Bass Pro 5k recap

Despite a rather frigid morning, Bass Pro brought about success for myself and other friends that came to run. I took first female in the 5k, Marshall was 2nd in the half, Megan Earney (tell Wayne "Hi" for me) was second in the FULL marathon, and my old college roomie Court was 3rd in the 5k. Plus, I enjoyed getting to know and meet several new people and faces.

Bass Pro:
Goal 1: win 5k
Goal 2: run low 17:xx's
Goal 3: win "metro area" bonus money

Actual: 17:34
             1st place female
             Metro bonus (with some persuasion on my part)

Start line

As for the race itself. . .
I actually didn't have to run by myself :) I was in a pack of about 3 men and 12 year old phenomenon Cameron for the first mile. We quickly broke up after that, and it was me and one guy for the entire rest of the way. It was a guy that would actually let me run with him (rather than 2 strides back) which makes the effort level feel easier than running solo. The race was pretty uneventful, as it was us two working together through the rest of the race. I did manage sprint away with about 1k left. . . haha sucka! Just kidding ;) I did manage to hold him off down the home stretch, but he would have done the same thing. Who wouldn't?


To the finish. . . felt short after a marathon ;)

Marshall finishing Half marathon - 1:14:24

Megan at the start - 2:55:26

My college roomie - Court

While I'm very pleased with my time only 4 weeks post marathon, I don't have the turn-over that I'd like for short distance running. I wouldn't say that I really felt fast during any point of this race, more of a feeling of strength. Usually, I feel like I could turn the pace over at any given point, but this race felt like a steady, hard effort. The goal for the coming 3 weeks is to target some shorter workouts for a desperate attempt to "feel fast" for Turkey Trot and possible Diva Dash the following weekend.

One Heck of an October

I FINALLY did it!!!! After three years, I decided to run my second marathon. The first weekend in October, Marshall and I headed north to Minneapolis so that I could run the Twin Cities Marathon (which also happened to be the USA national marathon championships). Now, when I first chose this race to be my marathon, I didn't realize it was the championship race. I'd simply looked at TCM's website and saw that you had to run a 2:49 to qualify for elite status. Having not ran a recent marathon, I decided to see if they would allow me a free entry based on my half marathon time. I was both happy and relieved that they were going to let me run, but had a slight moment of panic as I read, "we would be happy to offer you a spot in the USA championship race" . . . *gulp. Not only was this my first marathon in three years (and second ever), but I'd toe the line with some of the fastest women in the USA. All of a sudden, it started to feel real. . . I was getting ready to run a marathon. Having qualified with my half marathon time, I felt like I had to run well to prove that I deserved to run in this race, so that's exactly what I did!

Now the race was three weeks ago, so I'm a little blurry on exact specifics of the race, but I'll do my best to recap.

October 6, 2013 - Twin Cities Marathon/USA champs:
w/u around start area

Worst case scenario: fly and die, but at least be under 2:50, don't finish last
Most likely scenario: I'd finish around 2:46-2:47ish, finish mid pack
Beset case scenario: Sub 2:43 for Olympic B standard - finish in top 20

Actual - 2:44:20, 16th place, 80 seconds from Olympic B!!!

no c/d - too painful

Now training for this race wasn't ideal, and it wasn't the prettiest. Having finally gotten a big kid job, I'd struggled with falling into a rhythm of when running worked best for me. Marshall and I played around with early morning (i.e. being on the roads by 5:10 am!)  and evening runs (i.e. after being on my feet most of the day), and I think we've decided that for right now, evenings will have to do. Not ideal, but work is important, a girls' gotta eat. I slacked on the core, can't remember the last time I hit the weight room, and dropped workouts because I was simply "tired" from working (In my defense, I work from 8-6:15ish most days!) However, I still nailed my long runs, giving me some hope that I could break 2:50.

Around mile 18-19. . . courtesy of Marshall's phone. I'd love to have the professional photos *hint hint* if any family members need Christmas ideas ;-) 

The plan was to hold 6:10's for as long as I could, hoping to hold on to an average of 6:17 which would be 2:45. I found out the day before, that Raquel Stucky, who I've raced a handful of times, was running as well. She was wanting to run 2:40ish, so if I could grab onto her I'd have a good chance of reaching my goals. At the beginning of the race, there were so many people that I had trouble finding a group I could latch onto. I'd tried to keep up with two masters ladies (in their 40's), but after splitting a 6:01 I decided I needed to simmer down. They dropped me like I was standing still and weren't seen again until 2+ hours later at mile 24-25 (when I blew by them, I might add ;-) !)



Almost done with the uphill section - mile 20-23 uphill was a killer!

About 5k, I was in a group of three, including Raquel. We packed together until about 10k, when 3 more women and a few men caught us. We were a pretty tight pack until about 14 miles in, when the group seemed drop and scatter all of a sudden. I found myself continuing to hold on to the ones that were pushing pace for a few more miles until I was running some-what alone. I still had people in sight, but was not running stride-for-stride with anyone. I was in 21st place at mile 18, when I saw a lady start waking and drop from the race. Cool, I thought. . . I could be in the top 20. I got to mile 20 and I'd hit the uphill portion of the race. I was quickly gaining on 2 more women. Despite my quickly descending backwards pace, I passed one like she was standing still. Then a few minutes later I passed another woman, who didn't try to go with me either. Ya! I was in 18th place :)

 

Much to my surprise, I spotted the two older ladies just ahead. Now, I must mention that one of theses ladies beat me at the USA half champs earlier this year in June, blowing by me around mile 11. So this was sweet redemption as I passed her around mile 25. Now the other lady actually tried to get competitive and tried to go with. So I ran a few strides ahead of her from 25-26, when she pulled slightly ahead at the 26 mile marker. Now, only .2 miles remaining, I was content to simply finish the race, knowing I had a PR in the bag. However, that only entertained my thoughts for mere seconds. Those that know me best, know I'm a very competitive person. Masters runner, young runner, male, female. . . doesn't matter. I'm not going down without a fight. At 26.1 miles, I may have looked like I was merely jogging. But I picture myself blazing down that home stretch in a dead sprint. In reality (I saw the finish video) I looked like I simply maintained, but still came through strong and looking some-what decent.

Finisher

10 minutes later, the pain set in. I cursed my achy hamstrings and swore I was never going to run another marathon again (I was in the heat of the moment). I'm doubled over in pain, considering the med tent, while the other elite runners were walking around like it was no big deal. It was then I realized just how under trained I was compared to them, but I'm a gutsy runner.

 

It took about 2 weeks before I started feeling somewhat normal with running again. Now, three weeks post marathon, I'm in my right-mind again and am okay with another marathon. . .  in the distant future, however.



Tearing up the Track

2 mi w/u
Goal: 20 x 400 @ 80 and below (sets of 4 - with 80 seconds between reps and 3 min between sets)
Actual: above :)
1 mi c/d

11 total miles

What an awesome morning for a workout! Marshall and I slept in, so we didn't actually get started until almost 9:00 am. Breeze was picking up a little for the last 2 sets, but the sun was shinning and it was perfect temps near 60 degrees.

We tried to stay consistent with pace and reps and not get too carried away at the beginning of the workout. Strangely, the first set was the hardest, in my opinion. It must be because I've got great endurance (yay!), therefore lacking the foot-speed (boo!) I usually get when training for shorter races. If only I could have the best of both worlds. Back to the workout. . .  it went by pretty fast. We tried to focus on one lap at a time and not think about how many we had left.

Most reps were around 78. All were sub 80, and for the last one we could let go and run what we were capable of at that time - ended up with a 75. Which was plenty fast for me after 4.75 miles at sub 5:20 pace. I don't really need speed right now, but this workout is such a confidence booster. We also did this workout before the Half Champs and Grandma's, where we both ran PR's.

Thank goodness my favorite chiropractor was around afterwards to treat me with ART. . . he had my legs feeling fresh enough that I could spend 3 hours in the kitchen making weeks worth of crock pot meals!

Now. . . time to dig out the Halloween decorations. It will be October in two day, you know.

Fall racing season starting soon!

Wow! Marshall and I had an AMAZING week of running last week. No workouts, but finally some solid mileage, hitting 80 miles. To the handful of professional runners I know, this is considered a mundane or "recovery week". . .  however, to us normal runners this is borderline crazy. This is mileage we haven't hit since last summer. In the coming weeks we hope to increase for my marathon that is quickly approaching.

Going back a few weeks. . .

Two weeks ago, we headed to Tulsa so I could run a "rust-buster" 5k. I call it a rust-buster because it was my first time to start racing since the half champs in late June, and the lack of solid training leading up to the race. Some call in a rust-buster, I'll just call it running on fresh legs. Haha.

2 mi w/u
Goal - Hopefully be in good enough shape to break 18 minutes
           Win
Actual - 16:51 (I know!!!) a new road PR
              1st place
              Results
5 mi c/d

First let me say, I have never in my entire life seen so much pink, or so many grown women wearing tutu's! I do love me some pink, but I think I was a bit under dressed. Anyways. . . having had a cold the week leading up to this race, I had several factors working against me.
1. Low mileage
2. Took Monday off because I was sick
3. Started a new job
4. NO workouts

However, those that know me best, know that I'm a gutsy racer willing to at least try. It was pretty much me and another woman (who I recognized as a VERY legit marathon runner. . . I'm talking multiple sub 2:40 marathons!) from the very beginning. I trailed about 2-3 strides back for almost the entire run. 2-3 times, before reaching mile 2, I'd tried to pull up even and run stride for stride, but she had enough foot speed to surge a couple seconds and maintain a 2-3 stride on me. That's okay, I felt some-what smooth, and was perfectly content to just hold on to her a couple strides back. In my mind, I started formulating a plan. I was thinking with half mile to go, I'd surge by and press the last 3 minutes. Plan went off almost to a tea! We rounded a corner with 1k to go, so I surged the corner and kept going, never looking back - just running scared. Rounding the final corner to the home stretch, the crowd was cheering me on - telling me I could dip under the 17 minute mark. At this time, I hadn't really been paying too much attention to the Garmin, so I was SHOCKED to see my time.

Going into the race, I had no set "plan" to help me PR. Seems like sometimes having no plan is the best way to go.

Clock was a few seconds off from the back side

Week in Review (8/12-8/18)
80 miles!!
2 doubles
Day 11 of plank challenge
20!!!!! mile long run

With my big race last week, I was going into this week feeling motivated and confident. We hit 80 miles, our highest week since last summer. Not to mention I ran my first 20 miler at a long run, which is my longest training run (prior to was 18). I felt so great during this run. . .  and was on pace to break my previous marathon PR had I been running a marathon (and this was on a training run!) It gives me hope that my mediocre training will pay off in 6 weeks at Twin Cities.

Sooooo. . . I guess the 20 miles took it out of me. I actually got out of bed Monday morning feeling fine, even felt fine at work. However, once Marshall and I started our Monday evening run, I didn't feel so fine. It was a little warm, and my legs were dead! So we took a down week (maybe a little too down), hitting only 60 miles. We did have a good race and some mile repeats in there though.

Saturday (8/24)
2 mi w/u
Goal - 10k in sub 36 minutes
            win
Actual - 10k @ 34:57
              first place woman, 2nd place overall
              Results

This past Saturday, I had my second race of the fall season. A local 10k, where I ran a road PR yet again (this one may have actually been short though - about 100meters - so like 20 seconds). About 60 seconds before the race started, I learned that this was a 4 lap course! Which meant that the leaders would hit 5k/10k walker traffic pretty quick. It certainly was quick - by the time we made the first loop (10 minutes later) it wasn't long before coming up on the walkers.

So Marshall started off with a group of 5, leaving me in 6th place running by myself (as usual). Shortly after the mile I picked off 2 men, leaving me in 4th place. After 2-2.5 miles, I realized that Marshall and his pack weren't really pulling away from me. A couple glances at the Garmin had me consistently ticking off 5:45's. Awesome, I thought to myself! This was going better than I had thought. The 4 lap course, which I had originally dreaded, turned out to be pretty nice. I'm a great track runner because the continuous laps just help me get into a rhythm, so I think that is why I ran so well at this race.

One of the guys in Marshall's group pulled off at 5k, so now I'm running in 3rd with two laps to go! I focus on Marshall and hold steady. At the start of the last lap, Marshall's companion dropped off quickly, and I fly by. This is AMAZING, Marshall and I could have a 1-2 punch :) At this point, the announcers had found out we were husband and wife, so I'm almost certain Marshall would slow down and let me finish with him. But wait, it's one mile to go and I'm not gaining much on him, despite my increase in tempo. The glorious picture I had of me and Marshall finishing stride for stride, possibly holding hands together in the air as we cross the finish line, were slowly drifting away. Despite my hard effort and strong last mile, I ended up finishing about 18 seconds behind. Turns out Marshall didn't hear the announcers going on and on about us. He thought I was the other guy and was desperately trying to hold me off!

 

This could have been me and Marshall >:(
Except then we'd be made fun of forever! Lol

 

I Bounce Back Fast

Weekly Totals:
57 miles
13 mi long run
2 doubles
1 trip to the ER

Well, Monday started the week off on the right foot with 10 miles to start the week. Unfortunately, Tuesday was kind of a bummer, as I had to be taken to the emergency room (needless to say no miles recorded this day).

I woke up feeling kind of crummy, but not really "bad". Thank heavens my sister was visiting from Virginia Beach and was going to spend the day with me. As soon as she arrived to my apartment, I came out of the bathroom flushed and sweating profusely (ya. . . it sounds like a potential PT exam question). It hit really sudden, I got this intense abdominal pain which caused me to pass out, thus resulting in my sister totally freaking out and driving like a mad-woman to the ER. At least I think she was driving like a crazy person. To be honest the whole drive over is kind of a blur. As it turns out, if you show up at the ER with intense abdominal pain, they wheel you right back for immediate attention. That's right. . . no waiting. They gave me some pain meds, and after that I was pain free for the rest of the day, feeling normal. What happened was I had an ovarian cyst that ruptured, which is some-what of a relief because originally I thought it was appendicitis or possibly a kidney stone. The bad news is that they said now that it's happened once, I'm more prone for it to happen again :(

I can say, without a doubt, that this was the worst physical pain that I have ever been in, in my entire life! I now know what legitimate 10/10 pain feels like.

That was the excitement for the week. As of right now I'm not signed up for any races, but I have my eye on an August 5k. So we may try a small fartlek or something this weekend, so that I don't forget what sub 6 minute pace feels like ;)

Krissy came to visit!

Week in Review

Week of 7/1-7/7:
53 miles
11 mi long run
1 run with Jamie

This was the second week of training post USA Half Champs. Both Marshall and I are still feeling slugish, but just enjoying the relaxed easy miles. I'm excited to start "marathon training" and look forward to setting record weekly mileage. With the exception of a local 5k/10k here and there, we will be moving away from speed for the next month or two and run pure mileage. Rather than having set workouts, we'll throw in an accleration run once or twice a week.

Jamie decided to join us for our long run on Saturday, and quite possibly saved Marshall's life. I was going to make Marshall take me to Wilson's Creek and run the outer loop, but I promised Jamie I would never put him through that after last time.

Goal for the next coming weeks: start core, start weights, keep up strides. I've been pretty lazy the last month.

USA Half Marathon Champs

Both Marshall and I came home with new PR's from the big weekend! We ventured waaaaay up north to Duluth, MN to partake in exciting running festivities. He was running his 3rd marathon and I had qualified for the USA Half Champs.

We left late Thursday morning, and drove all the way to Minneapolis the first night. Friday, we finished up the remaining 2.5 hours to Duluth. As soon as we got within 30 minutes of Duluth, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and we hit an intense fog until we dropped enough that we were underneath it. A mere hour after arriving, the fog rolled in and brought chilly weather with it (and unfortunately, staying the rest of our trip). To say I was under-packed is an understatement. Silly me, thinking it's the end of June, why would I bring anything more than a light jacket.

Enjoying the boardwalk by the Lake

The excitement began at the pre-race meeting Friday afternoon, when we got to be in the same room with a bunch of professional runners! (Meb and Desi...ya!) Afterwards, we headed over to check into our hotel. The USATF and town of Duluth did an awesome job making me feel welcomed and like a top-tier elite athlete (even though there was really only a few here). The staff had left a welcome goodies bag and single rose for me in the hotel room :)

Rose from the USATF . . . almost ties the number of times I've received flowers from Marshall. ;) Just kidding!

Lights went out early because the 6:15am (men)/6:25am (women) race start meant that we would have to board the buses headed for the start at 4:30am!! The forecast was calling for storms, but I woke up to just an overwhelming fog and temps around 50 degrees. I didn't miss the bus and grabbed a seat next to fellow KC runner, Aaron. This was his second time up here, so he had lots of wisdom to share about the race. Also met a fellow Saucony Hurricane runner from Florida. After sharing goals/expectations, it sounded like we may end up running a majority of the race together. About 45 minutes until race time, I headed out for a short warm-up with Connie, who I also thought I'd get to run a majority of the race with. However, she's been fighting injuries and simply used the race as a workout.

Ready to go!

The gun went off at precisely 6:25 on the dot (with the fog clearing enough so we could see the Lake!). Aaron has warned me about the fast first mile (and all the hype), so I tried to settle in but still came through in 5:36. At this point, my fellow Saucony runner was already waaay ahead of me in the larger lead pack of nearly 15ish women. Then there was a smaller second pack with Connie and a hand full of other runners. Then about 3 seconds back, about 4 of us trying to hold steady with the second pack. At this point, I willed myself to surge and tag onto the second pack for as long as I could. Clocked a 5:42 second mile. . . still a little fast (I was wanting to average around 5:50 to secure a time in the 1:16:xx - or best case scenario 5:47 to barely break into the 1:15's) The second group was the group trying to break 1:15, so I figured I'd try to stay with them for a bit. That group quickly started to split up sometime after the 5k, and I wasn't necessarily lonely. . . however, I did think I'd be running in a slightly larger group. I came through the 10k in 35:45 (where I cruised by Saucony and continued to pick off other women here and there) and all my miles up to this point were under 5:50, so I knew I was running awesome and thoughts of 1:15:xx popped into my head.

Unfortunately, the remaining miles creeped up to to the mid 5:50's with only one mile being over 6:00 minutes and dropping back to just under 5:50 for the last couple miles in town. After 10k, the fog came back in full force and it was nearly impossible to see the women ahead of me that I was trying to catch. I don't know if the fog had anything to do with my decreasing splits, or if it was just because it was the second half of the race. I felt great, like I was really moving (or should have been) but maybe the fog was just making me think I was going faster than I actually was? (You know. . . kinda like running when it is still dark in the morning, feels faster than it actually is) As my miles started to creep up, my thoughts shifted more from sub 1:16 to will I still break 1:17. At ten miles, I knew I had to run a sub 19 minute 5k to break 1:17. The last 1.5 miles wind around Duluth a bit and felt like FOREVER. As I rounded the final corner and got far enough down the home stretch to see the clock, I was both happy and relieved to see the clock read 1:16.xx. Managed to stay on my feet and finish with an impressive 46 second PR of 1:16:32!! :) Mission accomplished.

Now Marshall's race hadn't even started yet, so I used the sky walk to head back to the hotel room for a nice warm shower. Poor Marshall, by the time his race was over, it had started to sprinkle and the temps were now in the mid 40's. . . burrr. I about froze just waiting for him to finish . . . which I got to see from the VIP bleachers right at the finish line!! One of the perks of being considered an "elite" athlete :) We both enjoyed our time in Duluth. I wish there were more races this caliber and awesome atmosphere in the midwest.

Never too old to enjoy trains. . . at the USATF awards banquet after-party. Sheldon Cooper would have been jealous.

Yes - This blog still exists

Quick update -

Over the last month, I've put in some good training with a pair of decent 5k's (17:30ish) in the Springfield area. I've had some good workouts and some not-so-good workouts. Put in decent long runs and finally becoming more consistent and sticking to a schedule with my running.

Now that I've graduated, it's time to start studying for the board exams at the end of July. I'm still waiting for a confirmation from the state so that I can go ahead and set-up my testing appointment (hopefully somewhere near Springfield!) I'm ready to start working and build a career. I'll start in July after I get my PT license.



Tomorrow Anthony and I are heading to KC for Hospital Hill this weekend. I'm not sure how this race will play out. I have the USA Half Champs in three weeks where I'm hoping for a new PR, so this race is being used as a "tune-up". I'd still like to run good and feel good, but right now my legs are fairly tired since I never really cut back my mileage for this race. I'll take today and tomorrow easier to try and feel more fresh. It also depends on who shows up for the race and how competitive it is this year. Last year there was a competitive women's field, and the top six ladies were all under 1:18:30, impressive for this course.



I'm also (impatiently) waiting for my poison ivy to go away. I must have gotten into some at the trail last weekend (this is why trail heads need bathrooms!) It's been hanging around for almost a week, and the last couple runs have been fairly uncomfortable and itchy.

First Long Workout of the Season

June is quickly approaching, so I decided I needed to do a longer workout this weekend mixed into our long run.

3 mi w/u
Goal: 4 x 2 mile w/half mile recovery @ 5:55 (half marathon pace)
Actual: above
3.5 mi c/d

I keep waiting for my legs to start feeling fresh, it's to the point now that I can't keep blaming it on all the driving/traveling. I'm managing to make it through my workouts fine, but my regular runs are nothing but sub par. After a 10 mile run on Saturday and standing on my feet for several hours afterwards, we didn't really know if this workout was going to happen. We made a deal that we would at least do 3 of the 4 repeats.

After rain all Saturday, it was a calm beautiful morning on Sunday. We ran this workout on the Firsco trail so that it would be fairly flat and fast. After a big internal battle with myself, we ended up doing all 4 (of course). Haha. Our thrid one was the fastest around 11:30, it was hard not to end on a high note!

Week in Review
58 miles
2 workouts
16 mile long run
NO MORE PT SCHOOL!!

Not to shabby of a week considering I didn't run on Friday. That's my goal for the next week, to be more consistent with my running and get back into a good routine. Now that I'm out of school and graduation isn't for a couple more weeks, this is as good of time as any to hit the ground running (pun intended).

This next week, I'll be back on the track and then racing a 5k on the weekend.

Back to the Track

I got wrapped up in the end of school and all sorts of stuff that I can't even remember where I left off with my running. I'll just pick up starting this week, and re-cap the workout Anthony (or Marshall as he likes to be called now) and I did on Wednesday.

2 mi w/u
Goal: 6 x 1k @ sub 3:20 w/400m recovery
Actual: above
2 mi c/d

I was looking forward to this workout, it had only been about a week since I've been on the track, but for some reason felt longer. Anthony, on the other hand, hadn't been on the track in nearly 6 weeks, so we touched paces that he hadn't experienced until he ran his 5k last weekend.

Surprisingly, we were very consistent with this workout. Jumping right in and right on pace. We were just finishing up the second one, when the Missouri State track team started their practice. Lucky for us, I think it was the field event athlete and sprinters and we were able to work around each other. It's nice being on a track with other people who know track etiquette. 

Having feeling sluggish the past 2 weeks, which I'm blaming on all the traveling I've been doing, I thought I had reached my limit after only 4 repeats. This one had slowed down a bit, and was hard to close at the end. None the less, still on pace. At this point, a local runner had come over to talk to us, as he recognized Anthony from the Poker Run Series we did in February earlier this year. I silently celebrated this extra long break and gathered myself enough that I figured I could do one more. Anthony bargained with me, that if this one was a good one it could be the last one. I then asked what would happen if it was bad, and he laughed and said this would be the last one either way. Haha, either way was a win for me. 

I did surprise him by telling him that I was going to do the 6th and final 1k. The longer break after the 4th one gave me my second wind and we were able to close with an impressive 3:15.

REVIEW
I'm going to start finally increasing my miles and incorporate longer workouts to get ready for a couple half marathons in June. A couple little 5k's here and there, then I'm ready for the big races! I'm looking forward to warmer weather and enjoyable runs.

I'm finally getting ready to graduate the 19th grade, so I get a little time off then come June start a pretty intense study schedule for boards.

Enjoyed a run down the Katy Trail on my way home from KC.

I'm trashed

I'm trashed. . . it was a wild weekend (running, of course)

Saturday 3/30/13
1.5 mi w/u
Goal: 5 x mile @ sub 5:40 with half mile recovery
Actual: above
.5 mi c/d

9 miles total

I'm glad to have my running buddy back for this workout! After spending nearly three weeks in Kansas City, I was hope for a longish Easter break. This workout was done Saturday afternoon. With the way the warm-up felt, I'm surprised we were able to hit our goal times with relative ease. Some miles were harder than others depending on terrain and direction of the wind. No matter how fast I start out, Anthony always like to jump ahead then lets me pull even to finish up. While I grumble at the time, I'm content to just tuck in behind him and let him pull me through at a fast pace.

I'm glad we had a short cool down, because my legs were toast after this workout. This was longer than many of my recent workouts. I've been getting on the track thinking I need some speed, but now I have the GO! St.Louis half marathon that has snuck up on me. We were fairly consistent, dipping as low as 5:30 for a couple of them. Good confidence builder for next weekend.

Week in Review
62 miles
11 mile long run
2 workouts
3 weeks left of school!

The weekly mileage was a little high as my long run from last week was pushed to Monday because of snow! So I did my final long run before my half of 16 miles on Monday. This pushed my hill repeats back to Wednesday. Do to the snow, I couldn't use my regular hill. I settled for what I thought was going to be a tough hill, however, it only took about 20-30 seconds to get to the top. I wanted each repeat to be about a quarter mile, so the hill repeats were basically a 20-30 second uphill push, then a flat 60ish second sprint on flat ground. Not ideal, but always looking for the positive, it taught me to continue to push once I crest the top of the hill.

I usually don't get hurt, but I had a bit of a scare this weekend. After our "long" run on Sunday my knee started to hurt. I self diagnosed myself with acute patellar tendinitis and allowed myself to sulk the rest of the day. I can't think of anything in particular that brought this on. . . there was not trauma and I even stretched while I was waiting for Anthony to finish up a couple more miles. The knee didn't hurt during the run, it wasn't until we got home and I started to climb the stairs up to our apartment. Bizarre.

I thought for sure I would wake up the next day (Monday) and feel completely normal. Not the case, I felt worse. Always jumping to the worst conclusion, I immediately made an appointment with my chiropractor, Dr. Reed at Ultimate Health and Rehab. He agreed to see me Monday afternoon and after about 15 minutes of active release technique (ART) and some kinesio tape, the knee felt some-what better,and my gait felt more normal. Right after he treated me, I went for a test run. I was able to complete only 4 miles, but must admit, when I woke up the pain was enough that I thought there was no way I would be able to even run! That ART is good stuff. So this brings me to today. Now in Kansas City, I couldn't get ART, but still am wearing the kinesio tape. I was a little apprehensive for my run today because I still had knee pain with ascending and descending stairs. However, much to my surprise, I felt normal on my run today! I tried to stick to a flat route (hills also hurt), stretched afterwards, used the stick, and put ice on it. Hopefully, this little set back is not enough to cause me to have a bad run this weekend at the GO! Saint Louis half.

Kinesio taping to my left knee

 

Special thanks to Dr. Reed



Diva Dash - 5k

Review of last week. Starting Wednesday with another track workout.


Wednesday - 3/20/13
3 mi w/u
Goal: 8, 4, 2, 2, x 2 with 400 recovery @ ~ 2:36, 75, 35
Actual: above + 4 x 200 with 200 jog
1.5 c/d

I'm falling into track workouts with no difficulties. This was my third time to get on the track this  year, I've actually missed it. It makes me feel fast. After getting a cold last week and feeling sluggish for my quarters that I did, I was hoping to feel light and fast for this workout. Give me a bit of a confidence boost for the upcoming Diva Dash race.

With the exception of the first 400, all target time were hit with relative ease. I gave myself plenty of recovery which in turn allowed me to feel better as the workout went on. I decided to add on some 200's just so I wouldn't have to do as long a cool down to get the miles in. I'm surprised at how little foot speed I have. What felt like an all-out effort for these 200's was only a mere second faster that what I'd come through the 200 in for longer intervals. It just takes me a little bit to get up to speed.

Diva Dash - 3/23/13
2 mi w/u
Goals: Run close to what I did last weekend (16:57)
           1st place
Actual: 17:03; 1st place
5 mi c/d
Results


What an exciting race! It rarely happens for me that I race someone the entire race, but that was kinda expected at this race. This was one of the most competitive 5k's in the KC area. Connie and I worked together and dueled it out to both run some pretty impressive times.

The start

We opened up with a respectively fast mile, a 5:24. Then got to the mile in the neighborhood where I got a little complacent with the second mile, still a 5:38. At one point around half way, I had pulled even (maybe even a tiny bit ahead) on an uphill, but it didn't last long as we immediately started a slight down hill (I can't run downhill, but I'm strong enough on the uphill to make up for it). With about 1k to go, we started the final ascent on Roe ave to head to the finish. I took this opportunity to charge ahead and simply hope that I didn't die before I got to the finish line. I was afraid to look back and see how the race was unfolding behind me, so I just continued to pour it on and hope my breakfast didn't come back up before the end. At one point I heard a rustling behind me, but turns out it was just Aaron sprinting by me to see the finishing time. Before I knew it was him, I had a moment of panic. I felt like I was sprinting, and if I got caught at this point, Connie must have some sprinting genes in her.

Probably about 400-600meters left. Hoping my breakfast stays down.

Chip time of 17:03

Somewhat chilly, but worth it. I was stoked to have run so close to my time last week at the Big 12 5k. I had my doubts about this race, as everyone had run fast and my Garmin had the race a little short (3.05 miles). I know, I know. . . you can't always trust the Garmin, but this raced proved that it wasn't a fluke. I'd really like to get on a track sometime this spring for a 5k race to see what I'm capable of, seeing as how I'm practically running my track times on the roads.

Week in Review
42 miles
no long run
1 workout
1 race

Despite the really low mileage, this was a good week for me. The only reason it is so low is because I didn't get to do my long run on Sunday. Darn the snow, that groundhog lied to us. I talked Megan into doing a few miles with me Sunday afternoon after we made our snowmen to somewhat salvage this week.

Our fast snowman. Megan's 4 mile PR of 23:33 and my own Diva Dash 5k - 17:03

2 weeks to go until the big Saint Louis race. Now that we have a some-what idea of how competitive it is going to be (nine ladies entered under 1:15, yikes!) I think I can set more realistic goals for myself. I thrive on competition, so I'm looking forward this weekend - aaaaaand I talked Anthony into taking me to the Old Spaghetti Factory with the money I won at the Diva Dash :)

Week in Review - Race Recap

I've got to go back a ways, so I'll start with my workout and work up to the review.

Tuesday - 3/12/13

This was my first week back at Rockhurst, so I've been living with Megan and doing all my running in hilly Overland Park. After getting sick, a cold,  Monday night :( I still decided to attempt my speed workout for the week.

2 mi w/u
Goal:  12 x 400 @ 75-77 (Divided into sets of 4, 200 recovery bet. reps, 400 recovery bet. sets)
Actual: 10 x 400 @76-78
1.5 mi c/d

Despite feeling under the weather, I was able to my goal times with some adjustment to the workout. At this point, Megan had already talked me into running the Big 12 5k, so I was trying really hard to overcome my (at times) irrational need to run/hit planned mileage and really listen to my body. After a stellar 800m workout with Anthony last week, I thought these 400's would be a breeze, especially at the moderately easy pace set. Unfortunately, my runny nose and watery eyes thought different. I stretched the recovery out more that I would have liked, these times felt harder than they should have, and I cut my daily mileage short by one mile. None the less, I felt accomplished simply getting some speed in.

I really liked the track that I ran these on, it's position helped with the wind. I was consistent with my first set, and even made it through the second set with minimal symptoms. I had every intention of doing all 12, but I can't describe how suddenly the 10th repeat affected me. The sickness fatigue and lethargy hit me fast, so I resisted the urge to continue and headed back. Overall, better workout than I had anticipated.

Saturday - Big 12 5k
2 mi w/u
Goal 1: break 18 minutes (give me a break. . . I've been sick all week)
Goal 2: Win (1st place $1000 gas card and tickets to the game)
Actual: 2nd place, 16:57
Results

5mi c/d with Megan

Well, I took second place, but ran an amazing time! This was my road PR by 18 seconds! I think I rely on my Garmin a little too much (they aren't perfect), so it is possible the course may have been a hair short. The Garmin reported 3.05 (usually within .05 is close enough I keep it because that's within 10-15 seconds), but it's what you get with road races or even cross country. Many times it depends on how well you take tangents. Close enough for me.

Since I get to be on the Saucony Hurricane team this year, I went out Friday and bought myself a pair of shoes to wear for the race, and Megan graciously let me borrow a pair of Saucony shorts and shirt. (Gear kits don't come until April). So I didn't actually buy a racing "flat" but found a pair of shoes that were just as light as a flat. So never wearing these shoes before, I hoped that they wouldn't hurt or give me blisters. Usually I wear them for a speed workout, but I didn't get them until Friday.

Pretty sharp huh?

Despite opening the race with a 5:09 mile, I was never in first place. The first mile was entirely down hill, and I was surprised that the mile was that fast as it didn't feel that fast. The second mile was closer to normal 5k pace, and I had started to gain on the leader for a bit here, she didn't pull away until the last 1k probably. The last mile was utterly horrible! It just kept climbing. Each time we got to a turn, my hopes had raised thinking I'd finally got to the top. Wishful thinking. I'm pretty sure I got to half way through the last mile and was on pace to hit a 6:15 mile. . . that says a lot about this hill or mountain, whatever you want to call it. Thank goodness the first mile made up for it. Bummed about the 2nd place, but stoked about running so well. Sometime the races you do on a whim, you perform the best. There was very little stress and worry, except some anxiety about performing well since I'd been sick.


Week in Review
57 miles
1 workout
1 race, with a PR
14 miles long run
1 week of school down. . . 5 to go!

Despite feeling under the weather, I managed to put in a respectable mileage. I has planned on, doing a 16 mile long run, but cut it to 14 miles as it was cold and raining on Sunday. We went from 83 degrees on Friday, to cold, windy and 40ish degrees on Saturday and Sunday. Only in Missouri (actually, I guess I'm in Kansas)

Track Time

We made it to the track yesterday. . . thank goodness we waited. Warmer, sunny, and minimal winds.

2 mi w/u
Goal: 6 x 800 w/400 recovery
          4 @ 2:40, last 2 @ 2:35
Actual: Above
1.5 c/d

This was my first track session since probably sometime in August last year. I take it back, we have gotten on the track once since moving to Springfield. We moved here in September. However, it was a cinder track, and not the most conducive to training. This time we ventured to Missouri State to use their track.

My Mom took us out to eat for lunch, and against my better judgement, we went to a mexican restaurant. Three hours later, we were still stuffed as we started our warm-up. But I could never pass up a free meal :)

We had the pleasure of running this workout with the entire MSU football team practicing on the inner football field. Great, not only was I a little anxious about returning to the track, but now we have an audience of 100+ football players, and Anthony and I were wearing the same shirt. . . which probably just looked lame to them. I, on the other hand, thought we looked cool. Haha. Actually, it wasn't that bad. For the most part, we stayed out of their way and they stayed out of ours. With the exception of some of their equipment in lane one and two. So imagine how much smoother it would have felt not having to venture out to lane 3 to pass!

We made the rookie mistake of starting out a bit too fast for the first 400m of the first repeat and paid for it while struggling to finish the second lap. No biggie though. We were able to hit all of our goal times with relative ease. I couldn't have asked for this speed session to go much better! We did allow ourselves increased recovery time and opted for a full lap between repeats. It was a sufficient amount of time and allowed more "quality" rather than simply "quantity". The mexican food sat okay, only the occasional yucky burp.

It's been so long since I've had to run this kind of pace. We've done some tempos just under 6 minute pace and a 5k back in early February, but nothing close to 5k pace for a workout. This said, I was surprised at the ease of this workout, and was able to bounce back today with a easy recovery run. I cannot say the same for Anthony ;)

On anther note, I've decided this is the year I'm going to run another marathon. By the time I get around to it this fall, it will have been 3 full years since my first one in Kansas City. It was a humbling experience, and bad enough that it has taken me this long to feel prepared to run another one. Actually, the running itself wasn't the bad part, it was the ache and cramps that came immediately afterwards. I've been put on the lottery list for Chicago, so (fingers crossed) hopefully I can get one of the 15,000 remaining spots!!!

Can't stay away forever!

I'm baaaack. It's been way too long since I've last made a blog post. But the winter is boring anyways, not to many races or stellar workouts planned during the cold months. Since I've last posted, I haven't really accomplished much running-wise.

Anthony and I did a little rust-buster 5k around Valentine's Day and made our debut as Springfield native runners. We crossed the line together in first place, running surprisingly well considering the amount of running we've been doing lately. Actually I should say the lack of running. It's been a rough January and February. We've been lucky to get to 50 miles per week and neglecting all the little things also. We can't even blame it on the weather because up until last week, it's been a pretty mild winter. I'm bound and determined to have a better March and turn myself around. The days are longer and it's getting warmer, consider myself motivated. It's my spring break, so I hope to get back into a normal routine now that I have time to focus on luxuries such as core, stretching, and weights. I even got around to writing my goals down on paper. Everyone knows it's not legit  until it's in writing.

We were planning on getting onto the track today (the first time since probably October), but we decided to wait until tomorrow (25mph winds). We will see how tomorrow goes. . .