Showing posts with label training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label training. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2016

The Well-Read Runner: Changing the End Game


Hola, runners!  I just realized that it's been a rather looooong time since I did any updating on my training for the upcoming Flower City Half Marathon.  With only 24 days til the race (eeeek), I am at the height of my training right now.  It's safe to say that this training cycle has been full of roller-coaster-esque ups and downs.

You may remember that, back in Week 1 of training, I decided to try to go sub-2 (under 2 hours) in this race.  My PR is 2:05, though on a very flat course, whereas Flower City has a substantial hill section in the middle miles.  So I immediately went into heavy training mode: lots of track intervals, lots of tempo runs, lots of hill repeats, lots of race pace training runs.

At first, I was excited for this plan.  I'd never done dedicated hill training before, and it was fun to try.  However, the novelty wore off quick.  I started getting run down, feeling constantly tired, more sore than usual.  I started dreading my runs.

Then, this week, I had a revelation.

IT'S TIME FOR ME TO CHANGE THE END GAME.

This revelation came in 2 parts.  Part 1 happened on Tuesday morning, when my alarm went off at 5:15am for what was supposed to be a 9x400m speed workout.  I DID NOT want to do it.  I was THIS close to just rolling over and skipping the whole thing.

Then I thought to myself..."What if I just go out and run...for fun?  No intervals.  No speed work."

I jumped out of bed so fast, I almost sprained an ankle.

I went out and ran a totally carefree 3 miles.  Didn't even wear my Garmin.  Couldn't tell you what my pace was.  (Okay, I could if I looked it up on Nike + (which I always have on during runs), but I didn't even look at my pace on it afterwards.  So I really couldn't tell you.)  It was an awesome run.

Part 2: Wednesday the alarm went off at 5:15am again.  I had 9 x hill repeats on the schedule.  Nope, didn't want to do that either.  I went out and ran 4.5 miles for fun.  (I have started to LOVE running in the early-morning dark.  So quiet!  So peaceful!)  It was amazing.

It was during this second run that I had a serious mental talk with myself.  Do I REALLY want to run Flower City sub-2?  And if so, why?  I've run 3 half marathons so far, and at all 3, I have felt HORRIBLE at the finish line.  I'm not talking mentally (I've PR'd each time, which is a mental boost), but I mean physically--I felt like I wanted to puke.  I don't enjoy any of my post-race time because I'm so busy trying to keep myself from vomiting that I just want to go home and lie in a dark room.  After my last one (Winter Warrior), I finished the race at 6pm and ended up on my couch feeling like gastrointestinal death until 11:30pm.  I remember standing in line for my medal and willing myself not to be sick on the person in front of me.  Yes, I PR'd.  Was it worth it?  Is that what I want a race to feel like every time?

Some would say yes.  I mean, look at Shalane Flanagan at the Olympic marathon trials last month.  Girlfriend collapsed at the finish line.  She left EVERYTHING out on the course.  It was epic, phenomenal, inspirational.  But you know what?  That was for a spot in RIO.  I am not going to Rio anytime soon.  Like, not even on vacation.
This was an incredible finish to watch!! (Photo credit womensrunning.competitor.com)
I thought about the first "big" race I ever did.  It was the Boilermaker 15K back in 2008.  I had only started running in 2006, and had never done anything beyond a 5K up to that point.  My husband and I trained using a beginner Hal Higdon program.  It didn't call for any speed work--just putting in the weekly miles.  We had no Garmin.  We had no Nike +.  We just did our miles and high-fived every time we completed a training run.

You know what?  By my current standards, my Boilermaker time sucked.  1:44.  Roughly 11:09/mile.  But you know what else?  I.DID.NOT.CARE.ONE.BIT.  I ran 9.3 miles without stopping!!  On an 85 degree day!!  I got to enjoy free beer and cookies at the finish with my husband!  It was a freaking awesome day.
Went back in the archives for this one! Boilermaker 2008.  It was SO hot.  But I had SO much fun.
So I thought hard about my goals during this week's Wednesday morning run.  In the age of social media, it is easy to lose sight of what you REALLY want.  I follow a lot of running bloggers, and I love them--they are insanely inspirational, they give me new ideas for training, recovery, and racing all the time--they are amazing.  However, 99% of them are following strictly laid-out training plans for races almost all the time.  And it's easy, when you're reading their blogs and following their Instagrams and perusing their Tweets, to think that that's how running has to be all the time.  Hit it hard, #tracktuesday like a boss, leave it all on the road, and keep chasing those PR goals.

But maybe...the PR isn't MY current, deep-down goal.  I know, what a thought, right?

After thinking long and hard, here are my TRUE goals...the ones that I know would make me happiest on April 24th:

1. Finish with a smile on my face.  A smile that shows the fun I had on the course, and that shows how happy I was to run strong without making myself physically miserable.  I mean really--I JUST RAN 13.1 MILES!  That's something to really and truly smile about!
One of the only race photos that I have of me smiling...at a 5K, during which I did not check my pace once. I felt great...and I PR'd.  Coincedence?
2. Run the whole race without stopping to walk.  I know this may not seem like a big deal, but in all 3 of my past half marathons, I overdid it so much in the early miles that I had to walk in the later ones...even though I've almost NEVER had to walk during a training run.  Again, this is all because I push too hard during the race and burn out.  I don't want to do that this time.  I know I can run 13.1 miles without stopping--I KNOW it.

3. Run without my current pace showing on my Garmin.  I still want to wear it because it's fun to look at my race stats after the run is over, but I don't want to look at my pace during the entire race.  I want to run a comfortably strong pace.  If I feel like I'm overdoing it, I'll slow down.  If I think I have some gas left, I'll speed up.  End of story.
The only race pic of me at Winter Warrior...yup, checking my darn Garmin!!
4. Run the kids 1/4 mile run with Small Fry afterwards, and be able to enjoy it.  I've been so afraid that by trying to sub-2 this race, I will end up in Wanna Vomit Land again after the finish, and not be able to have fun with Small Fry when he races later.  I don't want that to happen.

So that's that.  I've decided that the last 24 days of my training will focus on mileage, not speed or hills.  I'll still put in the miles--long runs will continue as usual, and I'll still be running 3 weekdays in between them.  But it's time for me to find the fun in running again--and I think that means taking a step away from the limit-pushing.  It's time for me and the road to become buddies again, not adversaries.  I run because I love it...but for me (at least right now), loving it does not include constantly trying to reach that next level.  Sometimes, the level I'm on is just fine.

Maybe I will PR anyway (I PR'd in the 5K last September when I didn't care about my pace at all--another very telling situation).  Maybe I'll be slow as molasses.  But I'm determined to have a GREAT race day, no matter what.

Runners, have you ever struggled with your training goals?  Do you ever find it hard to focus on your true goals when social media barrages you with everyone else's?  What would you say was the most fun race you ever completed?

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

February Minis: 3 for 3!

Hello, readers!  I know, I completely fell off the wagon with Book Blogger Appreciation Week halfway through.  MY BAD.  You know how my blogging is these days.  However, I have been busy reading, and I've got 3 new mini-reviews for you...and all 3 are books that I thoroughly enjoyed.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Penguin, 2009
borrowed from the library

This is the latest pick from my MOMS Club book club.  Right after I started reading it, my BFF Cari texted me to alert me that this is one of her top 5 books of ALL TIME!  Quite the endorsement!  And I have to say, I now completely understand why.  I loooooved this novel.  Book club is going to have a lot to discuss!

Synopsis: 29-year-old Alice wakes up on the floor of a gym after falling and hitting her head.  Which is weird, because she hates gyms.  But then she finds out that she's not 29 anymore--she's 39.  She's also not pregnant with her first child anymore (as she thought), but now has 3 kids.  And she's also not married to the love of her life anymore--she's getting a divorce.  Yes, Alice hit her head and lost 10 years of her memories.  Now she's trying to figure out what went wrong...and can she regain the person she thought she was 10 years ago?  (Does she want to?)

This is the first time I've read Moriarty's work, and it won't be the last.  The dialogue is lighthearted, but the core issues of this book are not.  The ending is perfection, and guaranteed to leave you with so much to mull over.  This novel is not even a little bit the predictable sappy love story that I feared it might be.  Can't recommend this enough!!

Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich
G.P. Putnam, 2015
borrowed from the library

This book was recommended by ALL THE BLOGGERS.  I saw it on a bunch of best-of lists for 2015, and finally decided to pick it up at the library.  Synopsis: Clayton Burroughs is the sheriff on Bull Mountain in the woods of north Georgia.  He also happens to be the youngest brother of the outlaw Burroughs clan, currently run by his oldest brother Halford.  But Clayton is trying to be different--he's a man of the law, and determined to keep his family's criminal ways out of his life.  And he's doing a pretty good job of it.  Until ATF agent Simon Holly shows up at his door.

I have to admit that I was skeptical of this one.  Half crime thriller/half historical fiction, I didn't know if this would be a great fit for me.  But let me tell you, I was glued from page one.  I even skipped a yoga practice to wake up early one morning and finish it!!  :)  The way Panowich makes this story unfold is absolutely brilliant.  Even if I guessed at some of the twists before they happened, I didn't care, because Panowich has such a way with words that he made them feel surprising anyway.  Complex characters, gripping conclusion--yup, this has it all.  Read it!

Hansons Half Marathon Method by Luke Humphrey with Keith & Kevin Hanson
Velo Press, 2014
borrowed from the library

Have to throw in my latest running read!  Since I am doing so many 13.1s this year, I've been enjoying reading about different training methods for the distance.  I heard amazing things about Hansons, so I had to pick this one up.  Full disclosure: when I first got the book, I immediately flipped to the training programs.  I took one look at these intense 6-day-a-week plans and said NOPE.  Not for me.  I put the book down and decided I'd save this one for a time in my life when I had more availability for such an involved program.

Then I got the notice that the book was due back to the library...and decided maybe I should at least read it first.  So I renewed it.  And I started reading.  And now I am a BELIEVER!  While I still think this is not the right time for me to follow a Hansons plan, I am 100% on board with their methodology, and I feel like I learned SO much more about the hows and whys of the training process.  Hansons plans are based in well-researched exercise science, and reading through them gave me a wealth of helpful new running information, even as I follow a different training calendar.  Absolutely a valuable read for anyone serious about the 13.1 distance, even if you're not going to use one of their plans.  I'm hoping to try one out when I have more time to dedicate to it.

What are your current reads?  Any good book club picks?  What's the last thing you read and loved because of a recommendation from a friend?

Sunday, February 7, 2016

The Well-Read Runner: Flower City Prep

Hi, running friends!  It's been a bit since my last running update, and I'll admit why: after Winter Warrior, I got lazy.  This is what happens when I don't have a race to train for!  I still ran (and ended up hitting 50 miles for the month of January--significant for me), but my frequency fell way off the rails and the junk food consumption went sky-high.
TRUE STORY.
One thing I did do post-race is start the Yoga Fix 90 program from Fightmaster Yoga on YouTube.  I'm still working through it (I usually only do yoga on days that I don't run, so my 90 days are not consecutive), but this has been SUCH a fun way to keep me pumped about yoga, and I can feel my strength and flexibility increasing!  Lesley Fightmaster (who I am now a total groupie of, LOVE HER) also has a 30 day yoga program for beginners, if you're looking for a lighter intro to the practice.
Scissor leg side crow!  So proud of myself for that one!
Despite my bit of laziness in January, February 1 turned things around as it marked the beginning of training for my next half--the Flower City Half Marathon on April 24.  My original goal was to just have fun with this one, because marathon training will start less than a month after this race and I didn't want to push too hard beforehand.  However, my friend Mandy is also planning to run it (her first half since giving birth to her second daughter last summer), and she said she thinks she can run it at about a 9:00/mile pace, which just HAPPENS to be fast enough to get just under 2 hours, and it might be fun to run with a friend, soooooo...

Yeah, I'm training for a PR again.

I TOLD myself I wouldn't do it this time!  I swore up and down!  Do this race for fun, I said!  Don't push so hard this time, I said!  But do I listen?  No I do not.

I put together a training plan for myself that draws from the lessons I've learned in past races about my limits as far as available time, and mileage.  Mondays are yoga days (though I also usually add yoga in at least 1-2 other days of the week as well).  Tuesday is speed work--I'm using Hal Higdon's intermediate plan for speed work, alternating 400m intervals one week and a tempo run the next.  Speed days are happening on the treadmill because I'm better at regulating my speed on the machine vs. out in the wild.
Post-speed work at the gym with Tater Tot.  It was his first time going to the gym's child care without crying!  Yeah!
Wednesday is hill work.  I've never done dedicated hill days, but Flower City has some nasty ones right around the midway point, and hills have been one of my worst downfalls (see: Mystic Half).  Unfortunately, I live in a super flat area, but the park near my house has one hill in particular that kicks my butt.  It's not super long, but steep enough that it's certainly a challenge for me.  I've been doing a 1 mile warmup (running to the park), followed by a series of hill sprints on that hill (walking down the hill serves as recovery in between), then 1 mile cooldown as I run home.  I started the first week with 4 sprints, thinking 4 sounded like not a lot...HAHA.  Was totally dying by the fourth one.  But at my fastest pace, I got up to 5:23/mile mid-sprint, which I felt pretty darn good about.  Hill sprints suck but I'm hoping they will pay off!
First hill work day was done in SHORTS!  Gotta love El Nino February!
Thursdays are a rest day, then Fridays I do a race pace run.  I'm glad I'm doing these because I am not great at holding a 9:00/mile pace yet during these runs.  The first week my average was 8:42...yup, too fast.  I need to get a better feel for this pace so that it's easier for me to dial in on race day.

Saturday is a rest day, then Sunday long run.  I'm making a conscious effort to throw in hills on the long run (not sprints, just at long run pace).  I often avoided the hills during long runs for Winter Warrior, but I knew the course was flat so I didn't feel bad about it.  Now I know I need to be able to handle a good hill when my legs are already fatigued--so long run hills will help with that.

Honestly, I still have some doubts about my ability to go sub-2 on such a hilly course, but as with Winter Warrior--there ain't no harm in trying.  At the very least, I'm challenging myself by adding in some hill work (new for me), and switching up my training routine is always fun!

I'll keep you posted as training goes on...I'm just happy to be back in a routine again!

What are you training for these days?  Do you have any good recommendations for hill training?

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Last 2 Books of 2015!

My last 2 mini-reviews of the year!  I was able to squeeze these in right under the wire, bringing me up to 49 for the year.  Not bad!

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Little, Brown and Company, 2005
personal purchase

I put this book on my 30 Before 35 list because I've heard raves about it for the last 10 years, and have had a copy on my bookshelf for almost as long, but I kept pushing it off due to the fact that it's a pretty sizeable chunker (676 pages).  I finally picked it up on a whim, not even knowing what it was about, and was pleased to find that it's a historical fiction novel about the legend behind Dracula.  How fortuitous that I read Stoker's famous book just a few months ago!  However, reading Dracula before The Historian is certainly not a requirement, as this book provides more than enough background to keep you on top of things.

Quick synopsis: the narrator is a teenager in the 1970's, living with her father (a diplomat) in Amsterdam.  One day, she stumbles upon some old letters in her father's study, which turn out to be the beginnings of a rather epic mystery surrounding the legend of Lord Dracula.  When, in the midst of learning about this mystery, the narrator's father disappears, she begins her own journey to figure out where he went, what sort of discoveries he made in the past, and what really happened to her mother.

I only gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads, which feels underwhelming, but unless you are a serious fangirl/fanboy of medieval history, this book is surely going to drag in parts.  And I feel bad saying that, because this book is positively overflowing with lavish detail--a more elaborate story would be hard to find.  But that doesn't erase the fact that it's terribly drawn out, the frequent flashbacks making an already-detailed story even tougher to follow at times.  Even so, the mystery at the heart of the story is intriguing, and I enjoyed the little twist in the epilogue.  Thus, 3 stars is accurate for this middle-of-the-road novel.

Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon
Rodale Books, 2011 edition
received as a Christmas gift :)

What a surprise, right?  Haha.  Now that I am fairly certain I will be running my first marathon in late 2016, I figured it's time to start doing some reading.  I'm a huge fan of Higdon's race training plans (they have worked for me at both the 15K and half marathon distances), and I plan to use one of his novice marathon plans in the fall.  However, I also have a lot of questions about proper nutrition during training, hydration needs, tricks for staying in the game mentally, etc. and I thought this would be a good place to start.

I was correct in my thinking!  Higdon speaks equally to novice and more advanced runners in this book.  Some of the information was familiar to me after following his programs in the past, but some of it was new as well, and a LOT of it is going to be re-read as I dive into marathon training in the late spring.  In particular, I was very interested in the parts about the different varieties of speedwork (seriously, I still have a hard time telling a fartlek from a stride from intervals...), proper long run pacing, and pre-race nutrition.  Plus, I found this book to be a great motivator in general.  Reading about Higdon's formulas for success has left me feeling excited for the marathon journey ahead.

If you're a newbie marathoner looking for some solid advice starting out, or a more advanced marathoner who wants to shave time off of a PR, Hal Higdon's Marathon is an excellent read to help you get going in the right direction.

What's your last book of 2015?  Runners, any other good marathon training books I should look for?

Sunday, December 27, 2015

The Well-Read Runner: Winter Warrior Training Update


I'm long overdue for a running update!  When we last chatted, I had finished the Monster Scramble 10K, and started up my training for the Winter Warrior Half Marathon on January 9.

I'll admit that this training cycle has been a bit weird.  I've had two competing goals: to successfully train with a schedule that is less demanding than the Hal Higdon plan I used for my last half, and also to PR.

Why did I want a less demanding training plan?  Higdon's plans are awesome (and I plan to use one for my marathon in fall 2016), but they often require workouts 6 days a week, and I knew that would be a strain on my family through the holiday season.  Therefore, I made my own training plan that only required me to run 3-4 days a week, with a yoga day and some strength training thrown in.  So far, I think this has been a great fit time-wise.  I never skip the weekend long run (definitely the most important part!), and the weekday runs usually have some speed incorporated to push myself.  I admit I've been skimpy on the strength training (as always), but the yoga has been amazing--I am really hoping to incorporate this into my weekly routine for good!
A gorgeous sunset training run in Connecticut over Thanksgiving
That said--can I still PR on such a skimpy run schedule?  At first, I was toying with the idea of shooting for a sub-2 hour half marathon.  Flat course?  Colder temps?  What could be better conditions?  Even so, after about 6 weeks of training, I realized that was not going to be a realistic goal.  I didn't set up a speedwork schedule with enough rigor to get me there, and running only 3-4 days a week was not enough to get me the type of gains necessary for that time goal (a 14+ minute PR).  My speedwork was not showing the results I needed.

So, I readjusted my expectations, and started hoping for a sub-2:10 half.  This would take 4+ minutes off my current PR, and given the course conditions (as long as it doesn't blizzard!), I thought this completely do-able.  Baby steps, right??  A sub-2 half is a serious dream for me, but I knew I needed more time (and a more rigorous training plan) before I could get there.
True Winter Warrior training!  My 12 miler was done at 27 degrees (15 with the wind chill).  Brrrrr
Then?  Friday happened.

Christmas day I did a 10 mile long run.  This was supposed to be 7 miles easy, and 3 miles at race pace (roughly between 9:30-9:45 for me).  I started the run at 2pm, unusual because I am normally a 5-6am runner, but we did Christmas morning festivities and I headed out during Tater Tot's nap.  I was feeling FANTASTIC, and mile 1 clocked in at 9:18.  Whoa there, captain.  I tried to dial it back, but I just couldn't.  That pace was feeling easy and it was hard to hold back.  Mile 5 clocked in at 9:09 (exact pace needed for a sub-2 half) and I said, what the heck.  I'll do the last 3 miles at a pace for a sub-2 half.

Last 3 miles: 8:38, 8:44, 8:51 (mile 8 was the fastest of the 10).  Final overall pace of 9:04.  I FELT INVINCIBLE.  I don't know if it was the fueling (I had a whole morning of carbs under my belt before running, something I normally do not have at 6am), the weather (45 degrees and cloudy, amazing!), or the time of day (I have often felt faster in the afternoon/evening than the morning, maybe because I'm more stretched out?).  Did I mention Winter Warrior is a 4pm start?

So now...barring any weird curveballs (bad weather, illness, etc) I feel like I want to go for it.  Under 2 hours.  I have to at least try.  OMG, I can't believe I'm even saying that.  I'm scared to attempt it (what if I start too fast and just burn out?  What if my stomach goes crazy (as it is known to do) and I can't get close to that goal?  WHAT IF I FAIL?).  But those fears just...fears.  The worst thing that could happen is that I don't hit sub-2.  Whatever, right?  At least I can say I tried.

With that said, I've got less than 2 weeks to go!  I am going to keep the euphoric feeling of Friday's run in my mind, and hope I have similar feelings on race day!

Do you have any races coming up?  What is your first race of 2016 going to be?  Do you run better in cold winter temps, or prefer the warmth of summer?

Friday, October 23, 2015

The Well-Read Runner: In Search of Mojo


OMG, a Well-Read Runner post that's not on a Sunday!  These running posts are getting insidious!!

Full confession: I have slacked way off on running lately.  At the beginning of October (like 10 seconds after I signed up for the Four Seasons Challenge, OF COURSE), an unexpected health issue (long story, but basically a heart arrhythmia) came up that required me to stop running for about a week.  At the end of that week, my doctor gave me the okay to continue my running regimen as usual, even though a few more tests are being done on me through the end of this month.  While the doctor's okay should have been enough to make me lace up the shoes again, it wasn't...at least, not entirely.

I've been running since my doctor approved it, but the runs haven't been much fun.  They've been fraught with worry (will the palpitations start up again?  Will speed work aggravate them?  If I didn't fuel/hydrate the right way before the run, will they come back?).

And let me tell you--not-fun running kind of sucks.  It's real hard to get up at 5am on a Tuesday to knock down 4 miles when you know you're going to spend 90% of the time stressing out.

At this point, the medical testing is nearly completed, I have fewer and fewer reasons to worry, and runs are getting a bit easier, mentally.  But all this has left me feeling rather dispassionate about developing a training plan for the Winter Warrior half on January 9.  A twelve week program would have me start training around...now, but even with the OK from my doctor, I feel like I've fallen out of my running routine and am having trouble getting the motivation to make any sort of training schedule.

That said, I have a general idea of how I'd like to structure each week.  I'm going rogue and not following a strict Hal Higdon/Nike +/whatever schedule this time around, because I've learned a few things about my body with the last two half marathons, and want to adjust accordingly.

Sunday: long run,
Monday: yoga,
Tuesday: run,
Wednesday: BodyPump (just tried this earlier in the month, LOVED it, been looking for some good strength training!!),
Thursday: rest,
Friday: run,
Saturday: rest.

I know, that's only 3 runs a week.  But for this cycle, I really want to add yoga, I really want to add strength training, I really don't have time to double-up workouts in one day, and I really want 2 rest days.  So that's where it leaves me.

However, if I make those 2 weekday runs work for me (maybe speed work one day, hills the other), it should be adequate.  Winter Warrior is on a completely flat course anyway, so I could probably skip hills and perhaps just do a longer weekday run (4-5 miles instead of my usual 3-4)...because the big factor in the WW race is getting used to running in the arctic cold.  So time spent outside on the roads is valuable no matter what.  Right?  This is what I'm telling myself!

I'm hoping that if I keep to that schedule, I will fall back into a happy running routine within a couple of weeks.  We all have peaks and valleys with this crazy sport, don't we??  And apparently, this is one of my valleys.  But I know it's time to climb out...I just need to find the foothold that will get me started.

How do you find your running mojo when it goes missing?
 
Imagination Designs