Spring Race Plans

One of my favorite parts of running is planning out my racing schedule, and it's that time again! This spring, my focus is on a speedier half marathon. I'm hoping I can come close to my PR in the half, or maybe squeak out a new one and I'm giving myself two chances to do it!

I plan to run the 605 Half Marathon in late April. It's a very flat course, that I run almost every weekend for my long run, and it's put on by my buddies at the 605 Running Co. If the weather is as perfect as last year, look out PR! I'm coming for you.

A group of us also signed up for the Fargo Half Marathon. I did the marathon in 2011 and it was such a fun experience that I really want to go back, but only for 13.1. You'd have to pay me to train for a marathon through our winters and then race on a warm spring day. Hard pass. The group of us gals are all shooting for a low 1:50/sub 1:50 so it'll be really fun to train hard and see what we can do. I also like Fargo because it's a Saturday, so it's fun to go out that night to celebrate! Runners gone wild! Lolz.

I'll run a few shorter races as well, but I am focusing on racing less this spring compared to last spring. Last spring I *may* have been overarching (I definitely over raced). I plan to run the Frostbite 4 Mile in early February. I really enjoyed this race last year, and arguably it was one of my better performances for all of 2018. I like to see where my speed is at before training starts so I can see where my speed paces should be. I also like that there are 4 courses that they choose from based on the wind since it's in the dead of winter.

I also plan to run the Chilly Cheeks 5 mile in early April as a tune up race for the 605 Half Marathon. Why are all these races indicating that it's cold as balls here? Oh. Because it is. I think I can run 4 and 5 mile PRs this spring, so that's fun!

So just four races, and hopefully a lot of strong training miles with zero time off for sickness and/or injury. I think I hit my max of being sick in November so I should be good for a few years!

What's on your schedule?!?

Toni's Race Report: 605 Running Co. Half Marathon

Today we have another guest post from BRF extraordinaire, Toni. Leading up to the half, I suspected that she would run under 1:45, but I told her I thought she could run a 1:46. Mind games, man. In the half in January, her goal was to break 1:50 and without realizing what she was doing, she ran a 1:48. I wanted to see if lightning would strike twice on this race which only became a goal race as the weather was pretty darn perfect as we crept up on it. Spoiler alert: she smashed her PR by another 4 minutes in just 3 short months. INSANE!

Without further adieu, here's Toni's race report:

605. The Glorious Race.

Race morning started out great and I felt really good, I kept looking outside thinking, “Oh! It’s going to be so cold in these shorts!” but as soon as I opened the car door when we got parked and I wasn’t shocked by the cold, I really started to get amped up! We’re totally prepared for this race, the weather is beautiful. It’s going to be a great day!

There wasn’t much for a warm-up for this race and we cut it pretty close getting to the actual start line, but I wasn’t nervous for this race and I didn’t really have a plan. I was totally winging it, to be honest. When I took off, I figured I would run comfortably hard and at one mile see what time that put me at.

The first mile always goes so fast –

7:57 – At this point I thought maybe I would just see how many sub 8 miles I could manage before feeling like I needed to slow down.

Mile 2 - 7:53

Between these two miles I was supposed to see my husband – I was concerned about not seeing him, but I thought to myself “maybe I’m just SO fast he’ll barely miss me,” as it turns out, he thought the race started a half an hour later than it actually did, so there’s that.

Mile 3 - 7:54

Mile 4 - 7:56

Mile 5 - 7:52

Mile 6 - 7:58- This is where I took my first GU and that ended up being way too late, you will see.

At the turn around I saw Benson, and he said to me, “You’re killing it! Way to go!” and I was so proud of myself, it made me feel awesome, in all honesty I think it was his encouragement that kept the next two miles under 8 because I was really starting to feel the sluggish effects of lack of nutrition. (I’m not going to say I was bonking because I refuse to believe I was careless enough to bonk)

Mile 7 - 7:49

Mile 8 - 7:57

Mile 9 – 8:17 – This is the part where my body is giving me the middle finger for starving it, so I took my second GU.

Mile 10 – 8:18

Mile 11 – 8:08

Mile 12 – 8:12 – By this point I have given up all hope of ever running a sub 8 again for the rest of my life.

Mile 13 – 7:54. – ONLY because it was downhill.

Total time: 1:44:24 – This is surely a mistake because there’s no way I can run under 1:45. Except that I did, and I still can’t believe my legs did it.

The best part about running fast, is that I get to see more people cross the finish line, that is easily my favorite part. 605 put on such a wonderful half and I was so excited to be a part of the inaugural running.

Brookings Half Marathon Training Race Week

Monday Planned: Race pace+speed 7 miles 4x100 strides, 2 miles @ HM pace
Monday Actual: Sick day.

Tuesday Planned: Recovery 5 miles
Tuesday Actual: A truly horrendous 3.61 mile run where I felt like death, had to stop several times to cough and hack up stuff, and ended up take excessive walk breaks to catch my breath from all the coughing. Basically that run race week to get you amped to hit your goals. :P

Wednesday Planned:  Recovery 4 miles
Wednesday Actual: Recovery 3.26 miles. My legs felt like death. Still gahhhh!!!

Thursday Planned:  Recovery 3 Miles
Thursday Actual: I opted for a rest day from running since my legs felt so terrible and I was starting to panic about it. POWER in the morning with a little less weight on the leg portions.

Friday Planned: Recovery+speed 3 miles 4x100
Friday Actual: 3.62 miles with strides and COFFEE!!

Saturday Planned: Brookings Half Marathon
Saturday Actual: Warm up followed by the Brookings Half Marathon

Sunday Planned: Rest
Sunday Actual: Rest

Total Mileage Planned: 35 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  24.28 miles

Brookings Half Marathon Training Week

Monday Planned: GA+speed 6 miles 2 sets 6x100 strides
Monday Actual: 605 Strength + GA+speed 6 miles 2 sets 6x100 strides. So many strides. SO MUCH WIND. So much degrees (80, wtf).

Tuesday Planned: Recovery 4 miles
Tuesday Actual: Rest.

Wednesday Planned:  VO2 Max 9 miles 2x1200, 2x1000, 2x800 @ 3k-5k pace
Wednesday Actual: Recovery 4 miles with the 605 Group Run. I got to run with so many new friends! 

Thursday Planned:  rest 
Thursday Actual: VO2 Max 9 miles 2x1200, 2x1000, 2x800 @ 3k-5k pace. Round and round and round we went. So many laps at the track. 

Also I'm obsessed with my new watch face.

Friday Planned: Recovery 3 miles
Friday Actual: Recovery 3 miles at the coffee run, just 10 hours after our speed workout. Woof. 

Saturday Planned: Endurance 10 Miles
Saturday Actual: Endurance 10 Miles, followed by ALL OF THE BEVERAGES.

Then we spectated the Howard Wood Relays. And my legs felt so horrendous after running and then sitting on bleachers for hours called for legs up the wall before bed.

Sunday Planned: Rest
Sunday Actual: Rest and ALL THE YOGA CLASSES.  Vinyasa, myofascial release, and restorative teaching. Woop!

Total Mileage Planned: 32 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  32.15 miles

Recovery Boots Review

Normally I toss most things that end up in my race packets, but for the 605 Running Co. Half Marathon, I was super excited to see a coupon for a free 30 minute session in recovery boots at Active Spine in town. I constantly see elite athletes posting pics of using them at home, and I've wanted to try them for the last year. I was super excited to try them out without having to pay for a session first!

On Friday, I did a nice easy 4 mile at the coffee run, and then 4 hours later had my session. I wore comfy Lululemon yoga pants, and brought a book to read. On my drive in, I had wished that I had brought earbuds because I was listening to a really interesting podcast about hill training (mental note: don't forget to train for the hills of TC this year). When I checked in, they led me downstairs to the chair, got me set up and then let me sit for the 30 minutes.

I pulled the boots up, velcroed them at the top, and was on my way to recovery bliss. The gal who helped me showed me how to adjust the intensity of the squeeze if it was too much. I had thought that the boots would just inflate and then stay for 30 minutes, so I was pleasantly surprised when they seemed to toggle through. Starting at the feet, to calves, through the thighs, and then the tops of the thighs it would inflate, and inflate, and inflate and inflate, and then just about the point where you started to feel some uncomfortable tingling in your feet, they'd release out and start over.

The 30 minutes flew by. My legs felt awesome when I was done. They charge $10 per 30 minute session, and I plan to make it at least a monthly occurrence. I try to get a massage monthly, so I'm hoping I can book a session in the boots two weeks after my massage so every other week I'm getting some sort of recovery TLC. Honestly, once marathon training starts ramping up, I could even justify being there more frequently. My only wish is that they had more than one set, so I could go with a buddy (ie: BRF Toni).

**I am in no way being paid or compensated for this post. I received a free session for my participation in the race, just like every one else, but was very satisfied with the experience and wanted to share for other local runners!

Thanks Active Spine and 605 Running Co.!

Race Hard, Recover Harder--Recovery Week

Monday Planned: Rest
Monday Actual: Rest. Foam rolling and stick!

Tuesday Planned: Recovery 4 miles
Tuesday Actual: Another rest day. My quads were still really really tight and yucky feeling. More foam rolling and sticking, morning and evening.

Wednesday Planned:  Recovery 4 miles
Wednesday Actual: 90 minute massage and 3 mile run at the group run. Foam rolling after the run. Legs (quads) were super duper tight and fatigued still.

Thursday Planned:  rest 
Thursday Actual: 4 Miles with Toni!! Legs felt better, but still not 100%.

Friday Planned: Recovery 3 miles
Friday Actual: Recovery 4 miles. My legs FINALLY feel better. Phew. Followed by 30 minutes in recovery boots later in the morning. Review to come!

Saturday Planned: Recovery 5 miles
Saturday Actual: 

Sunday Planned: Rest
Sunday Actual: 6 miles with Toni followed by a very necessary epsom bath. It was so insanely windy for the run, I was so thankful that I didn't have a legit long run today. Uff da.

Total Mileage Planned: 16 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  17.2 miles

Spring Half Marathon Training Week 12 Race Week

Monday Planned: Race pace+speed 7 miles 4x100 strides, 2 miles @ HM pace
Monday Actual: Spectating THE BOSTON FREAKIN MARATHON. I thought I'd run in the evening, but the torrential rains never did let up.

Tuesday Planned: Recovery 5 miles
Tuesday Actual: Travel day back to the 'dak.

Wednesday Planned:  Recovery 4 miles
Wednesday Actual: I was on pug mom duty, so I didn't have time to get in a run with the 605 group. 

Thursday Planned:  Recovery 3 Miles
Thursday Actual: 3 Solo recovery miles in the sunshine! Shorts and a tank even though it was still full of snow.

Friday Planned: Recovery+speed 3 miles 4x100
Friday Actual: Coffee run with 1 singular stride because Toni and I were rapid fire catching up on all things life since I hadn't gotten to run with her for over a week!!

Saturday Planned: 605 Half Marathon
Saturday Actual: 605 Half Marathon--Race report to come shortly!!

Sunday Planned: Rest
Sunday Actual: Rest. I had honestly hoped to do an easy 2-3 miles just because I've been missing so many runs this past month or so with my on again off again knee annoyance, but my body was so wrecked and sore that I didn't even want to move.

Total Mileage Planned: 35 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  19.3 miles

Spring Half Marathon Training Week 10

Monday Planned: GA+Speed 8 miles 2 sets 4x150 strides
Monday Actual: 45 minute strength training session at 605 followed by some foam rolling torture.

Tuesday Planned: Rest
Tuesday Actual: 75 minute massage.

Wednesday Planned:  GA 7 Miles
Wednesday Actual: 3 miles at the group run.

Thursday Planned:  Rest
Thursday Actual: 1 hour Sanford POWER strength session + 4 GA miles with Toni after work. A couple of minutes of knee discomfort toward the end of the run.

Friday Planned: Recovery 3 Miles
Friday Actual: 3.5 miles of recovery in some insane wind and cold weather. Uff da.

Saturday Planned: Chilly Cheeks 5 mile Race, 10 Miles total
Saturday Actual: 8.5 miles including the Chilly Cheeks 5 mile race. So freakin' cold. Way to live up to your name Chilly Cheeks!

Sunday Planned: Endurance 10 Miles
Sunday Actual: Yoga. Toni and I had planned to do our long run, but it snowed. And snowed, and snowed. And blowed. And snowed some more. So a rest day it is.

Total Mileage Planned: 38 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  19 miles

Spring Half Marathon Training Week 9

Monday Planned: GA 8 miles
Monday Actual: Strength training at 605 for 45 minutes. Foam rolling.

Tuesday Planned: Endurance 11 miles
Tuesday Actual: Rest

Wednesday Planned:  VO2 Max 10 miles, 2 sets of 2x1200, 2x800 @ 3k-5k pace Run pain free.
Wednesday Actual: Ran pain free! Did 3.5 with the group run, took it easy and the knee felt great. Thankfully.

Thursday Planned:  Rest
Thursday Actual: POWER session in the morning, easy 4 mile run with Toni after work. I wanted to try to flush out the soreness from the lift in preparation for the long run!



Friday Planned: Endurance 14 Miles

Friday Actual: Toni and I had Friday off, so we decided to do our long run then, so we could get it in together. We decided on 13.1 since I had missed that last week. To start out my knee felt a little off, and then was fine. Around a mile in it started bothering me, so we turned around and called it a day. It's a bummer but it'll be fine. Deep breaths.

Saturday Planned: Rest
Saturday Actual: Rest.

Sunday Planned: Recovery 4 Miles
Sunday Actual: Rest.

Total Mileage Planned: 47 miles 
Total Mileage Actual:  7.5 miles.

Spring Half Marathon Training Week 8

Monday Planned: LT 9 miles, 38 min LT
Monday Actual: 

Tuesday Planned: Rest
Tuesday Actual: 

Wednesday Planned:  Endurance 10 miles
Wednesday Actual: 

Thursday Planned:  GA+Speed 8 miles 10x100
Thursday Actual: 

Friday Planned: Recovery 5 Miles
Friday Actual: 

Saturday Planned: LR progression, 13 miles, increase pace last 3 at LT
Saturday Actual: 

Sunday Planned: Rest
Sunday Actual: 

Total Mileage Planned: 45 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  

This week can best be summed up with: supposed to run all the miles, actually ran little to none of the miles.

I took an unplanned rest day on Monday. I had a giant mental block about the tempo run I was supposed to do. Especially solo. And my work schedule sucked as I was working Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights at the library. Which means that all of my runs for the week would be solo, basically. Ugh. Not ideal during a week with ALL THE MILES. Tuesday came and I still couldn't bring myself to do it, and then winter appeared yet again, so at least I had a decent excuse to skip, I guess.

Wednesday finally came and it was time for the group run, and a run with Toni! And then she was running late, so I still ran solo, but it was speedy, and in shorts, and oh so lovely out, and we were running extra miles after yoga so YAY!



After yoga we headed out for more miles, and were enjoying a long hill when Toni suggested we run it again to add on more miles. I reluctantly agreed, and then. suggested to do a hard effort up it. If it's going to suck, why not get it done faster, right?

It went well, we continued on our run, and then about 5 minutes later I started having some pretty excruciating pain in my knee. The knee I've been having issues with since catching a piece of slick/icy road a few weeks back. It felt like I had a ton of pressure behind my knee cap. Yikes. I stood around for a bit and tried to run again. Nope. So I told Toni we might be hoofing it back to the store walking instead of running. Within a few blocks, I opted to try again. And it was fine, for about a third of a mile, and then it cropped up again, so I shut it down.

Thursday I made the decision to rest the remainder of the week. Ice, ibuprofen, making a conscious effort to not have my leg bent for long periods of time. Friday I had terrible pain in the BACK of my knee while I was at work. What the hell is going on?!?!? Friday night I epsomed bathed. Sunday I took a myofascial release class and found a super angry knot in my calves and a terrible tender spot that connects that calve to my knee, so fingers crossed I've been smart enough to get back to it! 

I'd much rather take a few days off of running because I think I should've instead of taking even more time off later, because I have to, but man, it still sucks!

Spring Half Marathon Training Week 7

Monday Planned: GA+Speed 6 miles 2 sets 4x150 strides
Monday Actual: I had a really rough day Monday. It was so bad that the thought of putting on my shoes and meeting Toni for a run after not seeing her and running with her for almost 2 weeks, still didn't sound fun. So I hung out with Kyle and recharged instead. 

Tuesday Planned: GA 3 Miles
Tuesday Actual: GA 4 miles. Tried out some new shoes and then had to turn around and change back into old shoes because they were hurting my feet so badly.

Wednesday Planned:  GA 4 Miles
Wednesday Actual: Birthday run with the BRF! 4 Miles! My knee was really cranky on the switchbacks, both up and down. PANIC!!

Thursday Planned:  Rest
Thursday Actual: GA with strides 4.23 miles. My knee felt a little bit wonky so I didn't do the full 6 I set out for.

Friday Planned: Recovery 3 Miles
Friday Actual: Rest. I got in for an emergency massage Thursday night after work, and I went right to bed after, and somehow managed to slip a rib out of place. I was up from 2am until 4:30am trying to find a position to sleep in to get it to right itself. It didn't happen, so I bailed on the run.

Saturday Planned: St. Patty's Day 5 mile + 1 Mile, 10 miles total
Saturday Actual: Race report's TBD but 9.5 miles total for the day.

Sunday Planned: Endurance 10 Miles
Sunday Actual: Endurance 10 miles with insanely consistent paces. Crazy.

Total Mileage Planned: 38 Miles
Total Mileage Actual:  31.81 miles