Too busily running.

Happy Thanksgiving and where did November go?

That's right. I've been too busily running.

Who thought that training for a winter marathon was a good idea?!

Oh, that's right. It was my idea. And I am happy to report that i still think it is a good idea.

1. Treadmill running is a useful training tool. When the weather is frightful, i've been taking easy runs and even workouts to the treadmill once a week. Except for that one week where i ran three times on a treadmill. Yes, that was a stormy week.  I am finding it helpful for a mental training perspective, a reminder about proper form (for me proper pawback and glute activation) and I definitely get my sweat on (ie I am trying to maintain some heat tolerance).

2. Solid tempo runs. I struggle with tempo runs in training. I've raced the best when i've been most successful at hitting those critical tempo runs. There's a trick there! It's been hard for me to set tempo paces but since i ran a solid 5k in early september i had a good starting point. I've been doing all my runs solo which is tough but also helps keep me honest. My training partner is a good deal faster than me and when i can't keep up, i makes excuses too easily. It gives me an out that I've been struggling against. The point of the tempo runs is to run them on tired legs and still stay focused. Check!

3. A 5k Turkey Trot Test! K and I signed up for a new turkey trot a couple of months ago. The Mukilteo Turkey Trot is just 30 minutes north of where we live and looked like a nice new event and course. There is also a 10k which drew very fast runners as there were cash prizes. For a first year event, this was well attended (500 in 5k, 160 in 10k) and very well organized. I've truthfully never been to Mukilteo besides driving through to and from the ferry. It was an easy drive there and we found parking easily as we were early as planned. I still only had time for just under a 2 mile warm up and as it was 28 degrees, i was cold and took a while to warm up!

they did a staggered start with "elite" 10k start, followed by an elite 5k start 1 minutes later and then the general gobblers 2 more minutes later. I had lined up far forward but was still by people who were obviously planning on walking. Shrug. I expect to be crowded at the front and I was but that was fine as i did not want to go out too fast. i was hoping to match the 5k that i'd run in September on a flat course with perfect conditions (23:20).  However this course had was just a bit rolling and I knew there was a hill in the first mile. I relaxed a bit too much though and came in at 7:39. But at least i was finally warming up. I'd opted for a light long-sleeved shirt, capri skirt, headband and gloves. If i had been overdressed, i'd have taken off my gloves and i never did in this race.

In mile 2, i did start passing people including a woman in my AG who had passed me around the half mile mark. I'd marked her as someone to stay in contact with. It was nice to blow past her! I've been working on checking in on form monitoring as a way to stay focused and honestly I think "glutes" to make sure i am engaging a proper stride. It works for me! Did I mention that last week I hit a mileage high for the year at 57 miles? Yes, my legs were tired, I've not trained any specific 5k work and basically felt out of practice for a 5k effort but this was going better than i thought it would! 7:27

At mile 3 I was in contact with a male high school student. He obviously didn't want me to pass him so always just stayed out of reach even though I knew i was speeding up. He did little glances back too. Haha! It's nice to be that annoying runner sometimes! I did see a sub 7 pace on my watch at first on this mile. Honestly, that scared me.  I just stayed focused and reminding myself that i'd worked hard to be here and only needed to run just another 8 minutes or so and i'd be done! I turned the last corner and saw my watch say 21 minutes. I really wanted to be closer to 23 flat so just put my head down to finish. 7:10!

I jogged back out onto the course to cool down and cheer K coming in (he had a very good run and that showed!) and after a mile stopped by the car to grab our layers as it was still not even above freezing.  Turns out, I'd placed in my AG and to my delight, i won a pie! woohoo!  I was so focused on the pie (typical) that i'd not really looked at my time closely. I thought i ran 23:38 and was satisfied with that. Once we got home, I realized I'd run under 23 minutes at 22;38! woohoo! I've not been under 23 minutes in a couple years and that was with specific 5k training and well rested legs.

I'd do this one again. It was a really nice course with just enough minor rolling to keep you focused and excellent closed streets. There is a hair pin turn at about mile 2. And who doesn't love pie!?

And a 22:38 5k right in the middle of marathon training shows me that I'm right on track for marathon training. I'm excited. 

Rejuvenation

Steep! NW 85th Ave @ 32nd Ave NW

It's been just over a week since the Beat the Blerch Marathon. I was pretty disappointed with how the marathon went overall for me. No, it wasn't a PW (personal worst) but it was pretty close. There was no way I could've maintained anywhere close to a race pace for the distance. That really was the whole point of doing the marathon as a training run so this was pretty discouraging.

However, I don't ever discount that I did run a marathon and that is something to celebrate. Even better? Recovery from the long run seems to have gone well. I took three full days off from running. I did bike on the roller trainer that third day. I had no trouble at work walking around or walking up and down stairs so that was encouraging. The big indicator that I had run long? I brought lots of extra snacks to work but still was ever so hungry. That finally settled down Thursday.

I ran wednesday and thursday and importantly, I was looking forward to these run and enjoyed them. Saturday I figured out a new running course which incorporated some interesting stairs and short easy trails on a run course I've run for years. I've never been on those stairs or trails so that was really fun. The loop itself ended up being just a little long for what my tired legs wanted. At mile 9, i was having to make sure to pick my feet up carefully when running as I was afraid of tripping! I was able to cut it a bit shorter and enjoyed 10.5 miles. I'm having just a touch of heel pain (bursitis) and plan on working hard to manage that.

This coming week will still be a careful week. I plan on trying an easier workout and increasing miles. The last few miles of the marathon I grumbled to myself about pulling out of the longer distance events I'm planning on but recovery has put things sensibly into perspective. I'm still aiming for those goals that I have and I'm ready to engage in training again. I love the lifestyle and the feeling of working towards the distances.

New growth on the dead looking stalk.

Rejuvenation? Certainly. The recovery weeks are important. It's important to remind myself of why I do this. This weekend was also a chance to get back out into the garden. There are limited gardening hours left now. It's getting dark quickly after work and we've had some good preview Fall storms. Soon, it'll be too wet and cold to work in the yard.

I have some volunteer plants that have come up in the front yard which will be perfect for the backyard.  three weeks ago, we moved a flowering current that was a volunteer plant in the front yard. I had the perfect place for it in the back yard. Unfortunately when moving it, the main root got severed plus it had been hot. I figured it would die but kept it watered. And amazingly, it has come back and put out new growth!

You just never know how things will turn out. I keep reminding myself about this with races too. 

Hot!

View of Rattlesnake Ledge

Doesn't Rattlesnake Lake look inviting? there is a heat advisory and it is expected to hit 90 degrees today. What was I doing? Running 17 miles and no, i did not get in the lake.  

I figure it is good heat training for Ragnar which is next weekend. We started running early which helped and I did a lot of out and back sections on the Iron Horse Trail to get in the miles. It did get tough the last few miles but I worked on keeping running cadence up and acknowledging and accepting the challenge my legs were protesting about. I planned on a much slower pace overall  as the gravel plus the grinding climb of Iron Horse trail really does get hard.  Done!

Rattlesnake Lake

The Last Workout

It's been a week.

The events at the Boston Marathon and in Boston were horrific and hit so close to home on so many levels. I had many friends running in the event and wasn't sure if families were also in the area. Everyone was safe but the unknown was really scary and i was really feeling the after effects of that. I've heard from a lot of running and triathlete friends that this event has only strengthened their resolve to continue to do what they love and that includes the support and friendship of the entire community. 

I'm looking forward to joining the running community this weekend for the Eugene Marathon. K is running the half and various other friends are running too. 

The blog always tapers off as I'm tapering. Like usual, i have a lot of doubts going into this race. I get a lot of people telling me that it'll be great, just focus on everything going well etc etc. I'm generally one of the more optimistic people I know but it just doesn't seem to work with racing a marathon. And I think that is the problem, i have a lot of doubts because i haven't really raced a marathon yet and don't have a good feel of how this is going to go. 

I've set some PRs in shorter distances lately and based on training, previous races and how i was feeling, I KNEW that i'd PR if i ran smartly and stayed focus.

I'm feeling great! The weather looks good. Timing seems to be good for me for the month. I'd had the usual blah runs a couple weeks ago and bailed on a planned long run.  This wasn't a problem. Instead of a three week taper, i adjusted my run schedule and bumped the long run to the next weekend. I ran 18 on tired legs and did manage to get do surges of marathon pace every mile for a couple minutes and the last mile at marathon pace. that was a nice confidence boost because i hadn't really felt all that great on the run in general but could still speed up.

I recovered well and started ticking off those last workouts. And finally last week, i had the last workout of the cycle.  and it was done without much trouble. Taper on and enjoy the recovery. it's been nice to sleep in and do a bit of gardening. Not too much because it has been too wet and the back doesn't always agree with gardening. 

The resolve is there. The training is there. The key workouts and health is there.  let's race!  I feel thankful that i can.

Keep it fun.

Fast shoes and 6x used racing bib!

It's hard training through winter. This winter has been pretty mild overall but still that dark and wet and cold gets to me. I like to keep a spring race in focus but it's important to keep running fun during winter.  Usually that means I try to get out to trails but this year, I chose to run in the 2 mile Super Jock and Jill/New Balance Winter Grand Prix series.

fun?  Really?

Oh yes. It's been super fun!  Racing 2 miles is over before you know it and you recover quickly. I'd run a 3-4 miles before and 1-2 after and get a decent amount of miles in. I kept a midweek run of 8-10 miles a couple times a week to maintain mileage. I did no other speedwork besides the race fearing injury if I did.  Sometimes those mid-week runs were pretty dang slow and it didn't matter.

My goals for the series were to work on taking some chances in a race, going out hard and not being afraid of it and maintaining focus.  It took a couple races to get the hang of this and to understand how these races went. With a lot of fast kids, the field went out fast but those around me would really slow in the middle. if i were using just passing people as a guide, I'd slow too much.

The last race of the series was this weekend.  So that made three races in a row for the past three weekends. Fortunately this past week was a rest week and I cut my miles, took a couple days off from running and just generally lollygagged about.  Yeah right.

The trick with this race is that it is the chase race.  Those who are expected to be slower overall start first and those expected to be fastest start last. You chase those ahead of you and it is does make for an odd race.

I did my usual 3-4 mile warm up with some drills and strides.  We had to get to the start a bit earlier to line up according to our seed time.  This was based on previous road race finish times.  I've only been getting faster and faster. And as a result had moved up from 4th to 2nd in my age group.  With this race, i had a chance to win my age group.  I lined up and the other women in my age group were all seeded to start about 10 seconds ahead of me.

Turns out, they all knew each other and were really curious about me as I'd gotten so much faster.  It was really fun to meet them all and also explain the marathon I'd run between the first and second races of this series.  "Ohhhhh," yes, they all understood that.  In fact they understood it so well that we all exchanged email addresses.  Hey! Possible running partners!

And as the clock ticked down to my assigned start time, I went! And started a race all by myself with people ahead and behind.  It was very strange. I knew I was aiming for between 6:50-6:55 pace overall but I also didn't want to pass the women ahead of me too early. Since I didn't start with the crowd, it took me a bit longer to get up to speed. It was windy that morning and i used the tail wind for the first half mile and got a bit faster than goal pace.  I took the turn and headed into the head wind and did start passing the first people who had started ahead of me.

In a typical race, if it were windy, I'd try to tuck in behind someone to block the wind.  With this race, no way! The goal was to pass anyone ahead.  First mile 6:55. This was a little slow but felt right. And here I felt i could finally start to pass the women who'd started ahead of me.  It took a bit to work towards them. And just like I thought, passing one gal spurned her on to passing me back.  We battled back and forth for half a mile.  We hit much more traffic of those ahead and I took the shortest route over the gravelly area of road.  Trail running pays off again.  Everyone was avoiding that area because it is a bit tougher to run on.

We made the final turn and were still almost right next to each other.  This was it and finally i found some fast twitch muscles. Woohoo I finished ahead (a few seconds?), had run my own damn race and also PR'd again at the road distance.  13:45.

Yay! Eventually results were announced and I'd tied for first in my age group.  It was NOT the gal I'd battled with at the finish but another gal who'd finished behind me who tied.  I'd done my part though. I finished ahead of all of them, run my race and PRd. It can't get any better than that.

This has been a break through series for me. It propelled me to a breaking a long time 5k PR and got me very excited about what is to come this year.

FUN!  

Remind me again.

It's true.  I have to keep reminding myself of the hard workouts that I am hitting.  The mental side of running is as much a part of running as the physical.  I've been doing the training.  I'm hitting my workouts and it shows.  The Lake Union 10k a few weeks ago went great!  I felt so much stronger overall.

The goal event is in six weeks. One more 10k would be helpful to practice pacing and mental focus before heavier training takes hold.  The Iron Girl Seattle 10k is a nice event and I do actually like that it's a women's only event.  It's a very big event though.  Over 1500 do just the 5k and just over 500 participate in the 10k.  It's a 5k course that the 10k-ers run twice and everyone starts at the same time.

I know what this means.  it means those doing the 10k are going to hit a lot of 5k traffic.  I'd heard this from a faster runner last year as she was super frustrated with trying to maintain pace.  I need the 10k effort though so I signed up for the longer distance.  It ended up being an easier running week and I felt very ready for the race.

My goal?  It was the same as the Lake Union 10k. AT that race, i'd wanted to be under 7:50 pace but was pretty sure that I was more in 7:40 overall pace shape.  The hills there scared me though so I was happy to come in under 7:50.  And I did. My garmin pace showed 7:46.  Race pace results show 7:48 because the course is always a bit longer than GPS measuring.

I did my longer warm-up with some strides and fought my way towards the front of the line up.  And ran into JCB which was a nice surprise.  She was doing the 5k and I expected to pull away quickly but she's been less than 100% since a tough Ragnar Relay and ran a steady PR (and AG placing!).  I felt like I was lined up too far back though as I got into some traffic and had a hard time getting onto pace.  Finally after a half mile, I was where I wanted.  first mile: 7:43

I could see JCB swinging farther out on the course to avoid traffic.  I was really trying to maintain the shortest course line I could for the first lap as I knew I'd hit traffic the second.  I felt great overall.  The weather was perfect.  Mile 2 & 3:  7:36, 7:40.

And it was interesting in mile 3 to listen to the runners around me who were mostly going to be finished. They were breathing hard like they were at the end of a 5k.  I still felt very comfortable.  yes, I was working but comfortable.  I'd kept drifting to a faster pace and would slow it back down to the 7:40 and tried to remain focused and calm.

I was afraid of falling apart.  I reminded myself of the 10k a few weeks ago which was harder.  I reminded myself of the hill repeat workout that had been followed by a track workout. I've done the work.  I am putting in the miles and getting the training done and I know I'm faster and stronger and recovering better.

The 5k finishers turned towards the finish line and I went along my lonely way.  There were women scattered ahead of me.  I worried about hitting a headwind but then welcomed it once it came as it helped keep me cool.  I passed the area where friends would be cheering if they were in town.  Instead they were a thousand miles away cheering for friends at IM Wisconsin and I thought happy thoughts for all those participating and supporting that event.  7:35.  Eeks.  Two more miles.  Would I hold it?  Better slow down.

I passed EO's 81 year old mom walking the 5k with a police escort at the water station just after mile 4.  I didn't realize this was EO's mom at the time but nonetheless, I was really happy to see her out there.  How awesome! My mom and I walked this event a few years ago together.  My mom placed first in her age group (F 75-79) and beat out EO's mom then.  What a hoot! 

And even though I started having to dodge traffic and groups of kids and moms and those still very new to these types of events, I was happy to see so many girls and women out there.  7:43

One more mile and the crowds got thicker.  The street is closed in one direction for this race.  For the first lap, I'd run right on the curb and cut the corners to maintain the shortest line.  This last mile, I swung way out onto the other lane of traffic to avoid all the walkers.   I knew this would happen so I didn't get frustrated. I just maintained my pace and kept focused.  i'd occasionally hear a mom tell a kid to move over a bit to make room for the faster runners and gave a silent nod of thanks.

I wished I'd been able to wear one of my colorful running skirts for this event.  i think those girls would've liked to have seen such cute running wear! 7:40

And with that I saw the final turn to the finish.  I hoped the curb and dodged around 5k finishers onto the grass and pelted in.  Woohoo!  My garmin had 48:06 and showed an average pace of 7:39. I was delighted as this was 15 seconds or so faster than the Lake Union 10k and had really felt so much easier.  All the other CoachLesley athletes had had good runs as well.

I was really bummed to see that the official results had me at 48:03!  Dangit!  If i had known, I could've made up those 3 seconds and come in under 48 minutes.  So close!  I know the last couple of miles cost me some time with traffic.  Truthfully, the other hold up was my mind.  I kept drifting faster but slowed it down because I jsut wasn't sure if I was faster than 7:40 overall pace.  Remind me again.  I'm doing the work, hitting those workouts and good things will come. 

I believe in the training I just have to keep reminding myself of it!

Lake Union 10k 2012

And just when we didn't think we'd get one, Summer arrived for a couple weeks.  Finally we had to get the fans and cats in the house flopped about as flat as can be.  Gardening slows at this point as the plants mostly slow in growth.  I have to stay on top of watering and I finally removed the snap pea plants.  Wow, those were the best!  I felt like i was saying goodbye to a friend when i yanked them out.  Sadly, the green beans aren't doing as well.  Something is gnawing at them and some of the leaves are looking a bit disgruntled.  With the hot weather though, they seem to have bounced back. 

Of course, late summer is also when my birthday hits.  I took advantage of the good weather to take a random day off from work and give myself a b-day present of running on trails.  A couple friends were able to join me and it was a perfect way to celebrate.  This was a planned long run for the week (on a thursday) so i could still get in miles and do a local 10k which I like very much. 

The Lake Union 10k is in it's 4th year.  I skipped last year but otherwise have run every year.  It's a well known course around Lake Union which means it is mostly flat except for some bridge approaches and a last mean little but extremely steep hill in mile 5.  Training has been great of late and I've been hitting some excellent workouts so I was really looking forward to seeing how this would go.

What type of workouts?  I've been adding in back to back longer runs on the weekend (at a much slower pace) and enjoying the chance to just relax and get some miles.  During the week, I've had speed and moderate paced workouts.  The last speed workout I did was probably the hardest workout I've ever completed. 

8 x 2:00 hard hill repeats with a jog back down and then I went to the track to run 4 x 400s at a slightly faster pace than I've been doing them.  And really I tried to quit.  My back was tightening up and i was worried about tweaking things.  But with some encouragement, I kept at it and finished the workout hitting every thing just right. I was still thinking of this workout days later.

Why?  I'll admit I've been afraid to push things the past couple years.  I'm afraid of getting injured and being tired.  Tired? Of course I'm tired, I'm adding mileage and still keeping in quality workouts but that is ok.  It's ok to be tired and have your body adapt to the training.  The difference is that I'm not having any injury issues.  I'm tired but I recover quick and really look forward to the next challenge.

So Thursday's long trail run left me rather tired.  And that was ok.  I did my normal warm up and lined up fairly close to the front.  Even though this race is now starting on the road instead of the trail, I thought it would still be a bit crowded.  Good call!  I thought I was in shape to get close to 48 flat.  I planned to go out around 7:50.

That 7:40 mile went quick!  And I was actively slowing myself down and feeling good.  In previous years, I've thought at the 5k mark that it would be much better to do just a 5k but not this year.  I hit the short uphill section towards teh University Bridge and was still feeling strong.  I was pretty nervous about the very short and very steep section of road that came at you around mile 5.  These sorts of hills have been the bane of my running.  Remember those hill repeats you hit!  Remember that track workout you completed AFTER those hill repeats.  Keep your form.  Keep engaged. 

And I did. I didn't lose any ground to any of the people around me.  And I was trying to convince myself that it was just a very short section.  Obviously I had tried to forget it because there was one section that was very short but then you turned the corner and EEK it climbed again.  Then a fairly steep down and then right back up.  No worries.  I had this. 

I came across a great little video of Pacific Northwest Ballet practice the other day.  If you've never seen professional ballet up close, then you may not be aware of what atheletes those dancers are.  I've been lucky to see studio rehearsal and have seen the sweat flying off of bodies, the legs and arms shaking and the panting like they've just run a um 10k! And then they are in costume, under hot lights making those dance moves look easy and effortless.

There are some great quotes in here. 

"When fatigue sets in, think efficiency."  A straight line and keep that form as efficient as possible.  What is efficient for me is using those glute muscles effectively.  And I worked on keeping that happening.  I tend to want to swing my left arm across my body as I get tired.  I kept is moving straight.  I tend to sit back a bit and my gaze goes up which leads to some back problems.  Keep the gaze down and moving forward!  Honestly this applies at work too.  Get it done as efficiently as possible. 

"Remember, your body it's a dictatorship; there is a no democracy.  There is no vote. No one gets a vote. It's your way.  But you have to enforce that."  I started telling myself "this is not a democracy" and "NO voting" the last couple miles of this race.  I WOULD keep moving and I WOULD stay focused and I WOULD move!  And it worked. 

48:19
Woohoo!  That's a Master's PR on not so fresh legs.  I think I can approach under 48 on the right day.  I ended up with an Age Group win becasue those who were faster than I in my age group ended up winning either the overall or master's division.  I will happily take medaling up!  

And did I mention this race has tasty pancakes with a wonderful cooked raspberry spread?  Awesome! 

A Sunny Attitude

It's amazing and the biggest secret to living in Seattle.  Just when you think you can't take clouds and rain anymore, we sneak into the second half of July and Summer, it is HERE! And it is glorious.  the rest of the country has been complaining of ridiculous heat for months and finally, we have perfect weather. 

And everyone seems to be smiling and giddy with the light.  I end up not sleeping all that well during this time of year.  It's too light and the clues to be sleepy just aren't there. I want to run and bike and work in the yard and just enjoy sitting outside on the deck. 

All of a sudden the yard is out of control and I easily fill up our yard waste container in a couple hours.  I've been harvesting handfuls of snap peas off our plants and raspberries are copious.  The blueberries are almost ripe and I'm contemplating reseeding arugula, chard and kale for fall crops.

The running attitude is doing pretty well too.  Scotiabank Half definitely did not play out like I'd hoped.  But there was a real difference in my attitude with this one.  By mile 8 and 9, I was ready and knew I'd be able to keep racing.  Unfortunately my body had some different ideas.  That is different than half marathons lately.  I'd get to mile 6 or 7 and think "i can't do this" or my mind would just sort of check out and the legs would follow.

I had a really nice very hilly 11 mile easy run this past Saturday.  Sunday I was planning for some more moderate miles again over some hills.  I'll admit that I was a bit nervous about running another 6 miles at faster than just "slog." But I got out there and had no problems hitting the intended pace and felt great! My legs were tired but it didn't matter.  I think that if i'd gone out there to just run a few miles, my attitude of grumpy, tired and sloggy would've slowed me down and made getting in the intended mileage a challenge.  Attitude. Yep, it's all about attitude sometimes. 

Random, but not really.

I did it!  I finished the final exterior painting on the house this year!  Woohoo!  We put up the last bit of siding too on the back of the house and that officially makes this approximately 10 year project done. It started with getting a new roof which meant we needed new fascia and soffit boards. Then the old siding (two layers) came off the house in sections and we put up new sheathing and then painted clear cedar siding. We ended up getting windows replaced (best thing ever!) and built a new back deck and finally had the sagging, broken and rotting porch footing rebuilt.  We payed to have the roof done, windows redone and paid to have the porch rebuilt otherwise all other labor was done by us and K's father.  Phew!  I'm very proud of the work we've done.  it's our house and it shows.  We do good work.

And I do good knitting.  I got my first commissioned knit piece this past week.  A friend at work who is a knitter (beginning and slow) really wants a knit piece for a friend's b-day. She loved an easy knit cowl I did and would like me to knit one for her.  She paid for the yarn and she'll give a bit of spending money for me just as a bonus. I get to knit and get paid!  No the amount of time I'll spend knitting doesn't end up paying me for my time really but since I just enjoy knitting, this is a bonus.  I'm casting on that project today.  And it will be a well knit lovely piece of knitwear which I'll be proud of.

My mom and I had tickets to watch studio rehearsal of the Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Love Stories" the other day. This is always a real treat! We usually see the pieces where they are still working out staging and details and where they are still getting into performance fit (or at least that's how I think of it).  Why do I say that?  Well we are sitting very close to the athletes (dancers) and you can see the effort and fatigue start to play out towards the end of the sections they are rehearsing.  The guys' legs shake and sweat pours off.  The women's legs and arms shake with the effort.  The most amazing part of this process is seeing the absolute control they have over their expression and finishing what they are doing.  Towards the end of pieces, both men and women are breathing like they are at the end of a 5k yet they are holding a precise pose with a smile on their face.

After watching them rehearse, I feel like a wimp! I took this thought into the 5k last week and it helped.  It doesn't matter that I'm feeling the fatigue, my lungs are on fire and my legs feel like lead.  Keep at it! Move and take pride in being able to run at all. This is what I've worked for and gotten up at 5 am to run in the dark and rain.  Push through and enjoy it.  And I did and I do.

And tomorrow a good friend is racing her first marathon in New York.  I've seen her at the beginning of her running career when she was able to have a huge breakthrough race.  She's trained and pushed through for this event.  She's had the lows and the highs and she is ready and is proud about how far she's come.  I'm really proud to have played a small role in this and I'm so excited for her. 

Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon

You can tell this race is coming up by the buzz in the air. With 26000+ athletes running and walking it not to mention all the cheering and set up and road closures, it dominates the running scene of Seattle.  It seems like everyone and their mother are running it and I think that is wonderful thing!

Ragnar team prep is kicking into high gear and this was a wonderful distraction to the lead up to this race.  I've been enjoying my workouts and feeling good.  What was the goal for this race?  I wanted to finish under 1:50 and finish strongly.

To facilitate all the major road closures, this race starts dang early down in Tukwilla.  Thanks to JB for driving myself and a couple of other runner friends to the start.  JB had planned on racing herself but had to bow out at the last minute.  As we all know a DNS (do not start) while always done for the right reasons is not the easiest thing to do mentally.

We made it to the start by the secret back door (although the race officials seem to have a better handle on those secret back doors) in good time and I was off to find a port o potty line (found it!) and bag check.  Holy sea of humanity.  I'd mostly avoided all of that over the past couple years but had to wade through on my way to the UPS trucks used for bag check.  With 30 minutes to go, I started my mile very easy warm-up.  I'm glad I did because I realized I had to go the bathroom again.  Those lines were ridiculous so I found a convenient bush.  Believe me I was not alone.  And then I roamed up to the starting corrals as I knew it would take a bit to get into them.

And I was ready.  This course is flat to vaguely downhill the first couple miles.  I planned on 8:10 pace, take it easy on the short hill at 3 and longer hill at mile 4.  I was planning on carrying a little bottle of water for the first few miles to avoid water stops and would ditch it when appropriate.

In short order we were off!  And I was very happy that the 8:09 pace I hit for the first two miles felt easy.  The weather was perfect 50 degrees and cloudy but not drizzly.  I wore short compression shorts and a sleeveless shirt.  the miles ticked along pretty quickly and suddenly I realized we were on the hill starting to climb at mile 4.  And I felt crappy all of a sudden.  Hmm.  Heart was up too high and it was time to eat.  At the next water stop, I walked through to get a gel and an electrolyte pill.  Even though it was cool, I was sweating pretty heavily so knew I needed to monitor fluids closely.

Right about here I spotted Tommy the UPS guy manning a water stop.  I see him often at work and he is the nicest guy.  He volunteered his time to drive a truck chock full of supplies (water and tables). He shouted out his usual greeting to me (my name at the top of his voice) and that made me smile and all those around me too.  What a nice boost. 

The downhill to the lake was pleasant and like usual I was amused by runner reactions of shock when we hit the very steep short downhill right at Seward Park.  Here I started to see CoachLesley support signs which made me smile.  The best one for me?  "whose idea was this anyway?"  Haha!  It was a good reminder to stay in the moment.

I started having some hamstring twinges around mile 7 or 8 which did not make me happy.  I'd ditched my water bottle by this point and made sure to walk right before the hills started again at 9.  That way i'd get in more water and rest hip/hamstring.  This worked. And I had a talk with myself about how you are supposed to feel around mile 8 or 9 of a half marathon.  I'd looked at heart rate data for successful halves in the past and was very surprised at how high it was for the entire time.  I wasn't used to effort for long races anymore.  It was ok to feel like I was working hard. I knew I had the strength to hold the last few miles.

At 10k, I'd been on a steady 8:08 pace even with the hill and a walk break.  From 6.2 to the 9 mile mat, I was a 8:42 pace for those less than 3 miles.  That takes into account walk breaks and the short, steep up to the I90 express lanes and the refocusing issues (ha).  Last year that short hill had been my undoing.  Everything felt awful after that and I limped through the tunnel.

This year, I got into the tunnel and started passing people and felt so much stronger.  It was wonderful.  I was taking manual splits with my garmin (as it doesn't work in the tunnel) and completely missed a mile in here.  We hit 2nd avenue and I enjoyed all the crowds.  I was sooooo thirsty by this point though.  I couldn't help it.  At mile 11-12 I took one more walk break to get in some water.  And then we were down Columbia to the viaduct and I was shocked to see I just had one more mile.  Last year the steep down had jacked up everything but this time, I was ready.  I had been continually monitoring my form and I came to the realization that I am running differently now.  I doubt I look any different running but I feel different.  I use my hip/butt muscles more (hill repeats work!) and I work to keep my gaze down just a bit so I don't sit back.  that sitting back when I get tired puts strain on my low back and hips.

Stay with it!  Focus!  Strong!  These were all going through my head as we finally made the turn off the Viaduct and then north to the finish line.  WHOOO! I could see a clock now and realized I was going to be under 1:50.  I wasn't sure by how much. 

1:47:41 Chip time - 8:13 pace overall!  Those last 4 miles I covered in 8:00 flat pace.  I'd call that a strong finish!  In 2009, I ran this race in 1:47:42.  Haha!  It has been a long and bumpy road to get back to this point and I am delighted.  Thanks to Coach Lesley for helping me figure it all out.

The Long Run

Three weeks from the Seattle Marathon.

I've had some very good workouts lately and have been feeling very strong.  The half marathon (done in the middle of 17 miles) with 6 at goal marathon pace (8:45) and three at go for it pace (8:15) confirm for me that I'm stronger than ever.

I had one of those workouts that I was nervous about this past week.  10 miles with 6 @ 8:20.  it was a little tough to get to sleep the night before. I was that keyed up about it.  Why?  I'd done 5 at 8:19 the week before while recovering from the above mentioned half marathon/long run the week before.  That one had been so tough.  I'd done it and I knew I could do it again.

And I did.  And I even ran that last mile uphill and was only 10 seconds off pace (for an overall pace of 8:12 for those miles).  It had felt easier than last week and heart rate was lower.

So 20 miles on the schedule this week.  This is the longest I'll go and it more of a mental check than anything.  I'd done a very thorough core/glute workout thursday evening and was sore the next day at work.  Then my low back tightened up at work too.  I was careful with lifting at work and made it through the day with no damage.  I quick and gentle yoga session helped.  I woke saturday morning and back was better but still a bit touchy.

20 miles.  I don't even drive 20 miles in a week.  The first 11 were at a very easy pace helping mark a running course for a group run for the Coach Lesley group.  I like marking courses.  It forces an easy pace as you have to stop and pretend you have no idea where you are going and then draw chalk arrows on the ground.  run, run, run and chalk again.  I happened to be running with a couple gals so the chatter helped.  They'd keep running while I chalked and I'd slowly catch back up. 

11 miles over some pretty good hills and I was not feeling great.  Everything felt tight and even a bit achy but nothing was hurting.  I talked myself out of 20 miles again and again but finally decided I NEEDED this run mentally more than anything.  So at 11, I filled my water bottle again and set off this time on my own.  The other gals weren't doing any thing as silly as training for a marathon (at this point).

9 miles.  It really helped to break it up.  I only had 9 miles.  heck, I'd run 10 mid-week.  Again everything was achy and tight but nothing really hurt so onward.  I stopped for another gel and more water and to turn on some music and just continued on.  The miles ticked off quickly enough.  I started to have some math/thinking problems as I figured out how long I had to go out and back to arrange to end at a particular place where K would meet me and we'd have breakfast.

I felt like I was totally slogging on but pace was just typical long run pace if not a touch faster.  Mentally though, it took every ounce of control to keep running.  I have no idea why this was so tough but it was.

20 miles done.  Physically I feel fine the next day and had a great 4 miler where I actively had to slow myself down.  Mentally?  That was EXACTLY the workout I needed.  And I'm grateful for it.

3 weeks.  One more pretty serious workout this friday with a long run to follow.  Taper begins in earnest then.

What's good for you?

You know you have those weaknesses you should address right?

No, I'm talking running related here, but feel free to extrapolate to NRR - non running related.

I've known for some years now that I am really awful going up hard, short little hills.  And yet I don't really do anything to work on the difficulty.  I'm not 100% certain what will help that difficulty but I have some ideas. I've started to try charging up short, steep hills when I find them.  I figure that is the only way.  I also think some general jumping plyometric exercises would be good too.  I've been hesitant to do these as I was (keyword there) so injury prone but I think I could handle it now.  There is this little problem with finding time and trying not to look too silly when out there running though.  I'll admit to that. 

I've been settling for speed work lately.  Meaning, if the schedule calls for a particular distance or number of repeats, I've been easily talking myself into accepting less than what the schedule calls for.  Now, there are very valid reasons to respect that and take it easier at times but I've been guilty of calling it quits early for purely mental reasons.  Probably in the past six weeks, I've been better at both hitting the times and number of repeats which a workout calls for.  Sometimes I have to trick myself into it, but at the end of the day I'm always glad I did it. 

It's that mental side of running which is so tricky and where I've not worked as hard as I should.  I know that.  I've even blogged about it.  I went into Lincoln feeling very unprepared for a long race mentally.  I've not raced a half or a marathon distance in some years.  Even the longest distances I've raced (around 7 miles) happened in the middle of relays.  Relays have a different feel for me.  I will run my best because it is not only myself I'm running for but for my team. 

To prepare adequately for the upcoming Seattle Rock n Roll Half marathon I needed to find a 10k to race.  And I found one at the perfect time for training. 

The Heroes Half is a new event with both a half marathon and a 10k.  The 10k goes around a popular running route of Lake Union.  It's not flat but it's about as close as you can get around here.  It has some very short steep hills which I knew would be a challenge.  Plus it had the added amusement of possibly getting stopped by a bridge going up.  The waterways have priority around here except at certain hours M-F.  This didn't happen fortunately, but that bridge hits just at a point where it would be really nice for a break! 

I'd kept training as scheduled. This meant I biked twice this past week (bike to work month - more on this next week) and hit running workouts.  I had a great track workout on Tuesday and got in my long run for the week on Wednesday.  As much as I try to keep it easy on the bike, commuting home gets me worked up and I often find myself charging uphills trying to (and often succeeding) in catching people on the hills.  Rested, my legs, were not. 

That 5 am wake up for a 7 am start was tough.  I nearly bailed but I really wanted to do this race plus I was looking forward to seeing a lot of friends at the race.  I found the best parking space and got registered for the race and went to warm-up.  I was there early enough that i had no problems with any logistics of the race but I heard from some friends, that there were some issues.  As a first year race, i'd expect there to be glitches and there were. 

I had my own glitch.  I'd forgotten to charge my garmin.  I thought I'd have plenty of juice but bike commuting is about 90 minutes total for the day and the battery just doesn't last as long.  Oh well.  I'd be running this one by feel. 

My plan was originally to go out around 7:50 pace.  I figured I'd have a very quick start, settle down for miles 1-3.  Mile 4 has 3 short steep hills and I'd knew I'd lose time.  After a gradual climb off of University Bridge (if we didn't get stopped because of a sailboat needing the bridge to rise), it was a flat to downhill final mile back to Gasworks. 

I started with Coach Lesley.  She'd give me a split the first quarter of mile and then take off.  She's a very gifted runner and ended up being 2nd female overall.  At about a quarter mile, we were at 7:15 pace.  Ok time to back off and settle into the work and that's what I did.  I'd started with the first wave of runners (projected pace 8:00 and under) and felt like I was at the very back just watching everyone fly off.  Oh well.  I did always have a few people ahead or behind which helped. 

Everything felt pretty good until mile 3.  This is where the whole mental side of running kicked in.  And oh the demons were having their way with me.  There was much grumbling and grousing and "I am never racing again."  But I didn't stop and I didn't slow (well much..).  It was hard to tell with no pacing reference.  I could hear how I was breathing compared to some of the people around me.  I didn't sound any worse than they did which gave me hope. 

And then those horrible short hills came.  And oh it was worse than I expected.  I got dropped by all who were ahead of me and also passed.  I just could not keep up.  I didn't worry about it because what could I do?  Just stay with it and get back onto fluid running once on the flat and downhill.  Three more of these horrible hills and I was cursing!  DAMNIT!  I need to figure out why I suck so badly at these types of hills. 

I wanted to walk.  I wanted to just give up and trot in but I stayed with it.  Keep the form loose.  Make sure the shoulders are relaxed and keep those arms moving.  Don't think about it.  I made some time up climbing the gradual hill up from University Bridge.  Ok that's better.  The downhill back to the Burke-Gilman Trail was nice.  Thank the cop directing traffic at the messy intersection of NE 40th St, The Burke-Gilman and 7th Ave NE and I was back on the Burke-gilman with a mile to go.

This was it.  There were people out just running which I blew by.  Ok that felt good!  There were cyclists out for their ride who gave me a "good job" as I went by.  I could've done without the guy cycling by smoking a cigarette.  OMG.  At that point in the race, I wanted to hurl at that smell.  Stay focused. 

I approached Gas Works park and the finish and I could see Les was coming out to cheer and it looked like CJ was out cheering too.  I'd scouted out the finish of the 10k and knew we'd be directed across the street and onto a gravel bit and then a short downhill section.  Turns out CJ had appointed herself course monitor and volunteer and was giving directions to runners.  It wasn't real clear where half marathoners would go along the course. 

I got some nice cheering coming into the finish and I could see the clock time of about 49:20.  DONE!  I was rather disappointed by my time but knew I'd run hard and pretty well.  I'd battled the demons and taken steps to getting that distance racing mentality back. 

This time is about two minutes off my PR set a number of years ago but it perfectly predicts where i thought I was for a marathon.  I trotted back to where CJ and Les were still cheering and added my cheers too.  And then I realized that I had probably looked pretty good coming into the finish.  A lot of people (both 10k and half'ers) were looking done in. Hunh.  Good to know.   I felt strong overall coming in and working hard but not completely done in. 

I watched quite a few other friends come in and headed home.  I started to feel the effects of the race not too long afterwards. I felt subtly ill and my legs were so sore!  I ate well even though I wasn't all that hungry.  Eventually later in the day I felt more like myself. 

And then the results were posted.  As expected Les had placed high.  And then looking at the top master's female finishers I was second.  Holy cow!  I started giggling uncontrollably.  Me?  Second master's female?  Haha!  I figured I'd place in my age group as there weren't all that many runners in this race but overall? 

amazing.  I was the 38th runner overall (men and women) and now realize why i never saw too many people.  I was about 5th female runner overall too.  And now I can see why I was getting some nice cheers coming into the finish.  There just weren't that many runners in yet. 

the best part?  I went for a nice easy run this morning and felt great.  Legs are a bit tight but not sore like I was expecting.  I can feel the race in chest and upper body muscles.  Yes, i was working hard.  I was racing.

It was good for me. 

The New Year...

ah-choo!  snork. cough, cough.

Yeah well.  A virus with my name on it rather changed how I would've preferred to spend my New Year's Weekend but there are worse things. 

I found out one of my local yarn shops, Acorn Street Yarn Shop,  has an awesome sale on New Year's Day.  I got some excellent deals for yarn for my next projects and have made some good progress on my Diane Cardigan for opera/ballet-going.  And once again, I am realizing how much I like to knit. It is so soothing.

K finished a cat tree for our boys and they love it!  They are growing and keeping us in stitches with their play and lovableness.  They are going to be great cats as they are now great kittens.  Active and playful but perfectly happy being held and snuggled.  Anyone who comes to the house is interesting and they like to say hi.  Since I like having photos in my blog, i've included some random recent cat photos for your viewing pleasure. 

Training was all shot to hell last week with the developing virus, not to mention the wet and dark outside.  I'm calling it another cutback week which is probably a good thing and it'll set me up to start some good training with rested legs and a heart raring to go.

My goals for 2010 in running?

I never got that marathon run last year so May 2nd is the date to aim for.  My marathon of choice right now is either Eugene, OR or Lincoln, NB.  Lincoln?  No, i've never been to nebraska but there a lot of people I know from runango marathon running forum who will be running in either the full or the half here and I'd love to meet them.   I've run Eugene and it's a really good race, but i don't see the need to repeat it.  With cheap airfare, Lincoln might be very doable money wise and not much more than Eugene.  It's certainly a less expensive race and has some great recommendations.

Right now that's the big goal.  I may or may not run the half at Nookachamps in a couple weeks.  I'd hoped to race this seriously but the cold rather interrupted an important week in training for that.  I might still go run hard (depending on how I feel) just for a baseline.  I know a lot of people running in various events there so it would be fun and it's such a nice event. 

Reach the Beach Relay is on for 2010!  I had so much fun at this race last year that I have to do it one more year.  And we hope to visit friends in the WA DC area for the days following the race.  That reminds me.  We need to request a White House Tour basically NOW!

I'd like to PR in a half marathon.  I am signed up for the second Annual Seattle Rock N Roll Half in June.  Maybe that'll be the one.  My PR is 1:43:40 set in 6/2007 and seems ridiculously fast so we shall see about that goal.  I want to do more of the Cougar Mountain Trail Series plus just get out to the trails whenever possible.  After 22 races last year, I do plan to be more selective in racing.  Racing is valuable mentally so I will try and incorporate that better into my training.

Mental training has to be part of my training this year as well.  I'm realizing more and more how much that plays into that race day.  I've got some helpful books and will be more mindful while training of those negative nellies talking in my ear.

I'm not particularly setting mileage goals for the year.  consistent training with well considered breaks will get me to the starting line well prepared to race.  I do want to maintain biking fitness as I think it's valuable cross training for me (both cardio and leg strength) and I will work hard to get in two sessions of core/weight training per week.  I always get in one but sometime struggle with that second one.  I know I feel stronger overall when I'm consistent with weight training and even notice the benefits in my job which can be physical at times. 

And I am setting my own training schedule after being coached for many years.  It's both freeing, exhilarating, worrying and challenging all at the same time.  I've got a lot of support in so many ways that i know I can do this part and do it well.  It's just a matter of trusting myself and paying attention to my body.  And I'll thank all of you right now who will be helping me towards my goals this year.

Welcome to the new decade!  Where are we going to go?!