Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Yikes. Two Weeks?

Well, I have to say that it's pretty cool that we are nearing our marathon race day. It all seems so far away until you're just about on top of the date. I'm beginning to feel a little bit of anxiety about it all, but not necessarily about the marathon itself. Frankly, it's about the faster paces that I'm turning over in my head. I have to fit in some "tune-ups" on Saturdays and wait for it... a 1.5 mile time trial for a fitness/wellness class I'm taking. True, I could just breeze through it with an easy pace and be considered in the 85th percentile of the population (being that America is now officially 20% obese), but I prefer to give it a go and see where I stand. Somehow, I can work it into one of my speed days without disrupting too much. It may be an encouraging experience, being that I have not run a short distance for time (in shape) in a long time.

We just finished our last "long" run on Sunday. Mollie cruised with me during a 17 miler. Unfortunately for us all, I had spent that Saturday putting in a new bathroom floor. This required about 5 hours of back and forth for each measure and cut between the bath and the garage, separated by an 8 step stair case. Yes, I could have placed the mitre saw next to the bathroom, but that would have made such a mess in the house that I didn't want to go there. Wow, did I feel that the next day. My glutes, quads and hamstrings were all sorts of sore the next morning, making for a slow and painful run. I don't think I'll ever forget that lesson.
Luckily, the bathroom looks great and the run was completed! The pain is only temporary.

Mollie and I have such a great time up in NY. Apple picking was really fun the last time we did that and we're going to keep our eyes out for a good pumpkin too. Can't wait to see little Mia!
It's right around the corner!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Two Weeks... To Go!

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live life."
-Greg Anderson

This past week I reached a goal that I had silently set for myself, which was to win this ridiculous cross country race in Richmond. I've run it twice before and finished second both times. There's something about being second that really gets to me. Plus, both times I have run this race my time has been awful. My 6k PR of 20:17 is faster than I've run on this 5k course before. So, I was happy to win the race and happy to run 19:45. The time doesn't really matter, especially considering I've followed up both of my previous Maymont races a week later with a road 5k over 2 minutes faster. Ok, enough about that. The course is ridiculous though, I'm not exaggerating.

The rest of training this past week went well. I was not sore at all from the 22 miler, which was kind of unexpected. I took Monday off, ran 4 miles easy on Tuesday, 7 miles in 50 minutes on Wednesday, and took off Thursday (mainly because I was so exhausted and stressed from work that all I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed- which I did). On Friday I ran the 5k and totalled 9 miles. Saturday I ran about 3 miles at the meet, sprinting up and down various parts of the course while my team raced. On Sunday I took it easy and ran my 17 miles with Pete. Total: 40 miles for the week.

I'm really looking forward to seeing my family in two weeks, doing some apple picking, and of course running this marathon. After the marathon, I'm also looking forward to a few other races I have planned. I'm not sure if I'm going to run another marathon in the early spring. I think it might be a good way to keep my base going over the winter before switching gears for my first track season in a loooong time. Not sure if a steeplechase is in the cards but hopefully a few fast 5ks and 1500s. I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's get through the next two weeks before I make any more big plans.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

22 Miles. Yup, That's Right.

I've been extremely bad about updating my training here. My life has been centered around work for the past few weeks and my training has taken a slight hit. Fortunately, it seems that my reduced training volume has really helped my iron levels get back to normal. I knew it would be tough to fit in my runs once school started up again but this year has been straight up ridiculous. I'm on another committee, plus I have six classes with two preps (since I'm teaching two subjects) which means I also have to write double the lesson plans. We also held our first cross country invitational which was totally worth it but a royal pain in the ass.

So... last week was pathetic. I ran 5 miles, and then 7 miles of fartlek, did NOT run on friday or saturday morning but ended up running about 5 miles while setting up cones for the meet and running to put volunteers in place. I was supposed to run 17 miles on Sunday and ended up doing 18 in 2:18. I slowed down a lot in the last few miles because it was so hot and I was really dehydrated (I only had a 20 oz bottle with me). I actually stopped at Starbucks and asked for water when I was 2.5 miles from home. I don't know if I would have made it if I didn't get that water. That's a whopping 35 miles for last week.

This week I ran 5 miles at our cross country meet on Tuesday, then 5 miles on Wednesday and 6 miles on Thursday. One of those days was a fartlek day that I did a lot of sprinting but I don't remember right now and don't feel like getting up to check. Yesterday was the first cool, rainy day in what feels like forever and I ran 9 miles with Bella. Then today it was still 64 when I woke up (I even got to sleep in!) and overcast. It warmed up a little during the run and rained a little but it still felt sooo good compared to every other long run I've done for this marathon. Since this was my last real long run before the race, I wanted to push it and run a solid pace for the entire run. Well... I ended up running 20 miles in 2:25 and then tacked another 2 to make it my longest training run EVER... and finished in 2:39:26. I averaged 7:14 per mile for 22 miles! The fastest I did any of my long runs this summer was around 7:40 pace and I felt like garbage for the last few miles then. Today I felt great. I won't overanalyze this, but sure am happy to finish my last long run with a good day.

47 miles this week... This definitely gives me some confidence for my race in 3 (yikes!) weeks. I would also like to mention that I am borderline addicted to Lauren Fleshman's Picky Bars and everyone should buy them from her website pickybars.com. They have helped me get through my work day AND my training. AND they taste amazing.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Tag! You're It!

Last week I ran 44 miles, 20 of which were a long run I did in NY. My other runs last week were Tuesday where I did 5 miles in the morning and a 6 x1000 meter workout in the evening. On Wednesday I did 6 miles in the AM, and 6 miles in the PM. And... I drank a few too many martinis after the long run. Won't be doing that again. The ride home from NY was rough.

If you though that was bad, so far this week I ran 5 miles on Tuesday and a 7 miles fartlek workout today with my cross country team. Well, actually we had a 50 min long session of tag inside since there were severe thunderstorms. I can't even remember the last time I played tag, but it was seriously a lot of fun. I felt bad for all of the other teachers who were in their classrooms doing work while I was playing tag. Of course, I had to stay later to get the rest of my work done but I felt a lot better after my run than before.

We travelled to NY for labor day weekend to meet my niece and for my cousin's wedding so I missed THREE days of training in a row. The first two were because I had to work through practice a few times just to get my lesson plans done and everything else ready for school. The third was me being lazy. I missed running yesterday because I had to do lesson plans while my team was running again, and I was starving by the time I got home. Hopefully I can get back on track, but I've just been so stressed and busy. I've already lost two pounds, and I am definitely not trying to lose weight. At least I've been able to remember to take my supplements every other day.

Tomorrow is Friday!! I know I am not going to feel like running after work, and I'm not sure if I can squeeze in a run in the morning. We are hosting a cross country meet this weekend and then things should settle down a little. We have basically two more weeks of training and then we start our taper, so I really have to make the effort to get my training in. This 18 week training plan is no joke.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Push Aside the Negative

What a wild time indeed, when it comes to the past few weeks.
I've encountered quite a few stressful, negative experiences in running, but still am standing strong thanks to willpower and a little help from others. Here's a few examples of how it's panned out.

The high school cross country season has begun. My boys team was picking up from where they left off last year, placing 2nd in the state championship. We had 2 of our top runners graduate, but had some solid runners coming up that could easily fill their spots once they get into shape this season. That's when I ran into the disappointment. A few boys, juniors and seniors in high school (of course), decided they would rather not bother with sports and instead be lazy all year. I spoke with each of them to get a better understanding of what the hell was going on and what their crazy minds were thinking. Though each was slightly different, it boiled down to them becoming lazy bums over the summer. Needless to say this was a serious blow to my other boys who had been focused on this season, running all year to prepare, and a serious let down to me as a coach. I realized two things: 1.) These guys are wasting their abilities and opportunities for the gain of nothing and they are letting down their team. 2.) These clowns came from under my coaching. Had I failed them? How had they "learned" such a great work ethic in season and then thrown it away so easily? Their decision making brain isn't developed yet and maybe that's to blame...

I stepped back and realized that the focus was not to be cast on the quitters or blaming myself for their decisions. It's more positive to reevaluate the new team, motivate and unite them and push ahead. The kids on the team this year are great kids. Some have very little running experience, some eat/sleep/breathe running, but I see a lot ahead for all of them. So we're moving on together.

Another example of pushing the negativity aside was after Mollie's and my half marathon race during the hurricane last weekend. I never thought they would hold the race with the winds as high as they were. I guess they do have money to make though, so they were willing to keep it as scheduled. Rain, well, rain is fine. I like running in the rain (minus the heavy shoes). Wind, well, I hate the wind. Needless to say, and as you read in Mollie's post, our times were much slower than we had anticipated. Even though we both ran a PR, neither of us were happy. I remember saying to Mollie in the car on the way, "I haven't focused on this race at all". That darn hurricane had thrown us all off, stressing about our house flooding, finding hotels to stay at, worrying about finances... I usually spend a little time each day anticipating a race that is a few days out. Instead, we were suddenly on the start line and the gun went off- "Good luck, and here have some wind in your face for at least an hour". Oh yes, and of course the unexpected 1+ mile hill at the end- "Take that!". Mollie and I walked back to the car after the finish, both of us disappointed. Mollie had a big mark to hit, dropping below 1:30. I just wanted to run around a 7:10 pace through the race. We skipped the cool down, pissed off.

As we got back to the hotel and Bella was there waiting for us with a wagging tail, I realized it was a crazy experience that we can talk about for a while. Hey, at least we didn't just sit around in our house all weekend watching the water rise in our garage! As Mollie and I chilled out the rest of the day, I quickly began putting the negative thoughts behind me. I knew I had to keep training hard and work toward the goal I set. We couldn't let one tune up race with all sorts of crazy variables bum us out and make us question our ability or training. That's when a runner starts to fall apart- when you question yourself and your training plan and "buy out" of your program.

Though I'm frustrated at times with my performance levels, overall, I'm feeling positive and pushing the negativity aside. I know we are making big improvements. I'm watching Mollie just get faster and faster, and I'm dropping a lot too from where I started (slow town, USA). I'm excited for our marathon in the beginning of October. We will show up and accomplish new things for ourselves and we will have done it together!