This week, I did a track workout on Wednesday and a 3 mile recovery run on Thursday. My legs weren't sore, but have been feeling tired. On Saturday, I met my friend at the mountain again.
The first trip up was rough and I wasn't sure I was going to make it. My legs were on fire.
As I stood on the top of the mountain the first trip up, something clicked. The thought crossed my mind that I wasn't *just* training for Mt. Washington. This hill training was going to make me a stronger runner overall. My legs were going to be strong, I'd be able to tackle hills in races like a boss, and most importantly, I would be mentally strong enough to push through difficult stretches during the marathon. The marathon. There is was. The carrot that I needed.
My next 3 trips up were much better. I dug deep, focused hard and felt strong. I was able to actually run more than walk on these trips. I felt good and at the end, I probably had one more trip in me. But, I left it at 4 for this week.
Total elevation this run: 1,258 ft.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Mountains
I am not a hill runner.
Never have been.
I have gone out of my way to avoid them. Until I signed up for the Mt. Washington Road Race lottery and got in.
So, now I need to train on hills, or more specifically, mountains.
I joined some friends at a local mountain Saturday afternoon (yes, a few hours after a 5K race). The auto road is about a half mile section with an average grade of 10%.
I have not run mountains, I don't hike, I've never been up to the top of a mountain. Ever. In my life. I'm a city girl.
So, in my mind, I've had no idea what I am in for. My first trip up Mt. Agamenticus was an eye opener. I couldn't believe I would be doing that for 7.6 miles. The view from the top was pretty, but really? Wow, I was in trouble and really needed focus on training.
My second trip up was better and my fastest. By our third trip, my legs were toast and I just wanted to quit. But, I made it up to the top and enjoyed the view. I will be adding mountain running to my weekly schedule because....I don't want to die on Mt. Washington.
Never have been.
I have gone out of my way to avoid them. Until I signed up for the Mt. Washington Road Race lottery and got in.
So, now I need to train on hills, or more specifically, mountains.
I joined some friends at a local mountain Saturday afternoon (yes, a few hours after a 5K race). The auto road is about a half mile section with an average grade of 10%.
I have not run mountains, I don't hike, I've never been up to the top of a mountain. Ever. In my life. I'm a city girl.
So, in my mind, I've had no idea what I am in for. My first trip up Mt. Agamenticus was an eye opener. I couldn't believe I would be doing that for 7.6 miles. The view from the top was pretty, but really? Wow, I was in trouble and really needed focus on training.
My second trip up was better and my fastest. By our third trip, my legs were toast and I just wanted to quit. But, I made it up to the top and enjoyed the view. I will be adding mountain running to my weekly schedule because....I don't want to die on Mt. Washington.
Spoiler Alert: I raced
After careful consideration, I decided not to race yesterday. I had run hard on Wednesday and Thursday. I have a very long day on Friday, which meant I was out of the house 14 hours, and didn't get to bed until almost midnight. On top of that, I had agreed to go do some mountain training with my friends Saturday afternoon. So, I decided racing Saturday morning was not a good idea.
Until.... I got to work Friday night and realized my co-workers all knew I had been planning to run. My work team volunteers at that race and were expecting to see me. So....
I raced.
There was a cool wind, but otherwise perfect temperature for racing. I went in knowing that I wasn't feeling my strongest. I knew my body was tired. I didn't know the course, but I expected some hills. So, I let go of my desire to PR. I still wanted to come in sub-30 and thought that might be attainable.
The horn sounded and we were off and running. Almost immediately, I realized that it would be a struggle. My calves were burning a quarter mile in on a slight uphill section. I knew my legs weren't into this. I settled into a rhythm and felt ok. Then, mile 2 came with some more uphills. I struggled, but kept pushing. Mile 1 and 2 were both 10min/miles.
I knew my work crew was coming up so I kept pushing hoping they would give me a boost. They did and it was great to see them out there, but I was done. My legs just wanted to stop. I turned the corner off the trail and then was confronted with a hill that I forced my way up knowing that the finish line was just around the corner. Mile 3 was my fastest with a 9:52. When I got to the top and turned the corner, a crew of teammates was there, cheering me in. That gave me a little boost and I finished strong.
Of course, I got passed in the last 100 meters by a woman pushing a double jogging stroller, but whatever.
My official time was 30:56. Not the time I wanted, but I am still happy with my running right now.
After the race, I got to hang out with teammates and then went home, gathered my stuff for my next adventure of the day.
Until.... I got to work Friday night and realized my co-workers all knew I had been planning to run. My work team volunteers at that race and were expecting to see me. So....
I raced.
There was a cool wind, but otherwise perfect temperature for racing. I went in knowing that I wasn't feeling my strongest. I knew my body was tired. I didn't know the course, but I expected some hills. So, I let go of my desire to PR. I still wanted to come in sub-30 and thought that might be attainable.
The horn sounded and we were off and running. Almost immediately, I realized that it would be a struggle. My calves were burning a quarter mile in on a slight uphill section. I knew my legs weren't into this. I settled into a rhythm and felt ok. Then, mile 2 came with some more uphills. I struggled, but kept pushing. Mile 1 and 2 were both 10min/miles.
I knew my work crew was coming up so I kept pushing hoping they would give me a boost. They did and it was great to see them out there, but I was done. My legs just wanted to stop. I turned the corner off the trail and then was confronted with a hill that I forced my way up knowing that the finish line was just around the corner. Mile 3 was my fastest with a 9:52. When I got to the top and turned the corner, a crew of teammates was there, cheering me in. That gave me a little boost and I finished strong.
Of course, I got passed in the last 100 meters by a woman pushing a double jogging stroller, but whatever.
My official time was 30:56. Not the time I wanted, but I am still happy with my running right now.
After the race, I got to hang out with teammates and then went home, gathered my stuff for my next adventure of the day.
Friday, April 15, 2016
My place in the pack
To race tomorrow or not? That is the question I'm facing right now.
I have been feeling very uncertain with my running the past few weeks. I am feeling good physically and have tried to keep up with the work my PT had given me. My pace is getting faster without feeling like I have to work for it, but my mind is still lagging behind.
I have said to myself, and out loud to others, that I feel like I have no business running the pace I am. Since I started running, I've been a back of the pack runner. Not necessarily the *way* back, but the bottom third. Now, my paces put me solidly into the mid-pack. It's an odd place to be. I feel like an impostor. Like I'm one bad run away from being laughed back to the end of the line. Clearly, that kind of thing doesn't happen. But, I continually find myself saying things like, "I have no business running this pace", or "I'll try to hold that pace, but I don't know" (and then, by the way, blowing that pace out of the water) or "I'm slow".
There is a local 5K tomorrow morning that I want to do. My training paces the past few weeks are about 30 seconds off my 5K PR pace. If I'm running that on my regular 3 mile runs, could I hold a slightly faster pace in a race? Two years ago when I hit all my PR's (after a season of track work with a coach), I wasn't running the pace I am now in training runs. What's the problem?
I'm scared. I'm scared that I will go out tomorrow with a goal to PR and not make it. I'm scared that I will go out tomorrow not attempting to PR and then come so close that I wish I had pushed harder. I'm scared that I might realize that my pace the past few weeks is not a fluke and that I have all the business in the world standing solidly in the middle of the pack.
That's scary. What if my place in the "pack" is changing? I have to leave the safety of the "back of the pack" behind and step up. Anyone who has run "back of the pack" knows-- we're pretty loyal and supportive of one another. Is the same true mid-pack? I don't know. But, I guess I'm about to find out. My Race, My Pace.
I have been feeling very uncertain with my running the past few weeks. I am feeling good physically and have tried to keep up with the work my PT had given me. My pace is getting faster without feeling like I have to work for it, but my mind is still lagging behind.
I have said to myself, and out loud to others, that I feel like I have no business running the pace I am. Since I started running, I've been a back of the pack runner. Not necessarily the *way* back, but the bottom third. Now, my paces put me solidly into the mid-pack. It's an odd place to be. I feel like an impostor. Like I'm one bad run away from being laughed back to the end of the line. Clearly, that kind of thing doesn't happen. But, I continually find myself saying things like, "I have no business running this pace", or "I'll try to hold that pace, but I don't know" (and then, by the way, blowing that pace out of the water) or "I'm slow".
There is a local 5K tomorrow morning that I want to do. My training paces the past few weeks are about 30 seconds off my 5K PR pace. If I'm running that on my regular 3 mile runs, could I hold a slightly faster pace in a race? Two years ago when I hit all my PR's (after a season of track work with a coach), I wasn't running the pace I am now in training runs. What's the problem?
I'm scared. I'm scared that I will go out tomorrow with a goal to PR and not make it. I'm scared that I will go out tomorrow not attempting to PR and then come so close that I wish I had pushed harder. I'm scared that I might realize that my pace the past few weeks is not a fluke and that I have all the business in the world standing solidly in the middle of the pack.
That's scary. What if my place in the "pack" is changing? I have to leave the safety of the "back of the pack" behind and step up. Anyone who has run "back of the pack" knows-- we're pretty loyal and supportive of one another. Is the same true mid-pack? I don't know. But, I guess I'm about to find out. My Race, My Pace.
Monday, April 4, 2016
A whole new world
I know, I know. I *still* haven't gotten my full WDW Marathon Weekend recap post up. And, I know. I haven't written anything since then. A lot has happened. Here's the short version:
Apparently, I sprained my ankle at the margarita stop near the end of the marathon and didn't realize it until after I was home. I had some foot pain and after x-rays ruled out a fracture, the ortho sent me into PT. We worked on a bunch of things-- glute strength, manipulation of my foot, and eventually a video running analysis.
Here we are, 9 weeks post-marathon. I am back to running with some changes. One of the things that was clear in the video was that I over-stride and heel strike. To help correct that, my PT had me running with a metronome to increase my cadence. In the video (and looking back at my Garmin data), my average cadence was around 150, sometimes even lower. I am now comfortably running around 165.
And, it's a whole new world. My average pace has plummeted.
Three weeks ago, I tried to do a 3 mile run with a friend who was a bit faster. My average pace for 1.5 miles was 10:35. I was working so hard to I thought I was going to puke and I actually stopped and let her run on ahead. It was too fast. Or, was it? Yesterday, I ran 3 miles at an average pace of 10:07 AND I ran negative splits. (10:16, 10:07, 9:57) It wasn't an all out effort at all.
If I continue to run at this pace, I will clearly need to re-evaluate my race goals. Even when I was setting 5K PR's 2 summers ago, I was not running these paces. I'm still not "fast" by racing standards around my area, but I'll take it.
I am also cleared to start speedwork, conservatively. This month is all about strength, cadence and base building. Feeling optimistic about a fabulous fall racing season!
Apparently, I sprained my ankle at the margarita stop near the end of the marathon and didn't realize it until after I was home. I had some foot pain and after x-rays ruled out a fracture, the ortho sent me into PT. We worked on a bunch of things-- glute strength, manipulation of my foot, and eventually a video running analysis.
Here we are, 9 weeks post-marathon. I am back to running with some changes. One of the things that was clear in the video was that I over-stride and heel strike. To help correct that, my PT had me running with a metronome to increase my cadence. In the video (and looking back at my Garmin data), my average cadence was around 150, sometimes even lower. I am now comfortably running around 165.
And, it's a whole new world. My average pace has plummeted.
Three weeks ago, I tried to do a 3 mile run with a friend who was a bit faster. My average pace for 1.5 miles was 10:35. I was working so hard to I thought I was going to puke and I actually stopped and let her run on ahead. It was too fast. Or, was it? Yesterday, I ran 3 miles at an average pace of 10:07 AND I ran negative splits. (10:16, 10:07, 9:57) It wasn't an all out effort at all.
If I continue to run at this pace, I will clearly need to re-evaluate my race goals. Even when I was setting 5K PR's 2 summers ago, I was not running these paces. I'm still not "fast" by racing standards around my area, but I'll take it.
I am also cleared to start speedwork, conservatively. This month is all about strength, cadence and base building. Feeling optimistic about a fabulous fall racing season!
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