I'll assume everyone who reads this knows about HTC. It's still on my bucket list and I'm going to try again for next year to go. Of course I need eleven other Loopsters to join me. The normal deadline for application is October 3rd, but since we've been rejected before we can be in a special side lottery, with a mail-in application date of October 1st.
Reply or send me a note if you want in.
Dave.
https://hoodtocoastrelay.com/htc/
The Vermont 100 on 100 is my favorite race so you're probably wondering why it's taken 4+ weeks to post a RR. Me too, but no excuses, right. In case you're new around here, 100 on 100 is a 100 mile relay race on Route 100 in Vermont. This was the 4th year a Loop team has entered. This year was my 3rd time running this relay. It's such a fun day of running and spending time with friends I don't see often enough. Throw in the weekend trip to Vermont and it's a getaway, race and mini-Loopfest all rolled into one fun weekend.
100 on 100 fell on the same weekend when I had 18 miles on the calendar so OCrunnergirl wisely "volunteered" me for an 18 mile leg. Perfect! I must have hit the tangents because Garmin says it added up to only 17.8 miles, but who's counting.
The weekend started shortly after lunch when I simply could not wait any longer to get the party started. I left the office to start the drive to Killington, VT where KRG had found a nice roomy condo to rent. I'm terrified by open spaces, which is how Vermont can be described, but soon enough Siri had guided me to the condo tucked into the side of Killington mountain. Soon all members of the team arrived and we made our way to a restaurant for dinner and drinks.
The alarm went off way too early the next morning. We had about an hour drive to Stowe, Vermont where we would check in and start the race. Apple Pie expertly guided us to Stowe where we checked in and helped him get ready for the first leg. After that we drove onto Rt. 100 to decorate the van and cheer on our team members. Here is a pic of the van after some light rain washed away some of the paint. I don't have the pic after KRG and Jschneid fixed the damage, but here is the partially fixed van.
Jschneid was the next runner. We made him cross the road and stop to get into a picture at Ben & Jerry's. He didn't seem to mind and didn't even pause his watch.
Vermont has a lot of mountains and streams. The obligatory waterfall pic:
For the rest of the day we alternated between running, eating, and cheering for the rest of the team. About 15 hours later we crossed the finish line where a buffet dinner and beer were waiting. Nice way to end the day.
The medal was different this year. I like it.
After eating and drinking we made our way back to the condo where Ben & Jerry's ice cream was waiting. A few of us stayed up late talking and catching up, but soon exhaustion was too much and everyone made their way to bed. We went out for a big breakfast the next morning and then left to make the drive back home to reality. These kinds of weekends go by way too fast.
We're trying to put together 2 teams for next year. Think about it, but be warned: You will want to keep coming back.
I'm in taper mode now. Marathon #5 is 10/7. Breaking 4:00 has been a barrier for me. Training was solid for a sub-4 on the last two attempts. One was slowed by the killer weather at Philly Loopphest 2 and last year was slowed by a back strain. I feel under trained speed-wise this time but am still shooting for that 3:59. Now the goal is out there so I'm accountable.
"Hey Christine."
"Yeah?"
"Do you remember those shirts I said we should've made?"
I thought back to our jokes over text message about making shirts with just a big poop emoji. It's for running AND babies! we'd lol-ed. Equally adaptable!
"Yeah."
"Now would be a good time to have them."
I looked back at E over my right shoulder, huffing away behind her jogging stroller with infant car seat adapter, said car seat and said infant both securely attached. I made a face. "Almost there," I said uselessly.
The night before the race was strange. Even though DH made a big deal about me signing up for a 5 miler as my very first race back, I was way more worried about if BL (baby L) was going to be ok. So what if I hadn't run 5 miles yet? So what if I'd been sick for the whole week before? SO WHAT? 5 miles is nothing. 5 miles is...
"Oh-my-god-I'm-dying," I panted as I pushed the 8 million ton stroller up a steep incline. "I wish I trained more."
"I skipped way too many Sunday runs," E agreed. "I only did like, four?"
I stayed silent as I tallied up the Sunday runs I had done in my head. It didn't take very long because I didn't have far to count. The number was, surprise surprise, zero.
BL saw a seagull for the first time and did her little stiff bodied excited noise. She was suspicious about touching the beach sand. There was no porta potty line. All in all, a good pre-race situation. Once it was time to line up, we ambled over to the start and took some photos in Superman poses. Maybe we should warm up, we said, and did some half-hearted squats. E jogged in place. I took selfies with BL. At the start, the RD had a portable microphone and an air horn. "I hope the air horn works!" she said. "I hope it doesn't," E whispered to me.
I started to feel better at mile 3. It was because I was finally warmed up, NOT because the race turned from north back south, toward the water, downhill. Nope, definitely not that. There were a couple intense looking older guys with double strollers who I ignored as they were clearly superhuman mutants... but there was one regular stroller couple who were taking turns pushing it. Cheating, basically. Their son was older and when he saw E and I draw close at a water stop, he said, "Daddy! Go faster so we win! Don't let them win!" You just sealed your fate, kid, I silently scoffed. Only 50 yards ahead of us with a mile and a half to go, we closed the gap.
Stroller Lady heard me breathing (really hard) behind her left shoulder. She turned to look, startled a little bit, and sprinted ahead for a few steps before slowing back down. Ha! I got you now! Her son peered around the edge of the stroller, fear in his eyes.
The requisite child cheer section appeared around the corner. As we approached, I held my hand out for slaps while saying, "Watch-out-watch-out-watch-out!" There's only so much I would be able to do if excitable Timmy decided to jump out in front of me. They were by in a blur. Then, the last water station and we skipped it, duh. It wasn't going to help now.
I really, really wanted to slow down but I could hear the finish line speakers blaring "Another One Bites the Dust," which was honestly a pretty bad song to be playing at a race finish line. I passed DH taking photos, tried to smile, then made the hairpin turn into the parking lot - which took a lot more muscle than I was expecting - and finally done. Gasping. I high-fived E, who was looking way more composed than I felt. "Great job!" she cheered. "Hrnghurrr," I said.
The stroller immediately became a thing to lean on and catch my breath. DH caught up with us and took over for a bit. "How'd you do?" he asked. I showed him my watch. 5 miles in 49:06, just under a 10 minute pace. "Nice," he said. E came over and said she had to go but she had Fridays off for the next few weeks and did we want to run together next week? "The usual time?" I said. "Sure."
Monday: Barbell Strength – Since I knew I’d be going in for my PT appointment at 5pm, I took it easy on the legs in class and didn’t do very much weight. I still love this class, minus the folks that are trying to learn to become instructors in it. When they don’t stay to the count they are counting or to the rhythm of the music, it throws me off and is frustrating. You can cause someone to jack themselves up if you’re not careful. I’m sure being an instructor isn’t easy, which is why I’m not one.
PT Appointment with Chris: I went to see the owner of the gym that I was recently a member of, who is also a PT. Chris, owns Calibrate Sports Health and is an amazing guy. He previously dry needled and cracked on my back a couple months ago and it has felt really good ever since. He didn’t charge me anything because he said that members always get a free session. He asked me some questions, pressed on and twisted my leg around, and told me that I should look into getting a X-ray. He also put some Rock tape on it to help with some of the inflammation, while not charging me a single thing for any of it.
Tuesday: I was so worried that it was going to be something serious and I REALLY wanted to know, so I started calling around at 7am on the way to work. I called the same place that W used when he needed to get one. They had a 9:40am appointment so I grabbed it! I was carpooling with W so I had to drop him off at work and take his car. My phone also had 1% battery when I was leaving his office, so I had to write down the directions so that I could find it! Navigating around Denver, in rush hour traffic, was a bit scary but I didn’t have any issues. I was super early so I found a Starbucks so that I could have some coffee and charge my phone. This place was super efficient and had me in and out in no time. The doctor examined the x-ray, twisted and tapped on my leg, and told me that he thought it was just shin splints/stress reaction, likely partly due to my tight calf and achilles. I was SO RELIEVED to here the news and felt so much better afterwards. The doc said that I could run but would likely need to plateau my miles until it starts to feel better.
Kinda cool to see my own bones. They pretty…
Wednesday: Yoga Roll
Thursday: Follow-up appointment with Chris- Chris was able to fit me in that afternoon and wanted to discuss how to move forward. Amazingly enough, Chris asked that instead of paying him for his services, if Calibrate Sports Health could sponsor me! Huh? Me?! He said that he loved the cool things that I was doing, especially my pursuit of a summit of Denali! He said that he can help keep me tuned up and if I ever have any issues, I can come in to get it fixed. I can also take any of the classes they offer at any time! I feel so honored that he wants to do this and I hope to make him proud! He gave me some Rock tape with Rock Sauce (like Icy Hot but doesn’t effect the adhesion on the tape – smells as bad as Icy Hot though! haha!), a couple pairs of Calibrate Injinji socks, and said that he’d be getting me some Calibrate gear so that I can represent! I’m super excited about this opportunity!
Ignore the toes that badly need a pedicure!
Friday: REST
Saturday: Planet Fitness workout – Luckily, I’ve kept my PF $10/mon membership for emergencies since it’s walking distance from my house. I walked the half a mile there, jumped on the rower and rowed 3000 meters in 15 minutes. I don’t know if that’s good or bad but I wanted to keep track for future workouts. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to work up a good sweat, but my arms were sweating by the time I was done. Next, I hopped on the Stair Master and climbed 1001 stairs in 16 minutes. I was really breathing hard and felt accomplished when I was done! SCORE! After that, I went to the 30 minute circuit area and did the round of 10 machines (no steps exercises) twice. It really felt like a great workout that I will likely do again next week. I walked the half a mile back home then realized I’d left my keys hanging up in the gym. I walked back to get them and then walked back home, which made a nice 2 mile walk total.
Sunday: REST – Chris is working on a training plan for me that will last until Rehoboth. I’m excited to see what he comes up with and I’m ready to get it started.
Today (Monday), I am seeing a noticeable different in the pain level. I feel like it’s actually starting to ease off a bit. I haven’t ran since last Saturday and I’m not sure when my first run will be. For the time being, I’m trying to get it to stop hurting while I’m walking. I don’t feel I should run on it until then, and I’ve had others agree as well.
Stay tuned!
Thanks for reading,
Chris
After last week I'm starting to get a little excited.
Certainly, I'm encouraged. Progress is still slow, but it's at least noticeable now. No more nightmares of being permanently out of action. This week I'm worrying more about getting into shape again. Have to remind myself that I've only been running regularly for two weeks. I'm not even to a point where I can go very far without a walk break. Two miles is the max so far. Getting into fall will help I bet. Had a couple of cooler, dryer days last week and it was pretty sweet.
Hey, so let me talk about running for a second. Just a couple of miles at a time, except I did a "long" run on Saturday. Four miles. I've mentioned that running seems to help more than hurt, and doesn't give me any extra pain the next day, so I've fully incorporated running into my daily routine again. That's right ... DAILY. As in, every day (except Sunday). This is going to be a long, slow build up. Two miles per day. This week I plan to extend that to three. Whether I do four again on Saturday or try for five will depend on what three miles a day does to Louie.
Of course, this also means that I'm thinking about how soon I can try for marathon training. No schedule yet, but I have a rough idea. Next spring seems reasonable without going through the numbers. I need to get up over 30 miles per week before diving into an actual training plan, so the first thing will be to figure out how long it's going to take me to get there. Right now I'm at 14. This week may be 20 and I'll likely plateau there for 2-3 weeks.
Anyway, say November I'm ready for higher mileage. February or March would be the earliest time 26.2 would be wise, depending on what sort of winter we have this year. Suppose I can also go back to Planet Fitness and use their dreadmills in an emergency. Given what snow running just did to the old knees, that could be the smart play.
So, those four miles on Saturday. We put T-Rex on the plane for school Thursday morning, so we've got the place to ourselves again. Mrs. Dave was at work that morning, and I woke up early like an old man. Took my time getting ready. Went through the easy portion of my hip exercises (left the weights out) to loosen things up and was pretty happy when there wasn't any pain in the early part of the run. It's been taking up to a half mile before it feels good. No pushing the pace, of course. Ran up over I-275 and out behind the shopping center where Gazelle Sports is. GS is a small retailer based on the west side of MI. Their local store here is two miles from my house, so it's a perfect 4 mile out and back. There's a park-ish area with a fountain and usually some geese and/or ducks. Someday - or so I'm told - there's going to be trails and stuff from there another two miles to the west, all the way down to Hines Park. Perhaps I'll still be here when that happens. The old psych hospital a mile up is finally posted for demolition, so that's progress of a sort.
I ran the two miles out with no break, then stopped to catch my breath for a few. Did OK on the way back, but needed a short walk with a half mile to go. Suppose I could have made it the rest of the way in, but in the interested of keeping the pressure low, I walked. Sue me.
Helped clean the church building for an hour, then drove to Gazelle for my newest piece of gear.
Mrs. Dave OK'd a replacement for Prince Henry back in January for my birthday. I did a bunch of research, then bought a TomTom. I liked it fairly well, but the software (for me anyway) was glitchy and I couldn't get their Help Desk to be much help, so I sent it back. About then I hurt the knee. Didn't see much point in spending the money on a running watch if I wasn't going to run anymore, so I put the whole idea on the back burner. More research and a lowering of the price on the 235 (since everybody wants more features and the 235 doesn't have many), (and, oh btw, I'm running again) turned me back to Garmin and this guy.
He needs a name now. Or maybe he's a she?
First run with him/her/it will be this afternoon.
In case you hadn't noticed, Fall is Saturday. Officially. The forecast for my neighborhood has some good autumnal weather in it, so I'm hoping for a good run as well. Hope everyone who got hit by Florence is OK. So much water.
Going to be watching as many of you running fall races as I can, since there are no races on my calendar yet.
Speaking of marathons, holy Eliud Kipchoges.
The short:
When I saw my mile 1 split, the 5K course clock, and my mile 4 split during the Plaza 10K, a thought kept popping into my head: "I'm either going to kill my PR or blow up so hard". God blessed me with the former; I ran a PR of 36:34, nearly a minute under my previous road PR from the 2017 Plaza 10K and even under my track PR of 37:09 (I also broke 18:00 for the 5K for the first time during the process). I thought races like this only happened to other people, and I may never beat this time, so I am going to ride this post-race high so hard!
Working on my season goal of smiling in my
finishing photos
The long:
I thought I'd worked my PRs down low enough (in relation to my capability) that I'd be lucky anytime I could shave off a few seconds. It's always blown my mind to see long-time runners with already fast times drop a lot of time off of a PR, especially when they remark afterwards that they got out there and felt fantastic running faster than they'd expected, so they just kept going and ran a time beyond what they'd dreamed. I've had some break-through races like this years ago before I was running to my potential (the 2015 Waddell and Reed half was the most memorable one, when I hoped for 1:26:59 and ran 1:24:33), but I thought I was to the point where my margins were thin enough that dropping even 2-3 seconds/mile would be a really good day. In fact, I went into the Plaza 10K thinking that if I had a really good day I might be able to rival my track PR of 37:09. I thought if a miracle happened I might hit 36:59 and my big dream goal of breaking 37, but that would be a stretch.
Since I ran this race last year, I knew the course and logistics, which is always helpful. I also had a planned pace partner, my friend Jessi who I trained with as often as I could while she was running for MSU (she now lives in Kansas City). I seemed to always nail workouts when I ran with her, so I was optimistic that she and I could pull each other through to stronger performances than we'd have alone. I felt good coming off my performance 6 days previously at the Run for a Child 10K, and I also felt completely recovered from that, despite being in a 73 mile week (I did get 2 short days prior to the race, which helped!). I knew the women's field as a whole would be very competitive, and when race morning gave us 58 degree temperatures, fast times looked promising.
The start seemed much more crowded than this!
At the gun, a lot of women took out fast, Jessi included. I quickly realized that she was used to cross-country and track racing where it's important to establish position early. I wanted to be with her so we could work together as planned, but I knew that it wasn't smart for me to go out any faster than 6:00 (6:05+ was actually my plan - after Run for a Child especially I wasn't afraid of a slow first mile). I settled into pace hoping that I would reel her back in before too long. My first mile was still faster than I'd wanted at 5:57, but the effort felt appropriate so I tried to push any worry out of my mind. I was moving up in position towards the end of the first mile and the beginning of the second, although at no point during the race did I know or care what place I was in.
I pulled up with Jessi towards the end of the mile 2, and settled in stride with her. I didn't look at my second mile split because I felt like I was running exactly as I should be for a 6.2 mile race. I didn't want to get discouraged if the pace was slower than I wanted, and I didn't want to get scared if it was faster than I'd expected. Mile 2 was 5:48 so I'm glad I didn't look because I would have been worried I was going too fast too early. I have learned to trust that I race best when I race by effort, and I've learned to let go of thinking I need to micro-manage every single split, especially when I'm in a competitive field.
Jessi and I said a few words of encouragement to each other and pressed on side-by-side. Janell was also right in front of us (I mentioned her in my post about Rock the Parkway, where we ran nearly the whole race together before she out-kicked me - she is also training for a 2:45 at CIM and working with the same coach as me!). We all passed the 5K clock together, and it read 18:08ish, although based on my splits it should have been more like 18:20, which doesn't surprise me because every course mile marker seemed slightly wrong, most of them too soon. I hadn't looked at my mile 3 Garmin split, and I didn't do the math on our pace, but did tell Jessi, "Well, I just ran a 5K PR". I felt like I was running within myself, and I felt like I could run that pace for that distance again (usually I don't at the 5K mark of a 10K!)....but at the same time I thought, "This is either going to go really well or really poorly!" I also kept thinking, "58 degrees is like a performance-enhancing drug!"
Jessi & I synchronized running right
behind Janell on the Plaza
Ditto
Mile 4 has a lot of decline in it, so I expected it would be my fastest mile. I didn't make any conscious moves at any point during this race, because my goal was to get the best 10K I could out of myself and not worry about what anyone else was doing, but Jessi and I had gapped Janell slightly at some point after the 5K, and I started pulling away from Jessi as I accelerated down the decline. I encouraged her to stick on me, but we separated at that point. It was almost like Run for a Child was a preview for this race in regards to how I felt; I felt like I kept gaining momentum as the race progressed and I just felt so good. I also kept reflecting on how much better I felt at every point on the course than I had in 2017! I looked at my mile 4 split mainly because I figured it would be a confidence boost with the decline, and it was 5:38. I felt like I had a solid 2.2 more miles in me, but at the same time kept thinking, "I'm either going to get a huge PR or huge blow up!"
Around mile 4
Mile 5 goes back up most of the elevation that drops in mile 4, so I expected it to be my slowest mile, although it wasn't. I was pulling in a couple of men so I focused on them and maintaining my turnover. I looked at my mile 5 split because I wanted to get some gauge on where I was at overall, and it was 5:52, which was a pleasant surprise! Strava grade-adjusted it to 5:40 on flat ground. I also realized that I still didn't have a great gauge on where I was since I hadn't looked at my mile 2 and 3 splits and I wasn't smart enough to look at my total elapsed time, but I felt ready to pound it in with all I had and to see what that got me!
It's a nice course, but it's not a track!
Mile 6 also has some uphill before some decline to the finish, and I remembered how very long that mile felt the previous year. I felt strong this time, but also pretty spent, and in hindsight I may have pushed up the incline in mile 5 a little too much. However, I was also in no man's land during the final mile - I was not going to catch anyone and no one was going to catch me. I think if I'd been with someone I could have closed at 5:40-5:45, but I pushed as much as I could solo, which was another 5:52 (I didn't look at that split during the race).
Once I was close enough to read the finishing clock, it read 36:12, and I knew I was going to be way under 37:00. I kicked it in with all I had left, which gave me a 5:25 pace final 0.28 on my Garmin and a bright shiny new PR of 36:34, chip time! One of my season goals is to smile for my finishing pictures, but I think I'd have been glowing in this one even without that game plan. My previous road PR was 37:30, which I ran last year at this same race, and my track PR is 37:09 so I beat that as well.
Finishing with joy
As I walked through the finish chute and then enjoyed an 8 mile cool down with great friends (Jessi, Janell, and Michelle from left to right below), it all felt surreal. I thought 36:59 would be a big stretch, but I certainly never expected to run in the mid-36's - at this 10K or ever! I also forgot what it was like to run in 58 degrees after a sweltering summer, but I quickly remembered that I like it!
I love how we can all race each other while supporting each other 100%
This course was certified so it was 6.22 miles, but my watch read 6.28 (at Run for a Child, which is also certified, it said 6.15). It was more difficult to run the tangents in this one, though, due to a more crowded field. I've decided if I had to choose I'd rather has a Garmin reading that's a little long than one that's a little short, because I want to know I for sure ran the distance (but right on would still be most preferred). Can you tell I like data?
Garminsplits
Because when your Garmin says 5:49, you
take a picture!
As a whole, GAP was -2/mile on average pace
I am riding the post-PR high for all that it's worth! Like Run for a Child, this was a really nice checkpoint and confidence boost for me. I'm running pretty much all of the same races this fall that I ran in 2017, so I can see how my fitness compares, and so far so good on my progress! Being able to maintain the pace I did in this race really shocked me, because I haven't done any real speed work; my training has been strength-focused (tempos, long runs with some fast finishes/pick ups, and mileage). Really all that I've run at 5:49 pace has been strides and fartleks (and sometimes not even those!). So add this to my data indicating that speed work is worthless, haha! Especially because I also ran a 5K PR during this race, with my fastest 5K coming in at 17:55 on my Garmin. I won't count it as an official PR, but it shows me that I can do it. My actual 5K PR is 18:18, and 18:17 + 18:17 = 36:34, so this race was a faster pace as a whole as well.
I will probably never beat this
This would also be my fastest 2 mile
since high school track!
Official results are here. I was 6th overall female and 1st in age group 35-39.
Winnings
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans. - Proverbs 16:3
The more I give my running to God, the better I feel about it. That doesn't mean I perform any better or see linear progress - and early 2018 is sure proof of that - but that I know I'm going to be just fine no matter how races and workouts go. I'm sure thankful for this one, and also for the opportunity to continue to pursue my running dreams. Next up is the Indy Women's HalfMarathon on September 29!
The short:
It's been awhile since I've come down the final stretch of a race to see a finishing time faster than expected with less effort than expected, but it's sure a great feeling! This was my fourth consecutive year running the Run for a Child 10K, and each year I've run faster there, although I didn't expect to continue that streak this year. My race plan of "win with the least effort possible" turned into winning overall female by over 5 minutes with a negative split and a 37:55, which was a course PR. It was one of those races where I felt like I kept gaining momentum and couldn't slow down - and those are rare to come by (I think the last time I felt like this was the Phoenix Marathon). I was pumped about defending my overall female title from 2017, I was ecstatic to break 38 on the hilly course in warm and humid conditions, but I was most thrilled about just how good I felt doing it! I guess God knew I needed a little confidence-boost at this point in my training, and I am very thankful for it.
The big check photos prop never get old to me
Packet pick up; I always travel in
compression socks!
The long:
I keep going back to the Run for a Child 10K each year; I am picky about races so this is saying something. I know it's always going to be warm, humid, and hilly, but for some reason I can embrace that for this race, I think because every year is comparable. My only goal going into the 2018 event was to try to defend my overall female title from 2017. That fate of that type of goal always depends on who else shows up, but I never stress about it like I sometimes do when I have time and pace goals, because I have no control over the former and a lot of control over the latter. I have a goal 10K coming up on September 9, so I also went into this one hoping to save my legs for that one. I'd briefly considered trying to better my 2017 time, but after running an 8 mile tempo that was really rough on me on August 29 (details here), including inducing a little pull in my right hamstring, I decided holding back was a better option. My husband and I discussed the plan the night before: try to win while running as slow as possible.
The best laid plans, right? The race went like this:
Serious starting line debates with my friend
Daniel, who was the male overall winner
Mile 1 - As the field spread out after the gun, I positioned myself just behind the fastest women and sat there. The first 1.25 miles of the race is nearly all uphill, so I always go out slow, but she was slowing from what already felt very conservative, so at about 0.75 I threw the towel in on my plan and pulled into the first female position, moving along with a male who was passing. I looked at my watch when it beeped splits during this race because that felt right (I hadn't really thought about it beforehand), and mile 1 was 6:32. It was relaxed, but my main thought was, well, I really don't want to run over 40:00 so I'll just run the least it takes to be in the 39s, which would be in the low 6:20s from there on. I "knew" at that point that my time would be slower than the past 2 years, and I was fine with that because a win seemed pretty secure even that early, which always makes it easier to relax. The grade-adjusted pace of that mile was 6:14, so it wasn't as slow as the numbers showed, but it was slower than I'd gone out there previously.
Can you see why mile 1 is slow?
Mile 2 - I fell in step with a male and I could feel him speeding up. I thought, well, it's always easier to run with someone so even if he's a little faster than 6:20 it will be an easier effort than running solo the whole race. The next split was 6:14 and I felt like I was striding out better.
Mile 3 - I continued stride for stride with the male, and we were pulling in other men. I started to pull away a little towards mile 3, and encouraged him to come with me so he would move up in place, but he fell back and I was on my own. I felt like I was in a good place; putting in effort but still feeling really relaxed. Mile 3 was 6:08.
Mile 4 - I had to smile as I passed the halfway point, because typically in 10Ks I pass the 5K feeling like there is no way I can run that distance again at that pace (even though I always do so I know that feeling is a liar - it occurs in nearly every tempo too), but in this one it seemed like an easy task. I passed a couple of men and focused on the ones ahead of them. Mile 4 has a lot of uphill in it and in the past I've always slowed in that mile, so was prepared for that if effort stayed equal. When I saw my split of 6:10 I knew I was really having a good day. I then figured I could try to be under 39:00. In the past I've always been hurting pretty good at the mile 4 point of this race, but this year at every point I passed I kept thinking, "I feel so much better than every other time here", which is always encouraging!
Mile 5 - I felt like I was in a great rhythm and the effort was brisk but not dying (usually mile 5 of a 10K feels like dying). I was running alone but there were two men within striking range, so I decided I'd try to pull them in. That mile was 6:07. At that point I was thinking I'd be somewhere around my 2016 and 2017 times (38:43 and 38:19), which was good enough for me!
Mile 6 - At this point I decided I'd try to run under 6:00 for the final mile for fun. I passed one of the men I'd been chasing and kind of just felt like I was barreling in towards the finish. I didn't look at my watch during or at the end of this mile, but I just knew I was running sub-6:00 (I've finished a lot of tempo runs with the same "sub-6:00 for fun" idea, and although those are on flatter courses I have a pretty good sense for pace). The split was 5:56.
You can tell I'm not falling apart because my arm
swing form hasn't gone to crap like usual, haha!
Final stretch - I was gaining on the other man, so I decided I'd pretend he was a female and really try to pound it to catch him. When the clock came into view during my final sprint, I saw it was still in the 37s, and gauged that I could actually make it in under 38, which really surprised me. At that point it became just me and the clock, and I didn't even know if I beat the man or not until I looked at the photos Jon took (spoiler, I didn't). My last 0.15 on my Garmin was 5:06 pace. This course is certified, but my Garmin always reads it a little short, which the OCD in me dislikes but has also happened to me on several other certified courses (Rock the Parkway Half, Rock 'n' Roll Phoenix Half, White River Half, Phoenix Marathon). I'm not sure if I dislike it more when it reads short or long (yeah, I haven't gotten the newsflash that Garmins aren't perfect and like to think mine is, and it kind of was at CIM and Grandma's)!
Eyes on the clock
I'm pretty sure I lit up walking through the finish chute, thinking "what just happened?!". In 2017, I wanted to break 38 on this course and I wanted it to feel like less than an all-out effort (I was kind of demanding in 2017, hah). But that year I ran a 38:19 with all I had and was disappointed I didn't have more. I guess I accomplished my 2017 goal 1 year late! The slow first mile really threw me off on finish time expectations, but I'm glad it worked out how it did, because the pressure of a time goal may have changed the outcome. I was really excited about my course PR (also my 3rd fastest lifetime 10K), but I just couldn't get over how extremely smooth I felt doing it! Especially considering how not good I'd felt on my recent tempo run in similar weather. Race morning was 74* with a dew point of 70*.
Official results are here.
Garminsplits - course splits would
be a shade faster at 6:07 average
I love Strava's grade-adjusted pace feature
I love that this race does the big check photo prop at the awards! I also love how we combine it with a fun family weekend (many photos from that below), so this is a tradition I hope we can continue! There will come a time where I won't run a faster finishing time than the previous year, and I've also made peace with that.
Outtake
I hope to be running when I'm in my 70s like
Dr. Bob!
My progression for this race:
2018 - 37:55 and 1st overall female
2017 - 38:19 and 1st overall female, details here
2016 - 38:43 and 3rd overall female, details here
2015 - 40:22 and 3rd overall female (recovering from cryptosporidum so this one set the bar pretty low to start with)
Our traditional moms by the hotel pool selfie
Loves
Hotel pool = successful trip
Shel Silverstein wrote about this spot
Jon found a charging station for our Volt
Ice cream & Nickelodeon also make any
vacation successful
The Amazeum was pretty amazing
I'm not sure this was the safest children's' activity
Never stop exploring or believing!
No wasps this week.
Had my last session with Amanda on Thursday. Have to say I was disappointed that what we'd done hadn't made any difference. Not because PT isn't good for anything. I guess being 59 and recovering from surgery just takes more time than I'm comfortable with. No visible reduction in the swelling. Still the same level of pain and the same amount of limping. Gah. Apparently I still have months to go.
But, I'm done with the appointments for now. I have an extensive regimen of stretching and (hip) exercises to continue with to go along with my return to regular running. And by "regular" I mean "consistent", not what I'm used to or what I want to do. Good news (?) is that I'm only limited by pain. Weak hips are a documented culprit in many running injuries, so I suppose it makes sense that this is where we're focusing.
So, here's what's happening.
Strength (everything is 3 x 10)
Back, front and side hip extensions with resistance band.
Single-Leg Bridges
Clamshells with resistance band.
Side steps with resistance band.
Single leg deadlifts with weight.
Weighted squats
Fire hydrant with resistance band.
Single leg squat (rear foot on chair).
So many dang exercises. BORING!
But, either time is passing, or the boring exercises are doing their thing. Yesterday's run was OK.
Let's talk running for a second. I noticed that after PT the knee was feeling pretty good, so a couple of weeks ago I had Mrs. Dave or T-Rex drop me off and I'd run/jog/walk home the mile and a half from the rehab center. The first quarter to third of a mile, I'd still feel some pain, but it was on the low side and not in the surgery site. I'd have to walk a little every half mile or so, because I'm just so out of shape. Sucking wind is preferable to feeling a knee injury, though.
Last Monday I tried a few exercises and then a couple of miles on my own. Same result. Tuesday I asked Amanda about it and she agreed that if it didn't hurt more than not running, I could keep at it. So I did the same Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I ran home again after the last appointment. And Friday. And Saturday. If you weren't counting, that's six days in a row running. Each one was about the same. Knee hurt for the first 0.3-0.4 mile, I'd run out of steam at about a mile so walked 20-30 yards (and again after another half mile). But there didn't seem to be any lingering issues. No additional swelling, no more pain than normal. In fact, for the rest of the evening the knee would feel better than it had during the day. Next day would hurt, but no more than previously.
I complained about having no stamina and all the walking until Mrs. Dave reminded me that I've not been running really since February. Duh.
Yesterday was the first day I ran the entire 2 miles. Averaged 9:15 per mile. I even had enough energy to notice the weather (which was overcast and a cool 65 degrees, btw - runner heaven!), the lady walking her two dogs and the guy with the LeBron glasses.
The knee has felt better last two days than it has in a long time. Less pain and less limping, even after sitting at the desk for awhile. I consider it a serious step forward. No marathon plans yet, but just like a marathon, one step at a time.
Yesterday was better. I listened to a podcast that talked about sitting all day and biomechanics. It got me thinking even more that I want to blame my desk job for my injury issues. And also for my lackluster runs lately.
In any case, I am slowly building up to standing more frequently at work. Much like running, I risk doing more damage of doing too much, too soon. But I’m also anxious to get back to where standing 8 hours a day isn’t a big deal. It would be far easier if I were able to wander around, but I think that is just me wishing for something that I don’t really want.
Can’t I have all the physical aspects of retail back, but leave the pesky hours and people drama behind?
I’m happy that after my short walk and dynamic warm-up that I did feel a little better. I was a bit worried because it was run #4 in a row. Something I wasn’t even considering doing until 2016. I had been a 4 day a week runner until 2015 which meant usually I would have a rest day every other day or every second day. Rare was the time that I would run 3 times in a row.
It’s a balance, that’s for sure. I felt most confident when I was running 5 days a week and 6 seemed to nearing my breaking point. I think I could sustain 6 if I were training for a goal race AND I learned to actually run at a recovery pace.
I’m still trying to figure that one out. I am being forced by my own body to run in the mid-8s right now and it feels like a tempo pace much of the time. I’ve had a few days that it seems a little easier and it gives me hope.
The niggles of pain still creep up on me and sometimes I get scared when I feel my shin get angry or my foot is tender. Walking is mostly normal and I don’t give it a second thought much anymore, but I do have days that everything seems to be a bit tired and sore. As much as I want to feel healed and strong and ready to roll again, I still have so much more time to get through while that happens.
Which is a funny thing. This time. It’s often hurry up and wait. When I was in the boot, I couldn’t wait to get out of it. If I could just run, I would be so happy! And I was incredibly grateful for those first few runs. But now that I’ve settled back in to some degree, I’m restless to feel effortless. And maybe this is the reason we keep training, we keep signing up for races. We only remember the things that were good and block out a lot of what was bad.
I’m still trying to find joy in the journey. Yesterday, I came up over the bridge and was so happy that everything seemed to be working much better than the day before. My FF and FT were far happier and it just felt like a much easier effort. I noticed a big puffy white cloud in the sky and broke out into a grin.
I laughed at myself when I walked back to the car, sweat burning in my eyes because I couldn’t fathom the additional heat of a hat or buff. I so desperately wished it was cooler and then remembered how much I hate running with a headlamp.
A few short miles with the headlamp can be okay on a training run. Heck, even during a race, I seem to deal with is reasonable okay (maybe I’m blocking this out?). But longer training runs with a headlamp are awful. I think when I lose out on the scenery and the footing, I just would rather be a treadmill drone.
But winter is indeed coming. As it does every year. And I will be happy for six weeks when the sunlight is still enough in the evenings, but the temperatures (pretty please!) start to drop.
And I’m hoping that with the temperatures dropping, I will slowly start to feel stronger again. I’ve got a hefty race schedule over the next 9 months.
Augusta Relay 70.3 - 13.1 run leg on 9/23
Hinson Lake 24 - aka-try-to-not-be-a-dumbass on 9/29
New York City Marathon on 11/4
Rehoboth Beach Marathon on 12/8
A 50K+ in January or February 2019 (a requirement for GDR)
Georgia Death Race on 3/30/19
BostonMarathon on 4/15/19
Everest Marathon on 5/29/19
I’m both excited and nervous. I’m hoping that I make it to Everest feeling fit and ready and not injured and broken. Obviously Boston will be whatever it is. But I do want to continue my BQ streak and solidify a race time that gets me into 2020. The funny thing is that while I’d love to have a good, strong effort, I’d be thrilled to just have a chance to do it again. I’ve got a year to get it done.
Today marks one year since the Inaugural Irma Gerd 8 Mile Classic. I will be running the 2nd Annual Inaugural Irma Gerd 8 Mile Classic later this week, so thought I'd commemorate by re-sharing the report from the original since it was killed on the old site. If anyone else wants to participate, you're welcome to it. Run 8 (ish? whatever) miles on a treadmill and write about it. Do what you must to spice it up.
First, if Irma Gerd means nothing to you, please read this.
The schedule today called for 8 miles easy. The forecast today also called for wind, rain, downed trees, and all manner of apocalyptic blights on the Atlanta metro area thanks to Hurricane Tropical Storm Tropical Depression Irma. Does it still keep its name after it’s no longer a “storm”? Not sure, but now I’m going to have to look into this. Anyway, back to today’s 8 miles. This is my last really big 60+ mile week before Chicago and I didn’t want to start it off all screwed up on miles and workouts, so I was determined to get this one in.
Our forecast was for strong winds and rain starting early in the morning and intensifying until they peaked this evening. I thought about getting up and out early to beat the worst of the weather, but I had calls with overseas colleagues starting very early and realized this probably wasn’t going to happen. So then I decided to try and head out around lunch, but I got hungry and ate without thinking and didn’t have enough time to digest and run before my next call. Crap, I wasn’t going to get to run until the supposed peak of the bad weather. I checked the forecast and saw 20-30 mph winds and rain. So, basically what we had in Philly last year. I started getting ready to go when The Wife (we both worked from home today) looked at me with a raised eyebrow as if to say “and where do you think you’re going?”. And then she asked me where I thought I was going. She repeats herself a lot.
We argued for a little bit, then she put the news on and showed me all the downed power lines and trees and reminded me how bad Atlanta drivers are in foul weather. And they are bad, the slightest mist of a rain and all hell breaks loose on the roadways like a bunch of drunks staggering haphazardly out of a brewery fire. So I resigned myself to hitting the treadmill. It’s not that I hate the treadmill per se. It is a useful training tool, and I have done quite of bit of my marathon pace training runs on the ol’ mill to account for how flat Chicago is and Atlanta isn’t. Repetitive stress on the same muscle groups and all that physiological jazz. But the idea of doing a slow easy run on the treadmill was as unpleasant as the realization that Honey Boo Boo likely has a larger savings account than I do. Plus, the lights had been flickering all afternoon, and half of my colleagues in the city had already lost power. Atlanta loses power if a blue jay breaks wind in the wrong direction, so I knew it was only a matter of time until our lights went out. If I was going to get in 8 on the mill, I was going to have to hurry. And so, the Inaugural Irma Gerd 8 Mile Classic was born.
You’re damn right I’m writing a bloop report about a treadmill training run. In anticipation of the fridge losing juice I started drinking the beer while it was still cold, and I got bored, so you’re getting this bloop. Nobody’s forcing you to read it. Go read about ass chafing if you want.
When I got to the gym, there were two bros taking turns seeing who could grunt and slam weights the loudest, and one girl on an elliptical. I hopped on, hit play on my ancient iPod Touch, waited for the screen to self lock (the manual screen lock button no longer works) and got started. The first song was Rock the Casbah, which was a bit high tempo for a slow warm-up mile but that was the hand fate had dealt me so I went with it. The legs were tired, but not too beat up after the Hansons twin 10er cut back weekend, and quickly found their rhythm. Elliptical girl stopped and started walking over to me which made me panic a bit, until I realized she was simply the only other person in our complex who actually wipes down the equipment and was merely going to the dispenser. Mile 1 - 9:22.
I was loose now and picked up the pace a bit. The gym bros were now done banging weights on the racks (not sure if either of them actually ever did a set or not) and it was time for one of them to do cardio. He ignored the two open treadmills and chose the one right next to me, then craned his neck over so far to see my screen he dripped sweat on my handrail. I offered him a towel, which he declined with a scoff. He then set his machine at what would be a walking pace for even a Galapagos Tortoise and started to, well I think he was trying to run, but jump up with one foot and land on the other, crashing his massive bulk onto the belt with such force my machine shook. And he was still craning over to see my screen. After about a minute of this awkward crashing skipping and staring at my screen he upped his pace to 6.8 mph where I was, stumbled through it for 30 seconds while I pictured him shooting off the back like the rolling boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark, then stood on the railing for 5 minutes drinking his protein shake and stretching before calling it a day without wiping the machine. I used the perfect beat of INXS’ Devil Inside to focus on my cadence and tried not to laugh lest he squah my skull like a grape. Miles 2 and 3 8:49 and 8:49, and the legs felt positively light.
Then one of my all time favorite regulars came into the gym. She jogs to the gym from her apartment every day, hops up on a treadmill, starts it, and stands on the rails while texting for a solid 2-3 minutes. Then she will run for 30-45 seconds, then back on the railings with the belt still running while she does an elaborate stretching routine. And I do mean elaborate, through the course of it her legs will go up onto the screen, then over the handrails, and even out the bottom almost tripping me over on my treadmill. Then 30 seconds more of running, then the stretching thing. Sometimes she’ll get off the 'mill and do a plank or pushups. The Wife and I call her Stretchy Magoo. She usually has the mill run for 3 miles or so, of which she runs maybe an 800, before jogging back to her apartment without wiping the machine. I enjoyed the Ramones' Beat on the Brat and George Harrison’s 1987 hit Got My Mind Set On You on this stretch, and miles 4 and 5 passed in 8:49 and 8:49.
By this point, I was starting to feel a little of the marathon fatigue in the legs, the freshness passing as quickly as it had arrived. So I was thrilled when Black Betty was followed by Jump Around on the iPod. The first has a nice driving guitar riff to keep the turnover up, and the second is my all time party jam. I do a truly awful karaoke rendition of this song after tequila shots which I first discovered way back in the eighth grade at a graduation party. Except back then it was a half shot of tequila we stole from Kristen Phillips’ parents’ liquor cabinet and the song was on Top 40 stations, not Oldies ones. Either way, these powered me through mile 6 in a surprisingly quick 8:49.
A new treadmill neighbor showed up and my playlist luck continued with Going the Distance off the Rocky soundtrack, and then Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison, not Van Halen). I was singing the latter quietly to myself (the former is an instrumental, so not sure why I felt compelled to clarify that) as it’s another frequent karaoke mistake. When I did the little throaty growl Ol’ Roy does, my treadmill neighbor must have heard it because she immediately jerked her head to look at me with an expression of pure horror on her face. I turned to meet her stare, and when I realized she heard me growl without context, I burst into laughter. She didn’t get the joke, and immediately packed up and left without wiping the machine. Mile 7 passed in another 8:49.
The distractions and upbeat musical accompaniment had reenergized the legs, and I coasted through the last mile to the strains of Sam the Sham Pharaohs and one of the most ridiculously idiotic and enjoyable songs ever written. I mean, is he counting down in English or Spanish? I don’t care but be consistent man, it’s just sloppy. And Pharaohs didn’t speak Spanish anyway. And the only lyrics I can really make out are Hatty and Matty doing something. Between the historical inaccuracies, language mixing, and lousy uncreative rhyming this song is an indictment of the US education system if I ever saw one. It’s catchy as hell though, and I rode it through the end of mile 8 in 8:49. The treadmill said 8 miles, the Garmin said 8.42, but all I cared about was that I got in the run without so much as a flicker of the lights.
And thus, the Inaugural Irma Gerd 8 Mile Classic was complete. Can’t wait for the 2nd Annual Inaugural Irma Gerd 8 Mile Classic. And I even still have power, so I can post this asinine bloop about running on a treadmill. What a time to be alive.
I didn’t talk much about how my shin felt in my race report because I thought I’d save it for here. The pain level is about a 5 – just enough to let me know it’s an issue and not just soreness. I’ve been icing the heck out of it which brings immediate relief and makes it feel less intense afterwards. I felt it during the race, but it was only at about a 3. It hurt like hell once I stopped and the day after, but hasn’t gotten much worse. I still haven’t gone to see my PT but that’s just because I haven’t been able to get an appointment yet. (Paragraph written on 9/4)
Monday: REST
Tuesday: REST – I probably should have ran a few mile but I wanted to rest more.
Wednesday: PiYo (Pilates + Yoga) – I’d planned to do yoga roll, but that instructor was out so someone else filled in for her. I got to the class, fully expecting it to be yoga roll and started getting nervous once I heard it was PiYo. It’s been a long time since I’ve done Pilates, but I don’t remember it including anything that we did. Holy cow y’all… it was not pretty. I am one of the most uncoordinated, tall girls EVER. I wasn’t even coordinated enough to play basketball as a kid! We had to do some combination moves, at a really fast pace, so I was like 3 moves behind every time. I know those classes are good for you but I just get annoyed when I can’t keep up. Plus, I end up not having proper form for a lot of important moves, like lunges and squats. It definitely got my heart-rate up but I probably won’t be doing that again. I just don’t like it. Thank heavens it didn’t include a step…
Thursday: 3 x 1600 @ 8:30 – Tuesdays are normally my track days but there is no way I would have pulled that off on Tuesday. I didn’t want to miss a track workout week so I did it this day instead! I set my alarm for 5am, hoping to get out the door before 5:30 – yeah right. I’ve found that I need at least 30 minutes to wake up and get out the door. I did my warm-up mile to the track. It was a blissful 51 degrees and there was humidity in the air from the rain we got the day before. I know you East Coasters are struggling right now, but I enjoy the humidity here since we don’t get much of it.
I wore my headlamp to the track and then during my first 1600, which was 8:30 on the dot! After that, I took it off and jogged a lap. I could feel that the second 1600 was going to be faster, but I didn’t want to risk going to slow. The second one was 8:19 – not too bad! I jogged another lap and then started my third 1600. By this time, some high school students came out to run and were doing some warm-ups; two other guys showed up as well. That’s the most people I’ve seen on that track. The third one came in at 8:27. That workout felt great and didn’t feel like a struggle. My calves were still sore from the race, and my shin was hurting but nothing terrible. Woohoo!
It wasn’t until I was at work and logging on my training plan, did I realize I hadn’t even done the workout correctly. The pace was supposed to be much faster, which makes total sense now; I had used my tempo pace. Soooo, instead of hill repeats on Tuesday, I’m going to redo this workout properly. If I’m trying to PR, I don’t think I can be skimping on the speedwork.
Friday: Yoga – There is only one class (Barre) offered at the gym on Fridays, which I just don’t want to take the day before a long run. I have actually rested every Friday since I started this plan, even though it supposed to be an XT day.
Saturday: 13 miles @9:20 – I had high hopes for this run. I was going to run my favorite trail and I was going to take my time getting up and getting out the door. Waiting until 10am to start was a BIG mistake. Even though we’ve had some cooler days, and it’s been very nice in the early morning, it heated up quick. I feel that this run would be best summarized in bullets:
I forgot my 50 SPF sunscreen at home and had to use some old 30 SPF that I had in the car. I still got sunburned.
I didn’t realize a high school cross-country meet would be going on along the trail, so the first time I had to stop my watch, was to let the pack by. I did get some unintentional cheers from the meet spectators along the trail! Boy, some of those shorts were SHORT on the guys!
About mile 3, I had to wait at a light to cross a street and stopped my watch. I forgot to start it and didn’t start it again until the “Power Save Mode 30 secs” chimed at me about a half mile later.
Somewhere around mile 5, I came up behind two horseback riders. I passed them on the left, but the horses started running right after and passed me back. THEN they started walking again and I had to pass them, AGAIN. Luckily, I didn’t get kicked in the face or shat on.
My legs and brain just weren’t having this run and were fighting with one another the whole time. After I turned around, I remember passing a park that had a bathroom and water fountain. I stopped to use the bathroom, splash water on my face, and refill my bottle. The wind hitting my wet face gave me a short little burst of energy – didn’t last long.
I did a lot of run-walking the last few mile. I thought the 13 was never going to end and I just wanted it to be over. I did eat a wild plum (which I thought were persimmons during my run a couple weeks ago) and a crab apple. There are so many trees along that trail that are LOADED with little plums and apples; I don’t ever remember seeing plums that small.
When I was finally done, it was SO HOT. I was walking up to my car and saw a snake in the grass. My overall pace was 10:38.
The fabric cooler that I had in my trunk didn’t help keep anything cool. I had some cold squeeze apple sauce packets that I was looking forward too, but they were still good hot. I grubbed on some Chick-Fil-A afterwards.
Sunday: REST – I was able to get in touch with my PT and will be seeing him Monday (today). I don’t think it’s shin splints any more because the resting pain intensity is getting worse. Still doesn’t hurt much when I run, which is so puzzling. I’m nervous that it’s something bad. Stay tuned…
Also, I got to hang out with these cuties yesterday That’s Gus (Gus) and Gwen.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
This past week I got out my hybrid bike and decided to give it a try on the trails next to my house. Years ago I had ridden it on some flatter trails and loved every single minute of it.
The trails next to my house are made from an old quarry turned into a "nature preserve." There are pine needle covered trails. Trails that all of a sudden turn to sand traps (ie. Sugar sand, ie. Bikers beware). Flat trails, root covered trails and a few hills to keep things interesting.
The 1st night I went out I absolutely had a blast! It was 95*, humid AF (as the kids say) but as I cruised around the single track I could NOT stop smiling. I wrapped up my ride as the sun was setting.
Two nights later I convinced my husband to ride with me. After only 1/2 a lap he deemed that was enough. Put his bike away and headed for the showers. Sigh.
I couldn't understand why he wasnt as exhilarated as I was??
Last night I asked my son if he wanted to come with me. He's so easy going that I knew he'd say yes. We cruised over to the pit and he set our course with me yelling helpful mom reminders. I'm sure he was eye rolling the whole time.
It was awesome. He led me onto trails I hadn't tried yet. I was worried about being able to keep up, but I managed. After 1 lap it was getting darkish but we had time for one more zip around.
I took off so I could be in the lead. I was riding the outside rim of the pit so we had a little bit more light. Unfortunately there were a lot of sand spots and loose gravel. I was good until I wasnt. I managed to dodge the sand but my tires slipped on the gravel.
Just in case you were wondering I totally screamed like a girl (because I am a girl) as I was going down. The slide of my body - left shoulder, left hip and left shin - was long enough for me to think "that's going to hurt."
When I stopped sliding I sat up and tried to shove my sweaty hair out of my face with my gravel covered hands. Not an easy feat.
I took a quick assessment. Pretty much just brush burn stinging with the exception of my shoulder. My shoulder felt bruised but not horrible. We quickly put the chain back on my bike and finished the lap even though it would've been shorter to go home.
As I was pedaling around I got thinking -- Was the crash something that would stop me from trail riding. I quickly came to the conclusion that I still loved the thrill of the ride.
But why?
The best answer I can come up with is that this is how I was raised. My parents threw me on skis at 3 years old. The feeling of flying down a ski mountain is exhilarating and can also be scary. On a dime you can be carving out S turns as fast as can be but the minute you catch a tip all control is lost.
A few years ago my boys and I were skiing later in the day. The ski patrol was having some sort of training on the slope we chose. I was cruising over the moguls when all of a sudden I caught something and crashed into the most epic snowball ever. It was spectacular.
Some people hold back for fear of what might happen. I guess that's not my M.O. I love the thrill of speeding down the mountain, cruising around dirt piles and pouring my heart and sweat into a chest pounding set of crazy intervals.
At some point I may need to "act my age" but not yet.
So what type of runner/athlete are you? A speed demon, a LSD lover or a mutt/hybrid?
BTW: The statement that things always look better in the morning does not apply to road rash.
The very first sentence of my grad school reading and it's all about why I finally decided to get started...
Workouts have been going well until the last couple days where I guess the miles in the heat are catching up with me a bit. I ran a slow 17 on Saturday, which was actually an extra mile but because of the nature of group runs I walked close to a mile anyway. Monday was on the trail and went ok. For the first time in 3 weeks I avoided some nasty plant (stinging nettle I think) that attacked me the previous 2 weeks. Tuesday’s speedwork was right on what it should have been, but Wednesday’s long midweek run of 8 miles was rough. I never felt good and what would normally be my super easy pace felt hard. I tried to go a little faster and just couldn’t. My left calf and foot were complaining, and later after the run my right ankle joined the grumpy chorus. Today I was supposed to do a tempo run with 2 miles at halfmarathon pace. I couldn’t get there. I was a minute too slow on each of my tempo miles. Tomorrow is a cross train or rest day. Usually I cross train, but this time I’m taking the day off.
I have a halfmarathon on Saturday – and the remnants of hurricane Gordon are going to make it a wet one. Not exactly looking forward to that, but at least I won’t overheat! No real time goal – I’m not in shape to PR, and I’ve been extra tired and sore this week. I hit almost 40 miles last week, which is a big week for me. (And not even the peak for this training plan). Last month was big, but not huge. Both pairs of shoes I’m wearing are at about 200 miles. They still have miles left in them, but I know that I’ll feel better if I get a newer pair to rotate in. The budget really won’t like that, but injuries cost more. I saw the chiropractor today and because of the high miles, soreness and race he wants to see me again next week. Usually I go once a month. The budget doesn’t like that either. I’ve been using some HSA account money so it’s not quite as bad as it could be, but I don’t have a ton of money there either. You know what else hit my budget? After I ran this morning and got ready for work I sat down in my car, started it and was promptly informed I had low tire pressure. A quick look showed my right rear tire was completely flat with a nail in it.
My attempt to change the tire was quickly thwarted by extremely tight lug nuts. Fortunately, my car insurance includes roadside assistance. They actually came really quickly and had the donut tire on in about 5 minutes. I asked the guy how many of those he does a day, and he said 15! No wonder he could do it so fast. I took the car to the repair place and waited and waited and waited. I didn’t have an appointment and there were a lot of people in front of me. Finally they informed me they were working on it, but they couldn’t patch the tire so I had to buy a new one. Budget says ouch again. I made it to work by lunchtime. Good thing I have vacation time…
My Master’s Degree classes start this coming week. I’m still nervous about whether I can still do this school thing or not. I finally got my last textbook yesterday. I bought school supplies for the first time in about 13 years last weekend, but I forgot to get some sort of planner. I’ll need it, lots of deadlines to keep track of. I’ve already done a bit of reading today while waiting for my car, but it’s dense stuff. Not sure how much of this I’ll need to know from memory. Once my race is over Saturday I’ll be dedicating time to planning out my studies for the first week.
Various trail pics...
Estes Epic 24K (~15 miles) – Estes Park, CO
September 2, 2018
What better way to celebrate a birthday, which happens to fall within Labor Day Weekend, than by running up and down a mountain?! Last year I did a 10K – this year I thought I’d step it up a notch.
The race offered camping at the Estes Park fairgrounds, so I decided to camp and guess who came with us?! Kelli and Jake! We decided to leave around 6:30am on Saturday so that we could get to Estes Park, pick up my packet during the MTB race, then have time to do a hike in Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s only about an hour and a half away so we ended up getting there right at 8:30, which happened to be when the MTB race was starting. 8:30am start? Sheesh! They weren’t ready to give me my packet yet so we wandered around and found an alpaca market to check out! They were so cute and fluffy! There weren’t so keen on being petted unless you were feeding them.
When I finally got my packet, we decided to go ahead and set up our tents and claim our spot. We kept looking around the fairgrounds for where we’d be camping but only saw RV parking. Nope, that’s where we were supposed to camp also. It was literally in a parking lot with a bunch of RVs. It was not optimal by any means, but it was $30 and on Labor Day weekend; a hotel room would have been MUCH more expensive. We finally got to the park around lunch time and it was PACKED. We waited in line for about 30 minutes to get in, then once in we couldn’t even go to where we wanted to hike; all parking was full and they were turning people around. We found a trail to a waterfall and decided to hike that. I didn’t want to do too much, since I’d be running the next day. It started raining as soon as we got back to the car anyway. We headed to a brewery after, had a couple beers, then I devoured a big bowl of pasta; I think I was lying down in the tent by 10pm.
The effing MTB race started at 8:30am on Saturday but they made us start at 6AM on Sunday! I slept decently that night, especially since it was my first time camping out before a race. At one point, an elk was bugling and an owl was hooting! It sounded like they were talking to one another! I rolled out of my sleeping bag at 5am, and took all of my things up to the start line where there were bathrooms (which included showers!). I told W, Kelli, and Jake not to worry about getting up that early just to see me start. I really didn’t need them to be there, but they did anyway. So sweet! The race was much smaller than I expected (57 total for the 24K and 55K, actually). I really felt bad for them waking up so early just to see me off, especially since there was apparently no spectating spots (they were VERY vague about the course – more about that later).
I was in shorts and a t-shirt at the start, and I wasn’t going to even bother with a headlamp. Lots of folks had on arm warmers that was part of the race packet but I hadn’t gotten any (I did later)! It was in the upper 40’s when we started and I was actually quite chilly. There was not much information on the race website about the course. They had a Strava route posted but I didn’t take the time to go through it all. What I didn’t know or expect was that the first 5K was on pavement!
The longer I was running on pavement, the more annoyed I was getting. I had started off conservatively, as this was my third mountain race of the year and I knew not to start off too fast. However, that first 5K was pretty flat/gradual uphill; I definitely could have gone out a bit faster. Finally, the pavement ended but we were running on a well-maintained dirt road – not even a fire road. Parts of the road appeared paved at times because it was so packed down. The real “trail” didn’t even begin until about 5 miles in and even then it was fire-road grade. The first big hill was at Mile 5 and they had this sign:
See the lady in the pink shirt ahead? Remember her for later…
They only had one aid station which was at 5.5 miles. I remember I hadn’t even drank anything until I was coming up on the aid station, and I had gels with me, so I didn’t even need to stop. There was a loop around the halfway point, which I forgot about until I started thinking about where the turnaround would be. Because of the loop, I didn’t get to see who was in front of me, which was probably a good thing anyway. I ran by myself for pretty much the whole race. I played leap-frog with a few folks but we never spoke.
I did catch a good view as I was going up that hill
I felt like I’d made it to the top (which wasn’t an actual peak) pretty fast and was surprised when I was already heading back down – based off what the time felt like in my head. When you could tell you were going back downhill, there was a tiny little section of single-track which had been carved out by the MTBs the day before – it was really dusty. By the time I knew it, I hit the aid station again (mile 9.5) and topped off my water. I’d barely drank anything and had only taken one Huma gel. At mile 10, I got back into 8:xx min/miles and passed a few people.
Again, before I knew it, I was already hitting the pavement and had 5K to go. I kicked it for a couple miles averaging 8:05, 8:04, and 8:40 for miles 11-13. Around mile 13, we were on a straight stretch of pavement where I noticed a van that kept pulling over on the side of the road. I remembered seeing it towards the beginning of the race and at other times, but it hadn’t registered anything in my mind. Turns out, it was following the lady in the pink shirt from my picture above. I’d been running behind this lady, almost the entire race. I remembered her a lot because of how badly she leaned over and looked down while she was running. I remember thinking, Wow that’s really not good for your neck and back. I always make sure to look where I’m running on trails, but I do it with my head up. One time the van stopped, a man got out and I could see him hand her something. Then, after I’d gotten closer, he stopped again and gave her a jacket. He was crewing for her! It’s a freaking 24K for crying out loud! They didn’t say that we couldn’t have a crew, but for something like that it just rubbed me the wrong way. And who needs a jacket a mile from the finish??
I didn’t have any initial goals for the race except to finish. My end goal ended up being to beat the lady in the pink shirt! I was hauling ass on the pavement and I could tell she was slowing down. We were about a half mile from the finish and there was a decent hill we had to go up. I walked a tiny bit at the beginning and then took off. I passed pink-shirt lady and another chick on that hill! Once at the top, we still had a bit to the finish and I didn’t want her to pass me again, so I used the last bit of gas that I had.
That last hill was significant enough to clearly show up on the profile!
Even though the race was tiny, I still didn’t win an AG award! I was in the top 10 women but there were a ton in my 30-39 age group. I actually ended up finishing 4th (they didn’t take out one of the top 3) in my AG which I’ve done sooooo many times.
What a great pal I have made
Overall, the race was great but I just expected something completely different. When you say things like, “This race will rip your legs off.”; when you’re offering prize money for winners AND an actual belt buckle to everyone who finishes, one (I) expects this race to actually be EPIC. Honestly, and not to dog on anyone (the race was well organized, minus the lack of details), this race was a bit laughable when you consider how much it was fluffed up and how they described it. I could see this being a great race for someone who is considering starting mountain racing, or even a first trail race for someone. I believe this was only the second running of this event and I don’t know if they were just trying to get more interest in it or not. Last year they had a total of 53 for both races – only 5 more this year…
That sucker is heavy!
The swag was really nice which included a credit-card sized bottle opener, a nice pint glass, race-specific arm warmers, and a good long-sleeved t-shirt. The medal is actually a belt buckle, which is nice but… well, you know. I think all of that was just another way to entice people to sign up. I would probably do this race again, but I would certainly have different expectations next time.
Since I was finished before 9AM, we got back to our house pretty early. I took a shower, nap, ate, and then we went to a couple breweries to finish celebrating my birthday. I’m so glad to have been able to run a race on my birthday, and to ring in 37 that way! It was a good one!
Thanks for reading,
Chris
For the second time in as many days I was climbing Cardiac Hill at the worst possible time of day. The sun had reached sufficient height in the summer sky to obliterate every shady refuge on the city streets but hadn’t yet been up long enough to burn away the morning humidity. And for the second day in a row I had been too exhausted to drag my tired ass and the useless meat sticks hanging from it down to the river nice and early like I was supposed to. At the top of the hill is a CVS with automatic doors which are triggered every time someone moves past on the sidewalk in what seems like an enormous waste of energy. As I shuffled by them they swung open and I was hit with a gloriously refreshing blast of overly conditioned air, so cold against my baking skin I shivered.
Why was I doing this? I had 8 more miles of this death march to go and it was only going to get hotter and my legs were only going to get heavier. Did God not grant divine inspiration to Willis Carrier so that we wouldn’t have to suffer the fires of damnation here on earth? Who the hell was I to forsake this blessing? I should have turned around at that moment in front of the CVS. Instead I shuffled onward, though unsure of why.
I wasn’t wondering why I run, I long ago understood and made peace with the demons that chase me out the door each day. But this training cycle had been a disaster thus far. I hadn’t hit a workout in weeks, my easy runs were getting slower, and I felt broken down instead of built up. I was struggling with why I push myself to, well, struggle.Yes yes I know, I’m running a big marathon coming up and I need to train so I can run it in the nice round number of my choice. But time is relative. In fact, the more you are moving, the slower time passes. I’m not kidding, it’s physics, look it up. So why does the time I run this race matter? You may say “ah, aren’t you trying to qualify for Boston?” And I may well run my qualifying time and get into the race. So what? I’m not going to win, or set a record, or further human achievement in any measurable way. You may say something about joining the annals of our sport’s most prestigious and storied event. But that’s a bit of bullshit, since qualifying standards and rules have changed so many times over the years. In decades past I could have qualified with times I’ve already run, and in others I wouldn’t be close even if I hit my goal this year. There’s that relativity thing again.
What about the thrill of competition? I thought about this as I dodged the already over-served hipsters wobbling on the sidewalks waiting for their Sunday brunch tables and $36 avocado toast. Sure I like to compete, but I’m not competitive. My finishing place is going to include a comma, without a doubt. I will be beat by people who trained less and brunched more. I will be beat by people older than me. I will be beat by men and women and children. I will not win any prizes or money, and in fact this endeavor will likely cost me quite a bit of it. Perhaps it’s competing with myself that matters. Bettering what I did the last time out. Squeezing every ounce of potential from the hand of genetic material I was dealt. Being the best possible version of myself. But, if my absolute best is still so far from good, why is it worth the hard work and the pain and suffering? Would it not make me feel worse to have my inadequacies and deficiencies laid so bare for all to see? And I don’t know how valuable it is to invest so much energy to be the best I can be at something which I’m not good at anyway. Abraham Lincoln supposedly loved animals. I don’t think history will lament his unrealized potential in veterinary medicine. Wouldn’t I be doing more for myself or my family or community if I put these hours of training to some other use?
I ran on, envious of the brunch crowd and the people lounging in the park under the shade of giant elms and kids eating popsicles way too early in the morning. I refilled my water bottle while giving the popsicle buying parents some serious judgmental side eye for setting their kid off on the path to diabetes. Is that it? I mean, I know I could get most of the health benefits of running with some easy 6 milers, but did I think I’d get something extra from doing 800s until I puke? Would I have, like, negative diabetes or something? Nevermind, the heat must be getting to me, that’s just fucking stupid.
As I wound through the park I ran over a cracked section of pavement that covered the old painted Peachtree Road Race finish line, which had dug its way out of its asphalt grave and begun to show itself again. This conjured images of the numerous races I’ve run on these paths, and I sifted through the memories for a reason why I keep running these damn things. I fondly recalled the high from setting PRs, the sense of accomplishment from completing my first race at a given distance. But I also remembered the weeks and months of skipping social events, not having a life, the aches and pains and constant exhaustion. But I felt close with this one, so I kept digging. I thought of the marathon, of that deep dark place where you’ve used up everything you have and yet still have to find something to burn. Surely there was a higher plane of consciousness attained through this effort that justified the pain. Yes I thought, recalling my marathon experiences, there is something you learn about yourself, some enlightenment obtained through this endeavor. But, would you not have the same experience regardless of how much you train? Couldn’t I prepare with a “just finish” training plan doing a bunch of slow lazy running and still see the writing on the wall? Hell, people less prepared probably suffer more on race day, wouldn’t they therefore reach a higher still level of awareness? And you know what, I’m pretty sure Timothy Leary peddled consciousness expansion for a lot less than I’m putting out for this marathon thing.
I was running out of ideas as I ran out of the park and back up Peachtree Street. I passed the churches filling and emptying with worshipers. Perhaps this was the why? I grew up in an old-school fire and brimstone Catholic family, maybe I push myself through pain and exhaustion to satisfy some deeply ingrained Judeo-Christian belief that there will be salvation through suffering. Maybe ladder intervals were my attempt at self-flagellation. Mile repeats were my penance for, well, everything. Maybe I have such deep seated guilt and self loathing I need to punish myself every single day to feel worthy of even my morning coffee. This, I didn’t have an immediate rebuttal for. Not that I necessarily believe the path to eternal salvation is Yasso 800s, but I couldn’t shake the idea that I am punishing myself for something. Am I really that fragile, that broken?
I turned down my street and climbed the last hill before home and I felt more lost than when I had started. But, I was still running. And Monday, I got out and ran again. And Tuesday, I struggled to not quite complete yet another interval workout. But I tried. I still didn’t know why, but I did. I’m sitting here now on my off day with a cocktail still trying to figure it out. The taste of the cheese and crackers and the whiskey I’m washing it down with take me back a few years. For a while, this was my daily routine. Tonight, I’m having 3 because it was a hairy eyed bitch of a day and then I’m going to bed. Back then, I wouldn’t really count. Or go to bed, for that matter. I’d start when I got home and finish when I passed out on the couch, The Wife usually waking me up in the middle of the night and dragging me to bed.
Maybe it’s all of these things. Maybe it matters to train and push because I can, and I very nearly got to a point I couldn’t. Maybe it matters that I get to Boston because of how far it will mean I’ve come. Maybe I’m atoning for years of being a lousy husband and son and friend, if a good patron of the distilled arts. Maybe the uncertainty and suffering and exhaustion is just to keep me too tired to tilt the bottle enough to do any real damage. I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll ever know. We love how running is so often a metaphor for life, but rarely in this vein. The uncertainty and lack of purpose and wondering what the hell the point is and whether or not any of this is worth it or making any difference at all and wondering why you shouldn’t just give up. The ugly side of it all. What I do know is that at this point, the pain provides some comfort in its familiarity; it’s become part of life’s rhythm. And as long as I stay with it, there’s an illusion of control. I’m making this choice. I’m inflicting this pain, I know why it hurts, and I decide when it ends. Maybe it doesn’t make a bit of difference anywhere outside my own head. But maybe I need that. Or maybe I just need to spend time in the dark places so I appreciate the lighter ones. Tempo run Thursday. Haven’t been able to finish one strong in weeks. But scared shitless not to try.
A couple of times anyway. A couple of miles each.
Louis seems to feel best just after PT, so last week when T-Rex needed my car at the same time I had her drop me off at Team Rehab and ran home from there. It's a little over a mile and a half. I had to walk twice because I'm so out of shape, but it was enough to officially call it a run. There was no watch or phone and I didn't record it anywhere. The pain I've been having wasn't any worse than before. I need some kind of movement or it's like the whole inside of the left leg tightens up and pulls on the tendons. EXCEPT ... those muscles don't seem to be tight at all. I'm normally a pretty limber guy, especially for a runner, and I've no issues with any of my normal stretches, or any of the ones Amanda has given me. Any ideas, Loopsters?
That was Monday. Did it again on Wednesday. On Friday, I ran two miles with one walk break. Saturday was OK but hurt on my walk. Sunday and Monday it was sore. Monday night I decided to wear a sleeve on it. Big mistake. Kept it on at work and it was the most pain I've been in since before surgery. Took it off after lunch and it was better. Not good, but better.
Talked to Amanda about it. She's not sure what to do. Tomorrow is my last day and I don't know that I've made any progress. The exercises they've given me are beneficial, I suppose, but there isn't anything that I'm doing now that I couldn't do when I first came in. And still the pain. So, since it seems that running isn't painful and doesn't seem to increase my pain, we're going to try that. I ran two yesterday, will do another couple today and see what two days in a row do. Maybe I just need to run more. Another visit with the doc?
Friday afternoon I went into the yard to trim the trees. Just a few of the lower sagging limbs to give the grass underneath a little light. Did the pear tree. Did the cherry. Then I moved to the Japanese maple at the corner of the house. Cut one tiny little branch. Heard a loud buzzing in my ears and felt something brushing around my head. Swatted at what I figured was a big fly. It didn't scare, but came at me even more aggressively. Uh-oh.
That got my heart rate up right away. Where did this clown come from and what was he so mad about? We often have bees - honeys and bumbles - around, pollinating the flowers, but they pretty much leave us alone if we don't mess with them. Anyway, I swatted at him again, and again. Still he came. Then he had company. Then I felt the stings. Left arm, right arm. I'd knocked my glasses off my face and had run to the patio, where I imagined I'd be out of range. Nope. There was still at least one trying for an opening. Mrs. Dave heard what were apparently my little girl screams and was trying to open the door. I'd come from around the garage side of the house and the back door was still locked. One of those sliding doors (Did you know they call them "door walls" in Michigan? Weird, I know.) with a second lock near the floor. That took precious seconds while my enemy penetrated my defenses and jabbed me in the neck. B@$#@&D!!
The door finally opened after what seemed to me 3-4 hours and I tumbled onto the family room carpet. Mrs. Dave saw the attacker still on my neck, brushed him off and stomped him. The first casualty.
I had three stings. The one on the back of my neck, one above the left elbow on the inside of my bicep, and another a couple of inches above the right wrist. Lucky there were only those, I guess. Put some ice on them and then realized that my glasses were still outside, no doubt on the grass where I'd been trimming branches.
Seemed to me that the 30-40 feet between the patio and the area where I'd been attacked was far enough that I could go have a look and even avoid the flyers while I retrieved them. Nope. I only made a few steps off the patio when I heard and saw something at me. It was like he'd been waiting for me. And he was huge. He looked like a crow, I swear. It was big and black and headed directly AT MY FACE! I tried to duck but it was too late - or maybe just in time. He hit me right below my left eye near the bridge of my nose. The sting was instant, although I did get some satisfaction from making him the second casualty of the skirmish. Back inside.
We could see my glasses on the ground, half way between the cherry and the maple.
We could also see this, about ten feet in the air, with who knew how many big black fliers circling menacingly around my ladder and both trees.
Oh. Freaking. Em. Freaking. Gee.
So much for trimming the trees this weekend. Interesting (not going to say "funny" here), I'd spent the previous two days watering the grass, mowing and digging out another tree stump in the back yard, some of that work exactly there under that thing with no idea that this mammoth-sized bug condo was hanging just a few feet above me.
I'm not one to interfere with the creatures of this world. I know they have vital functions to perform in the circle of life and deserve to live out their existence free from the depredations of man. But this is my back yard. There are billions of acres on the planet far enough away from humanity for wasps to build nests and do whatever it is they do. Not in my house. And they came at me first.
There are only a couple of options for this type of campaign. I had what I thought was a full can of wasp killer from another nest that I'd had in the front yard a few years ago. That one was near the sidewalk and I had concern for the neighborhood kids who walked nearby. It seemed pretty easy as I remembered it. But if they were patrolling the whole yard, how was I going to get at them? The instructions said to wait for dusk when they were the least active. But my glasses!
I waited for several hours, wearing my contact lenses that I usually only use for running nowadays. Every time I looked through the window they still seemed pretty excited. Later that afternoon I thunderstorm came through and that seemed to settle them down. I sprayed at them from an upstairs window, but maybe because of the age of the can or maybe I'd partially emptied it on that other nest, it only gave me a few seconds before petering out. So off to The Home Depot for reinforcements.
I was able to give them a decent soaking, but it wasn't as thorough as I'd remembered doing the last time. You' supposed to wait until the next day to make sure you catch any stragglers who might have been away from home when you sprayed the first time. So I stayed inside until Saturday morning, then went out to check. I guess I expected to see a pile of carcasses on the ground under the tree. What I found was big black bugs flying in and out and around the football-sized thing hanging in the air. Not dead. Not crazy and swarming all over like the day before, but definitely not dead. They must be made of harder stuff.
Anyway, since the bugs insisted on surviving, I decided to get a bigger gun. Back to HD where I bought the biggest gun I could find.
That's right - PRO. I was now a professional killer. What's that you say? Chemical weapons were banned by the 1925 Geneva Convention? The 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention ban (signed by 165 countries) prohibits the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors. Sue me.
This time the stream was strong and solid. I soaked the nest from two sides, then went upstairs and gave it another shot from above. I let it soak through the day and checked it again after work, PT and my run on Tuesday.
This time - like an attack by the Dread Pirate Roberts - there were no survivors.
The war is over. I won.
As you know, I race a lot. 309 road races so far to be exact. And I usually go into a race with a goal time, and a pretty good prediction of what I think I can do. Most times I come out pretty close to what I expect.
But having just read this book:
Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance
I did some thinking about that. Am I running close to predicted times because of my knowledge and experience? Or is my prediction causing me to run that time?
For example, if I predict my 5K will be 20:20 instead of 20:50, and then adjust my race strategy for that time, am I more likely to run faster? Despite my experience telling me 20:50 is what I am capable of right now?
So this week I ran a Mile race on the track. The last two years I aimed for sub 6 and ran 5:52 and 5:59. This year I had convinced myself, based on many track workouts and runs with slower paces than usual, that sub-6 was out of reach. I was talking about going out at 6:20 pace with a goal of running 6:10-6:15. I considered going out at 6:00 pace to be suicidal. Race day came and one guy said he was running 6:00 pace if anyone wanted to pace off of him. (He was capable of faster). I didn't give it much thought. I would run my race and see how far away the pace group would be.
So off we went and I slipped into my usual spot in the group. There was about 30 people racing, from 4:50 pace to 9 minute pace. I glanced at the Garmin after 100m and it said 6:10 pace. Yeah I got this pacing thing down. First lap was 92 and it felt perfect. Hard but manageable. The 6:00 group was about 8 people in a bunch just ahead. I maintained.
Lap two I caught a few people who went out too fast. But the group was pulling away from me. I let them because this was plenty hard enough thank you. Second lap 94 for a 3:06 1/2.
Lap 3 is about ignoring the pain and pushing hard not to lose momentum. A few people were falling off the pace group and I caught some which helped me stay motivated. Lots of huffing and puffing and grimacing but the end was near now. 93 for lap 3.
I still felt OK and tried to find another gear and get everything I could out of the last lap. Not a whole lot left however. I caught one more guy as my legs tied up and riggy kicked in. The last straight was just surviving and trying not to stumble. I think spit was coming off my mouth and my eyes were glazed. Finished at 6:10 for a 91 last lap.
So. My splits tell me I maximized my potential. I didn't have an 85 left in me. I gave everything and 6:10 was my best on this day. Or was it? What if I had gone out at 90? Could I have held on and still been able to finish strong? Or would I have died early and fallen off the pack like some of my friends? I was spent at the end. But it wasn't the worst I've ever felt. I'm sure a few more seconds could have been had.
Anyway, it's fun to ponder. Still happy with the 72% age-grade. But I'm already planning to assault the mile again maybe in December. This time I will go in telling myself I can do sub-6. The body follows the brain.
Back to marathon training...
I started not feeling well last Thursday after my sweltering run-club run, and didn’t start feeling better until Tuesday. I’m sure the heat and running in the smokey haze didn’t help, but it turns out that Aunt Flo came for a visit a week early; that explains not feeling well. Also, my right shin has been hurting quite a bit in the last week and I was hoping it was something that would just go away. The intensity has been getting worse and worse, and I’ve been worried it could be something bad. I haven’t gone to see a PT yet, because from the symptoms I’m having, I think it may just be shin splints.
Monday: I ended up staying home sick this day. I’d had a headache for three days and it just wasn’t letting up. I stayed on the couch, catching up on OITNB.
Tuesday: I felt much better this day and was supposed to run hills. I decided to run after work because the high was only going to be 73. However, my shin hurt all day and I decided to just rest another day. I also started putting ice on it, which made it feel better when I woke up Wednesday morning.
Wednesday: Barbell Strength- I sat down with my morning coffee and iced my shin some more. Since I missed my favorite cross-training class on Monday, I stayed after work to go to the class. There was a different instructor for this class and she kicked my ass!
Thursday – Saturday: Ugh, I rested all these days. My shin wasn’t getting any better, and I knew I’d be running the race on Sunday, no matter what. I just wanted to ensure I’d be toeing the start line on my birthday. I iced it twice a day every day, and I think that has helped.
Sunday: I’m writing up a race report for my race, which will be posted soon. Spoiler: It went well
Thanks for reading,
Chris
It feels like Monday, but it’s Tuesday! That’s pretty nice. I feel like I’m a bit jet lagged, although we didn’t fly anywhere. We made a trip up to DC for a baseball game and had it was HOT. Soooooo hot. That combined with not getting home until 10pm was enough to wear me out.
As you may or may not know, I’m 4 weeks into my marathon training and until recently I couldn’t even tell you which marathon I was training for…until now. Drum roll please…
I have signed up for the Rehoboth Beach Marathon on December 8th! I ran this one last year, but it went pretty horribly (read about it here, if you dare). However, the race and course are awesome and you can’t beat the post-race fun (read about that here, it’s a more cheerful read).
So now that we all know what I’m actually training for, let’s recap:
Monday – Planned 3 miles/Actual 3 miles
I ran these on the treadmill just before getting DESTROYED by a kettlebell workout. As of know, the runs are optional and the kettlebell workouts are not. I just think that short, easy runs are nice but not all that meaningful to my training. The kettlebells are definitely helping me feel stronger. I need that strength for the late miles more than I need a little extra volume.
Tuesday – Planned 6 miles/Actual 6 miles
I’m still having trouble finding my “easy” pace. I want to run 8:30 to 9:00 miles, but I always seem to end up near 8:00 pace. I think I’m a little less efficient when I’m slower and it doesn’t “feel” easy. My theory is that when I shorten up and reduce my turnover, it causes me to be on one leg for a little longer and that wears down my muscles a bit.
Wednesday – Planned 3 miles/Actual 4 miles
I ran one extra for my friends and I was glad to. The title of my run on Strava was “This one was JUST right”. My friends helped me pace that easy pace I was looking for and with their conversation it didn’t seem so awful. Also, there was coffee!
This is pretty much us.
Thursday – Planned 4 x Hill Repeats/Actual 4 x Hill Repeats
I loved and hated these so much that I decided to write a post about hill repeats. I decided to look back to what hill repeats were like for me before my injury and I couldn’t find any in recent history. Going back to May of last year, they were pretty similar. That made me pretty happy. On a non-running topic, my co-workers also made me happy. They surprised me with office decor and dirt cake for my upcoming 40th (gulp) birthday. The REAL surprise is that it was 9 days early!
Friday – Rest Day!
I rested in the sense that I didn’t run or work out. Jen had our good friend and her college roommate Suzy in town from LA, so they ran off to Richmond in search of non-Mom type fun. I got the kids off to school and had a day with little Ben. Ben is my little buddy. I hate that he’s growing up so fast, but that’s the way life is.
What can I say? The kid likes wristbands.
Saturday – Planned 6 miles at MP/Actual 6 miles at MP
Friday night lasted WAY longer than I’d hoped, but we were having so much fun plus Jen and Suzy don’t get a ton of time together and they needed a driver. I ended up getting my butt out of bed after <4 hours of sleep and going for it. That’s why running in groups is good. Accountability. I told myself that I don’t sleep well the night before a race anyway. Based on the conditions and my condition, I was pretty happy about this run. I averaged right around what my BQ pace needs to be. I’m keeping it around as a possibility.
Sunday – Planned 13 miles/Actual 13 miles
Another hot and miserable run to grind out. I’m just waiting on my Pegasus Turbos to make EVERYTHING better.
We’re getting into long run territory where you HAVE to think about fuel/hydration/chafing etc. etc. and I’ve forgotten how to deal with all of that. It’ll come back to me one way or another.
I’m proud of anyone that toughs out this time of year through so many awful runs. Fall is coming. We shall rejoice!
I had trouble pacing again and ended up a little fast, but my heart rate stayed relatively under control. That means I’m getting in shape (I think).
Week 4 is in the books. It was a 35 mile week (my highest in a year!). August was a 120 mile month. This is happening!!!
When I tore my Achilles WAY back in December, I dreamed about getting back to this point. Here we are. Thanks go out to all of you that advised me, encouraged me and motivated me. You’re the best!
August 2018 in review
Total mileage for the month: 357.7 (in comparison: January - 207, February - 254, March - 298, April - 307, May - 355, June - 232, July - 290). This was my highest mileage month ever! What's funny, though, is that I only beat May's total because I ran my long run a day early, on August 31 instead of September 1. I never look at my mileage total until after my last run of the month (that should be clear from my March mileage, hah!), but I had to laugh when I realized my PR month only happened because of moving that long run. Cheers!
July 30-August 5: 74.0
August 5-12: 77.1
August 13-19: 80.3
August 20-26: 85.1 (second highest mileage week ever!)
August 27-Sep. 2: projected at 75
My goal is to pick her up for first day of school
photos through college!
Races:
Nada...August seems to be a training month for me! I have races planned for September 3, 9, and 29 (B goal race), October 6 and 20, November 4, and December 2 (A goal race), and am excited to roll into those!
Workouts:
August 1: 4 mile tempo in 24:10 (6:02 average via 6:07, 6:07, 6:00, 5:54), 3.1 warm up, 3.1 cool down. It was 56* for this run, which is quite unlike August in Missouri! My prescribed pace range was 6:00-6:18, and if it had been a more typical hot and humid August morning I'd have probably needed the top of it. I felt strong throughout this one and was happy with how it went, although not surprisingly I wished I'd have averaged 3 seconds/mile faster. I wish I could find someone to run tempos with me, because I will always run faster with someone pushing.
August 4: 13 miles with 3 miles progressive fast finish (6:54 for all 13; final 3 in 6:37, 6:27, 6:23). I felt great on this run, except for during the last half mile up an incline that left me gasping for air. I've fast finished runs on this route many times, and sometimes I can rock it up that hill, but this run was not one of those times! I ran with Claudio and Paul for 10, but they didn't pick it up with me at the end. Claudio was supposed to run 15, but he was tired and was going to stop with me at 13, so I volunteered to run 2 extra miles so he would get it done, therefore I ended up running 15 miles total this day, but the final 2 were slower (7:29 pace) and we stopped for water at 13.
August 8: 3 x 2 mile repeats in 11:44 (5:50, 5:53), 11:54 (5:56, 5:58), 11:51 (5:57, 5:54), with 0.5 jog recoveries and 2.6 warm up and 1.8 cool down. My goal pace range for this workout was 5:45-6:00, which I thought was completely unrealistic (particularly given that it was 69* with a dew point of 68*), but I decided I would try to hang onto 5:59 pace and see what happened. Lucky for me, Ben volunteered to run with me for portions of each rep as a way to ease himself back into speed work. He did from 0.0-1.0 of the first rep, from about 0.3-1.3 of the second rep, and from about 0.4-1.9 of the final rep (his plan was 1 mile of each rep, but on the last one while I was dying I told him it would be super helpful if he'd do 1.5 miles with me, and he was gracious enough to do so). I would not have hit these times running by myself, especially on the final rep. I read somewhere that running with someone or in a group helps you run 5-10 seconds/mile faster, and I think that is certainly accurate. I had to dig really deep at the end and I was proud of myself for keeping the pedal on the gas when it got very uncomfortable.
August 13: Mini-speed of 30"/30" during mile 4 of my second run of the day. I managed to screw up this workout in my Garmin, so it was rotating 30 seconds/30 seconds/cool down to lap press instead of 30 seconds/30 seconds. My first 2 pushes got messed up because of this, but then the remainder of them were 5:48, 5:49, 5:36, 5:24, 5:30 paces, which isn't very fast for such short pushes, but I can barely get going in 30 seconds I guess! I think the main objective of this workout is getting in a little faster running on tired legs (I ran 10.3 miles in the morning then ran this at lunch).
August 15: 6 mile tempo in 36:33 (6:05 average via 6:09, 6:09, 6:05, 6:06, 6:05, 5:57), 2.2 warm up, 2.4 cool down. I woke up to a torrential downpour this morning, Ben decided not to join me due to that monsoon, and my weather app told me that there were lightening strikes within 0.6-1.8 miles of my house at 5:20 a.m. I mostly resigned myself to pushing this workout back a day and just getting out for easy miles in the pouring rain once the lightning moved away, but by 5:50 a.m. the storm had almost completely passed, just leaving heavy air in it's place (a dew point of 70*, air temp of 71*, meaning 98% humidity). I knew it would be difficult to run as strong in these conditions as I'd done in my August 1 tempo, but I'd also had a really good workout the previous week in heavy humidity, so I held out hope that there was a chance. Although this wasn't the fastest 6 mile tempo I've done, I was happy with my even pacing and ability to push through the humidity and uncertainty about whether or not the workout would happen that morning (uncertainty is certainly not my strong suit!). As per every tempo I ever run, for the first 2 miles I felt like I could never sustain the pace for much more than 2 miles, then I got into a groove for the remainder, felt fatigue in the second to last mile, then found a little kick in the final mile. This is pretty much my goal pace for my fall halfmarathon (it takes 6:06 to break 1:20), and on one hand I was happy to hit it alone in humidity, but it also made me wonder how I am ever supposed to run that pace for over twice as far!
No workouts the week of August 20-26, but I had a solid midweek long run (11.2 miles at 6:52 average). Ben joined me for the final 6 miles and we ended up running faster than I'd planned (6:36 average for those 6), which was a nice confidence boost because while I would certainly not call that pace easy, it was conversational. I guess since I'm training to run a marathon 19 seconds/mile faster than that, I should hope it doesn't feel too hard, but in my head I think 6:30 pace is much harder than it actually is, if that makes sense.
August 29: 8 mile tempo in 50:11 (6:16 average via 6:16, 6:17, 6:12, 6:16, 6:18, 6:18, 6:20, 6:11, 2.2 warm up, 2.0 cool down. This one was a grind! My goal pace range was 6:03-6:18, and my coach, my husband, and common sense tell me that bad weather days are what the top of the pace range is for, but I really struggle with accepting that. It was 74* with a dew point of 72* and 92% humidity which is pretty miserable, and there were storms around, including one that rolled through mid-run, bringing some wind and moderate rain but no reprieve in the heat and humidity. BUT, I'd also nailed a couple of workouts in conditions that were almost as bad recently (see 6 mile tempo and 2 x 3 mile repeats above), so I wanted to think I could nail this one too, ideally hitting 6:06 average pace (goal half pace). Maybe it wasn't the weather and it was the mileage on my legs or just not my day, but I started at the top of the pace range hoping to work down, but with each passing mile it became more and more clear that I was going to have to really work just to hang on to the top of the range. I looked at my watch far more than I typically do during tempos, because when I ran what felt like tempo pace I was at 6:20-6:30 pace, and I just kept forcing it down ("just get it to 6:18!" was my self-talk). 6:15 sure felt like 6:00 pace! The workout ended up being really hard on my body, I think because I forced the pace so much. When I've raced in weather like this - such as at Bass Pro Half 2017 and Dam to Dam 2017 - I have always run slower than I thought I was in shape for (and suffered more doing it!), so really 6:16+ probably is what I'd aim for in a halfmarathon in this weather, but I sure wanted the confidence boost of hitting a faster pace. Plus, my marathon goal pace is 6:17, so having 6:16 feel so hard for 8 miles was not confidence-inspiring. I feel like I missed my chance to "prove" to myself I'm ready for a half PR, but I did my best and paced evenly, so I am trying to be okay with the outcome. Last season almost no workout I ever did indicated I could race the times I ran, so there is also that to cling to!
Doubles on August 1, 6, 8, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, and 29 -- yes, doubles increased with a vengeance this month! I ran 4 doubles in 1 week for the first time ever; they were all 3.X milers so just easing into the frequency. I also had two weeks with 3 doubles, which I'd done before then but only twice (2 has been my usual number of doubles per week until now). I've grown to really like running them, but sometimes they are a pain logistically, so I have mixed feelings about 4 a week.
Strides on August 2, 21, and 23, and a few before most workouts (those are usually fartlek-style at the end of my warm ups).
Full body strength workouts - I completed my full strength circuit twice per week and also did 5-10 minutes of core work more days than not. I split up my strength work a little more than I have been; with my work schedule and increasing doubles, it became harder to fit in my weekday full strength workout, which takes about an hour total (some of it is drills). Some weeks I'd do something like 20 minutes of it on Tuesday, 20 minutes of it on Wednesday, and 20 minutes of it on Thursday - and often those 20 minutes would be split into 10 minutes after my morning run and 10 minutes after my second run. On a "good" week I'd do it all on Wednesdays, with half after my morning run and half after my second run, but I think that only happened once this month. I always do the full workout on Saturdays all at once, either immediately following my long run or later in the afternoon. I used to drop strength training when it became harder to fit in, but it's more manageable when I break it up so I'll continue to do it that way until I win the lottery and switch to working part time (I do enjoy my job, but running a lot of miles would sure be easier with 4 hour work days!).
Favorite workout: It's hard to beat a solid tempo run in 56 degrees in August (the 4 miler), and since I'm still reeling from the muggy 8 mile tempo I choose that one (even though I definitely exceeded expectations on the 3 x 2 mile workout).
Long Runs:
August 4: 15 miles (13 at 6:54 + 2 to help a friend), described in workouts. I was excited to see a 6:5X average!
August 11: 15.1 miles (6:52). This one showed me that the previous week's 6:5X average long run wasn't just a fluke! I ran with Marshall and Kim, which gave me a little push and made the miles fly by! We saw a lot of people out running on the trails in Springfield; I think fall marathon training is in full force around here, which is great to see.
August 18: 14.3 miles (6:54). I felt great on this one after mile 1! Why is the first mile always so hard while also being so slow in comparision?! I started this with Paul, Ben, and Claudio, with everyone running different distances. We dropped Paul off at 6, Ben off at 10, and Claudio at 12. I finished feeling strong and very hungry. My appetite seemed to notice the increasing mileage this week!
August 25: 15.2 miles (7:00) with Casey and Rebecca on our favorite 15 mile rectangle of farm roads! It was stiflingly humid and I ended up wishing I'd have carried or dropped fluids, but other than that it was a nice run with wonderful company and conversation.
August 31: 15.2 miles (7:11) on a Friday morning before work. I wasn't quite as fresh as usual for this one since I didn't have my "rest day" the day before (my coach calls my 4-5 mile Fridays rest days), but I still felt really good and it felt like one of the shortest 15 milers I've ever done! I ran 3.4 miles to meet Rebecca, ran 7.4 miles with Rebecca, then dropped her back off at her car and ran home plus a little more to get to 15. I think splitting it up like that made it go by really quickly, and also with running higher mileage like I have been it seems like I run 10-16 miles every day, so 15 is just a normal day instead of a long run at this point. I am clearly becoming more crazy!
Favorite long run: I really don't have one this month; they were all pretty similar in distance and feel, and all with great training partners!
A beautiful humid morning on beautiful farm roads with
Ben & Casey (Missy was the photographer while running!)
Highlights/thoughts/randomness:
I am still streaking - every day since January 27! Part of me wishes I hadn't taken time off after the Houston Marathon, since without those 5 days off I'd have a streak of about 15 months at this point, but I needed that time, and I guess I can at least say I've run 360 of the past 365 days.
If all goes as planned, I will build to my lifetime highest mileage week and highest weekly average this marathon cycle.
Before this month, I'd run weekly mileage in the 80s four times, and all of those were with 20-24 mile long runs. August 13-19 I did it with a 14 mile long run, and August 20-26 with a 15 mile long run.
I set three weekly mileage PRs during my Grandma's build (the end one currently stands at 86.7, with all 3 detailed here). I averaged 70.3 mpw in the 18 weeks prior to Grandma's 2018, and 67.4 mpw in the 18 weeks prior to CIM 2017. The week of July 30-August 5 marked the start of the 18 weeks leading up to CIM 2018, so my average for the first 5 weeks of the build already exceeds my previous averages (coming in at 78.3), and I will be going up from here, although not drastically.
The week of August 20-26 is now my second highest mileage week ever, and it was 14 weeks out from my goal marathon. I figure this more aggressive training is either going to go really well or really poorly, haha! But taking no chances means wasting your dreams, right?!
I had a hard time "letting go" of building up in mileage the week of August 27-September 2, which is a cut-back week. I can see how people get into over-training and excessive exercising, because I started feeling like I should be running in the 80s again. This is why I don't train myself! The week of September 3-9 will be in the 70s as well, since I am racing two 10Ks within a 6-day span (also maybe not my brightest idea, but I did it last year too).
Life events:
I got a new car! I'd been resisting the inevitable for awhile, driving my little 2006 Honda Civic more miles than my husband thought I should, but it broke down the day before we left on vacation and the needed repairs would have cost more than it was worth. My husband has been dying to buy a Chevy Volt, and that's what we did! I can drive to and from work every day (about 30 miles round trip) and then some without using any gas. It will go around 55 miles on a charge and then it switches to gas.
We attended our local running club's yearly picnic, where Albani and I both won cute club tech shirts, and all 3 of us won nice running socks (I got all 3 pairs though, because they were my size and no one else's).
My parents and niece visited us for some Branson activities before school resumed. My niece is almost 16 and just got her driver's permit, which I can't quite wrap my head around!
School resumed, with Albani tackling the 5th grade!
We went in for a hair trim for Albani before school started, and initially she planned on just getting it shaped up, but once her stylist began cutting she decided she wanted it shorter and shorter until we returned to a bob. I wish we'd have planned this better, because she had enough hair that it could have been donated to Locks of Love. Her hair looks great long or short, and she takes great care of it, so I am fine with whichever style she chooses but I could tell her stylist didn't want her to cut it all off. Albani said that her new haircut saves her 10 minutes in the morning, which is not untrue.
I also returned to school, teaching one class in the ABA Masters program at Missouri State, on Tuesday evenings.
I was published in my local running club's August newsletter - article here.
Bidding our 2006 Honda goodbye in Alabama (Jon & Albani
made this into a father-daughter trip)
Hello, 2018 Chevy Volt
Proud owners
I won the contest for the oldest race t-shirt with this gem of
my dad's from 1981!
My parents, niece, and daughter loved Samson at the Sight
and Sound Theater in Branson (they went on a Tuesday
afternoon so I was at work)
Pre-Samson
Cousin card game
Our matching OMRR shirts
Stocking up on books, showing the OMRR shirt
& a "before" hair cut photo
After hair cut! This doesn't do the amount of
hair on the floor justice
We did some landscape shopping this month
First day of 5th grade
First day of school
Bandit asks for it
The second day of school is under-rated!
My first day of school (teaching at MSU)
I made a race website photo!
In the spring Loco Races decided to buy the Vermont 100 on 100. Ugh. I mean great...I suppose. If the race was cancelled I didn't have to decide whether or not my body was ready to run 15+ miles. And then Loco comes along and saves the day.
I managed to not sign up for the relay the 1st time jschneid announced that he was putting together a team. Jschneid = Christine's friend who saved me at the last minute last year by replacing me and my f'd up hamstring.
Since last year jschneid and KRG have become best friends/running buddies.
Anyway all was good until Pat (applepie's friend) had to drop from the relay. I was feeling really great at that point and quickly took the empty spot. I was probably a little too enthusiastic to get into race shape. One night at track on the last 200 i felt something pop/pull/hurt. What the hell's with all the 200s anyway? The pop/pull wasn't major but enough to make me pull the reigns way back.
KRG said AtomBuddy was going to be in NYC and would be running the NYRR 7 miles at the beginning of August. I decided if he can travel from California to run a race in NYC then I could travel from NJ to run my 1st race in Central Park.
I met KRG and jschneid at bag drop. I couldn't believe how easy it was to find these guys at an NYRR event! Next we walked over to the start and there was AB right in front of us.
It was hotter than hot and the air was thicker than thick. I decided to just run it by feel and really didn't care about pace. KRG and JS warned me about the hills.
I really enjoyed the race and the and the sights.
Bathroom break at mile 4.
We went out for brunch after the race. I got to meet Mrs. AB and little AB (who's taller than AB)
I added some miles on later that day to simulate race day. No bueno. My hamstring/piriformis/it band was a big ole hunk a'junk of searing pain.
Sigh.
I knew I had about 2 weeks to get my schizzle together.
Thankfully we were on a cross country vacation for most of those 2 weeks. We visited my son in Dea Moines, Iowa. He and I ran 6 miles together because he signed up for the Des Moines Marathon.
Love this kid! Miss his smile and humor every day.
The Iowa State Fair was happening while we were there.
So cute!!
We went to concerts on 2 nights. Saw Chris Daughtry and the Brothers Osborne. Both incredible! I love concerts!
After visiting my son and his wife we flew to San Diego. I made plans to run with Dr. Whiskers but sadly she had a family emergency.
My husband pretty much let me decide our itinerary while I was there for the 2 days. (He was staying longer for a conference.)
I was like
First we went to Torrey Pines along the Pacific. We hit every trail except one. I was in heaven!
Does it get any better than this?
That night my husband and I went to dinner and asked for recommendations for a hike the next day. The bartender recommended Iron Mountain. The start of the hike is very deceiving.
That's the only part that is flat! We climbed a 1000 feet to the the top of the mountain.
Seriously you guys I didn't love San Diego but I'd move for the surrounding mountains. I'd climb a new one every dayum day!!
I flew back Thursday and drove to Vermont on Friday! My body had no idea what time zone it was in!
I picked up KRG, jschneid and Deanna at the Newark train station and headed for Vermont. Applepie and Slow_running met us there. We carb loaded like champs.
In a freak state of summer the weather gods sent us a high of 64* for the relay.
I decided I should take a look at my elevation profiles for my legs since jschneid wouldn't return my epic downhill legs. Harumph!!
For my 1st leg Slow_running told me I'd be running the bowl. I thought that 1st down and then up was the bowl....until I got to the 2nd down and up. OMFG! I managed one code Abby and a pace of roughly 9:40 for my 1st leg.
The usual waterfall photo
My 2nd leg was pretty much flat but really cambered.
Applepie asked what I needed on that leg when I was 1/2 way through. I told him a flat road. My left hamstring/it band can't stand a downward slope. I was in so much pain. Roughly 9:30s. Jschneid snapped a couple pix of me after this leg but told me none of them are really of me smiling. Just the pain bleeding through.
My favorite sign from the race:
I had one more leg to get done. I was the last runner for our team - the "hero." I wanted this leg because I was always so jealous of S_R running in the dark on the dirt roads. All the twinkling lights of the other runners bopping along the road.
I warned my team I had no idea what pace I'd be running since I was in so much pain on leg 2. I had slathered Biofreeze everywhere and taken 2 Advil.
Simply magic!
S_R handed off to me and I took off into the dark.
My leg felt the best it had all day. I ran on the dirt roads, clicking off more kills than I had all day! I ran the flats and downs and walked some of the ups. As I came into Okemo I couldn't believe my 3rd leg was the fastest of the day at 9:20s!
My team was waiting for me and we all ran across the finish line!
We placed 100th in the Vermont 100 on 100! And I'm sure we placed 1st in the cheering department.
Cheers!
SoLoopfest 2019 is at the Vermont 100 on 100. I signed up a team and we already have 8 of the 6 spots filled.... So are you brave enough to join us? Requirements are being able to ring a cowbell and run up the side of a ski mountain in an ice cream costume.
Let me know!
Good morning, my friends! I didn’t expect to post anything today, but this morning’s hill repeats inspired me a little so why not. If my title puts a song in your head, I’ve done my job.
This was me, after 4 hill repeats. Feels good!
Hills are in pretty much any run when you live in Lynchburg, VA. It’s actually known as “the hill city”. That being said, I generally don’t go out of my way to find them, or to repeat them. This training plan calls for hill repeats once every 3 weeks and that’s new to me. Hill repeats don’t take long at all. My total run was 3 miles and a mile of that was warmup and cooldown. You definitely work more muscles than typical runs though. I was A SWEATY MESS afterward and I couldn’t get cooled off. The shower didn’t take.
This was me at work. What is that guy hiding?
Now I’m not a running expert by any means, but I’ve been paying attention to what feels best for me when tackling a hill at high speed. High speed is all relative of course, so maybe “high effort” is a better term. Here are some thoughts about how best to take on them hills.
Keep your eyes on the horizon – I think this helps with form. I feel like your weight should be shifted forward a little. I focus on staying rigid and keeping my core engaged.
Run with your arms! – I KNOW we run with our legs, but when you pump those arms the legs will follow. It feels strong and badass too, so do it.
Quick steps – Keep those feet light and the steps quick, like you’re running on hot coals. Shorten up your stride a bit if that helps.
Run through your target – I remember being taught to punch through where you’re trying to hit and the same applies here. We have a natural tendency to let up a bit as we get close to what we perceive as the end, so you have to trick yourself a bit by making “the end” a little farther away. It works!
Think about that high you’ll get – Just like the track, hills are tough. THERE WILL BE SUFFERING and you will likely enter the pain cave. However, our body rewards us with that sweet, sweet runner’s high when we finish. While you’re suffering, think about how great you’ll feel when it’s over!
That’s all I’ve got for this one. Anybody have any hill running tips to add or any disagreements to what I’ve said? You won’t hurt my feelings at all if you do. We’re all out to be the best runners we can be.
Quick question for Loopsters: I've been posting my weekly training stuff on my WordPress blog, but didn't know if you all would even want to read that much detail so I don't post it here. DO you want to read it? No biggie if you don't haha.
Hi Loopsters!
Only nine weeks left before New York City! I guess I better get serious about marathon training. Actually, the running has been going pretty well. My nagging injuries still nag a little, but not as loudly as before. They aren't going away, but the increased mileage isn't making it worse, so that's good. Still a tight right buttock and a wonky left knee, but they're both kind of fading. The bigger problem has been heat. Not a fan of marathon training in August! Although I can't really complain living here in runner paradise, our weather has been warmer than usual, and we've had a little humidity too. Seems like all my runs feel tough - I'm not getting the paces I'm used to for the same effort. I prefer to blame the heat rather than my increasing age. Still hoping cooler Fall weather will help. But at this point my goals are modest.
I have a halfmarathon in Long Beach in 5 weeks. Plan to race it, but maybe I'll go out conservatively and hope for a strong finish. It worked in Arizona. Anything under 1:40 would make me happy now. As for New York - boy - I'm still at the point where 26 miles seems AWFULLY far. I did 15 last week, and was pretty beat at the end (it was warm). Just hoping to enjoy the experience, try to control myself, and not bonk too hard. Hopefully sub-4.
Last week I spent a week in North Carolina visiting my parents. I managed to get three runs in (6.5, 9.8, 6.7) but each was a struggle. Yes, it was warm and humid. And yes, I'm going to blame 2,100 feet of elevation for having some effect. I was reading the book Endure, and he coincidentally talked about 2,000 feet of elevation having an effect on race times, so I'm taking it.
I got back Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I did about 12 miles (at sea level) and felt pretty good! Mojo returned. Then I followed it up Sunday morning with 12 more, expecting tired legs, but felt surprisingly fresh and ran pretty well for about ten miles. Bonked a bit at the end. But you know, hot... Took Monday off and did 8.3 Tuesday and again felt strong. So I guess the training is working. Just gotta trust the process and hope for cool weather.
Tonight is track night and I have 16 on Friday morning. Then Sunday is our track group's annual mile race. I'll do my best, but I feel like sub 6:00 is very doubtful this year. My track times just have not been up to par. I'll probably go out about 6:20 pace and see what I can do. Then there's the beer mile, but I don't feel the need to do THAT again. Once was enough I think.
What else...Well I'm currently bingeing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon and it's really good. And we're going to see the Carole King musical, Beautiful, in a few weeks. And my wife donated a kidney.
I’d like to start by thanking Mark Remy for making the best motivational posters, EVER. You’re welcome. Secondly, I’ve been writing this blog throughout the week so you may notice the changes in mood each day.
I met Mark Remy in Philly in 2011 when I ran the 13.1 with a ton of you all!
Monday: Barbell Strength during lunch- I still LOVE this class and love the routine of doing it every week, especially at lunch time. I should think about doing it more than once a week, but I’m not a big fan of staying after work to do it (only offered at 4:30pm on Wednesdays). We will see.
Tuesday: Yasso 800s @3:50- (Click the link if you aren’t sure what those are) I’m always a tad bit anxious on speed days, as I’m still not very good at pacing myself. I ran a warm-up mile to the track and included a warm-up lap. When I started the first one, I just tried to run what I thought would get me there – 4:06 – oops, need to speed it up! The second one was right on the money at 3:50! During the third one, I felt like I was getting tired and tried to keep the pace up – 3:39. Dang! Really? When I started the 4th one, I pressed what I thought was the lap button but turned out to be the stop button. Ugh. I didn’t even realized I’d done it until I’d already completed the 800! I felt like it was definitely in the 3:40ish range so we’ll just go with that. I’d only planned to do four but I obviously couldn’t stop without four officially on the record, so the fifth came in at 3:45. Terrible pacing but an overall good job that I am happy with. I will only do Yasso 800s one more time during this training plan, on week 15 (eek!).
I also met Bart Yasso! I wanted to ask if he’s related to Clint Eastwood!
Wednesday: I was supposed to go to my Yoga Roll class during lunch but I lost track of time and missed it! Boohoo. It threw my whole day off and I hate that I missed it. I wasn’t able to work in anything else so I’ll just count it as a rest day. No harm in changing things up occasionally. Some Wednesdays are optional rest days (which I don’t plan to use) so it works out anyway.
Thursday: Plan: 4 mile tempo @ 8:30 – After Tuesdays workout, I thought about a plan adjustment. Typically, I’m supposed to do a tempo run every Thursday. I’m having a few minor aches and pains and thought I’d make a speed adjustment, at least in the early stages of training. Instead of having a tempo run in the same week as a track workout, I thought I’d just run the miles, as close to marathon pace (8:45) as possible.
I decided to go to Thursday night run club for my run, even though it got up in the 90s. I don’t know why I continue to think it will be ok to run in that temperature. It wasn’t. On top of it being hot (and grabbing a Gatorade to take on the run), as soon as I started running, I knew it wasn’t going to be a good one. At first, I was going to run a different, flatter route that the normal run club route. I also started 30 minutes before we typically start because I wanted to do six miles. I ended up running the standard route, which isn’t flat and has a hill that I always hate. I can’t tell you how many times I walked. I also had some disagreements in my “area” because I stupidly decided to groom that morning (TMI, whatevs) and there was a lot of sweat going on down there. It all added up to be a shitastic run, but I got through it. Luckily, there were buckets of Dos Equis and a burrito afterwards.
Friday: Supposed to be a cross-training day but I decided to take another rest day instead. The run on Thursday took a lot out of me: the heat, the bad air quality, the fire in my crotch… TOO MUCH! I woke up not feeling all that great, and a spot on my right leg (that I’ve been cautiously observing) was really sore.
Saturday: Long Run – I had 13 on the schedule but was going to just shoot for 10 and see how I felt. I decided to run on a trail I’ve only been on once (with Kelli!); why I’ve only been on this trail once, I have no idea. This trail is the shit for many reasons, and the big ones are: lots of big shade trees and “kitty litter” gravel to run on. Where I’ve parked, you can go left or right on the trail and run for many miles in each direction. I’d only ever been left so I thought I’d go right this time.
I got started around 8am and it still felt pretty good out. The smoke (emanating from British Columbia) has been looming over the Rockies for weeks, and everyone keeps advising against exercising outside… yeah right! You can’t smell the smoke any more but you can certainly see it and not much else. I filled a water bottle with two single serve packets of Skratch and had a packet of Skratch chews if I needed it. I wore a tank and shorts, which I will soon be reluctantly replacing with tights, long-sleeves, and a headband.
I got about a mile and a half down the trail when it turned into pavement. I wasn’t sure if it was going to turn back to gravel, especially when I met a guy on a road bike, so I turned around to go the other direction. Luckily, I was passing by my car with only three miles in, so it was easy to keep going. My stomach had been feeling wonky since Thursday so I wasn’t sure how many miles I would last. I wasn’t have terrible stomach pains, just discomfort. The best way I can describe what I was feeling is that I wasn’t willing to risk finding out if it was only gas or not. Although my stomach was feeling crummy, I was loving the scenery. I passed SO many wild fruit trees along the route – regular apples, crab apples, and persimmons!
At certain points, it smelled like Macintosh Apple scented Yankee Candles (Abby!) ! I’ve always loved that scent. When I would hit the shady parts, with the great apple smell, I would briefly close my eyes and take in a deep breath. I’m not in a rush for fall, even though it is my favorite season, but it was all really making me pleasantly think of fall. This trail will be amazing in the fall because there will be lots of leaves to crunch with my shoes. At one point, I passed this couple walking a huge Bassett Hound, whose ears were dragging the ground! I wanted to pet him so bad!
If I had brought TP reinforcement, I may have continued, but didn’t want to risk shitting myself and called it a day at 10 miles. I still felt like I got in a great long run and I felt great, otherwise. The pleasures of the run defeated all the bad stuff.
I even hit the pace I was supposed to aim for! Right on the $$
After the run, I showered, had lunch (3 eggs, 3 vegan sausage patties, and a whole avocado!), then headed to Elitch Gardens for CU Day! We got discounted tickets and got to ride rides and drink beer the rest of the day. I hadn’t been to an amusement park in a while so it was nice to feel that roller coaster adrenaline again! I rode one of the coasters where your legs dangle, AND I SAT IN THE FRONT! I screamed like a little girl, but it was a blast.
Sunday: Rest Day – When I woke up on Sunday, the spot on my right leg was hurting pretty bad. I can’t tell if it’s muscle or the edge of my shin.
It hurts the most first thing in the morning
When I take a step and lift the leg back up, that’s when it really hurts
It feels better as the day goes on
It doesn’t hurt at all if there is no pressure on it
It will hurt for like the first half mile of running, and then I won’t feel it the rest of the run
(edit)The pain is along the inside of my shin bone (shin splints?)
What do you think? I’m sure it could be any number of things, and I’m likely going to go see a PT soon. I have the Estes Epic 25K this weekend, so I’m going to buy some compression socks to run in, then deal with the possible consequences later. Stoopid? Maybe, but that’s what I’m doing.
Thanks for reading!
Chris
Last Saturday I ran the Green Lakes Endurance Run 50k. It was my first Ultra 3 years ago, so I had a little bit of a time goal in mind. It’s a very runnable course with no mud, and just enough hills to keep you awake. We run around a couple small lakes, through wooded areas, and around some grassy trails that can get warm late in the race.
I think my buildup went well. I did 4 20+ mile runs, finishing with a 24 miler two weeks out. No major physical problems, just minor flareups of the hamstring and achilles. Plus, although I run pre-dawn, we had some toasty days the last couple months. It actually got into the 70’s by the end of a couple of the long runs. Unbearable!
Race morning was gorgeous. Full moon, clear skies and 59 degrees. I took this picture a couple years ago, but it looked a little like this at one point during the race:
The park has tons of deer in it, to a point where the population has to be controlled. It’s the source of the majority of the local Lyme disease cases. The deer are quite tame, too. There was one on the path around the lake during lap 2 that never ran away. I could have reached out and tapped her on the nose. But I’ve never had a tick bite after spending countless hours running on the grassy trails there. I’m diligent about my tick checks, but maybe they just don’t have a taste for me.
I finished this race in 5:57 in 2015, and one of my big takeaways was to not linger at the aid stations. There was one at the start/finish, and one at the halfway point. I set up my chair with everything I needed next to the road at the start/finish, and purposefully did not stop at the aid stations. I slowed down and thanked the volunteers for being awesome, but kept moving.
The other thing I learned was that although it’s ok (and sometimes beneficial) to walk the uphills, but don’t turn it into a stroll. Keep pushing, while keeping the heart rate in check. I think this both helps keep focus and uses a different set of muscles.
The first of four 12.5k loops came in at 1:14. Not too bad. I didn’t do anything stupid yet, and still pretty good pace. Ditto for loop 2, 1:13. Images of a 5:00 finish were flashing in my mind. Things were still going well on loop 3 until I got a little overzealous on the final descent. At the bottom, my entire left inner quad cramped up. I took a shot of pickle juice and rubbed it vigorously (the leg😊). Images of a death march through loop 4 then flashed in my mind. It seemed to clear up over the easy trip around the lake to finish loop 3 in 1:19. 5:00 was still possible. But while going up the hill that gave me the cramp coming down, the cramping came back. More pickle juice, more rubbing, mixed in with lots of whining and self pity got me going again, although quite slowly.
The remainder of loop 4 included lots of suffering, and I kept telling myself that this is just a normal part of this wonderful experience. If it doesn’t suck at some point, then you’re doing it wrong. And that there is always an end to the suck. The pace chart told the story of ugliness:
Surprisingly, I only slowed by 17 minutes over the final loop for a respectable 5:23 finish (a 34 minute pr!). But it’s more satisfying to look back at the lessons learned through the miles and hours of preparation, the organization of race day, and the training of the mind on course when things start to go “downhill”.
It turns out I’m not very beach savvy, especially at the end of a race with diminished mental capacity. When I went to the beach to soak in the lake afterward, there were floating ropes all over the place, and I couldn’t figure out where to go. So I went to a not-so-crowded spot and sat down. Sure enough, a lifeguard had to point me to a proper place for my recovery bath.
I never have foot issues, so I’m proud of this one. Pretty, huh?
Next up is the Wineglass half. And maybe before then the trail pumpkin run if I’m feeling it.
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