Runner In Progress

Three Things Thursday

2012-03-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

1. I’m very happy to report that I will be heading back to the track tomorrow morning and giving my butt its first taste of speed in several months. I know that my form still has a long way to go, but everything has been feeling so much better in the last week or two. I’ve tried picking up the pace during my long run without any ill effects. So now it's time to see how it does with a tempo. I may end up getting there, warming up, and only running a mile, but it’s time to see where I stand. I know that soreness is likely (those right glute muscles aren’t used to working!), but if there is any hint of the burning pain from before or if the pain starts radiating down my hamstring, I’ll be shutting things down immediately.

2. Last night I went to my first CAR fun run. It always seemed like a great opportunity to have company for an easy run, but I knew that there was no way I could get home from work in time to change and drive to Falls Church before it started at 6:30. I mentioned this to Amy a few weeks ago and she pointed out that it starts at 7:00. Never mind that in every weekly CAR newsletter the fun run and 7:00 starting time are clearly listed in the workouts section. No, I was positive it was 6:30. No idea why. I'm glad that myth has been corrected because I had a great time last night and will be going back again. Also, I should probably start reading the newsletter a little more closely. Who knows what else I am missing?

3. Morgan wrote an interesting post earlier this week about race shirt sizing and the lack of small sizes (or women’s sizing) at many races. This is actually a big pet peeve of mine, so when she asked for people to post pictures of their worst offenders, I was happy to oblige.

This is a "small"

Trying to show how much extra fabric there is

Given that I set my marathon PR in Philadelphia, I would probably be wearing this shirt all the time if I wasn’t a tent. I understand when smaller races don’t have the budget for have men’s and women’s sized shirts, but I think it should be a standard offering at large races. Since most of these sell out long before race day, it can’t be all that hard to figure out exactly how many of each to order. At the very least, if it's unisex sizing, there should be an XS option.

I actually got an email once from a small local race the day before packet pickup saying that if you ordered a small you should get there early because they had fewer than were requested during online registration. The race director explained this decision by saying "we've all been at those races where the only shirts left were smalls. We seem to have dodged that problem." I was seriously tempted to email back and ask where these races are, because I would like to run them. I seem to only end up at the races where the shirts left are way too big!

Friday Four

2012-03-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

1. I had to do last week's long run on my own because I had a friend coming to town for the weekend, so I decided it was as good a time as any to try to pick up the pace a bit. Since I started PT I'd been taking it very easy and hadn't really tried to see how my butt would respond to a bit more effort. My plan was to run it as a progressive long run and back off if I ever got to a pace that caused pain. I ended up being very pleased with the paces that I was able to run and I didn't have pain during the run. I was, however, pretty sore for the rest of the weekend. I was hoping it was the "right" muscles that were sore (because they were finally working) since it was not the pain that I was having before. It's so hard for me to differentiate between all the muscles back there.

2. When I started swimming again in January, I knew it would be a good idea to pick a distance and time trial it every few weeks to track my progress. I debated between 1000 and 1650 and went with 1650 because it was closer to the actual race distance. So obviously that would be a better marker of my progress, or at least that was my rationale. Last week when I prepared to do my second time trial, I really wished I'd picked 1000 the first time. It's just a much more reasonable distance! But I felt like I'd committed myself and a 1000 time just wouldn't be quite the same, even if I was looking at pace per 100. I'll think more carefully next time I pick a TT distance for a future training cycle.

3. I've discovered it's extremely relaxing to lie on the floor with an ice pack on your hip/butt. I don't know why, but I almost fall asleep every time.

4. To reward myself for all of this swimming (and in advance of a big swim planned for Saturday), I picked up a new suit on Wednesday.

February Recap

2012-03-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

I might not have blogged much in February, but I was still getting my workouts in!

Miles: 89.09 (+ ~42 miles in the pool)

X-Training: 8 swims

Rest Days: 4

Race(s): None

New gear: Newtons! Of course I actually got these in January, but didn't get a chance to run in them until this month. So far I'm really liking them, but I'm limiting myself to one run a week.

Workout goals:
Smart return to running - My original "return to running" plans were derailed when I still was having butt pain when I started running again after my three week break. I started PT and am working diligently to get my right glute to do what it is supposed to do. Fortunately the PT didn't tell me that I needed to stop running, so I've delayed my return to the track and logged lots of easy miles.

Swim - I'm happy to saying that I met my goal of swimming 2x a week. I'm finally getting back to a happy place with swimming and I like it.

Planks and strengthening exercises - It wasn't quite what I envisioned, but my PT assigned me a number of daily strengthening exercises and stretches that I've been doing religiously.

Non-workout goal: Continue the apartment cleanup - I didn't get much done with this. I'm not sure what happened, but the month got away from me.

February was most certainly not the month that I was expecting. I was looking forward to a glorious return to running and had planned that by the middle of the month I'd be back at track and tempo workouts. Unfortunately, my body had other plans and I started PT instead. Given that "situation," I'm very pleased with the month I had. I still managed to run almost 90 miles and finally got myself back into a good swimming routine. I feel like I'm making progress in PT and I'm committed to doing whatever it takes to get my right glute working like it should.

March Preview

Workout goals:
(All of these are going to sound familiar)

Keep swimming! - The 2x a week schedule is working out well and I plan to keep it up in March

Smart running - I'd like to increase my mileage this month and keep on steadily working on my base. I feel like I'm close to the point where I could introduce a bit of speed back into my running schedule. I know that I need to be very careful about this and hyper-aware of how my body is responding. There's no need to rush this and cause more problems down the line.

Stretching and foam rolling - I'm not sure how many more weeks of PT I have ahead of me, but I know that even once that is over, I am going to need to keep up the stretching routine. I also know that I need to be better about using my foam roller on a regular basis

Races: None. I do plan on getting out and spectating some local races this month!

Non-workout goal: One of my "personal" goals for 2012 is to volunteer more. I have a few places in mind, but so far I haven't taken the time to reach out and get started. I will do this in March.

An update

2012-02-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

It seems I have been on a bit of an unplanned break.

Friday was going to be my glorious return to the track for tempo. You see, I’d had it all planned out. Three weeks off after Goofy, followed by two weeks of easy running to get my legs back into it. Then a week or two of tempo only before jumping back into full on training. Cherry Blossom Ten Miler on April 1 and then gunning for a big half marathon PR in early May. Except as you all know, life doesn’t always happen quite as we planned. Sometimes, it seems like the more I plan, the more the universe feels the need to tell me I’m not really in control.

I more or less avoided mentioning it here on the blog, but while training for Goofy I started to have pain in my butt when I was running. It was only on the right side and it was worse when I ran faster. The only time I went to a tempo workout it was radiating down into my hamstring. After consulting Dr. Internet, I was pretty sure that I was dealing with a piriformis issue. I knew I was running Goofy regardless, so I just stuck with easier runs during those last few weeks of December since my only goal was to finish. I figured that my body was just tired and overworked since the way I had scheduled things didn’t leave for much of a break after Philly. I was optimistic that my three week post-Goofy running break might be all I needed to get back to normal. As a precaution, I added a few piriformis strengthening exercises and stretches to my daily routine and kept my fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, as soon as I returned to running, the pain was back. It wasn’t the whole time that I was running and it wasn’t all that painful, but something was most definitely off on my right side. A week and a half after starting running again, I finally acknowledged that this wasn’t something I could (or should) keep ignoring. So I got the wheels rolling in the over-complicated process that is health insurance and referrals and got myself to a PT for an initial evaluation. The diagnosis? A lazy, non-firing right glute muscle. As a result, there are a lot of other muscles in my upper leg/butt that are compensating and working too hard, including the piriformis.

I’m now in week two of PT and learning how hard it is to activate a specific muscle, especially when it’s one that been lazy for a while. The first day for almost every exercise I heard, “Nope, hamstring. Try again. No, you're using your hamstring again.” Fortunately, I feel like I’ve made some progress, though I know it’s going to be a slow process. The regular stretching of my incredibly tight hip flexors, piriformis, etc. has definitely made a difference already. I’m also trying to (finally) be more diligent about foam rolling.

Since I wasn’t sure how I would feel after Goofy, I purposely didn’t sign up for many races. Although I had a number in mind, the only one I committed to was Cherry Blossom, and that was only because the lottery was held in December. I'm still doing long runs, so I have no concerns that I won’t be able to run Cherry Blossom. I’m just not sure if it will end up being an easy long run or, if I’m lucky, a tempo effort. The half may not happen. I’m not registering for anything else until I have this all sorted out. I won’t lie and say that I’m not disappointed. I am.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, this is a relatively minor issue. It’s one that is fixable and I will be able to get back to running the way that I was last fall. And I don’t even have to stop running while I get everything figured out (though I am avoiding any speed work since the pain is definitely worse as the pace picks up). So there are a lot of positives to the situation, but for now I’m still feeling a little cranky about it. I was really looking forward to getting back to CAR workouts and training hard. For someone who ran by herself 95% of the time until last fall, I quickly learned how much I enjoy running with other people. One of the most frustrating parts about all of this is that I'm not going to return to the track until I've gotten this fixed, so I’m left doing a lot workouts alone.

If I think about it logically, I know that I have plenty of time to train hard and run fast. And I know that all that time only exists if I fix this now. So that's what I'm going to do. And with no more whining or complaining since it does nothing to help the situation or speed up the process.

January Recap

2012-02-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

Miles: 53.16 (+ ~59 miles in the pool)

X-Training: 10 (4 elliptical, 6 swim)

Rest Days: 8

Race(s): Goofy Challenge - January 7 & 8 (Walt Disney World Half Marathon - 2:08:29 and Walt Disney World Marathon - 5:22:07)

New gear: Newtons! With my 3 week running break I haven't had a chance to run in these yet, but I'm really looking forward to working them into my shoe rotation in February!

Workout goals:
Smart recovery from Goofy - I got through my 21 day run break and am excited to get back to running. I think the break was good for me physically and mentally.

Mix things up during my running break - I managed a steady rotation of elliptical, pool running and swimming. I also started doing planks on a semi-regular basis.

Swim - I got myself back in the pool and am on my way to getting back in swimming shape!

Non-workout goal: Clean start to 2012 - I tackled 2 of the 3 closets in my apartment but I still have a ways to go. Still, I got rid of a ton of stuff including a VCR, phone and answering machine. Not sure why I've been storing this stuff for years!

I'm very happy with how January turned out. I kicked it off with races that I had been looking forward to doing since I ran my first marathon back in 2009 and had a blast running both of them. It was also a lot of fun to spend time with a friend who I hadn't seen in a while and visit Disney World for the first time in my life. During the rest of the month I spent more time at the pool than I probably have in the last 6 months combined. There were lots of easy "running" miles in the pool and I kick-started my swim training for the 70.3 relay in May (it is nice that I am only responsible for 1.2 of those miles!). The first two weeks off from running were great, but the third one was hard. By that point it was a challenge, so I had to make it through all 21 days! While I know there were a lot of physical benefits to taking this running break, right now I feel like the biggest benefit was mental. I went from feeling burned out before Goofy to being really excited to run. I just hope that I can carry this feeling through the rest of the spring!

February Preview

Workout goals:
Smart return to running - I know that 3 weeks isn't a really long time off, but I want to make sure I don't jump back into running too quickly. It's also been much longer than 3 weeks since I last went to a track or tempo workout. So my plan is to do two weeks of easy running and then in the third week I'll add a tempo workout. I don't know exactly when I'll start up interval workouts too, I'll let someone else make that decision.

Swim - My goal is two times a week (at least).

Planks and strengthening exercises - In January I started doing planks a couple days a week as well as some piriformis stretching and strengthening exercises. I was starting to have some nagging right piriformis pain before Goofy, so I need to make sure it doesn't progress to anything more serious.

Races: None - My legs need some time to build back up before I race again.

Non-workout goal: Continue the apartment cleanup - I've gotten a good start, but there is a ways to go.

An eating experiment

2012-01-31T10:13:00.000-08:00

At the end of December and beginning of January it seemed like a number of bloggers were tracking food or doing some type of cleanse. I liked reading their posts about what they learned and figured it might be a good experiment for me to undertake. I wasn’t up for a cleanse, but I was curious about how I was doing when it came to my diet. So, for the last 10 days I tracked all of my food on Livestrong’s MyPlate. I assumed that I was probably doing fine calorie-wise, since my weight tends to fluctuate in a relatively narrow range, but I was guessing that I’d probably find out that my diet was too carb heavy.

I discovered that I am actually consuming enough protein most days (at least according to the daily recommendations listed on MyPlate) and that my overall daily calorie intake is more or less in line with where it should be. I could stand to eat more fruits and vegetables, but I knew that. I know that writing my meals down actually inspired me to be a bit more creative at dinner time and not get lazy and just heat up a can of soup or have a bowl of cereal. So now I just need to carry that motivation forward.

I think the most interesting thing that I noticed by writing down what I was eating (and when I was eating it) was that I am usually so hungry by the time that I get home from work (in the 6:00-6:30 range) that I end up snacking while I am making dinner. While I almost always eat a morning snack, I haven’t been eating an afternoon snack. I’m not sure why I’ve been in this routine, but seeing it written down made me realize that I am going too long in the afternoon without food. I usually eat breakfast around 8:00, a morning snack sometime around 11:00 and lunch at 1:00. But then I was going from 1:00 to 6:30-7:00 without anything. After noticing this pattern, I started implementing an afternoon snack and no longer come home with a growling stomach! I’m sure it’s healthier to space it out like this (and prevents energy highs and lows) and then I don’t end up filling up on snacks before I finish making my dinner.

So now that I’m snacking more at work, I need to make a better effort to diversify my snack selection. I have a snack drawer at work but it’s heavy on granola bars and Clif bars. While these are good in moderation, ideally I’d like to add some less processed items to the mix. Obviously what’s stored there has to be non-perishable so I went to Trader Joe’s last week and picked out an assortment of nuts and dried fruits. I think my goal is going to be to attempt to pack one perishable snack like fruit, carrots and hummus, or Greek yogurt and rely on the snack drawer for the other. I already bring my lunch most days so it won’t be that much extra effort to grab something for a snack too. But now I need your help. What are your go to snacks?

Tracking food is definitely not something I would do on a regular basis, but it was helpful for a brief period. In just 10 days I learned a lot about my eating patterns and how I can diversify/improve my general diet. I could see myself tracking another week when I am marathon training, to make sure that I am actually eating enough to offset the huge calorie burn.

Friday Four

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

1. I was doing really well with the run break until this week. I took most of the first week off and then last week (week two) I enjoyed starting swimming again and didn't mind pool running instead of land running. I certainly thought about running, but didn't feel any particular NEED to go running. But this week things changed. I have felt like I've had the worst taper brain ever. I've been cranky and I've had lots of weird aches and pains pop up. I also started counting down the days until Monday when I will run again. I clearly could go out and run today or this weekend, but I'm determined to make it through the 21 days run-free. I have no idea if these last few days will make any difference, but it's a challenge and I'm going to make it to the end.

2. Yesterday I didn't sleep well and just couldn't get myself out of bed to go to the pool before work. So I ended up swimming last night. I can't even remember when the last time was that I worked out in the evening. It was fine (and the pool wasn't as crowded as I feared it might be), but on the drive home all I could think about was having a giant bowl of cereal for dinner. The only other thing that seemed even mildly appealing was a bagel with peanut butter. That's right, apparently my body is so conditioned to exercising in the morning that all I want to eat after a workout is breakfast foods.

3. Last summer I really enjoyed swimming again, but still managed to abandon it during marathon training in the fall. I didn't swim once between Labor Day and mid-December. I can't let that happen again this spring once I get back into heavy run training. Not only do I have a relay to get ready for, but I also hope to do some other open water races this summer. And I really do like it, once I get myself back in the water on a semi-regular basis. So if I start talking about how I just can't seem to find the time or motivation to go swim or that I haven't been to the pool in over a week, please yell at me.

4. Every time it rains I remember that I need to find a good lightweight, breathable running rain jacket. The one that I have was advertised as a running jacket but is not breathable. Given how much it makes me sweat, I think I actually stay drier running the rain without it. I'll probably read a ton of reviews and try a bunch on, but if you have one that you love, please let me know!

Three Things Thursday

2012-01-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

1. If for some reason it wasn't clear from my race reports, I would highly recommend everyone do the Goofy Challenge. Disney runs an extremely organized race and the on course entertainment was second to none. I can't imagine doing it as a race though, I definitely think it is far better as a running experience. That being said, I don't see myself signing up for any more Disney races in the future or heading back there year after year (from the number of people I saw in race shirts from previous years, the Disney races have a loyal following). So far I've avoided repeating marathons because I feel like if I'm going to run that far I'd like to have some different scenery. I can only imagine that the experience at Disney would be similar year after year. And since I wouldn't be trying to improve on a time, I don't know that I want to repeat that (somewhat pricey) experience.

2. Right now I am just about halfway through my self imposed run break. After jumping straight into Goofy training after the Philly marathon, I knew that I needed to give my legs some time off. I actually felt surprisingly good in the few days after Goofy, but I'm sticking with the plan because I know it's the smart thing to do. I'm already looking forward to getting back to running, so that can only be a good thing. In the meantime I'll be pool running, elliptical-ing and doing lots of laps to get myself ready for a fast swim leg at Kinetic.

3. I realized last night that with the addition of the Newtons to the rotation, I will have a lot of shoes to choose from when I go back to running.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T06:05:00.000-08:00

Just a few more race photos from Goofy to show that it wasn't all photo stops and roller coasters, I did do some running!

Walt Disney World Marathon Race Report

2012-01-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

The plans for this race started over two years ago at the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon. My friend Katherine came up to run and we decided post-race that our next marathon adventure would be Disney. Unfortunately some schedule conflicts prevented us from making the trip in 2011, but we signed up for the 2012 race on the first day registration opened in March 2011!

Katherine was planning to run a slightly slower pace than I would if I ran on my own, but I decided I would stick with her and run her pace. This race was never going to be about time and knew it would be a lot more fun if we made all the stops together instead of alone.

Somewhere in the stretch between the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom they were handing out bananas. Best idea ever. My stomach was so happy. They handed them out again sometime later too, maybe around 18-19. Disney, I applaud you. Every race should do this.

Villains!

Between miles 16 and 17, the course in Animal Kingdom took us right by the Expedition Everest roller coaster. We saw two people ahead of us go in and when we saw that there was almost no wait (5 minutes), we headed in as well. Because when else are you going to have the chance to ride a roller coaster in the middle of a marathon?

After finishing the ride and tweeting about it (of course!) we were back to running.

Hey, see that mountain? We just rode that roller coaster!

The stretch of highway between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios was the longest part of the race for me. There was minimal entertainment and the temperature was starting to rise. This was where the race started to get a little weird for me. My legs (particularly my quads) were sore, but because I was running a slower pace than I normally would, the rest of me felt pretty good. I don't think that my heart rate ever got all that high and felt like I could go faster. I definitely never entered that pain zone/mental fog that normally shows up in the last few miles of a marathon. I certainly was looking forward to finishing but I never NEEDED to be done.

Finally we passed mile 21 and made the turn into Hollywood Studios. They were handing out fruit snacks (and chocolate - which I missed) at the first water stop in the park. Again, I have to hand it to Disney on the food and water stations. There were some Clif Shots stations, bananas, oranges, fruit snacks and chocolates. And it seemed like we were getting water almost every mile. Very well done and organized.

Really sad these guys weren't out the day before when I was in costume

We followed some kind of boardwalk to get from Hollywood Studios to Epcot and then we just had to run "around the world" before finishing. I'm not sure if it hurt or helped that we have spent the previous afternoon at Epcot and I knew exactly how far we had to go.

This was probably at mile 25.9. What's one more stop?

This was my fifth marathon, but the first time I have actually run the whole race with someone else. So we had to finish hand in hand!

39.3!

By far the most fun I have ever had running a marathon. Also the most time I have ever spent running a marathon, but I suppose that was to be expected.

Walt Disney World Half Marathon Race Report

2012-01-12T06:11:00.000-08:00

Goofy race weekend started on Friday with a trip to the expo.

I managed to escape without making too many purchases. Just a nice race memento...

...and some Newtons.

Oops.

On Saturday morning my alarm went off at 2:30 and on the first bus (3:00) over to the start/finish area at Epcot. I hadn't been sure how early I needed to get there or how crowded the buses would be. I ended up at Epcot at 3:15, which led to a ridiculous amount of waiting. I sat around for a while. Finally shed my warm up pants and checked my bag around 4 (I had a throwaway jacket) and then stood around some more until they let us start the walk to the start area around 4:30. The walk took about 20 minutes and then there was more standing around in the starting corrals until the race started at 5:30. Thanks to my Philadelphia Marathon time I was able to move from corral E to corral B, so I was running pretty quickly after the elites started.

I had been debating for a while how to run this race. I knew that slow was safe, but I was also tempted to go after my PR. Although it's less than a year old, I feel like it's relatively soft (1:59) given that in Philly I ran two 2:00 halves back to back. I thought that I could probably run comfortably at a 9:00 minute pace and finish with a new PR. However, I knew that if I was going to miss a PR, I wanted to miss it by a fair amount. Finishing in 2:00 or 2:01 would earn me nothing and would be too fast to be considered super easy. I decided on Friday that I would see how I felt in the first few miles of the race and make the call.

I started around 9:30 pace and dropped to about 9:15 in the second mile. When I tried to drop the pace again in mile 3, I realized that my legs weren't having it. While 9:20-9:30 pace felt really comfortable, that jump down to 9:00 was going to require more effort than I was sure I wanted to take on. I knew that to make up for the slower than 9:00 pace in the first two miles, I would have to get into the 8s at some point to PR. I could see myself struggling and then finishing in 2:00. I made the decision right then to back off and stopped looking at my Garmin. I was going to do exactly what I said I would in my goals post, stop and take pictures and enjoy myself. After making this decision I immediately felt relieved and knew that meant I was doing the right thing.

Since the race started so early, it was still dark for the first half, so I didn't see the point in stopping for character photos. I also knew that the marathon didn't get to the Magic Kingdom until mile 11 or 12, so I figured I'd save those pictures for the next day when it would be lighter.

But I had to stop for pirates!

The sun was starting to come up as I left the Magic Kingdom and there were plenty of characters out as we ran past the fancy resorts near the park and back onto the highway to Epcot.

Then I was back in Epcot and it was a short dash to the finish line.

That's a barefoot Fred Flintstone ahead of me

I finished in 2:08:29, which was fine with me, and picked up my special 15th anniversary Donald medal.

Then it was back to the hotel for a quick nap while my friend Katherine and her husband headed to the expo to pick up her marathon bib and then we headed to Epcot for the afternoon. My quads felt a bit sore, but other than that I felt pretty good. And lots of walking is the best thing to do between races, right?

Wordless Wednesday - Goofy Success!

2012-01-11T06:05:00.000-08:00

Goofy Challenge Goals

2012-01-06T04:38:00.000-08:00

As you may know, based on the fact that I've mentioned it close to a million times, I'm running the Goofy Challenge this weekend! The fact that I will be running 39.3 miles in two days still doesn't seem quite real. But my bags are packed and I'm ready for some warm Florida sun after a chilly start to the week here in the DC area. This is most definitely not a race for me, it's an experience. So my goals for this weekend are pretty simple: FINISH & FUN.

It would be nice to not have a PW in each race, but as long as I cross that finish line and collect my medals, I don't really care. I don't know if I'll ever do another Disney race so I want to make the most of it. This also happens to be my first ever trip to Disney World so I want to take it all in. I'm planning to run with my camera and stop to get pictures with a lot of the characters, particularly during the marathon on Sunday. I'll also have my phone and may attempt some mid-race social media updates, we'll see. I read that the parks open at 9:00am, and even with a 5:30 start I'll still be running on marathon day, so if the opportunity to ride a ride presents itself, I will take advantage!

2012 Goals

2012-01-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

2011 was the best year so far of my relatively short running career and I am hoping that 2012 will be even better. While I hope set plenty of new PRs, I don't want to make specific times my main goal. Instead I am choosing to focus on the process and setting goals that will ultimately help me become a better, stronger runner (and athlete). I know that if I work on achieving these goals, faster times will come along with them. That being said, these are my main goals for 2012.

Run more
In addition to being something that my coach advocates, I can see the difference that running more miles has made for me in my own somewhat limited running history. I started tracking miles in 2009, the year I trained for my first marathon (Marines Corps) and the year I started to think of myself as a runner. In 2009 I ran 595 miles, in 2010 1101 miles and in 2011 1284 miles.

2010 Baltimore marathon

All of my current PRs are from 2011. While joining a team and starting regular speedwork certainly had a lot to do with my fall PRs (8k, 10 mile, marathon), I know that all of the running I did in 2010 is the biggest factor in the PRs I set last spring (5k, 10k, 10 mile (since broken), half marathon). And I don't think I would have seen as many benefits from speedwork without a solid base. I got to 50 miles in a week for the first time ever and I want to make sure I hit that weekly total more often the next time I am training for a marathon.

So one of my biggest plans for 2012 is to run more. The goal? 1400 miles. While I am putting a specific number out there, getting to 1400 isn't what really matters to me. I'm not going to push to hit a certain number of miles each month or fight through injuries to make sure I hit that number. I'm just going to focus on the process of building and maintaining a strong base and taking a break (or running in the pool) when my legs and body need it.

Pick up the pace on long runs

I introduced speedwork to my training for the first time in 2011. It started with solo visits to the track during training for the National Half and really picked up when I started running with CAR in the fall. I know that this made a huge difference for me and fully intend to keep it up in 2012. However, one area where I'd like to focus on working harder is during my long runs. I know that in order to improve my marathon time, I'm going to need to practice running at a faster pace. I know that there is a danger in running long runs too fast, so obviously I need to find the right balance. So I'll focus on continuing to start slow and finish fast, while working to bring my average pace for the run down.

Just because I love the numbers, here are the times for my last two marathons along with the average for the long runs (17+) during each training cycle.
2010 Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon - 4:40:34 (10:42 pace) - Avg. long run pace - 11:35
2011 Philadelphia Marathon - 4:01: 23 (9:12 pace) - Avg. long run pace - 9:50

I know one of the big reasons that I was able to PR by 39 minutes in Philadelphia was that I ran my long runs over 90 seconds faster per mile. I believe that if I work over the course of this year to drop my long run pace by 20-30 seconds, I will see a corresponding drop in my marathon race pace.

Get back to swimming
As a former swimmer, I have burned out on the pool more times than I can count. I took a few years off after college, then did Masters for about two years and then stepped away for a few more years. When I decided to try triathlons last summer, I headed back to the pool again. While I discovered that I am not cut out to be a cyclist, I really enjoyed getting back in the pool and swimming more than a casual 1000-1500 yards.

Unfortunately, once marathon training started in the fall I totally abandoned swimming and didn't go to the pool once between Labor Day and mid-December.

So one of my goals for 2012 is to get back in the pool more regularly. I'm not sure that I want to do any triathlons this summer, but I do want to do a couple of open water swims and I'm already committed to the swim leg of a half ironman relay. If I want to do well in those events, then I need to be swimming more than once a month. I'd like to swim at least 50 times this year. Once a week isn't a lot but I think it's a good average for the year since I'm sure I'll swim more during the summer and less next fall when I train for Richmond. I think having a number will keep me on track, rather than just pledging that I will swim "more."

Core/weight training
I am being somewhat optimistic putting this on here. Core and weight training are things I truly struggle to fit in and I don't hold out high hopes that 2012 will be any better. But perhaps by being more aware that this is something I need to work on, and actually listing it as a goal, I will make some progress. I know I need to start simply and that less is more when it comes to adding new activities to my regular routine. If you have any tips or routines/programs that have worked for you, please share them. I will need all the help I can get to meet this goal!

So these are the four areas I'll be focusing on in 2012. I know that January 1 is an arbitrary date, but I like using the start of a new year to evaluate where I am and refocus on where I want to be and what I need to do to get there. I'm looking forward to putting in a lot of hard work over the next 12 months and continuing to progress as a runner.

December Recap

2012-01-02T07:43:00.000-08:00

Miles: 114.93 (+ ~42 miles in the pool)

X-Training: 6 (4 elliptical, 2 swim)

Rest Days: 5

Race(s): Fairfax Four Miler (Dec. 31) - 35:01 (a fun run with friends to end the year)

New gear: Nike Frees! I don't intend to run in these, but they'll be my gym and walking around shoes.

Workout goals:
Get in a few good long runs - Not every long run was quite as long as I had planned, but I got in a good 17 miler and I think I've done enough to survive Goofy.

Pool run at least once a week - Done. I've really enjoyed my Wednesday morning pool runs and I think they are something I should try to keep on the schedule even when I get back to more serious training.

Stay motivated and mix things up when needed - Done. My motivation hasn't always been high, but I think I did a good job this month making sure that I got some kind of workout in most days.

Non-workout goal: Get back to trying new recipes. I've been slacking the last few months. I did a so so job here. I did cook more though I didn't try a ton of new recipes.

Ice cream flavor of the month: Ice cream was replaced by Christmas cookies this month!

December was an interesting month. I started off wishing that I could have taken a longer break after the Philadelphia marathon, but that wasn't a real option with the Goofy Challenge just over a month away. I decided I'd mix in more pool running and cross training and focus on getting in some type of cardio workout six days a week, rather than pressuring myself to run five times a week. In the end, I think this plan worked out well. I still ended up with more than 100 miles of running and if I add my land and pool miles together, it was actually my third highest total of the year (after the big marathon training months of September and October). So I think I'm ready for Goofy, but I'll know for sure next weekend!

January Preview

Workout goals:
Smart recovery from Goofy - I know that running 39.3 miles in a weekend is going to be a strain on my body and I want to make sure I am smart about recovery so that I can have a strong 2012. With that in mind, I plan to take 3 weeks off from running post-race.

Mix things up during my running break - I don't intend to take a full 3 weeks off from exercise, so this is a good opportunity to try some new things or get back to others that I have neglected (like swimming and yoga)

Swim - I was really enjoying being back in the pool last summer but that got completely abandoned during marathon training. Since I'd like to do some open water swimming this summer, I know I need to start getting back to the pool (even if it is only once a week). What better time to start than during my post Goofy running break?

Races: Goofy Challenge (January 7-8)

Non-workout goal: Clean start to 2012 - I like the idea of the new year being a fresh start and with that in mind, I think it's time to do a good cleaning of my apartment and get rid of those items that I never use and clothes I never wear.

2011 in Pictures

2011-12-29T06:11:00.000-08:00

January

Back at the track

February

Almost half PR on a long run

March

Four Courts Four Miler

April

Crystal City 5k

May

First triathlon!

June

Lots of time on the bike

July

Culpeper Sprint Tri

August

Centennial Lake swim

September

Morning run commutes

October

Army Ten Miler

November

Philadelphia Marathon

December

Still wearing shorts!

Christmas Eve Treadmill (Almost) Half Marathon

2011-12-27T10:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it. I completed my long run on the treadmill on Saturday afternoon. Here are some thoughts from my Christmas Eve treadmill (almost) half marathon.

Minute 0 – This treadmill can’t be set for distance, only time?!? And it maxes out at 60 minutes?

Minute 1 - How many channels are there? If TV package no longer includes Fox I may kill someone. Most likely myself

Minute 3 - FINALLY I found the game. And the Redskins are losing. Excellent.

Minute 10 - This isn’t so bad. Why do I stay away from the treadmill?

Minute 12 - These announcers are horrible.

Minute 15 - I hate the treadmill. Could time go by any slower? It’s going to be LONG afternoon.

Minute 20 - I should probably bump up the pace here...or just wait until 30 minutes instead.

Minute 25 – These socks are making my legs really hot. Why did I chose to test them out inside?

Minute 30 - Speeding up!

Minute 40 - Why does Honey Stinger make this package so hard to open? It says “tear here” yet it seems to be impenetrable

Minute 42 - I’m really not going to get this open.

Minute 44 - Ugh. That took long enough. Now I remember why I always pre-tear the packages.

Minute 45 - Fruit Smoothie flavor is quite nice.

Minute 52 - I really wish the treadmill wasn’t stopping in 8 minutes. It’s going to be really hard to force myself to restart it. Also, why is halftime so long? This is boring, though that Cincinnati touchdown was pretty cool.

Minute 60 - 6.35 miles done. Cancel cool down, push lots of buttons, please restart faster!!!

Minute 61 - I have to do this all over again and then some. Can I pick up the pace to fit in 6.8 miles in this hour? Probably not…

Minute 70 - Oh man, that Adrian Peterson knee injury looked REALLY bad.

Minute 75 – I should really practice tweeting while running. That would be a good skill for Goofy. Except I probably am not coordinated enough for treadmill tweeting.

Minute 80 - Time for another snack! And I guess I'll pick up the pace again.

Minute 84 - #$!#%!@% Almost went flying off the back of the treadmill. Totally distracted by that 67 yard run by Toby Gerhart. Why can’t the Redskins tackle?

Minute 93 - How did the Redskins blow out the Giants last week and look so bad this week?

Minute 100 - I probably don’t really need to run 13.1 miles. I mean is there really a reason to run a Christmas Eve half marathon? 1.1 miles won’t make or break Goofy...right?

Minute 101 - But a treadmill half marathon just sounds so much nicer.

Minute 105 - No, 13 is too far. And completely unnecessary. What do I need to get to on this leg to get to 12? Running math is so hard…

Minute 110 - I can’t stay on this treadmill another 9+ minutes. I should be able to do anything for 10 minutes, but I just can’t.

Minute 111 – And…5.65 miles. I’m done. Unfortunately, it appears that the Redskins are too. This was not one of my better ideas. At least I don't have to do a long run on Monday now.

Running with the Redskins

2011-12-22T11:11:00.000-08:00

With it being a holiday weekend, my schedule is a little crazy and the only options I have for fitting in my long run are Saturday afternoon or Monday morning. I'm hoping to get in a short Christmas Day run, but I don't think there will be enough time for 13 miles.

Saturday afternoon also happens to be when the Redskins play the Vikings in a game that is likely to be bad in every way possible. Yet as a dedicated fan (read - this is an addiction I can't break), I still want to watch. So I started to think, is it possible to get in my run and follow the game? I determined there are two options. I can run outside while lugging my giant old school Walkman so I can listen to the game on the radio or I can run on the treadmill and watch the game on TV. I am not exactly on friendly terms with the treadmill and haven't been on one since sometime last winter. But maybe the game would be enough of a distraction for me to complete my longest treadmill run ever?

(source)

Love of Redskins > Hate of treadmill?

Now I almost feel like I have to try it, just to see if I can. If Michael Wardian can run a treadmill marathon during an Orioles game, I can manage to complete a half during a Redskins game. Right?

And besides, it will offer plenty of opportunities for the running version of drinking games.
Take a gu every time Rex Grossman throws an interception (at least I'll be well fueled?)
Shots of water every time the Redskins defense gives up a big play?
Increase the treadmill speed if the Vikings score?
What else?

Really, the possibilities are endless. And I'm pretty sure yelling at the TV is an excellent way to make new gym friends.

Wordless Wednesday - Cozy Cat

2011-12-21T06:17:00.000-08:00

Sometimes there's nothing better than curling up under a down blanket.

Halfway to Goofy

2011-12-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm halfway through my "intense" six week training program for Goofy and I'd say for that for the most part, things are going well.

Here was the plan:
During the week-Run 2-3 times
-Pool run at least 1 time
-Rest day
-If I only run 2 days then I'll throw in another pool run or elliptical session
Weekends
December 3-4: 10 miles (DONE)
December 10-11: 13-14 miles
December 17-18: 16-18 miles
And here's what I've actually done:
November 28-December 4
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Run 4.21 mi
Wednesday - Pool run 60 min/6 mi
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Elliptical 45 min
Saturday - Run 5.1 mi
Sunday - Run 10.25 mi

December 5-11
Monday - Run 4.1 mi
Tuesday - Pool run 70 min/7 mi
Wednesday - Run 4.1 mi
Thursday - Pool run 70 min/7 mi
Friday - Elliptical 45 min
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Run 7.9 mi (with Lauren!)

December 12-18
Monday - Elliptical 45 min
Tuesday - Run 4.31 mi
Wednesday - Pool run 70 min/7 mi
Thursday - Run 5.15 mi
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Run 8 mi
Sunday - Run 17.35 mi, Swim 1000 yds

Other than the weekend of December 10-11, when I was planning on 13-14 miles and did just under 8, I've managed to stick to the plan. And on that run my ankle was feeling somewhat cranky so it didn't seem worth it to tack on some extra miles by myself after Lauren and I had finished the trail loop. I've decided not to push my legs with a 3rd run during the week so I've replaced that with either a 2nd pool run or an elliptical session. All in all, I'm happy with what I've done and how well I've stuck to the plan, especially since there have been some days when my motivation was severely lacking. I guess only time will tell if this was actually a good plan to follow!

Today my legs are a bit sore after my big running weekend, but I'm sure they'll be fine with some extra stretching and foam rolling. Besides, with the races just under three weeks away, it's time to start my taper!

Three Things Thursday

2011-12-15T10:14:00.000-08:00

1. In last week’s informal poll, the Incredibles were the clear winner for my Disney costume. I’m going to head to the fabric store at some point this weekend and see what I can find to put together the "I logo" for my shirt and make myself an eye mask. However, if I get there and find a nice dalmatian print, I may be switching to Cruella DeVille. I ordered some red knee socks yesterday which will work with either costume. Of course after ordering them I noticed that the Incredibles wear tall black boots so I should probably wear black socks, but whatever, I’m going with it.

2. I’m still lacking the motivation I had during marathon training, but I’m still fitting in a workout almost every day. I’ve definitely found it harder to get up in the mornings, but on those days when I've stayed in bed, I’ve managed to rally myself and fit in a run after work. It’s definitely not my regular routine, but I know that at this point there’s not much I can do that will help or hurt my races at Disney (other than an injury). So I'm doing everything possible to avoid injury! I’m aiming for a long run of 16-18 miles this Sunday and I’m optimistic that it will go well. Then again, if I stop at 14 or 15, it probably won’t matter all that much. I kind of like this "training" philosophy!

3. Despite the fact that I am not feeling highly motivated right now, I spent a fair amount of time last week on the Marathon Guide web site reading about late spring marathons. I think I finally have convinced myself that this is NOT a good idea (but feel free to tell me otherwise). Something like Eugene (April 29) would be too early and a race in late May/early June would mean that I was doing a lot of the longer runs by myself. In order to set myself up for a strong 2012, I want to make sure that I take plenty of time off post-Goofy to recover and not rush getting back into serious training.

I found out last week that I got in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, so I’m thinking that race plus a late spring half seems like a much more reasonable and smart plan. I know I have the potential to crush my current half PR and I think it will be fun to spend the spring focusing on a bit more speed than marathon training allows. That being said, I’m trying to remind myself that I should really wait until after Goofy is over (and I see how my body handles it), to actually commit to anything.

Peanut Butter Gu - Finally!

2011-12-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

During our run on Sunday, Lauren and I had peanut butter gu for the first time!

What to Wear?

2011-12-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

I think I'd like to wear a costume for at least one of the two Goofy races. With the main goal of the weekend (other than to finish) being to enjoy myself as much as possible, it seems like the perfect opportunity to have a little fun with my outfit. Unfortunately, I'm not super creative, though I'd like to try. So I'm looking for some help. What character(s) would you pick for a Disney race? The only real guidelines I have set right now is that I need to be comfortable and chafe free (since both of these races are long enough that could be painful - particularly if it happens on day one!) and I don't want to be a princess.

Here are a few characters I'm considering:

Cruella Deville

One of the Incredibles

Robin Hood or Maid Marion

Someone from Alice in Wonderland (Alice, evil queen, Cheshire cat?)

I own a fair amount of running gear in red, white or black, which would make some of these easier than others. I went through a running skirt phase about two years ago so I have a black skirt and a pink skirt. I'm assuming that temperatures will be in the 50s, though obviously I won't know for sure until the week before the race!

What would you suggest?

A Goofy Plan

2011-12-05T05:58:00.000-08:00

With just five weeks to go until the Goofy Challenge, I've come up with a general schedule to hold myself accountable and get to race day in relatively decent shape.

During the week
-Run 2-3 times (one of these might be a CAR workout. Hills start on December 13, so that will work well)
-Pool run at least 1 time
-Rest day
-If I only run 2 days then I'll throw in another pool run or elliptical session

Weekends
Run both days.

In the past I've typically used Sunday as a cross training recovery day. Since I'm going to be running both days of the Goofy weekend, it seems like I might as well run both days over the next few weekends. My plan is to do a long run and a run in the 5-7 mile range, just to get my body used to that schedule. I'm going to try to do the longer of the two runs on Sunday since that's how the race is structured, but I already know that won't work with my schedule every weekend. Here are my general goals for the long run:

December 3-4: 10 miles (DONE)
December 10-11: 13-14 miles
December 17-18: 16-18 miles
December 24-25: 14-15 miles
December 31-January 1: 10 miles

I'm not going to worry if the next month looks different from this, but I find that I do better with some type of structure. So I'll more or less try to follow these guidelines and hopefully will get to Florida on January 6 ready to do a lot of running!

November Recap

2011-11-30T16:05:00.001-08:00

Miles: 107.53

X-Training: 8 (4 pool runs, 2 elliptical, 2 stationary bike)

Rest Days: 8

Race(s): National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k (PR - 38:02) and the big one, the Philadelphia Marathon (PR - 4:01:23)!

Workout goals:
Stay injury-free and sane during taper - Well, there were some crazy periods during taper (and some imaginary foot pain), but I got to the race injury-free so that's all that matters!

Crush the Philadelphia marathon - DONE! 39 minute PR.

Non-workout goal: Wisely I didn't pick a goal for this month. The marathon consumed all of my thoughts and energy.

Ice cream flavor of the month: Pumpkin (a repeat from last month, but it's just so good!)

The focus of November was getting to the Philadelphia Marathon ready to race and then running my heart out. I ran an 8k as a tune up two weeks before the marathon and along with picking up a new PR, it showed me that I was right on track. After a lot of thought, I finally decided I was going for sub 4:00 and shared that goal with the Internet. Although I didn't quite get there, the marathon was a total success. I showed myself that I can run faster than I ever thought I could and I know that I'm only just getting started. There is a lot of progress yet to be made!

December Preview

Workout goals:
Get in a few good long runs - I think this is the only crucial thing I need to do this month in order to be ready for Goofy. I'm not concerned with time in either race, I just need to make sure that my legs are ready to cover the distance

Pool run at least once a week - Pool running is a good way for me to keep up my fitness and give my legs a bit of break as I recover from Philly/prep for Goofy

Stay motivated and mix things up when needed - I don't want to get stressed about what I need to do to be ready for Goofy. So my plan is to give myself a break and throw in my cross training or rest days if I start to feel at all burned out or have any pre-injury twinges

Races: None on the schedule right now
Non-workout goal: Get back to trying new recipes. I've been slacking the last few months

Wordless Wednesday - Philadelphia Marathon Photos

2011-11-29T16:14:00.001-08:00

Just a few more Philly marathon photos (featuring Beth!)

I have no idea when this was, but after 20 because I have my headphones on. Also, I look miserable

The final stretch. REALLY wanted to be done

Beth is WAY more excited than I am at this point

Recovery and What's Next

2011-11-28T14:09:00.001-08:00

I spent last week doing a whole lot of nothing and recovering from the Philadelphia Marathon. In one of the better decisions I have ever made, I decided to take the whole week off from work, even though I would only be out of town Thursday and Friday. It might be a Thanksgiving tradition I need to repeat, marathon or no marathon.

My quads were incredibly sore after the race. I went to the gym on Monday and Tuesday to ride the stationary bike and hopefully get some of that lactic acid moving. I also attempted to use my foam roller but that ended after about two minutes and lots of pain. By Wednesday I was able to get on the elliptical for a short stint and and finally by Thursday I was able to walk down the two flights of stairs to exit my apartment without thinking about it. Victory! I had no turkey trot scheduled because I’d be in the car Thursday morning, but I think it would have been a generally bad idea if I’d been available. I was in no shape to run. I finally went for an easy run on Sunday morning and though I felt decent while I was out, it completely exhausted me and I spent the rest of the day on the couch.

I had planned for this to be a short recovery period with a quick return to running because my next big race is less than 6 weeks away. And not just any race, the Goofy Challenge. Obviously this “adventure” is not at all about time and just about finishing, so back when I registered in March (for both Philly and Goofy) I figured all I needed to do was maintain my fitness level during December and I’d be fine. I had great success last fall doing the Baltimore and Rehoboth Beach marathons 8 weeks apart (a 15 minute PR at Rehoboth) and thought I might as well do something similar this year.

Unfortunately, after Sunday’s semi-successful run, I felt less than motivated to jump back into a regular schedule this week. Apparently I am much more motivated to train for a second race when the first one is a disaster. Last year I couldn’t stop thinking about redeeming myself and proving that Baltimore was a fluke and jumped right back into training. I also think that I came out of Baltimore with legs that were in pretty decent shape because of the large amount of walking that I did in the second half.

Obviously the circumstances are different this year. Philly was a highly successful race and it took a lot out of me. It also was nowhere near the race I was planning back when I registered in April. I was going to shoot for 4:30 and follow a training plan with a number of double long run weekends all fall. I saw Philly more as a step along the way to Goofy instead of a goal race. Obviously that all changed when I joined CAR, started regular speed work and decided to go for sub 4:00. I don’t regret any of those decisions (AT ALL), but it makes for a bit more complicated “inter-race” period.

So, where do I go from here? I’m hoping with another semi-recovery week this week, I’ll be excited to get going again next week. And, if I’m not, I’m just going to force myself to get it done for the next five weeks. It would be different if I was looking at full season or long training cycle, but since it's not, this seems to be the time to push through the lack of motivation. I already plan to take most or all of January off after the races. I purposely haven’t signed up for any spring races even though I’ve wanted to as friends have discussed spring plans. As much as it kills me (hello, National Marathon or Half) I KNOW that those decisions are best made post-Goofy because I have no idea how I’m going to feel. So there will be no pressure or reason to do anything until I am absolutely feeling motivated to do so. This alone should get me through December.

I’m also not planning on any super serious training. Just enough to get me to the finish lines uninjured. And, more importantly, with legs that can still walk around Disney World on Monday January 9. I’ll share my tentative schedule once I’ve mapped it out, which will hopefully be sometime later this week or early next week.

Philadelphia Marathon Race Report

2011-11-21T14:21:00.000-08:00

I felt like I had been waiting for this weekend, and race, for a long time! After a last taper week filled with lots of resting and very little running, by Saturday morning I was ready to go. Beth and I left around 9 and after a few detours and poor navigation on my part, we made it to the expo and met up with lots of fun people. I was able to pick up my bib and (giant) race shirt quickly (dear race directors - offer XS or women's sizing please) and switch corrals easily. We wandered around the expo for a bit, but no one was super impressed. Afterwards we went our separate ways and I headed over to my friend Katie's apartment. She was running her first marathon and conveniently lives just a few blocks from the start!

I didn't sleep all that well, but when the alarm went off on Sunday morning I was excited to finally run the race. Fortunately I had no problems meeting up with Katie, Thom, Beth and Jon, and after checking our bags and hitting up the porta potties, we split up and Thom and I headed into the green corral, while Katie and Beth headed up to black to start the half marathon of awesomeness. We got into the corral just a few minutes before 7:00, so we didn't have too long to wait before our wave walked up to the start. Then, finally we were off!

Miles 1-3: 9:44, 9:29, 9:12
My plan for this race was to run the first 5 miles around 9:30 pace and then work on picking it up from there. Thom and I focused on staying relaxed at the beginning and letting everyone around us take off. I decided to carry a disposable water bottle so I could avoid the crowds at the early water stations and just toss it when I had emptied it. I wanted to make sure that I drank enough in the first half and the disposable bottle ended up being a great decision. Our third mile was a bit quick, but it did include a long downhill so I tried not to worry about it.

Miles 4-7: 9:18, 9:18, 9:14, 9:07
I knew the one thing that I didn't want to do was pick up the pace too much early, so I tried to make sure I was running comfortably and not pushing the pace. Around mile 5 we turned onto Chestnut Street where the crowds started picking up and the support was great. There was a bit of an incline, but I didn't feel like it was affecting me. We hit the 10k at 58:02, which was a little faster than planned, but not by much. In the first mile or two Thom and I discussed breaking the first 20 miles into 5 mile pace segments of 9:30, 9:15, 9:00 and 8:45. We wanted to hit 20 miles around 3 hours (9 minute mile pace). These miles were a bit ahead of that, but not by much.

Miles 8-10: 9:21, 9:34, 9:23
This section contained the bulk of the hills found on the course. I knew that they were coming, but they were definitely bigger than I had expected (in particular the largest one right after mile 9). The downhills were particularly steep, which I think took a toll on my quads that would come back to haunt me in the later miles. I tried not to worry too much about pace in this section and just worked on staying controlled and steady.

Miles 11-13: 9:01, 8:45, 8:45
The steepest downhill on the course came after the 10 mile marker and took us back down to the river. I was glad to know that the rest of the course was pretty flat. Since Thom and I had discussed being right around 9:00 pace for miles 11-15, I conciously tried to pick up the pace once we were back on flat road. Before the race I was concerned about getting too focused on my watch, so I avoided paying too much attention in this stretch. I just tried to increase my effort level a bit. Unfortunately, somewhere around mile 12 Thom told me he needed to back off the pace a bit and we separated. I had hoped that we would be able to stick together longer, but we each needed to run our own race so I forged ahead. I figured I might see a number of people I knew around mile 13 so I had that to look forward to in this stretch. Somehow I missed my friends, but did see George and managed to give him a thumbs up as I went by. The race splits say I hit halfway at 2:00:08, but the timing mat was actually at the 13 mile marker, not 13.1. So I imagine I actually hit halfway right at or under 2:01. It's not that crucial, but it matters to me that I actually ran more or less even (or possibly slightly negative) splits.

Miles 14-17: 8:54, 8:40, 8:50
This was probably my favorite part of the race. I had just gone through the half right on pace to break 4 hours and I was feeling so strong. The course was heading out Kelly Drive which was pretty flat and the views were nice. It reminded me of running on Hains Point, which I love. My goal in this section was to just get to the turnaround point (right before mile 20) because then all I would have to do was run back.

Miles 18-20: 9:00, 9:08, 9:06
It was around mile 18 that things started to get painful. Both of my quads started to hurt and I can only guess that the hills (and steep downhills) in miles 9-10 had really taken their toll. Still, I was able to more or less maintain my pace so I figured I had no reason to be concerned. I realized that I might not be able to hammer home the last 10k like I had hoped, but I knew that if I could hold pace, I would still be able to meet my sub 4:00 goal. One of my friends was going to be somewhere in Manayunk and the thought of seeing her kept me going. She ended up being right by mile 20 and I saw her on the way out to the turnaround and when I came back.

Miles 21-22: 8:49, 9:05
I had decided before the race that I would put in my music after mile 20. When Thom and I split up earlier than planned, I thought about starting it earlier, but I'm glad I waited. As you can see from my mile 21 time, initially it really helped me pick up the pace. Coming out of Manayunk I was really starting to hurt. I just kept telling myself that I had come to far to give up and to just keeping pushing and holding the same pace. I knew that the last stretch was going to be really tough.

Miles 23-26.2: 9:30, 9:46, 10:11, 11:28 (for 1.2)
Mile 23 is where I really hit the wall. I could feel myself slowing but there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to cry and I wanted to walk, but I knew I would never forgive myself for walking when I still had a shot at sub 4. I only had my watch displaying my current lap pace, distance in that lap and overall average pace. I knew that I was about 6 minutes behind the race clocks, so I had a general idea of my overall time, but I had avoided focusing on it during the race. I could tell though as I passed miles 23 and 24 that my shot at 3:59 was slowly slipping away. At mile 23 I calculated that I had roughly 30 minutes for the last 3.2. Normally that would be reasonable, but I was slowing and didn't have the energy to pick up the pace. When I passed the 25 mile marker I switched my Garmin display to show my overall time. I was at 3:50. I knew that realistically there was no way I was running the final 1.2 miles in 10 minutes. But I knew I had to try to get as close as I could. Beth jumped in with me somewhere right before mile 26 (I never saw the marker) and I was so angry and tired that I couldn't say anything. I just needed to be done.

Since my Garmin distance had been off on most of the miles (and I missed the 26 sign), I couldn't be positive how much I had left until I could finally see the finish line. Then I really tried to sprint in to the finish, though my legs really didn't have much kick left in them.

Final Time - 4:01:23

A 39 minute PR and I could not be more thrilled! Yes, it would have been nice to break 4 hours but this race showed me that I have it in me and I have no doubt that I will get there next time. I ran the smart race that I wanted to run and left it all out there on the course. To be honest, while I knew that I should be able to run sub 4, I wasn't totally confident that I wouldn't run the first half on pace and then blow up in the second half. I've never run close to that fast for that long. I knew that I needed to trust the training and run and I'm so happy that I was able to do just that and not let my brain get in the way.

In some ways it still feels a bit surreal. As recently as a few months ago this was not a time I thought I would ever get to and now I know that I can go even faster. I can't wait for the next one!

Philadelphia Marathon Goals

2011-11-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

"Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great"

-Steve Prefontaine

I've thought about what I would say in this post for a long time, 16 weeks to be exact. I started this training cycle with a pretty clear goal. My current marathon PR is 4:40 and I wanted to break 4:30. But as the weeks went by and I started running with CAR, it became obvious that I could go a lot faster. The question was, how much faster?

I realized several weeks ago that my legs and fitness level were not going to be what held me back in this race, it was my mind. It's hard to go from thinking that certain paces are faster than I will ever run to accepting that I can run said pace for 26.2 miles. I have also blown up in a marathon that I started way too fast, so getting to a place where I view these new times as safe (even conservative) starting points has even more challenging.

I've been vague over the last few weeks when asked about my goals for this race. I wasn't sure what I was comfortable shooting for and, on top of that, what I was willing to admit I was shooting for. Did I want to admit to a goal time that I find intimidating and that will push me to my limit? A goal that I wasn't even confident I could meet? Or did I want to be more conservative and shoot for a large PR while still being slightly conservative and reducing my potential for crashing and burning in the final miles?

I've been lucky to train for this race with a great group of people, many of whom have expressed confidence in my abilities and potential long before I was willing to listen. Even after I stopped dismissing them as crazy and started seriously considered what I could do in this race, I still had a lot of doubts. It was not until this week that the "top secret goal" became MY goal. That is to say, it became my goal for this race. It's always been a long term goal of mine (one that often seemed like a pipe dream), but I never thought I would be chasing this time so soon.

While the time is obviously important, I am really more concerned with executing a strong, smart race. To that end, I have a couple of goals for how I want to run.

1. Conservative start with a controlled but strong first half - My history is to start too fast in races because a pace feels comfortable at the time, even when it is faster than I planned. If I blow up in this race it is not going to be because I started too fast, it will be because I went for it in the second half. And I'm okay with that risk. I'm going to push as hard as I can and not hold back.

2. Avoid focusing too much of time/pace/splits - After the initial miles when I want to be conservative, I know that my biggest mental challenge will avoiding freaking out when I see a pace on my watch that I think I shouldn't be running in a marathon. I don't want my mind to stop my legs from running what they are capable of running. So my plan is to "just run" as much as possible and only check my watch periodically.

3. Go for it in the second half, no regrets - As I said in the first point, if I struggle at the end of this race, I want it to be because gave it all I had in the second half. I don't want to finish the race thinking that I have energy left or that I should have picked up the pace earlier.

And now for my time goals.

A - sub 4:00
Based on my training and my recent races, I think this is totally achievable in this race. I'm not saying it will be easy, but if run the way I am capable of running, I can do this.

B - sub 4:15
The average pace for all three of my 20 milers was right around or under 9:50 pace. This works out to a 4:17 marathon. It would also be a 25 minute PR, which would make me very happy.

C - new PR
I'd like to think that even if I struggle in this race, I can still come in under 4:40 (10:40 pace). I hope it doesn't come to this, but a PR is a PR.

So, there it is. I've worked harder than I ever have this training cycle and I'm going to run harder than I ever have in a marathon on Sunday. At this point all I have left to do is trust my training and run.

I won't lie and say that I don't have any doubts and that the pacing required for sub 4 doesn't scare me. This is why the quote at the top of this post really spoke to me when Emily shared it on Twitter yesterday. I know I could run a good marathon and easily beat my current PR by a large margin. But I won't know how great of a marathon I can run if I don't leave the safety of my comfort zone behind. I might fail spectacularly, but I am going to give it everything I have.

I've signed up for updates to be posted to both Twitter and Facebook, so if you're interested you can follow along. I'm bib #12241 if you prefer to head directly to the Philadelphia Marathon web site.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T05:58:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if it's going to be cold enough for me to need throwaway pants for standing around before the race on Sunday, but if it is, I'm prepared with these beauties I found on the clearance rack at Target.

#6

2011-11-15T10:31:00.000-08:00

You may be hoping that I would post my goals for the Philadelphia marathon. They're coming, I promise. Instead of working on that post I have been thinking about future races. Because, like a true running addict, I can't finish a marathon without knowing when my next fix is coming, I may have just registered for this:

Taking place on November 10, 2012.

Friends running and only $55? Done.

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 15

2011-11-14T06:04:00.000-08:00

Monday November 7
Run 4.25 mi
A nice easy (short) run to start off the week.

Tuesday November 8
Run 7.13 mi
1600/1200/800/400
I felt okay warming up but once this workout started I realized that I had a lot less energy than normal. My legs just didn't want to move, which I'm sure was a result of Sunday's 8k. I cut the workout a bit short (missed an 800) and called it a day. I know that nothing I am doing this week is going to make or break my marathon in a positive way and I don't want to end up injured.

This was also the day that I first started feeling cranky (just in case anyone was making bets on that at home). I need my regular dose of endorphins!

Wednesday November 9
Run 4.33 mi
My last run commute this training cycle! I was finally able to take the most direct route to work since I didn't need to fit in any extra miles.

Thursday November 10
Rest

Friday November 11
Run 6.44 mi with 5k tempo
My legs were feeling much better than they had on Tuesday, so I was hoping to wrap up my tempo training with a strong 5k. All went according to plan and I had my fastest 5k time this training cycle and one that was only 10 seconds off of my 5k PR. It was also about two and a half minutes faster than my first tempo workout in September. I'm very happy with how I have progressed in just under four months and what this means for the marathon.

Saturday November 12
Elliptical 40 min
After a super lazy morning spent tracking friends running Richmond (so inspired by all of the great races!), I decided to head to the gym for a bit just to get my legs moving. This may be the easiest I have ever gone on the elliptical.

Sunday November 13
Run 8.09 mi
The last long(ish) run before Philadelphia! I always love how by this point in training 8 miles seems like such a short run. Being able to do most of my long runs with Thom has really made this training cycle so much more enjoyable and I'm glad we were able to meet up for this last one.

Week 15: 30.24 mi
Due to achy legs last week, I dropped my weekly mileage more quickly than I would have liked. So rather than drop it again this week, I did a similar amount but didn't have supplemental miles in the pool. The upcoming week will be super easy and I plan to show up in Philly on Sunday with legs that are ready to run!

National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k race report

2011-11-07T17:05:00.000-08:00

On Sunday morning I ran the National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k. I warmed up about two miles before checking my warm clothes and braving the elements in shorts, tank top and arm warmers. I was wearing a lot fewer clothes than most of the people there, so I got some interesting looks. It was the perfect outfit for the race, though I did get a bit chilly while waiting to start. Definitely a good reminder to go pick up some throwaway clothes in the next week and a half before Philly!

Since this was a charity race, I figured there would be a lot of people running more for the cause and less for time, so I tried to position myself pretty close to the front.

I'm somewhere on the left (Source)

I took off with the people around me when the race started. Remember that strategy of starting around 7:50 and working my way down? Didn't happen. About .25 into the race I looked down at my Garmin and saw 6:45. Oops! I immediately threw on the brakes knowing that it wasn't likely a sustainable pace for me. I'm sure some people would argue that I should have just gone with it and seen what happened, but I really didn't want to blow up halfway. As a result, a ton of people went flying past me, but it was definitely the right move. I hit the one mile marker right about the time my Garmin beeped, but as the number of turns increased, it got farther and farther ahead.
Mile 1 - 7:34 (7:40)
I left autolap on since it was a smaller race and I wasn't sure how well the miles would be marked. I've taken the "extra" time (27 sec) and evenly distributed it between the miles to get a general sense of my actual splits. That's the time in parenthesis. For the purpose of this experiment, I'm also ignoring the fact that this race was actually 4.97 miles and not 5.

Mile 2 included the only hill of the course as well as two hairpin turns as we went up towards Union Station, went up and back on 2 blocks of 1st street, turned around and headed back down 3rd St. and past the mall. This mile ended on a very nice downhill, hence the fastest split of the race.
Mile 2 - 7:25 (7:31)

There was a water stop just past the two mile marker that I skipped because I was focused on trying to maintain my pace and not slow down. Miles 3 & 4 blurred together for me. We went back towards L'Enfant Plaza and then did a long out and back on Independence (and hit the third hairpin turn). I distracted myself on Independence by counting the number of women ahead of me. I counted 15, which is definitely the closest I have ever been to the front of a race! After Independence we got back on 3rd St and hit the mile 4 marker right before turning back onto Pennsylvania Ave.
Mile 3 - 7:35 (7:40)
Mile 4 - 7:31 (7:36)

It was then a straight shot back down Pennsylvania Ave to the finish, with a one block out and back on 11th St. (and the final hairpin turn). Early on in this mile a woman went flying past me. I tried to keep up with her and in general I was hoping to have more left in the tank to drop the pace at this point, but I just didn't seem to have that next gear. I focused on staying as close to 7:30 pace as possible and keeping up with the men just ahead of me. When I came back onto to Pennsylvania Ave after the out and back on 11th (final hairpin turn!), there were only two blocks left and I was able to sprint in to the finish.
Mile 5 - 7:30 (7:35)

Final time - 38:02 (7:39 pace)
I was the 18th woman and 8th in my (10 year) age group.

I didn't exactly follow my own race plan, but I'm still very happy with how this race went. I think that if I had started a bit slower, I probably would have been able to pick it up a bit more at the end. But I certainly can't complain about the relatively even splits that I ran. A good reminder, though, that I have to start the marathon at a reasonable pace. Starting faster than planned doesn't have all that many consequences for 5 miles, but could be a real problem for 26.2. It was a good race and left me feeling confident heading into the final two weeks of taper!

Philadelphia Marathon Training Week 14

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Monday October 31
Rest
I felt really tired after 21 miles on Saturday and several hours standing and spectating the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday so I decided to take Monday completely off.

Tuesday November 1
Run 8 mi
2x1200, 2x800, 2x400
Another good workout at the track. I am a big fan of two repeats because there is no middle one! The first and last are never that bad, it's always those ones in the middle that are mentally tough. So 2x a bunch of different differences is ideal for me.

Wednesday November 2
Run 6.05 mi
An easy run commute

Thursday November 3
Run 6.0 mi
Since I took off Monday, I did an easy run instead of taking my normal Thursday rest day.

Friday November 4
Pool run 60 min/6 mi
My legs had been feeling a bit sore all week so rather than do an easy run for the third day in a row, I decided to pool run instead.

Saturday November 5
Rest

Sunday November 6
National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k + 4.6 mi of warm up and cool down
70 min/7 mi pool run
Sunday morning I ran in the National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k. I also convinced my mom and sister to sign up, so it was a family race day. A full race report is coming, but it went really well and I improved my (old, outdated) 8k PR by more than 10 minutes! I warmed up about 2 miles before the race and cooled down for about 2.5. Then later in the afternoon I headed to the pool for a nice, easy pool run.

Week 14: 29.6 mi (+13 mi pool running)
I was hoping for a few more land miles this week, but I think that my legs needed the break. At this point in the game, avoiding injury is the main priority. It's still hard for me to believe that this race is now just two weeks away!

National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k goals

2011-11-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I'll be racing an 8k. I'm using this as a final tune up race before the Philadelphia marathon. I've never really done tune up races before so I'm not sure how the results of this race should translate to marathon pacing. I'll let someone smarter than me figure that out!

I've only ever run one other 8k and that was several years ago. I don't remember a whole lot about the race, other than the fact that my goal was to finish with a sub 10:00 pace. I did manage to achieve that, just barely, with a time of 49 something. I'm gunning for a rather large PR in Sunday's race.

In recent tempo runs I've been able to start around 7:50 pace and get slightly faster each mile. I've only done four mile tempos on the track, but I think I should be able to follow this same strategy for the (almost) five miles of this race. My plan is to stay controlled for the first three miles and see how fast I can go in the last two.

I have no specific time goals in mind. I'm just looking to run a smart, strong race and see how much I can push myself at the end. It will be fun to get out and race a shorter distance!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

I wore my marathon shoes for the first time yesterday.

17 days!!!

October Recap

2011-11-01T06:19:00.000-07:00

Miles: 168.71

X-Training: 4 (2 pool runs, 2 elliptical)

Rest Days: 7

Race(s): Army 10 miler - new 10 mile PR (1:23:33)!

New gear: Red arm sleeves (with pockets!) to wear in the marathon. :)

Workout goals:
I did well achieving my running goals, but not any others. This really shouldn't come as a surprise to me after last month!

Continue to push the pace in workouts - I finally had that breakthrough I was hoping for mid-month and really dropped my times for both interval and tempo workouts.

Strong long runs - I continued my string of long run successes and both 20 milers went extremely well. After 21 miles in cold rain, I feel prepared for whatever weather marathon day hands me!

Try again with the planks - Like September, this was a total failure.

Non-workout goal: I was also planning to work on redesigning this blog. Didn't even get started.

Ice cream flavor of the month: Pumpkin

October was a very good running month for me. I ran a new 10 mile PR, had a lot of strong workouts at the track and two good 20 mile runs. I feel confident heading into my taper and can't wait to run a marathon in 3 weeks!

November Preview

Workout goals:
November is marathon month, so I'm keeping my list of goals short and sweet.

Stay injury-free and sane during taper - Pretty self explanatory. I'm hoping to keep the taper crazies away as long as possible!

Crush the Philadelphia marathon - I know I have it in me to run a great marathon. And on November 20, I will!

Races: National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k (Nov. 6) and the Philadelphia marathon (Nov. 20)!!!

Non-workout goal: I'm not even going to attempt anything. I know this month will be dominated by the marathon!

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 13

2011-10-31T06:37:00.000-07:00

Monday October 24
Run 7.25 mi
A bonus Monday run commute!

Random bird at Hains Point

Tuesday October 25
Run 8.87 mi
5x1200
This was another good workout at the track. I had a pack to run with for the first four repeats and then did the last one by myself. I had been relying on the others for pacing so I wasn't sure how the last one would go, but it ended up being the fastest of the five (despite the fact that I went way too fast the first 400).
Wednesday October 26
Run 7.3 mi
An extended run commute to pick up a few extra miles (with super dark photos. Sorry, it was early).

Thursday October 27
Rest

Friday October 28
Run 7.19 mi w/4 mi tempo
This was the first really cold morning we have had, so I finally broke out the capris and never managed to shed my long sleeve shirt. But I love cold weather running so I had no complaints. There was a smaller crowd at the workout due to MCM and other weekend races so I didn't have a nice pack to run with like the week before. I ended up running by myself for the majority of the tempo, but stayed steady and finished a second or two faster than the week before. I'll was very happy with this since I had to do a lot more mental work this week and my legs had a lot more miles on them!
Saturday October 29
Run 21.0 mi
This was one of the most miserable runs I have ever had. Certainly probably the worst when it comes to weather related misery. It was cold and raining the whole time. Because I was signed up to volunteer at MCM on Sunday, I didn't really have to option to push back the run. Fortunately, Thom somehow still agreed to run with me. We were both very unhappy the whole time, but I know I couldn't have finished it without him! As soon as we finished I immediately changed out of all of my wet clothes in the car and was still freezing. When I started driving to brunch (where pumpkin pancakes and fun blogger/twitter friends were waiting!), I started shaking/shivering violently even though I had the heat on as high as it would go. It took sitting inside for a while and several cups of coffee before I finally felt warm. I don't know what Mother Nature will throw at me on November 20, but after this run I can say that I am prepared to run in any weather!

Sunday October 30
MCM volunteering & spectating + 60 min pool run
Fortunately the MCM runners had a great, though cold, day and didn't have to deal with Saturday's weather. I started out handing out water at Key Bridge with some teammates and then spent several hours cheering near the finish line on 110. It was a lot of fun, though my legs were pretty tired after standing for that long. Later in the afternoon I did an easy 60 min pool run to loosen up my legs.

Week 13 - 51.61 mi
My very first 50 mile week! I was very happy to finally reach this milestone in my last big week of training. I had a very good week and am really looking forward to tapering (while not going too crazy) and racing in Philly! My legs are definitely feeling the miles and all the standing from yesterday. So I'm kicking off the first week of taper in the best way possible, with an extra rest day!

Three Things Thursday

2011-10-27T06:12:00.000-07:00

1. I signed up for the National Race to End Women's Cancer on November 6, so I'll be racing an 8k in a little over a week. I'm excited to see what I can do in a shorter race and am I'm hoping it will be a good tuneup for the marathon.

2. I realized on Tuesday that I could get to 50 miles for the week (for the first time ever!) without too much difficulty. So, of course, I had to make it happen. I only need to get in just under 7 miles tomorrow, which I normally do for tempo workouts, and I'll be at 30 miles before Saturday's last 20 miler. When I mapped out my original training plan, which was discarded when I started with CAR, one of my goals was a 50 mile week. So I'm pretty excited to get there!

3. Obviously I don't have any idea what the temperature will be for the marathon, but I've already started considering possible outfits. I'm hoping it will be warm enough for a long sleeve tech shirt or a t-shirt and sleeves. I ordered a bunch of arm sleeves to test out and they should be arriving today. Main criteria - pockets for holding gels. I'm hoping that I like one of them!

Conveniently the temperature has decided to drop on Saturday (highs in the 40s), so it will be perfect for testing out my race outfit! I have a feeling it will be just a little too cold on race day for shorts, so I'm glad I can get in a long run in my capris this weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just about two years ago I ran my first marathon.

Over that summer and fall of training I went from someone who ran (and didn't like it all that much) to a runner. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that it changed my life.

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 12

2011-10-24T06:14:00.000-07:00

Monday October 17
Elliptical 45 min
A relatively easy cross training session to kick off the week.

Tuesday October 18
Run 5.1 mi (1600, 1200)
As I mentioned last week, I took a bit of a funny step towards my 20 mile long run. I had noticed that my lower left leg/ankle felt a bit off over the weekend, but I was hopeful that it was nothing and would be fine. I had no issues during the warmup or the first interval (1600), but it started to bother me during the second lap of the 1200. When the pain persisted through the third lap, I decided it would not be wise for me to continue the workout. I did a brief warmdown and headed home to ice instead.

Wednesday October 19
Pool run - 60 min/6 mi
Instead of my normal Wednesday run commute, I went to the pool for 60 minutes of pool running. I didn't want to take any chances that the soreness and pain in my left leg would turn into anything serious.

Thursday October 20
Rest
I was already planning to take Thursday as a rest day, so I stuck with this plan to give my leg plenty of time to heal.

Friday October 21
Run 7.55 mi with 4 mi tempo
I wasn't sure what to expect, but planned to warm up and run the tempo if my leg felt fine. Fortunately I had no pain or soreness during warmup. I'm not sure if it was the cooler temperatures or the bit of extra rest, but I had my best tempo run to date by far. It also helped that I was able to hang with the pack that is usually ahead of me, so I didn't have to do much thinking. I just focused on staying with them and wasn't calculating lap splits like I normally do. I felt great the whole time and I hope that I can carry that feeling into my last big week of training and the upcoming taper.

Saturday October 22
Run 14 mi
This was another good long run and I had a chance to run with Thom, my potential running partner for the Philadelphia marathon. We started out at a relatively easy pace for the first half (which was a gradual uphill) and really picked it up once we turned around and headed back downhill to the start.

Sunday October 23
Run 5.1 mi
A nice easy recovery run on a beautiful fall morning. Due to some poor planning on my part I finished by going up a giant hill, but it was still a pretty relaxed run.

Week 12 - 31.65 mi (+ 6 mi pool running)
I had already planned for this to be a recovery week, but my mileage was even lower than anticipated due to my leg issues early in the week. I know that it won't make a difference in the long run and I'm glad that I took the extra rest now so that the soreness and pain didn't stick around. I'm still feeling good and looking forward to working hard in week 13, my last big week before taper starts!

Friday Five

2011-10-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

1. After two days off from running, I headed back to the track this morning. My plan was to see how my ankle/leg felt warming up and, if there were no issues, run the tempo. Fortunately there was no pain whatsoever and I ended up with my best tempo to date. Apparently my body likes cooler temperatures and a few extra days of rest!

2. I always get a bit worried when new shoe models come out at the end of the year. I've definitely had bad experiences with updates (hello Asics 2150!). Now is the time that the current model is cheap and I'm pretty tempted to buy out the Internet and hoard some 2160s. I do have one pair that I bought at the Army Ten Miler expo that I'm going to start wearing in the next week or so, and that will be my marathon shoes. So how many more is it reasonable to buy? I know storing shoes for too long is probably not the best idea...

3. I signed up earlier this week to volunteer with some teammates at one of the Marine Corps Marathon water stations. I've actually never handed out water at a race before and I'm pretty excited about it! Though I'm a bit nervous that I'll mess up! I know I sometimes get annoyed when I get to a volunteer just as they are going back to the table to get more cups.
4. The Philadelphia marathon is now less than a month away. That's complete crazy talk! Where has this training cycle gone?
5. I feel like I've seen a lot of talk about 2012 racing plans on blogs and Twitter this week. I guess it's time for me to start doing some thinking. All I have on the schedule right now is the Goofy Challenge the first weekend of January. I know I'm going to want to take some time off after that, but maybe it's time to start planning for later in the year, at least in terms of marathons.

Slight change of plans

2011-10-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

For the next few days there is going to be a lot of this:

And some of this:

It's really not anything serious (and it won't become anything serious! power of positive thinking), but I took a funny step with my left foot towards the end of my long run on Saturday and whatever tendon (ligament? muscle?) that runs up the inside of my leg from my ankle started to bother me during yesterday's track workout. I'm hoping that by being extra cautious, I'll be back to normal very soon.

Funny observation that came out of my second ever time pool running this morning - I used to wear swimming shirts when I went running so that I people knew I wasn't a runner. I was a swimmer who was cross training. Now I wear running shirts to the pool. How times have changed!

Philadelphia Marathon Training Week 11

2011-10-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

Monday October 10
Elliptical 45 min
I decided it would be wise to take a day off from running after the Army Ten Miler so I went to the gym and hit up the elliptical instead. Nothing exciting, but it was a good way to get my legs moving (and watch TV at the same time!).

Tuesday October 11
Run 4.7 miles
My legs felt pretty good after the race, though I could definitely feel that I had put in a hard effort. I kept the pace easy for this run and passed on the track workout.

Wednesday October 12
Run 6.7 mi
This was another easy recovery run (and run commute). My legs felt fine, though I definitely wasn't ready to try to push the pace at all.

Thursday October 13
Rest

Friday October 14
Run 6.7 mi with 5k tempo
I felt recovered from the race, but my legs proved otherwise when I started the tempo run. The first mile was fine, and right on pace, but after that I slowed down. It felt like I was getting slower each lap (only by a few seconds each time), though I'm not sure if that was actually the case for EVERY lap. I just had no energy to push the pace. So when I was told around mile 2 to shut it down after a 5k instead of 4 miles, I readily agreed.

Saturday October 15
Run 20.90 mi
I was a bit worried about how this run would go after I struggled at Friday's tempo run. I also knew that no one else was running 20 and I would have to run a significant portion by myself. Fortunately, my legs were fine and I brought along my iPod so the 11 solo miles weren't really all that bad. I felt great the whole time and managed to finish with sub-10:00 mile average pace. Definitely another confidence boosting long run. It's hard to believe I only have one more 20!

Sunday October 16
Run 4.0 mi
A nice easy recovery run before I headed out to watch the disaster that was the Redskins v. Eagles games. At least the run was a good experience!

Week 11 - 43 miles
Another good week of training. I still find it hard to believe that I only have one more 20 miler and 5 weeks to go! This has been such a great training cycle that I have a feeling I will almost be sad to have it end. And I also predict a fair amount of taper crazies. I'm glad I have a bit more time before I need to deal with that!

Friday Four

2011-10-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

1. I went to the dentist yesterday and thankfully didn't have any cavities. Unfortunately, despite having next to no cavities as a kid, over the last few years I seem to have had at least one almost every time that I have gone (and often several). I'm doing everything I can (special toothpaste, flossing, fluoride rinse) and still they keep on coming. I know some of it is likely genetic, but yesterday the hygienist also called out running! More specifically, all those sugary snacks we all eat while running. Although I wash them down with water, I can't deny that gels and gummy chews are likely coating my teeth with sugar during long runs. On top of that, she pointed out that if I am breathing through my mouth, it dries up saliva, leaving sugar (and ultimately plaque) coated on my teeth. So I guess I need to be brushing my teeth mid long run? ;) Anyone else notice an increase in cavities since they've been running longer distances?

2. After easy days at the beginning of the week, I jumped back into hard workouts this morning with a tempo run. And with 20 miles on the schedule tomorrow, marathon training is back in full force. Although my legs felt pretty good after Sunday's race, this morning's workout was pretty rough. My first mile was fine, but then I just kept getting slower each lap. Nothing hurt, but I just had no energy to pick it up. I'm hoping that my legs feel better tomorrow or it could be an extra long morning. Of course, I always seem to have at least one horrible long run per training cycle, so maybe I'm due.

3. I'm thinking about signing up for a short race (5k or 8k) two weeks before Philly. Anyone else in the DC area racing the weekend of November 5-6? I'm considering the National Race to End Women's Cancer 8k but am open to other suggestions. It would be much more fun if I wasn't racing alone!

4. I know that sometime soon I'm going to have to start thinking about pacing and goals for this marathon. I had some vague goal ideas when I started this training cycle and those were put aside when I started training with CAR. People have asked me occasionally over the last few weeks and I've more or less been deflecting the question. I need to find that balance between overambitious and too conservative. With my recent improvements, I'm still not quite sure what the right "slow" start pace is right for me. Fortunately I have a little over five weeks to work through this.

Army Ten Miler Race Report

2011-10-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

I was excited (and nervous) about this race because I knew I had the potential to set a big PR, but also because I knew so many people running. On Sunday morning my father was nice enough to drive a few friends, my mother and me to Pentagon City. We then made the trek across the Pentagon parking lots to the start area on 110. I knew this was going to be significantly longer than in previous years, but I was still surprised at how far we had to go. Fortunately, none of us had anything to check because we never did see the bag check. We had hoped to make a pre-race porty potta stop, but by the time we got to them it was already 7:40 and the lines were ridiculous. There was no way that we would have been through the line in 20 minutes. When we got to 110, my friends headed to their corral and my mom and I made our way towards the blue balloons.

Since it had taken us so long to get there, we didn't have to wait all that long for the start. The first wave started, we walked up towards the start line and after a few minutes we were off.

I had forgotten how crowded this race is at the start. I spent the first mile weaving around as many people as I could and trying to settle into a groove. The new course required us to run up an exit ramp from 110 which narrowed the road considerably and caused an even bigger bottleneck. By the time I got to the first mile marker, my watch was already ahead. Mile 1 - 8:41

I felt like the course opened up considerably after mile 1 and I was able to pick up the pace. I tried not to pick things up too much as I historically tend to go a bit crazy in mile 2 (warmed up, not yet tired). I slowed down a bit in mile 3 and I'm not sure exactly why. The only thing I can think is that I had to negotiate the first water stop and there was a decent incline as we went up Virginia Avenue. I knew my brother was going to be somewhere along this stretch so I distracted myself by looking for him, but somehow I still missed him. Mile 2 & 3 - 8:18, 8:27

I can't remember any particular details about miles 4 and 5 so they must have been relatively uneventful. I do remember feeling like the race was flying by when I got to mile 5 and realized that I was already halfway done. Mile 4 & 5 - 8:12, 8:13

I got a huge energy boost once we got onto Independence Ave and there were tons of people cheering. This was also the only section where the course doubled back so I scanned the runners coming back the other way to see if I could spot anyone I knew. Sarah had said that she would be somewhere near 7th St. so I was also keeping an eye out for her. Mile 6 - 8:11

Right after I passed the 10k timing pad marker, I saw a familiar face. I had run into Chris, a CAR teammate, who has been my running partner for most track workouts and long runs. I knew that we were starting in the same corral, but figured with 30,000 people there, we probably wouldn't see each other. I think that this was a little boost that we both needed and we decided to stick together as long as possible. Thus far the longest tempo run I have done on the track is 4 miles, so I figured that I was safe to start really trying to pick it up with four miles left. So as we came back down Independence and headed towards 14th Street and the bridge, I started trying to speed up. Miles 7 & 8 - 8:09, 8:02

I wanted to finish the race at a sub-8:00 pace and I was really hoping that I could hit that pace for the last two miles. As we headed out onto the 14th St. bridge, I noticed how hot it was and started to feel tired. I kept telling myself that I had less than 20 minutes to run (then less than 15, etc.) and could keep pushing it for that long. Mile 9 - 8:00

Once I hit nine miles, I knew I had no more excuses to hold back and really had to see what I had left. It was around this time that I pulled slightly ahead of Chris. It was still pretty crowded so with all the weaving around people, we got separated. With the new course layout, I wasn't sure how much I would have left to run after we took the exit ramp off the bridge. I also knew that my watch was close to 0.2 miles ahead and that I would still have a fair amount to run after I heard it beep for 10 miles. As I came through the Pentagon parking lot, I was disappointed to see that we had to go up another incline to go over a bridge/overpass. I had thought that it was going to be flat to the finish. Coming off the overpass I still couldn't see the finish line and I didn't want to start kicking in until I could see it. Fortunately we finally came around a corner and I could see the line. At this point I kind of felt like throwing up, but pushed it as hard as I could to the finish. I was surprised at how many other people did not have this same strategy and I ended up weaving around people to the very end. Mile 10 - 8:00, Extra 0.2 on my Garmin - 1:24 (6:39 pace)

Final Time - 1:23:33

I am very happy with how this race went. I do think if it had been slightly cooler I probably could have gone faster, but all in all I ran the race that I wanted to run and executed the start slow finish fast strategy as well as I could have hoped.

And based on all of your comments on my race goals post, I know that you will be happy to hear that I finally beat my mother! She ended up having a great race as well, taking 1:30 off her time from last year's race and finishing in 1:28.

Philadelphia Marathon Training Weeks 9 & 10

2011-10-10T05:52:00.000-07:00

I didn't manage to post a recap last week, so here's what I've done for the last two weeks

Monday September 26
Run 5.26 mi
Nice easy recovery run to start off the week

Tuesday September 27
Run 5.95 mi
6x800
After staying up late on Monday night to see the Redskins lose to the Cowboys (sigh), I knew that there was no way I was making it to the morning track workout. So this was my first evening interval workout. I was a bit nervous about how my stomach would behave, but I was careful about what I ate all day and didn't have any issues. While I will always prefer running in the morning, there was something fun about running around the track more or less in the dark. This ended up being a strong workout.

Wednesday September 28
Run 8.15 mi
Since I was going away for the weekend, I tried to get in some "longish" runs mid-week. After running the night before I couldn't quite get myself up early enough to fit in more than 8.

Thursday September 29
Run 8.5 mi
I left for a long weekend in New Orleans mid-morning and managed to squeeze in this run before having to head to the airport.

Friday September 30
Rest (and a lot of walking in the Garden District)

Saturday October 1
Run 4.65 mi (treadmill)
I fit in a quick treadmill run before we headed out for our last day of exploring New Orleans (including visits to the zoo and aquarium).

Beignets!

Sunday October 2
Rest

Monday October 3
Run 5.5 mi
I was looking forward to getting back to my regular running routine after my weekend out of town. It was good to start of the week with an easy Monday morning run.

Tuesday October 4
Run 6.5 mi
4x1200
This was a good workout for me. I think the cooler temperatures helped because I felt like I could have done another one at the end. I managed to get progressively faster, so I was very happy with how I executed this workout.

Wednesday October 5
Run 6.25 mi
Run commute!

Thursday October 6
Run 4.25 mi
Normally Thursday is my day off, but since I knew I would be taking Saturday off, I opted for a short easy run instead.

Friday October 7
Run 5.2 mi
Since I was racing on Sunday, I skipped the Friday morning tempo workout and did an easy run commute instead.

Saturday October 8
Rest

Sunday October 9
Army 10 miler
I'm very happy with how this race went and I ended up with a new PR! Full recap is coming.

Week 9 - 32.51 mi
Week 10 - 37.7 mi

It wasn't my preference to have two lower volume weeks in a row, but it just ended up that way with my vacation and the Army 10 miler falling on consecutive weekends. I still managed to fit in some quality runs and am pleased with how these two weeks went. I'm looking forward to getting back up to a higher volume again and really working hard these last few weeks. I can't believe there are only 6 more weeks until Philly!

Army 10 Miler Goals

2011-10-07T05:47:00.000-07:00

It seems surprising to me, but the Army 10 miler will be my first running race since early June! Over the summer I focused on triathlons and running was put on the back burner. I started back up with marathon training at the beginning of August and have been focused and working hard. The last couple of weeks I have been feeling great and running well. I started to get really excited about seeing how I could do in this race a few weeks ago and was counting down the days to this weekend.

Then this week arrived. I was feeling abnormally stressed and bit cranky and I couldn't figure out why. I finally realized at some point yesterday that this race is making me extremely nervous. Although I have run plenty of distance races, I can't say that I have truly "raced" most of them. There are still some nerves when you're not totally sure you can complete a distance, but, at least for me, not nearly as many as when I have a goal in mind. Once I realized what was going on I tried to talk myself down off the stress ledge. No one is putting pressure on me but myself, so I just need to go out there and run a smart race and see what happens. I'm feeling a bit calmer today, so hopefully I can stay this way through the weekend.

That being said, here are my goals for this race:

A - New PR (sub 1:28)
B - New course PR (sub 1:41)

I think I should have no problem beating my course PR from 2009. I also ran this race in 2005 when it was detoured and ended up being over 11 miles. At the time, that was the longest I had ever run and I distinctly remember thinking that I could easily tack on 2 more miles and run a half, but there was no way I could ever do a marathon and run over twice that far. How times have changed. ;) If I run the race according to plan, even if I stay at the same pace the whole time and can't speed up, I should have no problem achieving my A goal. Of course, I know just as well as all of you that sometimes races don't go according to plan. And sometimes that easy pace you plan to start at just isn't so easy that day. So if things fall apart early, I'm just going to do my best to enjoy the crowds, course, and experience.

Another fun note about this race - my mother is running it too and I have never beaten her in a race we have run together. At any distance. I believe at this point we have similar 10 mile PRs (and I may even have a faster 5k PR), but whenever we have been in the same race she has finished ahead of me. She regularly places in her age group and probably will again on Sunday! But we'll see if I can manage to sneak in ahead of her. She says that she thinks I will based on our goal times, but I don't trust her. She always seems to underestimate her abilities ahead of a race. ;)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

I had a sweet victory yesterday in the office NFL pool!

I know it's small but I couldn't figure out how to get a larger screenshot

September Recap

2011-10-04T06:28:00.000-07:00

Miles: 168.32

X-Training: 3 (1 swim, 2 elliptical)

Rest Days: 6

Race(s): None. My first month of the year without a race.

New gear: I got some CAR tops, so I am ready to race this weekend!

Workout goals:
I didn't do very well this month with goals that weren't directly running related.

Focus on balancing workout intensity - This was one of my only successes. I started attending CAR workouts regularly and really focused on those hard workouts. All of the running I did on my own was easy and at a recovery pace. I tried using my HR monitor on the solo runs and slowed down when my HR went too high.

Injury prevention - I managed to take an ice bath after every weekend long run and I really think they are helping my legs recover faster. I wasn't so great with the foam roller but have been diligent about stretching after almost every run.

Keep swimming - FAIL. I went once - on Labor Day.

Planks - FAIL. 0 planks. It was almost as if once I realized I missed the first few days of the month, it didn't even seem worth it to start.

Non-workout goal: Work on the design of this blog. FAIL. I did no work on the blog and barely managed to post.

Ice cream flavor of the month: Peach Cobbler

September was a good month for running and that's about it. I had a lot of great workouts and strong long runs and am excited about my upcoming 10 miler, as well as the rest of marathon training. I'm hoping that I can continue to carry this feeling all the way to the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20. I really focused on running in September and it showed when I failed to meet any of the other goals I set for myself. I should have known that as marathon training picked up, everything else would fall to the side.

October Preview

Workout goals:
After last month's goal fails, I'm going to keep it simple this month

Continue to push the pace in workouts - I'm still figuring out how to run track and tempo workouts and how much I can push myself and still finish strong. I know I need to keep testing my limits during each workout.

Strong long runs - So far this training cycle I've had some great long runs and I'd like to keep that up in October as I tackle my remaining 2 20 milers.

Try again with the planks - Really, I should be able to do this
Races: Army 10 miler (October 9)

Non-workout goal: Work on the design of this blog. I'm going to try again with this one. I should be able to make some progress if I actually focus.

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 8

2011-09-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

Monday September 19
Run 5.2 mi
I kicked off the week with an easy morning run.

Tuesday September 20
Run 8.8 mi
400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400
This was another quality track workout. The pyramid is tough, especially that 1600 in the middle, but I feel great when I finish it.

Wednesday September 21
Run 5.15 mi
Run commute day! This is turning into my favorite run of the week. It's always nice and easy and I know I have almost 48 hours off when I finish. :)

Thursday September 22
Rest

Friday September 23
Run 7 mi with 4 mi tempo
For some reason I really did not feel like running on Friday morning. The tempo run was a real mental struggle (especially at the beginning) but I somehow managed to pick up the pace each mile and finish with an average pace just under 8:00/mile. It's funny how once I heard the final time, my mood and evaluation of the run drastically changed!
Saturday September 24
Run 20 mi
My first 20 miler of this training cycle. I wasn't sure how it would go after last week's great 18 miler because I don't tend to have back to back good long runs. It was also warmer and more humid than the week before. Fortunately, my worries were unnecessary and I ended up having another great run. We had a nice pack together for most of the run (4-6 people) and when one of the guys I was running with asked if I wanted to try to pick up the pace with him for the last 4-5 miles, I decided to give it a shot. I figured I could always slow down if I couldn't keep up. We ended up dropping below a 9:00 pace and it was hard, but not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I finished the run tired, but thrilled with how well it went.
Sunday September 25
Elliptical 45 min
This was a nice easy session at the gym to loosen my leg's after Saturday's long run.

Week 8 - 46.15 mi
My highest mileage week ever! I'm really happy with how I have been running and how my legs have been feeling as the volume has increased. I've been taking an ice bath after every long run (a new thing for me) and I really think it has been helping. My legs have not been nearly as tight and sore on Saturday afternoons and Sundays as they have been in the past. It's hard to believe that I'm halfway to Philly!

Random Friday Facts - Computer edition

2011-09-23T06:28:00.000-07:00

1. My new laptop is here!

2. My first computer (freshman year of college) was a giant tank - the Apple G3 all-in-one

3. I haven't had a working printer in years.

4. I like Macs but I really love being able to right click on a mouse (and yes, I know there are ways around that)

5. I didn't have an email address until my freshman year of college.

6. I used to be very good at Snood. Sadly I haven't played in a while.

7. I took a semester long keyboarding class in 7th grade. I would say it's the most useful class I've ever taken, hands down.

8. I want an iPad but I can't justify purchasing one.

9. I know most people's jobs would be different without computers, but mine would change significantly. I'm very happy I don't have to maintain a card catalog!
10. I did all my college applications on a typewriter. Who even owns a typewriter now?

Three Things Thursday

2011-09-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

1. For some reason I haven't been blogging much recently. You know what I have been doing a lot of? Running. It's going really well but I haven't had the energy to sit down and write about it (other than basic weekly recaps). Eventually I will. I think.

2. I haven't raced since early August and that was an open water swim. I just looked at my race calendar and realized that I haven't done a road race since June 11. I'm shocked that it's been over 3 months! Good thing the Army 10 miler is only about two weeks away.

3. I ordered a new laptop that should be arriving today. It's a lot harder to sit down and write a blog post when you know that it will take 30 minutes for your computer to have a functioning browser window. Yes, that's how long it took on Sunday! I'd been getting "low memory" warnings for a while, but that finally pushed me over the edge. It should be a lot easier for me to get online at home starting tonight!

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 7

2011-09-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Monday September 12
Run 4.0 mi

Tuesday September 13
Run 8.13 mi; 6x800
These track workouts are knocking me out. By the time I get home from work on Tuesday evening, all I want to do is eat and go straight to bed. I'm taking that as a good sign that I'm working hard. I actually felt a bit better this week so it seems that my body may be getting adjusted to the added toll of speedwork.
Wednesday September 14
Run 4.32 mi
Another recovery run commute. I'm really enjoying this option for my mid-week run!

Thursday September 15
Rest

Friday September 16
Run 7.0 mi with 4 mi tempo
It was a cool morning and I was feeling good at the 3 mile mark, so I kept running and completed my first four mile tempo. While I know it won't continue forever, so far I've been able to improve my average pace by a few seconds per mile each week.
Saturday September 17
Run 18.1 mi
Every training cycle, I have one or two long runs that are so great they remind me why I keep signing up for marathons. This was one of those runs. My morning didn't start on the best note (I thought I had charged my Garmin mid-week, but turned it on and got a low battery warning so I had to go with my basic Timex instead), but the weather was great and I was really looking forward to the run. I felt strong the whole time and never had the end of run struggles that typically pop up once I get past 15 miles. I even negative split the run by a minute or so, which is another rare occurrence. I'm sure that next Saturday's 20 miler will be horrific as a result, but I'm definitely going to ride the high from this run all week.

Sunday September 18
Elliptical 30 min
I took an ice bath post long run and wore my compression socks all afternoon/night and woke up to legs that felt surprisingly good. This was just a quick trip to the gym to get my legs moving.

Week 7 - 41.55 mi
I'm really happy with how this week went. I'm approaching the peak portion of my training and my body seems to be responding well. I'm ready to tackle my first 20 miler next Saturday! I'm also glad that the Army 10 miler is on the horizon (Oct 9). It's been a while since I've raced and it will good to get out there and see what I can do.

Random Friday Facts

2011-09-16T06:38:00.000-07:00

1. I don't like Three Musketeers bars. They're too boring. Give me either pure chocolate or chocolate with lots of stuff in it.

2. I will buy store/generic brands of almost every food except for Cheerios. They just aren't the same.

3. Fluxx is a great game.

4. I don't like tucking my shirt in so I never wear button down shirts.

5. I've never been a picky eater and the only dinner I wouldn't eat growing up was meatloaf. I still don't like it.

6. I changed a bike tire for the first time yesterday.

7. For a variety of reasons, I've stopped watching any TV shows regularly. I keep saying I should invest in DVR, but never do.

8. I no longer even try on clothes that are dry clean only. I know I'll never take them, so what's the point of trying something on and liking it?

9. I have a really hard time spelling occasion. I always write occassion and have to correct it.

10. Today's weather makes me happy. I'm glad fall is finally here. Please don't come back summer.

Spandex love

2011-09-14T06:18:00.000-07:00

When I started training for my first marathon in 2009, I fell in love with running skirts. Eventually I realized that what I actually liked was the spandex shorts underneath and the skirt was unnecessary fabric. Thus began my love affair with spandex. A while ago, Page reviewed a pair of shorts she got at Target. Being an avid Target shopper, I knew I wanted to try them. I purchased a pair two weeks ago and it was love at first run.

Original pair (cat not included in purchase price)

So this week I returned to Target to get more. Because can you really have too much spandex?

Though I was tempted to get two more pairs of shorts, I decided to go with shorts and capris because then I am covered for more seasons. (I won't mention how much I already own) Totally justifies my purchase, right?

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 6

2011-09-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Monday September 5
Swim 3100 yds
As I feared, now that marathon training has ramped up, I am having a hard time making it to the pool, even with a scheduled cross training day. Since Monday was a holiday, it was the perfect day to fit in a swim. Someone convinced me to do a 30 minute swim alternating 100 hard and 50 easy, so by the end of this workout my arms were toast. But in a good way, of course.

Tuesday September 6
Run 7.13 mi; 3x1600
This was the first day that it hit me how tired I was. I still managed a decent workout, but my legs felt pretty heavy the whole time.
Wednesday September 7
Run 10.0 mi
Since I was going out of town for the weekend, I wanted to get my long run in early. Fortunately this was a step back week so it was more manageable to fit this in before work. Ten miles is now my new before work distance PR. Despite the fact that it was raining for most of this run I really enjoyed it. And there is no better feeling then knowing the only thing I needed to do over the weekend was an easy 3 miler!
Thursday September 8
Run 3.0 mi
A nice easy (wet) recovery run. I love step back weeks because they include 3 mile runs! :)

Friday September 9
Run 6.83 mi; 5k tempo
By Friday I was getting a bit tired of running in the rain, but I'll take it any day over 80+ degrees and high humidity. I felt much better than I did on Tuesday and managed to run my 5k tempo about 15 seconds faster than the week before. It was a great way to start my long weekend!
Saturday September 10
Run 3.0 mi
A nice easy morning run on the boardwalk at the beach. I've made it my goal to make sure my easy runs are actually easy so this was at a very relaxed pace.

Sunday September 11
Rest

Week 6 - 30.06 mi
This was another good week of training and the distance step back could not have come at a better time. I find it hard to believe that I am already 6 weeks in and the race is only 10 weeks away! There's lots of work to do before then.

Three Things Thursday

2011-09-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

1. WALD - Are you doing anything special to celebrate WALD (Weekend After Labor Day)? I'm headed to the Jersey Shore to spend the weekend with my college friends. We started the WALD tradition in 2003 and have been getting together every year since! It works out really well because everyone knows to save this weekend. Occasionally we have one or two people who have to miss it, but this year all 8 of us will be there! I highly recommend starting a WALD tradition of your own!

2. Football - When I started this blog in January, my favorite team, the Redskins, had long been eliminated from playoff contention. So the extent of my love of football has been kept hidden. But with the season kicking off today and the most important game (Skins v. Giants) on Sunday, my football fever is at full strength. Given that this is a running blog, I promise not to talk about it TOO much. I love fall for many reasons, including cool weather for running, but one of the big ones is that I can spend every Sunday afternoon/evening watching games. The perfect way to recover from a hard week of training.

3. Tired - I cruised through the first five weeks of marathon training with no issues, but this is the week that it has all caught up to me. It's nothing unusual or painful, I'm just tired. It's as if my body finally woke up and realized what I have been doing for over a month. I'm sure a big contributing factor is that I added two quality workouts to my schedule last week, but the overall miles are creeping up as well. Fortunately this week is a step back week and I'm planning to more or less take the weekend off, so I should be ready to go again on Monday. But it's a good reminder that I need to be more aware of my sleep, nutrition and hydration. Things are only going to pick up from here, so I need to be as prepared as possible!

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 5

2011-09-06T06:35:00.000-07:00

Monday August 29
Run 4.0 mi
This was a nice easy recovery run to start off the week.

Tuesday August 30
Run 7.5 mi
Intervals - 400/800/1200/1200/800/400
This was my first workout with the Capital Area Runners. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect since I hadn't been to the track since before the National Half, but I ended up having a pretty good workout. It felt good to do some faster running and I was able to have a much more consistent workout than I was expecting. I was a bit nervous I might hit a wall on the way back down, but it was fine.

Wednesday August 31
Run 4.32 mi (AM)
Swim 2600 yds (PM)
I started my day with an easy run commute.

I knew that would be taking Saturday as a complete rest day and had been planning on swimming on Thursday morning. Then during the day on Wednesday I decided I'd prefer to sleep in the next morning so I went to the pool to swim that night. It had been about 2.5 weeks since I'd been in the pool so it was not an easy workout. However, I was glad that I got it done and didn't have to get up the next morning!

Thursday September 1
Rest

Friday September 2
Run 6.7 mi with 5k tempo
I was nervous heading into this workout. I hadn't done a tempo run in a long time and I don't think I've ever done one on the track, so I didn't know how hard it would be mentally. Fortunately, it ended up being not nearly as bad as I was expecting. I was hoping to stay somewhere in the 8:00-9:00 range (sub-9 was the ultimate goal) and I was quite happy to finish in 26:05 (8:24/mi).
Saturday September 3
Rest
I volunteered at the Dominion Trail Mix, and unfortunately the race portion of the day (which I was helping with) was washed out by a large thunderstorm.

Sunday September 4
Run 16.0 mi
Since I was volunteering on Saturday morning, I moved my long run for the week to Sunday. I knew that my new running buddy Thom only had 12 on his schedule, so I got there early to run my extra miles. I had 16 on the schedule and was hoping to do 4 before the group started. I only managed to have time to do 3, but fortunately Thom was willing to step up to 13. It ended up being a good run, despite the high humidity. We finished with a faster average pace than the week before and really pushed it the last mile.

Week 5 - 38.52 mi
This was my first week running with a group and I think it went really well. I had two good workouts at the track and am enjoying the structure that adds to my week. I'm going to stop tracking the miles planned vs. ran since my old schedule is out the window. I'm not going to try to hit mileage goals on the workout days, instead I'm just going to make sure I do the proper amount of warming up and cooling down to do well in the workout and recover properly.

Random Friday Facts

2011-09-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

1, My friend Heather and I became obsessed with pickles in high school. I can't remember why, but we bought anything (and everything) pickle related. Candy, gum, jewelry... I still have my pickle necklace!

2. I don't drink colas or dark sodas. I had a few years with some stomach issues and they are tied in my head to Diet Coke & Diet Pepper, even though I know they weren't the cause.

3. I wanted to be a vet until I realized I couldn't handle the pressure of surgery (or animals dying).

4. I love the Metro, despite its many faults.

5. I hate paying for shipping when I shop online.

6. I love the movie Babe. It always makes me cry and cheers me up at the same time.

7. I've always been intrigued by the idea of shaving my head. I knew a girl who did and her hair came back curly. I wonder if that would have happened to me.

8. I love reading memoirs. I wish my life were more exciting so I could write one.

9. I am VERY excited that football season is here. Best time of the year.

10. I can't handle spicy food. I wish that I could. Any tips for improving my tolerance?

August Recap

2011-09-01T06:15:00.000-07:00

Miles: 129.38

X-Training: 5 (swim - 4, elliptical - 1)

Rest Days: 6

Race(s): Centennial Lake 1 mile swim. Hurricane Irene cancelled the second one (a 5k swim)

New gear: I gave the Asics 2160 a chance and found out that I like them. Whatever went wrong with the 2150 (at least for me) has been corrected. Plus, they are lime green!

Workout goals:
Be smart as I start my marathon training plan - I think I did a good job with this. I did more cross training at the beginning of the month and made sure to get in all of my scheduled rest days. I've started taking ice baths after long runs (something I've never done before). So far, I have enjoyed getting back to a run dominated schedule and my legs have not protested.

Keep swimming in the rotation - I did okay here. My goal was to try to swim once a week. I ended up swimming four times, but one of those was a race. I also went about 2.5 weeks towards the end of the month without getting to the pool.

Plank a day - I started off well, but fell off towards the end of the month. I did a plank 20 out of 31 days. That sounded decent to me until I realized it was only 65%. Certainly it is better than the amount of core work I was doing before (none), but I can do better.

Non-workout goal: New recipes. I did okay here. With a few weekends out of town, my CSA produce started piling up and I got a bit overwhelmed. Still, I've been able to use all of it, even though it hasn't always been in fun new recipes.

Ice cream flavor of the month: Oatmeal Cookie Chunk

August was a good month for me and marathon training got off to a strong start. My running mileage is way up, though that is to be expected when I switched out of tri mode and into marathon mode. I viewed August as more of a base-building month and a chance to get back my running legs. I made the decision to run with the Capital Area Runners, which is going to completely change my training plan. I'm 1/4 of the way to race day and excited to see what the next 12 weeks will bring.

I really enjoyed racing in my first open water swim in years at the beginning of the month. I was hoping to get in one more race, but Irene had other plans. One of the best things about tri training was getting back in the pool and I'd really like to avoid totally abandoning this as marathon training gets more intense.

September Preview

Workout goals:
Focus on balancing workout intensity - I noticed in mid August that I was doing the majority of my runs at the same pace and intensity level. The only guide on my plan was the mileage so I was doing the same thing every time. I really tried over the last week to run my recovery runs at a recovery pace. I think that now that I am going to have three hard workouts a week (intervals, tempo, long run) it will make it easier to keep my other runs easy and save my energy and effort for those days.

Injury prevention - I know this is extremely important as the miles continue to ramp up and I add in speedwork. I'm going to make it a priority to do plenty of stretching and foam rolling. I also plan to keep up the post-long run ice bath

Keep swimming - I'd like to make it to the pool at least once a week

Planks - I need to improve on August's 65%

Races: The 5k swim has been rescheduled for September 25. I will probably participate, assuming I am able to get to the pool regularly this month. Also, I don't own a wetsuit, so if for some reason the water temps drop dramatically, I'm out.

Non-workout goal: Work on the design of this blog. I'd like to play around with my current design. I think there's a fair amount that could be improved

Wordless Wednesday - It's Official

2011-08-31T06:19:00.000-07:00

After two good workouts (and a little enabling), I made it official and joined the Capital Area Runners this morning.

This means that my original Philly training plan is going to change significantly, but I could not be more excited!

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 4

2011-08-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Monday August 22
Run 7.0 mi
This run was a struggle. I drove back from North Carolina in the morning and I decided to do my medium-long run for the week since I had plenty of time, rather than waiting until the next morning. I headed out to run around noon and although it was a nice day I was pretty hot by the end. I felt good at the beginning and started way too fast so I crashed hard. By the end I was just glad I to finish.

Tuesday August 23
Run 3.0 mi
After Monday's poor run, I decided to take it slow on this run. I also realized over the last week that I have been doing almost all of my runs at the same pace, which I know isn't the best idea. So I really focused on keeping this run at a recovery pace.

Wednesday August 24
Run 3.05 mi
In keeping with my new decision not to run all of my runs at the same pace, I threw in 3 pickups during the last mile of this run. It felt good to run faster, even though it was only for short stretches.

Thursday August 25
Rest

Friday August 26
Run 7.1 mi
Another run commute day!

Saturday August 27
Run 16.0 mi
I had 14 on the schedule and joined the Capital Area Runners for the first time. The planned route was announced as 14.7, which I figured was close enough to my goal. Once we got started, I discovered that everyone running my pace was going 16 or more. They were all planning on tacking on the miles in the middle of the run, rather than the end. Since I didn't really want to run the last 7 or so by myself and I figured I was basically already running 15, I decided to go ahead and do 16. It seemed like a good idea in the middle of the run, but not as great at mile 14 when I was still 2 miles away from my car. I ended up doing the whole run with Thom, Katie's husband, who runs a similar pace and is also doing the Philadelphia Marathon. I think this bodes well for future long runs (and the race)! :)

Sunday August 28
Elliptical 40 min
My left knee had felt a bit tight on Saturday night, but I really noticed it when I finally was able to leave my apartment post-Irene and had to go down stairs. I decided to take it easy on the elliptical in the hopes that it would loosen everything up. I also took extra time stretching and foam rolling afterwards and iced it. It still feels a bit off, but a lot better. I'm going to keep up the icing for the next few days and back off if needed.

Week 4 (miles planned/ran) - 34/36.15
Thanks to Saturday's long run, I ended up with a bit more than planned this week. It was a pretty good week for me despite the rough start and craziness from Mother Nature (earthquake and a hurricane)!

Random Friday Facts

2011-08-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

1. I used to hate when my parents bought ginger snaps when I was growing up. Now they may be my favorite cookie.

4. I know almost no card games.

3. I got glasses in 3rd grade. I sometimes wish I knew what it was like to wake up and see clearly.

4. I'm glad that Target now sells SunDrop.

5. I would eat sushi every day if it wasn't so expensive.

6. I hate Settlers of Catan.

7. I don't like talking on the phone. Working in a call center would be my worst nightmare.

8. Pearls Before Swine always makes me laugh.

9. When I was on the track team in high school, I used to love practice and hate meets. I would much rather hang out and watch everyone else race. I was never like this with any other sport. With swimming and team sports, I always preferred meets/games.

10. I'm glad the NFL is back. Even if my team is going to have another bad year.

Wordless Wednesday - Beer

2011-08-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

I found my new favorite beer this weekend. Unfortunately, it's only available in North Carolina. I guess I'll be visiting a lot!

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 3

2011-08-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

Monday August 15
Run 3.0 mi

Tuesday August 16
Run 6.0 mi
The length of my Tuesday run is going to slowly start creeping up and I think I will most likely be making this a run commute day to avoid getting up super early.

Wednesday August 17
Run 3.0 mi

Thursday August 18
Run 6.23 mi (marathon pace run)
My first run commute was a great success. I got to sleep in a bit later than I normally would and manage to do a slightly better job of sticking to MP. I was still a bit too fast on some of the early miles, but I ended with a 10:02 average pace (which just manages to squeeze into the 10-10:15 range).

For those of you that asked about the logistics of my run commute, I do have access to a shower at work (with towels) and I took in my clothes the day before. When I started bike commuting occasionally earlier in the summer, I took in set of all of the necessary toiletries, so I don't have to worry about carrying any of that stuff back and forth either.

Friday August 19
Run 8.0 mi
I was leaving Friday afternoon visit my friend Jennifer for the weekend so I shifted my schedule around a bit to have my rest days on the weekend and get in my long run before I left. Fortunately it was a step back week so I only had 8 on the schedule.

Saturday August 20
Rest
An afternoon at the Mother Earth brewery drinking on the patio. Great way to spend a gorgeous Saturday. And the Weeping Willow Wit may be my new favorite beer. :)

Sunday August 21
Rest
Sunday is my scheduled cross training day, but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle of trying to fit something in while I was out of town. I'd much rather spend time with a friend who I only see a few times a year! Pool time, a little shopping and movie night made for a very relaxing Sunday.

Week 3 (miles planned/ran) - 26/26.23
This will be the last time I'll be seeing totals in the 20s for a while. Things are going to start ramping up quickly! Only 13 weeks until race day.

Random Friday Facts

2011-08-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

1. It drives me crazy when people say "liberry." I don't work in a fruit!

2. I don't like cottage cheese. For some reason I feel like I should so I try it every few months, only to find out that I still don't like it.

3. I have to open programs on my work computer in a certain order so that they line up the "right" way along the bottom. I need Outlook first, then my library software program, then anything else that I don't use as regularly. This isn't as much an issue with Windows 7, but with XP I if I had to restart Outlook for any reason, I would need to close all of the other windows and reopen them.

4. I held off getting a smart phone for a long time because I didn't see why I needed it. Now I can't really imagine what I would do without it.

5. I wish I had played lacrosse when I was younger. It looks like it would have been fun.

6. I didn't join the summer swim team until I was 11 and didn't swim year round until my junior year of high school. I sometimes wonder if I would have been better if I had started at 6 or if I would have burned out by high school. I lean towards burnout.

7. I wish I had an interest in working in a medical field because I would love to wear scrubs to work.

8. I love Target (Archer Farms) trail mixes.

9. I always set my alarm so that I can hit snooze twice. I know I should just sleep until the time I am planning to get up, but I need the gradual wake up.

10. I wear dresses to work as much as possible in the spring and summer because I don't have to worry about picking out a matching outfit.

Three Things Thursday

2011-08-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

1. I ran to work this morning. It was great. I got to sleep in almost an hour later than I would if I had run and gotten ready at home, yet I still had plenty of time for my run and wasn't late to work. I'm not sure why I didn't start doing this earlier! This is definitely going to become a part of my regular routine - especially on days that I need to get in a weekday medium-long run.

I also think I need to re-evaluate my morning routine. Why is it taking me so long to leave the house? I got ready in significantly less time at the office.

Some of the sights along the way:

2. The jury is still out on the Asics 2160, but after two runs I am leaning towards a favorable review. There has certainly not been an immediate "ugh, I hate these!" reaction. I also have not immediately fallen in love, but that's not necessarily a problem. Basically, I haven't really thought about them or noticed anything while running and really, that's probably what I should be looking for in a shoe. Also, most importantly, I love the lime green laces.

3. Last night was the second (of what will hopefully be many) Monthly DC Blogger Meetup. There was an initial discussion of having dinner at Graffiato, but the craziness of Restaurant Week got in the way and we ended up at the Front Page for happy hour. It was fun to meet some new bloggers and catch up with some familiar faces. And someday we may actually have dinner at Graffiato! Please join us next month if you are in the DC area. :)

Photos by Gretchen (who didn't make it into any photos because she was the only one with a camera).

Wordless Wednesday - CSA Week 8

2011-08-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

Squash and corn enchiladas

Gazpacho

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 2

2011-08-15T06:25:00.000-07:00

Monday August 8
3.0 mi
I love the early days of marathon training when there are still 3 mile runs on the schedule!
Tuesday August 9
6.0 mi

Wednesday August 10
Swim 3150 yds
Since I'm easing back into this all running schedule, and I'm probably swimming a 5k in a few weeks, I decided to replace Wednesday's 3 mile run with a swim.

Thursday August 11
6.0 mi pace
My current marathon PR is a 10:43 average pace. When I use the McMillan running calculator, my times in shorter races predict that I can run a significantly faster marathon. Even my half marathon PR says I can run almost 30 minutes faster. While I'm definitely shooting for a PR in Philadelphia, I don't really think that big of a time drop is realistic. I know myself and I know that I need to force myself start conservatively and then pick up the pace in the second half if I feel good. The point of all this is that I am targeting a 10:00-10:15 pace on these pace runs. Unfortunately, in this run I went a bit too fast and most of the miles were in the 9:45-9:50 range. While it's always exciting to go faster than a goal, I need to do a better job of teaching myself to run the "right" pace. It's not going to do me any good to run the pace runs at a sub-10 pace when starting a marathon that way will result in a painful crash and burn.
Friday August 12
Rest

Saturday August 13
12.0 mi
My friend left town mid-day on Saturday and I knew it was supposed to rain a lot on Sunday, so I decided to head out for an afternoon long run. I was a bit nervous about how my stomach would handle it (I've had problems in the past), but that didn't turn out to be a problem. However, the run was not easy and my left knee felt a bit off. I had 12-13 on the schedule so I decided to stop right when I got to 12. Then on the way home I stopped at CVS to pick up a bag of ice for my first ever ice bath. Bea was pretty curious about the whole process and I was a bit concerned that I was going to end up with a cold, wet, very unhappy cat.

Sunday August 14
Swim 4000 yds
I figured it was time to up the distance in the pool from my regular 3000ish yards. I even forced myself to do a semi-long set of 8x200 (I think 4-5 is a good number of repeats so 8 was an achievement). It was a good day in the pool though I could definitely feel the extra distance in my upper body later in the afternoon.

Week 2 (miles planned/ran): 30-31/27

Three Things Thursday

2011-08-11T06:16:00.000-07:00

1. I would still like to do one of the races at HarborFest this Sunday, but I'm not sure it's going to happen. One of my friends from college is coming to town tonight and staying through sometime Saturday afternoon. I already did my first "long" run of the weekend this morning so I could take tomorrow off, but I probably won't be able get in my second long run until Sunday morning. I suppose I could get up at 4am to run and then go to the swim, but I don't think I'm that crazy (or committed?). Depending on when she leaves on Saturday I may try to run that afternoon, but the weather would also have to cooperate. I'm not heading out to run 13 miles when it's 90 degrees.

2. Last week I got a pair of Asics 2160s to test out. You may remember that I hated the 2150, but then kind of liked it again. I figured the 2160s were worth a try, especially since they are so pretty!

I also had a coupon to Road Runner Sports, so I got a good deal. And the store policy says that you can run in shoes for 60 days and return them, no questions asked, if you decide you don't like them. Has anyone ever tested this out? I definitely want to get a number of runs in these before I decide for sure. Will they really take them back after I've put significant miles on them? I hope so! Actually, I really hope that I like them (since I loved the 2140s), but I'm not overly confident.

3. This is the time of year that I really start getting excited for fall temperatures, but sad that the days are getting shorter. It was so pleasant when I stepped outside this morning a little before 6, but also just starting to get light. Can't I have both? Early sunrise and temperatures in the 60s? That's how things would be if I were Mother Nature. But since I'm not, I'd pick running in the dark in cooler temperatures. And there is something nice about starting your run in the dark and watching the sun come up!

CSA Week 7

2011-08-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

Corn, eggplant, green peppers, onion, cucumber

Eggplant

I decided to make a modified version of eggplant parmesan. First I cut the eggplant into slices, brushed it with olive oil and roasted it on a cookie sheet in the oven (400 degrees, 8 minutes on each side). Then I layered it in a baking dish with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese and baked that for about 25 minutes at 350.

Green peppers and onions

I sliced and sauteed the peppers and onions and seasoned with salt and pepper. Then I toasted a baguette and brie and topped with the peppers and onions. It was a modified version one of my favorite sandwiches, The Cowgirl, at the Lost Dog Cafe. They also include chicken, but I didn't feel like taking the time to cook that. :)

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of corn I've received recently, so if you have any recipe suggestions, please share them. I cooked up the ears I got this week and took the corn off the cob, but other than that I haven't figured out what to do with it!

Centennial Lake 1 mile swim race report

2011-08-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I raced in the inaugural Centennial Lake 1 mile swim hosted by the Central Maryland Y Masters team. All summer I had wanted to do an open water swim, but couldn't see to find one that was close enough or fit my schedule. When I came across this race I was excited because it was just what I wanted.

The registration form asked for a seed time from a 1650 yd/1500 m pool swim. Obviously I haven't done one of those in a while, but with the help of Victoria, I guesstimated my time. I didn't want to just double my time from the swim portion of my tri (750 m) because I figured that it would be significantly slower than my pool time. When I got the seeding for Sunday's race and was near the top, I realized that most people must have guessed at their open water time, rather than using a pool time. I was pretty sure I was going to get passed - a lot.

Sunday morning I made the easy drive up to Centennial Lake. Since the race didn't start until 8:45, I didn't have to leave my apartment until 7. It almost felt like sleeping in. :) I had heard that this lake is where the Columbia Tri is held, and it was obvious as soon as I got to the parking lot that the lake and surrounding park are a mecca for triathletes. The lot was packed with cars with bike racks and people unloading their bikes, and the path down to the pavilion was packed with runners.

This was a small race (60 swimmers) so I was able to get my packet and be body marked in about 3 minutes. I was lucky number 13! Then I had plenty of time to warm up/check out the course and lake. The water felt much better than Mountain Lake in Culpeper (turns out it was 82) and, like that lake, I could see absolutely nothing in the water. Fortunately, that doesn't bother me in non-ocean situations because the only thing that freaks me out is sharks. I suppose that if I swam in Florida I would also be worried about alligators, but that wasn't a concern here!

The race used a time trial start, which meant that 2 people started every 15 seconds. I wasn't familiar with this type of wave system, but it was nice because there was no jostling or fighting for position at the beginning. The woman I started with had pulled ahead before we got to the first buoy and I knew that my suspicions about being seeded too high were probably correct. The course went out to the buoy you can see in the picture above and then we swam in a large triangle in the larger portion of the lake before coming back between that buoy and the island (on the right) and then straight in to the finish.

I settled into a decent rhythm early on and tried to sight on a semi-regular basis to make sure I was staying in a somewhat straight line. I got passed by a number of people early on, along the first side of the triangle. Other than that I felt like I was more or less out there on my own. When I started on the third side I had been alone for a while and made it my goal not to get passed anymore. Unfortunately, one more guy passed me in the middle of that side and then as I got back towards the last turn buoy I noticed that there was someone 10-15 yards behind me. At that point I was very determined not to be passed another time and tried to pick up the pace. I didn't pull away, but did manage to stay ahead of him to the finish. Since he started behind me I'm sure he actually beat my gun time, but I got the satisfaction of crossing the line first! (you can kind of see his head/splashes in the photos below)

Apparently I have better running form when barefoot!

My final time was 28:12. I had been hoping to be in the high 26-low 27 range, though I really had no basis for that goal and I couldn't tell you why or how I came up with it. This time is pretty much in line with my 750m meter time/pace from the tri (13:52) so I can't be disappointed.

I ended up second in my age group and walked away with a sweet ribbon that reminded me of summer league swim meets! Small races are the best. The winner was actually the woman who had started with me. She only ended up about a minute ahead of me which I think is pretty good considering that she pulled away so early on.

This race was a lot of fun and I can see myself signing up again next year. I did learn that a mile in open water feels longer than I was expecting. The 5k in a few weeks should be interesting. I have no worry that I won't be able to finish it, but I will definitely have to slow down my pace. Also, I'm guessing that my shoulders aren't going to be all that happy with me by the end!

Philadelphia Marathon Training - Week 1

2011-08-08T10:35:00.000-07:00

Last week marked the start of training for the Philadelphia marathon on November 20. I'm going with a 16 week plan this time (mainly because it worked with the timing of my last triathlon) and more or less following the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 schedule. I've made a few changes based on my weekend travel plans, work and social obligations, etc. but the idea is generally the same. This plan peaks at 50 mile/week which will be the most that I have ever done. Last year I got up to the mid 40s. I think this will be beneficial (why I'm trying it), but I am going to be paying close attention to see how my body responds and, if there are any issues, will be quick to replace a running day with cross training. The other thing I like is that it calls for double long runs. The first day is about half the mileage of the second day and the first day is often done at marathon pace. While my focus now is Philadelphia, I'll be doing the Goofy Challenge only 7 weeks after that so I want my body to be prepared. For this reason I am also considering a shorter taper.

Monday August 1
Rest
All of the best training plans start with a rest day, right? I decided to give myself the day off after the Culpeper triathlon and jump back into running on Tuesday.

Tuesday August 2
5.0 mi

Wednesday August 3
3.0 mi

Thursday August 4
Rest
Thursdays are going to be my standard rest day, ahead of the double long run weekend.

Friday August 5
5.0 mi
The plan is set up for double long run weekends, but I really like to have Sundays as a day to sleep in and not have to use an alarm. I'm going to attempt to do the Friday/Saturday combo most weekends.

Saturday August 6
11.0 mi
Sarah joined me for the first 8 miles and it definitely made them fly by. I should probably try to convince her to run with me more often as I ended up with my best average pace for a long run since the spring (before the heat and humidity slowed me down). I tacked on an extra 3 by myself at the end to hit 11 for the day.
Sunday August 7
1 mile swim
I drove up to Ellicott City, Maryland on Sunday morning for the inaugural Centennial Lake 1 mile swim. Full race report tomorrow!

Week 1 (miles planned/ran) - 26-27/24*

*I realized after posting this that I did some wonky math. Monday had a 3 mile run on the schedule, but I decided to give myself a post-tri rest day instead.

CSA Week 6

2011-08-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

This week wasn't quite as exciting since I didn't end up getting any "new to me" vegetables in my CSA delivery.

Green peppers, corn, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumber, onion

Cucumber
I cut this up and took it in my lunch.

Corn, Green pepper, onion, yellow squash
All of these became part of veggie burrito filling that I make on a semi-regular basis. I also added black beans, tomato and green chiles to the mix. I love this because it is relatively quick and easy to make and leaves me with a bunch of leftovers. It also reheats well.

Zucchini
I was most creative with the zucchini this week. I made two loaves of zucchini bread using a recipe from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. It is also available online.

Despite the fact that I made this on two separate nights, I forgot to take a picture of the full loaf both times.

I also made a quick and tasty pasta dish based on a recipe created by Heather over at Dietitian on the Run. I didn't have purple onions or basil so I left those out, but otherwise I followed her instructions. It was really tasty and I never would have thought to mix Greek yogurt into my pasta sauce!

Three Things Thursday

2011-08-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

1. Well, my empty race calendar in August didn't last too long. Last week I discovered that there was a 1 mile open water swim at Centennial Lake in Ellicott City, MD on Sunday (August 7) and yesterday I officially registered. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do and not having to bike or run afterwards!

2. As a prelude to the race registration, I also finally registered with US Masters Swimming (rather than paying for a one day license). Now that I've handed over my money, I figure I better take advantage of my membership and do more races. I think that designating August as my month of open water swimming sounds like a great idea. I've got my eye on HarborFest at the National Harbor on August 14 (either the 1500 or the big one - 2.4 mi IronSwim) and Chantelle's 5k Swim Challenge on August 28. Anyone want to join me?

3. A few weeks ago I talked about my dinner out with some other DC bloggers. Planning has already started for the next one (potentially August 17 @ Graffiato). If you're in the DC area and interested in coming, please let me know and I can have you added to the email. Or feel free to contact Jess who is handling the reservation.

Culpeper Sprint Tri Race Report

2011-08-03T06:32:00.000-07:00

My brother and I drove down to Culpeper on Saturday afternoon and got to the packet pickup around 4. There weren't a lot of people there, so we were able to get our stuff quickly. I was slightly annoyed because they only had large women's shirts left. I understand that these things are never perfect, but I was surprised that they were already out of small and medium women's shirts. Yes, the international race had been that morning (and had the same shirt), but that race had only about 200 people in it compared to the almost 500 in the sprint. We arrived about halfway through the afternoon packet pickup and there were huge lines at the race day pickup on Sunday morning. So it seems like they ran out of the smaller sizes pretty early on. Fortunately it's pretty small for a large so it's still wearable, though not my preferred fit.

Race shirt logo. Notice anything wrong?*

The pickup was held at a local bike shop so we both took advantage of this to purchase bigger, insulated water bottles. Given the temperature predictions for Sunday, we decided it couldn't hurt to carry more water with us on the bike leg.

Pretty new bottle!

We left packet pickup and made the short drive to Mountain Lake State Park to check out the lake, transition area and course. On the drive in it quickly became apparent how hilly the area was. We got there, put our feet in the lake to see exactly what 85 degrees feels like (answer - hot) and located our rack in the transition area. Numbers appeared to have been assigned alphabetically so we were on the same rack. We were much closer to the bike exit and entrance than we were to the swim entrance and run exit, which we decided was a good thing. The less running we had to do with our bikes, the better. Since the transition was in a grassy area near the lake, it required a pretty long run up a grassy hill to the mount/dismount line on the road.

We then got back in the car and drove the 16 mile bike course. The farther along we got, the more nervous I became. It was all hills with hardly a flat stretch to be found. To be honest, I was more nervous about the downhills and tight turns than I was about the uphills. I'm still not confident enough on my bike at higher speeds and when I crashed it was on a curve that I didn't handle properly. I was most nervous about one very steep downhill around mile 8 and then the finish. To get back into the park, there was a tight right-hand turn at the bottom of a fairly steep hill. On the way back to our hotel we also drove the majority of the run course which was not quite as hilly, but still had its fair share.

We had dinner at a local Italian restaurant that had been taken over by triathletes (we decided it had to be one of their best weekends of the year) and were back at our hotel and in bed relatively early. The hotel was less than 10 minutes away from the park so we avoided a super early alarm. We got up at 5:45, ate breakfast and were out the door by about 6:20. We had a little over an hour to get set up before the transition area closed. We added air to our tires and I discovered that my chain had somehow been pushed off the big front ring and onto the small one during transport, and I was fortunately able to fix that ahead of time (and get myself covered in grease in the process). We were set up in plenty of time and had a chance to warm up in the lake. This swim only confirmed what we had learned the day before, it was hot.

Since it was a relatively small race, there were only 5 swim waves. My brother was in wave 1 with the 39 & under men and I was in wave 3 with the 39 & under women. His wave started right at 8:00 and then I was off six minutes later (wave 2 was the 40 & over men). The course was a triangle that we swam in a counterclockwise direction. It took me a little while to figure out the best ratio of breathing to sighting, but I feel like I managed to avoid too much weaving. I could see a number of women in my wave ahead of me, but I felt like I was moving pretty well. By the time I finished the first side of the triangle and got to the turn buoy I had caught up to the back end of the white caps (wave 2). It was along the second side of the triangle that I started noticing how hot it was in the water, but I tried to keep a good pace and pass white caps and a few red ones (my wave). It was never so crowded that I couldn't get around people and I never got kicked or punched in the face. When I came in towards the finish I tried to swim as long as possible since I had noticed on the way in that the bottom was somewhat rocky and I wanted to avoid hurting my feet. Then I was out and running towards transition hoping that my lack of practice wouldn't hurt me too much!

Swim time - 13:52
Women - 30/152
Age group - 10/38
Not quite my goal but I'll take it given the heat and my total lack of open water practice.

T1 time - 2:03
Women - 76/152
Age group - 15/38
Given that I did absolutely no transition practice, I'll take the top 50%.

The timing pad was right at the transition exit so the long run up the grassy hill was included in the bike time. Immediately after the line was a short, steep downhill and I managed to get feet clipped in as I rolled down, before turning out onto the main road and heading uphill. The course was hill after hill and I feel like I did a pretty good job of shifting gears so that I could maintain a good cadence and avoid standing up. Not surprisingly people started passing me almost immediately and kept it up the whole time. I forced myself to drink on any stretch that was even close to flat and just worked on keeping a steady pace. I made it through the tight turns early on though I realized that I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm sure a lot of it is practice, but I also need to read up on how to approach turns and what type of line to take. The steep downhill I was nervous about in the middle turned out to be not nearly as bad as I was expecting and was actually kind of fun! By around mile 10 or so I found myself consistently around the same people. I would catch up to them on the uphill portions and they would go flying out ahead on the downhills. So I clearly have the strength to get myself up, but totally lack the technique to get down quickly. More to practice! At the top of one of the last big hills I even joked with the woman I kept trading places with that we really should combine into one person. I'm not sure how much she agreed with me. And perhaps the fact that I could talk at the top of the hill means I wasn't working hard enough? About 2/3 of the way through I thought I might be able to finish in under an hour, but I think my math was slightly off and I wasn't quite accounting for how much the later hills would slow me down. I was surprised that I remembered most of the course from our preview drive and I was happy when I made the last turn onto the road that would take me back to the park entrance. As I approached the downhill to the last turn I was a little nervous about slowing down enough to handle it (or turning at a higher speed). They had even spray painted "SLOW DOWN" on the road. I tried feathering the brakes on the way down because I didn't want to ride them too much, but didn't slow down as much as I wanted. At the last minute I felt like I couldn't make the turn and went past it instead. Could I have actually made it? I'm not sure, but I didn't want to crash into the gate or guardrail so I didn't attempt it. I had a flashback to my bad fall and couldn't do it. So I had to stop, turn my bike around and head back in. As I came back by the volunteer directing traffic she said that there had been a earlier crash and she was glad I had avoided a wipeout. The unfortunate part to this (besides the embarrassment) was that I had no momentum heading into the short steep uphill before the dismount line. Then I was flustered about that and trying not to cross the dismount line on my bike and almost wiped out. I got my foot out in time to not actually fall over, but I ended up in a squat with my bike more or less on the ground. It was noticeable enough that multiple people asked if I was okay. A glorious way to end the ride.

Time - 1:05:49
Women - 102/152
Age group - 23/38
I didn't quite hit my desired goal of faster than 15mph in my overall time, but I think that I did actually do that when I was riding. If I could take out the cross country run with my bike and the minute or so it took me to get back on course, I think my riding time was definitely less than 1:04. Clearly, though, this is by far my weakest leg and I have a lot of work to do if I want to be competitive

T2 Time - 1:25
Women - 46/152
Age group - 10/38

The first portion of the run was on grass so I just tried to settle into a decent rhythm. Since I knew I probably wouldn't be able hydrate well enough on the bike, I decided to run with my handheld even though it was only a 5k. I think it was the right call and I started drinking immediately. My legs felt pretty trashed from the bike so I did my best to keep my pace sub-9. I was able to pass a few people, but I definitely wasn't making a huge surge like I would have hoped. The course was an out and back so I kept trying to keep an eye out for my brother who I knew was somewhere on the course ahead of me. He was not quite as far ahead as I had thought he would be, which made me wonder if I had missed him (there was a short out and back on a side street early in the course so I thought I could have been on that tangent when he was heading back on the main road). Fortunately I had not and it gave me a bit of boost to see a familiar face. Soon the race was almost over and I was back on the grass. I didn't want to try to kick it in until the very end since I was pretty sure I didn't have many reserves. Another women tried to pass me about 200 yards before the finish. I decided to go for it at that point and fortunately managed to stay head of her to the end!

Run time - 27:10
Women - 68/152
Age group - 17/38
I was hoping to place a little bit better here, but I knew that based on my recent runs I probably wouldn't be able to go as fast as I had in my first race. I am glad that I managed to finish with an average pace under 9:00.

Final time - 1:50:17

Other than my issues at the end of the bike course, I'm pleased with how this race went. It was a lot of fun to do a race with my brother and it was a beautiful (though challenging) course. The race was well run and small enough to never feel overly crowded. I'm not sure how I would manage in a tri with 1000s of people! I think I did well considering that I did very little hill training. I certainly have a long way to go on the bike, but I know I did improve this summer (even if this race doesn't necessary reflect that time wise). I also need to figure out how to keep up my running speed while adding in biking and swimming workouts.

*This race was in Virginia! Oops!

I guess they used the same template for the Maryland Tri Series races and

someone forgot to make all of the necessary changes?

July Recap

2011-08-01T06:03:00.000-07:00

Miles: 60.94

X-Training: 11 (7 bike, 4 swim)
Biking Miles: 182.11

Rest Days: 9

Race(s): Culpeper Sprint Tri on July 31 (race recap coming soon!)

New gear: I made a trip to some local outlets over the July 4 holiday weekend when there were some great sales and came home with two new tops. The only unfortunate thing is that they are both long sleeve (super cheap!) and I probably won't be able to wear them for a while. Come on fall! All things considered I was proud of myself for my relative restraint. There was plenty more that caught my eye, but I stuck to the really good deals. :)

Workout goals:
Increase my running mileage over June - This didn't happen, but I also hadn't planned on a full week off from running. I had hoped to do a few runs on my vacation, but when I was experiencing some heel pain I decided the smartest thing to do was take a full week off from running. It seems to have paid off as I have had no pain.

Take some extra rest days (marathon training is coming and I should take a break now) - I had planned to make sure that I had two complete rest days a week and I achieved this and then some!

End July motivated and ready to train for Philly - I had some motivation lows during the month (particularly when it came to the bike), but I am excited to start this marathon training cycle.

Non-workout goal: More new recipes. The first two CSA deliveries have really motivated me to try new things in the kitchen and I want to keep it up once the new, excited feeling has worn off. I tapered off a bit at the end of the month, but I did manage to try a couple of new things.

Ice cream flavor of the month: Red Velvet Cake

July was an interesting month. I started off feeling somewhat unmotivated and pledged to take extra rest days. I struggled on the bike, but finally broke through with a great ride the weekend before my tri. I didn't manage to run as much as I had hoped, but some heel pain led me to take some extra days off, just as a precaution. I'm hoping that the extra rest, along with all of the cycling and swimming as a part of tri training, have put me in a good position to tackle marathon training. I think I definitely needed the last 2-3 months away from intense running, both mentally and physically.

August Preview

Workout goals:
Be smart as I start my marathon training plan - I was hoping to have a few more miles under my belt in June and July than I actually managed. I don't want to ramp up too quickly, so I may swap out the 5th running day for cross training for the first few weeks to ease myself out of tri training and back to running. I know that being smart now will help me avoid injury.

Keep swimming in the rotation - I have really enjoyed getting back in the pool this summer and I don't want to abandon it completely when my focus shifts back to running. I have Sunday as a cross training day so my goal is to making this a swimming day as often as I can.

Plank a day - I keep saying that I want to be/should be doing more core work. Since I currently do absolutely nothing, I figure a good way to get started is to commit to a plank a day in August. I know I won't last long at the beginning, but hopefully I see some improvement in 31 days!

Races: Right now I have nothing on the schedule. We'll see if I actually make it through the month race-free.

Non-workout goal: New recipes. For some reason I had a hard time coming up with a goal for August so I'm going to stick with a cooking related one. I dropped off a bit last month, but I'd like to get back to trying at least one new recipe a week using my CSA produce.

Random Friday Facts

2011-07-29T06:03:00.000-07:00

1. I didn’t get on a airplane until my 18^th birthday.

2. I’ve never been to Disney World (but I’ll be going in January!).

3. I got a cat and then found out that I’m allergic to them (after a long period of a constant runny nose), but refused to give her up. Bring on the Flonase!

4. I really want to get a dog but I’m not sure I’m responsible enough (and my current apartment doesn’t allow them).

5. I wish I was a couple of inches taller.

6. My favorite flavor of Gatorade/Powerade is blue.

7. My high school and college used the same exact mascot costume. I was a Patriot and then a Diplomat. And in middle school I was an Admiral. A very non-standard collection of mascots.

8. The older I get, the more I like cold weather and hate the heat.

9. My favorite book ever is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. If you haven’t read it, you should.

10. In the beach v. mountains debate, I’d always pick the beach.

Culpeper Sprint Tri Goals

2011-07-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I'll be competing in my second sprint tri and my last of the year. It's been an interesting first summer of triathlon training and I hope that my added time on the bike and in the pool will pay off with improvements over my first race. It's a relatively small race (about 450 when I last checked the registration list) which should hopefully make it relatively easy to get in and out of the transitions and move around on the course. It should be a fun weekend and race since my brother is also competing! We're planning to head down on Saturday afternoon to avoid an extra early wake up on Sunday morning. This will also allow us to drive the course on Saturday which I hope will be helpful on Sunday.

Swim - 750m
My last tri swim was significantly shorter (300m) and in a pool so I'm not sure how much it really helps to compare the two. In that race I averaged 1:44/100 meters. I'd like to go faster than that in this race. It was harder to pass in the pool and I had to stop/slow down several times. I'm hoping that in the lake I can swim without those type of issues and that the lack of stopping will make up for the boost I got from turns in the last race.
Goal - sub 13:00

Bike - 16 miles

I averaged 15mph in the BRATS tri over 12 miles. Despite my recent struggles on the bike, I feel like I have made a ton of progress since that race and have seen the average pace of my training rides improve. I'm still not averaging 15mph in training, but given where I was in training in May and where I am now, a faster pace is definitely possible. It will all depend on the hills on the course. The race website describes it as "rolling" and fails to include an elevation chart - never a good sign with that type of course. Emily did this race last year and told me that it is definitely hilly, but not awful if you are mentally prepared. (I know she eats hills for breakfast now, but she says she wasn't like that last summer. Hopefully our idea of "not awful" is similar). I plan to drive the course when I get there on Saturday afternoon and I may have to reassess after seeing it, but as of now my goal is to be faster than 15mph.
Goal - sub 1:04

Run

This is where I am a little less sure about my goal time. I did a 25:51 (8:20 pace) in May, but I'm not sure if that's realistic for this race. I feel like my running has definitely dropped off during June and July as a result of my focus on spending more time on my bike and in the pool, and because I needed a break. I did only one brick workout (oops!), so I haven't really spent the time preparing my legs and my brain for this leg of the race. The other course was pretty flat and this one has hills. I also lucked out and got a pretty cool day for my May race, but it looks like it is going to be hot on Sunday. All of this added together means that I really have no idea what I can do. Assuming it isn't too hot and humid out there I'd like to keep my pace sub-9:00.
Goal - sub 28:00

I have done absolutely no transition practice so I'm hoping they aren't too slow. I didn't have my bike shoes in the first race, so that should add a fun little wrinkle to T2. I'm not even going to put a time goal on either of them. Getting in and out as quickly as possible (without forgetting anything or putting my shoes on the wrong feet) is the goal.

At the very least, my goal for this race is to have a good time and be smart if the heat and humidity are high. I jump into marathon training on Monday, so I'd like to end this tri season on a high note with a desire to do it all again next year!

CSA Week 3 & 5

2011-07-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind on posting this, but here is what I made with the produce I received in weeks 3 & 5 of my CSA (week 4 I was on vacation and my coworker took my produce).

Week 3

Cantaloupe, Patty pan squash, peppers, cucumber, yellow squash, green beans

Patty pan squash

I sliced this up, tossed it with olive oil and some basil and oregano, then roasted it in the oven.

I mixed a portion of the cooked squash with tomatoes and served over pasta with a little more olive oil.

I did a poor job with photographing for the rest of this batch. The cantaloupe, cucumber and green beans were all cut up and eaten as snacks. I used the green peppers and yellow squash as part of the filling for veggie burritos (along with black beans, onion, tomatoes, and corn).

Week 5

Corn, patty pan squash, kohlrabi, peppers, cucumbers

Green peppers

I diced up the green peppers and mixed them into a egg scramble. I served it with salsa and a bit of cheese. Simple, but tasty!

Corn
I cooked up the corn on the cob and ate one (fresh corn, delicious!) and then removed the rest of the corn from the cob. I used it to make a quick and easy black bean and corn salad that I found on AllRecipes.com a couple of years ago.

Dressing

Cucumber
Sliced up for snacking. I love cucumbers, so I've been pretty happy that they have been so plentiful in the last few deliveries

Last week I didn't do so well with cooking (and may or may not have had cereal for dinner more than once) so I still have the kohlrabi and patty pan squash left. Hopefully I can report back next week on a tasty kohlrabi dish, I have my eye on a good recipe.

Week in Review - 7/17-7/23

2011-07-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday July 17
Swim 3200 yds
I like swimming on Sundays because I feel no pressure to get up early and go. I don't have to worry about the heat and the pool doesn't open until 10:30 so I couldn't go even if I wanted to. This was my longest swim of the summer and the main set was 200s to work on holding a consistent pace over a slightly longer distance.

Monday July 18
Bike - 21.6 mi (AM), 5 mi (PM)
In the morning I did a loop of Arlington, hitting up the Custis hills and finishing with a lap around Hains Point. The ride home after work was stressful and included an almost fall, leaving me totally frustrated by the time I finished. Two bad rides in a row (my last ride before vacation did have a fall) definitely had me in my head and not in a good state of mind about cycling.

Tuesday July 19
Run 4.0 mi
I was going to run 5 miles but I snoozed my way through one of them. Fortunately I did manage to drag myself out of bed and do 4. It was a slow sluggish run, but after a week off I really just need to get the miles in.

Wednesday July 20
Run 4.05 mi
Another sluggish run. I think my body was protesting the fact that I returned from vacation and jumped right back into three mornings in a row of workouts.

Thursday July 21
Rest

Friday July 22
Swim 3000 yds
I knew that Friday was supposed to be the worst day of the current heatwave so I decided it was the best day of the week to hit the pool. Sadly, even the water felt pretty hot (much warmer than on Sunday), but I still managed to have a good workout. I ended with 8x100 in a hard effort. I've really been trying to find that sweet spot of a good hard pace, but not too hard at the beginning so that I die. With my background as a sprinter I've definitely been known to start fast and die and I'd like to avoid that in my upcoming tri.

Saturday July 23
Bike 28.74 mi
Run 2.13 mi
I figured I was due for a brick workout before my tri next weekend and I wanted to get back on my bike. I knew that waiting until Sunday would only have me more in my head about it. It turns out this was a good idea, since my last brick was on May 22 (before my other tri)! Pathetic. Definitely need to improve on this next year. The good news is that I had a great, confidence building ride and a not totally unpleasant run despite the ridiculous temperatures.

Keys to a Successful Ride

2011-07-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

After all of my recent bike frustrations, I am happy to report that I finally had a good ride on Saturday. I took all of your comments to heart and went out with a goal of staying relaxed, not worrying about time and finishing on a positive note. The only thing I did not manage to do was ride with a more experienced cyclist, but I'm just saving that one for another time (and accepting volunteers). :)

I think the ride was successful for a couple of reasons:

1) I went on Saturday and I went early - I have been doing my long run on Saturdays and trying to ride on Sundays but I knew that it would be better for me to get the ride "out of the way." I hadn't been on my bike since Monday and I knew I needed to get back out there and silence the nerves. I also planned to get out as early as possible so the trail would be less crowded. This also turned out to be a good idea given the crazy heat that has been hanging around. I ended up starting at 6:30.

2) I drove and rode where I knew it would be less crowded - For some reason I had been feeling like I really should be starting all of my rides from my apartment since I can be on a number of the local trails in minutes. It seemed silly to drive somewhere with my bike to ride. I decided on Friday that I should try to ride somewhere that would be less crowded (i.e. stressful) and that there was no shame in driving to a location where I could have a better ride. I ended up looking up parking locations for accessing the W&OD trail and then driving out to Vienna and parking at the community center. This was a great decision. I rode west and the trail was significantly less crowded than it is around Arlington. I had to pass groups of runners, but I never was worried about it because there wasn't a steady stream of runners/cyclists/walkers coming the other way.

3) I loosened the tension on my right pedal - This is the foot that I put down when stopping and it really calmed my nerves to know that I could get it out of the pedal with minimal effort. I didn't really think that it was all that tight before, but it did require a more concentrated effort to release my foot. Now it comes out easily and quickly. I'm sure that this means I am sacrificing some power, but the loss there is totally worth the mental boost. And it's not so loose that my foot comes out when I'm pulling up. As an added bonus, I can get that foot clipped back in much more quickly when I start up again after a stop.

4) I had the right attitude - I really focused on being positive and staying calm and in the moment, rather than anticipating problems that might lie ahead.

It was definitely great for my confidence. I'm sure there are still plenty of ups and downs ahead, but I just need to remember to focus on the right things and not anticipate the stressful ones and I'll have more good rides than bad ones.

Friday Followup and Blogger Dinner

2011-07-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for your comments on my post yesterday about my recent bike frustrations. I needed to vent and I appreciate all of you listening. Rationally I know that I just need to keep practicing, but it's good to hear a bunch of other people say the same thing! And I feel a lot better now that I put that post out there. Sometimes I think I just need to get the negative thoughts out of my head and in the open to start moving past them. So my plan is to leave them behind and go forward with a positive attitude. I WILL get better and I WILL feel more confident. :)

On Wednesday night I had the pleasure of joining some fellow DC bloggers Gretchen, Jess, Kacy, and Katie for dinner at Ella's.

We started with sangria at happy hour,

and then moved on to salad

and pizza.

Katie, me, Gretchen, Jess and Kacy (photo courtesy of Katie)

It was a fun evening with great food and great people! We talked about all sorts of things, but when talking about blogging I learned that my photo editing skills could most definitely use some work. I just take them with my basic digital camera and put them up. Editing? What's that? These ladies are pros compared to me. In addition, I appear to be the blogging slacker of the group, as everyone else managed to put up a post yesterday.
Our original plan had been to go to Graffiato, but due to its popularity and a somewhat unresponsive scheduler, it didn't work out last night. When we tried to pick a new location we came up with so many possibilities that we decided this should be a monthly event. So, if you're in the DC area, please join us next time. I think we've tentatively decided on the third Wednesday of the month, just to be consistent for planning purposes. So, mark August 17 at Graffiato on your calendar!

Frustration (My bike and I - 3)

2011-07-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is the third post where I am chronicling my attempt to get into cycling. If you missed them and want to catch up, read Part 1 or Part 2.

I apologize in advance for the fact that this post is on the whiny side.

Recently things with my bike have not been great. I was hoping that at this point in my journey (about 5 months in), I would be feeling much more confident than when I started, but recently that really hasn't been the case. I made the switch to clipless pedals in early June and, while I have been happy with that decision, I have gone through a fall-heavy period (at least compared to the previous few months which had zero)! Most of them have been minor, with the exception of the one that really scared me.

As I noted in back in my first post, I came into this adventure with an irrational fear of crashing. I was hoping that after a few falls I would realize that it wasn't all that bad and push that fear aside. Unfortunately, it seems that my falls have solidified that fear, rather than lessening it. Instead of a completely irrational feeling, it now has actual experiences to back it up. What's strange is that none of them have been nearly as bad as what I imagined, but that still hasn't helped my mental state. I think now that I have actually experienced falling, the anticipation of the next one has more behind it. And, as with anything, I think that anticipation is either far worse (or better) than the actual event in question. So before each ride, my nerves slowly build. I've noticed that I don't sleep as well the night before a morning ride and start to get nervous as the clock ticks towards late afternoon/early evening and my commute home.

It is not worries about clipping in or out that stresses me out, it's the unknown other obstacles that I may encounter. Will I have to maneuver around people running or walking on the path? Will I have to stop suddenly or go off the path if people won't move out of my way (which lead to my most recent spill)? What are the cars around me going to do? And let's not even talk about left turns. I try to avoid them.

Another issue is that even when I have one foot unclipped, I am bad at stopping. A lot of the time I end up taking a few little hops on my foot I'm putting down. I'm not really sure why this is, so I haven't been able to figure out how to correct it. As a result, I'm never 100% sure that I'll actually be stable enough to stop when I want and stay upright. This becomes even more of an issue when I have to slow down and stop on an inclined surface.

Because of all of these worries, I am tense a large portion of the time that I am riding. I know that this makes things worse, but I'm not really sure how to change. I need to get out of my head and just ride, but that's definitely easier said than done! They only time I feel really comfortable is riding around Hains Point where the road is wide and traffic is minimal. Yet I know that I can't ever significantly improve if I spend all my time riding flat loops. Plus, it's doing nothing to improve my overall confidence.

Rationally, I know that they only way to deal with all of these issues is to keep practicing. However, it's been hard to motivate myself to ride recently. And it's not going to get much easier after my tri on July 31, when I will be done with tris for the season and on to marathon training. It will be easy to choose other options for my limited cross training days when I know that riding has been stressful and leaves me feeling frustrated at myself. But part of me hates quitting and thinks that if I just work harder and ignore these feelings long enough, I'll get through this rough patch and come out feeling better on the other side. And this is one reason that I hesitate to toss my bike completely to the side for the next few months. This seems like the wrong time to walk away since "leaving" with a bad taste in my mouth will only make it harder to start back up again next spring. (That is, I suppose, if I actually decide to sign up for more tris next year!)

What do you do to get your confidence back in a situation like this? Is it really just practice, practice, practice?

Wordless Wednesday - Vacation

2011-07-20T05:58:00.000-07:00

Two Weeks in Review - 7/3-7/16

2011-07-18T06:10:00.000-07:00

I'm back from vacation and hoping to catch up on all of your blogs this week! Since I wasn't posting last week, here's what I've done over the last two weeks.

Sunday July 3
Rest
This was a lovely (hot) day full of BBQs and a Nats game. An excellent way to spend a day off!

Monday July 4
Run - 5.0 mi
Swim - 3050 yds
I got in a super sweaty run before heading over to WL pool to meet up with a large group of bloggers for a swim. It was good to finally meet a lot of them in person and it ended up being a great pace workout.

Tuesday July 5
Run - 4.1 mi

Wednesday July 6
Swim - 3000 yds
I was really pleased by the pace work that I did on Monday so I tried to do a similar set again (and increased it from 8 to 10 100s).

Thursday July 7
Rest

Friday July 8
Bike - 28.5 mi (AM), 6 mi (PM)
I met up with Victoria for some early morning sprints at Hains Point. This was my first time really trying to push my speed on the bike and I know it was good for me.

On the way home, I managed to fall off my bike once again. I waited out the crazy storms and didn't leave work until after 6:30. I was near the Jefferson Memorial where the bike path and sidewalk merge when I came up behind a group of tourists taking up the entire path. When they didn't move over after I said "bike on your left" and other variations several times, I figured it would be easy enough to go around them in the grass. Unfortunately, when I tried to get back on the path, I caught the edge at the wrong angle and wiped out. It wasn't too serious though I did scrape up my arm and bruise my hip. Of course, then the tourists stopped to point out that I was bleeding, but couldn't be concerned to move out of my way before! For some reason it took me a long time to get my chain back on, but that was the worst part of the whole incident.

Saturday July 9
Run - 8.66 mi
My recent long runs have been about 30-40 seconds per mile slower than what I was doing during training for the National half marathon, even though they have been shorter. When I first realized this I was frustrated, but I think that given the increased temperatures, this is probably a reasonable slowdown. I've been meaning to go back and look at what I was doing last summer. I'm pretty sure that this is an improvement over those runs, but I'll have to confirm that.

Sunday July 10
Rest
This was my travel day to Ocean City with my good friend Heather and her parents. They invited me to join them on their beach vacation and I was more than happy to come along!

Monday July 11
Run - 0.5 mi
Yes, that's not a typo, I managed to run half a mile on Monday. On Saturday evening my left heel started bothering me. I didn't hurt during my run and I didn't remember hitting it on anything or stepping down particularly hard, but I was definitely noticing it when walking around on Sunday. As soon as I started my run, it was painful. I gave it a few minutes to warm up, but when that didn't happen, I decided to shut it down. There was no point in pushing it. I was also worried about injuring some other part of my leg if I changed my stride around to avoid the heel pain. And since I was already planning to take it easy while on vacation, I decided not to attempt another run until I was walking around pain free.

Tuesday July 12
Bike ~ 16 mi
On Tuesday morning, Heather and I biked from Ocean City to Bethany Beach where we met her parents for breakfast at a tasty crepes place. I was a bit nervous that the 8 mile trip would be tough on a beach cruiser, but it wasn't bad at all. It helped, of course, that it was completely flat! Heather wasn't feeling 100% after we ate, so her Dad agreed to make the return trip with me.

Wednesday July 13
Mini golf
It was only the most intense exercise for me during this vacation. After a day at the beach (with a break to watch the US women defeat France in the World Cup), we played an exciting round of mini golf. I ended up second, which sounds impressive until I say that there was a three way tie for first place!

Thursday July 14
Bike ~ 10 mi
Kayak ~ 90 min
In the morning Heather and I biked to have fancy donuts for breakfast (at the Fractured Prune) and went on ride around the bay. Then in the evening we took a sunset eco tour in kayaks. I could tell from the beginning that my upper body strength needs a lot of work! Clearly swimming is not cutting it. In particular, my right arm needs help. It was sore long before my left one!

Friday July 15
Rest

Saturday July 16
Run - 5.65 mi
My heel was feeling pretty good by Friday, so I decided I would test it out with an easy run. I didn't want to go crazy after a full week off, so I planned to run for about a hour. I'm happy to report that everything was fine! In fact, the most sore part of me was my right arm. I think it was still sore/tired from the kayaking adventure and my bicep didn't like holding my arm in proper running form!

Training, Resting and Vacation

2011-07-08T06:03:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for a week at the beach on Sunday and I cannot wait! I'm looking forward to a lot of relaxing, reading, sun and fresh air. I tend to fully embrace the potential for extra rest and recovery. I'm not going to bring my bike with me, but I do plan on a few runs and plenty of "swimming" in the ocean. I may even attempt an actual ocean swim, we'll see.

As I mentioned last week I have been feeling a bit burned out, so I decided to try to add an extra rest day to each week in July. I may end up taking an more extended break next week while I'm on vacation, but this week I decided to just go with two full rest days instead of my normal one. Mentally I like the idea of spacing out my rest over the month, rather than taking a couple of days now and jumping back into my "regular" schedule.

I also decided to make more of an effort to do what I really felt like doing, rather than making sure I got in x number of runs, rides and swims in a given week. What I discovered is that I am mainly lacking motivation when it comes to biking. I've had a couple of good runs and swims this week and I was looking forward to all of them when I got started. I suppose this bodes well for marathon training (which starts in August) since I've really been feeling like I would like to run more. Hopefully that lasts for the next few months! I'm not exactly sure where it leaves me with the bike though. Today was actually my first day on my bike in a week. I had a great workout once I got started but it definitely takes a little extra effort to get myself up and riding in the morning. I'll be taking next week off (unless we rent bikes and go for a casual ride). Then once I get back from the beach I only have two more weeks until my tri. I'll make an effort to ride a few times before the race, but after that I'm not sure exactly what will happen. If I really think about it, I suppose it doesn't really matter. I have no obligation to anyone (even myself) to keep up a certain level of riding. I imagine that once marathon training picks up, my bike is going to start gathering dust, at least for a few months.