Category: Running

16 Weeks

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How do you measure the year? By weeks, months, holidays? I realize I measure it in cycles of 16 weeks. It’s the first week of October, but to me, it’s week 14. This past year I’ve broken down everything by cycles of 16 weeks. I started with Platte River Half, had some time and smaller races  in between and now currently on Columbus Marathon. I’ve crossed cycles with one another and had huge breaks in between. But I always come back to that 16 week plan.

There are so many emotions during these 16 weeks. Excitement, anxiety, frustration, and sadness to name a few. I’m always so excited to start a new cycle, the new hopes of what I can accomplish in such a long and short amount of time. And more often than not there is always anxiety. I’m stressed out of habit, but I worry what if I can hit the miles, or what if at the end, my time isn’t where I want it to be. There is no doubt I get frustrated at least once during a set of 16 weeks, and mostly it’s about being injured and how it will change my training. But right now, I’m feeling a bit sad, sad that training is almost over. Sad that in a single day, a matter of hours, everything about the past 16 weeks will be over.

So how do I overcome the sadness of ending another 16 week cycle? I plan my next one! (or two) Crazy, possibly, but I live on planning, especially planning out my races a year in advance. What have I planned in the  next cycle of 16 you may ask? I’ll be starting off the year with my first out of state half for 2013. With the help of Courtney and Melissa, I was pressured convinced that I’d love running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, even have the chance of closing in on sub 2:00. After I finally gave in, we brought a few other runners in, and now it will be a party in Austin. Joining us in just 15 weeks will be Courtney’s husband Luke, Paula, and Lorena. If anything, it’s going to be a fun trip of running, a little bit of sightseeing and little bit of seeing old and meeting new friends!

 

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 13

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This week was progress, but not as much as I had hoped. With a busy start to the week, I knew I’d have to push some workouts around. While they may have been short, I was able to get two solid workouts done during the week. I’m starting to like having a 3-4 mile run one day and a short, speedy 2 mile run another day. I’m able to focus on my pace with the longer run and focus on speed with the shorter. May not be what my training schedule has for me, but it’s been working so far.  At least I think so. I’m also able to keep weekday mileage low so I can get a good long run done on the weekend.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 3.5 Miles

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 16 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 22  Miles

Saturday’s run was supposed to be an 18 miler. Last week’s fail made me even more determined to get out there and run my longest run yet. Unfortunately, Friday at about 4:00 I started to feel a fever coming on. Pretty bummed I’d be spending my weekend sick, so I figured I should get my run done first and then spend the rest of the time on the couch. Luckily I woke up Saturday feeling pretty decent, so I decided I’d stick it out and get my miles in. I started with the mid sized hills that I scared myself out of last week. They were tough like I had imagined, but I’m struggling to find flat land, so I sucked it up and went for them. I felt good, strong and didn’t stop at all. I’m not sure how or when it happened, but I’m getting better at hills, and I don’t dread them as much. Looking back, I may have run them too quick too…

What was even more impressive than the hills, was the views. Honestly, I’m finding the most beautiful scenery on my runs. I’d take pictures every two seconds if I could. It makes me excited for winter to see all the trees….snow covered….

After the hills, I found myself back on a familiar route to discover some more unknown streets later in the run. But by mile 6 I hit a wall. I knew this was too early to be drained, and it wasn’t like me to be this worn out so quickly. I told myself “I will run 18” and repeated it over, and over, and over. I managed to get back on a comfortable pace and suddenly was already at mile 11. I had 7 miles to go, the worst was over, I just had to coast in and I’d be ok. I made it to mile 14 and could feel my body wearing down, could I get another 4 miles in? By now I could feel my fever really heating up and my legs were sore as could be. I took time and did the whole walk/jog for about a mile, and realized my body was just shutting down. I turned towards home and came in at just about 16 miles. I thought a long time about going out for those last two miles, but the longer I waited, I knew I just could do it.

For the second weekend in a row, I was frustrated with my long run. I need to get 18 in before Columbus. Darren reminded me that I did 16 tough miles including hills, “that’s kind of like running 18.” There’s still a two mile difference, but those hills were killer, I know I worked hard and I felt it my entire run.

A little bit of hills

It may not have been my best run, but I know it will help me on race day. On the bright side, I had my biggest mileage month yet, 83 miles! And I reached over 500 miles for 2012, 507 to be exact. Not the highest of miles, but it’s a lot for me. Now I just have to keep a steady pace and get that last 18 miler in before the big day. Three weeks to go!

Marathon Thoughts

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With less than a month left to go before the big day. I’ve really started to focus in on the fact that I am indeed going to run a marathon. It still seems surreal. Sometimes I can’t believe I’m running that far, and other times I feel like it’s just a half. Sometimes it hits me at the most inopportune moments, like when I’m driving. Most times it ends up  in a small panic attack, I feel sick to my stomach and wonder what I got myself into. Luckily, I’ve been able to  block everything out, all thoughts, stresses, concerns are out the door while running. It’s the time in between runs that gets me thinking….

  • What’s the weather going to be like on race day?
  • What should I wear? Should I get a new outfit? Yes!
  • Should I get a massage the day after the race or wait until that weekend?
  • Am I going to be hungry during the race? Should I bring Clif bars with me?
  • What if my iPod doesn’t work?
  • What if my Garmin stops?
  • How many friends can I get to join me in this race?
  • What happens if it starts to storm?
  • Am I really running 26.2 miles?
  • How many hills will I have to suffer through?
  • Why do I enjoy the long runs better than the short runs now?
  • What kind of time should I try for? Can I do it in under 5:00? Under 4:30?
  • What if I enjoy it too much? What if I become addicted?
  • How many times will I need to refill  my hand held?
  • What flavor Sport beans should I bring?
  • What should I get myself for a finishers gift?
  • Should I take a picture while running through The Shoe?
  • How did I become crazy enough to run a marathon?

What do you thinking about while running? Do you block out all thoughts when running?

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 12

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Here we are with one month to go. I personally feel that these next two weeks will be crucial. I’ll need to get some good distance running in before I have to taper. This certainly hasn’t been the most normal training schedule, but not all are. You have to have expect that something could always come up and push you off your schedule. Luckily I’ve been able to bounce back,  and hit the long miles that are most important. This week didn’t go exactly as planned with a busy schedule most of the week, but I was able to get a few runs in. It certainly was a low mileage week.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 2 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 7 Miles

Total Miles: 9 Miles

My long run was not so long. The plan was to run 16-18 on Sunday, but as soon as I woke up I knew it wasn’t in the stars. I completely forgot that I need to charge my Garmin and iPod, so I kept pushing back my starting time to get good battery life out of both. I also made the mistake of checking the weather over and over. It was under 40 degrees out, my nice warm bed seemed like a much better idea at this time. Wasn’t it just 80 and I was smothering in humidity on long runs? I also kept reviewing my route I mapped out. I knew it had hills, and that was ok, but these were monster hills. They were waiting to eat me alive.

Finally  by 8:30 I got out the door somehow and was ready to tackle the run. I worked through my first section with some mild hills and the most beautiful view of Lake Medina. That view was worth getting up to see, the perfect moment to relax and reflect.

Perfection

After I took a few minutes to breath, I started towards the back roads. They were full of hills, no sidewalks and the twists and turns that leave you guessing what’s coming up. I get nervous driving these kinds of roads, so running them was an experience. I made my way to some familiar streets and realized how bad the hill work was getting to me. My knee was aching and these were the “baby” hills of the run. I mentally shut down and decided I was done for the day. I wasn’t going to tackle hills on unknown back roads, I wasn’t going to reroute and find some “flatter” ground. I was heading home.

I felt guilty for quite some time. I should have been running longer, I shouldn’t have given up so easily. The 7 miles I did was far from the 18 I was supposed to do. But after a while I knew it was probably the better decision. I had two weeks of long, tough runs, and normally I should have pushed through another. But coming back after injury, I can’t afford to end up hurt again. Sometimes you need to mix in the mid distance run to help your training. I had a good run pace wise, and I was able to battle some pretty tough hills. Sometimes that’s harder than going the distance.

I’ve thought a lot about training in the past few weeks, especially after this week. I’m trying to figure out where I can play catch up or if it’s possible to get some good mileage in. I’ve been able to do it, and it’s been hard. After a long day, the last thing I want to do is run, I’m ready to veg out and crash on the couch. But I do try to get two weekday runs in, if I can. It’s been easier to wake up on the weekend and head out the door, partially because I’m still half asleep  and have no idea what I’m in for. But the hardest thing yet, is running by myself. I’ve always enjoyed running with music and setting my own pace, but running long distances of 14+ is hard when you’re doing it alone. I feel grateful that I’ve been able to do all my runs by myself. I’ve learned a lot about me as a person and as a  runner.

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 11

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This was such an exciting week of training. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go, but it has been the best week of training yet. I was really looking forward to doing my weekend run, so I tried to keep the week short. I would be running my longest distance yet, and completely hoping I’d be able to make it. I was also finally getting back into a regular schedule without traveling or having busy weeknights. This has been a bonus to keep my stress level down and my energy up. My weekday runs were relatively easy and short, nothing too difficult. I noticed my pace is getting quicker and I’m able to handle the hills down here finally.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 16 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 22 Miles

Saturday was unbelievable. I let myself sleep in until 7, tried a new pre long run breakfast and was out the door before 8. I mapped out a route before I left and kept track of the streets I’d need to turn on with little mini post its. I wanted to use this run as a way to see Medina, this way I could find some could places to run, and have my own tour of this new place I call home. I started out pretty well and was actually going quicker than I anticipated. Around mile 4-5 I started on an incline, but thanks to my hill training I have on every single run, it wasn’t that bad. The run was going by pretty quickly and by mile 10 I was feeling really good. My goal was to do 14-16, so I figured I could handle 6 more miles. I was still a few miles out but as I got closer to home I started to feel myself wear down. I had cramps from dehydration and my knee was a bit achy. Mile 12-13 were rough. My pace was slowing down a lot at this point. Strangley, my time at 13.1 was 2:08 just like last weekend’s half. I made it home and chugged a glass a water, something I figured I’d regret once I got back out on the pavement. Miraculously, mile 15-16 felt great. It felt like I had only done a few miles and my body wanted more. I kept it at 16 to play it safe, I didn’t want to try for 18 and end up hurting myself or regretting it when I couldn’t move the next day. I finished up with a nice ice bath and a trip to my new local Second Sole. I was so glad that I pushed myself to finish 16, I certainly feel that I can truly run the marathon in just over a month. What could have been better than my longest run yet? Waking up Sunday with absolutely no pain at all. No knee pain, no hamstring pain, not even a feeling that I had run at all the day before.

Next week will be challenging. A busier schedule and an all day party over the weekend will make it hard to get some miles in, and to stay hydrated for the long run. This time I’ll be hoping for 16-18.

What I learned this week:

  • Stay hydrated at all times. I need to drink more water before and during my long runs. I didn’t want to get the “sloshy in my belly” feeling by drinking a lot of water, but I was able to go through my handheld. I’ll need to make sure that I fill it up at least once during my long runs to avoid getting the dehydration cramps.
  • Ice baths are amazing. We used to do these in college after almost every run. I love/hate them with a passion, but they are so good for you. I would still be sore if it wasn’t for the ice bath on Saturday.

Planning Ahead

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It’s hard to believe that the last few months of 2012 are approaching, this year has gone by so quick! It also means it’s getting closer to the time to pick races for 2013! How exciting 🙂 I certainly have a few that I’m determined to do, but I also have some blank spots that need to be filled. I’m no where near having a finalized list of races. I’m still in the browsing stage, seeing what will be available.  Here’s a list of things I’m looking for in 2013 races….

  • Local 5k’s…Living in a new area, I’m hoping I can find some races close to home (15 minutes or less drive time). I find that running is always a great way to explore a new area.
  • Mid-distance races….2013 will be all about breaking 2:00 in the half. If I want to do this, I’ll need to work on my speed in longer distances. I want to find some 10k-10 milers that I can work hard at.
  • Half marathons….What better way to break 2:00 than practice 13.1 miles over and over and over. It’s no secret that the half is my favorite race, I’d love to find more to dive into.
  • The 25 Challenge….This past year didn’t go as planned for travel races, but in 2013 I want to be able to knock some off the list. I’ve already got one planned with a great group of girls!
  • Marathon…..I want to give training another shot, I feel like I owe it to myself. I may learn I love the distance, or absolutely hate it. But there’s only one way to find out.
  • Favorites….I want to make sure I take advantage of running some of my favorite races. I always feel I have a better experience with these.
  • Top Picks…I’m hoping to throw in some races that are top picks by the community. Whether it’s Cleveland or Ohio in general, I want to make sure I’m at the starting line.
  • Challenges….I’m always checking for flat “easy” races. In 2013 I want to try to break that habit, maybe find a race with a hill or two (can’t get too carried away)

So here’s where I need some additional  help….

What races do you suggest I put on the drawing board for 2013?

What races are you scoping for next year?

River Run Half Marathon Recap

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To be honest, I wasn’t sure I was going to run this race. I saw the t-shirt and medal a while ago and that was my single motivation, I’m a sucker for race swag. But as the day got closer, I knew I had to run the race, not just for the shirt, but because I knew I had to get my long run in. I ran it last year and I felt good most of the way. The end wasn’t my best shot, but I really enjoyed the race. I really didn’t know what was in store for me this year, but I’m glad I signed up. I was in the same boat as last year, coming back from an injury with limited training. I had hopes that the slight down hill of the race would be to my benefit and allow me to finish in one piece.

The day started off chilly and rainy, almost perfect weather. I tried to stay warm in my car as I mentally prepared myself for my longest run in 5 weeks. Even after a Clif Bar and some sport beans, I was still starving, so naturally I tried something new on race day with a Honey Stinger Waffle. It was delish, and lemon of course. My only hope was that it wouldn’t come back to haunt me later on. About 10 minutes before the race started it stopped raining, and I headed to the start line. I wasn’t nervous, just ready to run.

The first couple of miles felt pretty good. I started off at a slower pace, mostly because it was crowded. I made my way through the familiar path and was excited to head into the park. (Sidenote: I actually lived in Berea for a short time, I was right off the parkway, so running this course was a daily thing for me.) I was hitting the miles in a 9:30 pace and was feeling pretty confident that I could keep it up for a while. The sun was starting to peak through the clouds, and the views were beautiful. I’m a sucker for the bridges and leaves of the parkway, so anytime I run through it I make sure to take advantage of the sights.

I was coming up on mile 6 at 56 minutes. My time was much quicker than I thought it would be. I quickly starting counting miles and tried to figure out my estimated finish time. As quickly as I thought about it, I shoved it out of my mind. I wasn’t going to stress about my finish time, I hadn’t run more than 8 miles for quite some time. Who knew what would happened once I made it past that mark.

Soon enough I started to feel the effects of the winding path. I had tried to run along the center line, but with the course still pretty full I ended up all over the road. The biggest downfall of this race is that even though it’s pretty flat, the road is never even. Most of the way you’re putting stress on one leg or another and I was feeling it pretty bad. However, it didn’t slow down my pace too much yet. I was able to get to an 8:50 pace, but kept myself between 9:05-9:20. No idea where this speed came from.

Right around mile 7 I heard my name being called, it was Heather! Seeing her for a few minutes helped to keep me motivated to continue on and hopefully make it past that 8 mile mark. And once I got to mile 8, I took a  break. Not a short one, but I walked while I took some sport beans, and tried to shake out my legs. I was at 1:18 (I think) so I had some time that I could use to make sure I’d have enough energy to get to the end. I knew the hill was coming up, and it would be tough. My strategy going in was to attempt to run as much as I could and walk what I couldn’t run. I’m not sure if it was the fear of the hill or all the hills I have to run in Medina, but I made it up didn’t have to walk a step.

But once I got up the hill, it all went down hill from there. My legs started to really hurt and my pace slowed down. I took advantage of the water stops, and I even walked a bit in mile 11. I swear that is the longest mile of the entire race. I knew my time was somewhat still decent, but had no idea how well I had done until I crossed that finish line. I finished at 2:08, just three minutes off my PR and 13 minutes faster than last year. I honestly didn’t think I had it in me, and I’m still surprised with Sunday’s results.


River Run was by far not my best work, but I don’t think I’ve ever worked that hard for a race. I had a strong start and got my pace down to where it should be to go sub 2. Even with limited training and sore legs, I know that I can still bounce back and prepare for Columbus. Racing this past weekend gave me the confidence I needed for marathon training. And maybe that sub 2 isn’t that far off…

Half Marathon #8

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 10

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Going in I knew this week would be crazy, but also very important. If I didn’t get a long run in, I knew I wouldn’t be ready for Columbus. Starting off with the long weekend, I took Monday as a day to catch up on sleep, unpack and survive allergies. I followed up the weekend with a work trip to Mississauga, a city outside of Toronto. I wasn’t able to check out the city like before, but I did take advantage of some fantastic food. Seriously, I’ve never had a bad meal in the Toronto area.

My feet and legs took a small beating after standing for two days and riding in the car for 6 straight hours both ways. However, I was able to get a short run in while I was there and another after I got back. I wanted to be careful during the week, because I had a weekend filled of racing that I wanted to be ready for.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 2 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday:  3 Miles (Run for the Record 5k)

Sunday: 14 Miles (River Run Half Marathon)

Total Miles: 22 Miles

Saturday was my easy race day, I paced my sister in her first 5k. I found the race months ago, and decided it should be a pretty flat course. The weather was ideal as it stopped raining about 5 minutes before the start. It was a good event and I’m proud of Claire for finishing her first 5k. She’ll have her recap posted here later this week.

Sunday was my second race of the weekend. I needed the miles, so I figured the best way to get them done was to sign up for a half. I even added an extra mile once I got back home. I’ll have that recap later this week as well.

Overall, I had a pretty good week. My weekday runs need to be a little bit longer, but so do my weekend runs. I feel much more confident about Columbus training now, knowing I can still get the long miles in even though I had to take some time off. And an added bonus to this week, I became a Sweat Pink Ambassador. I’m excited to continue to grow myself as a runner and learn more from this group!

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 8 and 9

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The last few weeks have been a fresh start. I’m halfway through training, and well, it’s not going exactly like I had hoped. I’m taking the challenge to see if I can train for a marathon in 8 weeks. Two months. I think I can handle it, I’m sure I can get back up to some pretty high mileage, but I have no idea if I’ll be able to break 20 miles before the big day. There’s no time to stress or worry about it now, I just need to take each day as its own. So how am I tackling this shortened training schedule?
New legs-I’m finally running pain free and more than a few times. My legs feel rested, and hopefully the pain is gone for good, or at least for the next couple of months. Being refreshed I think I’ll be ready to take on some heavy mileage, and quick too.

New location-I said my goodbyes to the West side and will now experience farm land, hills and no sidewalks. Now that I’m south (way south) of Cleveland, I won’t have flat land, runner friendly routes or the lake. But I’m taking this as an adventure. It will be good to not run the same place every day, and I’ll be getting in some good hills, something I haven’t done in a long time.

Week 8

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: 3 Miles

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: 2 Miles

Sunday: Rest Day

Total Miles: 5 Miles

Week 9

Monday: 4 Miles

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 3.6 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 8 Miles

Total Miles: 16 Miles

I’m not going to give up. I paid to run a marathon, and I’m going to try. It won’t be my best effort, but I could probably do worse as well. The hardest part is that I feel I cheated myself. I let my injury go for so long that it ruined one of the biggest races of 2012. I took too much time to fix the problem, that I lost my endurance and my speed. I know that I still have some time to catch up, but I can probably run better. I’ve learned from the past that not following training like you should can hurt you, and it has.

But after being in Columbus this past weekend, how could I not want to give it all I have. I’m ready to try as hard as I can, just so I can get a chance to run through The Shoe….

The Shoe

How do I make myself feel better about my attempt to short train a marathon? Find another one, find a marathon that I can truly dedicate 16 weeks to. Mentally and physically prepare for and be ready to take the bull by the horns. So I’m taking suggestions on 2013 marathons. Spring, fall, large small. Might as well open up the floor to all races. I refuse to let myself have another disappointing training schedule. Next year will be bigger and better.

Let’s Review

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This isn’t your normal weekly review of training. This is more of a review on how things have been going, and what I need to do. I’m combining this week and next week’s training recaps together, so stay tuned for that next week. This past week was a bad week, and not just bad week, but an awful week. I got super sick, and I swear I still have a bit of it that I just can’t kick. A week and a half of not feeling right just isn’t good. Throw in moving and all the stresses that come with that, and you’ve got  yourself a disaster waiting to happen. I was worn down, mentally and physically. And then I hit rock bottom when my 12 year old cat lost his battle with cancer. Believe what you may, but I fully feel that animals are part of the family.

Carter before he was sick

So needless to say, training was rough last week. And it has been the past couple of weeks. I haven’t been hitting my miles, but I have been running pain free. So what do I do? I’m no where near hitting 26 miles at one time, and I can’t push the marathon to next year.

Well, I still have about 7 weeks left. I’ve changed my plan around, and I’m  hoping to do a long run every weekend. Each week adding two miles and hopefully get up to 22 before race day. It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to be rough. But I don’t want to give up on this marathon. I can at least try and see what happens.  I know I won’t do as well as I hoped, but I’m glad my body is better. I didn’t take care of myself back in the spring like I should have, and unfortunately it ended up hurting my training.

I guess I’ll just have to sign up for another marathon to really get the proper training and see what I’m capable of. Any suggestions for a spring 26.2?