This week was 61 miles of running, 22 "miles" of pool-running, and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
For this marathon training cycle, I'm trying to stick to what has worked best for me - reasonably high but not excessive mileage, and a substantial volume of "controlled quality."
By "controlled" quality I mean running between marathon and 8K pace, saving the faster running for when I'm focused on shorter distances. "Reasonably high" mileage means around 60-65 miles a week on land. Certainly not inadequate, but not big mileage.
Different things work for different people, with each of us needing to strike our own balance. While some people can run very well off of high mileage, history has proven an inverse relationship between my weekly mileage and my marathon performance if I go above the 60s. At the same time, I run better with a higher volume of quality running, as long as I don't overdo the pace of it, and make sure that I have enough "space" between each workout.
This week, "spacing" the workouts meant that I only did two workouts, intervals on Tuesday and a long run on Saturday. While I could have squeezed in cruise intervals on Thursday, my gut told me it would be too much too close together, so I went with two hard days.
Since I only had the two workouts, I had hoped to extend out the Tuesday workout, maxing out the allowed reps. That got nixed when I accidentally ran the first 2000m rep too fast, due to misunderstanding my coach's instructions (he told me to "group up" - I thought he meant to catch up with the group ahead, when he meant I should join the group behind). I hit the brakes for the 800s, but the damage was already done, and my coach shut me down after four 800s. I wasn't happy, but on reflection it was the right call.
Saturday's workout was 2x5 miles at marathon pace - a modification of our normal 4-3-2-1 miles at marathon pace workout. When mapping out my training cycle for this spring, I had asked my coach if we could try the 2x5. My reasoning was that it was the same volume of marathon-paced work (10 miles total), but fewer longer reps gave me more time to actually lock into and feel marathon pace. When I do the 4-3-2-1, it feels like I'm never running at marathon pace for very long. Additionally, since the duration of each rep is short, it becomes very easy to run the workout too hard, even if I'm trying not too. Doing two segments of five miles encouraged me to find an honest and not overly optimistic rhythm.
(also, I've done the 4-3-2-1 workout for years now, and while I like it, I'm also bored with it).
Having never done the 2x5, I went into it with caution. As it turned out, it was surprisingly easy - it felt as easy or easier than the 4-3-2-1. The first five was really just a one mile extension of the normal four at marathon pace. And then the second five felt just like the controlled conclusion of a progression long run. Had I needed to, I could have continued on longer. All good signs, I guess.
Normally, the 4-3-2-1 workout would be proceeded by a "25x400m" workout on Wednesday (twenty-five 400m repeats at 10K pace with 100m float). When discussing the 2x5, my coach had cautioned that he thought doing both the 25x400m and the 2x5 in the same week would be excessive.
As I thought about it more, I also realized that the 25x400m is a grueling lactate threshold (LT) workout. While I normally thrive on LT workouts, I entered this short marathon training cycle off of a half-marathon cycle that was focused heavily on lactate threshold - I really don't need to be hammering at that system more right now. My sense is that the tempo workouts that precede each 20-22 mile long run are more than sufficient for LT work for me for this cycle. So it was an easy decision to skip the 25x400s this spring.
I only have three weeks left before I start to taper. This cycle has gone by surprisingly fast.
Dailies:
Monday: 5.5 very easy to yoga (9:29), yoga, and then 4.5 very easy home (9:05). Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 12 miles, including a track workout of 2000m, 4x800m in 7:32, 3:04, 3:03, 3:03, 3:04. Also injury prevention work and 1400 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 10 miles very easy (9:24) to the gym, upper body weights/core, and then another 2 miles very easy (9:21). Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: Yoga and then 8.5 "miles" of pool-running in the morning; 4.5 "miles" of pool-running and foam rolling at night.
Friday: 7.5 miles very easy to the gym (9:13), light upper body weights, core, and DIY yoga, and then 3.5 miles very easy home (8:47) plus drills and four strides. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 16 miles, including 2x5 miles at marathon pace with one mile easy in between Splits were 34:14 (6:55/6:56/6:48/6:50/6:45 - 6:51 average) and 33:55 (6:48/6:50/6:48/6:45/6:44 - 6:47 average). Followed with 600 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 9 "miles" pool-running, followed by foam rolling.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Training log - Week ending 2/18/18
This week was 62 miles of running, 19 "miles" of pool-running, and 3000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
This week had some ups and downs. I had some fatigue on Tuesday (not surprising, since I had done a hard workout that weekend) and my breathing felt slightly tight. Then Thursday's tempo was at the correct effort, but a pace about 10-15 seconds slower than I would expect.
At first I thought the slow tempo was due to a combo of fatigue and being overdressed for unseasonably warm weather. And then I thought some more and realized that I had been coughing a lot post-workout, and gave the asthma doctor a call. A quick check of my breathing confirmed that values were low and my asthma was starting to flare again - apparently I didn't rest enough after getting sick last week. Or perhaps I just would have flared anyway.
Asthma flares are like injuries - running on them just makes them worse. But they're unlike running injuries in that rest does nothing to ease them, once you're flaring. The only way to calm a flare is with medication, and the longer you delay hitting the meds, the more meds you need to take.
So onto another dose of prednisone. Not what I wanted at all, but it was what it was. At least this time we tried half my normal dose to see if that would be sufficient since I caught this one early - the less prednisone I take, the better.
My long run went very well on Saturday, though it's hard to know how much was improved breathing versus prednisone assistance. I guess the test will be this coming week.
It's worth noting that the paces on Saturday's long run are also slightly misleading - my first 7 miles were on mild rolling hills, and then the second 7 were flat to uphill, followed by 2 miles uphill at marathon effort (7:00-ish) and 5 miles downhill at marathon effort (6:40-ish).
So that marathon pace segment was definitely assisted, and not necessarily a good indicator of my fitness. But it did achieve my goal of doing some MP work going uphill and then a lot of MP work downhill. My quads were definitely a bit sore the next morning, which was exactly what I wanted - a bit of quad proofing for Boston.
Dailies:
Monday: 7.5 very easy to yoga (9:28), yoga, and then 1.5 very easy home (9:16) plus drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 11 miles, including a track workout of 800, 2x1600, 800 (3:05, 6:17, 6:09, 2:57), followed by injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 10 "miles" pool-running and upper body weights/core. Massage in afternoon..
Thursday: 11 miles, including a tempo workout of 4 miles in 26:37 (6:39/6:42/6:41/6:36). Followed with 1250 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 10 miles very easy (9:19) plus drills and strides. Later DIY yoga and foam rolling.
Saturday: 21 miles progressive, split as first 7 at 9:00, next 7 at 7:36, last 7 at 6:45. Followed with light injury prevention work and then 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 14 "miles" pool-running, followed by yoga and foam rolling.
This week had some ups and downs. I had some fatigue on Tuesday (not surprising, since I had done a hard workout that weekend) and my breathing felt slightly tight. Then Thursday's tempo was at the correct effort, but a pace about 10-15 seconds slower than I would expect.
At first I thought the slow tempo was due to a combo of fatigue and being overdressed for unseasonably warm weather. And then I thought some more and realized that I had been coughing a lot post-workout, and gave the asthma doctor a call. A quick check of my breathing confirmed that values were low and my asthma was starting to flare again - apparently I didn't rest enough after getting sick last week. Or perhaps I just would have flared anyway.
Asthma flares are like injuries - running on them just makes them worse. But they're unlike running injuries in that rest does nothing to ease them, once you're flaring. The only way to calm a flare is with medication, and the longer you delay hitting the meds, the more meds you need to take.
So onto another dose of prednisone. Not what I wanted at all, but it was what it was. At least this time we tried half my normal dose to see if that would be sufficient since I caught this one early - the less prednisone I take, the better.
My long run went very well on Saturday, though it's hard to know how much was improved breathing versus prednisone assistance. I guess the test will be this coming week.
It's worth noting that the paces on Saturday's long run are also slightly misleading - my first 7 miles were on mild rolling hills, and then the second 7 were flat to uphill, followed by 2 miles uphill at marathon effort (7:00-ish) and 5 miles downhill at marathon effort (6:40-ish).
So that marathon pace segment was definitely assisted, and not necessarily a good indicator of my fitness. But it did achieve my goal of doing some MP work going uphill and then a lot of MP work downhill. My quads were definitely a bit sore the next morning, which was exactly what I wanted - a bit of quad proofing for Boston.
Dailies:
Monday: 7.5 very easy to yoga (9:28), yoga, and then 1.5 very easy home (9:16) plus drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 11 miles, including a track workout of 800, 2x1600, 800 (3:05, 6:17, 6:09, 2:57), followed by injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 10 "miles" pool-running and upper body weights/core. Massage in afternoon..
Thursday: 11 miles, including a tempo workout of 4 miles in 26:37 (6:39/6:42/6:41/6:36). Followed with 1250 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 10 miles very easy (9:19) plus drills and strides. Later DIY yoga and foam rolling.
Saturday: 21 miles progressive, split as first 7 at 9:00, next 7 at 7:36, last 7 at 6:45. Followed with light injury prevention work and then 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 14 "miles" pool-running, followed by yoga and foam rolling.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Training log - Week ending 2/11/2018
This week was 39 miles of running, 34 "miles" of pool-running, and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
Last week, I noted my fatigue from ramping up my miles. As it turned out, a few hours after I posted that entry, my throat started hurting, and by the time I went to bed, I felt lousy. Awful sore throat (I'm a baby about those), sinus pain, and ridiculously tired.
Yup, sick. Nothing so dramatic as the flu; just a bad head cold. But still of concern, since head colds often result in asthma flares. And once my asthma flares, the only way to get it under control is with a few days of prednisone. Prednisone is very bad for bone density, even when only taken for a few days at a high dose. And I already have very poor bone density, hovering on the border between osteopenia and osteoporosis.
The rule of thumb is that it's ok to run with a head cold if the symptoms are above the chest, and that's what I've always done. But the last few times I've done that, I've ended up with an asthma flare. So I took a different tack this time - sticking with complete bed rest or easy pool-running (timing it so that I was by myself and not exposing others) until I was no longer symptomatic.
My reasoning was that asthma is an exaggerated response by the body's immune system to stress. Asthma flares result from viral infections because the virus triggers an immune response, and that immune response then continues to rage out of control long after the virus is gone. So....if I could just minimize all stress on my body, perhaps my immune system would settle when the head cold eased, and not take the additional step into asthma.
And, it apparently worked. No asthma flare. So yay. Disappointing in a way, because it means that I really can't run through a head cold, not even easy running. But that's a small sacrifice if it means I avoid an asthma flare.
This was supposed to be a high mileage week - one of my peak weeks of training in a short marathon cycle. But due to the head cold/rest my mileage ended up being pretty low. I can't believe that it will make that much difference to my marathon in the end, as long as I don't have more weeks like this. I'm prioritizing marathon pace specific work over mileage this cycle, and so the marathon pace workout this weekend was much more important to me than the daily mileage average. And that went well despite a lingering bit of fatigue, so yay.
Dailies:
Monday: Sick. Just foam rolling
Tuesday: 9 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 3.5 miles very easy (9:18) to yoga, yoga, and then another 8.5 miles very easy (8:56) plus drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: 11 miles, including a workout of 2 miles, 1 mile in 13:03 (6:32/6:31) and 6:22 with a half-mile recovery. Followed with 1500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: Upper body weights/core and 11 "miles" of pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 17 miles, including a "4-3-2-1" workout (sections of 4, 3, 2, and 1 miles at marathon pace with one mile easy between each). Splits were:
4 mile: 27:15 (6:50/6:48/6:50/6:47 - 6:49 pace);
3 mile: 20:22 (6:49/6:48/6:45 - 6:47 pace)
2 mile: 13:33 (6:48/6:45 - 6:47 pace)
1 mile: 6:45
followed with light injury prevention work and then 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 14 "miles" pool-running, followed by yoga and foam rolling.
Last week, I noted my fatigue from ramping up my miles. As it turned out, a few hours after I posted that entry, my throat started hurting, and by the time I went to bed, I felt lousy. Awful sore throat (I'm a baby about those), sinus pain, and ridiculously tired.
Yup, sick. Nothing so dramatic as the flu; just a bad head cold. But still of concern, since head colds often result in asthma flares. And once my asthma flares, the only way to get it under control is with a few days of prednisone. Prednisone is very bad for bone density, even when only taken for a few days at a high dose. And I already have very poor bone density, hovering on the border between osteopenia and osteoporosis.
The rule of thumb is that it's ok to run with a head cold if the symptoms are above the chest, and that's what I've always done. But the last few times I've done that, I've ended up with an asthma flare. So I took a different tack this time - sticking with complete bed rest or easy pool-running (timing it so that I was by myself and not exposing others) until I was no longer symptomatic.
My reasoning was that asthma is an exaggerated response by the body's immune system to stress. Asthma flares result from viral infections because the virus triggers an immune response, and that immune response then continues to rage out of control long after the virus is gone. So....if I could just minimize all stress on my body, perhaps my immune system would settle when the head cold eased, and not take the additional step into asthma.
And, it apparently worked. No asthma flare. So yay. Disappointing in a way, because it means that I really can't run through a head cold, not even easy running. But that's a small sacrifice if it means I avoid an asthma flare.
This was supposed to be a high mileage week - one of my peak weeks of training in a short marathon cycle. But due to the head cold/rest my mileage ended up being pretty low. I can't believe that it will make that much difference to my marathon in the end, as long as I don't have more weeks like this. I'm prioritizing marathon pace specific work over mileage this cycle, and so the marathon pace workout this weekend was much more important to me than the daily mileage average. And that went well despite a lingering bit of fatigue, so yay.
Dailies:
Monday: Sick. Just foam rolling
Tuesday: 9 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 3.5 miles very easy (9:18) to yoga, yoga, and then another 8.5 miles very easy (8:56) plus drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: 11 miles, including a workout of 2 miles, 1 mile in 13:03 (6:32/6:31) and 6:22 with a half-mile recovery. Followed with 1500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: Upper body weights/core and 11 "miles" of pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 17 miles, including a "4-3-2-1" workout (sections of 4, 3, 2, and 1 miles at marathon pace with one mile easy between each). Splits were:
4 mile: 27:15 (6:50/6:48/6:50/6:47 - 6:49 pace);
3 mile: 20:22 (6:49/6:48/6:45 - 6:47 pace)
2 mile: 13:33 (6:48/6:45 - 6:47 pace)
1 mile: 6:45
followed with light injury prevention work and then 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 14 "miles" pool-running, followed by yoga and foam rolling.
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Training log - Week ending 2/4/18
This week was 37 miles of running, 34 "miles" of pool-running, and 2000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
This was the second week of marathon training. I'm a bit tired despite the moderate mileage reduction in the middle of the week, and the substitution of pool-running for land-running mileage.
I find this to be the toughest part of marathon training. Not the tired part, but rather the judgment call about when feeling tired is acceptable, and when it's a warning sign. When to back off and when to push through.
Recovery is my biggest challenge as a runner - I can't train myself into exhaustion and then bounce back with a 3 week taper as others seem able to do, so I have to be mindful. At the same time, marathon training does mean periods of being tired - especially at the beginning at the cycle (adjusting to the new load) and at the end, when I'm ready to taper.
My general rule of thumb is that I'm OK as long as I'm not grouchy, struggling to concentrate, or having difficulty falling asleep. Right now, none of those apply, so I'll hold the course. If any of those do pop up, then it's time to back way off for a day or two.
***
In other news, just because I get a kick out of it, here's a video of our blind cat, Topaz, playing fetch. Completely non-running related, but my blog, my rules.
Dailies:
Monday: Yoga and 8.5 "miles" pool-running; foam rolling at night..
Tuesday: 12 miles, including 3200 in 12:50 (6:28/6:22) and then 4x800 all in 3:02. Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 7 miles very easy (9:47) followed by drills and strides and DIY yoga. 90 minute deep tissue/sports massage at night.
Thursday: Upper body weights and core plus 9 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 4 miles (9:02) followed by DIY yoga Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 3 mile warm-up, and then 10K race in 40:36. 5 mile cooldown and then 1000 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 16.5 "miles" pool-running, followed by foam rolling.
This was the second week of marathon training. I'm a bit tired despite the moderate mileage reduction in the middle of the week, and the substitution of pool-running for land-running mileage.
I find this to be the toughest part of marathon training. Not the tired part, but rather the judgment call about when feeling tired is acceptable, and when it's a warning sign. When to back off and when to push through.
Recovery is my biggest challenge as a runner - I can't train myself into exhaustion and then bounce back with a 3 week taper as others seem able to do, so I have to be mindful. At the same time, marathon training does mean periods of being tired - especially at the beginning at the cycle (adjusting to the new load) and at the end, when I'm ready to taper.
My general rule of thumb is that I'm OK as long as I'm not grouchy, struggling to concentrate, or having difficulty falling asleep. Right now, none of those apply, so I'll hold the course. If any of those do pop up, then it's time to back way off for a day or two.
***
In other news, just because I get a kick out of it, here's a video of our blind cat, Topaz, playing fetch. Completely non-running related, but my blog, my rules.
Dailies:
Monday: Yoga and 8.5 "miles" pool-running; foam rolling at night..
Tuesday: 12 miles, including 3200 in 12:50 (6:28/6:22) and then 4x800 all in 3:02. Followed with injury prevention work and 1000 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 7 miles very easy (9:47) followed by drills and strides and DIY yoga. 90 minute deep tissue/sports massage at night.
Thursday: Upper body weights and core plus 9 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 4 miles (9:02) followed by DIY yoga Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 3 mile warm-up, and then 10K race in 40:36. 5 mile cooldown and then 1000 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 16.5 "miles" pool-running, followed by foam rolling.
Saturday, February 3, 2018
Race Report: For the Love of It 10K, February 3, 2018
I ran the "For the Love of It" 10K this morning, finishing in 40:36, which was good enough for fourth woman overall.
I ran this race simply to ensure I had another race in between the Houston Half and my next planned race - the Love Run Half in Philly in late March (which will be a tune-up for the Boston Marathon). Some people can go several months without racing and be just fine - I'm not one of them.
I've found that I perform my best when I'm racing at least once a month: the more I race, the sharper I get. And conversely, the longer I go between races, the harder it is to sharpen up again. I can be very fit, but not sharp, and underperform.
This is why, when I'm focusing on shorter distances, I'll do a block of training to get fit and then "coast" by spending 8-10 or more weeks mostly racing and recovering, with a few controlled interval workouts filling the gaps. If we do this right, I improve a bit each race, and run my best performances at the end, right before I start feeling a bit fried (at which point I call it a season).
Of course, this practice doesn't work so well for marathon training - I can't race frequently AND put in the volume of training that a marathon requires without overtraining or getting injured. So marathon training mandates a 7-8 week period where I don't race and just put in the work. Today was solely to squeeze in one more race before entering the heaviest part of my marathon training, which starts on Monday. So that the gap between races would be be 7 weeks rather than 10.
Ideally, I would have raced a 5K on Saturday and then done easy paced mileage on Sunday, but I couldn't find any 5Ks that were appealing (appealing in this context means local, held on asphalt, and not a fun run). However, the For the Love of It 10K did meet my criteria, so what the heck. It would be a moderately hilly race, but that was a plus, since I'm training for a hilly marathon.
***
Race morning dawned cold - it was 14 degrees at race start, though at least it was sunny with little wind. Another small mercy was that packet pickup was inside the high school hosting the race.
I warmed up with three miles, including about a quarter mile at a harder pace, plus some drills and strides that I continued all the way until 2 minutes before race start. Then I lined up near my teammates Jenn and Matt. At 8:02 (so two minutes late, and an uncomfortable two minutes at that), the race started.
Because of the bright sunshine, I was wearing sunglasses. As if on cue, when the horn sounded, my glasses fogged up, rendering the first 15 seconds of this race even sketchier than race starts normally are. I pushed my sunglasses up onto my forehead where they would reside for the rest of the race, and then I could see.
As the race sorted itself in the first half mile, I found myself behind a pack of around 8 women and men, with Jenn and another pack about 10 seconds ahead. I tucked in and reminded myself to stay patient during the first two miles before opening up. Over those next two miles, my pack fell apart, and I found myself alone. I tried to keep the pack ahead of me in sight, and even to reel them in, but my legs had no spark, and soon they hit a downhill when I hit an uphill, and I lost contact.
From there it was a lonely race - I had nobody ahead to pull me, and nobody near to drive me, and my legs were leaden. This was both tough and fantastic. Frequent racing means frequent practice in handling mentally challenging situations, and being totally alone at mile 4.5 of a 10K with a decent uphill ahead fit the bill.
So I dug in and toughed it out. It wasn't pretty, but I got it done. The last .21 of the race was on the local HS track, and so I tried to kick in my finish as if I was running a hard 400 on the track. No dice - the legs had nothing to give. I saw the clock ticking well over 40 as I finished, which was a bit annoying, but oh well.
Because it was so cold, I set my Garmin to autolap, rather than manually lap at the mile markers (it's hard to hit the lap buttons with my mittens). My autolap splits were:
Mile 1: 6:37
Mile 2: 6:34
Mile 3: 6:13
Mile 4: 6:15
Mile 5: 6:45
Mile 6: 6:32
last ".28" - 1:40
The Garmin read a bit longer than 10K, but I don't think the course was long. Just a bit of satellite reception inaccuracy.
My official pace for the 10K was 6:33, which is amusing, because that's the same pace I ran at the Houston Half three weeks ago.
I don't think this reflects a sudden massive drop in fitness, or poor race execution, or lack of effort. Rather, I was very well rested (two week taper) for Houston, which was a fast course in great weather. In contrast, I came into this race on tired legs due to a jump in weekly mileage, accompanied by hard workouts on Sunday and Tuesday, plus a 90 minute sports massage on Wednesday. While I did cut back on my mileage some in the last three days pre-race, I was still far from rested - I need more than 3 days to truly freshen up. Add the fatigue to a hilly course and frigid temperatures, and it's no surprise that I was way slower than my half-marathon would predict. Which is fine - I didn't do this race as a fitness check.
Despite (or more accurately, independent) of the time, I'm really glad I did this race. A hilly 10K raced all out on tired legs was a good training stimulus for Boston, and having to tough it out at the end was exactly what I needed to keep me race sharp and confident.
Other notes:
I ran this race simply to ensure I had another race in between the Houston Half and my next planned race - the Love Run Half in Philly in late March (which will be a tune-up for the Boston Marathon). Some people can go several months without racing and be just fine - I'm not one of them.
I've found that I perform my best when I'm racing at least once a month: the more I race, the sharper I get. And conversely, the longer I go between races, the harder it is to sharpen up again. I can be very fit, but not sharp, and underperform.
This is why, when I'm focusing on shorter distances, I'll do a block of training to get fit and then "coast" by spending 8-10 or more weeks mostly racing and recovering, with a few controlled interval workouts filling the gaps. If we do this right, I improve a bit each race, and run my best performances at the end, right before I start feeling a bit fried (at which point I call it a season).
Of course, this practice doesn't work so well for marathon training - I can't race frequently AND put in the volume of training that a marathon requires without overtraining or getting injured. So marathon training mandates a 7-8 week period where I don't race and just put in the work. Today was solely to squeeze in one more race before entering the heaviest part of my marathon training, which starts on Monday. So that the gap between races would be be 7 weeks rather than 10.
Ideally, I would have raced a 5K on Saturday and then done easy paced mileage on Sunday, but I couldn't find any 5Ks that were appealing (appealing in this context means local, held on asphalt, and not a fun run). However, the For the Love of It 10K did meet my criteria, so what the heck. It would be a moderately hilly race, but that was a plus, since I'm training for a hilly marathon.
***
Race morning dawned cold - it was 14 degrees at race start, though at least it was sunny with little wind. Another small mercy was that packet pickup was inside the high school hosting the race.
I warmed up with three miles, including about a quarter mile at a harder pace, plus some drills and strides that I continued all the way until 2 minutes before race start. Then I lined up near my teammates Jenn and Matt. At 8:02 (so two minutes late, and an uncomfortable two minutes at that), the race started.
Because of the bright sunshine, I was wearing sunglasses. As if on cue, when the horn sounded, my glasses fogged up, rendering the first 15 seconds of this race even sketchier than race starts normally are. I pushed my sunglasses up onto my forehead where they would reside for the rest of the race, and then I could see.
As the race sorted itself in the first half mile, I found myself behind a pack of around 8 women and men, with Jenn and another pack about 10 seconds ahead. I tucked in and reminded myself to stay patient during the first two miles before opening up. Over those next two miles, my pack fell apart, and I found myself alone. I tried to keep the pack ahead of me in sight, and even to reel them in, but my legs had no spark, and soon they hit a downhill when I hit an uphill, and I lost contact.
From there it was a lonely race - I had nobody ahead to pull me, and nobody near to drive me, and my legs were leaden. This was both tough and fantastic. Frequent racing means frequent practice in handling mentally challenging situations, and being totally alone at mile 4.5 of a 10K with a decent uphill ahead fit the bill.
So I dug in and toughed it out. It wasn't pretty, but I got it done. The last .21 of the race was on the local HS track, and so I tried to kick in my finish as if I was running a hard 400 on the track. No dice - the legs had nothing to give. I saw the clock ticking well over 40 as I finished, which was a bit annoying, but oh well.
Because it was so cold, I set my Garmin to autolap, rather than manually lap at the mile markers (it's hard to hit the lap buttons with my mittens). My autolap splits were:
Mile 1: 6:37
Mile 2: 6:34
Mile 3: 6:13
Mile 4: 6:15
Mile 5: 6:45
Mile 6: 6:32
last ".28" - 1:40
The Garmin read a bit longer than 10K, but I don't think the course was long. Just a bit of satellite reception inaccuracy.
My official pace for the 10K was 6:33, which is amusing, because that's the same pace I ran at the Houston Half three weeks ago.
I don't think this reflects a sudden massive drop in fitness, or poor race execution, or lack of effort. Rather, I was very well rested (two week taper) for Houston, which was a fast course in great weather. In contrast, I came into this race on tired legs due to a jump in weekly mileage, accompanied by hard workouts on Sunday and Tuesday, plus a 90 minute sports massage on Wednesday. While I did cut back on my mileage some in the last three days pre-race, I was still far from rested - I need more than 3 days to truly freshen up. Add the fatigue to a hilly course and frigid temperatures, and it's no surprise that I was way slower than my half-marathon would predict. Which is fine - I didn't do this race as a fitness check.
Despite (or more accurately, independent) of the time, I'm really glad I did this race. A hilly 10K raced all out on tired legs was a good training stimulus for Boston, and having to tough it out at the end was exactly what I needed to keep me race sharp and confident.
Other notes:
- Due to the cold weather, I wore tights over compression shorts on my legs, and a running jacket over a longsleeve shirt over a sportsbra on top. I was very comfortable for most of the race - possibly slightly warm by the end, but I was fine with that. Throughout my Boston training this spring, I'm trying to overdress slightly for all my runs, including workouts and races, in hopes that I'll be somewhat prepped if Boston ends up on the warm side. And the nice thing about running in multiple layers, especially on your legs, is how much faster you feel in shorts.
- Since I didn't particularly care about this race, I decided to wear my Adidas Adios 3s, to see how I liked them at this distance. I normally race 10K in the Adios 2. Despite the fact that the Adios 2 and 3 are nominally sequential generations of the same shoe, I find them very different. The Adios 2 is very firm and stiff, while the Adios 3 is far more soft and flexible. As I suspected, I hated the Adios 3 for fast running - I felt like the softness and flexibility of the shoe was siphoning out what little bounce my legs had. So now I know, and I won't race in them again.
Why did I even try racing in the Adios 3 if I suspected I'd hate it? Because it's getting harder and harder to find pairs of the Adios 2, which has been out of production for over two years at this point. And many of my teammates love the Adios 3 for racing. I've used the Adios 3 for easy runs and marathon pace work and always found the shoe to be a bit draining even at marathon pace, but I thought I might as well give it a solid test at a 10K I didn't really care about, to confirm whether I hated it for faster stuff. Yup - hated it. Won't race in it again. - It took me 25 minutes door-to-door to get to Southlakes HS. Good to know if I do this race again.
- Major kudoes to the race staff for getting out there this morning, and even maintaining a water station (!!! did anyone drink from that thing?) It is so much harder to stand still in these temperatures than it is to run.
- Really good results from my teammates - Matt won the race on the men's side, and Jenn was second on the women's. So yay!
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Training log - Week ending 1/28/18
This week was 62 miles of running, 17 "miles" of pool-running, and 3000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
This was my first week of marathon training. I felt sluggish and run down for a lot of this week, which I initially attributed to poor recovery from the Houston Half. As I think about it more, it's also due to an uptick in land mileage this week. My four weeks previous had been 42 miles, 53 miles, 38 miles, and 39 miles as I rested and tapered and raced and recovered. And my only long run during those four weeks was the Houston Half.
When you look at it that way, it's no surprise that I'd feel a bit tired from bumping my mileage back up to my norm and adding in long runs again. I didn't feel awful though, and I've been sleeping well, which are indications that this was the "good" tired - a temporary symptom of increased workload. Insomnia and difficulties focusing at work are the warning signs that I'm overdoing stuff and need to back off.
I did feel better as the week progressed, and by Sunday I felt pretty good, with a solid long run that felt very controlled. So that was nice.
***
I'm targeting Boston as my spring marathon, which requires runners to wake up fairly early to catch a bus, only to wait for several hours at the start line before starting at 10 or 10:30 am. More than one of my teammates who have run Boston have told me that they regretted not practicing the long wait/late start. And more specifically, how to eat in preparation for a race with a 10 am start but an early bus ride.
So, I decided to learn from their example, and practice the late start. This weekend's long run made sense to use as practice - 16 miles is long enough to test my eating plan (i.e. did I have enough energy? Did I need to make stops mid run?), but short enough that the late start wouldn't mean committing my whole Sunday to long run and recovery.
On Sunday I woke around 5:30 to take my asthma meds and eat my "first breakfast." I then hung around home for a while before eating "second breakfast" around 8:15 am. Then started my long run at 10:15 am.
This worked very well from a digestive standpoint. However, I did feel sluggish at the start of my long run, which I attribute to eating too much sugary stuff plus a bit of caffeine for my first breakfast - 4 hours was just long enough for the sugar/caffeine to wear off, resulting in a crash. So now I know - first breakfast needs to be light on sugar and caffeine, saving that stuff for closer to race start. I'll probably use my second 16 miler at the end of the cycle to test this out.
Dailies:
Monday: Yoga and 6.5 "miles" pool-running; foam rolling at night..
Tuesday: 11 miles, including 2000, 4x800 in 7:46, 3:02, 2:58, 3:00, 2:57. Followed with injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 8 miles very easy (9:06) to yoga, yoga, and then 6 miles easy (9:05), followed by drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: Upper body weights and core plus 10.5 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 10 miles, including a 4 mile tempo in 25:58 (6:43/6:30/6:24/6:22). Followed with injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 10 miles easy (8:45), followed by drills and strides, and then upper body weights and core. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 16 miles progressive, split as first 5 miles averaging 8:45 pace; next 5 averaging 7:38; last 6 averaging 6:48. Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in afternoon.
This was my first week of marathon training. I felt sluggish and run down for a lot of this week, which I initially attributed to poor recovery from the Houston Half. As I think about it more, it's also due to an uptick in land mileage this week. My four weeks previous had been 42 miles, 53 miles, 38 miles, and 39 miles as I rested and tapered and raced and recovered. And my only long run during those four weeks was the Houston Half.
When you look at it that way, it's no surprise that I'd feel a bit tired from bumping my mileage back up to my norm and adding in long runs again. I didn't feel awful though, and I've been sleeping well, which are indications that this was the "good" tired - a temporary symptom of increased workload. Insomnia and difficulties focusing at work are the warning signs that I'm overdoing stuff and need to back off.
I did feel better as the week progressed, and by Sunday I felt pretty good, with a solid long run that felt very controlled. So that was nice.
***
I'm targeting Boston as my spring marathon, which requires runners to wake up fairly early to catch a bus, only to wait for several hours at the start line before starting at 10 or 10:30 am. More than one of my teammates who have run Boston have told me that they regretted not practicing the long wait/late start. And more specifically, how to eat in preparation for a race with a 10 am start but an early bus ride.
So, I decided to learn from their example, and practice the late start. This weekend's long run made sense to use as practice - 16 miles is long enough to test my eating plan (i.e. did I have enough energy? Did I need to make stops mid run?), but short enough that the late start wouldn't mean committing my whole Sunday to long run and recovery.
On Sunday I woke around 5:30 to take my asthma meds and eat my "first breakfast." I then hung around home for a while before eating "second breakfast" around 8:15 am. Then started my long run at 10:15 am.
This worked very well from a digestive standpoint. However, I did feel sluggish at the start of my long run, which I attribute to eating too much sugary stuff plus a bit of caffeine for my first breakfast - 4 hours was just long enough for the sugar/caffeine to wear off, resulting in a crash. So now I know - first breakfast needs to be light on sugar and caffeine, saving that stuff for closer to race start. I'll probably use my second 16 miler at the end of the cycle to test this out.
Dailies:
Monday: Yoga and 6.5 "miles" pool-running; foam rolling at night..
Tuesday: 11 miles, including 2000, 4x800 in 7:46, 3:02, 2:58, 3:00, 2:57. Followed with injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 8 miles very easy (9:06) to yoga, yoga, and then 6 miles easy (9:05), followed by drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: Upper body weights and core plus 10.5 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Friday: 10 miles, including a 4 mile tempo in 25:58 (6:43/6:30/6:24/6:22). Followed with injury prevention work and 1250 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 10 miles easy (8:45), followed by drills and strides, and then upper body weights and core. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 16 miles progressive, split as first 5 miles averaging 8:45 pace; next 5 averaging 7:38; last 6 averaging 6:48. Followed with injury prevention work and 500 yards recovery swimming. Foam rolling in afternoon.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Training log - Week ending 1/21/18
This week was 39 miles of running, 12 "miles" of pool-running, and 1000 yards of swimming -- training log is here.
This was an off week, as I blended race recovery and a business trip. I was a mess for the first few days. I attribute this at least partially to poor recovery choices in the 24 hours after the race: margaritas in lieu of water; french fries instead of foam rolling; and aquarium tours rather than pool-running. But, the mind needs recovery too, and slacking off on the little things for a few days was the right choice for me in the brief intermission before Boston training kicked in at the end of this week.
My trip was to Tampa - the second leg of what I dubbed "fall 2017 hurricane tour." Similar to my experience in Houston, I didn't notice any hurricane damage. Of course, it's been several months since the storms hit, and it's impossible to distinguish buildings boarded up from hurricane damage versus those boarded up for other reasons.
Tampa experienced a cold snap during my stay there - on Thursday morning, temperatures were in the high 20s.. Fortunately I had packed some winter running gear - I never bring running tights when I go to Tampa, but this time I had planned ahead. The local population was in shock at the temperatures, and I don't blame them - they just weren't prepared for sub-freezing temperatures, in terms of building structures or clothing choices.
A friend of mine coined the term "cold-shaming" and I think it applies here. Throughout this winter, everyone on the east coast or mid-west has been dealing with temperatures 20 degrees or more colder than their norm, and it's tough regardless of where you live.
The fact that those who live in Tampa (are they properly referred to as Tampans? Tampanians? Tampons?) are struggling with temperatures that are normal in DC does not reflect negatively on them, any more than the DC area's shock at conditions that are normal in Minnesota reflects poorly on us. It is truly relative - we're all handling weather that is far from our norms.
***
As I've discussed previously, I raced the Houston Half in the Vaporfly 4%s - it was a slight risk, as I usually don't like to wear a shoe model for a half or full until I've done several long runs in it. However, I had done a workout and a 5K race in the Vaporflys, and based on that experience, I decided to take the (small) chance. Some final (for now) thoughts based on my experience with the shoe this past weekend.
Dailies
Monday: Nothing except travel from Houston to Tampa.
Tuesday: Yoga in the morning, plus some self-massage with tennis ball.
Wednesday: Upper body weights/core and then 6 miles moderate (9:27) (the pace was "easy" but the effort was not). Followed with self-massage with tennis ball. (I really wish I had shipped myself a foam roller).
Thursday: 3 miles very easy to yoga (10:04), yoga, and then 6 miles very easy (8:47). Travel from Tampa to DC.
Friday: 12 "miles" of pool-running and some blissful foam rolling.
Saturday: 10 miles very easy (8:33), followed by drills, strides, upper body weights and core. Foam rolling at night.
Sunday: 14 progressive (plus an additional half-mile diversion to a working bathroom) split as first 5 miles averaging 8:56 pace, next 5 miles averaging 7:55 pace, and last 4 miles averaging 6:51 pace. Followed with light injury prevention work at the gym and 1000 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling in the afternoon.
This was an off week, as I blended race recovery and a business trip. I was a mess for the first few days. I attribute this at least partially to poor recovery choices in the 24 hours after the race: margaritas in lieu of water; french fries instead of foam rolling; and aquarium tours rather than pool-running. But, the mind needs recovery too, and slacking off on the little things for a few days was the right choice for me in the brief intermission before Boston training kicked in at the end of this week.
My trip was to Tampa - the second leg of what I dubbed "fall 2017 hurricane tour." Similar to my experience in Houston, I didn't notice any hurricane damage. Of course, it's been several months since the storms hit, and it's impossible to distinguish buildings boarded up from hurricane damage versus those boarded up for other reasons.
Tampa experienced a cold snap during my stay there - on Thursday morning, temperatures were in the high 20s.. Fortunately I had packed some winter running gear - I never bring running tights when I go to Tampa, but this time I had planned ahead. The local population was in shock at the temperatures, and I don't blame them - they just weren't prepared for sub-freezing temperatures, in terms of building structures or clothing choices.
A friend of mine coined the term "cold-shaming" and I think it applies here. Throughout this winter, everyone on the east coast or mid-west has been dealing with temperatures 20 degrees or more colder than their norm, and it's tough regardless of where you live.
The fact that those who live in Tampa (are they properly referred to as Tampans? Tampanians? Tampons?) are struggling with temperatures that are normal in DC does not reflect negatively on them, any more than the DC area's shock at conditions that are normal in Minnesota reflects poorly on us. It is truly relative - we're all handling weather that is far from our norms.
***
As I've discussed previously, I raced the Houston Half in the Vaporfly 4%s - it was a slight risk, as I usually don't like to wear a shoe model for a half or full until I've done several long runs in it. However, I had done a workout and a 5K race in the Vaporflys, and based on that experience, I decided to take the (small) chance. Some final (for now) thoughts based on my experience with the shoe this past weekend.
- I've now worn the Vaporfly for two races: a 5K and a half-marathon. I liked the shoe much more in the half. The shoe has a rocker-type action, where your foot rolls forward (I understand Hokas are like this also). This action is more effective when your footstrike is further back, more towards the heel. The shorter and faster the race, the more forward my footstrike, and the less I like the shoe. In longer races, I strike further back on my foot, and the shoe feels much more natural.
To this point, I read somewhere that Bernard Lagat was the only pacer in the Nike sub-two project who did not wear the Vaporfly - he tried it, and said that it didn't work for his stride, since he almost always lands on his forefoot. Given my experience with the shoe, this makes a lot of sense to me. - As for how much the Vaporflys took off of my time in the half? Of course there's no way to know for sure. I don't think it was 4% - it may not have been anything. (to be fair, the representation is not that they make you 4% faster, but 4% more efficient)
I have a teammate who is very very similar in ability to me when we're both in shape. I wore the Vaporflys, while she did not, and we finished the Houston Half in nearly identical times. Had I finished significantly ahead of her, I would have suspected some assistance from the shoe. But that wasn't the case. - My sense is that the Vaporfly's bounce and "energy return" properties work better the more force you apply through the shoe. I'm not a ground pounder, but more of a skimmer - my speed comes from efficiency, not power. My hunch is that those who run with a power stride or weigh more than I do may benefit more from this shoe than I do.
- I tried to kick at the end of Houston, and couldn't - that matches my experience in my 5K with this shoe. You can't change gears suddenly, you can't speed up your cadence, and you can't get up on your toes. At the same time, the rocker action of the shoe really helped me when I was just barely hanging on in the later miles at Houston - if I could just keep my form together, the shoes kept me rolling forward.
Conclusion: if I've made some pacing errors and am struggling late in a race, I want the Vaporfly on my feet. If I've executed a perfect race and want to outkick someone else at the end, I'd rather be wearing the Adios or the Takumi Sen. - One of the big selling points of the Vaporfly is that they supposedly speed your recovery - you bounce back better from the race if you've worn these, due to all the cushioning. That was not my experience at all - I was trashed after Houston, and my legs felt awful. Of course, this may also be specific to me. I do not handle cushioned shoes or soft surfaces well - 10 miles on our local towpath beats me up much more than 10 miles on asphalt. This relates to my flimsy ankles and related stability issues. Others, especially those who run in cushioned shoes regularly, may have the opposite experience.
I was concerned that I would have ankle pain during or after the race because of the softness of the shoe, but it turned out to be minimal - most likely because I taped my ankles heavily pre-race. I did have some arch/foot pain post-race, which is normal for me with cushioned shoes or soft surfaces. Luckily that seems to have faded away this week. But that arch/foot pain is another reason not to train in these shoes, but to save them for goal races where I can take time off afterwards.
Dailies
Tuesday: Yoga in the morning, plus some self-massage with tennis ball.
Wednesday: Upper body weights/core and then 6 miles moderate (9:27) (the pace was "easy" but the effort was not). Followed with self-massage with tennis ball. (I really wish I had shipped myself a foam roller).
Thursday: 3 miles very easy to yoga (10:04), yoga, and then 6 miles very easy (8:47). Travel from Tampa to DC.
Friday: 12 "miles" of pool-running and some blissful foam rolling.
Saturday: 10 miles very easy (8:33), followed by drills, strides, upper body weights and core. Foam rolling at night.
Sunday: 14 progressive (plus an additional half-mile diversion to a working bathroom) split as first 5 miles averaging 8:56 pace, next 5 miles averaging 7:55 pace, and last 4 miles averaging 6:51 pace. Followed with light injury prevention work at the gym and 1000 yards of recovery swimming. Foam rolling in the afternoon.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Training log - Week ending 1/14/18
This week was 38 miles of running and 15 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here.
This week was all over the place, literally. I was supposed to do a track workout on Tuesday morning, but opted out after a two mile warm-up on a track that was a bit too icy for my tastes. So I waited until the sun came up, and then relocated to my old friend, the Whitehurst Freeway, to do the workout there. As it turned out, the Whitehurst was very foggy, with poor visibility - I'm not sure it was a better choice. But got it done.
By Friday, the weather had tilted the other way, in the lower 60s and humid. Just in time for me to run (too fast) a pick-up mile before flying to Houston, which was colder than DC at that time (though warmer than DC has been recently).
The race went well, which was nice. I'm now taking a down week before jumping into Boston training. This break is timed with a work trip to Tampa, so I don't have to worry about fitting in workouts or high mileage while here. Very convenient.
Dailies
Monday: 8 "miles" pool-running and DIY yoga. Foam rolling at night
Tuesday: 2 mile warm-up part 1, then 2 mile warm-up part 2, and then a variant of 1600, 4x800 under the Whitehurst (splits were 6:06, 2:56, 2:56, 2:51, 2:52 for something close to those distances). Followed with 2 mile cool-down. Foam rolling at night
Wednesday: 7 miles very easy (8:51), followed by drills and strides and DIY yoga. Massage in afternoon.
Thursday: 7 "miles" pool-running, followed by light upper body strengthwork and core, plus DIY yoga. Foam rolling in evening.
Friday: 6 miles, including a pick-up mile in 6:08 (too fast, even after allowing for the fact it was downhill). Then flew to Houston.
Saturday: Nothing save DIY yoga and a bit of tennis balling.
Sunday: 2 mile warm-up and then a half marathon in 85:43.
This week was all over the place, literally. I was supposed to do a track workout on Tuesday morning, but opted out after a two mile warm-up on a track that was a bit too icy for my tastes. So I waited until the sun came up, and then relocated to my old friend, the Whitehurst Freeway, to do the workout there. As it turned out, the Whitehurst was very foggy, with poor visibility - I'm not sure it was a better choice. But got it done.
By Friday, the weather had tilted the other way, in the lower 60s and humid. Just in time for me to run (too fast) a pick-up mile before flying to Houston, which was colder than DC at that time (though warmer than DC has been recently).
The race went well, which was nice. I'm now taking a down week before jumping into Boston training. This break is timed with a work trip to Tampa, so I don't have to worry about fitting in workouts or high mileage while here. Very convenient.
Dailies
Tuesday: 2 mile warm-up part 1, then 2 mile warm-up part 2, and then a variant of 1600, 4x800 under the Whitehurst (splits were 6:06, 2:56, 2:56, 2:51, 2:52 for something close to those distances). Followed with 2 mile cool-down. Foam rolling at night
Wednesday: 7 miles very easy (8:51), followed by drills and strides and DIY yoga. Massage in afternoon.
Thursday: 7 "miles" pool-running, followed by light upper body strengthwork and core, plus DIY yoga. Foam rolling in evening.
Friday: 6 miles, including a pick-up mile in 6:08 (too fast, even after allowing for the fact it was downhill). Then flew to Houston.
Saturday: Nothing save DIY yoga and a bit of tennis balling.
Sunday: 2 mile warm-up and then a half marathon in 85:43.
Race Report: Houston Half-Marathon, January 14, 2018
I ran the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon yesterday, finishing in a time of 1:25:43 - good enough for an age group win as well as a significant half-marathon PR. So it was a good day.
I have a past history with the Houston Half. Back in 2012 I had planned on Houston for a PR attempt only to get injured and miss it. I always meant to give it a second try, but other racing plans and/or injuries always got in the way.
Finally, this past spring I had some good races at the half-marathon and 10 mile distances. I checked the website for Houston on a whim, and realized that my times were probably good enough to get me into their Athlete Development Program ("ADP"), especially after adding in the age factor. (I've learned that if a race has an elite or sub-elite standard, and you're close but not under, they'll sometimes give you a bit of leeway if you're over 40).
So I applied, and they kindly let me in. Yay. I knew that I'd likely be training by myself for this race, since my team doesn't usually send anyone to Houston. But that was OK - I've done that before.
As it turned out, though, this year was an anomaly with a total of 11 people from my team doing either the full or the half at Houston. A very pleasant surprise, and it made the cycle a fun one.
***
Per my normal practice, I flew into Houston on Friday afternoon for the Sunday race. I never like to fly the day before a race, both because long flights drain me and because of the risk of delays or cancellations. As it turns out, Friday was a difficult day for air travel due to storms in the midwest. Our flight (a teammate and I were on the same flight) ended up delayed for 90 minutes, and we were the lucky ones - many other flights in the same terminal were cancelled. I was very grateful that I hadn't waited until Saturday to travel.
Once we landed in Houston, I defaulted to my standard pre-race routine - hanging out in my room save for brief excursions out to the race expo and to Chipotle (of course). While there was a Chipotle very close to my hotel, it was closed on weekends, so I took a tour of Houston using their light rail system, to the nearest open Chipotle. Pre-race rituals are important - especially when they involve excellent corn tortilla chips.
***
Race morning started very early for me with an alarm at 3:50 am (4:50 am DC time). The race started at 7:00 am, and I needed to take my asthma meds three hours pre-race, so 3:50 it was. Getting up that early had other advantages also - plenty of time to eat, drink, digest, and stretch, before taking a leisurely walk to the GRB center to drop off my bag. (I left my hotel around 5:40 am)
Houston uses the GRB center as a pre- and post-race staging area, and it works really well. Bag check was located inside, as were family meet-up areas and port-a-potties (referred to as "port-a-cans" here - somebody really needs to do a linguistics study of the different names for portable toilets by region). There was also an area dedicated to stretching, with a selection of yoga mats for use - brilliant.
***
After briefly seeing my teammates at the GRB, and dropping off my bag, I headed out for my warm-up, jogging towards the well marked starting areas. The ADP corral closed for entry at 6:35 am sharp, so I planned to do much of my warm-up outside the corral and then enter around 6:20, finishing my warm up in the corral - it was my understanding that the ADP corral had enough room to warm-up inside the corral.
As it turned out though, there was no room to jog in the corral - apparently I had misunderstood. So back out to do a bit more jogging before re-entering the corral at 6:30.
Many of my teammates were also in the ADP corral - so we stood and chatted and did drills in place and bounced to House of Pain (actually that was just me) and debated how long we wanted to keep our throwaway clothes on. It was pretty cold, so I delayed my strip time from 6:45 to 6:50 to 6:55 to 6:56:30, before reluctantly removing my sweatpants and top.
[As an aside, music by "House of Pain" is an absolutely brilliant pre-race choice that works on multiple levels. And much better than hearing that darn U2 song one more time.]
At 6:58 they released our corral and the A corral right behind us, and we jogged up to the front to line up behind the elites. The jogging was not for optimal placement at the start line, but rather a quick attempt to loosen up after 20+ minutes of standing still. Then, at 7:00 on the dot, we were off, running into a still dark Houston.
My plan was to stay conservative for the first 2-3 miles, and then hit a rhythm which I'd hold until I was close to the finish, when I'd start kicking. I had looked at the course video and identified a slight decline a bit after the 2 mile mark that would be the perfect opportunity to upshift. I've always found it easier and more logical to structure my race plan around geographic features of a course, rather than mile markers.
It was hard to hold back those first two miles. I was amped up and ready to run (and cold to boot). And surrounded by those faster than me. I had to repeatedly tap the metaphorical brakes and let others go past. Surprisingly soon, I hit "my" decline and shifted into gear.
The Houston Half course is like Chicago in that it's very flat, with scenery that doesn't change much throughout. Other than a brief tour through a nicely treelined neighborhood, it was a sequence of box stores and concrete. Which was fine with me - I didn't come to Houston for the scenery. The race course was marked in both kilometers and miles for the first seven miles, which made time pass quickly as I flowed forward.
This race was a PR attempt on a fast course on a cold day, and so I ran a bit more aggressively than my norm. Nothing stupid, but definitely the harder side of tempo, rather than the safe side. I was wearing my Vaporfly 4%s, which very much encourage a rolling stride, and I went with it.
The miles were ticking by, and I felt in control, though I was starting to work. At mile 7 I took a last sip from my handheld water bottle and then tossed it. Shortly thereafter, I fumbled with my Rocktane Gu (I had forgotten to pre-tear it). I got it open and took half a slurp and...my gut started churning. Nothing horribly urgent, but I decided not to finish the GU - this wasn't a marathon where I had to get nutrition in, and it wasn't worth the risk. I did have a non-rocktane on me as well, but I decided not to try that one either. Again, not worth the risk if my stomach was already on edge.
Somewhere after mile 8 things started to get hard. This wasn't a total shock (I mean, it is a half-marathon race, and 8 miles is nearly 2/3rds in) but I was surprised at just how hard it got. In retrospect, I think it was a combination of two things - a moderate headwind coming back, and my aggression earlier in the race catching up with me (which probably made the headwind seem a lot worse than it was). I usually take at least one GU during a half, so not finishing my GU might have played a part as well.
Whatever the cause, I was hurting. I was also by myself on a long bleak Houston road, with a few runners coming back to me very slowly. I reminded myself that this was a rhythm course, and just to hold the rhythm. Don't worry about the pace or what others were doing or what mile marker I had just passed, just lock into that rhythm as if I was dancing, and hold it until the end.
So that's what I did. The last mile of the race was difficult - a mile-long stretch in downtown Houston with the finish line nowhere in sight. I kept slipping into a bad mental place and then pulling myself out.
Wonderfully, the race had posted signs at 800m and 400m to the finish (every race should do this, IMHO). Once I saw those, things got slightly easier. Even though I couldn't see the finish, I trusted the signs and visualized my last two laps in a track tempo. It was time to close strong, and so I stretched up and emptied the tank, kicking as best I could (though the Vaporfly 4% is NOT a good shoe for kicking). And then, thankfully, I saw the clock ticking down 1:25:4x, and I knew I was going to break 86. And then I was done.
My final splits were:
Miles 1-2: 13:33 (average of 6:46)
Mile 3: 6:26
Mile 4: 6:30
Mile 5: 6:24
Mile 6: 6:25
Mile 7: 6:29
Mile 8: 6:23 (I think I hit lap a bit early)
Mile 9: 6:39 (see note for mile 8)
Mile 10: 6:31
Mile 11: 6:33
Mile 12: 6:32
Mile 13: 6:32
last bit: 46 seconds
A more or less well paced race, but I think I would have benefited from being a bit more patient in the early part of the race, around miles 3-6. I'm usually a very strong closer, and I wasn't on Sunday.
But I'm not too upset about it. I was able to hang tough when things got hard (blowing up a bit in my tune-up 5K was actually very useful practice), and I broke 86. Perhaps next time I'll be able to break 85.
Other notes:
I have a past history with the Houston Half. Back in 2012 I had planned on Houston for a PR attempt only to get injured and miss it. I always meant to give it a second try, but other racing plans and/or injuries always got in the way.
Finally, this past spring I had some good races at the half-marathon and 10 mile distances. I checked the website for Houston on a whim, and realized that my times were probably good enough to get me into their Athlete Development Program ("ADP"), especially after adding in the age factor. (I've learned that if a race has an elite or sub-elite standard, and you're close but not under, they'll sometimes give you a bit of leeway if you're over 40).
So I applied, and they kindly let me in. Yay. I knew that I'd likely be training by myself for this race, since my team doesn't usually send anyone to Houston. But that was OK - I've done that before.
As it turned out, though, this year was an anomaly with a total of 11 people from my team doing either the full or the half at Houston. A very pleasant surprise, and it made the cycle a fun one.
***
Per my normal practice, I flew into Houston on Friday afternoon for the Sunday race. I never like to fly the day before a race, both because long flights drain me and because of the risk of delays or cancellations. As it turns out, Friday was a difficult day for air travel due to storms in the midwest. Our flight (a teammate and I were on the same flight) ended up delayed for 90 minutes, and we were the lucky ones - many other flights in the same terminal were cancelled. I was very grateful that I hadn't waited until Saturday to travel.
Once we landed in Houston, I defaulted to my standard pre-race routine - hanging out in my room save for brief excursions out to the race expo and to Chipotle (of course). While there was a Chipotle very close to my hotel, it was closed on weekends, so I took a tour of Houston using their light rail system, to the nearest open Chipotle. Pre-race rituals are important - especially when they involve excellent corn tortilla chips.
***
Race morning started very early for me with an alarm at 3:50 am (4:50 am DC time). The race started at 7:00 am, and I needed to take my asthma meds three hours pre-race, so 3:50 it was. Getting up that early had other advantages also - plenty of time to eat, drink, digest, and stretch, before taking a leisurely walk to the GRB center to drop off my bag. (I left my hotel around 5:40 am)
Houston uses the GRB center as a pre- and post-race staging area, and it works really well. Bag check was located inside, as were family meet-up areas and port-a-potties (referred to as "port-a-cans" here - somebody really needs to do a linguistics study of the different names for portable toilets by region). There was also an area dedicated to stretching, with a selection of yoga mats for use - brilliant.
***
After briefly seeing my teammates at the GRB, and dropping off my bag, I headed out for my warm-up, jogging towards the well marked starting areas. The ADP corral closed for entry at 6:35 am sharp, so I planned to do much of my warm-up outside the corral and then enter around 6:20, finishing my warm up in the corral - it was my understanding that the ADP corral had enough room to warm-up inside the corral.
As it turned out though, there was no room to jog in the corral - apparently I had misunderstood. So back out to do a bit more jogging before re-entering the corral at 6:30.
Many of my teammates were also in the ADP corral - so we stood and chatted and did drills in place and bounced to House of Pain (actually that was just me) and debated how long we wanted to keep our throwaway clothes on. It was pretty cold, so I delayed my strip time from 6:45 to 6:50 to 6:55 to 6:56:30, before reluctantly removing my sweatpants and top.
[As an aside, music by "House of Pain" is an absolutely brilliant pre-race choice that works on multiple levels. And much better than hearing that darn U2 song one more time.]
At 6:58 they released our corral and the A corral right behind us, and we jogged up to the front to line up behind the elites. The jogging was not for optimal placement at the start line, but rather a quick attempt to loosen up after 20+ minutes of standing still. Then, at 7:00 on the dot, we were off, running into a still dark Houston.
My plan was to stay conservative for the first 2-3 miles, and then hit a rhythm which I'd hold until I was close to the finish, when I'd start kicking. I had looked at the course video and identified a slight decline a bit after the 2 mile mark that would be the perfect opportunity to upshift. I've always found it easier and more logical to structure my race plan around geographic features of a course, rather than mile markers.
It was hard to hold back those first two miles. I was amped up and ready to run (and cold to boot). And surrounded by those faster than me. I had to repeatedly tap the metaphorical brakes and let others go past. Surprisingly soon, I hit "my" decline and shifted into gear.
The Houston Half course is like Chicago in that it's very flat, with scenery that doesn't change much throughout. Other than a brief tour through a nicely treelined neighborhood, it was a sequence of box stores and concrete. Which was fine with me - I didn't come to Houston for the scenery. The race course was marked in both kilometers and miles for the first seven miles, which made time pass quickly as I flowed forward.
This race was a PR attempt on a fast course on a cold day, and so I ran a bit more aggressively than my norm. Nothing stupid, but definitely the harder side of tempo, rather than the safe side. I was wearing my Vaporfly 4%s, which very much encourage a rolling stride, and I went with it.
The miles were ticking by, and I felt in control, though I was starting to work. At mile 7 I took a last sip from my handheld water bottle and then tossed it. Shortly thereafter, I fumbled with my Rocktane Gu (I had forgotten to pre-tear it). I got it open and took half a slurp and...my gut started churning. Nothing horribly urgent, but I decided not to finish the GU - this wasn't a marathon where I had to get nutrition in, and it wasn't worth the risk. I did have a non-rocktane on me as well, but I decided not to try that one either. Again, not worth the risk if my stomach was already on edge.
Somewhere after mile 8 things started to get hard. This wasn't a total shock (I mean, it is a half-marathon race, and 8 miles is nearly 2/3rds in) but I was surprised at just how hard it got. In retrospect, I think it was a combination of two things - a moderate headwind coming back, and my aggression earlier in the race catching up with me (which probably made the headwind seem a lot worse than it was). I usually take at least one GU during a half, so not finishing my GU might have played a part as well.
Whatever the cause, I was hurting. I was also by myself on a long bleak Houston road, with a few runners coming back to me very slowly. I reminded myself that this was a rhythm course, and just to hold the rhythm. Don't worry about the pace or what others were doing or what mile marker I had just passed, just lock into that rhythm as if I was dancing, and hold it until the end.
So that's what I did. The last mile of the race was difficult - a mile-long stretch in downtown Houston with the finish line nowhere in sight. I kept slipping into a bad mental place and then pulling myself out.
Wonderfully, the race had posted signs at 800m and 400m to the finish (every race should do this, IMHO). Once I saw those, things got slightly easier. Even though I couldn't see the finish, I trusted the signs and visualized my last two laps in a track tempo. It was time to close strong, and so I stretched up and emptied the tank, kicking as best I could (though the Vaporfly 4% is NOT a good shoe for kicking). And then, thankfully, I saw the clock ticking down 1:25:4x, and I knew I was going to break 86. And then I was done.
My final splits were:
Miles 1-2: 13:33 (average of 6:46)
Mile 3: 6:26
Mile 4: 6:30
Mile 5: 6:24
Mile 6: 6:25
Mile 7: 6:29
Mile 8: 6:23 (I think I hit lap a bit early)
Mile 9: 6:39 (see note for mile 8)
Mile 10: 6:31
Mile 11: 6:33
Mile 12: 6:32
Mile 13: 6:32
last bit: 46 seconds
A more or less well paced race, but I think I would have benefited from being a bit more patient in the early part of the race, around miles 3-6. I'm usually a very strong closer, and I wasn't on Sunday.
But I'm not too upset about it. I was able to hang tough when things got hard (blowing up a bit in my tune-up 5K was actually very useful practice), and I broke 86. Perhaps next time I'll be able to break 85.
Other notes:
- I stayed at the Club Quarters, which was a great location. Nice hotel, with a CVS nearby and easy access to Houston's light rail system.
- On the flight over, both my seat mate and another person in the row were clearly sick. Thankfully, I was wearing a flu mask, which I pressed to my face with one hand the entire time to ensure no gaps. Upon landing, like the race induced hypochondriac that I am, I ran immediately to the bathroom, where I washed hands, then face, and then zinc-swabbed my nostrils prophylacticly.
- For the duration of my stay in Houston, I had issues with my throat and sinuses burning slightly. At first, I was sure I was getting sick (damn seatmates, damn airplane). And then, when checking the weather, I realized that Houston was having a bad air quality day. A trip downstairs to the hotel gym, where the air was heavily filtered, confirmed that it was Houston, not me.
I was worried I'd have some breathing issues on race morning, but fortunately that turned out not to be the case, save for one stretch early on where we ran through a bit of smoke or similar. I tightened up briefly, but then things loosened up as soon as we moved past that block. Whew! - I ended up winning my age group (women 40-44) and was fourth female master, losing to three women in the 45-49 age group. While I never like losing, it's pretty cool to lose to several women older than myself.
- I wore the Vaporfly 4% for this race, and thought it worked well. Of course, I don't know if I would have run faster or slower in the Adios. But the Vaporfly was an excellent shoe to hit a rhythm in, and the extra cushioning probably didn't hurt on a concrete course. I'm definitely still very sore and beaten up this morning, but that's what happens when you race a half-marathon all out. I do think that I would have been able to kick faster in the Adios - my kicking is all about getting up on my toes and increasing my cadence, and I can't really do either in the Vaporfly.
- A teammate and I, who are of similar abilities and had a similar race schedule this past fall before targeting this half, finished in essentially identical times (she got me by 2 seconds). This was despite having utterly different pacing strategies and training schedules. My training for this race was characterized by very slow easy days, limited volume and length of long runs, and an emphasis on track workouts, while her easy runs were more moderately paced, her volume was higher, and she emphasized marathon-like strengthwork. Similarly, I went out very conservatively and then dropped the pace, while she ran a more even race (we do the same thing in workouts - I descend in pace in my workouts, while she hits even splits).
I'm noting this because I think it's a beautiful illustration of how there is no one perfect way to train, taper, or execute on race day. I think that if she trained or paced like I do, she wouldn't run anywhere near as well. And the inverse is true too. Though there are some absolute rules (hard to run a solid half marathon on 10 miles a week; don't do a track workout if you're limping), there's also a lot of individuality that has to be recognized. Don't conclude that if someone is training differently from you that it means that one of you is wrong. There is more than one right way in running.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Training log - Week ending 1/7/18
This week was 53 miles of running and 16 "miles" of pool-running -- training log is here. (No recovery swimming this week - the pool was closed a lot. Also, it was just too darn cold.)
Another oddly structured week. No Tuesday track workout, since I raced on Monday, and then Friday's tempo was moved to Thursday to accommodate some super chilled weather.
Generally, I'm a big believer in training in all conditions, since you never know what you'll get on race day. Additionally, since I train by effort, not pace, I don't perceive a workout run at X pace in perfect weather to be superior or more productive than one run at X pace+10 seconds in sub-par weather.
That being said, I don't believe in being stupid either. Friday was forecast to be single digit air temperature with sustained winds of 20-30 MPG - a track workout in those conditions was asking for a pulled muscle. Better to bump things up a day.
As it turned out, we then had snowfall on Thursday morning. Since the track and all local running trails were covered in snow, I ended up tempoing under the Whitehurst freeway.
For those of you not in DC, there is an elevated highway in the Georgetown area of DC known as the Whitehurst Freeway with a street that runs underneath it - Water Street. When it snows, runners will run back and forth on Water Street under the Whitehurst.
The covered section of Water Street is fairly long - about 1200m end-to-end one way - so running here isn't awful.
You can do intervals by running one direction, jogging in small circles at that end to recover, before running back. And you can tempo by ping-ponging back and forth- a teammate who was a former swimmer used to love Whitehurst workouts, since they reminded her of pool workouts.
The one downside (depending on your perspective) is that it's impossible to know exact distances run on Water Street. Garmins are worthless there due to lack of signal, and you can't measure your exact distance on MapMyRun because you never take the same path or turn at quite the same place twice. So you just do a time and effort based workout and guesstimate distance. For those who focus on paces and splits, it's disconcerting. Since I pace off of perceived effort, I don't mind too much. And I prefer Water Street to the tedium of the track and its never ending circles.
The tempo went well, and between that and Monday's 5K, I'm feeling pretty confident for next weekend. I don't have any numbers to point to in support of that confidence - my official time for the 5K was meaningless for umpteen weather and course reasons, and I have no numbers at all for Thursday's workout. But both felt like good performances. Plus I'm feeling bouncy and fresh and peaking, and that's a very good thing.
Dailies
Monday: 3.5 mile warm-up and then a 5K race in 19:37. Later 5.5 easy (8:36); foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 8 "miles" pool-running and upper body weights/core. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 6.5 miles very easy (9:03) to yoga, yoga, and then 3.5 miles easy (8:51), followed by drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: 11 miles, including a 20 minute tempo under the Whitehurst freeway, followed by lower body strengthwork and injury prevention work. Foam rolling in evening.
Friday: Yoga followed by 8 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 8 miles very easy (8:48), followed by upper body strengthwork and core. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 12 miles moderate (7:51) followed by light lower body strengthwork and injury prevention work, DIY yoga, and foam rolling.
Another oddly structured week. No Tuesday track workout, since I raced on Monday, and then Friday's tempo was moved to Thursday to accommodate some super chilled weather.
Generally, I'm a big believer in training in all conditions, since you never know what you'll get on race day. Additionally, since I train by effort, not pace, I don't perceive a workout run at X pace in perfect weather to be superior or more productive than one run at X pace+10 seconds in sub-par weather.
That being said, I don't believe in being stupid either. Friday was forecast to be single digit air temperature with sustained winds of 20-30 MPG - a track workout in those conditions was asking for a pulled muscle. Better to bump things up a day.
As it turned out, we then had snowfall on Thursday morning. Since the track and all local running trails were covered in snow, I ended up tempoing under the Whitehurst freeway.
 |
| Water Street - view from one endpoint |
For those of you not in DC, there is an elevated highway in the Georgetown area of DC known as the Whitehurst Freeway with a street that runs underneath it - Water Street. When it snows, runners will run back and forth on Water Street under the Whitehurst.
The covered section of Water Street is fairly long - about 1200m end-to-end one way - so running here isn't awful.
You can do intervals by running one direction, jogging in small circles at that end to recover, before running back. And you can tempo by ping-ponging back and forth- a teammate who was a former swimmer used to love Whitehurst workouts, since they reminded her of pool workouts.
The one downside (depending on your perspective) is that it's impossible to know exact distances run on Water Street. Garmins are worthless there due to lack of signal, and you can't measure your exact distance on MapMyRun because you never take the same path or turn at quite the same place twice. So you just do a time and effort based workout and guesstimate distance. For those who focus on paces and splits, it's disconcerting. Since I pace off of perceived effort, I don't mind too much. And I prefer Water Street to the tedium of the track and its never ending circles.
The tempo went well, and between that and Monday's 5K, I'm feeling pretty confident for next weekend. I don't have any numbers to point to in support of that confidence - my official time for the 5K was meaningless for umpteen weather and course reasons, and I have no numbers at all for Thursday's workout. But both felt like good performances. Plus I'm feeling bouncy and fresh and peaking, and that's a very good thing.
Dailies
Tuesday: 8 "miles" pool-running and upper body weights/core. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: 6.5 miles very easy (9:03) to yoga, yoga, and then 3.5 miles easy (8:51), followed by drills and strides. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: 11 miles, including a 20 minute tempo under the Whitehurst freeway, followed by lower body strengthwork and injury prevention work. Foam rolling in evening.
Friday: Yoga followed by 8 "miles" pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 8 miles very easy (8:48), followed by upper body strengthwork and core. Foam rolling in evening.
Sunday: 12 miles moderate (7:51) followed by light lower body strengthwork and injury prevention work, DIY yoga, and foam rolling.
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