Getting behind on all things blogging here!
Despite the race last week and technically being in taper mode over here I decided to try and get in two more quality workouts if my legs (and foot) were on board.
Tuesday I leaned heavily towards bailing on my planned 12* 90 second hill repeats but in the end decided to go forward with the workout after having warmed up for 5 miles with my lunch group and feeling a boost of energy. I managed to get in all 12 repeats with 90 second rests and wasn't overly worried by the extremely tight state of my calf and foot as I had an ART session following the workout. I had the garmin on but opted not to watch the pace too closely and didn't hit the laps until the end of each 3 minute hard/easy cycle to keep from getting down on myself. Clearly my legs were tired from Sunday still, but I wanted to try and get a little bit of turnover going on the downhills and hoping for one last fitness boost from the hills without doing any damage. Mission achieved.
Yesterday was my last official tempo before the race and I was hoping to do 5 miles at 6:16ish. Went out with the goal of running a steady 5 between 6:15 and 6:25 and hoping for a fast finish if the weather and my legs played nice. I settled for a steady 6:15 and had to work for every ounce of the last mile in 6:19 heading into a 16 mph head/cross wind. I am thinking it was okay to go a little wild, it probably won't build any fitness for the race, but hoping it will help keep me sharp and was another good mental workout running the 5 solo and steady at a decent clip.
6:15.05
6:07.17
6:18.71
6:14.92
6:19.60
Mason Half +
So given that my lead up to Philadelphia has been less than ideal I wanted to get in one more long "race" effort to make sure I was mentally and physically ready to really race a marathon at Philly. While Columbus was a blast I did not have to go to the well that day and it really gave me no indication of what my body would be capable of in another 5 weeks. So with that in mind I planned to run a half marathon two weeks out from Philly and have that double as my last big long run at a quick pace. Originally I was thinking of a semi local flat half but ended up opting for the Mason half down near Cincinnati so we could visit friends and I could run a more challenging course with some hills since Philly is a bit rolling (as far as I can tell from the profile and USATFs claim that it is a slight net climb). I was aware the field would be small and I likely wouldn't have many competitors to work with, but I was hopeful a few would show up to get my competitive juices flowing and keep me honest and true to my goal.
Keeping with the low key vibe I have been trying to maintain since Indy's disaster of a half, I wasn't too worried about eating bar food the night before and having a beer. Thankfully my stomach played nice and I didn't pay for my casual approach, though my singlet did smell an awful lot like malt vinegar when I threw it in the wash post race...
The day before my left shin was acting pretty angry on my easy shake out run, but thankfully race morning it did not make a peep.
My original plan was to target 16 miles total at 6:16 pace, I figured if I could run 16 at 6:16 Garmin pace I'd have a reasonable chance of going for 2:46 at Philly given a taper etc. I figured this was probably not going to be reality, but wanted to give it a go. I initially was going to do a 2-3 mile easy warm up and target a slow start in the half with a fast finish followed by 3 more hard miles post race. I decided to bag that plan last minute and get in the 3 hard before to make sure I got all 16 hard done. I had my doubts I would want to head back out for 3 more after racing the half.
Pre race I had done the math on what I would need to run garmin pace wise to get in 16 averaging 6:16 with 13.1 of it at slightly faster than my PR (1:21:52). I really want to make sure I don't go out too fast at Philly like I did at Boston and Indy so I wanted to go out the first three miles slow at around 6:26, follow that up with 7 miles at target pace of 6:16, and finish it out fast at 6:00 for the last 5k. I knew this would be tough, but it was the goal I set. Given that goal, to get in the 16 on pace I needed another 3 miles at 6:31.
We got to the race with just enough time for me to run to the bathroom quick, strip to my race clothes and get in an easy mile followed by the 3 mile tempo. Weather was absolutely my ideal conditions. Around 36 and sunny. I forgot my shades, but never was too bothered by it. I warmed up one mile easy and then found myself having to hold back on the warm up tempo. Grateful my body felt so good I was excited to see what I could do in the race. Hit the tempo miles in 6:29.67, 6:23.29, 6:30.86 then ran over to the start to find David and hand him my gloves and arm warmers.
Got to the start line with about a minute to spare and was happy to see one of my old SERC buddies who had moved away. Some quick pre race chat and got caught off guard by the starters commands for us to go and we were off!
The first mile was significantly down hill and despite my best efforts to remain calm and keep it relaxed the mile was fast around 6:08. 15 or so guys in the 5k were ahead of me, 4 in the half, and two guys were right with me as I tried to settle into 6:26 for the next uphill mile. I nailed this one while chatting with the guy next to me about the best Ohio marathons. I pulled slightly ahead at 2 to make sure I got water since I had already run 5 hard miles and I didn't want to dehydrate. I assumed both guys would go with me but they did not and I found myself by myself for the 3rd mile until catching 5k runners who had a slightly different course. As they headed towards their finish to the right I made a left hand turn and noted 4 guys in the distance as speakers played "It's raining men" and I hit the third mile in 6:20.
Time to go to work. I wanted to try and nail 6:16s at a minimum from here on out if possible. The next guy up was about 100 meters in front of me and pretty much running exactly the same pace as I was. This mile was rolling up hill and I could tell though I was pushing, my body was going closer to 6:20s. I stopped looking at the watch and decided to just go by feel and run what I had for the day. I wanted to be mentally focused on working hard the whole way. I took a gel here and my left calf was starting to get pretty tight which in turn had my foot talking a bit. Hit this mile in 6:18 and the next four miles were actually pretty close to the desired 6:16 coming in at 6:11.10, 6:15.29, 6:17.60, and 6:20.45.
This was a small race so there weren't many spectators, but once or twice a mile there were a few people out to cheer for their runners and I was appreciative of their enthusiasm and returned the support with a wave and a smile! A bit after mile 5 we made a left turn up a short but steep hill off the bike path we had been on and onto a road. I was still holding the gap steady behind the 4th guy. I knew the course took us out to mile 7 before making a hair pin turn and backtracking. Energy wise I was feeling really good, though I had an inkling the pace wasn't quite what I wanted and my left calf was a bit troublesome, I was excited to be covering ground relatively fast and feeling like a racer again.
There was an aid station around mile 6 and I accidentally dropped the cup and let an f bomb slip out, which I promptly apologized to the volunteers for. I noted to myself that I would need to make sure I didn't miss the water on the way back as I needed to take a gel there. Charging ahead the guy in front of me was thrown off by the first confusing turn on the course and I hollered ahead that I thought we needed to go left. Earlier in the race I had thought that some spectators had said "There she is" and "Go Terri" so I wasn't confident there wasn't a girl close on my heels and I was anticipating the turn around where I could gauge my race position better.
For a small race they really did a nice job of trying to provide some energy and had music in a couple of places along the course. As we made our way towards the turn around there was an OK Go song playing. Nearing the turn around I confirmed there were another three guys ahead of the one I had been tailing. They all looked strong and I didn't think I would be reeling any of them in. Thanking the volunteers I made the turn without slowing too much or falling which is always an achievement, I hate hair pin turns!
Now the fun began. There were a few guys not too far behind me that I cheered for as I headed towards mile 8. And eventually the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th women appeared who I cheered on enthusiastically as well as my old SERC friend. It was such a beautiful morning for a race and you just couldn't help but smile watching everyone work their way to the finish! After 7 miles of pretty much silence the next 3 were filled with cheers for "the first lady" and my intermittent responses of "good job" to those runners behind me. Slowed a bit to grab my water at 8 and chug another gel and headed back towards the finish now a bit into the wind. I was keeping an eye out for my buddies CG and Steph to give them some in race high fives which kept me occupied until about mile 9 when I caught the 4th guy and passed him.
I could not see any of the top three guys in the horizon so I knew I was pretty much on my own from here on out as the trickle of runners still heading to mile 7 diminished. I worried a bit that if the course got confusing I would have no clue what I was doing in the park having no one up ahead, but decided if that happened I would roll with it and just remember I was here to get in a good hard last long run. Turns out I had nothing to worry about as the course was marked perfectly.
The inevitable slow of someone on their own who had run a 3 mile tempo pre race commenced and miles 9 and 10 were a bit off pace 6:26.42 and 6:25.51. An awesome spectator reminded me to relax my shoulders and jaw and I shook out my upper body and tried to determine how one goes about relaxing their jaw while smiling gratefully at spectators. I was caught off guard before 10 as I saw a fit looking guy running out of one of the parking lots, I assumed a coach looking for one of his runners, when he cheered "Go Tinkerbell" and I realized it was our buddy Greg who had done the 5k. This made me laugh. I had missed the 10 mile marker and was grateful for a spectator who let me know as I passed over an intersection heading back towards the starting park area that I had 3 to go.
Again time to go to work. 6:00 might not be possible, but it was time to see what I had left in the tank. The next mile, aided by that wonderful downhill section was close at 6:05.58 and then I trudged my way up that hill from the second mile that hadn't seemed quite so steep the first time around. Hmm, so much for that badass 6 minute pace finish I was hoping for. The past few volunteers at the mile markers had been caught off guard by me and hadn't read the race time so I literally had no clue where I was at time wise having left my watch running from the warm up and tempo. I was fine with it, no matter what the watch said I was running with everything I had on the day and it would be good enough at the finish!
As I climbed that crazy hill before mile 12 two young guys cheered that I was "Representing all the ladies out there" and something along the lines of give it everything you have got. I felt pretty humbled as I shuffled up that hill at what felt like some pace slower than a walk! I did the best I could to use the brief downhill to uphill roller in that mile and managed to hold a 6:24.75. As I neared the 12 mile mark I again missed the water and once out of ear reach instructed myself out loud to "Rally." Easier said then done. That last mile was pretty much my worst case scenario terrain: a slight uphill grade into the wind the entire mile until making the turn a bit before 13. This one was the slowest of the day at 6:32.93. (And thanks to my less than optimal navigational skills I always know that garmin pace is to be buffered with about an extra .15 miles to a half, so my garmin average of around 6:19 for the half would end up to be around 6:23 real pace.) Despite being entirely juiced the crowds at the turn to and along the finishing winding stretch helped me to rally indeed and finish it out strong, finally at my desired sub 6 pace, coming across the line in 1:23:25, 4th overall and first female.
Am I done yet?
I gratefully got a water from the volunteers, sat down to return my chip and was pleasantly surprised by a cute medal for finishing. I found my husband and friends and changed into dry less stinky clothes before cheering for the next few runners and the top females and bouncing around to the music and testing the calf/foot to get in 3 more miles and close out my last 20 for the day while running my buddy CG in to his finish. The calf and foot were tight and I thought for the first 50 or so meters that I may not be able to cool down but it loosened up enough to head backwards through the course about a mile and a half, stopping to thank the aid station volunteers and to remind the boys on that dreaded hill that they were sworn to secrecy about how awful I looked coming up the hill the second time around. And at the bottom of said hill I caught my buddy CG and happily encouraged him to the finish while rounding out 20 miles for the day all at an average of around 6:50.
CG in the final Kick!
Once CG finished we grabbed some grub and I continued my danceathon cheering for runners waiting for our buddy Steph to finish. A nice lady came out and told me though she didn't know me I was being called up for an award inside. Oops. I headed inside still carrying my plate and was pleasantly surprised to find out I had won a gift certificate to Fleet Feet and a free nights stay at a hotel. Score! I wasn't expecting anything with it being a small charity race so that was a nice surprise! Took an awkward photo with the race director then it was back outside to cheer for Steph! Though hungry my energy was great and I felt like I could have run all day had my foot and calf felt better and we hooted and hollered like crazy people as Steph finished out her half!
Steph Rocking it Out!
It was a beautiful morning with our friends followed up by a relaxed fun afternoon. Though I obviously would have liked to have been faster I was really happy with my effort and glad that it was in the realm of what I thought was realistically possible given my less than optimal training. I will say though that if you want to PR in a half and you aren't quite as speedy as you currently hope, don't bank on doing it following a 3 mile tempo pre race :) I had absolutely no "get up and go" speed those last three miles and would have had no response if someone had forced me to kick.
Post race refreshments never tasted better!
Keeping with the low key vibe I have been trying to maintain since Indy's disaster of a half, I wasn't too worried about eating bar food the night before and having a beer. Thankfully my stomach played nice and I didn't pay for my casual approach, though my singlet did smell an awful lot like malt vinegar when I threw it in the wash post race...
The day before my left shin was acting pretty angry on my easy shake out run, but thankfully race morning it did not make a peep.
My original plan was to target 16 miles total at 6:16 pace, I figured if I could run 16 at 6:16 Garmin pace I'd have a reasonable chance of going for 2:46 at Philly given a taper etc. I figured this was probably not going to be reality, but wanted to give it a go. I initially was going to do a 2-3 mile easy warm up and target a slow start in the half with a fast finish followed by 3 more hard miles post race. I decided to bag that plan last minute and get in the 3 hard before to make sure I got all 16 hard done. I had my doubts I would want to head back out for 3 more after racing the half.
Pre race I had done the math on what I would need to run garmin pace wise to get in 16 averaging 6:16 with 13.1 of it at slightly faster than my PR (1:21:52). I really want to make sure I don't go out too fast at Philly like I did at Boston and Indy so I wanted to go out the first three miles slow at around 6:26, follow that up with 7 miles at target pace of 6:16, and finish it out fast at 6:00 for the last 5k. I knew this would be tough, but it was the goal I set. Given that goal, to get in the 16 on pace I needed another 3 miles at 6:31.
We got to the race with just enough time for me to run to the bathroom quick, strip to my race clothes and get in an easy mile followed by the 3 mile tempo. Weather was absolutely my ideal conditions. Around 36 and sunny. I forgot my shades, but never was too bothered by it. I warmed up one mile easy and then found myself having to hold back on the warm up tempo. Grateful my body felt so good I was excited to see what I could do in the race. Hit the tempo miles in 6:29.67, 6:23.29, 6:30.86 then ran over to the start to find David and hand him my gloves and arm warmers.
Got to the start line with about a minute to spare and was happy to see one of my old SERC buddies who had moved away. Some quick pre race chat and got caught off guard by the starters commands for us to go and we were off!
The first mile was significantly down hill and despite my best efforts to remain calm and keep it relaxed the mile was fast around 6:08. 15 or so guys in the 5k were ahead of me, 4 in the half, and two guys were right with me as I tried to settle into 6:26 for the next uphill mile. I nailed this one while chatting with the guy next to me about the best Ohio marathons. I pulled slightly ahead at 2 to make sure I got water since I had already run 5 hard miles and I didn't want to dehydrate. I assumed both guys would go with me but they did not and I found myself by myself for the 3rd mile until catching 5k runners who had a slightly different course. As they headed towards their finish to the right I made a left hand turn and noted 4 guys in the distance as speakers played "It's raining men" and I hit the third mile in 6:20.
Time to go to work. I wanted to try and nail 6:16s at a minimum from here on out if possible. The next guy up was about 100 meters in front of me and pretty much running exactly the same pace as I was. This mile was rolling up hill and I could tell though I was pushing, my body was going closer to 6:20s. I stopped looking at the watch and decided to just go by feel and run what I had for the day. I wanted to be mentally focused on working hard the whole way. I took a gel here and my left calf was starting to get pretty tight which in turn had my foot talking a bit. Hit this mile in 6:18 and the next four miles were actually pretty close to the desired 6:16 coming in at 6:11.10, 6:15.29, 6:17.60, and 6:20.45.
This was a small race so there weren't many spectators, but once or twice a mile there were a few people out to cheer for their runners and I was appreciative of their enthusiasm and returned the support with a wave and a smile! A bit after mile 5 we made a left turn up a short but steep hill off the bike path we had been on and onto a road. I was still holding the gap steady behind the 4th guy. I knew the course took us out to mile 7 before making a hair pin turn and backtracking. Energy wise I was feeling really good, though I had an inkling the pace wasn't quite what I wanted and my left calf was a bit troublesome, I was excited to be covering ground relatively fast and feeling like a racer again.
There was an aid station around mile 6 and I accidentally dropped the cup and let an f bomb slip out, which I promptly apologized to the volunteers for. I noted to myself that I would need to make sure I didn't miss the water on the way back as I needed to take a gel there. Charging ahead the guy in front of me was thrown off by the first confusing turn on the course and I hollered ahead that I thought we needed to go left. Earlier in the race I had thought that some spectators had said "There she is" and "Go Terri" so I wasn't confident there wasn't a girl close on my heels and I was anticipating the turn around where I could gauge my race position better.
For a small race they really did a nice job of trying to provide some energy and had music in a couple of places along the course. As we made our way towards the turn around there was an OK Go song playing. Nearing the turn around I confirmed there were another three guys ahead of the one I had been tailing. They all looked strong and I didn't think I would be reeling any of them in. Thanking the volunteers I made the turn without slowing too much or falling which is always an achievement, I hate hair pin turns!
Now the fun began. There were a few guys not too far behind me that I cheered for as I headed towards mile 8. And eventually the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th women appeared who I cheered on enthusiastically as well as my old SERC friend. It was such a beautiful morning for a race and you just couldn't help but smile watching everyone work their way to the finish! After 7 miles of pretty much silence the next 3 were filled with cheers for "the first lady" and my intermittent responses of "good job" to those runners behind me. Slowed a bit to grab my water at 8 and chug another gel and headed back towards the finish now a bit into the wind. I was keeping an eye out for my buddies CG and Steph to give them some in race high fives which kept me occupied until about mile 9 when I caught the 4th guy and passed him.
I could not see any of the top three guys in the horizon so I knew I was pretty much on my own from here on out as the trickle of runners still heading to mile 7 diminished. I worried a bit that if the course got confusing I would have no clue what I was doing in the park having no one up ahead, but decided if that happened I would roll with it and just remember I was here to get in a good hard last long run. Turns out I had nothing to worry about as the course was marked perfectly.
The inevitable slow of someone on their own who had run a 3 mile tempo pre race commenced and miles 9 and 10 were a bit off pace 6:26.42 and 6:25.51. An awesome spectator reminded me to relax my shoulders and jaw and I shook out my upper body and tried to determine how one goes about relaxing their jaw while smiling gratefully at spectators. I was caught off guard before 10 as I saw a fit looking guy running out of one of the parking lots, I assumed a coach looking for one of his runners, when he cheered "Go Tinkerbell" and I realized it was our buddy Greg who had done the 5k. This made me laugh. I had missed the 10 mile marker and was grateful for a spectator who let me know as I passed over an intersection heading back towards the starting park area that I had 3 to go.
Again time to go to work. 6:00 might not be possible, but it was time to see what I had left in the tank. The next mile, aided by that wonderful downhill section was close at 6:05.58 and then I trudged my way up that hill from the second mile that hadn't seemed quite so steep the first time around. Hmm, so much for that badass 6 minute pace finish I was hoping for. The past few volunteers at the mile markers had been caught off guard by me and hadn't read the race time so I literally had no clue where I was at time wise having left my watch running from the warm up and tempo. I was fine with it, no matter what the watch said I was running with everything I had on the day and it would be good enough at the finish!
As I climbed that crazy hill before mile 12 two young guys cheered that I was "Representing all the ladies out there" and something along the lines of give it everything you have got. I felt pretty humbled as I shuffled up that hill at what felt like some pace slower than a walk! I did the best I could to use the brief downhill to uphill roller in that mile and managed to hold a 6:24.75. As I neared the 12 mile mark I again missed the water and once out of ear reach instructed myself out loud to "Rally." Easier said then done. That last mile was pretty much my worst case scenario terrain: a slight uphill grade into the wind the entire mile until making the turn a bit before 13. This one was the slowest of the day at 6:32.93. (And thanks to my less than optimal navigational skills I always know that garmin pace is to be buffered with about an extra .15 miles to a half, so my garmin average of around 6:19 for the half would end up to be around 6:23 real pace.) Despite being entirely juiced the crowds at the turn to and along the finishing winding stretch helped me to rally indeed and finish it out strong, finally at my desired sub 6 pace, coming across the line in 1:23:25, 4th overall and first female.
Am I done yet?
I gratefully got a water from the volunteers, sat down to return my chip and was pleasantly surprised by a cute medal for finishing. I found my husband and friends and changed into dry less stinky clothes before cheering for the next few runners and the top females and bouncing around to the music and testing the calf/foot to get in 3 more miles and close out my last 20 for the day while running my buddy CG in to his finish. The calf and foot were tight and I thought for the first 50 or so meters that I may not be able to cool down but it loosened up enough to head backwards through the course about a mile and a half, stopping to thank the aid station volunteers and to remind the boys on that dreaded hill that they were sworn to secrecy about how awful I looked coming up the hill the second time around. And at the bottom of said hill I caught my buddy CG and happily encouraged him to the finish while rounding out 20 miles for the day all at an average of around 6:50.
CG in the final Kick!
Once CG finished we grabbed some grub and I continued my danceathon cheering for runners waiting for our buddy Steph to finish. A nice lady came out and told me though she didn't know me I was being called up for an award inside. Oops. I headed inside still carrying my plate and was pleasantly surprised to find out I had won a gift certificate to Fleet Feet and a free nights stay at a hotel. Score! I wasn't expecting anything with it being a small charity race so that was a nice surprise! Took an awkward photo with the race director then it was back outside to cheer for Steph! Though hungry my energy was great and I felt like I could have run all day had my foot and calf felt better and we hooted and hollered like crazy people as Steph finished out her half!
Steph Rocking it Out!
It was a beautiful morning with our friends followed up by a relaxed fun afternoon. Though I obviously would have liked to have been faster I was really happy with my effort and glad that it was in the realm of what I thought was realistically possible given my less than optimal training. I will say though that if you want to PR in a half and you aren't quite as speedy as you currently hope, don't bank on doing it following a 3 mile tempo pre race :) I had absolutely no "get up and go" speed those last three miles and would have had no response if someone had forced me to kick.
Post race refreshments never tasted better!
Yoga Adventures and my Wonky Left Hip
I am, admittedly, no yoga pro. I can pretty honestly state that I am at close to the best fitness I have been in my entire life, I may have been slightly faster, or slightly stronger at some point, but the "total package" of fitness right now is pretty much the best I have ever had. I pretty much on every day feel like an aerobic machine that runs on endless energy. And it is pretty awesome, I can't lie!
But put me in a yoga class, and whoa! Bring on the sweat fest, and a good dose of humility! Mine is a body that likes to be in motion, though reasonably flexible and reasonably strong I am no master of Chaturangas, balance, or inversion.
I eased into yoga with Buck Harris and his low key Thursday night classes a few years ago with my buddy Jen. These classes were just the right dose of flexibility, camaraderie, and focus that this runner needed with a healthy dose of light hearted humor at ones own expense.
Along the way running became the sole focus and I drifted from this class as my buddy had more family duties and I had tempos to do on Thursday nights. But given my recent foot issues which I am 95% confident stem from my damn left calf being like a rock half the time I knew it was time to get back to yoga! The flexibility is much needed in order to hammer away on the pavement, and mentally I definitely could use 60-75 minutes a week where my mind is quiet.
As finances are tight it made sense to try and go to the free classes offered at my local gym. They offer 4 or 5 different types of classes at various difficulties and I have tried a few over the past 6 months or so that I have been at the gym. The class is typically packed in like sardines, which isn't great, but I always leave feeling better. And on occasion the classes are pretty humorous, though I try to keep my amusement and laughter on the inside.
A few class occurrences so far are blog worthy. My first or second class at the gym I struggled to hold in my chuckles as the background music changed to a cover of Marvin Gayes "Lets Get it On" and I looked around to see the instructor with an extremely serene smile on her face adjusting someone in down dog position. Later in the same class the hip opener discussion was one that talked about loving all those around us, how we needed to send more love into the universe, and be less afraid of loving each other, our neighbors in class, etc. If we were less afraid of loving each other our practice could be improved, we wouldn't be scared of really going for it, scared of accidentally spilling over to our classmates mats. I about died right there I cannot lie.
A few weeks ago I arrived late for a Vinyasa 3 class which is the most difficult they offer. I somehow got the time mixed up and felt awful about it post class. I had run a hard long run that morning and this class kicked my ass despite missing the first 15 minutes! The guy next to me was sweating Everywhere! We are talking a pool of sweat creeping ever so slowly over to my mat. I am no prude, I was unabashedly sweating too, but was keeping it to my own mat through use of my technical top when the guy went to the front of the room and retrieved a towel for me. Again I about died. And after the class he asked me about my shirt which was some sort of race shirt and he said he could tell I was obviously not a regular yoga person as my muscles looked like a tight runners muscles. Oh Boy :)
A particularly comical Vinyasa 2 class had two gentleman who were very clearly putting a lot of effort into their practice that night. I could tell because each held plank pose or particularly difficult maneuver resulted in what basically amounted to the loudest grunting contest. It is already a bit awkward getting all sweaty and bending all around in a class packed literally to the max, but add in two men grunting like they are in a porno and I have a very hard time keeping my laughter inside. But I must have been feeling particularly zen that night as despite the very obvious distraction I really was pretty focused on myself and not bothered by the obnoxiousness of it, and felt only slightly amused. But during a particularly difficult set of bridges/wheels the girl next to me completely lost her cool falling to the ground in exasperation and proclaiming "This is ridiculous, it is like the class is all about them or something." Which I found ironic since the instructor had previously made some statement about how our practice that evening should be all about what we individually needed. Again I did my best to keep from rolling on the ground in hysterics.
Last night I again had serene smiley instructor and wondered what sexually charged innuendos might be included in the class for my amusement. Surprise surprise to find myself the one being adjusted early in the class after being instructed to determine one thing that had made me happy during the day! We were saved from any Marvin Gaye last night and I actually liked the song we ended on during shavasana (below), but still was pretty amused by the class.
Throughout yoga one serious flaw in my body has become even more pronounced. My left hip is just not normal. I've always known something wasn't quite right with it, and have even lovingly nicknamed it my "wonky" left hip and describe it that way to all chiropractors, massage therapists, and ART gurus I have seen. For some reason there is a tendon in there that is tight like a steel pipe. Whenever doing anything lying on my back that involves leg lift type motion that tendon literally snaps loudly over my hip bone. It isn't particularly comfortable and sometimes feels like it is locking up, but as it never bothers me while running I kind of just deal with it. But last night I found myself increasingly irritated at my inability to do some simple moves because of this crazy hip. For some reason any time we try to "stack" our right hip over the left (as in from down dog position lifting your right leg in the air, bending the knee, and then tilting the hip backwards over your hip) my hip literally goes into severe cramp mode threatening to charlie horse. As someone who is accustomed to making her body do whatever she wants it to I can't lie, this drove me nutty! So mission figure out a solution begins after Philly!
Despite the trials with my left hip and my abundant sweating I felt fantastic after the class last night as I usually do. This morning my sides, arms, and glutes are sore, but man does everything else feel loose and ready to move! Yoga and all it's amusements is still getting two thumbs up from this girl who would usually prefer to be in motion!
But put me in a yoga class, and whoa! Bring on the sweat fest, and a good dose of humility! Mine is a body that likes to be in motion, though reasonably flexible and reasonably strong I am no master of Chaturangas, balance, or inversion.
I eased into yoga with Buck Harris and his low key Thursday night classes a few years ago with my buddy Jen. These classes were just the right dose of flexibility, camaraderie, and focus that this runner needed with a healthy dose of light hearted humor at ones own expense.
Along the way running became the sole focus and I drifted from this class as my buddy had more family duties and I had tempos to do on Thursday nights. But given my recent foot issues which I am 95% confident stem from my damn left calf being like a rock half the time I knew it was time to get back to yoga! The flexibility is much needed in order to hammer away on the pavement, and mentally I definitely could use 60-75 minutes a week where my mind is quiet.
As finances are tight it made sense to try and go to the free classes offered at my local gym. They offer 4 or 5 different types of classes at various difficulties and I have tried a few over the past 6 months or so that I have been at the gym. The class is typically packed in like sardines, which isn't great, but I always leave feeling better. And on occasion the classes are pretty humorous, though I try to keep my amusement and laughter on the inside.
A few class occurrences so far are blog worthy. My first or second class at the gym I struggled to hold in my chuckles as the background music changed to a cover of Marvin Gayes "Lets Get it On" and I looked around to see the instructor with an extremely serene smile on her face adjusting someone in down dog position. Later in the same class the hip opener discussion was one that talked about loving all those around us, how we needed to send more love into the universe, and be less afraid of loving each other, our neighbors in class, etc. If we were less afraid of loving each other our practice could be improved, we wouldn't be scared of really going for it, scared of accidentally spilling over to our classmates mats. I about died right there I cannot lie.
A few weeks ago I arrived late for a Vinyasa 3 class which is the most difficult they offer. I somehow got the time mixed up and felt awful about it post class. I had run a hard long run that morning and this class kicked my ass despite missing the first 15 minutes! The guy next to me was sweating Everywhere! We are talking a pool of sweat creeping ever so slowly over to my mat. I am no prude, I was unabashedly sweating too, but was keeping it to my own mat through use of my technical top when the guy went to the front of the room and retrieved a towel for me. Again I about died. And after the class he asked me about my shirt which was some sort of race shirt and he said he could tell I was obviously not a regular yoga person as my muscles looked like a tight runners muscles. Oh Boy :)
A particularly comical Vinyasa 2 class had two gentleman who were very clearly putting a lot of effort into their practice that night. I could tell because each held plank pose or particularly difficult maneuver resulted in what basically amounted to the loudest grunting contest. It is already a bit awkward getting all sweaty and bending all around in a class packed literally to the max, but add in two men grunting like they are in a porno and I have a very hard time keeping my laughter inside. But I must have been feeling particularly zen that night as despite the very obvious distraction I really was pretty focused on myself and not bothered by the obnoxiousness of it, and felt only slightly amused. But during a particularly difficult set of bridges/wheels the girl next to me completely lost her cool falling to the ground in exasperation and proclaiming "This is ridiculous, it is like the class is all about them or something." Which I found ironic since the instructor had previously made some statement about how our practice that evening should be all about what we individually needed. Again I did my best to keep from rolling on the ground in hysterics.
Last night I again had serene smiley instructor and wondered what sexually charged innuendos might be included in the class for my amusement. Surprise surprise to find myself the one being adjusted early in the class after being instructed to determine one thing that had made me happy during the day! We were saved from any Marvin Gaye last night and I actually liked the song we ended on during shavasana (below), but still was pretty amused by the class.
Throughout yoga one serious flaw in my body has become even more pronounced. My left hip is just not normal. I've always known something wasn't quite right with it, and have even lovingly nicknamed it my "wonky" left hip and describe it that way to all chiropractors, massage therapists, and ART gurus I have seen. For some reason there is a tendon in there that is tight like a steel pipe. Whenever doing anything lying on my back that involves leg lift type motion that tendon literally snaps loudly over my hip bone. It isn't particularly comfortable and sometimes feels like it is locking up, but as it never bothers me while running I kind of just deal with it. But last night I found myself increasingly irritated at my inability to do some simple moves because of this crazy hip. For some reason any time we try to "stack" our right hip over the left (as in from down dog position lifting your right leg in the air, bending the knee, and then tilting the hip backwards over your hip) my hip literally goes into severe cramp mode threatening to charlie horse. As someone who is accustomed to making her body do whatever she wants it to I can't lie, this drove me nutty! So mission figure out a solution begins after Philly!
Despite the trials with my left hip and my abundant sweating I felt fantastic after the class last night as I usually do. This morning my sides, arms, and glutes are sore, but man does everything else feel loose and ready to move! Yoga and all it's amusements is still getting two thumbs up from this girl who would usually prefer to be in motion!
2 Weeks to Philly! Eep!
Last week was gorgeous almost every day and I am sooo glad the weather has been behaving so I could continue to get in some good quality training for Philly while keeping a positive attitude!
Ended up being a solid week though I once again came up short on the cross training not getting in a bike or yoga. But I did get in one swim, an ART session, and a massage.
75 miles on 8 runs (one double)
Key workouts:
Hill Intervals
5 mile tempo
20 mile day with 16 hard including a half marathon race
My foot and calf were really tight for most of the half but still worlds better than they felt after Indy so I am hopeful with a bit of taper here and some ART sessions and pampering that I will be good to go in 2 weeks at Philly! Hoping to log at least 2-3 more quality days while backing off the mileage a hair and would love it if this great weather continued!
Ended up being a solid week though I once again came up short on the cross training not getting in a bike or yoga. But I did get in one swim, an ART session, and a massage.
75 miles on 8 runs (one double)
Key workouts:
Hill Intervals
5 mile tempo
20 mile day with 16 hard including a half marathon race
My foot and calf were really tight for most of the half but still worlds better than they felt after Indy so I am hopeful with a bit of taper here and some ART sessions and pampering that I will be good to go in 2 weeks at Philly! Hoping to log at least 2-3 more quality days while backing off the mileage a hair and would love it if this great weather continued!
Tempo Thursday
This weekend I am "racing" a half with the goal of being somewhere between my half marathon PR and marathon PR pace, and hoping to tack on another 3 hard to get in a 16 mile simulator before Philly. With that on tap I didn't want to do too much damage on today's tempo run. But seeing as time is limited I didn't want to blow off a key quality workout either. I decided I would target a 5 mile even effort tempo with the goal of around 6:30 pace, trying to keep it between 6:20 and 6:40 depending on how I felt. This was the first workout in awhile I felt a bit run down going into it, but surprisingly the first mile felt pretty smooth, but probably went a hair too aggressively as the next two miles were a little slower. Managed to get it back on track the last two miles, and happy to have averaged 6:19 for 5 miles without having to dig too deep to do it. I had a good tune running through my head (random side note I had to laugh at one of Dooce's recent posts where she "blames" Rhianna for injuring her ankle) and although I was again a bit "spacy" today I managed to focus in on the run and lock it in whenever I started slacking off or daydreaming.
I will say I think I prefer the progression tempo to the even effort tempo these days. It's sooo much more fun to hammer the last few miles. But I am sure it is good for me to mix in both types of efforts!
| 06:15.0 |
| 06:24.5 |
| 06:23.4 |
| 06:16.2 |
| 06:16.3 |
I will say I think I prefer the progression tempo to the even effort tempo these days. It's sooo much more fun to hammer the last few miles. But I am sure it is good for me to mix in both types of efforts!
Tuesday Strength Intervals
Changed it up Tuesday and instead of doing straight hill repeats I decided to just run one of the downtown bridges. Mostly so I wouldn't be running by myself in the ghetto. It worked out perfectly as I wanted to do at least 4 sets of 5 minutes on with 2-3 minute recovery jogs and the first repeat I finished the bridge in exactly 5:02 so it was easy to just run the bridge as my interval and have everything right around 5 minutes. The bridge is a little over .8 miles long and on the first, 3rd, and 5th repeats it is steeper but shorter up with a longer gradual down and the opposite on the way back and into the wind. For whatever reason for me that meant the way back was a bit slower despite the same effort. I had no garmin so I was just going based off feel. I wanted them to feel like relatively hard mile repeats and I pretty much nailed it getting slightly faster each repeat while working hard the whole workout. I felt good enough to tackle a 5th repeat and surprised myself making it the fastest of the day despite feeling pretty worked over.
It was a fantastic day out and the foot was a little angry but the pace seemed to be right at the line I can get away with without having to limp back to the office.
5:02.07 (2:07)
5:18.95 (2:03)
5:00.93 (2:03)
5:15.71 (2:00)
4:55.28
It was a fantastic day out and the foot was a little angry but the pace seemed to be right at the line I can get away with without having to limp back to the office.
5:02.07 (2:07)
5:18.95 (2:03)
5:00.93 (2:03)
5:15.71 (2:00)
4:55.28
Have You Ever Seen the Rain
Aaack it is Wednesday and I completely forgot about my video research for the week :)
I've actually been grooving to some classic rock and oldies this week so here is a good one (IMO)
I've actually been grooving to some classic rock and oldies this week so here is a good one (IMO)
Crash Course to Philly Week 2
Well it is a good thing I was so diligent on the running front during the week this week because the planned big mileage weekend did not happen! Blame it on the excessive partying if we must, all that dancing has to count for something! I think actually it was probably good I didn't push it on the mileage front with the foot. I've still been feeling great on all my runs and clearly endurance/energy is not my issue so not feeling too overly worried about skipping Saturdays planned 14 miler and making Sunday a 16 instead of 20.
65 miles for the week.
Managed to get in 7 runs with two days off and two doubles.
One yoga class and one trainer ride. Never managed to get to the pool.
Other than my left calf getting a little tight on the long run yesterday everything feels pretty good. I got in a decent hill workout, tempo, and relatively fast long run and the foot (knock on wood) is not any worse.
Hoping to make this week a good one finishing it out with a half marathon somewhere between goal marathon pace and PR half pace with a few more hard miles tacked onto the end to be my last big confidence boosting run before Philly! Not going to taper off the mileage until the week before but this weekend will be the last 15+ run.
Getting pretty stoked for Philly!
Thursdays Winging It Tempo Run
Still doing my own thang and just running what I can for workouts here. I wanted to get in at least 5 miles at a decent clip today. It was a bit rainy and windy and chilly today but once I got going I felt great. I figured I would target starting around 6:40ish and see what I could get it down to from there by the end depending on wind etc. but really was just going to go based off of effort. I was committed to doing at least 5 at tempo pace and then depending on how I felt either jog back to catch the guys or keep up the tempo pace until I got back to them.
Ended up with just shy of 6, I pansied out when I caught ME and he was running a bit faster than my little legs could handle so we "backed it off" to 6:50ish before a bit of a cool down. Right now I'd rather err on the side of safe than greedy and save the "race" efforts for the races :)
6:32.27
6:28.26
6:26.72
6:10.79
6:03.74
0.75 at 6:06 pace
So 5.75 at 6:19 pace. I'll take it :)
I had Jason Derulo in my head pretty much the entire time and even though I was a total scatter brain today the run felt pretty effortless (it helped that the last 2.5ish miles were with the wind I am sure!). It feels so good to be feeling like myself again! Added bonus the foot (knock on wood) also feels pretty good.
Ended up with just shy of 6, I pansied out when I caught ME and he was running a bit faster than my little legs could handle so we "backed it off" to 6:50ish before a bit of a cool down. Right now I'd rather err on the side of safe than greedy and save the "race" efforts for the races :)
6:32.27
6:28.26
6:26.72
6:10.79
6:03.74
0.75 at 6:06 pace
So 5.75 at 6:19 pace. I'll take it :)
I had Jason Derulo in my head pretty much the entire time and even though I was a total scatter brain today the run felt pretty effortless (it helped that the last 2.5ish miles were with the wind I am sure!). It feels so good to be feeling like myself again! Added bonus the foot (knock on wood) also feels pretty good.
Tuesday Hill Work
I've been reading Ron Daws "Running your best : the committed runner's guide to training and racing" (on advice of a Michigan running buddy) and I have been intrigued by the Lydiard-esque hill training he recommends. In an ideal world I would have time to do a huge build up for Philly and work on the appropriate systems for a few week blocks etc but since I don't have that luxury I am just trying some new stuff to see if I like it and if I will want to use it in the future. The next few weeks I am trading out track for hill workouts since somewhere below 10k pace is where my foot gets angry. I also buy into the statement Daws makes that hill training may be one of the only true shortcuts to fitness and I am willing to take a chance on it since Philly has some hills anyways!
With it getting dark early now I decided I would just find a decent hill on the lunch route to do this.
I actually had to take the book back to the library so I kind of winged it yesterday and did a sort of modified workout. I skipped the bounding type stuff and just did some hard effort repeats up and down the hill getting a bit longer with each repeat. I ran hard up 4* followed by about 2 minute recoveries and then down hard 3 times with about a 200 meter push at the bottom flat section followed by about 90 second recoveries. The 4th downhill I only made it halfway before the group caught back up so I just did half downhill and headed directly back up hard and followed that with a 30 second stride to finish it out.
I was giddy like a schoolgirl for this workout. I miss pushing myself hard and it was fun to hammer up and down the hills feeling powerful again while not doing any damage. Hopefully Thursdays tempo is just as fun!
With it getting dark early now I decided I would just find a decent hill on the lunch route to do this.
I actually had to take the book back to the library so I kind of winged it yesterday and did a sort of modified workout. I skipped the bounding type stuff and just did some hard effort repeats up and down the hill getting a bit longer with each repeat. I ran hard up 4* followed by about 2 minute recoveries and then down hard 3 times with about a 200 meter push at the bottom flat section followed by about 90 second recoveries. The 4th downhill I only made it halfway before the group caught back up so I just did half downhill and headed directly back up hard and followed that with a 30 second stride to finish it out.
I was giddy like a schoolgirl for this workout. I miss pushing myself hard and it was fun to hammer up and down the hills feeling powerful again while not doing any damage. Hopefully Thursdays tempo is just as fun!
Weekly Rundown-5 weeks to Philly
Just going to let the cat out of the bag. Since Columbus went well and my body held up to the marathon I am going to attempt to race the Philadelphia marathon in 4 weeks. I haven't been doing any sort of structured training since the Indianapolis Half. Basically I've just been running whatever I feel like running each day with a focus on running with those I enjoy and running at whatever pace I enjoy.
I've just been flying solo and getting in some aerobic miles while waiting for my foot to get to 100%. It still isn't 100% and I don't think it will hold up to any sort of training under 10k pace, but I am hoping I can keep the mileage relatively high for the next three weeks and work in some hill training and some longer faster efforts between half marathon and marathon pace without doing any damage. I am continuing to have ART done on it, bi-weekly massage, cold laser treatment, golf ball rolling, night boot etc! And most days it isn't too bad, but it isn't where I'd like it to be to really attack the next 3 weeks.
So instead I will see what a positive attitude and listening to my body can get for me in 4 weeks! I'm confident I can sneak in under 3 hours if I can keep up my current level of training with a few tempos and hill workouts added in, but I am hopeful I can sneak in a half marathon race here at or under marathon pace and work with a couple of speedy friends on a couple of key workouts to get into low 2:50 shape again. 2:45 is probably a pipe dream, but I won't count myself out, you never know. My endurance is solid, I just need to work on getting my speed back, I don't need to go smoke a 5k, I just need to get that marathon pace as quick as possible in a short 3 weeks with a one week taper :) I'm looking forward to racing a new marathon and seeing what I can do after a year that didn't go as planned, not expecting anything spectacular, but dreaming big anyways.
Last week I wasn't expecting much from as I had assumed the marathon would trash me, but I was pleasantly surprised that I felt great every day. Granted I didn't do any real workouts as I didn't want to push my luck. But I got in 71 easy miles and the body feels great and foot isn't too bad.
71 miles in 8 runs
1 long muddy trail run Saturday
1 decent 10 miler at 7:16 pace in Youngstown
1 token bike ride (about 6 miles hard then 6 miles pacing the lead lady at the peace race)
1 token swim (800 meters progressively getting faster)
1 fun yoga class post run Thursday
1 massage
I've just been flying solo and getting in some aerobic miles while waiting for my foot to get to 100%. It still isn't 100% and I don't think it will hold up to any sort of training under 10k pace, but I am hoping I can keep the mileage relatively high for the next three weeks and work in some hill training and some longer faster efforts between half marathon and marathon pace without doing any damage. I am continuing to have ART done on it, bi-weekly massage, cold laser treatment, golf ball rolling, night boot etc! And most days it isn't too bad, but it isn't where I'd like it to be to really attack the next 3 weeks.
So instead I will see what a positive attitude and listening to my body can get for me in 4 weeks! I'm confident I can sneak in under 3 hours if I can keep up my current level of training with a few tempos and hill workouts added in, but I am hopeful I can sneak in a half marathon race here at or under marathon pace and work with a couple of speedy friends on a couple of key workouts to get into low 2:50 shape again. 2:45 is probably a pipe dream, but I won't count myself out, you never know. My endurance is solid, I just need to work on getting my speed back, I don't need to go smoke a 5k, I just need to get that marathon pace as quick as possible in a short 3 weeks with a one week taper :) I'm looking forward to racing a new marathon and seeing what I can do after a year that didn't go as planned, not expecting anything spectacular, but dreaming big anyways.
Last week I wasn't expecting much from as I had assumed the marathon would trash me, but I was pleasantly surprised that I felt great every day. Granted I didn't do any real workouts as I didn't want to push my luck. But I got in 71 easy miles and the body feels great and foot isn't too bad.
71 miles in 8 runs
1 long muddy trail run Saturday
1 decent 10 miler at 7:16 pace in Youngstown
1 token bike ride (about 6 miles hard then 6 miles pacing the lead lady at the peace race)
1 token swim (800 meters progressively getting faster)
1 fun yoga class post run Thursday
1 massage
#22
Marathon #3 - My First Columbus Marathon 3:27:16
Marathon #22 My 4th Columbus Marathon 3:11:42 (Bib #22!)
I have so much to say about this race, I don't think I could fit it into 10 posts succinctly let alone one. So first things first let's try to just get out a race weekend report and then we will go from there! (Grab your coffee, your lunch, and probably your dinner!)
For those blissfully unaware I turned 30 on Saturday. I LOVE Birthdays and I Love October and I Love Marathons so you know I was ready to milk this one for all it was worth! I don't need gifts etc for my Birthdays, I just like to be surrounded by lots of loved ones doing things I enjoy! My husband, family, and friends always come through and indulge me my fun! This year was no different and will go down as one of my favorite Birthdays and marathon weekends!
I had two missions for this race. Try to help my buddy Salty run her best marathon on the day and have fun. I was taking a super relaxed approach to this race, I knew I wasn't in shape to run anything better than around 2:58 even if I had one of those perfect days and thought I'd be lucky to be under 3:05 given I was going out harder than I would have preferred if running my own race. I just wanted to put the fun back in the marathon so that going into my next one I had a positive experience to reflect on. Not going to lie, Boston and Indy had me doubting my love of racing longer races, and I needed to get my long race mojo back!
All this to say I had my fair share of fun, drinks, and desserts last week, but kept it to a reasonable level as I knew I would have to work hard on Sunday. (Had I not planned on running with Salty I am 90% positive I would have been out dancing and drinking all night Friday and done a fun but slower 26.2 mile run on Sunday)
I drove down to C'Bus with my dear friend BB. She is 61 years young and just so amazing, cranking out 3:19s and 3:20s the past few years and dominating her age group at major marathons. We got settled into our hotel and headed out for a jog around Columbus. It was WINDY but otherwise a beautiful fall day. Having run a bunch of races in Columbus the past few years it is fun to jog around the city and remember all my races there!
Excited about the weekend may be an understatement...
My friend GP has been holding onto her 30th Tiara for me as I had told her when we celebrated her 30th that I definitely was going to have to rock that tiara for my 30th. So starting Friday night I was out on the town decked out in my sweet tiara partying with friends and family. Friday night was carb loading at Buca Di Beppo. I was thrilled to have a fun dinner out which was capped off with a great Birthday sing along from the staff (I have never had this done for me, and I LOVED it!)
Required Cheesy Photo? Check!
Following dinner we headed over to Big Bang and sang along a bit and had one more drink to celebrate my last night as a 20 something. This was capped off on the walk back meeting a rodeo clown who told me he also had a tiara (as well as a tutu!). We decided I should have a tiara for every day of the week with different gems for each day. Someone help me patent this ;)
Best Parents Ever!
Cheesy Establishment Shirts Abounded at all the locales in C'Bus
Right after midnight the gals and I finally went to bed to get ready for Saturday's festivities.
Saturday we were up at a reasonable hour and headed out for our shake out jog. Being my official Birthday you know I brought the camera along in case any cheesy opportunities for photos came up! This also was serving as a test run to see if the tiara would be good to go for the marathon.
Turns out my head makes a perfect O turning Goodale into Godale!
This sign was the perfect spot to get a Nationwide photo before heading to starbucks for oatmeal and a mocha!
While BB and MK got showered up for lunch JP and I decided we could use a few minutes in the hot tub! Wow do I like this relaxed approach to marathoning or what?
30 is looking pretty good to me!
Then it was off to lunch at Mongolian! I am a FIRM believer in a big carb loading lunch the day before your marathon. I prefer brown rice and some meat and veggies. This worked out great for me last year and this year was no different! Super stoked to have a bunch of friends come with me for my Birthday carb loading extravaganza!
Best husband ever!
Dessert? Okay just a little!
After lunch it was off to the Expo! Let me just say here (and I will probably say it many times over). I LOVE that Columbus marathon has a staff that is always thinking of new ways to go above and beyond. This is a FIRST CLASS marathon and I will keep going back year after year. On top of getting the royal elite treatment (despite not being in shape to cash in on it) the staff made this awesome banner for everyone having a Birthday that weekend! Expo was great, we got in and out and I grabbed a few friends bibs that couldn't join us.
Hi can I pick up the bib for Big Sexy?
Happy Birthday to Me!
This shirt is the bomb!
We expo'ed it up getting a few extra gels then heading to the elite hospitality suite to load up on some bagels, bananas, and gatorade!
Then it was off to prep our bottles for miles 6, 12, and 18. Using our magic tape and stickers we hooked up our water bottles with our gels so that we wouldn't have to carry too much during the race!
Speedy Salty's room signs! NC and BH were doing it up right!
After hooking up our bottles it was off to our last carb loading dinner. We were all off to Spaghetti warehouse to get our pasta on. I can't lie I am not a huge SW fan so I was super glad I stuffed my face at Mongolian and had been drinking gatorade etc throughout the day! I settled for some pasta with chicken, a beer, and just a few bites of chocolate cake (Hey it was my BIRTHDAY!). Again was serenaded for my Birthday and made to feel super special :) Yep I am super spoiled! I have the best friends and family ever!
I swear I just had a few bites and didn't touch the ice cream coach ;)
Back to the hotel and time to figure out my race outfit. I thought it would be warm, but chilly at the start so I opted for my buns and a singlet but assumed I would be stripping the singlet so had to fuss with the bib a bit to figure out how to get it to lie flat on the buns and not make any noise or chafe. Also needed to hook up my race shoes with my sweet new shoe bling from NC!
Shoe Bling!
Race morning arrived before I knew it and I was ready to rock and roll. Coffee, breakfast, outfit on and I was out the door to head over to pick up Salty. Near miss when EH picked me up as the elevator started shutting down as we boarded it (Yikes!) so we scurried out before the door closed and made it to the room safe and sound! Phew.
NC in her sleepy state was kind enough to help bling out my nails in hot pink as Salty finished getting ready then we were out ready to rock and roll! We headed to the elite warm up area, changed out of our warm stuff and hit the restroom before heading out to warm up. Crowds were already insane so I made Salty stay put as I hopped a fence and kind of bullied my way through the crowd putting their gear bags on the truck. It pays to be loud and have on a crown sometimes ;)
Back over to Salty and I could tell the atmosphere was not conducive to being relaxed so we got the Hell out of there to warm up on some quieter streets! Then up to the elite area to do our dynamic stretches and take our pre race gels!
Bathroom a few more times then out to throw my bag in a van full of elite gear and get in our strides. We got over to the start and I realized I had forgot our friends bib in my bag! One more stride for me! Back to the van just as they were shutting it and got the bib which thankfully I had the sense to put pins on the night before!
Good Lucks and high fives to a bunch of my Cleveland buddies in our corral and before you knew it the fireworks were going and we were off!
My plan for the day was really to just stay by Salty's side for as long as I could, hopefully at least through 18 so I could get our bottles and gels to each of us, but if I couldn't keep up I told her to just take the bottles and I would take race gels instead! If she went 2:57 on the day I really didn't think I would be able to keep up with my limited training and still not being 100%. Had it been my race I would have preferred to start out around 7 minute pace for the first 10k, see how I felt and try to negative split for under 3:02ish. But I was ready to try and nail 6:47s with her as that was the goal and risk a bit of a blow up on the back half. I basically planned to party my way to the finish fully independent of my race effort.
I wasn't actually planning to put on my "pacer" hat Sunday. I viewed my role more as one of moral support. Basically a fun "escort" for the day. But somehow early in the race I found myself paying more attention to the watch than I had expected to. I wanted to make sure we didn't go out too fast but kept it honest. We started with some local boys I knew were planning to run a bit faster and I was a bit shocked the effort felt so easy so I couldn't help but check the watch. And sure enough we were taking it out conservatively, just under 7 minute pace. So I ended up looking at the watch the rest of the way and trying to make sure we kept it around 6:48 garmin pace to make sure were were at a minimum under 6:52 each mile.
I could tell Salty was not feeling 100% but I assumed once we got in a groove she would feel better and that it was my job to keep us on pace while her legs warmed up to the task. I feel like I know this course so well now running it three years in a row. It was nice to reflect back on the miles from each of my previous races here that went so well. I was having fun remembering everything and soaking up the fun spectators and music. The pace didn't feel great, I'm not going to lie, but I knew I could keep it up for at least 16-20 miles. My foot didn't feel too bad, I had taken an Aleve with breakfast, more to prevent inflammation than to do any pain killing, so I am not sure if that helped or not but the foot never felt any worse than a little tender. My left hamstring however had me a little worried. It was tight despite getting it worked out on Friday and I was a bit nervous about it holding up to 6:50s.
A bit before the 10km a first time marathoner joined us. She was running great, super relaxed, and she clearly was looking for some good company to get through the miles. It is sooo hard for me to sit back and watch others races and not give advice based on my experiences, but I kept my mouth shut and didn't tell her what I was really thinking, which was that she should probably not talk and that she might want to back off the effort a little bit. Instead I chatted her up a bit and told her about my race experiences here and tried to nonchalantly input some advice in the mix without it sounding like an order. The nice thing about your first one is everything is a big unknown, and I have seen that sometimes being a bit naive about the tolls a marathon can take does get someone to their goal even if they weren't quite as prepared as they should be. Hell I ran my first marathon in 3:39:42 on less than 26 miles a week, all because I really thought I could break 3:40, because my friends told me I could. Did I pay for that effort with super sore muscles and crazy emotional crap after the race? You betcha! But I did it. So who am I to tell someone they can't achieve a goal? Especially mid race. But based on her description of training I was pretty confident a sub 3 was a tall order for her that day, and I tried to instill that an over 3 effort was still something to be very proud of, especially for her first!
On pace and moving along
I pretty much demand that anyone running with me smiles for the cameras
We got our second water bottle at mile 12 and saw my super rad parents and husband for the third time! High street had some fun bands and DJs and I let the girls know we wouldn't worry about pace these next few miles as they are uphill and into the wind. (That said I was still keeping my eye on the watch and trying to keep us honest, I had been bluffing a bit each mile to make everyone feel positive and just saying things like: "We nailed this mile" "Perfect 6:45" etc. when in reality I knew we were probably going to be closer to 1:30 than the desired 1:29 at the half)
Around the half Salty announced that she could use some "Sunshine." We always joke about how we should get some super speedy boys to run with us and tell us how awesome we are all the time. So I did my best to blow some sunshine, while trying to figure out if she was just feeling stressed or if her body was not up to the pace. We sent our new friend ahead as we weren't quite nailing 6:52 at that point. I told Salty we just needed to refocus and keep our "Eyes on the prize" or something along those lines. I told her I fully expected her to beat our new friend to the finish line. I backed off my effort and did my best to run beside Salty instead of ahead of her and help her to feel in control.
I thanked volunteers and spectators and waved and danced with the DJs and bands. I would try to amp us up if I heard a good tune! The race support out there was just amazing, I loved every minute of it!
It was becoming clear that 6:52s were probably a thing of the past so I tried to focus us in on running 7:00 pace as that would keep us in the goal range under a 3:03. We did good the next 3 miles and I thought Salty was rallying and then her body met that infamous marathon wall and just said "no" on one of the rolling hills just after mile 17.
And this is where I went from "Pacer Princess" to "Fun March our butts to the finish line" as fast as our bodies can handle it. While I was super bummed for my buddy and that her body was giving her the finger I was hoping we could still enjoy this beautiful day and soak up the marathon experience together and maybe rally to a PR for her.
I did my best to encourage Salty and keep her mind off her cramping muscles. I tried telling jokes, but unfortunately she hadn't seen most of the movies I referred to. So I settled for just being upbeat and hamming it up for the crowds.
18 we got our last bottle and our last gel. Between 18 and 20 there was a van playing music and they announced "This aid station sponsored by Pabst Blue Ribbon." I've drank beer during one race in my life, Crim 10 miler. But I have never done a marathon beer so I marched my butt over to the table and slammed a beer as we kept moving our way to the finish. They wanted me to have another but I didn't want to push my luck!
Just before 20 I looked ahead and was sad to see that one of our local racing friends who was attempting 2:45 for her first marathon was also bonking on the course. I hoped that this would show Salty she was not alone out there, that this was all a normal part of a marathon. Even the best in the world have had to do the long slog to the finish, or worse drop out, on days that just weren't theirs. I think it did rally her a bit. We tried to give some advice and encouragement to her as we passed. We went through 20 and the 3:05 group caught us, I encouraged them all to try and stick to the group and let them pull us, but it was clear everyone's bodies were in shut down mode. I basically put on my "stubborn" hat and did whatever it took to keep Salty moving forward while her brain and body clearly wanted her to stop.
A bit before 20 we saw my parents and I gave them big high fives. Then we found our friend JM at 20 and she jogged with us for a mile until her boyfriend JS joined our party. Our friend NC was out cheering in her cute new hot shorts and I gave her a good slap as we went by. She did an AWESOME job cheering that weekend. It is so nice to see someone of her caliber give back and really enjoy it.
Once we backed off the pace my hamstring and foot actually felt pretty good and other than a few toe blisters and tight hips I actually was glad to be getting through this marathon unscathed. That said I had been hydrating like a machine and I REALLY had to make a stop at the POP. I really hope this doesn't become the norm, but now that Salty had JS I did pop in the bathroom to finally get comfortable and hopped out and raced back up to jump back in with Salty and JS.
JS, Salty, and I hamming it up for the camera.
All day we had seen so many friends cheering for us on the course. I love that even though we are more than 2 hours away from Cleveland there are always a good number of friends out to support their runners! I saw a bunch of college, trail, and SERC buddies through the day and it was so fun to wave at them and cheer along and give them high fives!
The thing about blowing up in a marathon is that you may see a bunch of friends you weren't expecting to see on the course as well as along the course. And the last 3 or so miles we did see a bunch of friends as they passed us on their way to the finish. For every marathon success story there is at least one story of running a gutsy race that didn't play out as intended, and while I was bummed for Salty I couldn't help but recognize the beauty of what the marathon can do good and bad during those final miles. I think it was here that I fell back in love with the marathon and realized that no matter what the next one throws at me I will always keep coming back for more.
And despite getting passed by many friends, we really were holding our own despite this bonk/wall. We did actually pass a few runners in that last 10km. A few gals that had been trying for 2:45, and at mile 25 near Goodale park we caught our first timer friend from earlier. Like so many that day she felt phenomenal through 20 and then the body just said no. Welcome to the marathon. I have been humbled by it so many times, but I think that what I love is that you still come back wanting more and you still come back ready to fight like crazy despite knowing just what it can dish out. You have to have a healthy dose of respect for the marathon, but sometimes you just throw that out the window and go for broke and see what you've got, and occasionally the bravado works out. And those occasions are why you keep coming back!
The last 10k I really just soaked it all up. I got excited for everyone that passed us looking great and I felt comraderie with every person that was struggling as I have struggled many times before. I was so grateful to be able to run 26.2 miles in whatever capacity it was and I was so grateful to have back my spunky happy marathoner self. I was sooo happy I made the decision to stick to the full here even though I knew I was not in shape to get my current time goals and I was excited to help my friend finish a tough marathon even if all I did was hold her hand and tell her how amazing she was.
Like I have seen many times before the home stretch brings out the racer in even the most bedraggled of marathoners and Salty hammered that home stretch like a pro. We have finished two races this year holding hands, but I was not sure if she was in a happy enough place to do that this time so I ran one step behind her letting her take the lead, but with 20 or so meters to go she reached back for me and we finished hands raised together and I promptly gave her a hug before the race officials hurried us off to the elite area.
I left Salty in good hands with JS while I tried my best to find her gear bag. The poor thing was probably freezing her ass off and I had a helluva a time trying to find her bag. They were in number order if you had used the races drop bag, but if not they were just arranged by color and for the life of me I could not remember what color her bag was! And of course I had left my cell with them! Eventually I found BB and used her cell to finally get the bag and get back to the elite area for some pampering!
Post race massage!
The good news for me was that we had switched out of race mode before my body decided to give me the finger so I still had tons of energy (i'm sure all the caffeinated gels didn't hurt) and my muscles felt great. Add a light post race massage and some food and I was on cloud 9. Finally found my family and some friends as I danced my way back to the hotel.
Love the shirts and slogan this year!
While I would have loved to party all night we settled for post race food and one tall beer with friends at Max and Ermas before driving back to Cleveland.
Chow time!
I cannot overstate how freaking ecstatic I am with where I am right now emotionally and physically. To be able to run a 3:11:42 while hooting, hollering, dancing, drinking beer, and helping a friend makes me really excited to see what I can do at my next marathon with the right relaxed attitude and some more solid training, especially if I behave a bit better and conserve my energy to race the whole way rather than 16-20 of it. I've come a long way since my first marathon in Columbus! I can't wait to do this all over again soon!
Wynter Gordon
My new Fiesta came with a 6 month free trial to Sirius and I am definitely getting spoiled. On the trip back from Columbus David wanted to listen to the radio and I didn't even know how to scan etc as I have only turned the radio on once since I got the car. In the mornings I've been listening to dance channels mostly and this song is great for getting in an upbeat mood. I am definitely overdue for a night of serious dancing!!!
Swamped Run Down
I have lots of exciting things to say about the marathon but I am a busy little worker bee this week and just don't have time. But before it gets lost in the ether of my mind here's the stats from last week. Pretty much my standard marathon taper which worked out pretty nicely on race day. While I am bummed my friend didn't have a better day, I am really proud of her, and I am super stoked that I didn't do any of the typical marathon damage to my legs so I can ramp it up here quickly for my last big fall events!
Didn't quite get in 30 miles for my 30th on the Garmin but I am going to say between the 2 mile warm up and schlepping around/dancing after the race that I definitely covered 30 miles on foot Sunday.
Officially got in 59 miles for the week on 6 runs. Didn't get in any cross training as I wanted to be semi fresh for the race. Though I did have a massage and an ART session. There was a small bit of partying involved Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, but I think I behaved relatively well while still maximizing the fun of turning 30.
Didn't quite get in 30 miles for my 30th on the Garmin but I am going to say between the 2 mile warm up and schlepping around/dancing after the race that I definitely covered 30 miles on foot Sunday.
Officially got in 59 miles for the week on 6 runs. Didn't get in any cross training as I wanted to be semi fresh for the race. Though I did have a massage and an ART session. There was a small bit of partying involved Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, but I think I behaved relatively well while still maximizing the fun of turning 30.
Mission Keep Up
All right! I have a plan for Sunday! It feels good to make a decision, and I am super excited about the one I have made for Columbus. My buddy Salty will be running her first marathon under Coach Glenn's tutelage and she has the goal of running 2:57-3:03. This would be a nice PR for her and the goal will be to accompany her for as long as possible and try and help keep her close to that 57 and sub 3 goal with some positive reinforcement and fun atmosphere :)
Not going to lie, this would be an excellent time for my current fitness and lack of focused training since the Indy half. So I have no delusions that this will be a walk in the park. But having run 16 with Salty two weeks ago at 6:47 pace I think I can certainly run with her for 16-20 miles around that pace, and hopefully gut it out the last 10k-10 miles. My buddy Brian did this for me two years ago at Columbus knowing full well he probably wasn't trained to go the full way with me, he made it about 19 miles and I had such a great day with him. I feel excited that I can pay it forward in the hopes that Salty gets some of the Columbus magic I have been so blessed with in my three marathons there. (And selfishly I'd love another sub 3 for the resume and a negative split race would be icing on the cake.)
I'm taking off the "pacer" hat for this one though and will just be along for the ride with Salty for as long as my feet and legs can hold on until I have to party my way to the finish. I don't want to micromanage her race and really will just be there for moral support until she runs away from me or kicks me to the curb. Also I plan to have fun with this one. I may have to work hard, but I'm turning 30 the day before the race and I plan to ham it up a bit race day and enjoy those great Columbus crowds! My friend GP has this great tiara with a 30 on it that is the perfect weight for racing so I will be rolling out princess style the whole weekend and for my first race in this new age group! I plan to get as many funny weekend photos as possible and really absorb the spectators and music along the course on Sunday!
I'm really looking forward to my first marathon weekend as a 30 year old! Lots of great friends and family will be there for the weekend, I know it is going to be a blast!
Not going to lie, this would be an excellent time for my current fitness and lack of focused training since the Indy half. So I have no delusions that this will be a walk in the park. But having run 16 with Salty two weeks ago at 6:47 pace I think I can certainly run with her for 16-20 miles around that pace, and hopefully gut it out the last 10k-10 miles. My buddy Brian did this for me two years ago at Columbus knowing full well he probably wasn't trained to go the full way with me, he made it about 19 miles and I had such a great day with him. I feel excited that I can pay it forward in the hopes that Salty gets some of the Columbus magic I have been so blessed with in my three marathons there. (And selfishly I'd love another sub 3 for the resume and a negative split race would be icing on the cake.)
I'm taking off the "pacer" hat for this one though and will just be along for the ride with Salty for as long as my feet and legs can hold on until I have to party my way to the finish. I don't want to micromanage her race and really will just be there for moral support until she runs away from me or kicks me to the curb. Also I plan to have fun with this one. I may have to work hard, but I'm turning 30 the day before the race and I plan to ham it up a bit race day and enjoy those great Columbus crowds! My friend GP has this great tiara with a 30 on it that is the perfect weight for racing so I will be rolling out princess style the whole weekend and for my first race in this new age group! I plan to get as many funny weekend photos as possible and really absorb the spectators and music along the course on Sunday!
I'm really looking forward to my first marathon weekend as a 30 year old! Lots of great friends and family will be there for the weekend, I know it is going to be a blast!
Another Week, Another Rundown
I'm on the "no real training plan" plan and this week I may have done a bit more than I should have two weeks out from Columbus but I had fun everyday and other than a sore throat seem no worse for wear so I'll have a mini taper next week and see what the day holds next Sunday!
I managed to (just barely) sneak in my mandatory bike, swim, and yoga this week!
64 miles of running in 8 runs.
No days off so I will be taking tomorrow easy!
Tried out yoga after the Sunday run today and that isn't going to work out so I need to come up with a new plan for that! But my heel did feel better after the class so that is good!
If the weather this week is as nice as it was this past week it is going to be really hard to behave and taper!
I managed to (just barely) sneak in my mandatory bike, swim, and yoga this week!
64 miles of running in 8 runs.
No days off so I will be taking tomorrow easy!
Tried out yoga after the Sunday run today and that isn't going to work out so I need to come up with a new plan for that! But my heel did feel better after the class so that is good!
If the weather this week is as nice as it was this past week it is going to be really hard to behave and taper!
Rust Buster "Tempo"
It was such a nice day today I decided to see what the legs could do with it. I am leaning towards running C'Bus with my buddy Salty for the first 20 miles around 6:50 pace and seeing what I can do from there so I wanted to do a bit of a progression run today. Start out around 6:50s and see if I could pick it up after a few miles of that so that hopefully next Sunday starting at 6:50 feels natural and comfortable!
None of the boys took the bait so I was on my own for this one. I went out at what felt relaxed but up tempo and that worked out to be in the 6:40 range so I went with it. The first two miles felt like they were into a bit of a headwind but on the lake that can be deceiving so I wasn't counting on any boost on the way back. Wimpy E tried to get me to bail early but I just ignored her and went with the effort that third mile knowing it might be slow due to being mostly uphill and thankfully was able to up the effort and pace the last two miles.
It's a start!
None of the boys took the bait so I was on my own for this one. I went out at what felt relaxed but up tempo and that worked out to be in the 6:40 range so I went with it. The first two miles felt like they were into a bit of a headwind but on the lake that can be deceiving so I wasn't counting on any boost on the way back. Wimpy E tried to get me to bail early but I just ignored her and went with the effort that third mile knowing it might be slow due to being mostly uphill and thankfully was able to up the effort and pace the last two miles.
| 06:40.1 |
| 06:44.5 |
| 06:52.0 |
| 06:29.0 |
| 06:17.8 |
It's a start!
Something Good Can Work
Decisions decisions. I feel like I have come to a fork in the road and I have all this potential to make something good happen for myself soon but I am torn about what that something good should be.
My foot is on the mend, miles are slowly building up, I've gotten in some decent long runs at decent paces and I am wondering if I should go forward with plans to make Columbus whatever it will be, run sans watch and the best effort I can on the day. Or if perhaps I should back off to the half or run the full as a slower training run and try one last go at 2:46 at California International in December. If my body could handle training I believe there is a real possibility I could get in shape to go that route but I would need to ensure that Columbus didn't do too much damage as recovery would need to be short and real training with some actual tempos and runs at marathon pace would need to happen starting soon.
Then if I go that route I have to decide how to train. Do I try to do a 12 week block (which is already a little short as it would have started two weeks ago) like I did for Columbus last year just upping the paces a bit? Or do I go with my gut instincts which are saying I need to back off the speed/track for awhile to really stay healthy. In which case what do I change to get 2:46 fitness without intervals?
I feel like I would like to actually start building a good base for some big race next spring. Focus on getting my mileage up while staying healthy, build in some hill training, then some anaerobic stuff before a final build to something big whether it be Boston or a road ultra.
But there is this lingering OTQ attempt over my head and it is proving difficult to let go of even though that may be my best route right now.
The problem with this OTQ attempt is that deep down I believe that the training I need to do for that is not the training I want to do right now. I am really enjoying my current "freedom" from the demands of running XYZ pace or running XYZ miles on this given day. I can honestly say every run I have done the past few weeks has been fun. That has not been the case for me in the build up to Boston and Indy. Admittedly I have changed my attitude towards things, but I do believe that letting go of a schedule has made me so much healthier mentally and I do not want to lose that. Thinking about the demands of hitting track and tempo paces right now kind of makes me ill. I am sure it would come back faster than I think but looking at my training from last year and this spring makes me cringe. The trails are calling my name and if I gave up on the 2:46 attempt I could do some fun local trail races this fall and get my trail legs dirty again. If I go for the 2:46 those things have to be tabled for yet another year.
But then I have these flashes where I see myself running through that finish with 2:45:xx on the clock and I know my heart also desires that. I swear my heart broke a bit while talking to the RD for C'Bus and hearing about how everyone that hits the OTQ will be draped in an American flag coming down the chute. What runner hasn't dreamt of finishing with their countries flag draped around them elated with a phenomenal performance?
And so I am torn and I need to make a decision here shortly. Can I be happy with a subpar or perhaps even no effort at Columbus to try and salvage something better in December? And if that something better isn't a 2:46 will I be disappointed I didn't just have fun and go for it at C'Bus to start training for something else this spring?
Where's that crystal ball when I need it?
Recovery Week 4
I had planned on it being rough to get workouts in last week for quite some time as David's family was coming to town for his grandmas 90th Birthday party and staying with us. Little did I know that would be no issue at all. The real issue was my body giving me the finger for most of the week. But I finally started to rally on Friday and had a great albeit tiring weekend. Not quite the training week I was hoping for, but I made the most of what I did get in!
2 days completely off (unless you count the 11 minute bike ride I did Monday morning to loosen up my legs before my ART appointment)
no swims, no yoga, no bike. Ouch!
5 runs. 1 super fun muddy wet trail run and a great long run this weekend.
Body doesn't feel too bad. Foot is a little sore, but mostly just a little inflammation. Postponing this weeks ART to Friday to see how it does once it isn't being managed twice a week.
2 days completely off (unless you count the 11 minute bike ride I did Monday morning to loosen up my legs before my ART appointment)
no swims, no yoga, no bike. Ouch!
5 runs. 1 super fun muddy wet trail run and a great long run this weekend.
Body doesn't feel too bad. Foot is a little sore, but mostly just a little inflammation. Postponing this weeks ART to Friday to see how it does once it isn't being managed twice a week.
Break on Through
Pandora still has a knack for setting the mood for the day. It's a rainy Friday and blues and the Doors have me cranking through the work day.
Finally feeling a little more like myself so this one seems appropriate given my delayed posting for the week as I curled up on the couch earlier when I should have been posting the weekly video :)
Finally feeling a little more like myself so this one seems appropriate given my delayed posting for the week as I curled up on the couch earlier when I should have been posting the weekly video :)
Week 3 of recovery
AKA awwe crap C'Bus is coming up too fast!
Last week started out pretty promising, the foot felt great on all easy lunch runs. Unfortunately it was sore racing Saturday, but despite that I got in a long run Sunday and it, for whatever reason, just stopped hurting later that afternoon and hasn't made much of a peep since. My calves however were big old knots that my ART guy mercilessly turned to jello Monday AM. And then my body decided to go to war with me, it started Wednesday night and I managed to keep things mostly at bay through Sunday (sheer willpower I guess). I have spent most of the last 4 days curled up in the fetal position. Lying on the floor at work wondering if I will be capable of driving myself home is not exactly how I pictured this week that should have been some decent training! Uggh.
But this is a summary of last week!
I got in 6 runs, 4 pain free!
1 swim and 1 yoga class.
I overslept Wednesday AM being out late at the Foo Fighters concert and never managed to squeeze in a bike or spin. :(
Despite physically feeling like absolute crap I am still feeling upbeat and looking forward to having fun October 16th in whatever capacity I can!
Last week started out pretty promising, the foot felt great on all easy lunch runs. Unfortunately it was sore racing Saturday, but despite that I got in a long run Sunday and it, for whatever reason, just stopped hurting later that afternoon and hasn't made much of a peep since. My calves however were big old knots that my ART guy mercilessly turned to jello Monday AM. And then my body decided to go to war with me, it started Wednesday night and I managed to keep things mostly at bay through Sunday (sheer willpower I guess). I have spent most of the last 4 days curled up in the fetal position. Lying on the floor at work wondering if I will be capable of driving myself home is not exactly how I pictured this week that should have been some decent training! Uggh.
But this is a summary of last week!
I got in 6 runs, 4 pain free!
1 swim and 1 yoga class.
I overslept Wednesday AM being out late at the Foo Fighters concert and never managed to squeeze in a bike or spin. :(
Despite physically feeling like absolute crap I am still feeling upbeat and looking forward to having fun October 16th in whatever capacity I can!
F4 (FOUR FREAKY FAST FEMALES)
I absolutely adore the city of Cleveland, but when it comes to Ohio marathons my heart belongs to Columbus and Akron. This was the 6th year in a row (2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006) that I have participated in the Akron marathon as either a relay runner or pacer and as always a good time was had by all. Our usual crew was not ready to roll out when we made up the team this year. CV has been dealing with PF and Solar is having a baby so we had to look to some of our other fun running girlfriends to step in! When we signed up I was healthy so I offered to take 2 legs meaning we only had to fill in 2 spots as Daisy was on board as usual (despite just having done a Ironman a few weeks ago!). We got speedy Salty on board and our buddy EH (my doppelganger) who isn't afraid to tackle Sand Run (short but brutally steep!) to fill in. I usually anchor or take Sand Run but having paced the full I have run the first 9.2 miles of the course before.
Clearly not having run anything faster than 6:50s since the Indy half I was pretty unsure how my 9.2 would go. The doc told me to go to town and test the foot, but sadly I am afraid going to town was going to be slower than I would desire. Also I haven't run more than 7-8 miles since Indy so I wasn't sure how I would feel running 9.2 hard. To tell the whole story of my relay legs that morning would contain a whole lot of TMI so we won't go there but let's just say many systems were not go Saturday morning.
I jogged about a minute to the start line and found my lunch run buddies who were planning to go out around 7 minute pace for the half. I did a quick lunge warm up and decided to head out with them and ease in the first few miles before picking up the pace. I didn't trust myself to start at the front as I knew competitive E would take over and I'd be suffering rather than having fun late in the race.
First mile felt great right around 7 minute pace but I was having other issues so I pulled away from my buddies in search of the first set of POPs. It has been a long time since I have had to do that in a race but I am glad my teammates had made it clear that I did not need to feel any pressure to perform as the stop was needed and while I lost 30ish seconds there I am sure I gained a minute in comfort. I was going watch free for the day. I had it on to track total run time for the day but no garmin and no pacing. I picked up the pace to chase down everyone that had just passed me and basically kept working my way up through the field for the next 7 miles.
I was working hard so I was glad to catch some marathoners and half marathoners along the way. With about 2 miles to go I could tell I was closing in on one relay female and thought maybe I could catch up to my friends who were gunning for around 2:50 marathons. A timely band amped me up on one of the many small rollers and I stepped up the effort and eventually passed the relay female and came within 10 seconds of catching the first female relay (who I thought was a half or full runner as she did not have the relay bib on her back) when I finally handed off to Daisy a bit shy of catching my marathon buddies. I had to walk it off for awhile. I was pretty spent and my foot was a bit angry (but much better than Indy, progress!). I tried to rally and run it in with my buddies when they came along but systems were now in shut down mode and I settled for walking via a short cut back to the finish!
Found some SS buddies and we cheered/hooted/hollered as our SS mens relay came in and local super star BM won the marathon then it wasn't too long before I saw Salty speeding in to nab us 3rd place for the female relays and 9th relay team overall! Not too shabby for being one female shy, one gimpy runner, one recovering ironman, and one workaholic. Salty was our saving grace :) Of note all of our leg times were in the top 5 times for each leg amongst female teams. Very proud of my ladies! Wish I could have been 100% and running fast enough to give us a run at first, but we hold on to our tradition of podium placement still and of course we partied like rock stars as always post event! So glad my body let me get out and put in a hard effort. I really did not want my last race in my 20s to be a suffer fest and despite all my issues Saturday it felt so good to run hard and feel the pains of racing again and actually enjoy them!
Clearly not having run anything faster than 6:50s since the Indy half I was pretty unsure how my 9.2 would go. The doc told me to go to town and test the foot, but sadly I am afraid going to town was going to be slower than I would desire. Also I haven't run more than 7-8 miles since Indy so I wasn't sure how I would feel running 9.2 hard. To tell the whole story of my relay legs that morning would contain a whole lot of TMI so we won't go there but let's just say many systems were not go Saturday morning.
I jogged about a minute to the start line and found my lunch run buddies who were planning to go out around 7 minute pace for the half. I did a quick lunge warm up and decided to head out with them and ease in the first few miles before picking up the pace. I didn't trust myself to start at the front as I knew competitive E would take over and I'd be suffering rather than having fun late in the race.
First mile felt great right around 7 minute pace but I was having other issues so I pulled away from my buddies in search of the first set of POPs. It has been a long time since I have had to do that in a race but I am glad my teammates had made it clear that I did not need to feel any pressure to perform as the stop was needed and while I lost 30ish seconds there I am sure I gained a minute in comfort. I was going watch free for the day. I had it on to track total run time for the day but no garmin and no pacing. I picked up the pace to chase down everyone that had just passed me and basically kept working my way up through the field for the next 7 miles.
I was working hard so I was glad to catch some marathoners and half marathoners along the way. With about 2 miles to go I could tell I was closing in on one relay female and thought maybe I could catch up to my friends who were gunning for around 2:50 marathons. A timely band amped me up on one of the many small rollers and I stepped up the effort and eventually passed the relay female and came within 10 seconds of catching the first female relay (who I thought was a half or full runner as she did not have the relay bib on her back) when I finally handed off to Daisy a bit shy of catching my marathon buddies. I had to walk it off for awhile. I was pretty spent and my foot was a bit angry (but much better than Indy, progress!). I tried to rally and run it in with my buddies when they came along but systems were now in shut down mode and I settled for walking via a short cut back to the finish!
Found some SS buddies and we cheered/hooted/hollered as our SS mens relay came in and local super star BM won the marathon then it wasn't too long before I saw Salty speeding in to nab us 3rd place for the female relays and 9th relay team overall! Not too shabby for being one female shy, one gimpy runner, one recovering ironman, and one workaholic. Salty was our saving grace :) Of note all of our leg times were in the top 5 times for each leg amongst female teams. Very proud of my ladies! Wish I could have been 100% and running fast enough to give us a run at first, but we hold on to our tradition of podium placement still and of course we partied like rock stars as always post event! So glad my body let me get out and put in a hard effort. I really did not want my last race in my 20s to be a suffer fest and despite all my issues Saturday it felt so good to run hard and feel the pains of racing again and actually enjoy them!
Glowstick Dancing Cowbell Girl
I've got the Moves like Elaine (from Seinfeld!) (Sort of like Jagger, but much less suave)
Last weekend a few of my buddy's and a total of around 200 people were running in circles around Edgewater for 24 hours. Yep that's right 24 hours of running a .9ish mile paved loop on the shores of Lake Erie! Sound nuts? Yep I agree! But I am all about supporting my nutso friends with my energetic cheering ways!
After a long day of cleaning and accompanying Salty on her 12 mile run (8 on my bike and 4 running with her to wrap it up) I took a quick power nap then it was off to Edgewater to cheer in the dark. I arrived to find some local friends at the Vertical Runner tent rocking out. I came wielding glow stick flashlights and we proceeded to cheer/dance/rave those runners on from 12:30 to the 9 am finish. I got many comments that I should be running the event with all of my energy. But I am rather certain I had more fun dancing and cheering than I would running around in circles all night :)
The last hour was rather exciting as local super star Connie Gardner came within a mile of breaking the national record and we spread out all around the course to encourage her. I grabbed a cowbell and proceeded to make as much noise cheering the last 30 minutes as possible. My ears are still ringing!
Not sure what those runners thought of us, some of the crews weren't too happy as they tried to cat nap through the night, but I know if I was running around in the dark I would want people to be making some noise! If you are in Cleveland next year for the weekend of the event and want to witness something a little different I recommend it! We had a blast!
Last weekend a few of my buddy's and a total of around 200 people were running in circles around Edgewater for 24 hours. Yep that's right 24 hours of running a .9ish mile paved loop on the shores of Lake Erie! Sound nuts? Yep I agree! But I am all about supporting my nutso friends with my energetic cheering ways!
After a long day of cleaning and accompanying Salty on her 12 mile run (8 on my bike and 4 running with her to wrap it up) I took a quick power nap then it was off to Edgewater to cheer in the dark. I arrived to find some local friends at the Vertical Runner tent rocking out. I came wielding glow stick flashlights and we proceeded to cheer/dance/rave those runners on from 12:30 to the 9 am finish. I got many comments that I should be running the event with all of my energy. But I am rather certain I had more fun dancing and cheering than I would running around in circles all night :)
The last hour was rather exciting as local super star Connie Gardner came within a mile of breaking the national record and we spread out all around the course to encourage her. I grabbed a cowbell and proceeded to make as much noise cheering the last 30 minutes as possible. My ears are still ringing!
Not sure what those runners thought of us, some of the crews weren't too happy as they tried to cat nap through the night, but I know if I was running around in the dark I would want people to be making some noise! If you are in Cleveland next year for the weekend of the event and want to witness something a little different I recommend it! We had a blast!
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