Tag: 3m half marathon

A Weekend in Austin

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Two weeks ago, I spent a short weekend in Austin. The plan was to meet up with fellow bloggers/runners from across the states and run the 3M Half Marathon. I flew in Friday morning, and by the time I made it to the hotel, I noticed an unwelcome guest had invited themselves on to the trip…the flu. Because my hotel mates weren’t arriving until later I spent the day curled up in bed trying to make myself better for the rest of the weekend. First day of exploring the city turned into a major fail.

Once Courtney and Luke arrived, we went out for a bite to eat, hoping that food would make me feel better. We checked out Dog and Duck Pub, and had I felt better I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Saturday I still wasn’t feeling my best so I took the morning easy. Once I was good on my feet we decided we’d try to get as much in as we could. First stop was the expo. It wasn’t big, but it was perfect on my wallet. Dollars spent=$0.

Expo time

Expo time

Afterward we headed down to the lake. We hung out at the dog park that didn’t require leashes…perfect puppy borrowing opportunity. Not only did I see some adorable pooches, but I scored some pretty good pictures of the city.

Downtown Austin

Downtown Austin

After driving around and taking in the views of the city, we stopped at a running store and then headed out to a late lunch. We stopped at Abel’s on the Lake and met up with Courtney’s sister and boyfriend who both live in Austin. I highly recommend eating here. Everything on the menu looks great. And yes, it over looks the lake.

Sisters and me

Sisters and me

Afterward we checked out more of Austin and met up with Courtney’s dad who was in town for the race. Seriously such a nice family. By this time it was approaching dinner, which meant it was time for our pre-race dinner! We went to Melissa‘s house and met her boyfriend Brad and Paula, who were also running 3M the next day. It was a great dinner filled with talk of running, travel, and friends.

3M Ladies

3M Ladies

Following dinner we headed back to the hotel and as soon as we were asleep, race day appeared. Post race activities included spending lunch at Abel’s on the Lake, again. (Yes, it really is that good) We were joined by Sam and Jared, who were awesome race spectators.

Austin crew

Austin crew

The afternoon concluded with a very long and delayed flight back to Ohio, but I left Austin with great memories. It was a weekend full of a beautiful city, a wonderful race and awesome friends. I’m definitely looking forward to my next trip to Austin.

Also, check out the bag we got from 3M, products you’ll actually use!

3M Swag Bag

3M Swag Bag

3M Half Marathon Recap

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It’s taken me a week and a half, but I finally have my race recap of the 3M Half Marathon. This race was a different experience to me in more ways than one. I had a lot of factors, some on my own terms, that made this weekend a challenge. But for once, my emotions and my personal experience had no impact on my overall thought of the race. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Before I dive in, let me catch you up. I was in Austin Friday through Sunday, and I promise a post of my visit will appear soon. During this time I was lucky enough to have a bit of the flu. So. Much. Fun. And my training? Non existent.

Sunday morning was race day, and since the race started at 6:45, wake up was at 5:00am. I was sharing a hotel room with Courtney and Luke, and somehow we had a pretty smooth morning. Nerves weren’t too much of an issue, but I was starving. We were out the door by 5:30 and headed downtown to find a parking spot. There was some wind and the temperature had dropped 20 degrees from the previous day. Coming from Ohio, 40 degrees in January isn’t bad, especially considering it’s in the single digits now! We were thankful that it wasn’t raining. All week there was a good chance we’d be running in pouring rain.

We got in line at the port-a-pots, dropped off our bag and made our way to the start. We were part of the few crazy people wearing shorts, everyone else was bundled up in cold weather gear. I won’t lie, this made me feel tough, or maybe completely stupid.

Right before bag drop.

Right before bag drop.

Courtney and Luke were way up front. I stood by the 2:10 pacers knowing it wouldn’t be a fast day. Just before we started, my stomach turned. I already knew it’d be an interesting race, but my new race plan was to make it through without embarrassing myself.

The first mile was rough, we ran straight into the wind and everyone was still pretty close together. Once we got closer to the second mile, things started opening up and it was a little brighter out. There were a lot of water stops along the way, probably every 1.5 miles, which was perfect because that meant a lot of bathroom stops. My stomach held up pretty well, but I kept myself at a slower pace. I was averaging 9:58 pace per mile. I knew that if I kept it slow I had a better chance of making the entire distance. My goal was just to finish the race now that I had been able to start it.

I made it to mile 5 without any problems, I had been drinking a sip of water every couple of minutes and I hadn’t felt hungry enough to use any Sport Beans yet. At this point, I made a precautionary stop at the bathroom. And then I spent 10 minutes waiting in line. 10 minutes! Any chance of a good time was now gone. I then made the smartest decision of my entire race. I would no longer check my watch and I was just going to enjoy the experience.

My favorite thing about running new or out of town races is that I have no idea where I am, I just follow the course, check in at the mile marks and take in what’s around me. Austin is the perfect place to do this. We ran through industrial areas, housing developments and shopping areas. Each section was unique in it’s own way, something I saw throughout the weekend visit.

I managed to keep a decent pace going until mile 8. I started to do the walk jog thing, running more than walking. The course was pretty easy, and mostly down hill. Even a small incline was nothing and I kept my feet going in the right direction. Around mile 10 I started to get really hungry, and realized I hadn’t snacked all race. I started popping Sport Beans and was quickly back up to my normal self. I was even greeted with some Lemon Lime cup of Heaven shortly after this, which gave me a sign that I could do this. I only had three miles left. What I didn’t realize is that these three miles had hills.

All downhill, until the end

All downhill, until the end

It happened to be move in weekend and the University of Texas, so instead of running through the campus we ran around it. Which wouldn’t have been bad if there hadn’t been hills with false summits. This also caused us to hit a strong head wind right at the finish. But instead of letting that ruin my finish, I went with it. It was tough, but what race doesn’t make you work.

I finished those last couple of miles with heart and gratitude. I looked around and saw the most beautiful views of Austin (still kicking myself for not taking a picture). I was finishing my 10th half marathon in under two years and running in my third state. I had run the race without checking my Garmin every two seconds, I wasn’t stressing about my splits, and I wasn’t nervous if I’d miss my PR. I was happy that the friends I had running on the course were doing amazing things. I was enjoying the 40 degree, beautiful Sunny weather. I was running, something I had separated myself from for the past couple of weeks. I was back doing what I loved.

Lucky number 10

Lucky number 10

Official Results:

Time: 2:36:27

A hard earned medal

A hard earned medal

I finished far from my PR and breaking 2:00, but I was ok with that. I had an amazing experience that I couldn’t have enjoyed more. Not every race is going to be perfect or even good. You encounter those tough courses, race plans, and injuries to make yourself stronger. I’ve run 10 half marathons and at least three other 13 mile runs during my marathon training. That distance can bring something different each and every time.

I honestly have no complaints about this race. It could have very well been the perfect race. The start went smooth, water stops were plentiful and the spectators along the course were wonderful. The grab bag was packed with great items, the t-shirt was unique and the medal was neat. This is a great race to PR and I would completely recommend this race to any runner looking for something fun. I plan on coming back down someday to run 3M again. And there is no doubt that I will be breaking 2:00 on those same streets of Austin.

13.1 on 1.13

13.1 on 1.13

 

 

 

 

3M Half Prep

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It’s race week and Sunday is the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas. With only a few days left to go, I ask myself a few questions. Am I ready? Will I be able run the race? Any chance of a PR? The answer is no. By no means am I ready to run Sunday, I honestly don’t know if I’ll even be able to finish the race. After my two weeks required off from running in early December, I never really got back into my training. I was scared of hurting my rib cage again, and honestly I was burnt out. I was mentally done with running for the year. I had trained non stop for the last 12 months and my passion for the sport was quickly fading.

I thought I’d pick up my training again when I had 11 days off around the holidays. I didn’t. Instead I took time to visit with friends and family and finally give myself a few days to relax, reboot and get ready for the new year. Shortly before vacation was over, we finally got a pass at the local rec center. Bikes, treadmills, ellipticals and an indoor track were at my disposal every day. Here it is, just a few days before the race and I haven’t put that much effort into picking up my training. I’ve run a few times, always with shorter mileage, but never pushed myself into a long run. I never felt that urge until this weekend.

So what do I expect as I had down to Austin? Do I pull a DNS? No, I’m going to start and give it my all. If I learned anything last year, it was that somehow my body just knows running. It’s what I’ve been doing my entire life. I may be out of shape, and my training runs have been non existent, but I’m still a runner, and my body can still pull through. I’m not expecting a PR, but I know that I will be disappointed regardless. I let my training go and it will surely show as I step to the line on Sunday.

But with every disappointment, there is a silver lining. I know that I still have that love for running, and sometimes you just need to let it be for a while and realize how true that feeling is. What I’m most excited for is seeing friends and exploring the beautiful city of Austin. I’m in this weekend for the experience, not for redemption on my training.

If you want to follow some true rock stars on race day check out our 3M team:

3M Half Training: Week 5

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This week was a big fat zero. It’s not my fault really, it’s my body and what the doctors told me to do. And what I’ll continue to do until at least Wednesday.

It started last Saturday, as I was driving home from the Tour de Ashland Half. I was overly tired and I started having a burning feeling in my chest. My guess was that I at my bagel too quickly, and it was probably heart burn. It was a 40 minute drive home and the longer I was in the car, the worse the I felt. I figured once I got home and showered I would feel better. Was I ever wrong. By the time I got home, I was having chest pains, my heart rate was faster than normal and I felt it was working harder than usual. I was starting to panic, thinking something worse was happening to my heart.

In 2003, I was diagnosed with Arrhythmia, which means I have irregular heart beats and sometimes my heart skips a beat. I was also told that I have a small hole in my aortic valve, but neither were life threatening and they wouldn’t prevent me from running. I went on throughout high school and college and never had any problems. I would feel my heart skip a beat once in a while, and that was all that ever really happened.

Last summer I had some intense pain in my chest over so I went back to the cardiologist to have things checked out. After more tests and a 48 hour heart monitor I was cleared, my heart could still handle the long distances I was putting it through. Up until last week, I hadn’t had any problems. So of course with chest pains the first thing I could think of was that my heart wasn’t happy with the mileage I was putting myself through.

After a few long days of being pushed around to three separate hospitals, I was finally able to get a doctor to look at my heart. It was during this time, when I was hooked up to a heart monitor for over an hour, that I realized just how scary things could have been. Luckily my heart was healthy. Somehow during the race I had hurt my rib cage and now it was inflamed. It made sense why I had the chest pain, and why I didn’t notice anything until I was able to warm myself up post race.

So here I am, off all exercise for over a week, until I’ve been cleared by a doctor and I’m slightly ok with it. I took this as my body telling me it’s had enough for this year, that I need to take time off. I’ve been training since last December and never gave myself more than a week off in between training cycles. After January’s race things will change. I’ll give myself time off, and I plan on changing a few things around for 2013.

What does this mean for January’s race? I’m still going regardless. If I can’t run, then I can’t run, but I will still enjoy a weekend with some awesome runners. And sub 2:00? If it doesn’t happen, that’s fine. There will be other races. I’ve never let any of these issues interfere with my running, and I won’t let them start now. But, I’d rather run with a healthy heart, than a broken one.

3M Half Training: Week 4

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Just like always, this week didn’t go as planned. It felt more of an extreme with training than a regular week. The week started off slow with cross training mixed in, one day of short mileage, then ramped up and was just plain hard on Saturday. But this week also taught me a lot. I’m quickly learning that we need to join a gym asap! With one treadmill, elliptical and stationary bike in a small 10 x 10 room, it makes it hard to have personal space. It’s even worse when there are more than three people in the workout room, waiting to have their turn on the equipment.

This led me to biking 7 short miles on Wednesday. The other machines were taken and soon there was a line waiting for all of us to leave. This definitely gets rid of all motivation for a good workout. Needless to say the motivation to join a gym has risen quite a bit and that will be this weeks main goal. Luckily I was able to get a short run in on Thursday to prep myself for Saturday’s race.

Saturday’s run was completely opposite from the earlier workouts, it was hilly, hard and took a lot out of me. At least I know I’m capable of running a half marathon now, with my not so good training so far. But, I didn’t do the proper recovery routine and I paid for it, I wasn’t feeling myself until Sunday night. Look for my recap coming this week…

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday: 7.25 Miles-stationary bike

Thursday: 3 Miles

Friday:

Saturday: 13.1 Miles–Tour de Ashland Half Marathon

Sunday:

Total Miles: 7 Biked, 16 Ran

So a little bit of cross training and a little bit of hills. Not my best week, but certainly not my worse. I’m officially done with the 2012 race season, and will spend the next month reviewing my 2013 schedule. I thought a lot about what I want out of next year, and hopefully I’ll make the right choices race wise. I also broke 600 miles for 2012, not bad!

3M Half Training Week 1 and 2

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It’s the start of a new training cycle, and I almost hesitate to share how my training goes. A majority of this training cycle is spent throughout holidays, travel plans, and a pretty busy time of year. But I am sharing it, more of a way to make sure that I do get my workouts in. I set some pretty high goals for this race so I’m determined to make sure that every run counts. I’ve also never run a big race this close to the beginning of the year, so the whole training through the holidays is new.

Let’s take a look at the last two weeks. These were all about the base miles. I took two-three weeks off after the marathon. I needed it, my body needed it. I was mentally worn out and my knee was in the worst pain I’ve ever felt. But I’ve been refreshed and now I’m ready to run, and I’m, dare I say it, pain free. Sure these past two weeks I didn’t get a lot of runs or a lot of mileage, but I’m back at it, and you have to start somewhere. More importantly, I’m running on a treadmill, and I think that explains all lack of motivation for weekday runs.

Week 1

Monday:

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles-Treadmill

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday: 2 Miles-Vail

Saturday:

Sunday:

Total Miles: 3.5 Miles

This week was spent mostly traveling to Colorado. And we did a bunch of walking, but luckily I was able to get a beautiful run out in Vail. Notice below the elevation difference….7000+ ft change is quite a bit and makes for hard running.

8000+ ft elevation!

Normal elevation

Strangely enough it was the first time I noticed my pain was gone, so I guess I should do all my running in Colorado.

 

Week 2

Monday:

Tuesday: 3 Miles-Treadmill

Wednesday: 3 Miles-Treadmill

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday: 3 Miles-Outdoors

Total Miles: 9 Miles

From week 1 to week 2 I was able to add mileage, work on my weight training and get a few miles outside. It’s far from where I probably should be, but I’m working on it.

 

With only 8 weeks to go, I’ve got a lot to accomplish. Here are my goals for the 3M Half Marathon:

  • Sub 2:00
  • PR
  • Sub 2:00
  • Stay injury free
  • Sub 2:00

Notice a pattern? I want to run sub 2:00 so badly, you wouldn’t believe. It’s a downhill course so I’m hoping this will be to my benefit. It’s also in Austin, in January, so snow or cold weather shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but there couldn’t be a better way to start of 2013 than running a PR!

3M Half Training Plan

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I haven’t released my 2013 race calendar yet, but I’m starting my next training cycle for the first race of 2013. In January I’ll be running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas! It will be my second out of state half and hopefully a lot warmer than January in Ohio. I honestly hadn’t heard about this race until recently when Courtney and Melissa promised me this would be an easy, down hill course where I could not only PR, but possibly break 2:00. And if that wasn’t appealing enough, they would also be running the race as well. Let’s see…flat, downhill course? Possibly PR/Sub 2? 60 degree weather in January? Awesome Twitter/runner friends also running? How could I say no to this? After a few weeks of going back and forth, I finally decided that if I were to ever run a half in Texas, this would be it.

I’m 10 weeks out from race day, not my normal 16 week cycle of training. I’m not too concerned on the short time frame though. I two weeks post marathon, so I may have lot a little endurance and speed, but I needed time off to recover. However, I think I’ve still got it in me that I can get some pretty quick long runs in before race day.

I’ve given a lot of thought to how I’d like my future training cycles to go. I’m hoping for more cross training, lifting, and healthier eating habits. I also know that if I want to have a fast half, I need to incorporate more speed workouts into my training. Once again I’ll be using Runner’s World Smart Coach as my training base to get me where I need to be in just 10 short weeks.

This first week will be difficult, as it seems I always start a training cycle on a week I’m traveling. I’ll be in Colorado for half of this week and some of next week. Since we know how things started my last trip to Colorado, I’m going to be paying more attention to hydration than my running. Plus after two weeks off I know I’ll need to ease into running again. I’m looking forward to logging some long runs and even running some of those major hills. Time to dust off those racing shoes….

Interested in learning more about the 3M Half? Thinking of running it? Check out the race page here. As an added bonus, flights from Akron-Canton Airport to Austin are the cheapest they’ve been in months.

 

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!