First race since new training

Let me start off by saying what a tough week I just had. I had two good running days, Monday and Tuesday, had Wednesday and my scheduled day off. I headed out Thursday morning for my second fartlek run of the week but had to stop after 2 miles due to a migraine onset and mother nature working against me. Well, the migraine really beat me up this time. It took 2 doses of my medicine to help get rid of it but before it left my feeble body I was visiting the bathroom. Friday I was weakened from lack of nutrition from all of it leaving my body the day before so I tried eating as best I could. Saturday disaster hit again at night. I had tried two new supplements for running and one of them triggered another migraine that evening. I woke up at 1am to take my migraine medicine in hopes that Sunday I could rest up from the effects and get my nutrition up to par again. That is my prelude to race day, lol!

So the past 4 weeks I have been training hard and very happily running faster. My fartlek runs have been right on and I've been doing well and feeling great. I've also cleaned up my nutrition and have lost 4 lbs and lost and inch in hips and waist. I'm getting leaner and faster and I'm happy. Today was a test for me on speed endurance but unfortunately I had a few obstacles that I couldn't seem to get away from. The run was 8.1 miles, distance wise, cake, speedwise for me? Trivial still. I had issues with slower runners lining up towards the front so right from the get go I was dodging people for 4 miles but at least still able to maintain a 8:30-8:45 pace, then the last 4 I was next to the military formations with flag bearers getting out of formation and running AGAINST runner's and yelling. The aid stations were not fun either. The guys wouldn't drink the water, instead they were throwing on each other and I kept getting smacked in the face. I also kept getting shoved closer and closer to the curb no matter how hard I tried to keep my space. Cadence callers would stop and run in place outside of the formation too. So it was I either deal with the slower pace or risk an ankle injury by turning my road race into a trail race. That being said, since I'm trying to have an injury free season I opted the slower pace but wasn't at all happy about it.

I just have to learn race strategies. I haven't done many of the smaller races enough to know the do's and don'ts if I want to run fast so my trainer and I are going to work on this. He's been there done that so he'll show me the ropes. My time was 1:16 with avg pace of 9:15. I wanted to be at least just under a 9 min avg pace but things just didn't work out that way for me today. It is still a PR for me just not the one I was shooting for. I do thank God for giving me the strength to do what I did today. It was a tough week for me physically. I can do nothing without him.

I live. I dream. I run.

Had to say this...

I was supposed to run 7 miles today but had sore ankles from Sunday's 7 miler morning run and then 3 mile hike up to a lighthouse pushing my 5 and 3 year old! Then Monday I ran my 6 miles easy pace. Well this morning I only had time to do 5 but boy was it an awesome 5! A new training PR, 45mins! I started out my warm-up at a 10 pace then went to a 9:30 after a half mile, then hit it to a 8:50-9:05 for the next 2.5 miles then increased paced again to a 8-8:30 and finished at a 7:30pace. I couldn't believe it. Nothing bothered me on the run! My legs (and ankles) were tip top shape. :) It sounds corny, but sometimes I have to think about my goal and imagine me "in the moment" for the run I want to do. Well, it works! Typical woman, I get all emotional and it drives me to push harder when I'm running.

It was a good training day!

Training 17Jan-1Feb

Every week I am seeing results of my training. By January 17th I had lost half an inch in my hips and 3/4 in my waist. As for my running, well that's going well too! My first week of training, the day after my fartlek's I was supposed to run 6-8 miles. Well, the first week I was only able to do 4 in the morning and very sluggish and I did another 3 that evening but a little faster but still stiff. The following week for that same run I was able to do 6 in the morning, a little slower than normal but at least I was able to complete the mileage. My speed work that previous day I had also pushed myself harder during the 7 miles with a slow pace of 9:30 and my fast pace increased from 8-8:30 to a 7:50-8:20 and it seems to be staying in that range the past couple weeks. We'll see how I do this week. I also notice that my comfort pace has increased from a 9:30 to a 9:09-9:12. Amazing. I never thought I would see the day... I still have a long ways to go but I'm anxious to see how well I can maintain a fast pace for my 8.1 mile race coming up this President's day. I would like to hold a 8:30-8:45 but who knows what will happen. My adrenaline always takes over during a race.
This week I'm starting to implement some new exercises in along with my normal ones to help get rid of a little more in the hips/waist area. I've also learned to "not sweat" a bad day that my legs just don't want to go out. If they need the break I need to give it to them. I'm working myself hard every run and trying to do the pace I am told to do so sometimes they get pretty tired no matter how much protein they get. On top of studying for school, running around with the kids and doing my own running thing, I get a little exhausted. But it's okay, I come back strong and that's what matters.
I have a lot of motivators on Dailymile and they inspire me on every run. Each person has an "it" factor that drives me to push harder.
Now time to go ice my ankles from a 7 mile morning run, then a 3mile hike pushing a 5 and 3 year old in a stroller yesterday then getting up this morning to get my 6 miles in! Ouch!

Until next time,
Train smart, race hard!!

This weeks training...

This week's training was a good one! My coach mixed things up for me a bit and made the runs fun. Along with my usual core and strength exercises I had a 36 mile week. All my runs this week were very good but Friday's run was like running with lead in my pants! Thursday was a 7 mile fartlek run, my first attempt at this type of speedwork. It went great! The plan was to do a 8:30 fast pace, 9:30 slow pace. Well, I ended up being able to do a 8-8:30 fast pace, steadying out at 8:15 mostly, and then I kept the 9:30 slow pace. I really worked it that day and I was very proud of myself! Friday called for 6-8 miles but I had to split it up. I managed to get 4 done before 6:30am and grudgingly did another 3 at 5:30pm with my little boy in the stroller and my daughter riding her bicycle. The morning run was very slow, 10-10:30 but evening I somehow found energy reserves and managed a 9:30 pace. Today I ran 13.1, my first long run since the marathon and it felt nice to be out that long again. It wasn't the pace I was shooting for but I stayed around 9:15 most of the run so I am ok with that. Just have to learn to run race pace when not racing... That's hard for me without my adrenaline rush!

I've also started a series of core, leg and arm exercises all of which I am sore from all the time, but a good sore. I'm trying to lose an inch in the hips since I gained a bit from marathon training. That is going well. Cutting out the pastas, breads and sauces is not easy but a little will power and it's quite doable. :) In one week I've lost a quarter inch in my waist and hips.

My nutrition has improved, my strength, my speed and I don't know that I would be doing this well right now without Mickey's help and advice. Also, I recommend Hammer nutrition. It has don't wonders for the healing of my muscle's after each training session! Unless I do a powerhouse run like the fartleks, I am running on fresh legs every run and that is a wonderful feeling.

Repeating this week for next until I get my new weekly plan. Run hard, run fast, be happy!

God's speed!

My second marathon

After suffering from a groin injury for the first 6 weeks of my marathon training and then downed again due to a miscarriage I had only 6 weeks to train before the marathon on December 13th, 2009. A friend from Dailymile, Mickey Woolard, offered to coach me to get me to my marathon that I was oh so determined to run! Through him I learned a little more about my nutrition, my running technique and habits, etc. I have to say, I have never ran better and I am constantly reaching new goals and hitting better paces. I was still having rough patches during those 6 weeks, I did 3 long runs, well, 4 if you count the one I snuck in two weeks before the marathon... My speed naturally increased from a 10:30 pace to a 9:30 pace after my first marathon and now I'm even faster after my second. So here is my success story, may you find some inspiration...

I was alone this year, my friend injured her knee and can no longer run long distances. I was excited but nervous because I knew I didn't have the training that I really needed. The marathon was on a Sunday but I woke up the Friday before with a sinus infection and took mucinex for two days to get rid of it. Little did I realize the problem this would pose for me on race day. My plan was to do the run/walk/run method with a 3:1 ratio but run fast, well, fast for me that is. I had my gel packs, I had my sustained energy and HEED mixes with me to carry me through. Mentally I was ready and physically only partially. Well, I stuck to my plan and ran at a pace between 8:30-9 and walked my walk breaks as fast as I could. I was doing great and feeling great...up until mile 8. Mile 7 I stopped for a fast bathroom break and then hit Diamond Head at mile 8. This year the weather was beautiful so it was no issue getting up and over this time. After I got over Diamond Head, it hit me like a brick wall...dehydration! The mucinex dehydrated my body regardless of how much I hydrated myself two days before. I started to get nervous and a little weak. I wanted water and a lot of it! I couldn't even handle my drink mix anymore so I stopped drinking that altogether and I was only able to get down on gel pack. At mile 11 I really started to wonder if I was going to be able to finish and for me to think that meant my situation was pretty shakey. I am not a quiter by any means. Thus began my mental games just to get to each aid station to guzzle water, about 2 16 oz glasses full each time I stopped. After mile 13 I thought, "ok, I'm halfway there, keep going, I can do this". I also started texting my coach on my 1 minute walk sessions. Short and to the point words though! I made it to mile 15 and knew that the backtrack portion was just 2 miles away so I kept going and kept running for water. This whole time since mile 9 my pace had slowed to a 10 min mile. Mile 17, backtracking now and my mind knew it and I used it. My pace quickened to a 9:30. Mile 19 I saw a struggling runner and stopped for about 4 minutes to help her stretch it out. At this point Mickey was texting me back encouraging me and sending prayers my way. I looked at my garmin and noticed my time and miles left and realized that I could still beat my first marathon time. I seemed to get a renewed sense of energy and my pace quickened to a 9 min mile and I was now passing people. Every now and then tears started filling my eyes because I knew a PR was within my reach. Mile 22 I still at a 9 min mile. Mile 24 was Diamond Head but this time it was alllllll mine! For the first time ever I maintained my pace running uphill! Again, tears, again, more texting to Mickey and my friend who was waiting for me at the finish. Mile 25 my knees started to ache from pain and it was hard to get back to pace but I was now pacing a 8:30 min mile but almost crying. I was still on target for a sub 5 marathon and I kept pushing with all I had. Mile 26 got harder on my knees because it was also downhill but I refused to walk anymore and just prayed to God to pick me up and carry me to that finish line. And so he did, at a 8 min mile pace and 25 minutes faster than my first marathon. I was ecstatic! I just ran my heart out and had never felt better in my entire life! Other than the birth of my two children, that was my greatest accomplishment!
That next week I was still on my runner's high and I was running again at a 9 min mile pace on Tuesday.