Spring Race Plans REMIX

This winter has been a challenge here in the midwest. We had one of the coldest and snowiest winters that I can remember training through. It took almost the first 5 weeks of my "training plan" to feel like I was getting a full quality week of training in, and that was on a week where I was supposed to run a race, but the town was so flooded from previously mentioned snow and blizz-hurri-pocalyse, or whatever they called that system that came through.

I was talking to my running buddy Chris and kind of starting to panic because my miles just haven't been where I've wanted them to be. He casually, subtly asked if I had considered using the Skedaddle half marathon as a training run and switching my focus to the Fargo half. And honestly, I was a little annoyed. But mostly because I hadn't thought of that myself.

If I was coaching a runner who was having a similar season to mine, that would've been my first suggestion. But for some reason you don't see that when you're coaching yourself. Thank goodness for good running friends.

So I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, and I now have another 4 weeks where I can build up some solid mileage and strength for Fargo. Wahoo!!

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?!?

Spring Race Plan

A few days before the Twin Cities race, one of my running friends mentioned to me that the half associated with Grandma's Marathon, Garry Bjorklund half marathon, was doing away with the lottery and was opening on Sunday. The Sunday we were driving home from the Twin Cities 10 Mile. Which got my wheels turning. If it's a really nice cool day, as it tends to be, we could have an additional shot at a really fast half marathon time in the spring. If it's a super hot day, well we just spent a lot of money ($lodging$) to run 13 miles and cheer on our friends who are running the full. I've also always wanted to do Grandma's marathon, but have been hesitant to sign up because when it's hot, it's HOT. In the back of my brain I thought that maybe if we loved the race for the half, maybe we could do the marathon in 2019 too. ALL THE PLANS, ALL THE FUN, ALL THE RACES. It's been a million years since I've done more than one marathon in a year, so we'll see how that shakes out.

BUT. At 5pm on the drive home from the cities, I got in the queue for the half marathon, and 13 minutes of it auto-refreshing every 2-3 seconds while I was on data on the verge of being over for the month, we got our spots! And the next day our hotel$$$.

So this spring we'll have two goal races: The Brookings Half in early May and Garry Bjorklund half in mid June. There are some fun winter races that I've always avoided in the past, but I think we'll make those happen this year!

Toni and I have a half in Chicago toward the end of January for fun, as well as a 4 mile race in early February. There's also a 5 mile race in March and April as check ins for our spring training. I can't WAIT! Although, I'm not entirely ready for the ice/snow storms/below zero temps/windchill in the -30. ahhhhh!

Spring Race Plan

A few weeks ago, I had the insane idea that I would run a half marathon every month in 2017. After spending an entire Sunday plotting, pricing, and spread sheeting the hell out of the idea, I thought about my goals for 2017. In 2017, I'd really like to get faster. I looked at running a race every month in 2017... would that really help with my goal of getting faster? Maybe, maybe not. By spending money to travel for races during not great racing months (February, July, August) I was taking away from being able to double up on some months where it is beautiful to race around here--April, May, October.

I decided to scrap the plan for now, but I will do it someday when I have more of a focus on quantity over quality (and perhaps when my bank account has a lot more $$$ in it so I can travel to some really great locations!).

My plan for the spring is to travel to Dallas in January to see my family and Dominique. In March, I'll travel to San Antonio with Kyle for a work trip (that conveniently falls on the weekend of the Alamo 13.1!), and then my goal race for the spring will be the Brookings Half.

I recently learned that Pete Pfitzinger has a new book specifically for 5ks-half marathons, Faster Road Racing: 5K to Half Marathon. I have had a love affair with his book for marathoners, Advanced Marathoning, and ran my 10k and half marathon PRs during tune up races while training for a full on his plan in 2011.

This go around, I'm working through a 10 week base building program that will get me from my current mileage to 30 miles a week. I do have to modify it a bit, because during that first 10 weeks I'll be running the half in Dallas. More or less as a fun run slash reason to keep running during December/January when it is so much easier to stop running here!

The 12 week program will peak at 47 miles (eeps!) and has great progression through the different stages of training, similar to Advanced Marathoning. I'm also planning to continue with my weekly Sanford POWER sessions if they continue to offer them on a night or early morning that works with my schedule! Fingers crossed. 2017 might be a speedy year! Wait and see.

(yes I 100% asked for this new book for Christmas from my MIL. Danielle sent me the marathon one years ago on our mutual request to be speedy... spoiler, I never did, she REALLY did!)

Houston Race Decision + Spring Race Plan

When I signed up for the Houston half marathon lottery, I was really torn about signing up for the half or the full. I was happy to see they had a transfer option for enough time after the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon for me to determine if I needed to "OMG RUN ANOTHER MARATHON ASAP" or if I wanted to stick with the half marathon.

With some hip/knee issues cropping up toward the tail end of marathon training, the half marathon was the obvious choice. And since my number one priority for the race weekend, and trip down south is spending time with Jenn and Megan, this'll help keep me from being insane. :)

So right now the plan for the spring is to run a bunch of half marathons. Houston in January, maybe Get Lucky in March, and Brookings in May (Green Bay also in May TBD based on flight prices).

And a spring marathon?

Or a marathon in 2015 period....?

Is still under review.

10k Scratch

I had originally planned to race a 10k tomorrow. Which would be my third race in three weekends. For someone who's injury prone, they sure didn't think that planning through, did they? I've been planning to try to run the automatic qualifying time to gain a guaranteed entry to the Houston Marathon, and knew I wasn't going to hit a 1:52 in either of my halfs, and thought maybe, juuuuuust maybe, I could run the 51 minute 10k requirement.

Once the race got closer I realized that I'd have a shot of running the time on fresh, recovered legs, but not on legs that are one week post-half marathon. Since the Brookings half was my goal race for the spring, I decided to scrap the 10k. My stupid luck, I'd try to run the 10k time, fail AND hurt myself. Nope nope nope.

So I'll be entering the lottery like lots of other schmucks and hoping for the best.

But fear not.

There is a 10k that I'm setting my sights on for mid-June as my last spring (uff that's technically summer, huh? Or no..... wait! Only after the 22nd?? Seasons are HARD) hard effort race. Which means more dates at the track working on mah speedz. Whoop! So maybe I'll get that sub 52 this spring anyway. ;)

AND THEN MARATHON TRAINING STARTS. ERMAHGAHHHHD.

Spring Race Plans

I swear, 90% of my runs are spent thinking "what's next??" and this training cycle is no different.  I previously posted about my spring marathon possibilities here.  I had those ponderings back when marathon training was going swimmingly, and I assumed my injury issues were cured!  Not so fast young grasshoppah.

Since I've started the 18-20 mile long runs of this session, I'm realizing that I still have some work to do on my running form.  Which is ok, I'm willing to put in the work, but it is a bummer that the tail end of this training cycle wasn't RUN ALL OF THE MILEZ like I originally planned.  Instead of planning for a spring marathon, I think I will continue to work on my form and consistent mileage post-Madison marathon.

I hope to maintain 35-45 miles per week while staying healthy and running with good strong form.  At that sort of weekly mileage, I think it would be best for me to focus on the half marathon this spring.  And HUZZAH I LOVE THE HALF MARATHON!!!

The best part about half marathons, imo, is that they take minimal time to recover from.  Unlike the marathon that usually has me broken for 3-4 weeks.  Uff.  Because our weather is so stinkin' unpredictable, it's really nice to have a few races pegged as "goal races" so that if the weather blows, you have a back up 2-3 weeks down the road.

So my spring race options include:

1. Get Lucky Half.  This is in Mpls and the weekend of St. Patty's day.  It's usually freezing cold on St. Patty's day though, and I do enjoy celebrating the holiday so perhaps not.
2. NYC All-State Half.  I've been planning to visit Susan in NYC for ages, perhaps that time is this spring!
3. Irishman 5mile/5k/1m.  Or any one of those singular races.  If I'm racing a bunch of halfs, a nice 5 mile race would be good to throw in for spice.
4. Earth Day Half.  This is in St. Cloud MN which is a bit of a drive, but a bunch of my runner friends do it every year, and I do enjoy race buddy weekends.  It's a super hilly course, so that could be...challenging.
5. River Rat Half.  This is my PR race, and I'm still not entirely sure how that happened because it was the hardest course ever.  However, it's a super lowkey race, so I could certainly register the morning of in the event of gorgeous weather.
6. Brookings Half.  This is 99.9% a go.  It's super cheap.  It's super close to home.  And Megan has agreed to eat mexican food with me after the race.  I'm also fairly certain I can get Kyle and his parents to cheer for me, and possibly even my parents to make the trek up.  Also Dominique might make the trek up for the full!
7. Fargo Half.  I didn't love the marathon, but I think the half would be great.  Is anyone doing the half??
8. Avera 10k.  My 10k PR course.  Would be nice to update that along with the half in spring 2014, right??

Eeeny, meany, miny mo!

Pssssst.  If you're reading my blog in a reader, feel free to click over real quick to look at my new blog design.  I figured after 5 years, my blog needed a little facelift.  Also my hair is no longer blonde, so I thought I'd update the header pics.  You're welcome.  :)