Posts Tagged ‘race goals’

I’m racing a 5K on the 30th and hope to get close to last year’s PR of 20:25, but have no expectations to exceed it.  Sub-20 is definitely on the radar this year and I’m confident it’ll be mine but not till Fall.

In the meantime, I had a speed session today, same as last week (8 x .25mi w/1mi recoveries) which was by design, since last week’s paces were all over the place and I wanted a basis for comparison.  Plus, it takes me a week or two to get used to faster running and this workout is a “no big deal” way to do that.

My splits, while not perfectly consistent, were eons better than last time:
1:37,1:35,1:39,1:35,1:37,1:38,1:38,1:38 (avg pace 6:28)

Three things helped:

1. The temperature was a lovely 60 degrees.  Interesting factoid: when it’s warm (last week was 75) my heart rate caps out low though the effort feels much harder.  Weird that, since you’d think the HR would be higher.

2. I did strides beforehand.  I know I should do this before every quality session, it gets your HR up and your body prepared for running faster. I will from now on, it really made a difference.

3. Confidence.  Last week, for all the crappy pacing and even though it was only 400s, that last fast one gave me an inkling that speed is indeed returning.  I needed that like nectar to a hummingbird.

Next two weeks I’ll do 6 x 800 w/ 90sec rec’s. and then my Half cycle begins!  Nice to be priming the pump before the heavy-duty work starts.  Though I must say, I’m pretty much doing what I’d do in a regular cycle anyway but it seems so casual and fun now, almost vacation-like.  Maybe it’s the weather.

Pill Popping
I’m not a huge pill-popper by nature, though I’ve been taking glucosamine and MSM since the IT band crap last summer.  This week I cut my glucosamine by half, so one pill instead of two.  So far, I’m not noticing anything different.  As for my MSM capsule, I’ll continue to take that daily but am open to seeing what’s what without these things.

I don’t think I mentioned that I started taking an Iron supplement a couple months ago.  I had my ferritin levels checked back in August which came out normal, but my mileage hadn’t reached the level it’s at now.  Also, I was still living with Nick at the time and ate red meat quite often.  I love red meat, so don’t think I’ve gone all veggie on you, but I’ve probably had it 3 times in the last 6 months.  I do eat a lot of fresh spinach but surprisingly, if you eat a whole bag of the stuff, it’s still only 30% of your daily requirement.  So anyway, I take an 18mg capsule daily.

Calcium is my other supplement – Viactiv chews, twice daily.  I wrote a whole blog piece two years ago on the different types of calcium and how this type (calcium carbonate) used to stop me up.  But now I eat so much more fiber and drink more liquids, I’m a great pooper.

Core Work Continued
I was doing those Runners World exercises for a couple weeks which are great, but I’ve started switching it up with one of my favorite exercise DVDs: Mari Winsor’s 20-minute Slimming Pilates.  It’s basically a fast-paced core workout that I love because she doesn’t chatter on, it goes boom boom boom, from one exercise to the next.

Group Thoughts
Today was a slow day on my running path, I only waved to about 7 people I knew.  Seriously.  I love my park because there are probably 35-40 regulars with whom I wave and exchange a couple words.  When we see each other in races or on the street, it’s a fun shot of recognition.

I was thinking about the whole “running with others” thing and while I enjoyed the outing, I’ll always be a lone runner at heart.  I’ll try to make the hill workout this Thursday because I like the idea of sharing a hard workout, but I guess I wanted to explain that while I’m out there on my own day-to-day, I’m surrounded by camaraderie every time I run.  So we’ll see how much running club action I get.  Maybe I need to work on my bar-hopping skills instead.

Did my first proper (non-Billat) interval session in 6 weeks and am happy to say, saw a clear sign of progress, something I took for granted last year till it starting backing up on me like a gas station toilet.

Today’s session was 10.20mi total: 2.75mi to my interval spot, 5 x 1000 w/2min recoveries, then 3.25mi home.  The intervals averaged 4:07 (6:37 pace) and when I compare that to my last set of intervals 6 weeks ago (6×800 w/2min rec’s. averaging 6:54), that’s a solid improvement and getting closer to last Fall’s times.  Looks like the Billats were not spinning my wheels one bit.

Another happy thing about this workout was it’s only the 2nd time I’ve ever hit my max recorded HR of 193, which I was beginning to think I’d dreamt up.  The first and only other time it’s ever hit it was in 2007 at my first 5K and that’s what I’ve been basing my HR around (calling it 198 since it’s unlikely you ever hit 100%).

The interesting thing is that I once hit 192 a year ago, also doing 1000m intervals, so perhaps that particular distance draws it out of me better than any other.  It was 65 degrees today, so that probably helped sneak it up there, too.  All I know is, however it got up there it’s a relief since for quite a while now, my max HR has felt capped, that my tempos were reaching the same max as my speed sessions (too high for a tempo, too low for speed).

And for the record, I averaged 184 on those intervals.  Don’t want you to think my heart was about to explode or anything.

Weight
Yay! I finally hit my usual “normal” weight of 117.5 this week (4 lbs lost).  I haven’t been sacrificing much, just stopped buying cookies and candy and have been eating salad for most dinners – which I love.  I stick in a handful of walnuts and dried cranberries along with tons of veggies, so it’s not a sacrificial meal.  I’m still eating my nightly ice cream topped with sweet cereal for added yummy crunchiness.

Breakfast is usually a 5-grain hot cereal with tons of cinnamon and some sweet-n-low (nobody’s perfect), lunch is a turkey sandwich and I’ve been addicted to Bobbi’s Hummus (thanks Jenn!) so I eat that daily as a snack with crackers.  One main thing is I stopped buying huge bread.  Seriously, I was getting very large sliced bread which means more peanut butter or whatever you slather on there.

I was 119lbs. when I ran Philly but my best races last season were at 115.5, so it looks like I’ll be right there again for Boston.  As mentioned before, I hate to say this stuff with so many people having body issues, but it’s physics, so there’s no sense pretending it doesn’t make a difference.  And for those tsk-tsking readers (you know who you are) remember, I’m 5’4″…so 115 is not a radical body weight by any means but it will, unquestionably, be an important component to racing well.

The Wheelchair Lady
If you’re my friend on Facebook, you’ve already read about that lady on Tuesday.  As I was finishing up a 12-miler, a stones throw from my front door, a woman passed me in an electric wheelchair and called out, “run an extra mile for me!”.  If it wasn’t a couple days after the race with me feeling achy still, I would have, but I didn’t, I just wanted to stop.  And I got called out for it a tad.

Of course, I felt like shit for not doing it but I’m honest about my foibles and that was one.  So yesterday I ran 2 miles extra for her, did an 11 instead of the 9 I had planned.  Made me feel somewhat better but hey, I think we all know I’m a solid bitch at heart.  I got no problems with that, since I have enough sweetness to equal out.  hee hee

Boston Goal
Been thinking about this a bit and am hereby declaring it…3:25, nothing faster.  My race last Sunday calculates out to a 3:20:26 marathon but it was on a totally flat course, so I figure 5 minutes of leeway should do me alright.  If not, and I end up slowing down more, that’s cool too, I really don’t give a crap.

I’m looking forward to trying out my new marathon pace this Saturday since it’s slower than any of my goal MP workouts thus far.  I hope to see a very pretty number on the HR monitor.  That’ll tell me if I shouldn’t dumb it down further, which would suck since I walked such a large amount of Philly for a 3:33, but hey, it’ll be what it’ll be…the Heart knows.

Tomorrow morning, I drive with Audra and Loren down to Virginia to meet our team leader/friend Kat for the Shamrock Half Marathon on Sunday.  I’ve got absolutely no idea how it’ll go, especially after a genuinely crappy tempo run on Tuesday which solidified any self-doubt I’d been harboring.

The crap run was 9mi w/ 2 x 1.75mi w/2:00 rec. (they were doing construction on the path, thus the odd distance).  The first section was into a strong wind and it took me the better part of a mile to get up to speed, but “speed” is a misnomer in this case:  7:24avg.  The second one was on the tailwind, so 7:08.  Stupidly large difference between the two even with wind.  And both felt too difficult.   Headcase?  Yes.

After this run, I cried on the virtual shoulder of a dear running friend of mine and asked, “how can I not be embarrassed by whatever I end up running this weekend?”  Pathetic, I know.  After some smart, calming words, he brought me off my psycho perch back into the place where common sense lives.   So now I’m looking forward to the race, running hard and the adventure us girls will get up to on a weekend out of town.  Just gotta stay out of that head o’ mine!

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!  There are a ton of folks who’ll be pumpin’ hard in the next two days: from marathons to Halfs, 12ks to 10ks and 5ks, it’s going to be a fun week for race reports.  I hope everyone has a great time, no matter what the clock says.  But it’ll be cool if everyone’s clocks make them happy, too.

Kisses to all and have a great weekend!

It’s Sunday night and I’m content. I had a couple of fine runs today and yesterday.  Mileage total for the week: 69.  All is right with the world.

Saturday
12 miles, 8:27 avg.  Soaking and gusty like hell, as most of you guys experienced, there was no waiting for a dry or calm moment, so I put on my rain jacket and braved the elements. I wanted to wear a hat (I love a billed cap in the rain to keep my eyes comfortable) but it was so windy, I knew I’d be chasing after it, so left it behind.  Instead, I brought my sunglasses with the clear frames snapped in but they just got hard to see out of, so finally, I ended up au naturel, eyes-wise.

It was oddly fun in that battling Mother Nature way except on Falls Bridge where I had a couple scary moments of thinking I’d be blown into traffic or over the rail, the wind was that crazy, but in the end, I live to write this fabulous post.

Sunday
Half road, half trail, 20 avg. 8:36/mi.  My third 20 of the cycle (I’ll have 4 total now…so much for 19s) and for some reason, I didn’t think much about it at all beforehand. I think this is due to the weather – today was a perfect overcast 52 degrees, I only had to wait till after the rain stopped at around 2pm.

It was beautiful out, I love a dark day. There was one point coming back, around mile 17 though, that I got discouraged. My feet were hurting and this is a common problem in both my marathons so far, so I was “oh shit, not so soon!”.  But then I realized the clicking noise that had been following me for some time was a big rock stuck in the tread of my shoe, so once I got that out, my foot was way better. Even so, I think tired feet will always be a problem with me when running distance. I guess we all have a weak area and that’s mine.

Fueling-wise, I carried my 20 oz. handheld and had 2 gels, one at 1:30 and one about 35 minutes later.  I think it helped that I did that.  I won’t scrimp on gels again.

Race Correction
Annoying to be sure, that 5-miler a couple weeks ago where I supposedly won 1st has been downgraded (I only know this because I saw the results in Athlinks). First off, the #1 woman won Masters, so she shows as #1 in the AG, then some other woman is now #2 by 1 second over me…1 second! So that makes me #2 or #3, but owning the First Place medal. I hate that shit – rather be awarded what I deserve even if it’s less. Oh well. Just wanted to put it out there for full disclosure’s sake.

This Week
I’m due a cutback and the timing is perfect because I’m doing the Shamrock Half Marathon this weekend down in Virginia, so this way I get a bit of a taper.  It’ll be a blast because it’s a team effort with Kat, Audra and Loren, the latter two I’ll be hitching a ride with.  It’s not a relay or anything, just an open team but it’ll be way fun.

I’m pretty unsure about what goal to shoot for.  As mentioned a zillion times, I’ve been running slower this cycle but suddenly with the weather change and also, I’m a couple lbs lighter finally (eat salad every night and buy sliced bread that is not as large as your head) I seem to be running a tad faster.  Still, I’m thinking something in the 1:35 area will be likely.

I haven’t mentioned my Boston goal lately but I’m figuring 3:22-3:25 is where it’ll play out.  I’d be cool with that.  The main thing is, I just don’t want to hurt.  I remember being a brave girl at one time or another, but now that I’ve had things go south a few times, I think about it quite a bit on my long runs.   I’m always disappointed that miles 17 and on don’t feel as easy as I’d like and every time, I do the math to confirm how many miles I’ll have left to deal with at the race.  It’s like when you bite the inside of your cheek and stupidly keep biting it to remind yourself it’s there.  An exercise in futility.

What are the choices?  Either set the bar so low the chances of pain are minimal or inch it up a tad because your training warrants it.  I’m inching, but I’m not overextending, at least I think/hope so.  Who knows?  One thing’s for sure, I’m genuinely happy right now, happy with my running and so excited to see (and finally meet!) all my friends in April.  Yes, I dread the race, but much less than before.  It’s now a low-level hum laced with that eternal question “what is this gonna feel like?”  In 5 weeks, we shall see.

Yesterday’s run was entertaining; the first time I ever stopped on a run to take photos.  Thanks again for responding so well to the What would you like? thread, this was one of the suggestions and a fun one at that.  You’re about to see how spoiled I am and why I love running.

This is one of many bridges on my route

Look on the path near the bottom of this photo, notice a number with a line going across the path? It’s our 1/4 mile markers, they follow the 8.5 mi. loop around the museum. I ran the loop for a whole year without realizing they where there.  This is one of two spots where I do my interval sessions.

Coming back towards the city, a bit of skyline.

The back of the museum, about 3/4 mi from home.

Me, happy.

Getting Realistic

Good thoughts today, borne of a slow speed session.

First off, that remark I made about pacing someone in the previous post? Forget it, I just wanted an excuse to run slower.  Can’t blame me for trying.

Today I’m doing my speedwork (10.5mi with 6×1/2mi at 5K pace and 2min rec’s) and I couldn’t get moving fast, maybe due to lack of sleep, I could only manage 3:27s (6:55 pace) and though I felt I was working hard, my HR averaged 83%HRR on the fast parts and only maxed to 89% on one, so it was more like 10k effort.  When a workout goes like that, you have two choices: A. berate yourself or B. accept it was your best on that day and be happy with it.  I chose B.

I tend to get very philosophical while in the midst of a hard workout, though I think about the way my body’s moving and my form and footfall, I’ll also have bursts where I look for meaning in running and how I fit in.  It’s a helpful distraction from “how much longer” “where’s the end?” “almost half way” “shit, too slow” “where’s the end?!?”

Today’s thought was how we’re all unique within this sport.  We each have something about us that makes our running adventure special, unlike anyone else’s and when we’re stalled or questioning ourselves, it’s worth taking the time to remember those things.

I’m always comparing myself to my faster online friends, many of whom are enjoying continued speediness, while I seem to be on the two steps forward, one step back plan.  Why do I conveniently manage to forget that I’m a 48 year old woman?  I’ve got no right to ever feel sorry for myself.  To that end, I punched my Half PR in an age-grade calculator to see what it’d be for a 35 year-old man…1:16.  I have nothing to complain about.

Let The Goal Appear

I’ve been trying to fit numbers into a goal, but really, that’s ass-backwards.  The goal needs to come from the numbers.  I’m slower than last cycle, and while I’ve been boo-hooing about it, if I could manage to be objective and enjoy what I have instead of thinking wistfully of what I don’t, it’d make for a better 10 weeks coming up.

You know what a mental case I am, well I have a 5-mile race next week and a Half in March and I was fretting over what sort of times I can expect – especially from the 5-miler since I haven’t raced in months.   But after my speed session today and a dose of logical thinking, I thought, what will happen if I come back with a bad result?  Does that make me stupid?  A bad runner?  Not a good person?  I don’t think so.  Interesting how much crap from the universe we can subconsciously attach to a race time.

Tomorrow

We’re expecting 10 to 20″ of snow tomorrow with high winds, so I’ll likely take the day off – no loss, it was a recovery run anyway.  In the morning I’ll be adding 10 new designs to The Gifted Runner, woohoo!

OK, have a good Wednesday and cheers to my snow buddies across the Eastern seaboard. Stay safe and warm, everyone.

An uneventful few days but lots of thinking going on.  First, I’ll give a catch-up on the running scene.

I recovered just fine, the calf twinge went away by keeping the mileage in check and now I’m back to my battle axe self.  Runs went: 8 Sat, 9 Sun and 6 on Mon.  The 6 was pretty fun because I never run that short, aside from tapering, so I was able to pick up the pace a bit.

Yesterday, in my quest to dial back before the next marathon cycle (can’t believe it starts in 4 weeks!) I took a rest day.  I figure I’ll take one rest day/week through December, then back to 7 days/week with the rare day off.

Now for some fun.  Exactly a year ago someone posted a thread on MRT asking everyone what their goals for 2009 were and it was bumped back up a couple days ago.  I had completely forgotten ever writing these goals, so what a trip it was seeing them again and comparing how it all panned out:

1. Race more
I did, but only by one race.
2. sub 3:38 Fall marathon on a non-asterisk course.
Even with a miserably long bonk, I managed to surpass my if-everything-goes-right-dream-goal by 5 minutes. Talk about putting things in perspective.
3. Low 21:xx 5K
In June I got 20:25 which I might test again in a couple weeks.
4. Keep around 50mpw avg. but enjoy adding more in the summer to achieve #2 (enjoyment necessary)
Did this to a T, averaged 70s+ by Fall and had a great time doing it.
5. No injuries
I was introduced to my IT Band this year, so I can’t say I had none, but that was it.

I look at this list and realize what a different runner I’ve become within a 12-month span.  And while I still have angst about Philly (not helped by the worst race pictures ever – either walking, looking at my watch or just being god-awful ugly) I have so much to be grateful for.

Speaking of angst, I’ve been thinking a lot about marathons and our future together and have made a decision:  The two marathons I have planned for 2010 will determine whether I will continue marathoning or not – if between the two I can’t pull out a good one, or they don’t approach my shorter races Age-grade-wise, I’m done.

I don’t mean this in an “I’m taking my toys and going home” type of way, but as in “OK, turns out I have more fast twitch fibers in me than slow“ so that’s what I’d rather develop.  My 5K from June nets me an Age-grade of 80.86% (National Class…I’m so fancy) and I’m pretty sure, not having reached the 3-year running mark yet, that I have at least a couple years of faster short races ahead of me.  So while I could keep marathoning until I get it right, I’d rather spend my energy doing what I’m better suited for.

The only sad part about this is, if it works out the way I suspect it might, I’ll have to part with a wonderful group of forum friends since my favorite hangout is Marathon Race Training, but I’ve got a year before I need to worry about that.

The important thing here is to be objective about my skill set and not place a value judgment on myself if I can’t run marathons well.  It doesn’t mean I suck, it means it’s not my race, is all.   Should that be the case, I’ll simply develop my strengths and make a killing winning gift cards, turkeys, travel mugs and a buck or two, while having a huge amount of fun doing it.  So here’s to clarity and seeing how the next year unfolds – not knowing is half the fun.