We'll just say that the glittery headband slowed me down and leave it at that... ;)
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Four on the Fourth
Short and sweet: It was really humid and I didn't run as fast as I would have liked, but still finished with a PR (28:23) and 2nd in my age group. A little disappointed with my time, but I was able to kick off the holiday with friends and it was a fun and festive morning.
We'll just say that the glittery headband slowed me down and leave it at that... ;)
We'll just say that the glittery headband slowed me down and leave it at that... ;)
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Gary Papa 5K
This post is a bit belated, but I figured I should probably write up the last one before my race on Thursday...
Last Christmas we gave my dad tickets to the US Open golf tournament in Merion, PA, so for Father's Day weekend we all met up in Philadelphia. My brother started running at the beginning of the year and my stepsister is also a runner, so when I found a 5K that Sunday morning it seemed like a perfect family activity.
Now let me just say that I really dislike 5Ks. I would much rather run 10 or 13.1 miles at a more comfortable pace than run 3.1 a bit faster. My disdain for running fast and my limited ability to deal with feeling miserable has resulted in 5- 8- and 10-K PRs far below what the calculators predict based on my half marathon time. Basically when it starts to feel pretty difficult, I just slow down. The last time I actually "raced" a 5K was in September of 2011, and the goal was to break 21 minutes. This seemed reasonable given recent races of 21:23 and 21:40, but a few of us took a wrong turn and that was the end of that. Since then, I've been focusing on longer races, and hadn't seriously attempted the sub-21 again... partly because I wasn't sure that it was feasible, and partly because I wasn't sure that even if it was feasible I wanted to feel pretty awful for a fair amount of time. But with some advice from Allie ("if you don't feel miserable for the last mile, you're not doing it right") and the support of my cheering family, I decided to give it another shot.
After a very short warm up jog with Adam and Brittany, we left Dad, Mary and Monte and headed down to the start. The race was set up as an out an back along the river near the Art Museum which made for a nice, flat course, and the weather was decent for June (70-ish, cloudy, and slightly humid but nothing like NC). The race start was pretty unorganized, with no corrals or pace signs at all despite it being a pretty large race (1,795 finishers in the timed division and over four thousand counting the untimed/recreational runners). Britt and I decided it would be better to start too far up than to get boxed in, so we found a spot pretty close to the start line, while my brother made his way back into the pack a bit. The race was supposed to start at 8:30, and around 8:35 we were told that they had more walk-up registrations than they expected so it would be another 5-10 minutes. The few hundred people toward the front started joggging up and down the street, so Britt and I did the same and then went back to our spots at the line. Around that time, I realized that I needed to pee and started to worry that was not going to be a good situation if I had to really push myself at the end of the race... but the announcer came back to tell us it would be yet another 5-10 minutes and fortunately there was a trail into some trees nearby, so that problem was solved. Back to the start line and starting to get a little irritated that we were not starting yet, but feeling significantly faster than I had before the second delay.
And finally, we were off. As usual, I got caught up and started out too fast, but thankfully I had my Garmin to keep me in check and I settled in at my goal pace (6:44). Despite the big crowd, I actually had a bit of space, and I felt really good through the first mile (6:38). As I got into the second mile, the leaders were coming back towards the field and I tried to count how many women were ahead of me, which was actually a nice distraction, and by my count I was 19th as I made the turn. I thought I'd see Britt after the turnaround, but I didn't so I knew she was right behind me, and then I started looking for Adam. I was able to spot him despite a growing number of runners, and that was yet another nice distraction! By the end of mile 2 (6:49, including the hairpin turn) I was still feeling surprisingly good. I considered picking up the pace, but really didn't want to blow up so I just tried to maintain the 6:44. Then suddenly I wasn't feel as great, and though my pace stayed the same, it was definitely not feeling easy anymore. Thankfully we were nearing the end, I could see the finish line, and knew Monte, my dad, and Mary would be there cheering so I was able to suck it up enough to finish the last mile in 6:46 and throw in a bit of a kick for the last .14 (5:56 pace). Officially it was a 20:56.... good for 15th female, 1st in my age group, and most importantly, finally under 21 minutes!
I was so excited to have met my goal with my family there, and to make things even better, Brittany finished just behind me in 21:48 (her goal was sub-22) and Adam sprinted to the finish to beat his sub-25 goal by two seconds! I am so proud of him for taking up running, sticking with it, and beating his time goal in his very first race. Next up for us: the Bull City Race Fest, where Adam, Britt, and I are running the half marathon and Dad and Mary are doing the 5 miler. If only I could get Monte in on the action... (hahahaha)
Last Christmas we gave my dad tickets to the US Open golf tournament in Merion, PA, so for Father's Day weekend we all met up in Philadelphia. My brother started running at the beginning of the year and my stepsister is also a runner, so when I found a 5K that Sunday morning it seemed like a perfect family activity.
Now let me just say that I really dislike 5Ks. I would much rather run 10 or 13.1 miles at a more comfortable pace than run 3.1 a bit faster. My disdain for running fast and my limited ability to deal with feeling miserable has resulted in 5- 8- and 10-K PRs far below what the calculators predict based on my half marathon time. Basically when it starts to feel pretty difficult, I just slow down. The last time I actually "raced" a 5K was in September of 2011, and the goal was to break 21 minutes. This seemed reasonable given recent races of 21:23 and 21:40, but a few of us took a wrong turn and that was the end of that. Since then, I've been focusing on longer races, and hadn't seriously attempted the sub-21 again... partly because I wasn't sure that it was feasible, and partly because I wasn't sure that even if it was feasible I wanted to feel pretty awful for a fair amount of time. But with some advice from Allie ("if you don't feel miserable for the last mile, you're not doing it right") and the support of my cheering family, I decided to give it another shot.
After a very short warm up jog with Adam and Brittany, we left Dad, Mary and Monte and headed down to the start. The race was set up as an out an back along the river near the Art Museum which made for a nice, flat course, and the weather was decent for June (70-ish, cloudy, and slightly humid but nothing like NC). The race start was pretty unorganized, with no corrals or pace signs at all despite it being a pretty large race (1,795 finishers in the timed division and over four thousand counting the untimed/recreational runners). Britt and I decided it would be better to start too far up than to get boxed in, so we found a spot pretty close to the start line, while my brother made his way back into the pack a bit. The race was supposed to start at 8:30, and around 8:35 we were told that they had more walk-up registrations than they expected so it would be another 5-10 minutes. The few hundred people toward the front started joggging up and down the street, so Britt and I did the same and then went back to our spots at the line. Around that time, I realized that I needed to pee and started to worry that was not going to be a good situation if I had to really push myself at the end of the race... but the announcer came back to tell us it would be yet another 5-10 minutes and fortunately there was a trail into some trees nearby, so that problem was solved. Back to the start line and starting to get a little irritated that we were not starting yet, but feeling significantly faster than I had before the second delay.
And finally, we were off. As usual, I got caught up and started out too fast, but thankfully I had my Garmin to keep me in check and I settled in at my goal pace (6:44). Despite the big crowd, I actually had a bit of space, and I felt really good through the first mile (6:38). As I got into the second mile, the leaders were coming back towards the field and I tried to count how many women were ahead of me, which was actually a nice distraction, and by my count I was 19th as I made the turn. I thought I'd see Britt after the turnaround, but I didn't so I knew she was right behind me, and then I started looking for Adam. I was able to spot him despite a growing number of runners, and that was yet another nice distraction! By the end of mile 2 (6:49, including the hairpin turn) I was still feeling surprisingly good. I considered picking up the pace, but really didn't want to blow up so I just tried to maintain the 6:44. Then suddenly I wasn't feel as great, and though my pace stayed the same, it was definitely not feeling easy anymore. Thankfully we were nearing the end, I could see the finish line, and knew Monte, my dad, and Mary would be there cheering so I was able to suck it up enough to finish the last mile in 6:46 and throw in a bit of a kick for the last .14 (5:56 pace). Officially it was a 20:56.... good for 15th female, 1st in my age group, and most importantly, finally under 21 minutes!
I was so excited to have met my goal with my family there, and to make things even better, Brittany finished just behind me in 21:48 (her goal was sub-22) and Adam sprinted to the finish to beat his sub-25 goal by two seconds! I am so proud of him for taking up running, sticking with it, and beating his time goal in his very first race. Next up for us: the Bull City Race Fest, where Adam, Britt, and I are running the half marathon and Dad and Mary are doing the 5 miler. If only I could get Monte in on the action... (hahahaha)
Monday, June 3, 2013
Ironman 70.3 Raleigh
The short version... My first half iron tri is now in the books! As my first one, I didn't really know what to expect... I knew it would be challenging, but it was even more difficult than I'd imagined. It took everything I had, but I managed to finish and get in 5:58:28 - just under my goal of sub-6. Very happy, but extremely exhausted!
I was pretty nervous standing there waiting and looking at how far away the buoys were, but was able to calm myself down to a reasonable level as we entered the lake. It was an in-water start, and I knew that I would not be setting any speed records on the swim, so I stayed off to the side and in the back with a few others who seemed to have a similar strategy. At the horn, I waited a few seconds and then headed out on my swim, avoiding much of the melee that is a group swim start. Though it may have cost a little time, I think it worked out well in the long run, as I was able to basically swim by myself, avoiding being kicked/hit/swum over, and didn't kill myself by trying to stay with the pack. Plus the first portion of the swim is somewhat sheltered, so there water for the first third of the swim was pretty calm. This allowed me to get into a decent rhythm, keep my heart rate down, and not freak out. After we went around the first turn buoy, there were a lot more waves as well as some pretty large boat wakes, which made it quite a bit more challenging, and I was also starting to be passed by a bunch of people from the waves behind me. The waves were also making sighting more challenging, and I kept finding that I'd veered a bit off course. In the end, I'd guess that I swam 1.3-something instead of 1.2 because I just couldn't keep myself going in a straight line! Overall the swim went really well though, and I felt like I didn't expend too much energy and was just ready to start catching people on the bike and run. My goal was to finish the swim in 45-50 minutes and be on my bike around 9:00. I got out of the wetsuit, threw my swim gear into the transition bag so it could be taken to the race finish, got my shoes on and jogged almost the full distance of T1 with my bike (I was near the swim in and far from the bike out), got on the bike and was off around 9:03 - pretty much right on schedule.
The first few miles of the bike course are on an incline, and everything I'd read said to take the first few miles very easy, so I kept it in a really easy gear and didn't push up the hills at all. As a result, the first few miles were very very slow (in the 14-15 mph range), but it was part of my pace plan and I just accepted the pace hoping that it would pay off later. Once we made the turn onto 64, I finally stopped spinning, upped the gear and settled into a moderate effort. This part of the race is a great 3 mile downhill, so with only moderate effort I was able to average over 26 mph, which more than made up for the slow start in comparison to my goal pace of 18 mph. Quite a few people passed me (mostly with disc wheels and nice tri bikes, so I felt a little better about that), but I felt like I was steadily moving up in the race. Weather-wise, it was definitely warming up, but it still felt fairly comfortable with the breeze from the bike. I snacked on Bonk Breakers and sipped on water, trying for a steady intake of nutrition and hydration. Because of the heat, I was going through water more quickly than I'd expected, but fortunately grabbing bottles on the move through the aid stations and refilling my speedfil on on the fly was not as difficult as I thought it might be, and I never ran out of water. I saw Monte twice on the course, around miles 7 and 26, both while I was feeling great, so that was nice!
Somewhere between miles 30 and 35 the last of the clouds dissipated and it was getting really hot in the sun. But I just kept hydrating and eating, and as dictated by my pace plan, upped the effort from moderate to moderate-hard at mile 30. After the slow start and fast long downhill stretch, my pace was pretty much 15-17 when climbing, 18-19 on the flatter sections, and 20-24 on the descents. As we came through Holly Springs I saw Bex ahead of me and was pretty shocked that I'd caught up to her, figuring she had about 10 minutes on me after the swim. I went by her somewhere on the downhill around mile 36, and she passed me back (as I knew she would) on the climb at 38. I figured we'd go back and forth like that - me passing her going down and then getting overtaken on the climbs - but I never saw her again so I guess she stepped it up a notch for the last third of the bike! I took some enduralyte caps at miles 40, 45, and 50, and then a gu at 52 in anticipation for the run. Overall I felt pretty good coming off the bike, and finished in 3:04:22 - well within the goal range of 3:00-3:10.
As in T1, I had a long way to go with my bike, as I was racked on the far side of the transition lots near the run out. Switched the helmet for my visor, changed my shoes, and headed out on the run right around the 4 hour mark in my race, exactly as planned, leaving me 2 hours to finish the run and make it in under my time goal.
According to my Garmin, I was running too fast, which is pretty common off the bike, so I made an effort to slow it down. As I came to the first aid station, the mile 1 clock read 6:57, but my watch had me only at 0.9, so either my watch was off or the course was short. Either way, the first mile was way too fast, but I was hoping it was the latter, and that the 1 mile marker was just in the wrong place. Shortly after that I saw Sara, who was riding her bike to follow me along the run course, and Caroline, who was energetically cheering for me in the middle of the street. I stopped a the porta-potty just before mile 2, had some issues getting my wet trisuit back on, and then took out one poor woman who was running by much to close to the door on exit, but didn't lose a ton of time and even with the stop the second mile was 9:14. Mile 3 continued the long incline on Hillsborough St, and I finally settled into what seemed like a reasonable pace at 8:15. I passed Monte, felt tired, but tried to smile and just keep passing the people in front of me who were already in what looked like a death march through the heat.
As we turned into Meredith College, I was starting to feel really hot and negative thoughts were starting to creep in. I walked through a shady spot at the mile 4 aid station, drank some more water, and stuffed a cup of ice into my trisuit. The ice helped some, but the water was just sloshing around in my stomach and I realized that I wasn't sweating anymore. I knew that was not a good sign at all, and started to wonder if I was even going to be able to finish. Fortunately Sara was there, offering encouragement and telling me to just take it easy and not worry about my pace goals. That was key, as from there on out I walked up all of the hills on the greenway, walked through all of the aid stations (located at every mile), and kept loading ice into the suit and pouring cold water on my head. I sipped a little water, but didn't drink much as anything that went in just sloshed around for a while and caused more discomfort than anything. As I did the two loops of the greenway, I realized that nearly everyone was walking up the hills, and I was actually passing people even on the sections when I was walking. At the top of one hill there were firemen with hoses spraying cold water on people, and I think I told them they were my best friends. Though I wasn't feeling great, I was a lot better than I had been at mile 4, and I felt ok running the downhill and flat sections, especially in the areas that were shaded from the sun. Sadly I could see my time goal going out the window as I was averaging just under a 10 minute mile through the middle 5 miles of the race, but at least a DNF didn't seem as likely as it had a little earlier. As I came off the trail and back onto Hillsborough, Sara was there waiting and accompanied me all the way back. I'm not sure how she managed to stay upright on her bike going that slowly, but I was really appreciative of the support! As we neared the top of what was pretty much the last of the inclines and the 10 mile aid station, I heard a familiar voice - Ellen! She hadn't told me she was volunteering, so as I got closer and could see that it was actually her, I was so excited to see another familiar face that I ran over and gave her a hug (I was really gross then - sorry, Ellen) only to then see Allie running toward me with cold sponges and realized that Sarah, Caren, Karen, and Allison were also out there cheering - and they had even made a sign for me! This was seriously the best surprise I could have imagined at that point, short of learning that the run was actually 10 miles instead of 13.1.
Seeing my friends was a great boost, and Sara reassured me that it was all downhill from here and I was almost done. I also realized that if I pushed though the last few miles I still had a chance at finishing in under 6 hours, despite the miserable slog through miles 4-9. I did walk up one last hill, but otherwise just concentrated on my form, passing people, and FINISHING. According to the official results, I ran the last 3.8 miles in 31:18 (8:15 pace), and despite some rough going, finished in 5:58:26. Though at several points on the run I questioned why I ever thought this was a good idea, I am really glad that I did it.
Results
Swim: 49:26
T1: 3:20
Bike: 3:04:22 (18.2 mph)
T2: 2:28
Run: 1:58:50 (9:04)
AG Ranking (out of 82)
Swim: 59
Bike: 35
Run: 15
Gender Position - official results: 130/580
After swim: 390
After bike: 252 (23 women who were slower on the swim passed me, and I passed 161)
After run: 136 (2 women passed me, and I passed 118)
So thankful to have had such wonderful supporters out there - I don't know if I would have finished without you guys, so THANK YOU!
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Making a list and checking it twice...
or 147 times...
Only 2 days until my first 70.3, and I am legitimately freaking out. I don't think I was even this nervous or obsessive about my first marathon. By most accounts, a marathon is more difficult than a half iron, though given my trepidation about the swim, I am not so sure. But I guess I am as prepared as I can be and there isn't much I can do at this point, so I keep telling myself to relax. It's not really working though!
May was a good month training-wise, and this week has been relatively easy so I am not feeling exhausted or over-trained. I was definitely ready for this taper though!
I've studied the athlete guide and learned several important things about Ironman races, including "Public Nudity is not permitted" and my personal favorite from the run instructions: "No form of locomotion other than running, walking, or crawling is allowed."
As of now, the race is wetsuit legal (barely), but it is going to be really hot for the next couple of days, so the lake temp might exceed 76.1 by Sunday. If that's the case, I am going to have to start with the last wave of people who are wearing wetsuits anyway. Fortunately the difference in start times is negligible since my age group is one of the last waves anyway (8:22 vs 8:10). Having decided to wear the wetsuit either way has somewhat alleviated my nervousness about the swim, because at least then I know I can float.
I did a test ride of the course, so I am prepared for that (I guess), but am not looking forward to the steady uphill start.
I ran a preview of the course, though I am not sure if that was the best idea... it was really tough and I feel like I might have less anxiety if I didn't know just how challenging it was going to be!
I have also studied the weather. Again, something I wish I didn't know, especially since I really can't do anything about that!
So I guess I've covered my bases preparation-wise, and now it's just a matter of execution... hopefully all of this obsessive preparation pays off :)
Only 2 days until my first 70.3, and I am legitimately freaking out. I don't think I was even this nervous or obsessive about my first marathon. By most accounts, a marathon is more difficult than a half iron, though given my trepidation about the swim, I am not so sure. But I guess I am as prepared as I can be and there isn't much I can do at this point, so I keep telling myself to relax. It's not really working though!
May was a good month training-wise, and this week has been relatively easy so I am not feeling exhausted or over-trained. I was definitely ready for this taper though!
I've studied the athlete guide and learned several important things about Ironman races, including "Public Nudity is not permitted" and my personal favorite from the run instructions: "No form of locomotion other than running, walking, or crawling is allowed."
As of now, the race is wetsuit legal (barely), but it is going to be really hot for the next couple of days, so the lake temp might exceed 76.1 by Sunday. If that's the case, I am going to have to start with the last wave of people who are wearing wetsuits anyway. Fortunately the difference in start times is negligible since my age group is one of the last waves anyway (8:22 vs 8:10). Having decided to wear the wetsuit either way has somewhat alleviated my nervousness about the swim, because at least then I know I can float.
I did a test ride of the course, so I am prepared for that (I guess), but am not looking forward to the steady uphill start.
I have also studied the weather. Again, something I wish I didn't know, especially since I really can't do anything about that!
So I guess I've covered my bases preparation-wise, and now it's just a matter of execution... hopefully all of this obsessive preparation pays off :)
Monday, May 27, 2013
The hay is in the barn
Saturday: Tour de Cure! A few months ago Bex invited me to join her team (BD) and I happily tagged along on this ride - Big thanks to Rebecca and Team BD for letting me join them! It was the furthest I've ever ridden, but with the rest stops and generally pleasant weather, it really didn't seem particularly difficult, which was quite surprising. My watch was set to auto-pause so the rest stops weren't averaged in, but our moving pace 17.4 mph (80.2M, 4:42:17) - not bad at all. I must say again (as I did after the MS 50), that I really love supported rides, and I'm looking forward to doing a lot more of those in the future (starting with the Velo for Yellow Century on July 20 and Five-0 Memorial 100K on August 24). Once we finished the ride, Bex and I made the quick change to running shoes and ran a quick 20 minute transition run (2.5M, 19:46).
Sunday: Rise run with Sarah and Adrien (10M, 1:18:43). The humidity was terrible, but despite being soaked we ran the last mile in 7:08.
Monday: It was supposed to be a rest day, but I opted for a nice walk on the indoor track with Nicole (2.5M in about 40 minutes) and quick swim (1K, including 6 x 50, 21:00)
Tuesday: 7 miles with Ellen in the morning and a 45 minute interval workout on the trainer
Wednesday: A little transition practice with Bex - 5 x (10 minutes on the trainer + 3:30 transition run).
Thursday: Rise run with Sara (5M, 39:43) in the morning and open water swim practice at Jordan Lake (roughly 1.2 miles in about 50 minutes - not breaking any speed records...)
Friday: Cooler temps made this a lot easier than last week's tempo, and I actually felt reasonably good through the working intervals (2 x 2 miles). The splits were right on target, and my heart rate ranged from 160-172 through the faster miles (goal zone of 165-172), so I was pretty pleased with the workout. It also helped to have company - so thanks to Ellen and Amy for that! (8M, 1:01:50)
7 day totals: Swim (1.77), Bike (80 plus two workouts on the trainer), Run (34.75); 12:41:41; 9,855 calories
Saturday: The morning started with the Doughman with team YODO (You Only Doughman Once) with Ellen, Caren, and Jen. My leg involved eating a mac and cheese cupcake and then biking about 10 miles. I tried to ride as fast as possible, but streets were not closed and we had to stop at lights and intersections, so it turned out to be basically an interval ride. Results haven't been posted yet and I didn't wear a watch so I don't know the time or pace, but it took a lot more out of me than I'd expected. Once Jen and Caren finished their eat-run legs, we ran over to the finish as a team and collaboratively downed 4 delicious desserts (with me caught on camera stuffing a cupcake in my face).
After the race I headed home and met up with Nicki and Noah (from the DTC) at Moonberries to ride down to Jordan Lake and check out the start of the race (47.25M, 2:54:35, 16.2 mph). We put in a pretty good effort on the way out and averaged a little over 17 despite a pretty strong headwind. Just before the turnaround, Nicki's shifter decided to stop working and she wasn't able to get out of the easiest gear, so I rode with hear at a nice leisurely pace (given all of the spinning on the flat and downhill sections). It was actually nice to just spin it out a bit and get some time in on the bike without working very hard, so maybe her bike malfunction was a blessing in disguise.
Sunday: Test run of the Ironman Raleigh course with Ellen (12.2M, 1:38:40). For the first few miles I thought, "well, this isn't too bad"... and then we got onto Reedy Creek trail. I am not sure how accurate the elevation profile is because it was far hillier than it looks, and somehow it felt uphill both ways (though obviously it isn't). Given the forecast of temps in the high 80s for the run portion of the race, I think I am going to have to throw any expectations of a decent time out the window. Oh well, nothing I can do about it! Hopefully the last couple of months of decent training and a nice easy taper week will be enough to get me through this! ONE WEEK TO GO... AAH!
Sunday: Rise run with Sarah and Adrien (10M, 1:18:43). The humidity was terrible, but despite being soaked we ran the last mile in 7:08.
Monday: It was supposed to be a rest day, but I opted for a nice walk on the indoor track with Nicole (2.5M in about 40 minutes) and quick swim (1K, including 6 x 50, 21:00)
Tuesday: 7 miles with Ellen in the morning and a 45 minute interval workout on the trainer
Wednesday: A little transition practice with Bex - 5 x (10 minutes on the trainer + 3:30 transition run).
Thursday: Rise run with Sara (5M, 39:43) in the morning and open water swim practice at Jordan Lake (roughly 1.2 miles in about 50 minutes - not breaking any speed records...)
Friday: Cooler temps made this a lot easier than last week's tempo, and I actually felt reasonably good through the working intervals (2 x 2 miles). The splits were right on target, and my heart rate ranged from 160-172 through the faster miles (goal zone of 165-172), so I was pretty pleased with the workout. It also helped to have company - so thanks to Ellen and Amy for that! (8M, 1:01:50)
7 day totals: Swim (1.77), Bike (80 plus two workouts on the trainer), Run (34.75); 12:41:41; 9,855 calories
Saturday: The morning started with the Doughman with team YODO (You Only Doughman Once) with Ellen, Caren, and Jen. My leg involved eating a mac and cheese cupcake and then biking about 10 miles. I tried to ride as fast as possible, but streets were not closed and we had to stop at lights and intersections, so it turned out to be basically an interval ride. Results haven't been posted yet and I didn't wear a watch so I don't know the time or pace, but it took a lot more out of me than I'd expected. Once Jen and Caren finished their eat-run legs, we ran over to the finish as a team and collaboratively downed 4 delicious desserts (with me caught on camera stuffing a cupcake in my face).
After the race I headed home and met up with Nicki and Noah (from the DTC) at Moonberries to ride down to Jordan Lake and check out the start of the race (47.25M, 2:54:35, 16.2 mph). We put in a pretty good effort on the way out and averaged a little over 17 despite a pretty strong headwind. Just before the turnaround, Nicki's shifter decided to stop working and she wasn't able to get out of the easiest gear, so I rode with hear at a nice leisurely pace (given all of the spinning on the flat and downhill sections). It was actually nice to just spin it out a bit and get some time in on the bike without working very hard, so maybe her bike malfunction was a blessing in disguise.
Sunday: Test run of the Ironman Raleigh course with Ellen (12.2M, 1:38:40). For the first few miles I thought, "well, this isn't too bad"... and then we got onto Reedy Creek trail. I am not sure how accurate the elevation profile is because it was far hillier than it looks, and somehow it felt uphill both ways (though obviously it isn't). Given the forecast of temps in the high 80s for the run portion of the race, I think I am going to have to throw any expectations of a decent time out the window. Oh well, nothing I can do about it! Hopefully the last couple of months of decent training and a nice easy taper week will be enough to get me through this! ONE WEEK TO GO... AAH!
Friday, May 17, 2013
T minus two weeks!
Not much exciting to report. My knee was bothering me a lot at the beginning of the week (I think it might be from swimming laps), but hopefully it's nothing serious. These are my two highest volume weeks, and though I am starting to freak out a bit, I am mostly getting excited.
Monday: Bike ride with Bex on the ATT (14.5M, 56:41)
Tuesday: A little bit of speed work on the treadmill. 3.25M in 23:51, including 3x1200 (4:59-4:55-4:52), followed by 1250 in the pool.
Wednesday: Nice little 6 mile Moonberries run with Sarah (46:55) and 30 minutes on the trainer working on riding in aero and keeping a higher cadence.
Thursday: 1600 in the pool, mostly pull with a few 200s without the buoy. My evening run was 5M on the ATT in 38:30, consisting of a 15 minute warmup, 20 minutes of 1 minute fast (between 5:57 and 6:26 pace, depending on incline/decline) - 1 minute slow. About 3 minutes into my cool down I ran into a friend on the trail, stopped to chat, and didn't feel like running again after that so I walked the last mile home. This workout didn't sound that bad when Allie described it, but was a lot harder than I expected!
Friday: AM - Short and easy Rise run with Ellen (4M, 31:52).
PM - Test ride of the Ironman 70.3 Raleigh bike course with Bex. We rode about 15 miles to pick up the course at mile 7, rode the middle 40 of the course, and then veered off in order to meet Monte at his office to catch a ride home. Overall a pretty nice course, mostly rolling with no major climbs, but with temps in the 80s, it was quite a tiring ride (57.2M, 3:31:47, 16.2 mph).
Saturday: A very humid 8.65 on the ATT (1:10:11) with Caren, Karen, Jen D, and Nan, followed by cupcakes and another mile (8:02) in preparation for the upcoming Doughman eat-run relay.
Sunday: I wasn't going to run again, but couldn't say no to a Sunday Rise run with Allie, Ellen, Amy, and Alison, especially on a day with perfect running weather (9M, 1:10:00). Had planned to ride in the evening but was pretty tired after traveling to visit my in-laws for Mother's Day, so I did a really quick, difficult pace/resistance half hour on the trainer.
Weekly totals: Swim (1.73), Bike (72 plus an hour on the trainer), Run (37); 11:53:43; 6,925 calories
Monday: AM - Easy run with Ellen on the ATT (4.7M, 37:38)
PM - Walked the Al Buehler Trail with Nicole (3.1M) and then hit the pool for a 2200 pull swim (45:00)
Tuesday: AM -Another lovely Rise run with Ellen (6M, 47:41)
PM - Quick out and back from American Village with Nicki, mostly me trying to keep up! 2M easy warmup (14 mph) and then 15 a bit faster (19 mph)
Wednesday: AM - Fourth consecutive day meeting Ellen (aka my PR twin) at Rise! Liz joined us for something approaching real speedwork, which ended up as a 3.5 mile warmup, 5 x 800s in 3:20 (actual: 3:18-3:22, so pretty close to the target pace) with 400 jogs, and a 1.5 mile cool down (8.5M, 1:05:12)
PM - Nice leisurely ride on the ATT with Laura (18M, 1:10:56)
Thursday: A morning off! It was a nice change to stay in bed past 6:00.
PM - Half iron-distance open water swim at Beaverdam with Bex. It seemed like it took forever (it pretty much did, actually), but I made it without incident. I may be the last one out of the lake, but at least I am confident that I can make it! (1.2M, approx 45 minutes)
Friday: What was supposed to be a 3 mile tempo run turned into 2 miles (13:44) plus a half (3:18), but it was warm and humid, plus I have an 80+ mile ride tomorrow, so I am ok with that (5M, 37:32).
Monday-Friday totals: Swim (2.25), Bike (35), Run (37); 7:40:45; 5,096 calories
Monday: Bike ride with Bex on the ATT (14.5M, 56:41)
Tuesday: A little bit of speed work on the treadmill. 3.25M in 23:51, including 3x1200 (4:59-4:55-4:52), followed by 1250 in the pool.
Wednesday: Nice little 6 mile Moonberries run with Sarah (46:55) and 30 minutes on the trainer working on riding in aero and keeping a higher cadence.
Thursday: 1600 in the pool, mostly pull with a few 200s without the buoy. My evening run was 5M on the ATT in 38:30, consisting of a 15 minute warmup, 20 minutes of 1 minute fast (between 5:57 and 6:26 pace, depending on incline/decline) - 1 minute slow. About 3 minutes into my cool down I ran into a friend on the trail, stopped to chat, and didn't feel like running again after that so I walked the last mile home. This workout didn't sound that bad when Allie described it, but was a lot harder than I expected!
Friday: AM - Short and easy Rise run with Ellen (4M, 31:52).
PM - Test ride of the Ironman 70.3 Raleigh bike course with Bex. We rode about 15 miles to pick up the course at mile 7, rode the middle 40 of the course, and then veered off in order to meet Monte at his office to catch a ride home. Overall a pretty nice course, mostly rolling with no major climbs, but with temps in the 80s, it was quite a tiring ride (57.2M, 3:31:47, 16.2 mph).
Saturday: A very humid 8.65 on the ATT (1:10:11) with Caren, Karen, Jen D, and Nan, followed by cupcakes and another mile (8:02) in preparation for the upcoming Doughman eat-run relay.
Sunday: I wasn't going to run again, but couldn't say no to a Sunday Rise run with Allie, Ellen, Amy, and Alison, especially on a day with perfect running weather (9M, 1:10:00). Had planned to ride in the evening but was pretty tired after traveling to visit my in-laws for Mother's Day, so I did a really quick, difficult pace/resistance half hour on the trainer.
Weekly totals: Swim (1.73), Bike (72 plus an hour on the trainer), Run (37); 11:53:43; 6,925 calories
Monday: AM - Easy run with Ellen on the ATT (4.7M, 37:38)
PM - Walked the Al Buehler Trail with Nicole (3.1M) and then hit the pool for a 2200 pull swim (45:00)
Tuesday: AM -Another lovely Rise run with Ellen (6M, 47:41)
PM - Quick out and back from American Village with Nicki, mostly me trying to keep up! 2M easy warmup (14 mph) and then 15 a bit faster (19 mph)
Wednesday: AM - Fourth consecutive day meeting Ellen (aka my PR twin) at Rise! Liz joined us for something approaching real speedwork, which ended up as a 3.5 mile warmup, 5 x 800s in 3:20 (actual: 3:18-3:22, so pretty close to the target pace) with 400 jogs, and a 1.5 mile cool down (8.5M, 1:05:12)
PM - Nice leisurely ride on the ATT with Laura (18M, 1:10:56)
Thursday: A morning off! It was a nice change to stay in bed past 6:00.
PM - Half iron-distance open water swim at Beaverdam with Bex. It seemed like it took forever (it pretty much did, actually), but I made it without incident. I may be the last one out of the lake, but at least I am confident that I can make it! (1.2M, approx 45 minutes)
Friday: What was supposed to be a 3 mile tempo run turned into 2 miles (13:44) plus a half (3:18), but it was warm and humid, plus I have an 80+ mile ride tomorrow, so I am ok with that (5M, 37:32).
Monday-Friday totals: Swim (2.25), Bike (35), Run (37); 7:40:45; 5,096 calories
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Rockin Marathon Relay RTP
This morning I had the pleasure of running a marathon relay with Ellen, Allie, and Sarah. I haven't done much faster-than-marathon-pace running in a while, and the few attempts to do so since Boston have fallen pretty flat, so I wasn't sure what I could expect of myself. The race was supposed to be run on roads in RTP, and I thought staying sub-7 seemed like a pretty reasonable goal. A last minute course change brought the race to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, and the loop was now a very hilly one on the cross-country course. Though not excited about the change, there wasn't much I could do about it, so off to Cary we went...
We arrived at the race and there was plenty of parking, check in was a breeze, and there was more than enough room to set up our gear... I do appreciate the easy logistics of running a super small race! After a short briefing, the race was underway. The first lap was supposed to be 0.2 miles shorter than the rest (after which each lap was 1.65) to get an even 26.2, but the race started about 200 meters in front of the finish line, so I would guess it was a little long. Allie took the lead leg because she had to take Z to tea with Miss America (isn't that what everyone does on a Saturday?), and came through in first overall right behind the lead bike. Sarah ran the second leg and kept our lead, and so I was actually the lead runner until the guy on the team that would eventually win passed me about a quarter mile in. I tried to stay with him as he went by, but redlined and pretty quickly realized that was a horrible idea. After a flat/downhill section through a field we came to the trail and hit the steepest of the hills. I passed some runners here already, which shows how fast our first two runners were! After that it's pretty much rolling until coming back into the field, which is a .4 mile incline to the exchange zone. I was definitely not a fan of the long, gradual uphill finish! I managed to (barely) keep it under 7 minute mile pace, but it wasn't particularly fun! Given our big lead over any other women's teams, I ran the next laps more like a tempo run than a race, so that really made it a lot easier and more enjoyable! My pace for the last 3 laps averaged 7:10-7:08-7:02, so not setting any speed records and once again played the role of the team turtle, but it is what it is.
We ended up finishing in 2:58:03 (turns out the mid-race team photo put us over 2:57!), good for 2nd overall and 1st among women's teams. Our prizes: a very fancy medal (not really), frosted beer mug (which the victorious men's team was nice enough to fill with beer for us), and a box of Balance bars. More importantly, of course, I got to spend the morning with my friends, who entertained everyone with a stellar rendition of Living on a Prayer (complete with dance moves).
Now that my calendar is clear of marathons for a while, I am hoping to run more short stuff and incorporate more speed work and tempo miles in hopes of getting faster. I may just not be built for speed, but I am at least willing to give it a shot... time will tell...
Splits:
Lap 1: 11:22 (6:56)
Lap 2: 11:45 (7:10)
Lap 3: 11:42 (7:08)
Lap 4: 11:36 (7:02)
We arrived at the race and there was plenty of parking, check in was a breeze, and there was more than enough room to set up our gear... I do appreciate the easy logistics of running a super small race! After a short briefing, the race was underway. The first lap was supposed to be 0.2 miles shorter than the rest (after which each lap was 1.65) to get an even 26.2, but the race started about 200 meters in front of the finish line, so I would guess it was a little long. Allie took the lead leg because she had to take Z to tea with Miss America (isn't that what everyone does on a Saturday?), and came through in first overall right behind the lead bike. Sarah ran the second leg and kept our lead, and so I was actually the lead runner until the guy on the team that would eventually win passed me about a quarter mile in. I tried to stay with him as he went by, but redlined and pretty quickly realized that was a horrible idea. After a flat/downhill section through a field we came to the trail and hit the steepest of the hills. I passed some runners here already, which shows how fast our first two runners were! After that it's pretty much rolling until coming back into the field, which is a .4 mile incline to the exchange zone. I was definitely not a fan of the long, gradual uphill finish! I managed to (barely) keep it under 7 minute mile pace, but it wasn't particularly fun! Given our big lead over any other women's teams, I ran the next laps more like a tempo run than a race, so that really made it a lot easier and more enjoyable! My pace for the last 3 laps averaged 7:10-7:08-7:02, so not setting any speed records and once again played the role of the team turtle, but it is what it is.
We ended up finishing in 2:58:03 (turns out the mid-race team photo put us over 2:57!), good for 2nd overall and 1st among women's teams. Our prizes: a very fancy medal (not really), frosted beer mug (which the victorious men's team was nice enough to fill with beer for us), and a box of Balance bars. More importantly, of course, I got to spend the morning with my friends, who entertained everyone with a stellar rendition of Living on a Prayer (complete with dance moves).
Now that my calendar is clear of marathons for a while, I am hoping to run more short stuff and incorporate more speed work and tempo miles in hopes of getting faster. I may just not be built for speed, but I am at least willing to give it a shot... time will tell...
Splits:
Lap 1: 11:22 (6:56)
Lap 2: 11:45 (7:10)
Lap 3: 11:42 (7:08)
Lap 4: 11:36 (7:02)
Friday, May 3, 2013
Ramping up the Tri Training
Though I would normally like to take more than one day off post-marathon, there are only SIX WEEKS until the Raleigh Ironman 70.3!
The optimist in me is hoping that this will go well, but the pragmatist has some doubts...
+ I know I can swim 1.2 miles in a pool without much difficulty
- The lake is a different story... drowning is still a possibility
+ I can easily ride 56 miles on the bike
- Getting in under my 3-hour time goal will require riding much faster than I'm used to
+ Running 13.1 miles... piece of cake
- After almost 4 hours of swimming and biking and potentially in 90 degree heat and humidity... not so much
I imagine the reality is somewhere in the middle, but regardless, I have a lot of work to do!
Monday
AM - 4M Rise run with Ellen and Sarah (31:12). Sort of progression-ish (7:52-7:41-7:37)
Tuesday
AM - Swimming (1400 yards including 3 x 100)
PM - 60 minutes trainer including 4 x 5 minutes fast
Wednesday
AM - 6M with Ellen (47:55), including 4 x 400 (101-95-101-94)
PM - 40 minutes trainer moderate
Friday
AM - 7M with Jen and Amy (56:50), including 1-2-3-2-1-2-3 minute ladder (intervals run at 6:30 pace)
PM - Swimming (2000 yards including 800 at race pace and 4 x 50)
Saturday
Long ride at Mapleview (64M, 4:00:09). This was my longest ride to date, and other than Lystra (200 feet of elevation gain in less than a mile), I fared ok. The ride was a bit slower than what I'm hoping for in the 70.3 (16 mph; my goal is 19), but it was good to get in some extended time on the bike. Bex and I followed up the ride with a quick 1 mile run (7:30). It was tough to slow down my legs, and I definitely need to add more bricks to the schedule.
Sunday
Long run with a great group of BCTC women (12.65M, 1:40:55).
Legs were a bit sore from Saturday's ride, but I managed to make it through the run with most of miles 4-12 in the 7:40-7:50 range - mostly due to the fact that my training partners are all faster than I am and I didn't want to be left behind!
Weekly totals: Swim (1.94M), Bike (64 + 1:40 on the trainer); Run (30.7)
Monday
AM - 4M Rise run in the rain with Ellen (31:58)
PM - Swimming (1400 yds, mostly pull)
Tuesday
AM - 7M with Ellen, including 6 x 400 at 10K-half pace. Not exactly speedy and my legs feel like lead. Plus, the NC humidity is back in full force.
PM - Brick with some of the Duke Tri Club - 17M on the bike and a short transition run
Wednesday
5M easy run with Amy
Thursday
Trainer - 40 minutes moderate with high intensity intervals throughout
Friday
2000 yard (almost Half IM distance) time trial (42:30). Not fast, but it's the longest distance I've done without taking a break, so I am pleased, and feeling optimistic of getting through the swim and T1 in less than an hour.
Up next... another marathon relay! Can't wait :)
The optimist in me is hoping that this will go well, but the pragmatist has some doubts...
+ I know I can swim 1.2 miles in a pool without much difficulty
- The lake is a different story... drowning is still a possibility
+ I can easily ride 56 miles on the bike
- Getting in under my 3-hour time goal will require riding much faster than I'm used to
+ Running 13.1 miles... piece of cake
- After almost 4 hours of swimming and biking and potentially in 90 degree heat and humidity... not so much
I imagine the reality is somewhere in the middle, but regardless, I have a lot of work to do!
Monday
AM - 4M Rise run with Ellen and Sarah (31:12). Sort of progression-ish (7:52-7:41-7:37)
Tuesday
AM - Swimming (1400 yards including 3 x 100)
PM - 60 minutes trainer including 4 x 5 minutes fast
Wednesday
AM - 6M with Ellen (47:55), including 4 x 400 (101-95-101-94)
PM - 40 minutes trainer moderate
Friday
AM - 7M with Jen and Amy (56:50), including 1-2-3-2-1-2-3 minute ladder (intervals run at 6:30 pace)
PM - Swimming (2000 yards including 800 at race pace and 4 x 50)
Saturday
Long ride at Mapleview (64M, 4:00:09). This was my longest ride to date, and other than Lystra (200 feet of elevation gain in less than a mile), I fared ok. The ride was a bit slower than what I'm hoping for in the 70.3 (16 mph; my goal is 19), but it was good to get in some extended time on the bike. Bex and I followed up the ride with a quick 1 mile run (7:30). It was tough to slow down my legs, and I definitely need to add more bricks to the schedule.
Sunday
Long run with a great group of BCTC women (12.65M, 1:40:55).
Legs were a bit sore from Saturday's ride, but I managed to make it through the run with most of miles 4-12 in the 7:40-7:50 range - mostly due to the fact that my training partners are all faster than I am and I didn't want to be left behind!
Weekly totals: Swim (1.94M), Bike (64 + 1:40 on the trainer); Run (30.7)
Monday
AM - 4M Rise run in the rain with Ellen (31:58)
PM - Swimming (1400 yds, mostly pull)
Tuesday
AM - 7M with Ellen, including 6 x 400 at 10K-half pace. Not exactly speedy and my legs feel like lead. Plus, the NC humidity is back in full force.
PM - Brick with some of the Duke Tri Club - 17M on the bike and a short transition run
Wednesday
5M easy run with Amy
Thursday
Trainer - 40 minutes moderate with high intensity intervals throughout
Friday
2000 yard (almost Half IM distance) time trial (42:30). Not fast, but it's the longest distance I've done without taking a break, so I am pleased, and feeling optimistic of getting through the swim and T1 in less than an hour.
Up next... another marathon relay! Can't wait :)
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Tar Heel 10 Miler
This Saturday I had the pleasure of pacing Jen Dixon at the Tar Hell (typo but it stays) 10 Miler. It seems that every year we're out of town for this race, so this year I signed up even though I knew I'd be running Boston only 5 days before... primarily for the Duke Crash the Party shirt. I suggested that we could run it together, Jen agreed, and the goal was to run faster than what she'd finished in last year (1:24:59). I knew this wouldn't be a problem for her, and figured based on her recent half marathon at 8 minute/mile pace, we should definitely be able to break 80 minutes for the 10 miler. According to the McMillan calculator, her predicted 10 mile race time was 1:18:20, which is 7:50/mile. So I had no doubts that she could set a big PR, but I did have some doubts about my ability to function as a good pacer on legs that were still a bit sore from Monday's marathon.
A group of us met at my house at 6:15 to carpool to the race, and we arrived just in time to use the bathroom, run to bag check, run back around the stadium to the start line, duck under the rope as they played the national anthem, and take off.
My plan was to start off with a conservative mile or two, settle in around 7:45, hang on through Laurel Hill, and hopefully finish strong with Jen getting a nice PR. Given the course layout, this seemed like a pretty good plan.
There was a bit of weaving through the early, crowded portion of the race and my watch went a bit crazy as we ran through a few tunnels, but we crossed the 2 mile marker just under 16 minutes. The next miles went by in 7:51, 7:33, 7:40, 7:47, 7:44, and 7:46... just as planned. Jen was doing great, my quads were a little sore but functioning better than expected, and we had some fun running by Monte at the 7.5 mile mark (having the photographer at the end of a long hill is always helpful).
Then came Laurel Hill, which I knew would feel long and difficult, and we tried to just keep up a good effort without worrying about our pace too much. That mile ended up as a 8:23 and we were still ahead of the 8:00 pacers, so I knew we had the sub-80 in the bag. We were able to get back on pace coming down Laurel Hill and ran the last mile in 7:38 to finish in 1:18:23 (7:50 pace). I guess McMillan is pretty accurate! I was really pleased with how my legs responded in my first real run since Boston, but most of all I was thrilled to have run with Jen as she took over 7 minutes off the 10 mile PR that she set on the same course last year.
Boston Strong
After a 90 minute ride on the trainer, Jeannelle, Monte and I headed down to Raleigh for the Boston Memorial Run. This was a really nice and well-attended free event, and we were happy to drive down to Moore Square to show our support. After meeting up with some BCTC friends, we joined hundreds of other runners for a nice out and back three mile jog. It has been great to see how people around the country and in the running community everywhere have come together in support of Boston and the Boston Marathon. It has been less than a week, but it has been a long, exhausting one, and I am glad I was able to end it on this note.
A group of us met at my house at 6:15 to carpool to the race, and we arrived just in time to use the bathroom, run to bag check, run back around the stadium to the start line, duck under the rope as they played the national anthem, and take off.
My plan was to start off with a conservative mile or two, settle in around 7:45, hang on through Laurel Hill, and hopefully finish strong with Jen getting a nice PR. Given the course layout, this seemed like a pretty good plan.
There was a bit of weaving through the early, crowded portion of the race and my watch went a bit crazy as we ran through a few tunnels, but we crossed the 2 mile marker just under 16 minutes. The next miles went by in 7:51, 7:33, 7:40, 7:47, 7:44, and 7:46... just as planned. Jen was doing great, my quads were a little sore but functioning better than expected, and we had some fun running by Monte at the 7.5 mile mark (having the photographer at the end of a long hill is always helpful).
Then came Laurel Hill, which I knew would feel long and difficult, and we tried to just keep up a good effort without worrying about our pace too much. That mile ended up as a 8:23 and we were still ahead of the 8:00 pacers, so I knew we had the sub-80 in the bag. We were able to get back on pace coming down Laurel Hill and ran the last mile in 7:38 to finish in 1:18:23 (7:50 pace). I guess McMillan is pretty accurate! I was really pleased with how my legs responded in my first real run since Boston, but most of all I was thrilled to have run with Jen as she took over 7 minutes off the 10 mile PR that she set on the same course last year.
Boston Strong
After a 90 minute ride on the trainer, Jeannelle, Monte and I headed down to Raleigh for the Boston Memorial Run. This was a really nice and well-attended free event, and we were happy to drive down to Moore Square to show our support. After meeting up with some BCTC friends, we joined hundreds of other runners for a nice out and back three mile jog. It has been great to see how people around the country and in the running community everywhere have come together in support of Boston and the Boston Marathon. It has been less than a week, but it has been a long, exhausting one, and I am glad I was able to end it on this note.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Recovering...
It's been a pretty stressful week, as you would imagine. The highlight was definitely the belated post-race get together, which over half my teammates who had run Boston were able to attend.
 |
| Mike, Bart, Laura, Ellen, Kara & Kate |
I've gone over Monday's events so many times that I just don't feel like talking or writing about it, but if you want to read the short version, you can find my story over at the Press Republican, or peruse the thoughtful commentaries written by Mike and Ellen.
The physical recovery is coming along as well, and over the last three days I've managed 30 minutes on the trainer, a 3 mile walk with Jeannelle and Nicole, 4 easy miles with Sara (34:07), another 4 with Allie (31:47), and a 1500 yard swim. Tonight I'll take it easy and hit the foam roller, and hopefully my legs will cooperate as I try to pace Jen D at the Tar Heel 10 Miler in the morning.
Thoughts and prayers to all in Boston...
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
2013 Boston Marathon
Wow. Well obviously there are a lot more emotions and many things far more important than the actual race than I'd planned on putting into this report, and I think I'll have to write out the end of the day separately, because I am still trying to process everything. So for now, the actual "race report" portion of my Boston experience...
Monte and I flew into Boston on Saturday afternoon. After a great carb loading pasta dinner with friends, we drove out to our hotel in Milford, which is only about 15 minutes from Hopkinton. Sunday we drove out to the start and though to that point I had mostly been nervous about my lack of preparation and in the mindset of "let's just get this over with," being at the starting line really got me excited about the race and the whole experience of my first Boston Marathon.
From there we test-drove the route that I'd mapped out for Monte to use on race day, and then took the train from Riverside into Boston. First stop: packet pickup at Hynes Convention Center. My stepdad, aunt, and uncle met us there, and my four spectators were great sports as we went through the expo, picked up my packet and checked out the marathon gear. I bought the official jacket (of course), and some sweet new Boston edition Kinvara 4s, which I might actually save for next year's race. I also ran into my teammate Nancy, who was set to start in my corral, and after discussing her pace plan - a very conservative start and then consistent miles with the goal of finishing in about 3:25, we decided we'd run together. With this new plan to have company for the run, I was even more excited and optimistic about the run. After getting lunch and visiting with the fam for a while, we headed back to our hotel and I proceeded to lay in the bed without sleeping for a few hours, as is usually the case on the night before a big race.
Staying out near the start is a bit challenging logistically, but the upside was that I was able to leave on the hotel shuttle bus at 8:30 and still make it to the start area before 9. I immediately went to the porta-john line, and then met up with Ellen, Allie, and Sarah near the bag drop bus line. We heard from Nancy, who was stuck in a bathroom line, and didn't see her at the planned meet up spot, so as we walked to the corrals, I decided to start with Ellen and Allie, who were one corral behind my assigned one. I thought they'd be going faster than what I had in mind, but figured I'd start with them and just hang in there as long as I could. After Ellen and I made one last pit stop (behind a rock and dumpster, respectively - we're classy like that), we got into the corral and got ready for the start. To our pleasant surprise, Nancy and her husband found us in Corral 5, and the five of us started out together.
It was really crowded at the start, of course, and this helped us to keep the first mile in check. Even with us all in agreement that we should start out slowly, I worried about going out too fast, but we came through the first mile in a little over 8 minutes as planned. The first few miles to Ashland were downhill and uneventful, and we stuck to the conservative start plan, coming through the 5k at 24:46. I knew this was downhill and it was so tempting to run faster, but from everything I've read, that is the worst thing you can do on this course. Keeping that in mind and following the advice of far wiser runners, I shortened my stride and tried to minimize the impact on my quads, hoping that would benefit me later.
The next 5k into Framingham were also conservative and uneventful, and we covered those miles in 24:41. We then started looking for Monte, and ran by him somewhere around 6.5. It's always such a good boost for me to see him! Still feeling good and comfortable, so we hadn't blown it yet!
I ate my first gel, and was feeling really great about my decision to run with my friends. At that point, the race had flattened out some, and we set about keeping our pace around 7:45. Right on pace again as we went through the next 5k split in 24:09. As we came into Natick around mile 10, Allie needed to make a stop and said she'd catch up in a bit, so we continued on as a group of 4.
Coming through Wellesley was really fun - reading the Kiss Me signs and feeling the energy of the crowds cheering us along. We did the YMCA, chatted, and I found myself smiling most of the way. Before we knew it, we crossed the halfway mark. 1:43:05 - right on schedule! We saw Monte again around mile 14, and were all still feeling great and having a fabulous time!
From the time I could see the Citgo sign, through the turn onto Hereford, I just kept waiting for something to go terribly wrong, and didn't want to push myself too soon. I also kept waiting for Ellen, Allie, and Nancy to go flying by with a strong finishing kick as I just held my steady pace, but to my surprise I didn't see them again. I heard Alan yell, "Go Kara" and it was so nice to know that they were there for this race, and I thought about how my mom would be cheering like crazy, and that she probably was from heaven. Definitely a bittersweet moment.
Making the final turn onto Boylston was awesome. I tried to pick it up a little, but despite my effort I only managed to go slightly faster. I concentrated on taking it all in... the crowds, the runners, the finish line of the freakin' Boston Marathon!! It was definitely a highlight of my running career, and I crossed the finish line in 3:26:02 (average pace of 7:52/mile). A PR of over two minutes on the toughest course I've run to date. And I'd run a negative split (by only a few seconds, but still!)... could not have been happier. I waited for Nancy, who came in just behind me, and then made my way though the finish area, collecting my water, gatorade, snack bag, and mylar blanket. When they put the medal around my neck, I almost cried - running Boston was such a big goal, and to have run the majority of it with my friends, finish with a personal best marathon time, and still feel relatively good... wow. I couldn't have imagined a better race day. Of course that was soon to change, but I will save that post for another time...
Congratulations to everyone who ran today - the BCTC put in some really stellar performances and came out with a bunch of shiny new PRs, and I am so proud of all of you and happy to be a part of such a great group of people.
Monte and I flew into Boston on Saturday afternoon. After a great carb loading pasta dinner with friends, we drove out to our hotel in Milford, which is only about 15 minutes from Hopkinton. Sunday we drove out to the start and though to that point I had mostly been nervous about my lack of preparation and in the mindset of "let's just get this over with," being at the starting line really got me excited about the race and the whole experience of my first Boston Marathon.
From there we test-drove the route that I'd mapped out for Monte to use on race day, and then took the train from Riverside into Boston. First stop: packet pickup at Hynes Convention Center. My stepdad, aunt, and uncle met us there, and my four spectators were great sports as we went through the expo, picked up my packet and checked out the marathon gear. I bought the official jacket (of course), and some sweet new Boston edition Kinvara 4s, which I might actually save for next year's race. I also ran into my teammate Nancy, who was set to start in my corral, and after discussing her pace plan - a very conservative start and then consistent miles with the goal of finishing in about 3:25, we decided we'd run together. With this new plan to have company for the run, I was even more excited and optimistic about the run. After getting lunch and visiting with the fam for a while, we headed back to our hotel and I proceeded to lay in the bed without sleeping for a few hours, as is usually the case on the night before a big race.
Staying out near the start is a bit challenging logistically, but the upside was that I was able to leave on the hotel shuttle bus at 8:30 and still make it to the start area before 9. I immediately went to the porta-john line, and then met up with Ellen, Allie, and Sarah near the bag drop bus line. We heard from Nancy, who was stuck in a bathroom line, and didn't see her at the planned meet up spot, so as we walked to the corrals, I decided to start with Ellen and Allie, who were one corral behind my assigned one. I thought they'd be going faster than what I had in mind, but figured I'd start with them and just hang in there as long as I could. After Ellen and I made one last pit stop (behind a rock and dumpster, respectively - we're classy like that), we got into the corral and got ready for the start. To our pleasant surprise, Nancy and her husband found us in Corral 5, and the five of us started out together.
It was really crowded at the start, of course, and this helped us to keep the first mile in check. Even with us all in agreement that we should start out slowly, I worried about going out too fast, but we came through the first mile in a little over 8 minutes as planned. The first few miles to Ashland were downhill and uneventful, and we stuck to the conservative start plan, coming through the 5k at 24:46. I knew this was downhill and it was so tempting to run faster, but from everything I've read, that is the worst thing you can do on this course. Keeping that in mind and following the advice of far wiser runners, I shortened my stride and tried to minimize the impact on my quads, hoping that would benefit me later.
The next 5k into Framingham were also conservative and uneventful, and we covered those miles in 24:41. We then started looking for Monte, and ran by him somewhere around 6.5. It's always such a good boost for me to see him! Still feeling good and comfortable, so we hadn't blown it yet!
I ate my first gel, and was feeling really great about my decision to run with my friends. At that point, the race had flattened out some, and we set about keeping our pace around 7:45. Right on pace again as we went through the next 5k split in 24:09. As we came into Natick around mile 10, Allie needed to make a stop and said she'd catch up in a bit, so we continued on as a group of 4.
Coming through Wellesley was really fun - reading the Kiss Me signs and feeling the energy of the crowds cheering us along. We did the YMCA, chatted, and I found myself smiling most of the way. Before we knew it, we crossed the halfway mark. 1:43:05 - right on schedule! We saw Monte again around mile 14, and were all still feeling great and having a fabulous time!
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I ate a second gel, and had a little sloshing and stomach cramping, but nothing major. I noticed that we'd fallen a bit off of our pace, so I picked it up and just focused on keeping it around 7:45 until the Newton hills. Nancy and Ellen fell a little behind at that point, but I knew I'd slow on the hills and figured they would catch back up then, so I continued along.
I think the first of the Newton hills is the worst. You can see the wave of runners going up, and I thought, "oh crap, I guess the race starts now." Again I tried to use a shorter quicker stride, and slowed a little, aiming to keep my heart rate and breathing low, because there were several more hills and 8 miles left to go. Surprisingly, the hills didn't slow me down as much as I'd expected, and the 5k split at 30k was 24:13. I knew there were three hills before Heartbreak, but somehow I lost track and as we climbed another hill I noticed a broken heart drawn on the pavement in chalk. Was this Heartbreak Hill? As we neared the top, I asked a runner next to me if it was indeed that storied hill, and when she said yes I was shocked! Wow, that's it?? I'm almost to the top! On PR pace and it's all downhill? Can that be right? I'd made it through the toughest part of the course and the 35k split was 24:47.
I was definitely starting to feel it, but just in a 'my legs are tired' way, not a 'I might die, need to walk, or maybe vomit' kind of way, so that was great. I calculated that I could average a 9 minute mile and still re-qualify, and was sort of amazed given my lack of preparation for this race. Since I've been focused on triathlon training in preparation for the Raleigh Ironman 70.3, my running volume has been pretty low - staying in the 35 mile a week range - and I did only one 18 mile long run. To see a potential PR as a possibility with only 5k to go was surprising to say the least!
From the time I could see the Citgo sign, through the turn onto Hereford, I just kept waiting for something to go terribly wrong, and didn't want to push myself too soon. I also kept waiting for Ellen, Allie, and Nancy to go flying by with a strong finishing kick as I just held my steady pace, but to my surprise I didn't see them again. I heard Alan yell, "Go Kara" and it was so nice to know that they were there for this race, and I thought about how my mom would be cheering like crazy, and that she probably was from heaven. Definitely a bittersweet moment.
Making the final turn onto Boylston was awesome. I tried to pick it up a little, but despite my effort I only managed to go slightly faster. I concentrated on taking it all in... the crowds, the runners, the finish line of the freakin' Boston Marathon!! It was definitely a highlight of my running career, and I crossed the finish line in 3:26:02 (average pace of 7:52/mile). A PR of over two minutes on the toughest course I've run to date. And I'd run a negative split (by only a few seconds, but still!)... could not have been happier. I waited for Nancy, who came in just behind me, and then made my way though the finish area, collecting my water, gatorade, snack bag, and mylar blanket. When they put the medal around my neck, I almost cried - running Boston was such a big goal, and to have run the majority of it with my friends, finish with a personal best marathon time, and still feel relatively good... wow. I couldn't have imagined a better race day. Of course that was soon to change, but I will save that post for another time...
Congratulations to everyone who ran today - the BCTC put in some really stellar performances and came out with a bunch of shiny new PRs, and I am so proud of all of you and happy to be a part of such a great group of people.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Not exactly a taper...
My overall volume has been pretty low, as are my expectations for Boston, so despite the upcoming marathon I've been sticking to my half ironman plan. I'm just not sure that you need a long taper when you're only running 35 miles/week! I may regret this come Heartbreak Hill, but for now I'm feeling good and hoping for the best...
Monday: 5M (41:47) and 2M walk
I had planned to take the day off after the 50 mile ride on Saturday and 18 mile race-pace run on Sunday, but it was just too nice to stay inside! Thankfully some friends agreed to join me, and I enjoyed the beautiful (though fleeting) spring weather with a run on the ATT with Jen D, Moonberries fro-yo, and a walk around Woodcroft with Jeannelle and Nicole.
Tuesday:
AM - 1500 yard pull swim (35:00)
PM - 3M run/walk around campus with Nicole
Wednesday:
AM - 45 minutes moderate on the trainer
PM - 8M (59:19) including 4 x 1M.
I decided to run later in the day (when it was in the 50s instead of the 30s, which meant running the prescribed BCTC workout on my own. I generally have a tough time with workouts and tempo runs if left to my own devices, because it is just so easy to say "well 3 mile repeats is good enough" or "maybe I can break the last 2 into 800s," so I was happy to just get this one done! The repeats were supposed to be at 10k pace, which according to various calculators should be in the 6:45-6:55 range. I went out a little fast (downhill from Scott King) and swallowed a bug during the second repeat (the downside of warmer weather, I guess), but otherwise stuck to the plan (6:32, 6:55, 6:45, 6:50).
Thursday: 1600 yard swim (38:00) including drills and a few 100s
Friday: 8M (60:57)
Ellen has agreed to train with me for a 1:30 fall half marathon, and looking at the schedule it looks like we'll be doing a lot of miles in the 7:10-7:20 range, so for today's run we decided to throw in a few tempo-ish miles in the middle of our Rise run (7:16-7:18-7:17). This pace is not particularly challenging for Ellen, so she is able to chat and distract me the entire time, which is awesome, and I am really excited that she is going to help me through fall half training!
Saturday: MS Spring Fling 50M & transition run
This was my first organized ride, and it was awesome! Breakfast, supported aid stations, a well-marked course, police holding traffic at intersections, and lunch, plus the proceeds went to a good cause... undoubtedly well worth the $30! I started out with the BD team, and stayed with them until the first rest stop. As a group, we were averaging about 15 mph, but I wanted to push myself a bit more in preparation for the upcoming half iron, so I headed out on my own and reconvened with the team at the turnaround and then again at the finish. I averaged about 18 mph riding solo for the second half of the ride and felt pretty good, so I am feeling optimistic about my goal of finishing the 56 miles of the triathlon in under 3 hours, which requires a pace around 18.7 mph. With the ride complete (48.3M, 2:54:25), I changed into my running shoes and did a quick mile just to start re-acclimating my legs to the bike-run transition (7:20). 8 weeks to go!
Sunday: Pacing at Umstead (12.6M, 3:58:28)
I left the house around 11:30 to make it to Umstead for the midnight gate opening and started my pacer duties right on schedule at 1:45am. This is my second year pacing at the 100, and this year Val asked me to accompany her on lap 7 (miles 75-87.5!). We chatted, walked up the hills, jogged on the flat and downhill stretches, and made it through the lap without incident. I was exhausted by the end (not surprisingly considering I'd normally be sleeping during those hours), so I couldn't even imagine how Val was feeling after having completed 87+ miles. She did awesome though, and rocked her last lap to PR in her 3rd Umstead 100. I will never ever do something that crazy, but it's nice to be a part of it and support my nutso friends :)
After spending a good bit of the day lazing around, I met Jen & Jenn on the ATT for a little shake out run. We'd all had rough weekends, and I was relieved that there was consensus on taking it easy. So it wasn't far or fast (4.6M, 40:13) but at least I got my butt off the couch and ran off some of the mornings' Bojangles.
Monday: 5M (41:47) and 2M walk
I had planned to take the day off after the 50 mile ride on Saturday and 18 mile race-pace run on Sunday, but it was just too nice to stay inside! Thankfully some friends agreed to join me, and I enjoyed the beautiful (though fleeting) spring weather with a run on the ATT with Jen D, Moonberries fro-yo, and a walk around Woodcroft with Jeannelle and Nicole.
Tuesday:
AM - 1500 yard pull swim (35:00)
PM - 3M run/walk around campus with Nicole
Wednesday:
AM - 45 minutes moderate on the trainer
PM - 8M (59:19) including 4 x 1M.
I decided to run later in the day (when it was in the 50s instead of the 30s, which meant running the prescribed BCTC workout on my own. I generally have a tough time with workouts and tempo runs if left to my own devices, because it is just so easy to say "well 3 mile repeats is good enough" or "maybe I can break the last 2 into 800s," so I was happy to just get this one done! The repeats were supposed to be at 10k pace, which according to various calculators should be in the 6:45-6:55 range. I went out a little fast (downhill from Scott King) and swallowed a bug during the second repeat (the downside of warmer weather, I guess), but otherwise stuck to the plan (6:32, 6:55, 6:45, 6:50).
Thursday: 1600 yard swim (38:00) including drills and a few 100s
Friday: 8M (60:57)
Ellen has agreed to train with me for a 1:30 fall half marathon, and looking at the schedule it looks like we'll be doing a lot of miles in the 7:10-7:20 range, so for today's run we decided to throw in a few tempo-ish miles in the middle of our Rise run (7:16-7:18-7:17). This pace is not particularly challenging for Ellen, so she is able to chat and distract me the entire time, which is awesome, and I am really excited that she is going to help me through fall half training!
Saturday: MS Spring Fling 50M & transition run
This was my first organized ride, and it was awesome! Breakfast, supported aid stations, a well-marked course, police holding traffic at intersections, and lunch, plus the proceeds went to a good cause... undoubtedly well worth the $30! I started out with the BD team, and stayed with them until the first rest stop. As a group, we were averaging about 15 mph, but I wanted to push myself a bit more in preparation for the upcoming half iron, so I headed out on my own and reconvened with the team at the turnaround and then again at the finish. I averaged about 18 mph riding solo for the second half of the ride and felt pretty good, so I am feeling optimistic about my goal of finishing the 56 miles of the triathlon in under 3 hours, which requires a pace around 18.7 mph. With the ride complete (48.3M, 2:54:25), I changed into my running shoes and did a quick mile just to start re-acclimating my legs to the bike-run transition (7:20). 8 weeks to go!
Sunday: Pacing at Umstead (12.6M, 3:58:28)
I left the house around 11:30 to make it to Umstead for the midnight gate opening and started my pacer duties right on schedule at 1:45am. This is my second year pacing at the 100, and this year Val asked me to accompany her on lap 7 (miles 75-87.5!). We chatted, walked up the hills, jogged on the flat and downhill stretches, and made it through the lap without incident. I was exhausted by the end (not surprisingly considering I'd normally be sleeping during those hours), so I couldn't even imagine how Val was feeling after having completed 87+ miles. She did awesome though, and rocked her last lap to PR in her 3rd Umstead 100. I will never ever do something that crazy, but it's nice to be a part of it and support my nutso friends :)
After spending a good bit of the day lazing around, I met Jen & Jenn on the ATT for a little shake out run. We'd all had rough weekends, and I was relieved that there was consensus on taking it easy. So it wasn't far or fast (4.6M, 40:13) but at least I got my butt off the couch and ran off some of the mornings' Bojangles.
Monday: 5M (38:58) and 2M walk
Did the usual Monday Rise recovery run with Ellen, and for the first time this year it was warm enough for shorts at 6:30am! After work, I met up with Nicole for a little walk on the ATT and it was actually hot outside... Hurray for spring!
Tuesday:
AM - 1800 yard pull swim (37:00)
PM - Speedwork with Jen D (6M, including 4 x 2 minute and 2 x 1 minute intervals)
I realized that a Wednesday workout would mean running every day this week, which isn't really ideal with Boston less than a week out, so Jen agreed to a last minute change of plans and instead of just easy miles we added in some 2 minute and 1 minute intervals. I think I was supposed to run the intervals between 10K and half marathon pace and I tried to run at what felt like a challenging but sustainable pace, but somehow they ended up around 0.3M/2 minutes (6:40 pace). Despite the odd time of day for a workout and the heat (82 degrees - I think we just skipped right over spring), I felt great. And we ended the run with Moonberries fro-yo, so I really have no complaints!
Wednesday: 45 minutes moderate effort on the trainer
Thursday: 45 minutes easy on the trainer
Saturday: Quick 3 mile shake out with mile 2 at goal marathon pace, and off to Boston!!
Wednesday: 45 minutes moderate effort on the trainer
Thursday: 45 minutes easy on the trainer
Saturday: Quick 3 mile shake out with mile 2 at goal marathon pace, and off to Boston!!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
In like a lion, out like a lamb
This weekend was pretty great, with a nice half century ride at Mapleview Farms on a lovely Saturday afternoon and a terrific Easter long run, despite the pouring rain. Of course the 50 mile ride was a little tough on the backside and I have some soreness in my shoulders, but nothing too terrible - a pleasant surprise considering I hadn't done more than 30 yet this year. And though my longest run going into Boston was today's 18 miler, we ran it about 5 seconds/mile under my goal pace, so I'm actually feeling much better about that too. Hopefully this solid end to March will set the tone for the rest of the year, and things will start looking up!
Monday: 2 mile walk with Nicole
Tuesday: 20 minutes on the bike trainer and a bit of core work
Wednesday:
AM - Easy run with Ellen (8M, 1:04:13)
PM - 40 minutes on the trainer with a few hard intervals thrown in
Thursday:
AM - 1200 yd swim, including 4 x 50 fast
PM - Third Fork Creek Trail with Caren and Karen (6M, 47:11)
Friday: Frigid (23 degrees!) tempo run with Ellen (9M including 2 x 12 minutes around 7:00/mile pace; 1:08:16)
Saturday: Sick again :(
Sunday: 90 minutes on the trainer with a few hard intervals throughout
Monday: 8M with Lora (1:08:56)
Tuesday: 6M with Sara (48:51)
Wednesday: 60 minutes moderate on the trainer
Thursday: 4M Pub Run with Tim (31:51)
Friday: 40 minutes on the trainer
Saturday: 50M ride with Bex and the BD team (3:12:11)
Sunday: 18M run in the pouring rain with Ellen, Sarah, and Caren (2:22:47)
March totals: 28:59:49
Run: 141.7 miles, 18:28:32, 15,783 calories
Bike: 7:22:11, mostly on the trainer
Swim: 2 miles, 1:19:00
Monday: 2 mile walk with Nicole
Tuesday: 20 minutes on the bike trainer and a bit of core work
Wednesday:
AM - Easy run with Ellen (8M, 1:04:13)
PM - 40 minutes on the trainer with a few hard intervals thrown in
Thursday:
AM - 1200 yd swim, including 4 x 50 fast
PM - Third Fork Creek Trail with Caren and Karen (6M, 47:11)
Friday: Frigid (23 degrees!) tempo run with Ellen (9M including 2 x 12 minutes around 7:00/mile pace; 1:08:16)
Saturday: Sick again :(
Sunday: 90 minutes on the trainer with a few hard intervals throughout
Monday: 8M with Lora (1:08:56)
Tuesday: 6M with Sara (48:51)
Wednesday: 60 minutes moderate on the trainer
Thursday: 4M Pub Run with Tim (31:51)
Friday: 40 minutes on the trainer
Saturday: 50M ride with Bex and the BD team (3:12:11)
Sunday: 18M run in the pouring rain with Ellen, Sarah, and Caren (2:22:47)
March totals: 28:59:49
Run: 141.7 miles, 18:28:32, 15,783 calories
Bike: 7:22:11, mostly on the trainer
Swim: 2 miles, 1:19:00
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