Hey kids if you are looking to run with a pace group Sunday at the Pig just get to the start a bit early and look for us holding out signs lined up behind the start in order or pace. We will be in place at 6 am. Gals will be in bright yellow asics outfits, guys in red. Pace groups start at 3:20 and go up to 5 hours. I'll be the one holding the 3:50 sign and wearing a pig snout. Just come up and say hello. Definitely for this course it is better to go out a little slow. The hill from 5 to 10 will be tough but after that there is plenty of flat at downhills to let you pick up the pace.
Good Luck! Hope to see some of you Sunday!
Oh and if you do use a pacer Sunday at the Pig or at Pittsburgh and you think they did a good job email pacerjim@hotmail.com and let him know. We can always use the feedback so we can continue to keep pacing great marathons!
Here Pig Pig Pig
Have I mentioned I am pacing the pig this weekend? Yep two marathons two weeks. This one should be a bit more laid back though. My main goal, other than being a perfect pacer, is to locate and wear a pig snout for the race. Bring on the fun in Cinci this weekend! 3:50 group will definitely be the group having the most fun out on the course!
Driven
I want to follow up my Boston recap a bit to explain where I am at. I want to emphasize that I feel I ran a great race for my current fitness level and for how I felt on race day. I can't lie and say that I felt stellar on race day though, because I didn't, and my last post is my best attempt to convey how I felt. I am thrilled that I can run a 3:16:30 on a day when my legs weren't feeling it. This is a huge step in the right direction. It's these races that make you realize that when your fitness does come together and the taper works properly and you arrive on race morning with fresh legs and high energy a big break through is inevitable.
I have some aggressive goals for my marathon career. Since I started running marathons in 2004 I have dropped 23 minutes off my time, or almost a minute per mile. That is huge and if you had told me in 2004 I would eventually run a 3:16 at Boston I would have probably laughed at you. But as an athlete and a competitor with each new goal I attain I am driven to push further. My desire to attain faster times never fades. If I wasn't driven to get better I wouldn't have gotten to the point that I could run how I did last Monday on a day when I wasn't really feeling it. So while 3:16:30 is a fantastic time that I am proud of, I wouldn't be true to myself if I thought that was good enough for me. Now I know I can run 3:16. I want to see how much better I can do in the future.
So I guess my point is that a little disappointment isn't a bad thing. It's those little disappointments that can drive us to come back next time and work even harder. Each marathon is a lesson learned and fuel in the fire to train more consistently and to work harder to nail the next performance.
I have some aggressive goals for my marathon career. Since I started running marathons in 2004 I have dropped 23 minutes off my time, or almost a minute per mile. That is huge and if you had told me in 2004 I would eventually run a 3:16 at Boston I would have probably laughed at you. But as an athlete and a competitor with each new goal I attain I am driven to push further. My desire to attain faster times never fades. If I wasn't driven to get better I wouldn't have gotten to the point that I could run how I did last Monday on a day when I wasn't really feeling it. So while 3:16:30 is a fantastic time that I am proud of, I wouldn't be true to myself if I thought that was good enough for me. Now I know I can run 3:16. I want to see how much better I can do in the future.
So I guess my point is that a little disappointment isn't a bad thing. It's those little disappointments that can drive us to come back next time and work even harder. Each marathon is a lesson learned and fuel in the fire to train more consistently and to work harder to nail the next performance.
Approximately 35,000 steps in the right direction
Boston this year was different than years past. My training mileage has been more consistent this spring, if lacking in speed a bit, but I didn't come into this race feeling particularly fast or confident. I was optimistic that I would PR by quite a few minutes, but I wasn't confident I could run at the level I desire to be at right now. I set my race goals conservatively so that I wouldn't have a repeat of Richmond, and it turns out it was probably good I did that because I ran the best I could on the day and was on the slower edge of my race goal (in ideal weather).
In past years at Boston I got so wrapped up in the excitement of the race, the crowds of runners in the city, the advertisements, the camaraderie of my local running friends. This year it just felt like something was missing for me, the ads weren't as good, there was some strife getting everyone together pre race, the expo was just a bit too crowded, it felt like a lot of rushing to wait around. I don't know what it was, but it definitely had an effect on my race. In years past at the start line in Boston I literally got chills. This year, nothing. I can honestly say I didn't get any boosts from the amazing crowds this year until the final 5k. From the start my gait felt uncomfortable and by about mile 10 my left hamstring was slightly aggravated. I did get little smiles here and there on the course thankfully. For some reason the accents of the crowds this year made me laugh. Hearing little kids with their Boston accents shouting "Go rahners" made me smile. I enjoyed the large crowds yelling, but made a conscious effort not to let that dictate my pace, maybe I was just trying to be to in tune with my effort and I should have used the crowd to bolster me a bit.
For the most part I was just tuned into myself this year though and I can honestly say I didn't have a clue how the day was going to end until the final stretch. I didn't micromanage my pace, I just ran at the effort I thought was appropriate for how I felt. Thankfully that effort was where I intended it to be based on my race plan. I would look at the Garmins average pace every mile and make sure it was around 7:30. I told myself not to look at the splits through the hills, and for the most part stuck to that. I started taking water at mile 6 opting for water every other mile from there. I took 5 electrolyte pills spread out over the course and started taking gels at mile 12 and every 4 miles after that (12, 16, 20). (I had a nice rookie move dropping one of my gels around Wellesley when I was trying to take my first gel, thankfully the course had gels at 17 so I just adjusted the plan and took my caffeinated gels (Rocktane, it seemed to work well, I will use this nutrition plan again) at 12 and 16 and used the race gel at 20) My energy levels were great the whole day, but something was just "off." At the half I knew a 3:16 was possible since I crossed around 1:38 but I wasn't feeling peppy and I was uncertain of an even split.
What did go well this year is that my quads held up to the course for much longer and with each mile that my quads didn't hurt I got more certain that I would run 3:16. I focused on smaller strides on the downhills and on the uphills I focused on trying to "glide." I used an image of my friend Frank gliding over the Sunday Solon hills to try and improve my pace and strides over the hills. Last year before mile 12 my quads were already thrashed. This year I made it to mile 22 before the usual quad soreness seeped in, and my calf didn't cramp up until mile 24. I did my best to put the hammer down after mile 21 but was uncertain if my quads or calf would give out on me. Despite that I ran the last 7k of the course the fastest of the day and was so glad to finally get over Heartbreak Hill and race the last 4 miles of the Boston Marathon. This was the first time that I did enjoy the crowds after Heartbreak. In the past I have felt like I was just surviving to the finish. This year I was pushing hard to get in under 3:17.
It's really hard to explain how I feel about this performance. On one hand I am elated, I ran an almost even split race on a course where runners typically slow 4 minutes on the back half. I did a good job mentally adjusting my effort where needed to respond to the course, when the opportunity was there I did attempt to draft into the wind. I ran a 6 minute personal best for the distance. I know I am blessed to be able to run so well.
On the other hand I never really got any race day magic on the course and my stride just wasn't comfortable. I know I can run faster than I did, but I know that I ran the best I could for how I felt on the day. I think in retrospect I was very unsure of my training leading up to the race, and unsure of my fitness level, I think no matter what I ran on Monday I was likely to be a little disappointed because I honestly feel I was in better shape last fall and I didn't get to cash in on it. Now I am struggling to get back to that fitness level and beyond. In order to get faster I am going to need to work really hard on trusting that I am capable of meeting more aggressive goals. No one is holding myself back but me.
I know this isn't the usual race report, but I am not really sure how to describe the day in usual terms, when everything felt so unusual.
What I will say about my pacing effort is that I do believe in order to run even splits on the course in Boston you have to go out easier than you feel. But there is not much room for error. You will slow down from newton up through heartbreak. You can count on that 10k being slower, but you have to have saved your quads in the first half for a final push once you crest heartbreak. I am really glad I finally figured that out and I was so ecstatic to be able to race hard the last 7k at Boston this year.
I have unfinished business on this course and I will be back next year. I have high hopes since last year Frank ran a 3:16 here and this year he returned and ran 3 hours. I think I figured out how to run Boston well this year, next year I want to return and race Boston well.
In past years at Boston I got so wrapped up in the excitement of the race, the crowds of runners in the city, the advertisements, the camaraderie of my local running friends. This year it just felt like something was missing for me, the ads weren't as good, there was some strife getting everyone together pre race, the expo was just a bit too crowded, it felt like a lot of rushing to wait around. I don't know what it was, but it definitely had an effect on my race. In years past at the start line in Boston I literally got chills. This year, nothing. I can honestly say I didn't get any boosts from the amazing crowds this year until the final 5k. From the start my gait felt uncomfortable and by about mile 10 my left hamstring was slightly aggravated. I did get little smiles here and there on the course thankfully. For some reason the accents of the crowds this year made me laugh. Hearing little kids with their Boston accents shouting "Go rahners" made me smile. I enjoyed the large crowds yelling, but made a conscious effort not to let that dictate my pace, maybe I was just trying to be to in tune with my effort and I should have used the crowd to bolster me a bit.
For the most part I was just tuned into myself this year though and I can honestly say I didn't have a clue how the day was going to end until the final stretch. I didn't micromanage my pace, I just ran at the effort I thought was appropriate for how I felt. Thankfully that effort was where I intended it to be based on my race plan. I would look at the Garmins average pace every mile and make sure it was around 7:30. I told myself not to look at the splits through the hills, and for the most part stuck to that. I started taking water at mile 6 opting for water every other mile from there. I took 5 electrolyte pills spread out over the course and started taking gels at mile 12 and every 4 miles after that (12, 16, 20). (I had a nice rookie move dropping one of my gels around Wellesley when I was trying to take my first gel, thankfully the course had gels at 17 so I just adjusted the plan and took my caffeinated gels (Rocktane, it seemed to work well, I will use this nutrition plan again) at 12 and 16 and used the race gel at 20) My energy levels were great the whole day, but something was just "off." At the half I knew a 3:16 was possible since I crossed around 1:38 but I wasn't feeling peppy and I was uncertain of an even split.
What did go well this year is that my quads held up to the course for much longer and with each mile that my quads didn't hurt I got more certain that I would run 3:16. I focused on smaller strides on the downhills and on the uphills I focused on trying to "glide." I used an image of my friend Frank gliding over the Sunday Solon hills to try and improve my pace and strides over the hills. Last year before mile 12 my quads were already thrashed. This year I made it to mile 22 before the usual quad soreness seeped in, and my calf didn't cramp up until mile 24. I did my best to put the hammer down after mile 21 but was uncertain if my quads or calf would give out on me. Despite that I ran the last 7k of the course the fastest of the day and was so glad to finally get over Heartbreak Hill and race the last 4 miles of the Boston Marathon. This was the first time that I did enjoy the crowds after Heartbreak. In the past I have felt like I was just surviving to the finish. This year I was pushing hard to get in under 3:17.
It's really hard to explain how I feel about this performance. On one hand I am elated, I ran an almost even split race on a course where runners typically slow 4 minutes on the back half. I did a good job mentally adjusting my effort where needed to respond to the course, when the opportunity was there I did attempt to draft into the wind. I ran a 6 minute personal best for the distance. I know I am blessed to be able to run so well.
On the other hand I never really got any race day magic on the course and my stride just wasn't comfortable. I know I can run faster than I did, but I know that I ran the best I could for how I felt on the day. I think in retrospect I was very unsure of my training leading up to the race, and unsure of my fitness level, I think no matter what I ran on Monday I was likely to be a little disappointed because I honestly feel I was in better shape last fall and I didn't get to cash in on it. Now I am struggling to get back to that fitness level and beyond. In order to get faster I am going to need to work really hard on trusting that I am capable of meeting more aggressive goals. No one is holding myself back but me.
I know this isn't the usual race report, but I am not really sure how to describe the day in usual terms, when everything felt so unusual.
What I will say about my pacing effort is that I do believe in order to run even splits on the course in Boston you have to go out easier than you feel. But there is not much room for error. You will slow down from newton up through heartbreak. You can count on that 10k being slower, but you have to have saved your quads in the first half for a final push once you crest heartbreak. I am really glad I finally figured that out and I was so ecstatic to be able to race hard the last 7k at Boston this year.
I have unfinished business on this course and I will be back next year. I have high hopes since last year Frank ran a 3:16 here and this year he returned and ran 3 hours. I think I figured out how to run Boston well this year, next year I want to return and race Boston well.
The Facts Boston Marathon 2009
Not trying to leave anyone hanging here on a race report but I am still mulling everything over. I think it takes a few days to really process the race with an unbiased mind.
I had yet another fun weekend in Boston this year and there was lots of partying afterwards. I made it into work yesterday on two hours of sleep and managed to stay awake for about half of the cavs game before passing out on Gina and Neils couch (Thanks for letting us watch the game at your place guys, and super thanks for the tasty dessert and pizza!). I was so exhausted, just not any way I was going to find time to get in front of the computer for a lengthy report. Work is busy and I have a few other deadlines, not to mention a messy house that are taking priority this week. But I wanted to get in a quick post with the stats (since I am a freak) and a few thoughts on the race.
The Facts:
3:16:30,
7:30 pace,
6 minute and 16 second PR,
3935 out of 22849 finishers,
341 out of 9302 Females,
284 out of 5023 Age Group (18-39 Females),
10th female from Ohio
I believe this is the most evenly paced race I have ever run in any distance. I averaged only two seconds slower per mile on the back half. (For comparison last year I averaged 18 seconds slower per mile and in 2006 I averaged 35 seconds per mile slower on the back half)
I executed my planned race effort perfectly, I went out intentionally slow the first mile, even effort through the hills, and brought the hammer down after the hills.
After a quick survey of my mile splits versus the course elevation, my race effort plan, and my personal strengths and weaknesses, I am confident that I ran the smartest race possible for how I felt on the day.
My Garmin was slightly off from the start and got further off as the day went. Not sure if this is from weaving, water stops or what, but regardless I think the races 5k splits are a more accurate look at my pacing since each mile has a lot of elevation differences in this race, while most of them are net downhill it varies greatly from mile to mile, and even through the hills from mile 16 to 21 there are miles in there with some flats, so mile splits on this course are not going to be even.
I did not micromanage my pace while on the course. I did look at my split most miles, and at the 5k markers I looked to see what my average pace was to verify if I was meeting my goals.
More to come on evaluating and recounting the day soon. I leave you with a few great pics from around mile 15.
Thanks to Lloyd for getting these great shots!
I had yet another fun weekend in Boston this year and there was lots of partying afterwards. I made it into work yesterday on two hours of sleep and managed to stay awake for about half of the cavs game before passing out on Gina and Neils couch (Thanks for letting us watch the game at your place guys, and super thanks for the tasty dessert and pizza!). I was so exhausted, just not any way I was going to find time to get in front of the computer for a lengthy report. Work is busy and I have a few other deadlines, not to mention a messy house that are taking priority this week. But I wanted to get in a quick post with the stats (since I am a freak) and a few thoughts on the race.
The Facts:
3:16:30,
7:30 pace,
6 minute and 16 second PR,
3935 out of 22849 finishers,
341 out of 9302 Females,
284 out of 5023 Age Group (18-39 Females),
10th female from Ohio
I believe this is the most evenly paced race I have ever run in any distance. I averaged only two seconds slower per mile on the back half. (For comparison last year I averaged 18 seconds slower per mile and in 2006 I averaged 35 seconds per mile slower on the back half)
I executed my planned race effort perfectly, I went out intentionally slow the first mile, even effort through the hills, and brought the hammer down after the hills.
After a quick survey of my mile splits versus the course elevation, my race effort plan, and my personal strengths and weaknesses, I am confident that I ran the smartest race possible for how I felt on the day.
My Garmin was slightly off from the start and got further off as the day went. Not sure if this is from weaving, water stops or what, but regardless I think the races 5k splits are a more accurate look at my pacing since each mile has a lot of elevation differences in this race, while most of them are net downhill it varies greatly from mile to mile, and even through the hills from mile 16 to 21 there are miles in there with some flats, so mile splits on this course are not going to be even.
I did not micromanage my pace while on the course. I did look at my split most miles, and at the 5k markers I looked to see what my average pace was to verify if I was meeting my goals.
| 2009 | Splits | 5k Splits | 5k pace | Overall Pace |
| 5k | 0:23:28 | 0:23:28 | 0:07:33 | 0:07:33 |
| 10k | 0:46:45 | 0:23:17 | 0:07:30 | 0:07:31 |
| 15k | 1:09:52 | 0:23:07 | 0:07:26 | 0:07:30 |
| 20k | 1:32:59 | 0:23:07 | 0:07:26 | 0:07:29 |
| Half | 1:38:02 | 0:07:29 | ||
| 25k | 1:56:05 | 0:23:06 | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 |
| 30k | 2:19:51 | 0:23:46 | 0:07:39 | 0:07:30 |
| 35k | 2:43:41 | 0:23:50 | 0:07:40 | 0:07:32 |
| 40k | 3:06:40 | 0:22:59 | 0:07:24 | 0:07:31 |
| Finish | 3:16:30 | 0:09:50 | 0:07:13 | 0:07:30 |
More to come on evaluating and recounting the day soon. I leave you with a few great pics from around mile 15.
Thanks to Lloyd for getting these great shots!
AT&T Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 113th Boston Marathon 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hansen | |||||||||||||||
| Latest Results: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
AT&T Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 113th Boston Marathon 2009 | ||||||||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hansen | ||||||||||||
| Latest Results: | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
AT&T Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 113th Boston Marathon 2009 | |||||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hansen | |||||||||
| Latest Results: | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
AT&T Athlete Alert
| Event Information: | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event: | 113th Boston Marathon 2009 | ||||||
| Runner: | Elizabeth Hansen | ||||||
| Latest Results: | |||||||
| |||||||
All times are unofficial. Times may vary in post race official results.
Boston Bound
Yep I am all packed and ready to fly to Boston. Leaving tomorrow night and coming back bright and early Tuesday morning (that will be a rough flight and work day!).
Taper madness has settled, all the real workouts are done. This is the first marathon training program I have gone through where I didn't have some sort of injury or soreness during the training which makes me feel like I probably did something right. Could have done without the 2 weeks of sinus infection, but I ended up averaging around 59 miles per week during the weeks leading up to taper and I got in a lot of strong long runs. Tempos and Track left something to be desired, but they were consistent and I am sure they were beneficial.
Played with all the nifty pace predictors this week to affirm my goals. As a pacer I have seen way too many runners fail to achieve their goals because the goal they set for themselves was a bit too lofty in the first place. I really wanted to set myself a realistic goal for this race as I do not want to be let down again like I was at Richmond. I don't feel like I am in quite of good as shape as I was before Richmond, but I am anticipating much better conditions in Boston (Looks like high 40s and light rain so far, perfect!) and I am planning to utilize a better pacing plan this time around. The predictors have me anywhere from 3:08 to 3:18 (discounting the few crazies on either end, 3:04 and 3:25 WTF?) .
I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about racing Monday. I think my training and predictor races (Youngstown, Malachi, Martian 10K) have me in shape for a 3:13 to 3:16 effort. My plan is to try and take it out conservative for once. Sand bag for at least the first half, and I would love to actually run aggressively the last 4 miles after I clear the Newton hills (I have always struggled to maintain pace after 22 at Boston). I have a good feeling about the 3:13 goal which is 7:23 pace. As long as I don't peter out on the hills I am really hoping for the 3:13 and since I did a good long run at 7:25, I think this is very attainable. But if conditions are bad or it just isn't my day I hope to at least avenge Richmond and come in sub 3:20. No 4 second PR please. I would like at least a few minutes for all this hard work I have done!
Bib number is 9385 so I should be starting around 10:09 AM on Monday. The Boston website should have athlete tracking on race day. I am also racing as part of the Vertical Runner team so if you are bored feel free to track my other teammates too! http://www.bostonmarathon.org/
Even more than racing I am looking forward to a fun weekend with running friends. Very excited for Solar to do her first Boston and can't wait to listen to all the smack talk and resulting SERC PRs after the race. We've got at least 3 additional guys going who are first timers from SERC this year which is awesome.
And I am counting the seconds until I get that post race dessert and drinks! I've had two beers in the last 12 weeks and cut out desserts two weeks ago. I am so ready for a nice glass of wine, a margarita or two, and maybe even some fun girlie shots! And if I can find a huge helping of tiramisu I am certainly not going to turn that down either! After all that bring on the dance floor! I am so ready to party!
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. And thank you so much for all the well wishes! I really am blessed with so many wonderful friends and family supporting all my craziness year after year and race after race.
Taper madness has settled, all the real workouts are done. This is the first marathon training program I have gone through where I didn't have some sort of injury or soreness during the training which makes me feel like I probably did something right. Could have done without the 2 weeks of sinus infection, but I ended up averaging around 59 miles per week during the weeks leading up to taper and I got in a lot of strong long runs. Tempos and Track left something to be desired, but they were consistent and I am sure they were beneficial.
Played with all the nifty pace predictors this week to affirm my goals. As a pacer I have seen way too many runners fail to achieve their goals because the goal they set for themselves was a bit too lofty in the first place. I really wanted to set myself a realistic goal for this race as I do not want to be let down again like I was at Richmond. I don't feel like I am in quite of good as shape as I was before Richmond, but I am anticipating much better conditions in Boston (Looks like high 40s and light rain so far, perfect!) and I am planning to utilize a better pacing plan this time around. The predictors have me anywhere from 3:08 to 3:18 (discounting the few crazies on either end, 3:04 and 3:25 WTF?) .
I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about racing Monday. I think my training and predictor races (Youngstown, Malachi, Martian 10K) have me in shape for a 3:13 to 3:16 effort. My plan is to try and take it out conservative for once. Sand bag for at least the first half, and I would love to actually run aggressively the last 4 miles after I clear the Newton hills (I have always struggled to maintain pace after 22 at Boston). I have a good feeling about the 3:13 goal which is 7:23 pace. As long as I don't peter out on the hills I am really hoping for the 3:13 and since I did a good long run at 7:25, I think this is very attainable. But if conditions are bad or it just isn't my day I hope to at least avenge Richmond and come in sub 3:20. No 4 second PR please. I would like at least a few minutes for all this hard work I have done!
Bib number is 9385 so I should be starting around 10:09 AM on Monday. The Boston website should have athlete tracking on race day. I am also racing as part of the Vertical Runner team so if you are bored feel free to track my other teammates too! http://www.bostonmarathon.org/
Even more than racing I am looking forward to a fun weekend with running friends. Very excited for Solar to do her first Boston and can't wait to listen to all the smack talk and resulting SERC PRs after the race. We've got at least 3 additional guys going who are first timers from SERC this year which is awesome.
And I am counting the seconds until I get that post race dessert and drinks! I've had two beers in the last 12 weeks and cut out desserts two weeks ago. I am so ready for a nice glass of wine, a margarita or two, and maybe even some fun girlie shots! And if I can find a huge helping of tiramisu I am certainly not going to turn that down either! After all that bring on the dance floor! I am so ready to party!
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend. And thank you so much for all the well wishes! I really am blessed with so many wonderful friends and family supporting all my craziness year after year and race after race.
Martian Meteor 10K Race Report
Not ready to take off my warm clothes!
Two weeks to Boston so that means it was time for my last race leading into taper. Since I did the Martian 10k last year I figured doing it again would be a great way to compare my fitness to last year (plus the race is fun, they give out these wild shirts with aliens on them and they put blow up aliens all over the course). Well they actually changed the course this year, so what I had hoped to be a direct comparison to my fitness last year turned into more of an estimate. The course covered a bit of the same ground, but there were a few extra turns and a few more (small) rollers. I headed out Friday night to run the new course just to check it out, and other than being insanely windy it was a pretty nice course.
Saturday morning I was a bit lazy and slept an extra hour, waking 2 hours before the race. Ate a small breakfast and headed out. My stomach was a little iffy so for Boston I definitely need to eat 3 hours before. It was chilly out and I hadn't brought anything to race in except for my running skirt and my VR tank. Thankfully the sun came out and that outfit actually worked out well for me.
Spoiled as always my parents came to the race to cheer and chauffeur. I got in a 20 minute warm up while they read in the car. Did a few stride outs at my desired 10k pace, changed into my training flats and headed to the start. Stripped down and lined up a few rows back from the front of the pack. They cater to elites at this race, comping entries and putting up prize money for 1-5th overall, 1-3rd masters, and free shoes to 1st in each age group. So it is pretty competitive, and I definitely didn't want to be in anyones way. I didn't realize at the start they also had a 5k, so a few gals near me were actually in that.
My speed is a big question mark right now since I have been sick and my training hasn't really focused on speed in quite awhile. I was hoping to run faster than last years 41:17 and give myself a bit of a mental boost going into Boston. Well it was really windy out and I think I left my race legs at around mile 12 at the Youngstown half a month or so ago. I need to get my racing hat back on before Boston for sure. I ran pretty well yesterday, but I definitely could have raced better.
Mile 1 went well, it was slightly uphill and a bit into the wind. I tried to relax and get into my target pace (6:26). I was just a hair slow at 6:30 and was running about 16th gal. Saw my dad around mile 2.5 and waved and tried to push to stay with a gal in blue who passed me. I was hanging tight just behind her and a guy I am pretty sure I ran with last year. Before mile 2 I realized there was indeed a 5k race as runners came back towards us, and three gals just in front of me peeled off to the turn around.
Just before mile 2 my shoe came untied. I decided to let it go, with such a short race tying my shoe would have added at least 20 seconds to my time. The wind was kicking up and I probably should have moved left and tried to tuck in behind the few runners around me but I knew we were making all right hand turns on the course and it seemed silly to add distance running on the far left. Mile 2 was 6:37 and I started to let the untied shoe get to me a bit mentally falling back from the gal in blue.
The next mile turns onto a main street before running down a highway ramp to mile 3. Pushed to get my pace back down taking advantage of the downhill on the ramp I managed to eek a 6:31. From there I think I just got in a zone and couldn't crank it up to get out of it. The next mile is boring and you run out and back on a boring road, but at least you could see all the runners ahead of you. I counted about 10 gals, all but one(The gal in blue) of which had yellow bibs indicating they were running as elites. Ran a 6:44 for mile 4, which happily was earlier in the course than I thought. There is a slight uphill in this mile and it winds through the woods, I had lost contact with any runners around me and had obviously settled a bit on my pace.
Took a sip of water at the aid station and tried to up my effort during the next mile. I was right behind one guy and knew I was letting him dictate my pace as I watched the girl in blue get further ahead so I pushed ahead of him and tried to up the effort through the wooded path and the slight downhill. My efforts were not rewarded though and I hit mile 5 at 6:42. I tried to turn it on the last mile into the wind and I got passed by two guys. I did pass one female, but I am not sure she was even in the race, if she was she was hurting bad and pulled over to walk within a half mile of the finish. Coming through mile 6 in 6:45 I convinced myself I needed to treat the last .2 like I was running on the track and did finally manage to get my pace down, running 1:21 (6:07 pace) into the finish. I finished in 41:11, so unfortunately not really a drastic improvement over last year. Hard to tell whether that is an indicator of my fitness, an indicator that I am not strong in the wind, or an indicator that I need to suck it up and run a bit harder. But it is better than being slower than last year at this point in the season!
Placed 12th gal and 3rd in my age group (It said I was 6th in AG at the finish so I didn't hang around for awards, I could have scored a hat, bummer!) which is also about the same as last year. Would have been nice to at least have been running near some more people, but other than the gal in blue and a few guys who caught me in the final mile it was pretty lonely out there. The next closest girl was almost 2 minutes up.
Since this is a prep race for Boston I did take a few key things from this.
1) Put some damn zip ties on my race shoes before Boston.
2) Eat earlier
3) If it is windy I need to draft off someone
Also if the three races I have done leading up to Boston are indicative of my fitness I should be aiming for 3:13 to 3:16 at Boston, and while that isn't quite where I desire to be, I am glad it is at least faster than where I was last year. Now I just need to actually follow through on that in 2 weeks!
Coming into the finish
March Madness
And no I am not talking about basket ball!
The month started off strong with a great race at Youngstown but a week later at Malachi the start of a sinus infection brought me way down. I struggled to train (stubbornly) through it for a week before finally caving, going to ER, and getting some antibiotics. The runny nose and clogged sinuses were really nothing to the energy drain everything caused. I felt like a complete zombie at home, at work, and on the run for two weeks straight.
Two weeks later I am starting to come around (Thankfully!) but I am disappointed that what looked to be a promising month really was more of a struggle leaving me feeling lackluster about my build up to Boston since I am now moving onto my taper. I had really hoped to have 12 consistent weeks leading up to Boston and my mileage took a bit of a nosedive the past two weeks. Not awful, but just not where I wanted it to be.
Obviously I needed to back it down to get better, and should have backed it off sooner. Between the sinus infection and being stubborn I was definitely showing signs of over training, hopefully I have learned my lesson.
I had a semi promising 21 miler Saturday and a nice 3 mile tempo run yesterday that have me feeling a bit better about my fitness level. Hopefully this Saturday will go well at the Martian Meteor 10k. I would like to run a minute faster than last year to give my confidence about my fitness a bit of a boost before Boston.
Month Training Rundown:
March 2nd through the 8th- 69 miles
Monday- 6 miles AM, 4 miles PM
Tuesday-Indoor Track workout at Kent. Pace not consistent, lots of traffic on the track. 11 miles with 5*1200
Wednesday- Rest
Thursday- 15 miles
Friday-10 miles
Saturday-6 miles with 6*25 seconds strides
Sunday- 17 miles, 13.1 Raced at Youngstown, PR 1:32:31
March 9th through March 15th- 68 miles
Monday- Rest
Tuesday- Track 9 miles with 5*600 2:17, 2:16, 2:18, 2:17, 2:17
Wednesday- AM 12 miles, Lunch 3.5 miles ez
Thursday-7 miles
Friday-6 miles with 6*25 second strides
Saturday- 10 miles, 5 mile race at Malachi, PR 33:13
Sunday-20 miles easy (Really sick, nose running like crazy) 8:37 pace
March 16th through 22nd- 58 miles
Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Stubbornly went to track, runny nose trouble breathing, but workout actually went well, 8 miles total
warm up, 4*100 strides, 3*800, 3*400, 6*100 strides, 1 mile tempo, cool down
800s-2:58, 3:00, 3:04
400s-1:27, 1:26,1:31
mile- 6:57
Wednesday-14 miles, not feeling stellar
Thursday-5 miles trails easy, dead on the hills
Friday-Attempted tempo, felt off, tired, and stomach was queasy
12 miles, 4 at tempo effort, 1 mile easy then 1 more mile at tempo effort (supposed to run 7 miles at tempo), pace was not even close to where I wanted it to be
Saturday-6 miles trails easy, really dead on the hills
Sunday-13 miles 7:54 pace (supposed to run 21), felt pretty zombified and cut the run short to head to the doc and get on antibiotics
March 23rd through the 29th-59 miles
Monday-Rest
Tuesday- 8 mles with Fartlek, 4* 1 minute, 1 minute, 2 minute with half rests, ran with LP, pace felt fine, calfs cramped up pretty badly after second set though so I backed off the effort.
Wednesday-2.5 miles easy, pretty much an extra rest day for the week
Thursday-15 miles after work with GP, starting to feel better, 8:46 pace
Friday-8 miles lunch, still feeling pretty dead on the hills
Saturday-21 miles solo in Chagrin Falls, lots of hills. 8:19 pace, exactly the same pace as when I ran 22 miles on this route last fall. Still feeling dead on the hills but starting to come around
Sunday- Indoor Triathlon, 20 minute swim, 20 minute spin, 20 minute run
Just tried to have a consistent swim (successful) swimming 12 laps every 5 minutes with a small push for an extra lap at the end to get 49 (Oddly this is exactly the same number of laps I swam the first time I did an indoor tri in 2005, and about 1 lap more than what I did in December 2005, the pace was slightly slower than what I did in my last official tri way back in August 2006 (Steelhead HIM), so I guess I can't totally wing it with no training and expect to be where I left off, but I was pretty darn close!)
Tried not to kill myself on the bike (successful) although the "climbs" were definitely felt by my quads
Aimed to treat the run like a tempo, aimed for 25 laps which would have been 5k, came up just short at 24.25, just got a little complacent on the last two miles, very happy with the effort though, the pace felt good and I felt like I could have kept it up for at least another 3 miles. Odd how my only good tempo this build up to Boston came the day after a hilly 21 miler and during an indoor tri following a swim and bike neither of which I have done in forever. I'll still take it though!
Followed up the tri with a short cool down run and some light stretching.
Three weeks to Boston, and while I am not feeling nearly as prepared as I would like to be, I feel much better about this years prep than last years for Boston and I am hoping for a good day there. After tomorrow I should end up with around 285 miles for the month which will be my biggest month ever. Happy about that, just wish I would have felt a little better and gotten in a few better tempo runs.
The month started off strong with a great race at Youngstown but a week later at Malachi the start of a sinus infection brought me way down. I struggled to train (stubbornly) through it for a week before finally caving, going to ER, and getting some antibiotics. The runny nose and clogged sinuses were really nothing to the energy drain everything caused. I felt like a complete zombie at home, at work, and on the run for two weeks straight.
Two weeks later I am starting to come around (Thankfully!) but I am disappointed that what looked to be a promising month really was more of a struggle leaving me feeling lackluster about my build up to Boston since I am now moving onto my taper. I had really hoped to have 12 consistent weeks leading up to Boston and my mileage took a bit of a nosedive the past two weeks. Not awful, but just not where I wanted it to be.
Obviously I needed to back it down to get better, and should have backed it off sooner. Between the sinus infection and being stubborn I was definitely showing signs of over training, hopefully I have learned my lesson.
I had a semi promising 21 miler Saturday and a nice 3 mile tempo run yesterday that have me feeling a bit better about my fitness level. Hopefully this Saturday will go well at the Martian Meteor 10k. I would like to run a minute faster than last year to give my confidence about my fitness a bit of a boost before Boston.
Month Training Rundown:
March 2nd through the 8th- 69 miles
Monday- 6 miles AM, 4 miles PM
Tuesday-Indoor Track workout at Kent. Pace not consistent, lots of traffic on the track. 11 miles with 5*1200
Wednesday- Rest
Thursday- 15 miles
Friday-10 miles
Saturday-6 miles with 6*25 seconds strides
Sunday- 17 miles, 13.1 Raced at Youngstown, PR 1:32:31
March 9th through March 15th- 68 miles
Monday- Rest
Tuesday- Track 9 miles with 5*600 2:17, 2:16, 2:18, 2:17, 2:17
Wednesday- AM 12 miles, Lunch 3.5 miles ez
Thursday-7 miles
Friday-6 miles with 6*25 second strides
Saturday- 10 miles, 5 mile race at Malachi, PR 33:13
Sunday-20 miles easy (Really sick, nose running like crazy) 8:37 pace
March 16th through 22nd- 58 miles
Monday-Rest
Tuesday-Stubbornly went to track, runny nose trouble breathing, but workout actually went well, 8 miles total
warm up, 4*100 strides, 3*800, 3*400, 6*100 strides, 1 mile tempo, cool down
800s-2:58, 3:00, 3:04
400s-1:27, 1:26,1:31
mile- 6:57
Wednesday-14 miles, not feeling stellar
Thursday-5 miles trails easy, dead on the hills
Friday-Attempted tempo, felt off, tired, and stomach was queasy
12 miles, 4 at tempo effort, 1 mile easy then 1 more mile at tempo effort (supposed to run 7 miles at tempo), pace was not even close to where I wanted it to be
Saturday-6 miles trails easy, really dead on the hills
Sunday-13 miles 7:54 pace (supposed to run 21), felt pretty zombified and cut the run short to head to the doc and get on antibiotics
March 23rd through the 29th-59 miles
Monday-Rest
Tuesday- 8 mles with Fartlek, 4* 1 minute, 1 minute, 2 minute with half rests, ran with LP, pace felt fine, calfs cramped up pretty badly after second set though so I backed off the effort.
Wednesday-2.5 miles easy, pretty much an extra rest day for the week
Thursday-15 miles after work with GP, starting to feel better, 8:46 pace
Friday-8 miles lunch, still feeling pretty dead on the hills
Saturday-21 miles solo in Chagrin Falls, lots of hills. 8:19 pace, exactly the same pace as when I ran 22 miles on this route last fall. Still feeling dead on the hills but starting to come around
Sunday- Indoor Triathlon, 20 minute swim, 20 minute spin, 20 minute run
Just tried to have a consistent swim (successful) swimming 12 laps every 5 minutes with a small push for an extra lap at the end to get 49 (Oddly this is exactly the same number of laps I swam the first time I did an indoor tri in 2005, and about 1 lap more than what I did in December 2005, the pace was slightly slower than what I did in my last official tri way back in August 2006 (Steelhead HIM), so I guess I can't totally wing it with no training and expect to be where I left off, but I was pretty darn close!)
Tried not to kill myself on the bike (successful) although the "climbs" were definitely felt by my quads
Aimed to treat the run like a tempo, aimed for 25 laps which would have been 5k, came up just short at 24.25, just got a little complacent on the last two miles, very happy with the effort though, the pace felt good and I felt like I could have kept it up for at least another 3 miles. Odd how my only good tempo this build up to Boston came the day after a hilly 21 miler and during an indoor tri following a swim and bike neither of which I have done in forever. I'll still take it though!
Followed up the tri with a short cool down run and some light stretching.
Three weeks to Boston, and while I am not feeling nearly as prepared as I would like to be, I feel much better about this years prep than last years for Boston and I am hoping for a good day there. After tomorrow I should end up with around 285 miles for the month which will be my biggest month ever. Happy about that, just wish I would have felt a little better and gotten in a few better tempo runs.
ProWash
So one of the fun perks of being a blogger, pacer, and running editor for OS&F is on occasion I get to try out cool running products for free! Not a bad gig since I love free stuff, and I especially love free running stuff!
I was approached by ProWash a few months ago and they sent me a free bottle of their detergent. The detergent is designed specifically for technical gear in the hopes to lengthen the life of your technical goods and keep them from smelling after use. Theory being most regular detergents attach on a microscopic level to your clothes and you never really get rid of the smell because the soap clings holding bad smells in, not too mention the clinging soap particles cause your technical gear to stop functioning as it should (i.e. no more wicking sweat away from your skin).
I obviously use tons of technical gear and unfortunately I am a sweater so my stuff stinks! (Just ask my husband!) Well I'm happy to report that I love the mild scent of ProWash and it has done an excellent job keeping my technical gear smelling great. There were only two items ProWash was not able to revive from their smelly state, and one is a sports bra I have had since high school, the other a shirt I wear constantly so no big surprise they have a permanent funk.
Everything else however smells great, and I even tried it out on a few combo loads with technical and regular clothes (don't tell my husband!) and the regular clothes came out smelling great too, whereas normally I risk my workout funk getting on the regular stuff if I wash them together. Since I am an environmental freak we do all of our loads on cold and I hang dry all of my technical gear so I think that is a testament that I do not have to wash my stuff on high heat to get out the smell using ProWash.
I am not sure how the cost compares to regular detergent or where this may be locally available but I am definitely a new fan. Added bonus their packaging is a pouch rather than a bottle so it uses less plastic and is more environmentally friendly! Bottom line I was pleased with the detergent and I give the company props to reaching out via the blog community to test their wares and get the word out.
If you are so inclined you can find out more about the product here: http://www.prowashdetergent.com/
Also you can see a few other blogger reviews here: http://magazinesmiles.blogspot.com/2009/01/wash.html, here: http://frayedlaces.blogspot.com/2008/12/free-swag-product-review-prowash.html, here: http://www.runningandrambling.com/2009/01/prowash-detergent-review.html and here: http://cnaustin.blogspot.com/2009/03/pro-wash.html
I was approached by ProWash a few months ago and they sent me a free bottle of their detergent. The detergent is designed specifically for technical gear in the hopes to lengthen the life of your technical goods and keep them from smelling after use. Theory being most regular detergents attach on a microscopic level to your clothes and you never really get rid of the smell because the soap clings holding bad smells in, not too mention the clinging soap particles cause your technical gear to stop functioning as it should (i.e. no more wicking sweat away from your skin).
I obviously use tons of technical gear and unfortunately I am a sweater so my stuff stinks! (Just ask my husband!) Well I'm happy to report that I love the mild scent of ProWash and it has done an excellent job keeping my technical gear smelling great. There were only two items ProWash was not able to revive from their smelly state, and one is a sports bra I have had since high school, the other a shirt I wear constantly so no big surprise they have a permanent funk.
Everything else however smells great, and I even tried it out on a few combo loads with technical and regular clothes (don't tell my husband!) and the regular clothes came out smelling great too, whereas normally I risk my workout funk getting on the regular stuff if I wash them together. Since I am an environmental freak we do all of our loads on cold and I hang dry all of my technical gear so I think that is a testament that I do not have to wash my stuff on high heat to get out the smell using ProWash.
I am not sure how the cost compares to regular detergent or where this may be locally available but I am definitely a new fan. Added bonus their packaging is a pouch rather than a bottle so it uses less plastic and is more environmentally friendly! Bottom line I was pleased with the detergent and I give the company props to reaching out via the blog community to test their wares and get the word out.
If you are so inclined you can find out more about the product here: http://www.prowashdetergent.com/
Also you can see a few other blogger reviews here: http://magazinesmiles.blogspot.com/2009/01/wash.html, here: http://frayedlaces.blogspot.com/2008/12/free-swag-product-review-prowash.html, here: http://www.runningandrambling.com/2009/01/prowash-detergent-review.html and here: http://cnaustin.blogspot.com/2009/03/pro-wash.html
St. Malachi Race Report
Yep that's right another race report!
With no local races falling this coming weekend I decided to partake in the St. Malachi 5 mile Race last Saturday. Tons of friends were there and ready to party afterwards. The race is pretty competitive and I was hoping that would drive me to a nice quick time. My goal going in was to run between 32 and 33 (6:20ish to 6:37 pace) based on my recent half and my past 10k races. Thursday night at yoga I noticed that I couldn't breathe out of my right nostril and by Saturday morning my nose was a runny mess. Not sure if I just didn't give my body enough time to recover from the rainy hard effort at Youngstown or if I was bound to catch a cold anyways since it seems like everyone is coming down with something, but I wasn't feeling stellar for this race.
Carpooled with GP over to the race and for once was super early so had plenty of time for a relaxed warm up with GP and Risko. Stripped down last second and forgot to take off my ear warmers. Temps were in the low 40s and I felt good in my Capri's and VR tank. Found two of my VR teammates at the start and lined up with them. Both gals are super quick short course gals and I was hoping I could hold my own and stay close to them. I had been told the first mile was downhill and super fast so my game plan was to have a blazing fast first mile, then try to run pace for the next 3, and hopefully not slow down too much on the final finishing uphill.
Well after the initial downhill the course was not to my liking one bit. Lots of 90 degrees turns in the first mile, an ice patch, a small incline, and a bridge with grated footing. Between that and my stupid heart rate monitor conitnually migrating to my belly I wasn't mentally in the right state to hear 6:04 for the first mile. Yes that is quick, but not nearly as quick as what I had assumed based on others description of the course.
I was running with TM at this point but she quickly surged ahead and I was soon passed by two more gals as we crossed another grated bridge. Now we we running on streets I am familiar with since I run them at lunch all the time so I tried to up the effort on the flats. Around mile 2 Eva passed me and looked good. I tried to go with her but didn't have the steam. I eventually got a grip and started to reel in one of the girls who passed me only to lose everything I had gained on her at a patch of ice (not willing to risk slipping in a tune up race). Heading into mile 3 there is a nice little climb for most of the mile which didn't help my pace any and I slowly fell back from Eva and the gal in blue. I tried to make it up on the downhill but once again lost my groove at the ice patch.
I was basically just in survival mode knowing I needed to push hard through mile 4 because the last mile split would be slow. In the last mile Durno caught me and made some crack about me running marathon pace and I told him I was dying out there. He said something about keeping my eyes on the prize but promptly rolled his ankle, and decided he better keep his eyes on the road and pulled ahead of me.
Thankfully no girls were around me as I trudged up the final hill because I had no steam left in me. Someone shouted that this was where all the hill training paid off and all I could think was this was proving my hill training hasn't helped at all :)
Finished in 33:13 which is a 6:39 pace and about a 2 minute PR for me. I'm happy I did so well despite feeling so bad, but since my current 10k and 5.3 mile (Blossom) PR paces are faster than this I know I can do better. Managed to snag 2nd in my age group and was about 8th gal overall. All the VR gals did great, TM placing 3rd overall and Eva finishing first in our age group. JC also placed in her age group and was on my heels.
Having been on the wagon for 7 weeks I decided to treat myself to a few post race brews which in retrospect was probably a bad idea since I still haven't kicked this sinus infection almost a week after it started.
It was good to get out and get in a hard effort and party after with friends even if the race didn't go quite as well as I would have hoped for.
If they take enough photos apparently I can look good while racing ;)
With no local races falling this coming weekend I decided to partake in the St. Malachi 5 mile Race last Saturday. Tons of friends were there and ready to party afterwards. The race is pretty competitive and I was hoping that would drive me to a nice quick time. My goal going in was to run between 32 and 33 (6:20ish to 6:37 pace) based on my recent half and my past 10k races. Thursday night at yoga I noticed that I couldn't breathe out of my right nostril and by Saturday morning my nose was a runny mess. Not sure if I just didn't give my body enough time to recover from the rainy hard effort at Youngstown or if I was bound to catch a cold anyways since it seems like everyone is coming down with something, but I wasn't feeling stellar for this race.
Carpooled with GP over to the race and for once was super early so had plenty of time for a relaxed warm up with GP and Risko. Stripped down last second and forgot to take off my ear warmers. Temps were in the low 40s and I felt good in my Capri's and VR tank. Found two of my VR teammates at the start and lined up with them. Both gals are super quick short course gals and I was hoping I could hold my own and stay close to them. I had been told the first mile was downhill and super fast so my game plan was to have a blazing fast first mile, then try to run pace for the next 3, and hopefully not slow down too much on the final finishing uphill.
Well after the initial downhill the course was not to my liking one bit. Lots of 90 degrees turns in the first mile, an ice patch, a small incline, and a bridge with grated footing. Between that and my stupid heart rate monitor conitnually migrating to my belly I wasn't mentally in the right state to hear 6:04 for the first mile. Yes that is quick, but not nearly as quick as what I had assumed based on others description of the course.
I was running with TM at this point but she quickly surged ahead and I was soon passed by two more gals as we crossed another grated bridge. Now we we running on streets I am familiar with since I run them at lunch all the time so I tried to up the effort on the flats. Around mile 2 Eva passed me and looked good. I tried to go with her but didn't have the steam. I eventually got a grip and started to reel in one of the girls who passed me only to lose everything I had gained on her at a patch of ice (not willing to risk slipping in a tune up race). Heading into mile 3 there is a nice little climb for most of the mile which didn't help my pace any and I slowly fell back from Eva and the gal in blue. I tried to make it up on the downhill but once again lost my groove at the ice patch.
I was basically just in survival mode knowing I needed to push hard through mile 4 because the last mile split would be slow. In the last mile Durno caught me and made some crack about me running marathon pace and I told him I was dying out there. He said something about keeping my eyes on the prize but promptly rolled his ankle, and decided he better keep his eyes on the road and pulled ahead of me.
Thankfully no girls were around me as I trudged up the final hill because I had no steam left in me. Someone shouted that this was where all the hill training paid off and all I could think was this was proving my hill training hasn't helped at all :)
Finished in 33:13 which is a 6:39 pace and about a 2 minute PR for me. I'm happy I did so well despite feeling so bad, but since my current 10k and 5.3 mile (Blossom) PR paces are faster than this I know I can do better. Managed to snag 2nd in my age group and was about 8th gal overall. All the VR gals did great, TM placing 3rd overall and Eva finishing first in our age group. JC also placed in her age group and was on my heels.
Having been on the wagon for 7 weeks I decided to treat myself to a few post race brews which in retrospect was probably a bad idea since I still haven't kicked this sinus infection almost a week after it started.
It was good to get out and get in a hard effort and party after with friends even if the race didn't go quite as well as I would have hoped for.
If they take enough photos apparently I can look good while racing ;)
Youngstown Mill Creek Classic Half Marathon Race Report
What's that, a race?
Same question my legs were pondering as I warmed up Sunday for my first race since the Detroit Turkey Trot and Richmond Marathon in November.
While I had some great races in 08 the focus of my training was for Boston and Richmond and underachieving my goals at those races definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. A month or so of slackerdom and I finally got back at it and have been getting in some consistent mileage to get ready for Boston in hopes of finally achieving some of last years marathon goals. The speed and tempo workouts haven't been pretty so my original goal for Youngstown was to run the race at goal marathon pace to get a feel for it again. This fit with my cookie cutter Pfitzinger training plan, and I figured if anything this would be pretty tough given that Youngstown is a relentless half with rolling hills the entire way up through the final uphill finish.
Well my trusty SERC pals were having none of it. They recommended I race the half. Only 7 weeks to Boston and I need to get a long race in to get my race mojo back. After lots of poo pooing I gave into their logic and agreed it would be good for me to approach the race like a race. The past two marathons despite running great 10ks leading up to the race I have felt that something wasn't quite right, so maybe for me I need to race a slightly longer distance to prep mentally for racing the full marathon. With that in mind the goal was to try and average 7 minute miles for as long as I could. In an ideal flat world I would have targeted 6:50, but Youngstown is not that world :) Even if I ran target marathon pace it would have been a PR day for me. This was only my 10th half marathon ever, 4 of which were here the previous 4 years and which I have always treated like a training day, sand bagging and hammering the last few miles. So needless to say I was ready to clear my 1:36:56 from River Run (downhill!) in 2006 from my list of PRs and get a new reasonable PR for the half. The question was just how much would I be able to shave off?
DST had me off the couch early (slept at the inlaws downstairs as to not wake anyone) and on my way to Solon to carpool with Frank and BB to the race. This is always a nice part of the day chatting with my SERC peeps and wondering what horrible conditions we will have to run in next. Youngstown is not only famous for its hills but it it's notoriously crappy weather outside every year, lack of footing, sight etc is pretty normal. This year for a change it was not snowing, but raining and mid 40s. Others may have been chilly but to be quite honest I race well in these sort of conditions so I wasn't too worried. I'd definitely take the weather we had over the 60s and humid it was the day before, I am just not acclimated to that yet!
Out of the car and off to packet pick up it was a bit chilly. Bathroom stops, outfit assessment then it was off to warm up. I set out with BB to get in 2 easy miles before stripping down. I am so grateful I did a thorough warm up because initially I was pretty chilly but after a mile I realized I would be fine in a tank and shorts. Wasn't feeling to peppy on the hills in the warm up, but just hoped for some race day magic to occur once I hit the line.
Into my racing flats and a pair of cheap gloves and I was ready to toe the line with everyone else. Last year was unusual in that not many super fast chicks showed up. This year things were back to the norm with a few speedsters to keep you honest. I lined up near the front next to CG. I assumed she would be around my pace in this race, but obviously stronger on the hills since strength is not my forte.
Took it out at a good effort knowing that the first two miles would be fast since they are a net downhill. I knew a few of the guys around me would finish close to me and my effort felt good so I went with the flow. The ground was wet and it was rainy but my temperature felt good and I managed to avoid most of the major puddles. (6:29, 7:07)
Around mile 2 CG caught me on the uphill and went by as well as a second young chick. I held my effort knowing that I couldn't waste energy trying to race these gals up hills that I am not strong on. Each stretch of flat or downhill I would slowly close the gap only to lose it all back at the next set of inclines. I was pretty happy to keep the gap where it was and my pace was going well (6:43).
Mile 3 to 4 is where you hit the first significant hill. I definitely could feel it and watched as the group around me pulled away (7:24). My Garmin was a bit off from the markers but my average pace was just under 7 and after climbing "Bear" hill I was able to enjoy a few quick miles where there are only some false flats and a few rollers (7:04, 6:49, 6:51). Mile 6 was marked way short so I was definitely grateful for the Garmin since mile 7 was right on. In the past I have always had company during this stretch and have never realized how secluded it is. It is mostly a false flat winding section and if you lose your focus it would be easy to let the pace slip. Thankfully I was clipping along at my target pace still and was remembering why I love racing.
A small climb before mile 8 then one more friendly mile before the second monster hill during mile 9. Around 8 I saw Frank pull over to the side and got my glimpse of some of the runners who had surged past me on the hills earlier. I couldn't tell what Frank was up to but assumed cramping and felt bad for him, but before I knew it he was zipping away past everyone again and was gone from my sight. I hadn't taken any aid on the course but after seeing Frank pull over I decided to take a bit of Gatorade at the next two stops.
The whole race I was behind CG who was wearing the Nike Lunar Trainers which have neon yellow bottoms. All I saw most of the day was these bright yellow feet grinding their way over the hills. Mile 9 I heard someone coming up on me fast and wondered what the heck was going on. I made a comment about sandbagging and the guy said he had been trying to catch me forever. He had been taking it easy and was ready to start taking names. I ran with him for a little bit until we got to the horrible hill before mile 10 where I watched him float away. (7:17, 6:58, 7:28)
After mile 10 there are two miles of mostly runnable terrain. In past years this is where I have upped the effort and started running people down. This year I was content to up the effort and try to hold onto pace. I finally reeled in two guys who had passed me around mile 4 and thought maybe I could close some of the gap on CG but the last miles rollers and finishing up hill were waiting to do me in. The only mile I don't think I ran as well was mile 12. This is where you start to see other runners behind you as they are heading towards mile 10. Got some encouragement from Berk and a gentleman who I slowly passed, but I mostly just watched the other runners and offered encouragement when I could. I probably got a little complacent here and could have pushed harder to take advantage of the flats (7:08, 6:56).
I thought I would be ready to tackle that last mile and maybe catch KM but it was apparent as I hit the first set of rollers that I was toast. My pace quickly dropped and despite my best efforts I just had to hold on through the (horrible uphill) finish (7:50) for a final time of 1:32:31 (7:04 pace). (4th female, 1st age group) As I walked through the chutes my quads and calves gave a not so quiet protest and I could tell that had I pushed any harder serious cramping would have occurred. Got in a quick 2 mile cool down (that initial downhill was quite painful!) and cheered on my SERC gals to their strong finishes before finally getting a change of clothes. Of course it started pouring after I changed and made my way to the post race party area so I was still a drowned rat and now that I was no longer racing I was cold! Two cups of coffee and post race chatting with friends seemed to help though.
I was super ecstatic to run a PR and get my soft Half marathon PR off the books for sure. I was also very pleased that my fitness level is where I want it to be. This was a great affirmation that my hard work is indeed paying off. Some days things just seem to click right where you expect and want them to be, and I am so glad that Sunday was one of those days. Hopefully with a proper taper and 6 weeks more training Boston will also be one of those days! (Maybe even a day that exceeds rather than just meets expectations! Wouldn't that be a nice bonus?)
Pre Race Carb Loading Paid Off!
Post Race Coffee and Apple!
SERC Chicks Rule!
Kurt edged me out by 6 seconds!
SERC Runners of the year after a great race!
Patriotic and Prideful!
Frank and BB Chatting by the fire
Berk and Daisy
Same question my legs were pondering as I warmed up Sunday for my first race since the Detroit Turkey Trot and Richmond Marathon in November.
While I had some great races in 08 the focus of my training was for Boston and Richmond and underachieving my goals at those races definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. A month or so of slackerdom and I finally got back at it and have been getting in some consistent mileage to get ready for Boston in hopes of finally achieving some of last years marathon goals. The speed and tempo workouts haven't been pretty so my original goal for Youngstown was to run the race at goal marathon pace to get a feel for it again. This fit with my cookie cutter Pfitzinger training plan, and I figured if anything this would be pretty tough given that Youngstown is a relentless half with rolling hills the entire way up through the final uphill finish.
Well my trusty SERC pals were having none of it. They recommended I race the half. Only 7 weeks to Boston and I need to get a long race in to get my race mojo back. After lots of poo pooing I gave into their logic and agreed it would be good for me to approach the race like a race. The past two marathons despite running great 10ks leading up to the race I have felt that something wasn't quite right, so maybe for me I need to race a slightly longer distance to prep mentally for racing the full marathon. With that in mind the goal was to try and average 7 minute miles for as long as I could. In an ideal flat world I would have targeted 6:50, but Youngstown is not that world :) Even if I ran target marathon pace it would have been a PR day for me. This was only my 10th half marathon ever, 4 of which were here the previous 4 years and which I have always treated like a training day, sand bagging and hammering the last few miles. So needless to say I was ready to clear my 1:36:56 from River Run (downhill!) in 2006 from my list of PRs and get a new reasonable PR for the half. The question was just how much would I be able to shave off?
DST had me off the couch early (slept at the inlaws downstairs as to not wake anyone) and on my way to Solon to carpool with Frank and BB to the race. This is always a nice part of the day chatting with my SERC peeps and wondering what horrible conditions we will have to run in next. Youngstown is not only famous for its hills but it it's notoriously crappy weather outside every year, lack of footing, sight etc is pretty normal. This year for a change it was not snowing, but raining and mid 40s. Others may have been chilly but to be quite honest I race well in these sort of conditions so I wasn't too worried. I'd definitely take the weather we had over the 60s and humid it was the day before, I am just not acclimated to that yet!
Out of the car and off to packet pick up it was a bit chilly. Bathroom stops, outfit assessment then it was off to warm up. I set out with BB to get in 2 easy miles before stripping down. I am so grateful I did a thorough warm up because initially I was pretty chilly but after a mile I realized I would be fine in a tank and shorts. Wasn't feeling to peppy on the hills in the warm up, but just hoped for some race day magic to occur once I hit the line.
Into my racing flats and a pair of cheap gloves and I was ready to toe the line with everyone else. Last year was unusual in that not many super fast chicks showed up. This year things were back to the norm with a few speedsters to keep you honest. I lined up near the front next to CG. I assumed she would be around my pace in this race, but obviously stronger on the hills since strength is not my forte.
Took it out at a good effort knowing that the first two miles would be fast since they are a net downhill. I knew a few of the guys around me would finish close to me and my effort felt good so I went with the flow. The ground was wet and it was rainy but my temperature felt good and I managed to avoid most of the major puddles. (6:29, 7:07)
Around mile 2 CG caught me on the uphill and went by as well as a second young chick. I held my effort knowing that I couldn't waste energy trying to race these gals up hills that I am not strong on. Each stretch of flat or downhill I would slowly close the gap only to lose it all back at the next set of inclines. I was pretty happy to keep the gap where it was and my pace was going well (6:43).
Mile 3 to 4 is where you hit the first significant hill. I definitely could feel it and watched as the group around me pulled away (7:24). My Garmin was a bit off from the markers but my average pace was just under 7 and after climbing "Bear" hill I was able to enjoy a few quick miles where there are only some false flats and a few rollers (7:04, 6:49, 6:51). Mile 6 was marked way short so I was definitely grateful for the Garmin since mile 7 was right on. In the past I have always had company during this stretch and have never realized how secluded it is. It is mostly a false flat winding section and if you lose your focus it would be easy to let the pace slip. Thankfully I was clipping along at my target pace still and was remembering why I love racing.
A small climb before mile 8 then one more friendly mile before the second monster hill during mile 9. Around 8 I saw Frank pull over to the side and got my glimpse of some of the runners who had surged past me on the hills earlier. I couldn't tell what Frank was up to but assumed cramping and felt bad for him, but before I knew it he was zipping away past everyone again and was gone from my sight. I hadn't taken any aid on the course but after seeing Frank pull over I decided to take a bit of Gatorade at the next two stops.
The whole race I was behind CG who was wearing the Nike Lunar Trainers which have neon yellow bottoms. All I saw most of the day was these bright yellow feet grinding their way over the hills. Mile 9 I heard someone coming up on me fast and wondered what the heck was going on. I made a comment about sandbagging and the guy said he had been trying to catch me forever. He had been taking it easy and was ready to start taking names. I ran with him for a little bit until we got to the horrible hill before mile 10 where I watched him float away. (7:17, 6:58, 7:28)
After mile 10 there are two miles of mostly runnable terrain. In past years this is where I have upped the effort and started running people down. This year I was content to up the effort and try to hold onto pace. I finally reeled in two guys who had passed me around mile 4 and thought maybe I could close some of the gap on CG but the last miles rollers and finishing up hill were waiting to do me in. The only mile I don't think I ran as well was mile 12. This is where you start to see other runners behind you as they are heading towards mile 10. Got some encouragement from Berk and a gentleman who I slowly passed, but I mostly just watched the other runners and offered encouragement when I could. I probably got a little complacent here and could have pushed harder to take advantage of the flats (7:08, 6:56).
I thought I would be ready to tackle that last mile and maybe catch KM but it was apparent as I hit the first set of rollers that I was toast. My pace quickly dropped and despite my best efforts I just had to hold on through the (horrible uphill) finish (7:50) for a final time of 1:32:31 (7:04 pace). (4th female, 1st age group) As I walked through the chutes my quads and calves gave a not so quiet protest and I could tell that had I pushed any harder serious cramping would have occurred. Got in a quick 2 mile cool down (that initial downhill was quite painful!) and cheered on my SERC gals to their strong finishes before finally getting a change of clothes. Of course it started pouring after I changed and made my way to the post race party area so I was still a drowned rat and now that I was no longer racing I was cold! Two cups of coffee and post race chatting with friends seemed to help though.
I was super ecstatic to run a PR and get my soft Half marathon PR off the books for sure. I was also very pleased that my fitness level is where I want it to be. This was a great affirmation that my hard work is indeed paying off. Some days things just seem to click right where you expect and want them to be, and I am so glad that Sunday was one of those days. Hopefully with a proper taper and 6 weeks more training Boston will also be one of those days! (Maybe even a day that exceeds rather than just meets expectations! Wouldn't that be a nice bonus?)
Pre Race Carb Loading Paid Off!
Post Race Coffee and Apple!
SERC Chicks Rule!
Kurt edged me out by 6 seconds!
SERC Runners of the year after a great race!
Patriotic and Prideful!
Frank and BB Chatting by the fire
Berk and Daisy
February 2009 Training Rundown
After Richmond last November I decided it was time for a few back off months. Time to regroup and refocus my efforts and try to determine what my running goals would be for 2009 and the future. I did a lot of high mileage weeks last year topping out with a 90 miler, but my consistency wasn't great, my average weekly mileage during Richmond training was around 65 because I would have two huge weeks followed up by a dismal week due to either life or exhaustion. So my focus this month has been on consistency. I want to keep my average mileage the same as it was for Richmond, but peak weeks will be around 70 miles rather than 90 and low weeks will be 45-50 rather than 30-40.
Well that training started the last week of January and other than that first week has gone as planned. The week I started my 12 week program for Boston I was definitely lacking motivation, just feeling sluggish and unsure of my goals. I planned out Pfitzingers low mileage plan which peaks around 50 miles and decided I was going to take it easy and just run Boston for fun. Well about half way through that week I sucked it up and got back on top of my training motivation and wrote out Pfitzingers middle mileage plan which peaks at 70 miles twice, telling myself I would run somewhere in between the two plans every week depending on what life is throwing at me and on how my body is responding to the training.
Since the first training block is mostly endurance and building mileage I have actually been hitting the higher mileage weeks with no issues the past few weeks. I haven't been strictly following the plan on easy days, doing whatever mileage I feel like rather than what is planned, but I have been getting in the key medium long runs, tempos, and long runs. I've backed off my pace on the easy runs and the medium long runs this time around, and I have upped my effort on the long runs. Tempos have been okay, not great due to weather and the fact that I haven't run anything fast since November. The wind has just been nuts in Cleveland this month and too many of my routes end into the wind, but if it is windy in Boston I will not have any excuses! This week starts in on speed workouts, and I have three races before Boston starting with Youngstown half this weekend to figure out what kind of speed I have in me. So far I am feeling confident about my endurance but since I haven't raced since November my speed is a big question mark, and if my tempo runs are any indicator I don't like what I see and likely have some really hard workouts and races coming up the next few weeks to get to where I want to be.
Last year I paced Tampa in early February and did a few recovery weeks so mileage was low. I think that killed me a bit at Boston so I am hoping that having a more consistent February this year will prove useful at Boston. I know the 12 week training plan is minimal, but I think I really needed the mental and physical recharge after Richmond in November. Not to mention that anything more than the 12 week plan has you training in really shitty Cleveland winter weather for over 2 months and I am not sure anyone can take that :)
I have purposely not been tracking workouts on here, trying to keep my motivation to get the miles internal rather than logging them just to beef up my training log. But for those that are wondering I have been training and so SH doesn't think I am logging secret miles here is how the month of February played out.
February 2nd to the 8th-11 weeks to Boston-55 miles
Monday-Off
Tuesday-10 miles with 4 at LT effort. Tempo was slow, 7:23, 7:23, 7:09, 6:54, took almost a week to recover from the effort, legs just felt hammered, was pretty disappointed
10 minutes stretching and some quick abs
Wednesday-6 miles easy with Daisy 9minute pace
Thursday-5.5 miles easy with Daisy and BM 9:30s
Friday-11.6 miles with GP 9 minute pace
Saturday-4.5 miles easy 9 minute pace
Sunday-17 miles with Daisy and Solar, felt strong 8:20 pace. 60 minutes yoga
February 9th to the 15th-10 weeks to Boston-64 miles
Monday-Off
Tuesday-9 miles with 10*25 second strides 8:20 pace
Wednesday-6.5 miles easy with a couple short hill sprints at the end 8:50 pace
30 minutes strength-3*10 push up/side planks, 3*20 abs, side leg lifts, lunges, single leg squats, plank 90 seconds
Thursday-4.65 mile run easy 8:50 pace
Friday-AM 12.6 miles with GP, 9:10s, Lunch 6.6 miles with Daisy Easy, 8:40s
Saturday-4.3 miles easy 9:20s
Sunday-20 miles with Frank, PR, and SG, 7:25 pace
February 16th to 22nd-9 weeks to Boston-64 miles
Monday-20 minutes strength 3*10 push up planks, 60 sec plank, 2*30 second planks, 2*20 abs
Tuesday-8 miles easy with Salty 8:45 pace
Wednesday-8 miles easy with Salty 9 minute pace
Thursday-AM: 9.5 mile. second LT attempt. Did not go well. Too windy outside (45 mph gusts) so did a 4 mile warm up outside with Daisy then took to the treadmills. 3 miles at 6:53 pace, took a small breather for water and heart rate skyrocketed when I ratcheted it back up. So did one mile at 7:00 pace and called it quits.
Lunch: 4.5 miles easy with Daisy, Salty, and JC, 9:45 pace
PM: 60 minutes yoga
Friday-11.6 miles with GP, 9:40 pace
Saturday-5.25 miles easy, 9:30 pace
Sunday-17.25 miles with MN, DP, and Frank, 7:50 pace
February 23rd to March 1st-8 weeks to Boston-75 miles
Monday-Off
Tuesday-8 miles easy with Salty and Daisy, 10*30 second strides. 8:20s
Wednesday-AM 12.5 miles with 6 miles at LT effort. Windy day on marginal, ran from home to work: 7:03, 6:57, 6:48,7:08,7:01,7:05, struggled with the wind and stupid contact rolling up in my eye
Lunch: 4.35 miles easy with Daisy, Salty and JC 9:40s
Thursday-7 miles easy with Daisy and Salty, 9 minute pace
PM 60 minutes Yoga
Friday-15.4 miles with GP, 9:10s
Saturday-7 miles easy with 6*30 second strides, 8:50s
Sunday-20 miles with Frank, PR, and KM, 7:34 pace
Well that training started the last week of January and other than that first week has gone as planned. The week I started my 12 week program for Boston I was definitely lacking motivation, just feeling sluggish and unsure of my goals. I planned out Pfitzingers low mileage plan which peaks around 50 miles and decided I was going to take it easy and just run Boston for fun. Well about half way through that week I sucked it up and got back on top of my training motivation and wrote out Pfitzingers middle mileage plan which peaks at 70 miles twice, telling myself I would run somewhere in between the two plans every week depending on what life is throwing at me and on how my body is responding to the training.
Since the first training block is mostly endurance and building mileage I have actually been hitting the higher mileage weeks with no issues the past few weeks. I haven't been strictly following the plan on easy days, doing whatever mileage I feel like rather than what is planned, but I have been getting in the key medium long runs, tempos, and long runs. I've backed off my pace on the easy runs and the medium long runs this time around, and I have upped my effort on the long runs. Tempos have been okay, not great due to weather and the fact that I haven't run anything fast since November. The wind has just been nuts in Cleveland this month and too many of my routes end into the wind, but if it is windy in Boston I will not have any excuses! This week starts in on speed workouts, and I have three races before Boston starting with Youngstown half this weekend to figure out what kind of speed I have in me. So far I am feeling confident about my endurance but since I haven't raced since November my speed is a big question mark, and if my tempo runs are any indicator I don't like what I see and likely have some really hard workouts and races coming up the next few weeks to get to where I want to be.
Last year I paced Tampa in early February and did a few recovery weeks so mileage was low. I think that killed me a bit at Boston so I am hoping that having a more consistent February this year will prove useful at Boston. I know the 12 week training plan is minimal, but I think I really needed the mental and physical recharge after Richmond in November. Not to mention that anything more than the 12 week plan has you training in really shitty Cleveland winter weather for over 2 months and I am not sure anyone can take that :)
I have purposely not been tracking workouts on here, trying to keep my motivation to get the miles internal rather than logging them just to beef up my training log. But for those that are wondering I have been training and so SH doesn't think I am logging secret miles here is how the month of February played out.
February 2nd to the 8th-11 weeks to Boston-55 miles
Monday-Off
Tuesday-10 miles with 4 at LT effort. Tempo was slow, 7:23, 7:23, 7:09, 6:54, took almost a week to recover from the effort, legs just felt hammered, was pretty disappointed
10 minutes stretching and some quick abs
Wednesday-6 miles easy with Daisy 9minute pace
Thursday-5.5 miles easy with Daisy and BM 9:30s
Friday-11.6 miles with GP 9 minute pace
Saturday-4.5 miles easy 9 minute pace
Sunday-17 miles with Daisy and Solar, felt strong 8:20 pace. 60 minutes yoga
February 9th to the 15th-10 weeks to Boston-64 miles
Monday-Off
Tuesday-9 miles with 10*25 second strides 8:20 pace
Wednesday-6.5 miles easy with a couple short hill sprints at the end 8:50 pace
30 minutes strength-3*10 push up/side planks, 3*20 abs, side leg lifts, lunges, single leg squats, plank 90 seconds
Thursday-4.65 mile run easy 8:50 pace
Friday-AM 12.6 miles with GP, 9:10s, Lunch 6.6 miles with Daisy Easy, 8:40s
Saturday-4.3 miles easy 9:20s
Sunday-20 miles with Frank, PR, and SG, 7:25 pace
February 16th to 22nd-9 weeks to Boston-64 miles
Monday-20 minutes strength 3*10 push up planks, 60 sec plank, 2*30 second planks, 2*20 abs
Tuesday-8 miles easy with Salty 8:45 pace
Wednesday-8 miles easy with Salty 9 minute pace
Thursday-AM: 9.5 mile. second LT attempt. Did not go well. Too windy outside (45 mph gusts) so did a 4 mile warm up outside with Daisy then took to the treadmills. 3 miles at 6:53 pace, took a small breather for water and heart rate skyrocketed when I ratcheted it back up. So did one mile at 7:00 pace and called it quits.
Lunch: 4.5 miles easy with Daisy, Salty, and JC, 9:45 pace
PM: 60 minutes yoga
Friday-11.6 miles with GP, 9:40 pace
Saturday-5.25 miles easy, 9:30 pace
Sunday-17.25 miles with MN, DP, and Frank, 7:50 pace
February 23rd to March 1st-8 weeks to Boston-75 miles
Monday-Off
Tuesday-8 miles easy with Salty and Daisy, 10*30 second strides. 8:20s
Wednesday-AM 12.5 miles with 6 miles at LT effort. Windy day on marginal, ran from home to work: 7:03, 6:57, 6:48,7:08,7:01,7:05, struggled with the wind and stupid contact rolling up in my eye
Lunch: 4.35 miles easy with Daisy, Salty and JC 9:40s
Thursday-7 miles easy with Daisy and Salty, 9 minute pace
PM 60 minutes Yoga
Friday-15.4 miles with GP, 9:10s
Saturday-7 miles easy with 6*30 second strides, 8:50s
Sunday-20 miles with Frank, PR, and KM, 7:34 pace
Missing Cancun
Seriously I was so spoiled there, great weather, free food, free drinks, free fitness classes. Can't be beat. But alas I am back in the real world ;)
I have been crazy busy but the past two weeks of running have gone great. I wrote down two pfitzinger programs to train for Boston, both 12 weeks, one maxing out at 55 mpw and one at 70 and I am just going with the flow running key workouts and targeting a mileage somewhere in the middle. So far the first week was a bust but the past two weeks I have easily hit 60+ with a couple of good quality workouts thrown in for good measure. Not really sticking to the plan on recovery days and just doing what I feel like but hitting the tempo, long, and medium long run days and the mileage seems to work out on its own. After a rough tempo run a few weeks ago I had kind of given up on my fitness level and figured Cancun and the long break from any serious mileage had taken its toll. So I was pleasantly surprised last Sunday when I went out and did 20 miles faster than I ever have before. That was really a nice mental boost. This weeks tempo wasn't perfect but it was better so I am still sticking with the positive :)
Ending the year on Richmond was kind of sour so I think even though I know that the race didn't mean anything in terms of my fitness I was letting it get me down a bit. In 2007 even if JFK had gone poorly (thankfully it didn't) I ended the year with a 5K PR so I went out with a bang. So having not raced since Richmond and the Turkey Trot I was just doubting all of my hard work from last year and if it had really gotten me anywhere. New focus is to have fun with the training (as much as is possible in Cleveland in the winter) and we will just see how it lays out at Boston. I'm trying to take a more casual approach and not put so much into the finishing time at Boston. I've got a lot of fun events planned this year but right now I don't really have an "A" goal. Just want to get faster all around. I've focused on my diet a bit the past few weeks and cut out alcohol until after Boston so I am hoping to be lean and mean by April ;)
In the mean time I have been enjoying Thursday nights out with G and N for $2 burgers. I volunteered at the CTC indoor tri on valentines day and cheered at the Chili Bowl 5K. Hit up the Running the Sahara Premiere which was awesome (had a great interview with Charlie Engle this morning for OSF, what a nice guy!) and inspiring. Got out to the Cleveland Interclub social and the CTC kickoff meeting and am getting ready for the Youngstown half and our annual SERC banquet. On top of that have been cranking away at work and my first official article was published in OSF last month!
So all that to say I am here, I am busy, and I suck at keeping this updated! Look for what will hopefully be an exciting post about Running the Sahara soon!
Running the Sahara Premiere coming to Cleveland
Just passing along info about the Cleveland Premiere of Running the Sahara on February 18th at 7 pm. Details in flyer form and via text below. I am planning to go and hope to see some other locals there!
NEHST Studios is hosting a special premiere screening of the film "Running the Sahara" in Cleveland. "Running the Sahara" is a documentary narrated and produced by Oscar winner Matt Damon, directed by Oscar winner James Moll, and featuring music by Grammy winner Wyclef Jean. "Running the Sahara" follows three ultra-marathoners on their 111-day, 4,300-mile attempt to run across Africa's Sahara Desert. A special one-night benefit premiere of this feature documentary will take place at the Tower City Cinemas in Cleveland on Wednesday, February 18 at 7 p.m.
"Running the Sahara" focuses on three runners: Charlie Engle from Charlotte, North Carolina, Kevin Lin from Taipei, Taiwan, and Ray Zahab from Ontario, Canada – accompanied by a support team consisting of an MD, a physical therapist, and a logistics leader – as they attempt to become the first people to ever run across the Sahara Desert. This character-driven film delves into the life-changing experiences of the three runners as they tackle the physical and emotional obstacles in the Sahara Desert. The film delivers a message of hope and puts everyday challenges in perspective.
Tickets to the Cleveland event include admission,a gift bag valued at over $50, a cocktail reception with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and a Q&A with star of the film, ultra-marathoner Charlie Engle. Proceeds from the film benefit the Rodale Institute and H2O Africa.
You can purchase tickets at the door, or in advance on
http://www.nehst.com.
NEHST Studios is hosting a special premiere screening of the film "Running the Sahara" in Cleveland. "Running the Sahara" is a documentary narrated and produced by Oscar winner Matt Damon, directed by Oscar winner James Moll, and featuring music by Grammy winner Wyclef Jean. "Running the Sahara" follows three ultra-marathoners on their 111-day, 4,300-mile attempt to run across Africa's Sahara Desert. A special one-night benefit premiere of this feature documentary will take place at the Tower City Cinemas in Cleveland on Wednesday, February 18 at 7 p.m.
"Running the Sahara" focuses on three runners: Charlie Engle from Charlotte, North Carolina, Kevin Lin from Taipei, Taiwan, and Ray Zahab from Ontario, Canada – accompanied by a support team consisting of an MD, a physical therapist, and a logistics leader – as they attempt to become the first people to ever run across the Sahara Desert. This character-driven film delves into the life-changing experiences of the three runners as they tackle the physical and emotional obstacles in the Sahara Desert. The film delivers a message of hope and puts everyday challenges in perspective.
Tickets to the Cleveland event include admission,a gift bag valued at over $50, a cocktail reception with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and a Q&A with star of the film, ultra-marathoner Charlie Engle. Proceeds from the film benefit the Rodale Institute and H2O Africa.
You can purchase tickets at the door, or in advance on
http://www.nehst.com.
Surfacing for Air
I feel a bit like I have been drowning in everything lately. While Cancun was a nice break from reality it did not take away all of the stress of my real life back at home that I left behind for one week. This weekend was nuts as we spent the entire weekend outside of the house. Since having a spotless house for New Years everything at home seems to have fallen into disarray. The house is a mess, dishes need to be done, half of our electronics have broken. How any working woman keeps her house in order is beyond me. I have spent way more time than I care to admit on the phone with customer service over the past two months. In the meantime I am trying to keep it together at my job and have some semblance of a running life. My new position as the running editor of OSF has some light demands on my free time with deadlines for articles. My running club is in great need of getting out the annual newsletter informing about the banquet and nominations for end of the year positions. In general I just feel like there is no time which last week resulted in me falling way off the running wagon. End Rant.
This weekend we celebrated the end of a life well lived. At 94 David's grandfather passed away after getting pneumonia on the way to Florida for his annual winter vacation. Most of the family was able to fly in this weekend and it was so nice to see all the kids and family members who have moved away, in addition to finally meeting the newest addition to the family who is already 2! The funeral was very nice, a bit emotional, but mostly it just hit you that this wonderful man really lived his life to the fullest and left behind such a wonderful legacy. I was impressed by everything he was able to give back to his family and his community. As one cousin said it is amazing to see what has come from just two people meeting and falling in love. Such a large wonderful family all started somewhere small.
As I was waffling between giving up on any sort of training for Boston to catch back up around the house and work longer hours I thought about David's grandfather and realized that I can do it all. I just need to make the time and get it all done. I don't want to give any of the pieces of my life up. I enjoy writing for OSF, I enjoy owning a home, I enjoy organizing events for my running club, I enjoy having a job that pays the bills, and I enjoy beating the crap out of myself on a good hard tempo run. Goal is to make my life count. I know what kind of legacy I want to leave behind and it isn't one of a life spent sitting on the sidelines wondering what if.
This weekend we celebrated the end of a life well lived. At 94 David's grandfather passed away after getting pneumonia on the way to Florida for his annual winter vacation. Most of the family was able to fly in this weekend and it was so nice to see all the kids and family members who have moved away, in addition to finally meeting the newest addition to the family who is already 2! The funeral was very nice, a bit emotional, but mostly it just hit you that this wonderful man really lived his life to the fullest and left behind such a wonderful legacy. I was impressed by everything he was able to give back to his family and his community. As one cousin said it is amazing to see what has come from just two people meeting and falling in love. Such a large wonderful family all started somewhere small.
As I was waffling between giving up on any sort of training for Boston to catch back up around the house and work longer hours I thought about David's grandfather and realized that I can do it all. I just need to make the time and get it all done. I don't want to give any of the pieces of my life up. I enjoy writing for OSF, I enjoy owning a home, I enjoy organizing events for my running club, I enjoy having a job that pays the bills, and I enjoy beating the crap out of myself on a good hard tempo run. Goal is to make my life count. I know what kind of legacy I want to leave behind and it isn't one of a life spent sitting on the sidelines wondering what if.
A fun filled day of exercise and relaxation
Enjoying a Mango Margarita (The margaritas and guacamole are going to be the death of me!)
Well I didn't make it to the pool at all yesterday but I did keep busy! Up at 7:45 and made it to yoga just in time. (Something I ate on the Ek Balam tour Tuesday did not sit right so I didn't sleep well Tuesday night, and it was definitely an effort to drag my butt from the nice cozy bed) But some immodium and a cup of of coffee had me feeling better and awake enough to tackle some more classes after yoga and breakfast. I made another attempt at the tower climbing, but alas I am just not very coordinated at heights while standing on tiny little rocks. I made it farther but only because the instructor climbed up the other side of the wall and literally held my hand to get me to the next rock. I am a little short and not steady enough to stand and push up with my legs to reach the problems that are a little far apart. Oh well it is still great excercise and my forearms were wrenched afterwards.
Top of the pyramid at Ek Balam
KT and I at the top of Ek Balam
Well I didn't make it to the pool at all yesterday but I did keep busy! Up at 7:45 and made it to yoga just in time. (Something I ate on the Ek Balam tour Tuesday did not sit right so I didn't sleep well Tuesday night, and it was definitely an effort to drag my butt from the nice cozy bed) But some immodium and a cup of of coffee had me feeling better and awake enough to tackle some more classes after yoga and breakfast. I made another attempt at the tower climbing, but alas I am just not very coordinated at heights while standing on tiny little rocks. I made it farther but only because the instructor climbed up the other side of the wall and literally held my hand to get me to the next rock. I am a little short and not steady enough to stand and push up with my legs to reach the problems that are a little far apart. Oh well it is still great excercise and my forearms were wrenched afterwards.
After tower climbing I headed to fitball with my mom. Fun aerobics class with yoga balls, the hamstring exercising finally did me in towards the end of class. Since the instructor was the same from yoga and he did such a good job I stayed for his next class which was salsa dancing. So now I know the basics of how to salsa. I planned to try out my moves at latin night at the disco last night but by the time I had a back massage, scalp treatment, time in the sauna and steam room and we headed to the courts to shoot some hoops and play tennis then had dinner and watched a drumming and fire show I was whipped and called it a night.
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