A Tale of Two Twenty Milers

I did my second and final 20 miler a couple of weekends ago. My first one suckkkkked, so I really wanted to make sure that the second one felt strong. Despite knowing that I was running on very tired legs for the first one, I started to really doubt my abilities and my goal for the marathon. There's nothing worse than a marathon runner in peak mileage filled with self doubt. Hello spiral.

On paper, the runs look identical. The first, August 25 started about 6:15 a.m. I ran with 3 other running friends, all of which who are training for TCM. We ran 3:26:22 for an average pace of 10:19. The second, completed September 16, was ran with one of the running friends fro the initial group, we started at 6:10 a.m. and ran 3:26:30 for an average pace of 10:19.

Yet the second run was light years better then the first.

During the first run, I did all the wrong things I could possibly do. To start, I wasn't super vocal when the group started off too fast. I was super swept up in running the loop for the first time, and all the energy and excitement. By the time I noticed 5 or 6 10 or sub 10 minute miles, it was probably too late. Because we had a larger group, we ended up stopping. A lot. Bathroom stops, water stops, emergency bathroom stops, emergency gas station fuel stops. So many stops. We ended up with an overall time, including stops of around 4 hours. Uff da.

In addition to all of this, again, I was so swept up in the fun and excitement that I wasn't diligent about my fueling. Derp. I thought I'd try to take my gels every 5 miles instead of 4 like I typically do. Why? Who the hell knows. Maybe I was trying to see if I could run through an epic bonk fest. My GU consumption was really sporadic, and I felt really really hungry for most of the run. About the time I realized I needed my final GU was in the last two miles and I had convinced myself that it wouldn't kick in before I was done so it was dumb to waste the $1.50 for nothing. Thank goodness my running buddy Jessica had some sport beans she was willing to share. I positive split that long run like a BOSS.

My second run, I aimed to do everything that I could control well. I made myself a meal for supper that should be friendly toward my stomach the next day. I hydrated like a champ. I packed 4 Gus and had a clear plan of fueling attack. Melissa and I started super early, although with as humid as it was, we probably could've started at 5:30 a.m.--barf. She was okay with starting out really slowly and we eased into the running in 10:30 minute miles to start. Ahhhh. She forgot her fuel, so we derailed our route plan and did two out and backs to our vehicles so she could get her skratch, much needed on a hot humid day. We kept things super easy, we chatted, we kept our bathroom and water stops to a minimum, GU'd on the run and just kept things moving. My legs never felt good, but this 20 miler was at the end of my highest mileage week ever, so I expected to be doing it on tired, worn out legs. I was prepared.

To be honest, I was a little annoyed to see that this run was slower than the first. But it was 8 seconds, so who really cares. And how I felt on the second run, strong and in control, I would take any day.

So I guess this is just a really long winded way to say that sometimes the pace and time doesn't really tell the story of a run. And this was a good reminder of that.

They Can't All be Unicorn Long Runs

I've had a plan to run the Sioux Falls loop/circuit since 605 Running Co. announced the challenge about it over a year ago. You start at the store, run the loop in either direction, and end back at the store, logging 19.3 miles and earning a free t-shirt from the store. Toni and I contemplated doing it as a fun run last fall but ultimately decided that her first time running that far should be for a greater purpose, like marathon training.

Jessica and I had made a tentative plan to do it together as we realized we had 20 miles falling on the same day in our training plans. Melissa had a long run cut short last weekend, so she was wanting to go longer than planned this weekend, and her BRF wanted to join us. A nice fun little crew of gals to start the day. I was excited!

We met at 6:05 am at 605, and got ready to take off. A few of us were concerned about the lack of bathrooms the direction we were going so we opted to take our first bathroom stop about 15 minutes into the run. My legs felt pretty heavy, but we also started in the hillier direction. Last weekend's 18 also started with heavy legs, and then they felt great, so I was optimistic.

We took turns running in groups of two, switching up the conversation, and the leaders, and the miles were really clicking by. There were a couple I was shocked about when they were done because I felt like we just started them. I started paying closer attention to my watch and panicked a bit when I was seeing sub 10 paces. I knew it was going to heat up, and I like to start a bit more conservatively in hopes that I can pick it up at the end. Eeps.

We had to make another bathroom stop because my stomach was not wanting to participate in the run. And then I kind of just stopped talking. We were at mile 9.8; not even to the halfway point. Eeps. My body just felt heavy and I had all sorts of aches and pains. When I would catch a glimpse of my shadow's form I just looked sloppy. My legs could still feel my speed session from Wednesday and my POWER class from Thursday night. Blech.

I was still optimistic that I would be able to pick it up the last 5 as that's usually where my brain clicks into "we're almost done! YAYZIES!" mode. Spoiler alert: it didn't. By the time we hit the last 3 miles, we were all ready to be done, and just started running at our own paces. When I had to fill up for water the last time, a couple of the girls wanted to keep going since it felt so uncomfortable to stop and start.

I was starving, and wished that I had stuck to my GU every 4 plan instead of trying for every 5. With 1.8 to go I mentioned to Jessica that I wish I had some sport beans or something to eat, and like a little angel sent from above, she had some. I knew if I took a GU this late, I wouldn't even feel it until I was done. I'm not sure that the sport beans really gave me anything extra, but mentally they did. We put our heads down and just ran. Slowly, but surely.

Since we had a few out and back extras for bathrooms and a convenience store stop for ice and fuel, we were at 20 with about a half mile to go to the store. You best believe I stopped my watch and walked in the final .5 miles. I had announced very early in the run that I was not running a step further than 20 today.

I was so happy to be done but I was really bummed with how the 20 mile went. But in perspective, I ran 20 miles at the end of 3 really really high mileage weeks. It is expected that my legs feel like garbage. Running 3+ hours when you feel that cruddy is some of the best mental training you can do. And marathons are SO MENTAL. It was a reminder that I need to stick to *my* plan even when I'm running with others. I'm more than grateful for the company on that 20 miles, but I suspect if I had kept my pace in check in those early miles, I would've felt stronger at the end.

Regardless, I'm excited for a much needed cutback week with a scheduled massage. My body has earned it!

Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon Training Recap Week 6

I took a rest day Tuesday and started off my runs on Wednesday with a bang. I drove to the bike trail to run my tempo run and was all excited to snap a gorgeous picture of the moon as the sun was starting to rise. But as I got out of my car, there was a girl sleeping in the car next to me, and I was afraid she'd think i was snapping a pic of her. So here's my face instead, again.

I had seven miles on the schedule with five at tempo pace of 8:48. I didn't eat breakfast before this run and didn't bring any fuel along with me, and I really started to feel it the last two tempo miles. I was totally pooped. Hard early morning workouts require snacks, memo received. I still squeaked out an average tempo pace of 8:49.

Thursday was a rest day and Friday was supposed to be my 20 miler, but in looking at the weather for Friday vs. Sunday, it was a no-brainer to move my long run to Sunday. So I headed out for a hilly 8 miles Friday late morning to get in some heat and humidity acclimation with my hilly run.

Saturday was supposed to be an easy 5 mile recovery run to get me to 40 miles, but my knee was feeling slightly wonky after the hills on Saturday, so I opted to rest it up for Sunday's long run. Thankfully all was well for almost 3.5 hours of running on Sunday. Phew. Still wish I would've snagged a 40 mile week though!

I babbled all about Sunday's long run here, so I won't bore you again.

Long Run Euphoria

The scene: My messy living room.
The players: Me with laptop on my lap, Ollie snoozing next to me.
Setting: Sunday afternoon.

I'm currently sitting on the couch, compression socks on my legs to compress, spandex shorts on my booty to cover my inner thigh chafage (ouch, Mac Rogas, you FINALLY betrayed me!), empty Qdoba nacho bowl on the table in front of me, comfy, cozy.

This is what I like to call the runner's high of marathon training, aka long run euphoria. I tend to get a runner's high from long runs, regardless if they're successful or if I rode the struggle bus the whole g.d. time. But today, TODAY, I'm on the best kind of runner's high, the kind where you knocked the long run out of the park, and you're immediately re-amped for your training cycle and goals.

I woke up at 4:20am this morning. A cold front had moved in overnight (praise whomever you praise, yo) so getting up that early wasn't necessary, but Kyle and I both zonked out at 9pm last night, so the early bird catches the worm, and all that jazz. Besides, there's something about running when it's still dark out, that makes the miles seem like they're effortless. Like, you hit 6 miles in the dark and you feel like you're JUST starting or something.

Well, that didn't happen this morning.

I was supposed to do a 5 mile recovery run yesterday. I did 8 miles of hills on Friday, and I could not get out of bed Saturday morning to run before work. I also had the TEENSIEST amount of IT band discomfort after my hilly run, so I opted to take it easy and rest in preparation for my 20 miler.

I certainly felt those 8 miles of hills. For the first three miles of my long run. I was hitting 11:00 minute paces, and felt like I was running 10:00 minute paces. :/ Woof. I decided I'd ignore my pace and just run for time on my feet, as is the purpose for 20 mile runs. I could tell my form was off, so I decided to include 3 minute pickups every 20 minutes as I did during last week's 18 miler. They tend to get my form on the right track and activate my glutes.

After the first 3 minutes I could tell a world of difference in my form, and my effort was much less laborious, and I was picking up speed. Neat.

I was out of GUs last week so I placed a quick order through amazon for some more, and also threw in a bottle of salt pills. It was probably pretty dumb of me to try something new like that on a 20 miler, because I could crash and burn, but I did it anyway. I GU'd every 45 minutes, and took a salt pill every 60 minutes. AND I FELT AMAZING.

I normally get really nauseous toward the end of my long runs, and stay in that state for hours (or a full day) after. It's miserable. I felt so strong at the end of the run, that I deliriously almost contemplated running another 6.2 miles just to do a marathon fun run. And then I realized that would be stupid, but STILL. That's how magical I felt.

So maybe the excessive salt loss from sweat was a huge part of my stomach issues in past runs. Time will tell I guess, but I feel pretty darn good about marathon training with another eleven weeks to go.


First four miles 43:09
Second four miles 42:01
Third four miles 41:42
Fourth four miles 41:21
Fifth four miles 41:11

October in Review + 20 Miler for Philly

October In Review

Total Miles: 170.7 up from 121.2 last month. (151.2 miles from October 2010.)  Highest mileage month of the year, and second highest ever!  (Highest was April 2010).  Heck ya!  This includes a mini taper the first week in October since I raced a half.  WHOO! 

Total Time: 26:54:05 up from 18:56:33. (23:52:41 last October.)

Total Runs: 23 for an average of 7.42/run.

Highest weekly mileage:

10/24/2011 — 10/30/2011:

50.0 Mi

7:59:30

My second 50 mile week ever. :D

Favorite run: My mid-week double digit run.  See below.

Most hardcore run:  Either my 8 mile run with 4 at tempo, or my 600 m intervals.  I managed to find some sub 7 speed in these ol' legs of mine.  So that was fun.  Apparently I failed to blog about the intervals.  Meh.  Just imagine greatness, I guess.  :P

Favorite race:  Fargo FM half marathon.  Well, half of it was good.  So perhaps I should say the Fargo quarter marathon. :)

Bike Miles: 0.  I thought about it, does that count?  Between 8 hours of running, and a gazillion hours of school + work, biking is just not happening.  And that's sad because its still nice enough to do it.  Sorry Princess Leia.

Favorite Jams: Beyonce's Love on Top.

________________

So quick recap of last week since I was too lazy to blog apparently, I did intervals.  They were fast (for me) the recoveries were slow (for me).  Interval paces on the 600s were in the 6:30s-6:40s.  Heyo!

 

And on to my favorite run of the month, the 11 miler on Thursday.  After doing 8 miles, the night before with some speedy 600s, I was concerned my legs would be d-e-a-d.  But I didn't have class, due to fall break, so I was going to take full advantage and get my run in while crunching around on some fallen leaves.  I was prepared to take the run slow, since the name of the game is injury free, but my legs weren't having it.  I was in the 9:20s for most of the run with a low HR.  I'm sure the 46 degrees didn't hurt the cause.  And yes, I was the only one out there in shorts and a tee.  Hey, I put on a tee shirt, not like I'm crazy wearing a tanktop! The last few miles were a little scary since the sun had completely set.  I also slowed down since I always seem to fall, and the odds of this only increase when it's dark.  :/

 

I did 11 miles in 1:44:13 for a pace of 9:29.

 

Friday I somehow convinced Kyle to join me for part of my recovery run.  I did 2.5 miles without him and then he joined me for the last 1.5 miles.  We ran for about 4-5 minutes, then took a walk break, and repeated until we were done.  A dude in vibrams sprinted past us on a walk break, and that lit a fire under Kyle.  Of course that next running stretch had to be in the 8:30s.  Come on dude, this is my RECOVERY RUN.  But it was fun to have his company, and he didn't throw me in the river when we got there, so overall, I'd say that's a win!

 

Saturday morning was the last (and only) 20 miler of Philly training.  Eep!  After a glorious 11 hours of sleep (yes, seriously), I finally rolled out of bed and hit the trails.  I was bummed that I was too lazy to get up early, because the trick or treat trail run was going on, and I meant to intersect with the route and cheer my friends on.  Grr. 

 

After putting in 30 miles in a few short days, my legs were trashed from the start.  Which is good, I suppose.  Nothing wrong with getting in some major miles on super tired legs.  Mental toughness, I'm chasin' ya!  The first 5 miles were pretty pokey and in to the wind, which sucked.  Especially because weather.com had told me the wind was to be a light 3 mph breeze.  Liars.

 

I finally got some pep in my step about an hour in (probably didn't hurt that the wind was at my back) and decided to add some difficulty to my run (you know, because 20 miles isn't hard enough) and added a long hill in the middle of it.  I heard there are about 2 decent hills in Philly, so might as well get a little practice since I suck at them.  Adding pain to the current... uh... pain.... is the awful smell blowing over from the meat packing plant.  It. Was. Terrible.  I could taste the crap.  And of course this is right by our penitentiary, so I was on high alert for an escapees.  So much fun.

 

When I finally hit ten miles and turned around, I was assaulted by the wind, yet again.  And the smell of the meat packing plant.  Barf.  Luckily I had some downhill miles to attend to.  After the downhills, life started to suck.  I always seem to lose some steam during the middle 3rd of a run.  The wind wasn't helping.  Somehow I managed to kick up the pace a little bit during the final 3 miles to finish strong.  Not my fastest 20 miler, but definitely my most consistent.  And I finished feeling like I could easily run for another hour, which I haven't always been able to say at the end of a 20 miler.  I hit 9:20 and 8:40 for miles 19 and 20.

 

I did 20 miles in 3:12:34 for a pace of 9:38.

 

And apparently I took a total of 2 photos this weekend, but they were important hydrating photos, so enjoy.

Sunday morning mimosas. 

 

Me:  How much do you think you'll drink?  What size champagne should I get?

KK:  Jeri... it's 10am, I'm not going to drink.  Get whatever you want.

 

And then Sunday night I had the grossest beer ever to wrap up the Old Chicago Halloween mini-tour.  If I wanted apple juice, I'd order apple juice.  Ick.