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

After a very lackluster running schedule, I opted to DNS the Houston Half Marathon. Bye bye $$$. :( Given how painful the Bemidji Marathon was while fairly prepared, I can only imagine how brutal a half marathon would be given my current running base (little to nothing). I'm truly enjoying yoga all day everyday, so I'm going to continue with that and run when I want to.

With that being said, my plan for this spring is to start back at the beginning (kinda)! Whenever I've "got back into running" I've always focused on a 5k race to shoot for. I know I'm doing great things for my body and my future running self, by strengthening areas that have given me trouble (glutes) and gaining flexibility in others (uh, everywhere, but hips especially). 

While I'm going to continue to go to yoga classes as much as humanly possible, I'd like to also start with shorter runs, lower weekly mileage, and re-introducing speed, essentially working from the ground up again. I'm hoping that by keeping my mileage low, and my goal races shorter, I can really work on keeping my form in check and find a balance between all the yoga and running.

My plan for this spring is as follows:

• 1/31/15 Frostbite Four (weather permitting). I've always wanted to run this race. It's a 4 miler in a town about 30 minutes south of me. They have multiple race routes plotted out and choose the route the morning of the race based on the direction of the wind. I think this race would be a good baseline indicator for me on a hard effort 4 miler. If it's ridiculously cold, I'll probably just go to a yoga class instead. Let's be honest. :)
• 3/14/15 Free Rebel Run 5k. I ran this 5k last year and had a blast. It's free/donation based and on one of my favorite parts of the bike trail. This is my first "goal" race of the spring. "Goal" being a loose term, but I'm going to attempt to add running back into my routine 3x/week with one speed session with a speedy-ish 5k time on this day as the game plan.
• 6/13/15 Harrisburg 10k. I love 10ks and look to have a crazy busy spring ahead of me as far as weekends are concerned, so this would be my next weekend free (insane!) in which there's a race nearby. 
• 6/19/15 Longest Day 10k (?). I have this Friday off, so if it's not a trillion degrees I may head up to Brookings and convince Megan to come run with me. :)
• 7/4/15 Firecracker 10k/5k (weather dependent). I love this race. I ran my 2nd fastest 10k there last summer. But I've also ran my 10k PW there on a hotter/more humid day. If it's gross out, I'll only make myself suffer through 5k. 
• 9/13/15 Sioux Falls half marathon. Shortly after the Firecracker race, it'll be time to start training for my 11th consecutive Sioux Falls half marathon! Wouldn't it be neat if taking things slow and steady all year long lead to a breakthrough race in September?? I wouldn't be mad... ;)

So obviously a spring marathon is out of the cards, as I had previously mentioned that Grandma's Marathon might be an option, and maybe 2015 will be the first year since I started running marathons that I won't toe the line for 26.2 miles. We'll see. There's still a little time that one could be snuck in if I feel the itch! :)

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.  :)

Spring Race Plans

Every time I get in the thick of my race training, I always start to think about "what's next."  I had tentatively planned for the Eugene Marathon next spring, but after it got switched to the summer, I was no longer interested.  I obviously don't have to decide any time soon, but I'm a big planner, so it's nice to think in advance.

Here are some of my options:

1. Oz/Garmin Marathon in Olathe, KS.  I think I have Dominique on board for doing it if I decide to, plus it's a short drive from Kyle's bestie, so I think we'd have a place to stay, plus a super fun celebratory weekend.  The drive is about 5 hours which isn't terrible.  It's the end of April so it should still be cool, but being 5 hours south of here, it could be warm, and likely humid.  Possibly windy....
2. Lincoln Marathon in Lincoln, NE.  Niki is trying to twist my arm on this one.  I could hang out and stay with her, meet her adorable TWINS, and enjoy a fairly flat marathon course.  It's the first weekend in May, so again it could be warm, humid, windy or all of the above.
3. Brookings Marathon in Brookings, SD.  Meh.  My parents, Kyle's parents, and friends could spectate which would be awesome.  Kyle (or Megan, if she's not running the full/half) could probably bike sherpa for me if I asked really sweetly.  The downside:  it's always windy.  It's a pretty small race, so parts would probably be me running alone.  And I kind of like marathons to be destination-esque, because they're still a pretty big deal to me.
4. Fargo Marathon in Fargo, ND.  The race was moved up a weekend which actually appeals to me.  The course is crazy flat, and the spectators are out of this world.  It was super fun in 2011 (despite a shitty race) because SO MANY of my runner friends did it, that I'm afraid it wouldn't be that great if no one else did it.  Perhaps I'll start campaigning now....
5. Brookings half.  Maybe I'll go the spring half marathon route?  Attempt a few halfs in the spring, but keep the higher mileage to see if that helps me knock some time off my PR?  I did really enjoy the half course in 2012.  If I went this route, I'd probably try to do a half in Mpls in March, and another in St. Cloud in April.

Where are you racing this spring?  Would you like my company??  Now's your time to campaign!! :D

Half the Distance, Twice the Fun

It is no secret that I've struggled with my motivation, sanity, and burn out for 26.2 the last few months.  Somewhere along the way I became the queen bee bipolar runner--10 days of glorious unicorns and glitter running, followed by 5-7 days of not wanting to run. Ever. Again.

I tried every trick in the book.  Giving myself some time off.  Focusing on how great the weather was.  Taking pride in breaking highest mileage weeks.  Emailing my favorite running gals for motivation and mutual bragging.

Last Saturday after some St. Patrick's Day celebrating, I decided:  I don't want to run a marathon this spring.  At all.

I have a list of reasons about 6 blog posts long, but I won't bore you with those.  I know it's the right decision.  I've been training for a marathon almost non-stop for the last 2+ years, if that's not a recipe for burn out, I'm not sure what is.

Last Sunday morning I woke up and still wanted to bag it, so I emailed the race director and the switcheroo was made!  When I got my confirmation email back from him, I felt a huge wave of relief.  Ok then, I guess that was the right call.

I spent a good chunk of Saturday night scouring the web for some tough half training programs, and I think I came up with something challenging but not too ZOMG scary, with enough flexibility to fit the rest of my crazy school schedule this semester.  AND since I won't be crippled for 4-6 weeks post-marathon per usual, I can actually race before it gets a trillion degrees out.  Oh how I've missed that!

So marathon #5:  TBD.  Half marathon #14:  Brookings here I come!