Photo Courtesy of: Daryl Quentin
Everyone's expression here is odd. No clue what we were discussing.
I find it comical that my sweat lines imitate the Under Armour logo.
Funny Photo
In honor of getting out tonight for some laughs I thought I'd post a comical photo from our track workout a month or so ago.
Photo Courtesy of: Daryl Quentin
Everyone's expression here is odd. No clue what we were discussing.
I find it comical that my sweat lines imitate the Under Armour logo.
Photo Courtesy of: Daryl Quentin
Everyone's expression here is odd. No clue what we were discussing.
I find it comical that my sweat lines imitate the Under Armour logo.
Marathon Training Week 11
One week to go! Legs aren't feeling great, but I am sure with some rest this week and pampering I will be ready to roll out on Sunday!
Goals for the week:
Total Mileage 45 - 50.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 5 miles @ 6:15.
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower.
Weekend:
10 miles @ 7:00
12 miles @ 7:20.
How it played out:
49.5 miles for the week
Monday-rest
Tuesday-8 with track
Wednesday- 7 at 8:16
Thursday- 7.5 with tempo
Friday- 5 at 8:10
Sat- 10 at 6:57
Sun- 12 at 7:17
Track: Another cold drizzly night goal was 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 all at 85 per quarter with rest at half the time of the previous interval. We were right on and it felt solid, decided not to push the pace any faster towards the end of the workout since it is so close to the marathon.
Tempo: Back to our rolling course, it's been awhile and the legs definitely didn't enjoy the rollers at 6:15 pace, but not a bad workout considering the light warm up.
Long runs went just fine. Hamstrings are "cranky" but hopefully the massage this morning has worked that out!
Mentally I'm not sure what's going on, this taper hasn't really felt like a taper for me. I'm not stir crazy, and I'm really relaxed about the marathon. Hopefully that's a good sign!
Goals for the week:
Total Mileage 45 - 50.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 5 miles @ 6:15.
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower.
Weekend:
10 miles @ 7:00
12 miles @ 7:20.
How it played out:
49.5 miles for the week
Monday-rest
Tuesday-8 with track
Wednesday- 7 at 8:16
Thursday- 7.5 with tempo
Friday- 5 at 8:10
Sat- 10 at 6:57
Sun- 12 at 7:17
Track: Another cold drizzly night goal was 400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 all at 85 per quarter with rest at half the time of the previous interval. We were right on and it felt solid, decided not to push the pace any faster towards the end of the workout since it is so close to the marathon.
| 01:24.5 |
| 02:50.2 |
| 04:15.0 |
| 05:38.9 |
| 04:14.3 |
| 02:48.3 |
| 01:25.1 |
Tempo: Back to our rolling course, it's been awhile and the legs definitely didn't enjoy the rollers at 6:15 pace, but not a bad workout considering the light warm up.
| 06:15.8 |
| 06:12.2 |
| 06:17.1 |
| 06:14.6 |
| 06:13.0 |
Long runs went just fine. Hamstrings are "cranky" but hopefully the massage this morning has worked that out!
Mentally I'm not sure what's going on, this taper hasn't really felt like a taper for me. I'm not stir crazy, and I'm really relaxed about the marathon. Hopefully that's a good sign!
F5 Akron Relay Rundown
This was my 5th year participating in some manner in the Akron Road Runner Marathon. This is a great event, they care about the runners, the course is beautiful (yet tough), the schwag is great (RT subscription, brooks shoes or jacket for full, technical tee for all, free beer at the finish), and nearly all of my friends participate. My first experience with the race was on a coed relay. We surprised ourselves and finished on the podium that year and started a tradition. The following year we had all females and once again made it into the top three. Then I joined pacer Jim's pace team and had to give up my slot on the relay to pace the full marathon the past two years. This year I didn't want to pace any fulls and potentially slow my own marathons down so I was stoked to be back on the relay. And since I've been getting faster they even let me anchor!
Before the race we emailed our predicted best case/worst case times and based on those it looked like our team would run between 2:47 and 3:07, a big range since many are coming back from injury, haven't been running, or just finished big races. I was fairly confident I could hold 6:05 pace for my 7.9 mile leg. Would have liked to been sub 6 but wasn't sure given the course is a bit hilly and I wouldn't have anyone to really run with since all those around me would likely be running the full marathon and I would be faster than them at that point.
We had pretty much perfect weather conditions. 50s or 60s, a little sun, and a little wind. Can't beat that. Had fun cheering on my friends in the half and full at the start and mile 3.5 then we hopped on our shuttle bus and got our butts to our exchange point. Warmed up and got to the exchange corral at the fast end of our predicted time. And watched as the first two all female relays went through, and the top 5 overall females in the full marathon. Whoa, time for me to go to work :) The first two womens teams had about a 6 minute head start on me so I was pretty sure I wasn't catching either of them, but I also was running this race as a gauge of my fitness for Columbus so I couldn't slack off!
First few miles I was flying right around 6 minute pace and picked off the 4th and 5th female marathoners pretty quickly along with some men. I felt pretty smooth and just kept clicking through. The course is slightly up these miles then you have a mile with a decent climb followed by a flat mile, followed by another climb before the 2 miles downhill to the finish. Thankfully I missed my 3rd mile split because it was shockingly slow, around 6:30. I was chugging away trying to catch up to my friend who was the 3rd female in the race, and she was moving. It took me at least 3 miles to catch her and she looked strong and relaxed!
Another super slow mile through Garman and I was not happy with that split as I saw it and it was also over 6:20. I knew the next section was flat and I tried to get back into a groove running by a few local guys I knew in the full. Then I was on my own. No one in sight so I just chugged along looking forward to the downhill. Lots of friendly spectators were out in their lawns cheering which was nice, but it was hard to push myself into the wind while flying solo. I reminded myself it could be like this at the marathon and upped the ante.
Around mile 24 of the marathon I noticed a small pack in the distance and was pretty sure one was my running friend who was in the 2nd place all female team. She had a cold and has been fighting anemia so I was sad she was having a bad day, but knew I had to take one for the team and try to catch her. The next two miles have some decent downhills and I let it fly getting back under 6 minute pace around 5:40 and 5:45 for the last two miles. Caught my friend with about a half mile to go and encouraged her before cruising into the stadium. The whole time I had been looking at the race clocks and trying to determine what our team time would be. I was fairly certain I could keep us under 2:53 and sure enough the clock was closing in on 2:52 as I raced to the finish. Tried to get it under but clock time was 2:52:03 good enough for 2nd female team and 2:51:56 chip time for the team. The first female team smoked us by about 6 minutes with their anchor running the last 7.9 miles 10 seconds faster than me. Drat! Too bad we didn't start together, that would have been an interesting race!
This was our relays best time to date and I believe each girl ran her leg faster than ever before so it was a success! Added bonus was enjoying the free beer and watching our friends finish the marathon after wards!
I was happy with my effort but would have liked that time to be a bit faster. Went 48:05 for 6:05 pace which isn't quite the predictor I would have liked to see for Columbus, but it is hard to compare a relay effort to that of a head to head race so we will see how it plays out for me in two weeks!
Before the race we emailed our predicted best case/worst case times and based on those it looked like our team would run between 2:47 and 3:07, a big range since many are coming back from injury, haven't been running, or just finished big races. I was fairly confident I could hold 6:05 pace for my 7.9 mile leg. Would have liked to been sub 6 but wasn't sure given the course is a bit hilly and I wouldn't have anyone to really run with since all those around me would likely be running the full marathon and I would be faster than them at that point.
We had pretty much perfect weather conditions. 50s or 60s, a little sun, and a little wind. Can't beat that. Had fun cheering on my friends in the half and full at the start and mile 3.5 then we hopped on our shuttle bus and got our butts to our exchange point. Warmed up and got to the exchange corral at the fast end of our predicted time. And watched as the first two all female relays went through, and the top 5 overall females in the full marathon. Whoa, time for me to go to work :) The first two womens teams had about a 6 minute head start on me so I was pretty sure I wasn't catching either of them, but I also was running this race as a gauge of my fitness for Columbus so I couldn't slack off!
First few miles I was flying right around 6 minute pace and picked off the 4th and 5th female marathoners pretty quickly along with some men. I felt pretty smooth and just kept clicking through. The course is slightly up these miles then you have a mile with a decent climb followed by a flat mile, followed by another climb before the 2 miles downhill to the finish. Thankfully I missed my 3rd mile split because it was shockingly slow, around 6:30. I was chugging away trying to catch up to my friend who was the 3rd female in the race, and she was moving. It took me at least 3 miles to catch her and she looked strong and relaxed!
Another super slow mile through Garman and I was not happy with that split as I saw it and it was also over 6:20. I knew the next section was flat and I tried to get back into a groove running by a few local guys I knew in the full. Then I was on my own. No one in sight so I just chugged along looking forward to the downhill. Lots of friendly spectators were out in their lawns cheering which was nice, but it was hard to push myself into the wind while flying solo. I reminded myself it could be like this at the marathon and upped the ante.
Around mile 24 of the marathon I noticed a small pack in the distance and was pretty sure one was my running friend who was in the 2nd place all female team. She had a cold and has been fighting anemia so I was sad she was having a bad day, but knew I had to take one for the team and try to catch her. The next two miles have some decent downhills and I let it fly getting back under 6 minute pace around 5:40 and 5:45 for the last two miles. Caught my friend with about a half mile to go and encouraged her before cruising into the stadium. The whole time I had been looking at the race clocks and trying to determine what our team time would be. I was fairly certain I could keep us under 2:53 and sure enough the clock was closing in on 2:52 as I raced to the finish. Tried to get it under but clock time was 2:52:03 good enough for 2nd female team and 2:51:56 chip time for the team. The first female team smoked us by about 6 minutes with their anchor running the last 7.9 miles 10 seconds faster than me. Drat! Too bad we didn't start together, that would have been an interesting race!
This was our relays best time to date and I believe each girl ran her leg faster than ever before so it was a success! Added bonus was enjoying the free beer and watching our friends finish the marathon after wards!
I was happy with my effort but would have liked that time to be a bit faster. Went 48:05 for 6:05 pace which isn't quite the predictor I would have liked to see for Columbus, but it is hard to compare a relay effort to that of a head to head race so we will see how it plays out for me in two weeks!
Week 10
2 weeks to go until the Columbus Marathon! Sweet! I'm definitely getting excited for race day. We're finishing up the last few key workouts and now it's time to get my head on straight and get ready to work hard but stay relaxed on race day!
This week was solid, and helped by cool and drizzly fall weather.
Goal for the week:
Total Mileage 60
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 8 miles @ 7:10
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower
Weekend:
18 miles @ 6:35 - 6:40
12 miles @ 7:20
How it played out:
63 miles
Monday- Massage and rest
Tuesday- 9.5 miles with track
Wednesday- 8 miles 8:06 pace
Thursday- 8 miles 7:00 pace
Friday- 7 miles 8:28 pace
Saturday- 12 miles 7:18 pace
Sunday- 18 miles 6:34 pace and 0.5 mile cool down
Tuesdays track workout was solid. 5*1600 targeting 5:52-5:55 with 90 second rests. Last time we did this workout I fell way off the pace in the last 2 miles. This week it felt solid the whole time. It was chilly and raining so we headed to a new track that isn't as slick.
5:53
5:53
5:50
5:51
5:40
No tempo this week with the focus being on the last hard long run. 18 miles targeting 6:35-6:40 pace. Again chilly and looked like rain, but lucked out and other than our feet we stayed dry. Skipped the regular Sunday 12 mile loop because I didn't feel like tackling our monster hill at 6:35 pace. Instead we did a 10 mile and 8 mile loop. First 10 targeting 6:40 pace and hoping to run second 8 at 6:35 with a fast finish. Ended up going out right on pace, must have been the coffee. So we were around 6:37 pace after the first 10 and it wasn't hard to get it down to a 6:34 average by the end. Not going to say it was a breeze, but it was solid, we talked the majority of the first 10 miles and the time flew by even after we stopped talking. Would love it if we could get these mid 40s temps for the marathon!
This week was solid, and helped by cool and drizzly fall weather.
Goal for the week:
Total Mileage 60
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 8 miles @ 7:10
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower
Weekend:
18 miles @ 6:35 - 6:40
12 miles @ 7:20
How it played out:
63 miles
Monday- Massage and rest
Tuesday- 9.5 miles with track
Wednesday- 8 miles 8:06 pace
Thursday- 8 miles 7:00 pace
Friday- 7 miles 8:28 pace
Saturday- 12 miles 7:18 pace
Sunday- 18 miles 6:34 pace and 0.5 mile cool down
Tuesdays track workout was solid. 5*1600 targeting 5:52-5:55 with 90 second rests. Last time we did this workout I fell way off the pace in the last 2 miles. This week it felt solid the whole time. It was chilly and raining so we headed to a new track that isn't as slick.
5:53
5:53
5:50
5:51
5:40
No tempo this week with the focus being on the last hard long run. 18 miles targeting 6:35-6:40 pace. Again chilly and looked like rain, but lucked out and other than our feet we stayed dry. Skipped the regular Sunday 12 mile loop because I didn't feel like tackling our monster hill at 6:35 pace. Instead we did a 10 mile and 8 mile loop. First 10 targeting 6:40 pace and hoping to run second 8 at 6:35 with a fast finish. Ended up going out right on pace, must have been the coffee. So we were around 6:37 pace after the first 10 and it wasn't hard to get it down to a 6:34 average by the end. Not going to say it was a breeze, but it was solid, we talked the majority of the first 10 miles and the time flew by even after we stopped talking. Would love it if we could get these mid 40s temps for the marathon!
Columbus Training Week 9
3 weeks to the marathon!
Goals for this week were:
60-65 miles
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 8 miles @ 7:20
Wednesday easy day @ 7:50 or slower
Friday: Pre-race 4-6 miles easy and 4 x 100.
Weekend:
Akron Marathon Relay
12 miles @ 7:20
How it played out:
67 miles
Monday- 8 miles 8:20 pace
Tuesday- 10 miles with track
Wednesday- lunch 8 miles 8:13 pace
pm 4 miles trail 9:20 pace
Thursday- 8 miles 7:16 pace
Friday- 4 miles 8:13 pace with 4*100 strides
Saturday- 2.8 mile warm up with strides, 7.9 race, 2.2 mile cool down
Sunday- 12 at 7:03 pace
Tuesdays track workout kicked my ass. Temps crawled back into the mid 80s and I just fell off a bit. On a bonus note though our friend Daryl Quentin came out and got some great photos of everyone in the training group. I'll just stick to the photos from the warm up and the beginning of the workout for inspiration and confidence boosting ;)
Decided coach was trying to kill me with this workout. Goal was 4 sets of 800, 400, 200. 60 sec rest after the 800, 40 sec after the 400, and 2 minutes between each set. Not really enough time to jog between the 800, 400, and 200 and was just enough time to take a sip of water and walk back to the line. Goal times were 2:42, 78, 38. I just wasn't feeling on, hit a few of the paces, but I was working hard to do it, and the last set was just killer. Breathing was out of control.
2:41.29
78.80
38.97
2:41.87
80.72
38.93
2:47.90
83.47
40.27
2:51.98
80.95
37.82
Thankfully Thursday was no tempo this week due to racing on Saturday. My legs felt like crap Thursday and it was once again hot, thankfully there were plenty of drinking fountains for water stops!
Took an ice bath Thursday night and thankfully race day temps dropped significantly so my legs were back when they needed to be and I had a steady race as the anchor for my relay team. Report to come.
Sunday got caught up starting out with a few of the guys and ended up running 6:40 pace to the water stop at mile 6, rather than the 7:20 I was supposed to run, so I backed it off and ran easy the rest of the loop. It's weird how some days it just comes easy (I'm sure the cooler weather helps!).
Goals for this week were:
60-65 miles
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 8 miles @ 7:20
Wednesday easy day @ 7:50 or slower
Friday: Pre-race 4-6 miles easy and 4 x 100.
Weekend:
Akron Marathon Relay
12 miles @ 7:20
How it played out:
67 miles
Monday- 8 miles 8:20 pace
Tuesday- 10 miles with track
Wednesday- lunch 8 miles 8:13 pace
pm 4 miles trail 9:20 pace
Thursday- 8 miles 7:16 pace
Friday- 4 miles 8:13 pace with 4*100 strides
Saturday- 2.8 mile warm up with strides, 7.9 race, 2.2 mile cool down
Sunday- 12 at 7:03 pace
Tuesdays track workout kicked my ass. Temps crawled back into the mid 80s and I just fell off a bit. On a bonus note though our friend Daryl Quentin came out and got some great photos of everyone in the training group. I'll just stick to the photos from the warm up and the beginning of the workout for inspiration and confidence boosting ;)
Decided coach was trying to kill me with this workout. Goal was 4 sets of 800, 400, 200. 60 sec rest after the 800, 40 sec after the 400, and 2 minutes between each set. Not really enough time to jog between the 800, 400, and 200 and was just enough time to take a sip of water and walk back to the line. Goal times were 2:42, 78, 38. I just wasn't feeling on, hit a few of the paces, but I was working hard to do it, and the last set was just killer. Breathing was out of control.
2:41.29
78.80
38.97
2:41.87
80.72
38.93
2:47.90
83.47
40.27
2:51.98
80.95
37.82
Thankfully Thursday was no tempo this week due to racing on Saturday. My legs felt like crap Thursday and it was once again hot, thankfully there were plenty of drinking fountains for water stops!
Took an ice bath Thursday night and thankfully race day temps dropped significantly so my legs were back when they needed to be and I had a steady race as the anchor for my relay team. Report to come.
Sunday got caught up starting out with a few of the guys and ended up running 6:40 pace to the water stop at mile 6, rather than the 7:20 I was supposed to run, so I backed it off and ran easy the rest of the loop. It's weird how some days it just comes easy (I'm sure the cooler weather helps!).
I am...
Iron Fan!
Last weekend was Cedar Points first full and half triathlon hosted by REV3. Without getting into all the stupid technicalities of this being a full distance tri and not an Ironman, let's just say I spent the day watching many people become Ironmen without the trademark.
Headed to Sandusky Saturday after the Potato Stomp and met up with my girl Daisy for dinner. She was getting ready to do her first Ironman even the next morning and I was excited to tag along with her hubby and friends cheering her and a bunch of other friends to the finish. After some fun times eating and laughing centered around a very naughty poster in the womens restroom we were off for some quick shopping and then to our tiny hotel room at Hotel Breakers. We managed to squeeze a cot in there for me and it was lights out b 10ish because we needed to be up around 4:30 to get Daisy's stuff into transition and then get her back to the 7:05 am start.
Everything was smooth sailing and we were all relaxed and getting ready to roll. Our friend ET made a funny poster for Daisy and we were laughing about that when disaster struck and we realized Daisy's chip was not on her ankle. Thankfully the race start was delayed 10 minutes for some other reason leaving us just enough time to hop in the car, race around CP, and get her chip that was hiding in her bike shoe out of transition. We arrive with a few minutes to spare. Not the ideal way to start your ironman day.
With Daisy successfully in the water we made our way to the hotel room for some coffee then it was off to wish any half iron friends good luck before their start and head to the half start and half way point of the full iron swim. We arrived just in time to see Daisy hop back in the water a few minutes ahead of her target. Wished many other friends good luck then we headed to the swim exit and cheered as swimmers made their way to transition. We came prepared with our cowbells and gave everyone a good shock as they exited the water. We noticed Speedo Steve taking photos but with him cheering for the half we wouldn't get to hang out.
We were also cheering for our friend BH who would end up around Daisy all day but was a faster swimmer. So we knew once Daisy got out of the water we'd have to hustle to get out to mile 25 of the bike in time to see them both.
One pit stop to get some Gatorade and frappacino and we found a prime location for cheering near the town of Milan. This location would allow us to see the full distance triathletes twice at mile 25 and 60ish and the half iron folks once. Hands down we were the best truckload of spectators on the course. With 6 of us we had cowbells and chants prepared as each cyclist came by. Once Daisy went by I knew I had about 2 hours to get in my planned run for the day so I changed and headed out backwards through the course so I could cheer on all my half iron buddies while getting in my run. This worked out perfect as I got to see everyone once including buddies Kim, Pharmie, Tri Sara, Tri Eric and Karen as well as many other local CTC buddies. I cheered for every cyclist who passed (except the peloton of half cyclists that were blatantly drafting, I don't cheer for cheaters). It certainly kept the run entertaining, and as a bonus I got to see some of the faster half iron cyclists on my way back.
Made it back in time to change and cheer for a few CTC friends and Daisy as they rolled through 65.
After 65 it was time to head to about mile 95 of the bike. We were in the middle of nowhere next to a cornfield and we had fun coming up with crazy chants and filling in for the traffic cop when he had to use the corn facilities. Highlights of mile 95 were handing corn to a fellow CTC athlete and dancing to Prince while cyclists flew by. Daisy was flying and looked great when she went by. Smiles all the way.
Once she was through it was time to pack up and head into Sandusky to cheer on the runners. Because of the timing we didn't get to see any of our half buddies on the run, but they did great! Daisy's husband found a prime cheering spot around mile 6 of the run course. A bar with a patio right on the course! By this point many of us were sun burnt and we were hungry for real food! So this was a great spot. Added bonus the course is two loops and at this sections winds back and forth 4 times so we got to cheer for our athletes multiple times each mile from 6 to 10 and 18 to 19.
Then it was back to the finish to watch them bring it home. With blisters on our cowbell hands, sunburns on our cheeks, and our voices threatening to break we made it to the finish line to cheer. Upon arrival I ran into one of my college sorority sisters working the finish chute, you just never know who you'll see at these events! Our friends did great and Daisy crushed her first iron distance tri placing 15th overall female and top 4 in her age group! She finished so fast we had time to hit the coasters!
I suckered ET into joining me for Top Thrill Dragster and if we had time Maverick. And by coincidence ran into Steve and Pharmie heading to do the same. Had a blast catching up with them and watching ET freak out on Top Thrill. We had no lines and made it to Maverick with plenty of time. It was a fun way to finish out the day. I forgot how much fun I had with Pharmie at WIBA way back in 2006 I think. Was very happy to hear she had a phenomenal day on the course.
ET and I headed back to the finish to cheer for one of her friends and around 9:30 we finally headed to dinner at TGIF. The place was absolutely packed. I just couldn't fathom the fact that there were still many runners out there on the course in the dark. You Ironman athletes are a different breed! Finished the night with fantastic friends and was very happy for BH and Daisy for having such great races.
After all that trust me I slept really well!
Dinner night before
Multitasking, stretching, eating, hydrating, and cheering
Chasing Ironbuddy BH
Dancing to Prince
Chant Tunnel "Pedal, Pedal, Pedal!"
IronFan Crew
Cutest Couple Ever (Note Steve's new Sheriff Steve badge)
ET and I about to go from 0-120 in under 4 seconds!
IronBuddies Daisy and BH
Last weekend was Cedar Points first full and half triathlon hosted by REV3. Without getting into all the stupid technicalities of this being a full distance tri and not an Ironman, let's just say I spent the day watching many people become Ironmen without the trademark.
Headed to Sandusky Saturday after the Potato Stomp and met up with my girl Daisy for dinner. She was getting ready to do her first Ironman even the next morning and I was excited to tag along with her hubby and friends cheering her and a bunch of other friends to the finish. After some fun times eating and laughing centered around a very naughty poster in the womens restroom we were off for some quick shopping and then to our tiny hotel room at Hotel Breakers. We managed to squeeze a cot in there for me and it was lights out b 10ish because we needed to be up around 4:30 to get Daisy's stuff into transition and then get her back to the 7:05 am start.
Everything was smooth sailing and we were all relaxed and getting ready to roll. Our friend ET made a funny poster for Daisy and we were laughing about that when disaster struck and we realized Daisy's chip was not on her ankle. Thankfully the race start was delayed 10 minutes for some other reason leaving us just enough time to hop in the car, race around CP, and get her chip that was hiding in her bike shoe out of transition. We arrive with a few minutes to spare. Not the ideal way to start your ironman day.
With Daisy successfully in the water we made our way to the hotel room for some coffee then it was off to wish any half iron friends good luck before their start and head to the half start and half way point of the full iron swim. We arrived just in time to see Daisy hop back in the water a few minutes ahead of her target. Wished many other friends good luck then we headed to the swim exit and cheered as swimmers made their way to transition. We came prepared with our cowbells and gave everyone a good shock as they exited the water. We noticed Speedo Steve taking photos but with him cheering for the half we wouldn't get to hang out.
We were also cheering for our friend BH who would end up around Daisy all day but was a faster swimmer. So we knew once Daisy got out of the water we'd have to hustle to get out to mile 25 of the bike in time to see them both.
One pit stop to get some Gatorade and frappacino and we found a prime location for cheering near the town of Milan. This location would allow us to see the full distance triathletes twice at mile 25 and 60ish and the half iron folks once. Hands down we were the best truckload of spectators on the course. With 6 of us we had cowbells and chants prepared as each cyclist came by. Once Daisy went by I knew I had about 2 hours to get in my planned run for the day so I changed and headed out backwards through the course so I could cheer on all my half iron buddies while getting in my run. This worked out perfect as I got to see everyone once including buddies Kim, Pharmie, Tri Sara, Tri Eric and Karen as well as many other local CTC buddies. I cheered for every cyclist who passed (except the peloton of half cyclists that were blatantly drafting, I don't cheer for cheaters). It certainly kept the run entertaining, and as a bonus I got to see some of the faster half iron cyclists on my way back.
Made it back in time to change and cheer for a few CTC friends and Daisy as they rolled through 65.
After 65 it was time to head to about mile 95 of the bike. We were in the middle of nowhere next to a cornfield and we had fun coming up with crazy chants and filling in for the traffic cop when he had to use the corn facilities. Highlights of mile 95 were handing corn to a fellow CTC athlete and dancing to Prince while cyclists flew by. Daisy was flying and looked great when she went by. Smiles all the way.
Once she was through it was time to pack up and head into Sandusky to cheer on the runners. Because of the timing we didn't get to see any of our half buddies on the run, but they did great! Daisy's husband found a prime cheering spot around mile 6 of the run course. A bar with a patio right on the course! By this point many of us were sun burnt and we were hungry for real food! So this was a great spot. Added bonus the course is two loops and at this sections winds back and forth 4 times so we got to cheer for our athletes multiple times each mile from 6 to 10 and 18 to 19.
Then it was back to the finish to watch them bring it home. With blisters on our cowbell hands, sunburns on our cheeks, and our voices threatening to break we made it to the finish line to cheer. Upon arrival I ran into one of my college sorority sisters working the finish chute, you just never know who you'll see at these events! Our friends did great and Daisy crushed her first iron distance tri placing 15th overall female and top 4 in her age group! She finished so fast we had time to hit the coasters!
I suckered ET into joining me for Top Thrill Dragster and if we had time Maverick. And by coincidence ran into Steve and Pharmie heading to do the same. Had a blast catching up with them and watching ET freak out on Top Thrill. We had no lines and made it to Maverick with plenty of time. It was a fun way to finish out the day. I forgot how much fun I had with Pharmie at WIBA way back in 2006 I think. Was very happy to hear she had a phenomenal day on the course.
ET and I headed back to the finish to cheer for one of her friends and around 9:30 we finally headed to dinner at TGIF. The place was absolutely packed. I just couldn't fathom the fact that there were still many runners out there on the course in the dark. You Ironman athletes are a different breed! Finished the night with fantastic friends and was very happy for BH and Daisy for having such great races.
After all that trust me I slept really well!
Dinner night before
Multitasking, stretching, eating, hydrating, and cheering
Chasing Ironbuddy BH
Dancing to Prince
Chant Tunnel "Pedal, Pedal, Pedal!"
IronFan Crew
Cutest Couple Ever (Note Steve's new Sheriff Steve badge)
ET and I about to go from 0-120 in under 4 seconds!
IronBuddies Daisy and BH
Columbus Training Week 8
Goals for the week:
Total Mileage 65 - 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 3 miles @ 6:30, 5 miles @ 6:15
Weekend:
Saturday: Air force Half pacing 1:40 group.
Sunday: Long run 15 miles @ 6:50
How it played out:
Total 65 miles
Monday- 7 at 8:13 pace
Tuesday- 10 with track
Wednesday- 8 at 8:28 pace
Thursday- 10 with tempo
Friday- Off (Slept in and traveled to Air Force, worked dinner)
Saturday-13.1 at 1:39:54
Sunday- 15 at 6:47 plus 1.5 mile cool down
Track was a tough one, quarters always sound easy in concept. In practice the workout seems to drag forever and lactic acid builds up pretty quick, especially into the windy half of the track. We did 2 sets of 8 quarters with the goal of 3km pace or about 81 per quarter. Rests were 80 seconds between each and 4 minutes between the sets.
Thursdays tempo was also rough, but unlike the track workout I didn't quite hit the targets. Nothing new there ;)
We had to wait out a pretty sever thunderstorm and got started in a sprinkle but about 2 miles in the rain died off and it warmed up. We hit the towpath this week and the soft surface combined with wet conditions made it a little tough to hit paces. Given the conditions I'm happy with the effort. Not too far off.
Pacing was fun. 7:38 is a pretty easy pace for me to nail right now since that's about the pace we do on our mile warm ups for the track, so I have it pretty dialed in. Hit miles 5 and 9 right on and was just 6 seconds under the target at the finish line.
Sunday long run wasn't a breeze like last weekends long run. But managed to get the pace down and finish it out. Though it was cooler out I was still sweating like a pig, could have used an extra water stop for sure.
Looks like we're backing off the mileage and getting ready to rock and roll in one month. I'm glad I'm feeling a little beat up and not 100% so I'm actually looking forward to taper rather than dreading it!
Total Mileage 65 - 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 3 miles @ 6:30, 5 miles @ 6:15
Weekend:
Saturday: Air force Half pacing 1:40 group.
Sunday: Long run 15 miles @ 6:50
How it played out:
Total 65 miles
Monday- 7 at 8:13 pace
Tuesday- 10 with track
Wednesday- 8 at 8:28 pace
Thursday- 10 with tempo
Friday- Off (Slept in and traveled to Air Force, worked dinner)
Saturday-13.1 at 1:39:54
Sunday- 15 at 6:47 plus 1.5 mile cool down
Track was a tough one, quarters always sound easy in concept. In practice the workout seems to drag forever and lactic acid builds up pretty quick, especially into the windy half of the track. We did 2 sets of 8 quarters with the goal of 3km pace or about 81 per quarter. Rests were 80 seconds between each and 4 minutes between the sets.
| 01:20.7 |
| 01:20.4 |
| 01:19.6 |
| 01:19.7 |
| 01:20.1 |
| 01:19.6 |
| 01:20.0 |
| 01:20.2 |
| 01:20.2 |
| 01:20.2 |
| 01:20.5 |
| 01:20.3 |
| 01:20.1 |
| 01:20.1 |
| 01:20.4 |
| 01:18.8 |
Thursdays tempo was also rough, but unlike the track workout I didn't quite hit the targets. Nothing new there ;)
We had to wait out a pretty sever thunderstorm and got started in a sprinkle but about 2 miles in the rain died off and it warmed up. We hit the towpath this week and the soft surface combined with wet conditions made it a little tough to hit paces. Given the conditions I'm happy with the effort. Not too far off.
| 06:38.5 |
| 06:26.7 |
| 06:28.7 |
| 06:19.5 |
| 06:18.0 |
| 06:22.2 |
| 06:29.5 |
| 06:17.7 |
Pacing was fun. 7:38 is a pretty easy pace for me to nail right now since that's about the pace we do on our mile warm ups for the track, so I have it pretty dialed in. Hit miles 5 and 9 right on and was just 6 seconds under the target at the finish line.
Sunday long run wasn't a breeze like last weekends long run. But managed to get the pace down and finish it out. Though it was cooler out I was still sweating like a pig, could have used an extra water stop for sure.
Looks like we're backing off the mileage and getting ready to rock and roll in one month. I'm glad I'm feeling a little beat up and not 100% so I'm actually looking forward to taper rather than dreading it!
Columbus Training Week 6 & 7
Still chugging along steadily towards this years hopefully outstanding marathon performance. Training is coming along, definitely boosted by a break from all the hot humid weather. Track workouts are getting speedier, tempos are coming along, racing is going great, and long runs are starting to feel natural again.
week 6 goals
Total Mileage 75
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 10 miles @ 6:40 - 6:50
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 mile on one of these days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Saturday: Westlake 5 miler.
Sunday: Long run 22 miles @ 7:15
week 7 goals
Total Mileage 75 - 80.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 10 miles @ 6:40
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower on one of these days 4 - 6 x 100.
Saturday: 12 miles @ 7:20
Sunday: Long run 20 miles @ 6:50
How it played out:
8/30/10 - 9/5/10- 76 miles
Monday- 6 easy 8:35
Tuesday- 10 with fartlek
Wednesday-lunch 8 at 8:37
pm 4 at 8:41
Thursday- 12 with 10 at 6:48 (stopped 6 times for water/rest)
Friday- 4 easy 8:20 pace with 6*100 strides
Saturday- 2.6 mile warm up, race 29:31, 2.8 mile cool down
Sunday- 22 at 7:10 pace
9/6/10 - 9/12/10- 82 miles
Monday- 15.8 at 8:05 pace
Tuesday- 10 with track
Wednesday- 8 at 7:58
Thursday-12 with tempo
Friday-30 minutes at 8:07 with 6 strides
Saturday- 20 miles on potato stomp course at 6:45 pace average (picked it up the last 4 or 5 miles since I felt good)
1 mile easy cool down
Sunday-12 miles at 7:17 while cheering at REV3
Key Workouts:
Tuesday Fartlek- Soccer season has started and our normal track is out of commission. We tried several different tracks and ended up having to settle for a paved loop just shy of .5 miles. Legs were still pretty juiced from the half and the loop had an incline on one end that just juiced me every loop. We did 3 minutes on 1 minute off until we hit 4.5 miles. Pace was on the slow side of things, somewhere between 5:40 and 6:20 each set.
Thursday Long Run- Not a good run for me. We went to Westlake to scope out the race course with the goal of running it twice at 6:40-6:50 pace. It was windy and about 90 degrees. I got super dizzy and had to stop for water and to catch my breath several times. Definitely not feeling good compared to how great I felt at the half.
Westlake 5 Mile- Managed to get my mojo back and PR by 45 seconds.
22 Miler - Really relaxed run, pace was easy, weather was nice, just an enjoyable long run despite feeling bad all week and racing the day before.
Tuesday Track-Again troubles at the track. Workout was delayed by a huge rain/lightening storm, but eventually it ended and we got started. 6*1200 targeting 4:20 with 90 second rests.
Other than wet feet felt pretty good on this run.
Thursday Tempo- Goal was 10 miles at 6:40 pace. We headed to an older stomping ground and managed to run a little faster despite some rollers, averaging 6:31 pace for the run.
Saturday 20 miler- Goal was 20 miles in 6:50 pace. BB had the great idea of heading to a local 9 mile race and doing the loop twice to get in the majority of our miles. We did the course beforehand and hit 10 miles with about 2 minutes before the start and I think we were around 6:50-6:55 pace at that point.
I felt really good all day so the last four miles I picked it up a bit to finish strong and then had to do one more mile to finish out the 20 at 6:45 pace.
Race time was 59:23. I had a blast, it was nice to go to a race with no pressure involved. I was pleasantly surprised by how good my legs felt on such a rolling course. Let's hope this bodes well for Columbus.
week 6 goals
Total Mileage 75
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 10 miles @ 6:40 - 6:50
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 mile on one of these days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Saturday: Westlake 5 miler.
Sunday: Long run 22 miles @ 7:15
week 7 goals
Total Mileage 75 - 80.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: 10 miles @ 6:40
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower on one of these days 4 - 6 x 100.
Saturday: 12 miles @ 7:20
Sunday: Long run 20 miles @ 6:50
How it played out:
8/30/10 - 9/5/10- 76 miles
Monday- 6 easy 8:35
Tuesday- 10 with fartlek
Wednesday-lunch 8 at 8:37
pm 4 at 8:41
Thursday- 12 with 10 at 6:48 (stopped 6 times for water/rest)
Friday- 4 easy 8:20 pace with 6*100 strides
Saturday- 2.6 mile warm up, race 29:31, 2.8 mile cool down
Sunday- 22 at 7:10 pace
9/6/10 - 9/12/10- 82 miles
Monday- 15.8 at 8:05 pace
Tuesday- 10 with track
Wednesday- 8 at 7:58
Thursday-12 with tempo
Friday-30 minutes at 8:07 with 6 strides
Saturday- 20 miles on potato stomp course at 6:45 pace average (picked it up the last 4 or 5 miles since I felt good)
1 mile easy cool down
Sunday-12 miles at 7:17 while cheering at REV3
Key Workouts:
Tuesday Fartlek- Soccer season has started and our normal track is out of commission. We tried several different tracks and ended up having to settle for a paved loop just shy of .5 miles. Legs were still pretty juiced from the half and the loop had an incline on one end that just juiced me every loop. We did 3 minutes on 1 minute off until we hit 4.5 miles. Pace was on the slow side of things, somewhere between 5:40 and 6:20 each set.
Thursday Long Run- Not a good run for me. We went to Westlake to scope out the race course with the goal of running it twice at 6:40-6:50 pace. It was windy and about 90 degrees. I got super dizzy and had to stop for water and to catch my breath several times. Definitely not feeling good compared to how great I felt at the half.
Westlake 5 Mile- Managed to get my mojo back and PR by 45 seconds.
22 Miler - Really relaxed run, pace was easy, weather was nice, just an enjoyable long run despite feeling bad all week and racing the day before.
Tuesday Track-Again troubles at the track. Workout was delayed by a huge rain/lightening storm, but eventually it ended and we got started. 6*1200 targeting 4:20 with 90 second rests.
Other than wet feet felt pretty good on this run.
| 04:19.9 |
| 04:19.3 |
| 04:19.6 |
| 04:18.5 |
| 04:18.2 |
| 04:13.1 |
Thursday Tempo- Goal was 10 miles at 6:40 pace. We headed to an older stomping ground and managed to run a little faster despite some rollers, averaging 6:31 pace for the run.
Saturday 20 miler- Goal was 20 miles in 6:50 pace. BB had the great idea of heading to a local 9 mile race and doing the loop twice to get in the majority of our miles. We did the course beforehand and hit 10 miles with about 2 minutes before the start and I think we were around 6:50-6:55 pace at that point.
I felt really good all day so the last four miles I picked it up a bit to finish strong and then had to do one more mile to finish out the 20 at 6:45 pace.
Race time was 59:23. I had a blast, it was nice to go to a race with no pressure involved. I was pleasantly surprised by how good my legs felt on such a rolling course. Let's hope this bodes well for Columbus.
Celebrate Westlake 5 Mile
What's that another race? Yep for some reason I agreed to run a 5 mile race this morning just 6 days after the half. It's a fast course, good competition, and local so I was in. Thankfully got to stay with a friend who lives close to the start and had a very relaxing evening before the race. Unfortunately my legs have felt like absolute toast all week. The weather got hot this week and despite feeling good during the half I'm sure I was still recovering. But I drank a ton of water yesterday, took an ice bath Thursday and Friday night and made sure to stretch and massage the legs before bed and thankfully woke up to fresher legs this morning.
Woke up early to make sure the stomach was settled and the bladder was empty by start time this week. Very relaxed since I literally was 2 minutes from the start. The weather decided to be cold again which was great for racing, not so great for warming up and waiting for awards, but I'll take it. Next race though I need to remember to bring some proper warm up and cool down clothes. I was freezing post race! So other than a strong headwind on the way out conditions were pretty close to ideal.
We checked out the race course Thursday and other than a mile in the middle that winds through the woods on a gravel path it seemed to be fast and flat. It's a money race so some serious runners were out. I had no idea how my legs were going to feel but wanted to ideally run a 29:20 and would be happy with anything under 29:59. I also wanted to try and behave and run a more even split race than I did at Johnnycake.
No chips today so I lined up on the line with a few fast locals and a handful of fast foreigners. The gals seemed to take it out slow because I could still see some of them the first mile. But then things started to spread out. I was behind my training buddy NC and another locally fast chick and her speedy husband the first mile. I was feeling good, and happy that the legs were responsive. I managed to find myself in no mans land and wasn't too happy about that, but didn't want to push the pace and blow up so I stayed about 10 seconds back from the next pack of people. Thankfully near the mile marker two guys caught me and I tucked in behind them to try and get out of the wind. Hit the mile in 5:47 which was in my target range of 5:45 to 5:52.
The race was marked well and had mile markers and 1/2 mile markers as well as signs saying when you were 100 yards from the next mile. It was overcast and the second mile we were cruising along. I knew our pace wasn't quite as fast but we weren't falling back from the couple ahead of us so I just sat on the guys I was with. Hit mile 2 in 11:47 (6:00) and decided that was ok. Even if I ran 6:00 the rest of the way I would still break 30 which was my do or die goal. You head through the park on the next mile and my mini pack started to break up but I couldn't find another gear and had to let my "rabbits" go. I just kept telling myself to keep it up through 3 and see what I could do the last 2 miles. Hit 2.5 in 14:47 so I knew I was still holding steady at 6:00 pace and it felt controllable.
Mile 3 you head off the pavement and into the woods. Another 6:00 mile here and I knew it was time to go to work if I wanted to catch anyone and hold my place. My friend LT was shooting for 29:30 and I knew he would be gunning for me. Sure enough about 3.5 I heard some breathing behind me and he encouraged me to keep working. That got me moving a bit quicker and I managed to hold that mile to a 6:00 too, good for that mile since much of it was soft surface and winding.
With one to go the wind was at our backs and it was time to see if I had any juice left. We hit 4 miles at 23:47 so I knew I needed to keep up 6 or better to seal the deal. With about 1/2 mile to go the inevitable happened and LT passed me encouraging me to try and catch the next girl. We upped the pace but I just couldn't quite stay with him. It was sprinkling and the road was getting a little slippery. My traction was a little off but I did my best to up the ante and pick it up. With 1/4 mile to go I was pretty sure I wouldn't catch the next girl but I could hear footsteps behind me and I did not want to get caught! Coach as usual was encouraging me to get on my toes but I had to settle for running hard and upright. Surprised myself with a 5:44 to finish it out in 29:31.0.
Couldn't hold off LT or catch the 6th girl, but a 45 second PR and finally got that sub 6 monkey off my back so I am a happy girl! Keeping my PR streak going for the year. Another confidence booster for the marathon this fall!
Spirit of Columbus 2010
Last year I paced the Spirit of Columbus Marathon and I remembered thinking, damn I wish I was racing this. The weather was good, the course is a net downhill (About 210 feet of uphill and 378 feet of downhill creating a net drop of 2.42 m/km), and much of it is shaded. Race management could use some work, but overall it was a good race. So when I was deciding which half to go to to get an idea of what kind of endurance fitness I had this fall I decided this would be it. In addition past years the race had offered a decent prize purse which usually drew some serious competition. I was hoping there would be a good field to help push myself as well as take the pressure off. My last decent half was last fall at Buckeye and I do not feel I performed as well as I could due to putting too much pressure on myself. So with all that in mind I found myself on the road to Columbus this past weekend.
They canned the prize purse this year so the field was not stacked this year giving us mere mortals a chance to shine a bit. Columbus has some speedy chicks though so I wasn't sure what to expect place wise. Given the course is point to point and relatively fast I decided I should be somewhere between 6:10 and 6:20 pace. The great thing about having a slow for your fitness half PR is that even if I didn't meet those pace goals I would still have a significant PR. My worst case scenario goal was to break 1:24 since that is the standard for running the Columbus Marathon as an elite and I want to start right up front there this year.
I was lucky to be able to stay with a pacing friend that lives 15 minutes from the start so I got to bed early and up and to the race with no problem. In retrospect I should have woken up an hour earlier. By go time I still had to pee (for the umpteenth time) but had to go without because the porta potty lines were not moving and I needed to get to the start. So note to self at the marathon wake up 3 hours before go time and no more liquids after 2 hours to go. On the plus side I was definitely hydrated and had no problems with cramps etc.
The race started at 7:30 and thankfully the hot weather held off until later in the day. Still warm enough to get disgustingly sweaty, but humidity was low and for most of the race I was comfortable.
The half marathon distance is great because you really don't have to run at an aggressive pace, you never go completely anaerobic, you won't really ever suffer like you do in shorter races where you have to push your aerobic boundaries, and you won't run out of steam like in the marathon where you can run into endurance issues. The key is to find that sustainable pace and stay mentally focused throughout.
I was comfortable with my goal, mostly because during the week leading up to the race my legs were getting this twitchy feeling they get sometimes when I am ready for a breakthrough. So despite my struggles with tempos at paces slower than the goal I had a good feeling.
I lined up about 4 rows back from the start with another Second Sole runner and we awaited the gun. And we were off. I watched 3 or 4 girls take off quickly and knowing one was capable of a low 1:16 just let them go. A group of about 4 or 5 women and a few men were around me for the first mile. It seemed like the effort was good and despite starting a little quick I was sure we would settle in and this would be a good group to work with.
We hit the first mile and the clock read 31:30 something. It was awfully quiet so I made a crack about how it didn't feel like that mile was that slow. This seemed to break the tension a bit and got a few of the other gals talking who had run the race last year. In reality the mile was around 6:10 which was right in the ball park.
During the second mile I decided to pull forward with another gal who had been talking. I asked her just how "fast" she thought the course was and she said that she felt it evened out with the uphills. She had run a 1:24 there last year and was looking to do better. I stuck with her for about a mile but it was clear she wanted to push the pace so I let her inch ahead. Second mile was a little slower around 6:16. Just tried to focus on settling in. The next two miles had a long downhill before heading onto a bike path in the park. I was sitting about 20-30 meters behind the girl and trying to keep that gap from getting any wider. 6:14 and 6:09.
Mile 4
Through the park miles 4-6 I settled in a bit and was just gliding along. I could hear someone breathing pretty heavily gaining on me. It seemed awfully early to be working that hard. But this young girl passed me and I practiced patience letting her go. I then remembered there was a relay and wondered if maybe she was in the relay. Clipped off two 6:17s rolling through the park and got caught by a pack of about 5 runners that I had started with. I had decided I needed to catch up to the first girl I started with and upped my effort to stick with this pack and used them to get by the two girls by mile 7. (Neither of which were in the relay)
Mile 6 (I swear I am running 6:17 pace here even though it looks like I am walking)
There was one girl in the pack and I did my best to stay ahead of her. Miles 7 to 9 were rolling downhill and I did my best to pull ahead of the group (6:10, 6:09). But mile 10 was a slow false flat and the group once again caught and passed me as I clipped off 2 miles at 6:14. Again I decided to practice some patience and stick to my strengths (not uphills!). At 10 I did some math and realized if I could run a 20 minute 5k I would finish in 1:22:30. I knew I could keep the pace under 6:20 if I kept my effort up. It was warming up and the last 3 miles are the most boring part of the course. All in the sun and industrial.
I kept telling myself that I had sub 18 5k speed and I could close on the group if I worked on reeling them in. I missed the watch splits but knew my effort was there as I clipped a 6:15 to mile 11. I had trouble getting water at the aid stations and it was getting warmer but thankfully they had ice cold sponges which at least helped to cool me down! And a nice lady had water bottles which I was able to successfully grab for a quick drag.
Almost Done
Two miles to go just keep moving! I still wasn't gaining on the group but I was catching the stragglers. Unfortunately all guys. 6:13 to mile 12. 1.1 to go, let's turn it on Elizabeth. The group was starting to push and for a brief second I thought there is no way I can catch them, they are working together and I am by myself, but I pushed it out of my head and just focused on reeling them in. I asked myself what I would be doing if the girl ahead was in 1st and thankfully my response was I'd be doing exactly what I was doing right then, running as hard as I could to catch her. Hit mile 13 in 6:06 as I caught the female in the group. I encouraged her to push with me and told her we could break 1:22 if we hustled through the uphill (that's just cruel!) finish. We kicked it in and of course she was local so they are announcing her name and that she is a local TNT coach so of course I feel like a chump when I beat her to the line by one second.
Done
But I felt much better when I realized I had just run a 5 minute personal best. 1:21:51. Right in the middle of my goal pace range at 6:15. Also puts this at my best race of any distance to date. Even if you handicap it a little bit for the net downhill it would have been solidly in the 1:22 range. I was very pleased with my effort. I was engaged the entire race, and when I needed to step it up and get out of that 6:17 box to pass those two girls I did. It would have been really easy to settle in with them and lose a good minute or two off my final time. I'm very greatful that group came along when they did, even though we had different strengths and never ran together it was helpful to have a target when they were ahead and it was good fuel when I was ahead to keep pushing. I ended up as 4th female (First three chicks were in a race all their own finishing in 1:17 to 1:19) and 30th overall. Not a bad morning. What can I say Columbus has always been good to me. I now have 3 different distance PRs residing in Columbus.
Other than some hot spots on my feet I had no race soreness or cramps etc. It is so nice to run a race where the only limiter is your fitness and mental capacity to push yourself. My last long race was Boston and believe me it still doesn't sit well with me to have what should have been an amazing day turn into a complete struggle because my quads gave out and forced my mind into self preservation mode. It was great to be able to push my physical and mental boundaries on Sunday and let loose. I've still got a lot of work to do but this was a huge step in the right direction. Big confidence booster and more fuel in the fire!
They canned the prize purse this year so the field was not stacked this year giving us mere mortals a chance to shine a bit. Columbus has some speedy chicks though so I wasn't sure what to expect place wise. Given the course is point to point and relatively fast I decided I should be somewhere between 6:10 and 6:20 pace. The great thing about having a slow for your fitness half PR is that even if I didn't meet those pace goals I would still have a significant PR. My worst case scenario goal was to break 1:24 since that is the standard for running the Columbus Marathon as an elite and I want to start right up front there this year.
I was lucky to be able to stay with a pacing friend that lives 15 minutes from the start so I got to bed early and up and to the race with no problem. In retrospect I should have woken up an hour earlier. By go time I still had to pee (for the umpteenth time) but had to go without because the porta potty lines were not moving and I needed to get to the start. So note to self at the marathon wake up 3 hours before go time and no more liquids after 2 hours to go. On the plus side I was definitely hydrated and had no problems with cramps etc.
The race started at 7:30 and thankfully the hot weather held off until later in the day. Still warm enough to get disgustingly sweaty, but humidity was low and for most of the race I was comfortable.
The half marathon distance is great because you really don't have to run at an aggressive pace, you never go completely anaerobic, you won't really ever suffer like you do in shorter races where you have to push your aerobic boundaries, and you won't run out of steam like in the marathon where you can run into endurance issues. The key is to find that sustainable pace and stay mentally focused throughout.
I was comfortable with my goal, mostly because during the week leading up to the race my legs were getting this twitchy feeling they get sometimes when I am ready for a breakthrough. So despite my struggles with tempos at paces slower than the goal I had a good feeling.
I lined up about 4 rows back from the start with another Second Sole runner and we awaited the gun. And we were off. I watched 3 or 4 girls take off quickly and knowing one was capable of a low 1:16 just let them go. A group of about 4 or 5 women and a few men were around me for the first mile. It seemed like the effort was good and despite starting a little quick I was sure we would settle in and this would be a good group to work with.
We hit the first mile and the clock read 31:30 something. It was awfully quiet so I made a crack about how it didn't feel like that mile was that slow. This seemed to break the tension a bit and got a few of the other gals talking who had run the race last year. In reality the mile was around 6:10 which was right in the ball park.
During the second mile I decided to pull forward with another gal who had been talking. I asked her just how "fast" she thought the course was and she said that she felt it evened out with the uphills. She had run a 1:24 there last year and was looking to do better. I stuck with her for about a mile but it was clear she wanted to push the pace so I let her inch ahead. Second mile was a little slower around 6:16. Just tried to focus on settling in. The next two miles had a long downhill before heading onto a bike path in the park. I was sitting about 20-30 meters behind the girl and trying to keep that gap from getting any wider. 6:14 and 6:09.
Mile 4
Through the park miles 4-6 I settled in a bit and was just gliding along. I could hear someone breathing pretty heavily gaining on me. It seemed awfully early to be working that hard. But this young girl passed me and I practiced patience letting her go. I then remembered there was a relay and wondered if maybe she was in the relay. Clipped off two 6:17s rolling through the park and got caught by a pack of about 5 runners that I had started with. I had decided I needed to catch up to the first girl I started with and upped my effort to stick with this pack and used them to get by the two girls by mile 7. (Neither of which were in the relay)
Mile 6 (I swear I am running 6:17 pace here even though it looks like I am walking)
There was one girl in the pack and I did my best to stay ahead of her. Miles 7 to 9 were rolling downhill and I did my best to pull ahead of the group (6:10, 6:09). But mile 10 was a slow false flat and the group once again caught and passed me as I clipped off 2 miles at 6:14. Again I decided to practice some patience and stick to my strengths (not uphills!). At 10 I did some math and realized if I could run a 20 minute 5k I would finish in 1:22:30. I knew I could keep the pace under 6:20 if I kept my effort up. It was warming up and the last 3 miles are the most boring part of the course. All in the sun and industrial.
I kept telling myself that I had sub 18 5k speed and I could close on the group if I worked on reeling them in. I missed the watch splits but knew my effort was there as I clipped a 6:15 to mile 11. I had trouble getting water at the aid stations and it was getting warmer but thankfully they had ice cold sponges which at least helped to cool me down! And a nice lady had water bottles which I was able to successfully grab for a quick drag.
Almost Done
Two miles to go just keep moving! I still wasn't gaining on the group but I was catching the stragglers. Unfortunately all guys. 6:13 to mile 12. 1.1 to go, let's turn it on Elizabeth. The group was starting to push and for a brief second I thought there is no way I can catch them, they are working together and I am by myself, but I pushed it out of my head and just focused on reeling them in. I asked myself what I would be doing if the girl ahead was in 1st and thankfully my response was I'd be doing exactly what I was doing right then, running as hard as I could to catch her. Hit mile 13 in 6:06 as I caught the female in the group. I encouraged her to push with me and told her we could break 1:22 if we hustled through the uphill (that's just cruel!) finish. We kicked it in and of course she was local so they are announcing her name and that she is a local TNT coach so of course I feel like a chump when I beat her to the line by one second.
Done
But I felt much better when I realized I had just run a 5 minute personal best. 1:21:51. Right in the middle of my goal pace range at 6:15. Also puts this at my best race of any distance to date. Even if you handicap it a little bit for the net downhill it would have been solidly in the 1:22 range. I was very pleased with my effort. I was engaged the entire race, and when I needed to step it up and get out of that 6:17 box to pass those two girls I did. It would have been really easy to settle in with them and lose a good minute or two off my final time. I'm very greatful that group came along when they did, even though we had different strengths and never ran together it was helpful to have a target when they were ahead and it was good fuel when I was ahead to keep pushing. I ended up as 4th female (First three chicks were in a race all their own finishing in 1:17 to 1:19) and 30th overall. Not a bad morning. What can I say Columbus has always been good to me. I now have 3 different distance PRs residing in Columbus.
Other than some hot spots on my feet I had no race soreness or cramps etc. It is so nice to run a race where the only limiter is your fitness and mental capacity to push yourself. My last long race was Boston and believe me it still doesn't sit well with me to have what should have been an amazing day turn into a complete struggle because my quads gave out and forced my mind into self preservation mode. It was great to be able to push my physical and mental boundaries on Sunday and let loose. I've still got a lot of work to do but this was a huge step in the right direction. Big confidence booster and more fuel in the fire!
Columbus Marathon Training Week 5
Goals for the week were:
Total Mileage 65 - 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo run 5 miles @ 6:20
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Saturday: 5 miles easy
Sunday: Columbus Half (total miles for the day at least 16)
How it played out: 70 miles
M-8 miles easy trails 8:26 pace
T-AM 3 miles EZ, PM 10 miles with track
W-9 miles with 6*100 strides 8:04 pace
Th-10 miles with 5 mile tempo
F-8 miles easy 8:28 pace
Sat-5 miles easy with 3*100 strides
Sun-2 mile warm up with 4*100 strides, half marathon, 2 mile cool down
Tuesday Track Workout:
This one was tough. Goal 4*800 at mile race pace which is around 2:35-2:40 with 2:30 rest followed by 1600 at 5:40 pace
2:38.30 (2:28.69)
2:35.53 (2:31.60)
2:37.05 (2:32.13)
2:37.52 (5:40)
5:38.42
Thursday:
Shorter tempo because of the race. We had another speedy gal join us and the pace got pushed. My legs were feeling twitchy though, ready to do something impressive, so I just went with it.
Goal was 5 at 6:20, we ended up averaging 6:10.
6:15.82
6:10.6
6:13.25
6:08.29
6:03.84
Race Day:
Report to follow. Very happy with the results.
Total Mileage 65 - 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo run 5 miles @ 6:20
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Saturday: 5 miles easy
Sunday: Columbus Half (total miles for the day at least 16)
How it played out: 70 miles
M-8 miles easy trails 8:26 pace
T-AM 3 miles EZ, PM 10 miles with track
W-9 miles with 6*100 strides 8:04 pace
Th-10 miles with 5 mile tempo
F-8 miles easy 8:28 pace
Sat-5 miles easy with 3*100 strides
Sun-2 mile warm up with 4*100 strides, half marathon, 2 mile cool down
Tuesday Track Workout:
This one was tough. Goal 4*800 at mile race pace which is around 2:35-2:40 with 2:30 rest followed by 1600 at 5:40 pace
2:38.30 (2:28.69)
2:35.53 (2:31.60)
2:37.05 (2:32.13)
2:37.52 (5:40)
5:38.42
Thursday:
Shorter tempo because of the race. We had another speedy gal join us and the pace got pushed. My legs were feeling twitchy though, ready to do something impressive, so I just went with it.
Goal was 5 at 6:20, we ended up averaging 6:10.
6:15.82
6:10.6
6:13.25
6:08.29
6:03.84
Race Day:
Report to follow. Very happy with the results.
Columbus Marathon 2010 Training week 4
Weekly Goal:
Total Mileage 70 - 75.
Monday: Easy
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo run 2 miles @ 6:40, 5 miles @ 6:20
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these
days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Weekend:
Long run 18 miles @ 7:00.
10 miles @ 6:40.
How it played out: 77 miles
Monday 8.2 at 8:20
Tuesday 10.0 with track
Wednesday AM 8.2 at 8:25
Lunch 5.3 at 8:16 with 6*100 strides
Thursday 10.0 with tempo
Friday 5.4 at 8:45ish (forgot garmin)
Saturday 12.0 at 6:43 (10 at 6:31)
Sunday 18.0 at 6:58
Knew when I got the weeks workouts it would be tough. Basically jumping to 4 hard days while getting the mileage back up there. Thankfully the weather this week was not nearly as hot and humid as it has been.
Tuesday's track workout went well:
400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 all at 85 seconds per 400 with rest at half of the intervals time length
1:25.45 (43.89)
2:49.00 (1:26.30)
4:14.20 (2:09.70)
5:38.45 (2:49.85)
4:12.28 (2:10.57)
2:46.18 (1:26.52)
1:17.75
Thursdays tempo was another struggle. Not sure it is a coincidence that after having a kickass track workout I struggled with the tempo. Goal was 7 miles, 2@6:40 followed by 5 at 6:20. The new course we have been running on has some rollers and two of the miles are significant rollers, some nights I seem fine, but others I just get juiced by these miles and struggle the rest of the way. It is definitely getting frustrating falling apart on these workouts every 4th or so workout, especially considering the paces really aren't that fast. These should be very doable for me right now. My only other theory is that the work week just gets to me by Thursday evening.
averaged 6:34
Saturdays run went great. Ran with a couple of fast Second Sole guys and a fast local gal on the towpath in Akron. We started out at the goal 6:40 pace and kept it to 6:49 up the monster hill mile then the rest of the run was at 6:30 or better. 10 miles just shy of my 10 mile PR on a training day, so definitely a confidence booster.
Sundays long run didn't feel stellar but got it done at 6:58 pace and wasn't too much worse for wear. (Other than my ankle which has a huge gash on it from wearing bad socks Saturday, dumb move)
Total Mileage 70 - 75.
Monday: Easy
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo run 2 miles @ 6:40, 5 miles @ 6:20
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these
days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Weekend:
Long run 18 miles @ 7:00.
10 miles @ 6:40.
How it played out: 77 miles
Monday 8.2 at 8:20
Tuesday 10.0 with track
Wednesday AM 8.2 at 8:25
Lunch 5.3 at 8:16 with 6*100 strides
Thursday 10.0 with tempo
Friday 5.4 at 8:45ish (forgot garmin)
Saturday 12.0 at 6:43 (10 at 6:31)
Sunday 18.0 at 6:58
Knew when I got the weeks workouts it would be tough. Basically jumping to 4 hard days while getting the mileage back up there. Thankfully the weather this week was not nearly as hot and humid as it has been.
Tuesday's track workout went well:
400, 800, 1200, 1600, 1200, 800, 400 all at 85 seconds per 400 with rest at half of the intervals time length
1:25.45 (43.89)
2:49.00 (1:26.30)
4:14.20 (2:09.70)
5:38.45 (2:49.85)
4:12.28 (2:10.57)
2:46.18 (1:26.52)
1:17.75
Thursdays tempo was another struggle. Not sure it is a coincidence that after having a kickass track workout I struggled with the tempo. Goal was 7 miles, 2@6:40 followed by 5 at 6:20. The new course we have been running on has some rollers and two of the miles are significant rollers, some nights I seem fine, but others I just get juiced by these miles and struggle the rest of the way. It is definitely getting frustrating falling apart on these workouts every 4th or so workout, especially considering the paces really aren't that fast. These should be very doable for me right now. My only other theory is that the work week just gets to me by Thursday evening.
| 06:41.93 |
| 06:32.91 |
| 06:23.43 |
| 06:23.96 |
| 06:28.98 |
| 06:48.59 |
| 06:38.67 |
averaged 6:34
Saturdays run went great. Ran with a couple of fast Second Sole guys and a fast local gal on the towpath in Akron. We started out at the goal 6:40 pace and kept it to 6:49 up the monster hill mile then the rest of the run was at 6:30 or better. 10 miles just shy of my 10 mile PR on a training day, so definitely a confidence booster.
Sundays long run didn't feel stellar but got it done at 6:58 pace and wasn't too much worse for wear. (Other than my ankle which has a huge gash on it from wearing bad socks Saturday, dumb move)
Random Thoughts...
After a Hard Saturday Morning Run, to name a few:
Stop forgetting your Garmin!
Man when I am up I'm up and when I am down I am down!
Wonder if redlining it always results in such bipolar attitudes and workouts. (Or is this just me?)
Good company makes a tough run much easier.
Running hard runs with those whose max pace is much faster than yours is dangerous.
Damn I have to run 13.1 miles faster than this next week.
I wonder what the gas station guy thinks I am doing with the $4 ice bags I am purchasing every day.
Chugging two chocolate milks may not have been the brightest move post run.
Never wear those socks with trainers again, nasty ankle gash.
I'm sick of sweating so much that my shoes are soaked by the end of the run.
Stop forgetting your Garmin!
Man when I am up I'm up and when I am down I am down!
Wonder if redlining it always results in such bipolar attitudes and workouts. (Or is this just me?)
Good company makes a tough run much easier.
Running hard runs with those whose max pace is much faster than yours is dangerous.
Damn I have to run 13.1 miles faster than this next week.
I wonder what the gas station guy thinks I am doing with the $4 ice bags I am purchasing every day.
Chugging two chocolate milks may not have been the brightest move post run.
Never wear those socks with trainers again, nasty ankle gash.
I'm sick of sweating so much that my shoes are soaked by the end of the run.
A Question
As I polish off my third lemon in three days, I'm wondering: what is the craziest thing you've ever done to try and ensure marathon success?
Last free weekend for awhile
I've been so busy rushing around training, working, and trying to be social that the calendar is filling up before I can slow down to realize what I have added to it. Which is how this weekend ended up being the last free one for awhile. Remind me to enjoy it :)
Upcoming Events:
August 29th- Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon (Racing)
September 4th- North Coast Challenge 5 Mile (Racing)
September 12th- Rev3 Ironman (Cheering)
September 18th- Air Force Half (1:40 pacer)
September 25th- Akron Marathon Relay (Racing Anchor Leg)
Two weekends to breathe/taper
October 17th- Columbus Marathon (Racing)
Upcoming Events:
August 29th- Spirit of Columbus Half Marathon (Racing)
September 4th- North Coast Challenge 5 Mile (Racing)
September 12th- Rev3 Ironman (Cheering)
September 18th- Air Force Half (1:40 pacer)
September 25th- Akron Marathon Relay (Racing Anchor Leg)
Two weekends to breathe/taper
October 17th- Columbus Marathon (Racing)
Twilight Trail 8k 2010
This past Thursday was the Twilight Trail 8k race. This was my fourth year running it as part of a relay team. Each partner runs the full 8k and the team with the fastest combined finish time takes honors. The catch is this is an age and sex graded start race, with staggers for different age groups and sex to try and even up the field. At 7pm women over 60 start and at 7:16 pm the young men 30 and under will go off giving chase with staggers in between for all other age categories. In addition you can donate $5 to the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center to jump up one stagger.
"Warming" Up- AKA getting in our weekly miles
Ready to race
With the green light from coach my training partner and I traded in our tempo to team up and race Twilight Trail 8k, both paying the $5 donation. (It's a good cause, it's gives you an edge, and this way there are less people to pass at the stream crossing which is early in the race and can get congested) So we started the race at 7:08 PM. The course is all Bridle trail except for the start and finish which is a winding path through a large grass field. I stayed with my training partner for a little less than the 1st mile which takes you through the grass field, over a stream crossing (almost biffed it but managed to stay upright), and ends climbing a monster steep hill. I decided to save my self and try to avoid falling so far behind like I did last year by not pushing too hard up the hill. First mile was super fast still at 6:29 and I knew I'd have to push myself to hold that pace on the trails with the humidity and heat.
And we're off
I did my best to keep my partner in my line of sight and not let her open up the gap anymore. Last year I got caught by 2 females (one from a later wave and one from my wave) and a few men. It was my goal this year to not get caught. (And get in a good hard race). By mile 2 I was already off the markers. I don't take tangents well on roads, let alone trails and once again I managed to add a bit of trail to my run.
I could still see NC shortly ahead in the distance and was mentally willing myself to keep the pace and keep pushing to keep or lessen the gap she had on me. The next two miles just dragged mentally. It was hot and humid and boy 13 minutes can seem like an eternity when you are working hard (Especially since after about mile 3 there was no one left to pass from the earlier staggers)! But I managed not to fall too far behind and after mile 4 I closed back to about the same distance NC had gapped me in the first mile. As we neared the grass field finish I saw some CTC friends and smiled. There were a few small rollers here threatening to juice me, but by the time we hit the grass field I managed to up my effort and make that last mile (by my Garmin) the fastest in around 6:23. Managed to hold off all the guys from the later starts and place 2nd overall with a 32:52 with NC finishing 27 seconds ahead of me for us to sweep the team competition.
After catching our breath we cheered on some more friends and headed out for a 4 mile cool down with fellow teammate TM who snagged 2nd individual female for the evening.
I was happy to do much better than last year shaving about 2 minutes off my time. It was a good workout and being able to lead the field with my training partner was fun!
Final Stretch
Seriously Sweaty
Post Race Discussions
At least we clean up well!
"Warming" Up- AKA getting in our weekly miles
Ready to race
With the green light from coach my training partner and I traded in our tempo to team up and race Twilight Trail 8k, both paying the $5 donation. (It's a good cause, it's gives you an edge, and this way there are less people to pass at the stream crossing which is early in the race and can get congested) So we started the race at 7:08 PM. The course is all Bridle trail except for the start and finish which is a winding path through a large grass field. I stayed with my training partner for a little less than the 1st mile which takes you through the grass field, over a stream crossing (almost biffed it but managed to stay upright), and ends climbing a monster steep hill. I decided to save my self and try to avoid falling so far behind like I did last year by not pushing too hard up the hill. First mile was super fast still at 6:29 and I knew I'd have to push myself to hold that pace on the trails with the humidity and heat.
And we're off
I did my best to keep my partner in my line of sight and not let her open up the gap anymore. Last year I got caught by 2 females (one from a later wave and one from my wave) and a few men. It was my goal this year to not get caught. (And get in a good hard race). By mile 2 I was already off the markers. I don't take tangents well on roads, let alone trails and once again I managed to add a bit of trail to my run.
I could still see NC shortly ahead in the distance and was mentally willing myself to keep the pace and keep pushing to keep or lessen the gap she had on me. The next two miles just dragged mentally. It was hot and humid and boy 13 minutes can seem like an eternity when you are working hard (Especially since after about mile 3 there was no one left to pass from the earlier staggers)! But I managed not to fall too far behind and after mile 4 I closed back to about the same distance NC had gapped me in the first mile. As we neared the grass field finish I saw some CTC friends and smiled. There were a few small rollers here threatening to juice me, but by the time we hit the grass field I managed to up my effort and make that last mile (by my Garmin) the fastest in around 6:23. Managed to hold off all the guys from the later starts and place 2nd overall with a 32:52 with NC finishing 27 seconds ahead of me for us to sweep the team competition.
After catching our breath we cheered on some more friends and headed out for a 4 mile cool down with fellow teammate TM who snagged 2nd individual female for the evening.
I was happy to do much better than last year shaving about 2 minutes off my time. It was a good workout and being able to lead the field with my training partner was fun!
Final Stretch
Seriously Sweaty
Post Race Discussions
At least we clean up well!
Columbus Training - Week 2 and 3
Week 2 Goals:
Total Mileage 65 - 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo run 7 miles @ 6:30.
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 8:00 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these
days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Weekend:
Long run 18 miles @ 7:20.
10 miles @ 7:30 - 7:40.
Week 3 Goals:
Total Mileage 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Twilight Trail 8k or tempo run 7 miles @ 6:25
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these
days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Weekend:
Long run 20 miles @ 7:10 average for total distance with last 5 miles under 35 mins.
10 miles @ 7:00 - 7:20.
How it played out:
Week 2: 70 miles
Monday-8 miles 7:56 pace trails
Tuesday-10 miles with track
Wednesday-10 miles 8:28 pace
Thursday- 3 miles easy with 6*100
Friday-Tempo 7 at 6:23, 10 total
Saturday-10 miles 7:28 pace
Sunday- 18 miles at 7:11 pace
week 3: 70 miles
Monday-8 miles ~ 8:30 pace
Tuesday-8 miles with track solo
7:37 average
Wednesday- 9 miles 8:30 pace
Thursday- 3 mile warm up with strides, 8k trail race, 4 mile cool down
Friday- 4 miles easy with 6*100 strides 8:30 pace
Saturday- 10 miles solo 7:08 pace
Sunday- 20 miles solo, 7:17 pace, last 5 in 35:34
Key Workouts:
Track:
Last Week-8*800 with 90 second rests targeting 2:50. Solid workout all between 2:47 and 2:50.
This week- Ran by myself later to avoid the heat, original workout is moved to next week and instead we did 200s because of the heat. 16*200/200 jog aiming for 49s or whatever heat allowed. All but 3 in 39 something, 1 in 40 and 2 in 38 something. My head was not in it, just a bummer day for me, so I was glad my body was on board even though I wasn't really with it.
Tempo: Ran this one solo and pushed it back to Friday morning due to nicer weather. So glad I did. Hit all 7 miles under 6:30 and averaged 6:23 for the run.
Twilight Trail: Post to come, a fun night with friends and a good hard run
Long Runs:
Last week- both the 10 miler and 18 miler were a blast. The weather was cooler and I had good company. I've been becoming a bit of a shell of my perky self in this heat and hard training and both of these runs made me remember what it used to be like when i was a little less serious and most runs felt good and were just fun. Hopefully I can continue this pattern now that I know it's still there to be had even while achieving my goals.
This week: we are visiting friends in Cinci and I wasn't able to con anyone into keeping me company so I got in my ten yesterday while my friends ran their 8 and today I got in 20 while they all went disc golfing. Yesterday was pretty hot and humid but I survived and managed to hit the paces. Today was a little cooler but I got off to a late start and paid for it about half way through the run. Went a bit too far from the water source and was feeling pretty miserable by mile 14 when I got back to water. Literally took my clothes off and wrung them out before dousing my arms and face in cold water to try and bring my core temp down. My pace was falling off from the target so I just ignored the watch and did my best to run at the effort desired and finish it out. Despite carrying the handheld and 3 water stops I was just no match for the humidity here. Oh well, I was close and hopefully that is the worst conditions I will ever have to live through on a 20!
My right hamstring has been a bit tweaked since last Sunday so I am keeping an eye on it (and icing). My left ankle has just been stiff whenever I am not running. Also keeping an eye on it and making sure to stretch and ice. I can definitely tell I am in marathon training mode again! Hoping coach lets me bump up the miles some (despite this ridiculously hot weather), I think I need to boost my base, my strength on these long runs (and longer track repeats) is lacking right now. My speed seems good, but 2 of 3 long runs so far I have definitely not felt like a marathoner, I did not feel like I could run a fast marathon this morning, that's for sure. Let's hope once the weather breaks that changes!
Total Mileage 65 - 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Tempo run 7 miles @ 6:30.
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 8:00 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these
days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Weekend:
Long run 18 miles @ 7:20.
10 miles @ 7:30 - 7:40.
Week 3 Goals:
Total Mileage 70.
Tuesday: Track
Thursday: Twilight Trail 8k or tempo run 7 miles @ 6:25
Wednesday and Friday easy day @ 7:50 or slower at least 8 miles on one of these
days and 4 - 6 x 100.
Weekend:
Long run 20 miles @ 7:10 average for total distance with last 5 miles under 35 mins.
10 miles @ 7:00 - 7:20.
How it played out:
Week 2: 70 miles
Monday-8 miles 7:56 pace trails
Tuesday-10 miles with track
Wednesday-10 miles 8:28 pace
Thursday- 3 miles easy with 6*100
Friday-Tempo 7 at 6:23, 10 total
Saturday-10 miles 7:28 pace
Sunday- 18 miles at 7:11 pace
week 3: 70 miles
Monday-8 miles ~ 8:30 pace
Tuesday-8 miles with track solo
7:37 average
Wednesday- 9 miles 8:30 pace
Thursday- 3 mile warm up with strides, 8k trail race, 4 mile cool down
Friday- 4 miles easy with 6*100 strides 8:30 pace
Saturday- 10 miles solo 7:08 pace
Sunday- 20 miles solo, 7:17 pace, last 5 in 35:34
Key Workouts:
Track:
Last Week-8*800 with 90 second rests targeting 2:50. Solid workout all between 2:47 and 2:50.
This week- Ran by myself later to avoid the heat, original workout is moved to next week and instead we did 200s because of the heat. 16*200/200 jog aiming for 49s or whatever heat allowed. All but 3 in 39 something, 1 in 40 and 2 in 38 something. My head was not in it, just a bummer day for me, so I was glad my body was on board even though I wasn't really with it.
Tempo: Ran this one solo and pushed it back to Friday morning due to nicer weather. So glad I did. Hit all 7 miles under 6:30 and averaged 6:23 for the run.
Twilight Trail: Post to come, a fun night with friends and a good hard run
Long Runs:
Last week- both the 10 miler and 18 miler were a blast. The weather was cooler and I had good company. I've been becoming a bit of a shell of my perky self in this heat and hard training and both of these runs made me remember what it used to be like when i was a little less serious and most runs felt good and were just fun. Hopefully I can continue this pattern now that I know it's still there to be had even while achieving my goals.
This week: we are visiting friends in Cinci and I wasn't able to con anyone into keeping me company so I got in my ten yesterday while my friends ran their 8 and today I got in 20 while they all went disc golfing. Yesterday was pretty hot and humid but I survived and managed to hit the paces. Today was a little cooler but I got off to a late start and paid for it about half way through the run. Went a bit too far from the water source and was feeling pretty miserable by mile 14 when I got back to water. Literally took my clothes off and wrung them out before dousing my arms and face in cold water to try and bring my core temp down. My pace was falling off from the target so I just ignored the watch and did my best to run at the effort desired and finish it out. Despite carrying the handheld and 3 water stops I was just no match for the humidity here. Oh well, I was close and hopefully that is the worst conditions I will ever have to live through on a 20!
My right hamstring has been a bit tweaked since last Sunday so I am keeping an eye on it (and icing). My left ankle has just been stiff whenever I am not running. Also keeping an eye on it and making sure to stretch and ice. I can definitely tell I am in marathon training mode again! Hoping coach lets me bump up the miles some (despite this ridiculously hot weather), I think I need to boost my base, my strength on these long runs (and longer track repeats) is lacking right now. My speed seems good, but 2 of 3 long runs so far I have definitely not felt like a marathoner, I did not feel like I could run a fast marathon this morning, that's for sure. Let's hope once the weather breaks that changes!
Johnnycake Jog Report
A brief note about race reports and then a brief wrap up on Johnnycake. I definitely waited too long to get this one into print and lost some of the finer details!
Every race I think there should be some take away point. Some lessons learned, or some idea of why you were successful. Most of the time I find I like to have these recaps to be able and look back at what went right and wrong, and also I just like being able to relive the moment years later and remember everything like it was yesterday. Obviously I get detailed with my reports usually and that definitely serves me well when I want to go back and relive the moment, but I think I might be able to do a better job of summing up those key take away points to improve upon my racing in the future. So hopefully you will start seeing more of that in these reports too!
So way back on July 18th (Why is it that 3 weeks seems so long ago?) I toed the start for the Johnnycake Jog 5 miler. I can't lie I am not a fan of the event. It's hot, there no shade, but it is highly competitive and a lot of people love it. I went into it with the goal of breaking 30 minutes and the sub 6 minute barrier and I wanted to try my best to be between 2nd and 5th female (first is J.O. who is just that good that I don't even consider 1st for any races she is in). This was my second race as part of the Second Sole Akron team and there were a ton of the guys out and BB, NC, and I were out representing the ladies. A lot of green! So I also wanted to be a good representative of the team.
Looking back at my race report from last year I wanted to go out on pace and target a fast finish. So much for that, the gun was off and I decided to just cling to NC as long as possible. We were sitting in a group of 3 females already far behind 1st place and dodging construction barrels and the large groups of men near us. I decided once again not to use a watch. I wore it purely so I could know my time at the finish but didn't take splits. The miles where there were no timers I did look at my total time. Nice thing about a sub 6 goal is the math is easy.
First mile was quick in about 5:42. MB who I had keyed off of at Blossom was behind me and I should have realized that was not a good sign, but sometimes I guess you just have to go for glory. NC started to pull ahead but I held my own on the hill in the second mile and stayed close to the 3rd girl who I knew had run a high 28 here last year. Second mile was around 11:52 and I knew I needed to keep my head on and pick up the effort on a slightly downhill 3rd mile.
It got barren here and we headed into the sun. On and off I would be with a guy or two and eventually I closed on the 3rd place girl. 3rd mile was around 18:02 and I was not pleased to be behind the target. Got encouragement from a spectator that I was closing on 3rd and I upped the effort to pass her early in the 4th mile. I did my best to make the pass aggressive and hoped she wouldn't respond but I knew she had more speed in her than that.
Each time a guy would come up on me I would assume it was her or my friend MR who is getting back into things after a hiatus this spring. Both are capable of much better times than 30+. The least two miles of this race are straight and into the sun. I passed the 4th mile at around 24:08 and knew I was going to have to do something special to break 30. Every 400 meters is marked the last mile and once again I was made to realize why you go out conservative at this race because having no kick at the end of this race just sucks.
I managed to pass a few guys but also got passed by a few guys on my way to the finish line. Thankfully no girls came after me and I was able to snag 3rd in 30:16. Not my goal, and I wasn't happy. It was hot and I got dizzy at the finish line, I am sure I ran the best I could given how it went, but I obviously would have liked to have done better. That's the problem with racing your own personal clock. I need to learn that sometimes a podium finish is just as good as a desired time.
After a cool down with MR and NC and the Second Sole guys I was feeling a bit better about things and getting your picture in the paper and some money in your pocket doesn't hurt either :)
It's easy sometimes to forget all the progress I have made and realize that on a day when I missed my goal by 30-45 seconds I am still over a minute faster than the year before. I'll keep trying to remind myself of that when I get frustrated!
Take away points for next race:
1) Run my own race, yes it is a competition but I need to learn to run my own pace at the start and trust that I can close when needed
2) be happy with whatever you do as long as you ran your hardest, don't get so hung up on the numbers
3) warm up etc is still good, shoes are a problem still
Every race I think there should be some take away point. Some lessons learned, or some idea of why you were successful. Most of the time I find I like to have these recaps to be able and look back at what went right and wrong, and also I just like being able to relive the moment years later and remember everything like it was yesterday. Obviously I get detailed with my reports usually and that definitely serves me well when I want to go back and relive the moment, but I think I might be able to do a better job of summing up those key take away points to improve upon my racing in the future. So hopefully you will start seeing more of that in these reports too!
So way back on July 18th (Why is it that 3 weeks seems so long ago?) I toed the start for the Johnnycake Jog 5 miler. I can't lie I am not a fan of the event. It's hot, there no shade, but it is highly competitive and a lot of people love it. I went into it with the goal of breaking 30 minutes and the sub 6 minute barrier and I wanted to try my best to be between 2nd and 5th female (first is J.O. who is just that good that I don't even consider 1st for any races she is in). This was my second race as part of the Second Sole Akron team and there were a ton of the guys out and BB, NC, and I were out representing the ladies. A lot of green! So I also wanted to be a good representative of the team.
Looking back at my race report from last year I wanted to go out on pace and target a fast finish. So much for that, the gun was off and I decided to just cling to NC as long as possible. We were sitting in a group of 3 females already far behind 1st place and dodging construction barrels and the large groups of men near us. I decided once again not to use a watch. I wore it purely so I could know my time at the finish but didn't take splits. The miles where there were no timers I did look at my total time. Nice thing about a sub 6 goal is the math is easy.
First mile was quick in about 5:42. MB who I had keyed off of at Blossom was behind me and I should have realized that was not a good sign, but sometimes I guess you just have to go for glory. NC started to pull ahead but I held my own on the hill in the second mile and stayed close to the 3rd girl who I knew had run a high 28 here last year. Second mile was around 11:52 and I knew I needed to keep my head on and pick up the effort on a slightly downhill 3rd mile.
It got barren here and we headed into the sun. On and off I would be with a guy or two and eventually I closed on the 3rd place girl. 3rd mile was around 18:02 and I was not pleased to be behind the target. Got encouragement from a spectator that I was closing on 3rd and I upped the effort to pass her early in the 4th mile. I did my best to make the pass aggressive and hoped she wouldn't respond but I knew she had more speed in her than that.
Each time a guy would come up on me I would assume it was her or my friend MR who is getting back into things after a hiatus this spring. Both are capable of much better times than 30+. The least two miles of this race are straight and into the sun. I passed the 4th mile at around 24:08 and knew I was going to have to do something special to break 30. Every 400 meters is marked the last mile and once again I was made to realize why you go out conservative at this race because having no kick at the end of this race just sucks.
I managed to pass a few guys but also got passed by a few guys on my way to the finish line. Thankfully no girls came after me and I was able to snag 3rd in 30:16. Not my goal, and I wasn't happy. It was hot and I got dizzy at the finish line, I am sure I ran the best I could given how it went, but I obviously would have liked to have done better. That's the problem with racing your own personal clock. I need to learn that sometimes a podium finish is just as good as a desired time.
After a cool down with MR and NC and the Second Sole guys I was feeling a bit better about things and getting your picture in the paper and some money in your pocket doesn't hurt either :)
It's easy sometimes to forget all the progress I have made and realize that on a day when I missed my goal by 30-45 seconds I am still over a minute faster than the year before. I'll keep trying to remind myself of that when I get frustrated!
Take away points for next race:
1) Run my own race, yes it is a competition but I need to learn to run my own pace at the start and trust that I can close when needed
2) be happy with whatever you do as long as you ran your hardest, don't get so hung up on the numbers
3) warm up etc is still good, shoes are a problem still
Transition Week and 1st Week of training for Columbus
Seeing as we had a tough week with a mile time trial followed by a hard track workout resulting in a blown tempo followed by a 5 mile race coach decided we could use a transition week before hopping on the marathon training wagon. AKA we threatened with mutiny if we didn't get a break ;)
Careful what you ask for I guess. I know rest periods are needed, but I always seem to come out of them feeling lackluster and seem to respond better to just piling it on. Who knows why. I know the break was necessary physically and mentally. With no real break after Boston followed by 12 weeks of hard training and racing in the heat I was due. But as the stats show that first track workout back after break was rough. I just fell completely off the map and coach was not happy with my effort composure etc. Time to get my head back on straight! (I do think I redeemed the effort with a hard workout the following day, a successful tempo, and a long run done solo all in a row)
Transition Week Goals:
Total Mileage 35 - 40.
Tuesday: Track. Easy session
Thursday: No Tempo run
Every other day easy.
Long run: 12 miles
Marathon Week 1 Goals:
Total Mileage 60 - 65.
Tuesday: Track (5*1600 with 90 sec rest targeting 5:55 to 6:00)
Thursday: Tempo run 7 miles @ 6:30.
Long run 16 miles @ 7:20.
Wednesday or Friday easy day 10 miles @ 8:10 or slower.
2 days easy.
1 day 7:20 - 7:40 pace
How it played out:
Transition week I took advantage of the lack of workouts and hit the trails with friends and just tried to enjoy the runs I did and veg out on the days I didn't run.
36 miles
M- Rest
T- Track 9 miles 7:34 pace with 2 miles of stride 100 jog 100
W- Rest
Th- Trails 7.7 miles
F- 7.5 miles 8:34 pace
Sat- 12 miles 7:32 pace
Sun- Rest (Cheering at a rainy cold triathlon)
Marathon week 1 (AKA Crazy madness week)
Monday-8 miles easy 8:23 pace
Tuesday- 9.58 miles with 5*1600 last two were 6:27 and 6:23 rest were 5:55-5:56
Wednesday- 8 miles with xc kids including 21 minutes of running out and backs under 6 minute pace on xc course
Thursday- 11 miles with 7 miles at 6:25 pace
Friday- 16 miles at 7:17 pace solo
Saturday- no official running, worked burning river, got in a few sprints during the day though taking care of problems :). Hiked 4.1 miles clearing markers from midnight to 2 am.
Sunday- 10 miles 8:19 pace in the afternoon
Just shy of 63 miles.
Careful what you ask for I guess. I know rest periods are needed, but I always seem to come out of them feeling lackluster and seem to respond better to just piling it on. Who knows why. I know the break was necessary physically and mentally. With no real break after Boston followed by 12 weeks of hard training and racing in the heat I was due. But as the stats show that first track workout back after break was rough. I just fell completely off the map and coach was not happy with my effort composure etc. Time to get my head back on straight! (I do think I redeemed the effort with a hard workout the following day, a successful tempo, and a long run done solo all in a row)
Transition Week Goals:
Total Mileage 35 - 40.
Tuesday: Track. Easy session
Thursday: No Tempo run
Every other day easy.
Long run: 12 miles
Marathon Week 1 Goals:
Total Mileage 60 - 65.
Tuesday: Track (5*1600 with 90 sec rest targeting 5:55 to 6:00)
Thursday: Tempo run 7 miles @ 6:30.
Wednesday or Friday easy day 10 miles @ 8:10 or slower.
2 days easy.
1 day 7:20 - 7:40 pace
How it played out:
Transition week I took advantage of the lack of workouts and hit the trails with friends and just tried to enjoy the runs I did and veg out on the days I didn't run.
36 miles
M- Rest
T- Track 9 miles 7:34 pace with 2 miles of stride 100 jog 100
W- Rest
Th- Trails 7.7 miles
F- 7.5 miles 8:34 pace
Sat- 12 miles 7:32 pace
Sun- Rest (Cheering at a rainy cold triathlon)
Marathon week 1 (AKA Crazy madness week)
Monday-8 miles easy 8:23 pace
Tuesday- 9.58 miles with 5*1600 last two were 6:27 and 6:23 rest were 5:55-5:56
Wednesday- 8 miles with xc kids including 21 minutes of running out and backs under 6 minute pace on xc course
Thursday- 11 miles with 7 miles at 6:25 pace
Friday- 16 miles at 7:17 pace solo
Saturday- no official running, worked burning river, got in a few sprints during the day though taking care of problems :). Hiked 4.1 miles clearing markers from midnight to 2 am.
Sunday- 10 miles 8:19 pace in the afternoon
Just shy of 63 miles.
Busy Bee
I have a lot of updating to do here. Still need to post a Johnnycake report, two weeks worth of training need to be summarized, a report on speaking at a XC camp, and a report on another successful Burning River aid station would be nice.
But I am trying to get back into some sort of schedule and get my life back in balance and so far not doing a great job. Good news is there is some hope in sight :)
In the meantime a few photos
High Fiving Coach before Johnnycake
Post cheering at the Fairport Harbor Tri - Drenched!
First set of volunteers at Boston Store - Burning River 100 2010
But I am trying to get back into some sort of schedule and get my life back in balance and so far not doing a great job. Good news is there is some hope in sight :)
In the meantime a few photos
High Fiving Coach before Johnnycake
Post cheering at the Fairport Harbor Tri - Drenched!
First set of volunteers at Boston Store - Burning River 100 2010
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