely be a bit more personal and less Type A training, so don't worry you will still get typical E-Speed posts here, but if you are looking for more "spicy posts" definitely tune into SR. I'm also still really jazzed about being a apart of CED this year and working with Nike, Keyes, and Fleet Feet to run my best! I seriously think that my team of body experts has finally started to figure out the puzzle that is my wonky hip :) Lots going on and all good. Thanks as always for reading!
2011 was set to be the year of the marathon OTQ, not just for me but for many aspiring sub elites. Unfortunately for me it was not in the cards. Fortunately for me life moves on, OTQ or not!
Despite being stubborn and trying to race several times while less than 100% I did walk away from 2011 with an awesome 10 mile race, a Boston best, and a solid fall marathon. I also ran some solid 5k and 5 mile races while competing against some of the most stacked fields I have ever been privileged to race with. It was no 2010, but it was special in its own right.
At some point during the year running became a detraction from life, it became negative, and it lost it's fun. I think the official break down can be charted back to the week or so before the Indy Women's half. I did the unthinkable, in my mind, and lost myself somewhere along the way. I always prided myself on being above that. I thought "no matter how fast I get I will never become a shell of myself". But unfortunately I was not above that, and I did become a shell of myself. Thankfully the rock bottom was followed up with some self discovery and a renewal of my love of running, and racing, and the marathon. I was forced to make other pieces of my life a bigger priority and that allowed me to see that I can still pursue running excellence without losing myself in it.
I learned a lot from 2011 and I am hopeful that I can take those lessons and make 2012 my best year yet. I have a feeling my 30s are going to treat me well and I have high hopes that my running will continue to improve! Let's hope that holds true at Boston next week and see if I can run my 7th consecutively faster Boston!
In the meantime life hasn't slowed down at all and I have taken on some roles in the running community this year above my racing. I am once again president of my local running club and I am helping out on Salty Running this year as Pepper! The posts there will likely be a bit more personal and less Type A training, so don't worry you will still get typical E-Speed posts here, but if you are looking for more "spicy posts" definitely tune into SR. I'm also still really jazzed about being a apart of CED this year and working with Nike, Keyes, and Fleet Feet to run my best! I seriously think that my team of body experts has finally started to figure out the puzzle that is my wonky hip :) Lots going on and all good. Thanks as always for reading!
Week 9 Rundown
Goals for the week:
Total Mileage 55- 60.
Monday: Easy.
Tuesday: Track.
Wednesday and Friday: Easy miles @ 7:20 or slower, 6 x 30 sec strides on Friday.
Thursday: 8 miles @ 6:40
Weekend:
12 miles @ 7:30
10 miles @ 7:10
How it played out:
60 miles. 7 runs. 1 easy swim. one ART appointment.
Pretty much felt fantastic every run this week. Not sure what that means but if I can feel like I did mentally and physically Saturday at Boston next Monday I will be a super happy camper!
After a week of pretty much behaving I went a little crazy on the weekend with a huge meal at Melting Pot and a fabulous Easter dinner with friends. One of the many reasons to stay off the scale during taper!
Total Mileage 55- 60.
Monday: Easy.
Tuesday: Track.
Wednesday and Friday: Easy miles @ 7:20 or slower, 6 x 30 sec strides on Friday.
Thursday: 8 miles @ 6:40
Weekend:
12 miles @ 7:30
10 miles @ 7:10
How it played out:
60 miles. 7 runs. 1 easy swim. one ART appointment.
Pretty much felt fantastic every run this week. Not sure what that means but if I can feel like I did mentally and physically Saturday at Boston next Monday I will be a super happy camper!
After a week of pretty much behaving I went a little crazy on the weekend with a huge meal at Melting Pot and a fabulous Easter dinner with friends. One of the many reasons to stay off the scale during taper!
Tempo with a Tailwind
I still haven't learned that lesson about checking the wind forecast when planning a tempo downtown but I lucked out yesterday and the winds changed direction! I wasn't too worried since it is taper time and I had an "easy" 8 miles at 6:40 on tap so I figured even if the winds were a little strong on the back half I should be able to suck it up and hit the pace. Lucky me the headwinds were on the way out. About 2.5 miles into the wind around 6:40 and then it was time to fly back to Cleveland effortlessly. By mile 8 of the run including warm up I was already averaging below 6:40 with pretty minimal effort. I put in another mile at tempo effort and jogged it in. Now that is how to cash in on windy weather on tempo day :) If only Boston could have a tailwind again this year!
Keep Your Head Up
What a wonderful song, and what a wonderful idea! I think I have found my mission this summer and it involves a big hill and lots of watery fun :) Thanks to Runs on Beer for turning me on to Ben Howard this week!
Swim Top Track Workout
Well it's a good thing I always have a few swim suits in the trunk because despite by best packing efforts I completely spaced out and did not pack any sports bras for the Tuesday/Wednesday workouts this week. Apparently a good bikini top will do the trick in a pinch ;)
Tonight's workout felt pretty easy, the goal was 86 for all 400s of the ladder and other than being a bit too lackadaisical on the first 600 of the 1200 it was really smooth sailing. Had a little fun on the back half but kept it all an easier effort than I have been putting forth the past few weeks. Gotta love taper time! (and slightly easier workouts from coach ;))
Tonight's workout felt pretty easy, the goal was 86 for all 400s of the ladder and other than being a bit too lackadaisical on the first 600 of the 1200 it was really smooth sailing. Had a little fun on the back half but kept it all an easier effort than I have been putting forth the past few weeks. Gotta love taper time! (and slightly easier workouts from coach ;))
| Set | Reps | Distance/Time | Goal | Actual | Rep rest | Set rest |
| 1 | 1 | 400 Meters | 86 | 86.85 | 44.57 | |
| 2 | 1 | 800 Meters | 2:52 | 2:51.75 | 87.25 | |
| 3 | 1 | 1200 Meters | 4:18 | 4:17.88 | 2:10.45 | |
| 4 | 1 | 1600 Meters | 5:44 | 5:40.85 | 3:02.82 | |
| 5 | 1 | 1200 Meters | 4:18 | 4:12.22 | 2:12.03 | |
| 6 | 1 | 800 Meters | 2:52 | 2:44.62 | 89.03 | |
| 7 | 1 | 400 Meters | 86 | 75.58 |
Week 8 Rundown
Goals for the week!
Total Mileage 70.
Monday: Easy.
Tuesday: Track.
Wednesday and Friday: Easy miles @ 7:40 or slower, 6 x 30 sec strides on Friday.
Thursday: 8 miles ( 4 @ 6:30, 3 @ 6:20, 1 @ 6:10)
Weekend:
12 miles @ 7:10
15 miles @ 7:30
How it played out:
70 miles, 6 days running, one double.
Possibly my best week of training ever, all the workouts went well and I felt genuinely good for everything. It's a fine line and my body is definitely strong but I need to be careful and stop neglecting the strengthening PT type stuff as it would be really easy to get an imbalance and end up pushing it too far towards injury again. This was really evident at my massage Friday as there was some serious tightness in my left hip, psoas, hip flexor, lower back. Ouch! Good thing it is taper time!
Total Mileage 70.
Monday: Easy.
Tuesday: Track.
Wednesday and Friday: Easy miles @ 7:40 or slower, 6 x 30 sec strides on Friday.
Thursday: 8 miles ( 4 @ 6:30, 3 @ 6:20, 1 @ 6:10)
Weekend:
12 miles @ 7:10
15 miles @ 7:30
How it played out:
70 miles, 6 days running, one double.
Possibly my best week of training ever, all the workouts went well and I felt genuinely good for everything. It's a fine line and my body is definitely strong but I need to be careful and stop neglecting the strengthening PT type stuff as it would be really easy to get an imbalance and end up pushing it too far towards injury again. This was really evident at my massage Friday as there was some serious tightness in my left hip, psoas, hip flexor, lower back. Ouch! Good thing it is taper time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)