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.

Sioux Falls Half Marathon Goals

For the second year in a row, I'm not racing the Sioux Falls Half Marathon. I love the race, and I love the race weekend, but I've focused on other fall goal races and will probably plan to use this as a training run for years to come to keep my streak (13 years!) alive.

When I was writing up our training program for TCM I was excited to see that the Sioux Falls half fell on the weekend of an 18 mile long run with 14 miles at goal marathon pace. That seems just about perfect! I edited it slightly to 13 miles at goal marathon pace, as I know there'll be a little break between the 5 mile warm up and the race to gear check my bag and get into the starting corral.

I will say that having to focus on my goal pace and race strategy for the Twin Cities Marathon this early and still this far out from the race put me into a PANIC. Especially because the half is typically warmer, humid conditions, and I wanted to be sure I ran by goal marathon effort instead of killing myself trying to do goal marathon pace on a less than desirable day.

I don't know if I have any actual goal times for this race, since it is a training run, but it'd be nice if the time reflected what I hope to accomplish at TCM, without leaving me feeling like I'd die if I have to do that all over again. I do want to finish feeling strong, picking up the pace the last 5k, and staying steady in the miles leading up to that, particularly on the hillier portions.

I suspect I'll finish in the 1:59-2:04 range, which would equate to my fastest Sioux Falls half since 2011, as a training run. I'd be pretty stoked about that. And I don't even use the word stoked. :P

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!

Magical Unicorn Long Run

It's been awhile since I've had a magical unicorn long run. In fact, long runs are usually the least likely of my runs to be magical unicorn runs. Endurance has never been my strength in distance running. But I've been working really hard to change that fact. I had a really rough 7 miler last week on Thursday. I was tired, I was running solo, I hadn't thought to charge my iPod, it was too hot to carry my phone for music because I'd be so sweaty. I started running and my legs felt like they each weighed 200 lbs a piece. Uff da. I didn't have any more days left in the week to rearrange my schedule so I just slogged it out. And slog it out I did.

So fast forward to the weekend for my long run. I had 16 on the schedule which has become a pretty mild long-long run distance, but I was tackling at the end of a 45 mile week. Last fall I peaked at 45 miles and it had taken a toll on me, so I was nervous how 16 would feel with all the miles on my legs already.

I met up with Melissa to start and we set out. Before I knew it we were at mile 4. And then I looked down a few minutes later and we were at our 8 mile turn around. And before too long I did the math and realized she needed to hustle her booty to get to the start of the 5k she was racing at 8:30 a.m.

And even with Melissa gone, I just kept speeding up. My heart rate was nice and low (it was actually in a recovery zone for most of the run, oops!) so I focused on running with a strong form and continued to just ignore my watch, because it had worked for the first 9 miles.

This run just flew by. I got back to my car and checked my weather app, expecting it to tell me that the temps and humidity were super low and that's why I felt so strong and effortless during the run. Nope. 80 degrees with 80% humidity. Not what I'd call and cool morning. But I think doing all the mid-long runs after work when it's pushing 90 degrees is really helping my strength in the long run. Yay!

Three Things: Endurance Work

The second area of improvement I'm focusing on this summer, and has been one of my biggest areas of focus for 2018 is endurance work. To run a marathon, it's incredibly important to have a strong endurance base to carry you through hours of running and racing. At the start of 2018 I told Toni that my goal was to not miss a long run this year. If there is a run on my schedule that I'm apt to miss, it's the long run. Easy runs, fun! Speed work, you bet! Group runs, duh! Long run, meh..... that sounds hard. But a podcast I listened to in late 2017/early 2018 said that the best thing you can do to improve your running performance is to have a consistent long run practice. Game on.

Up until March when I had my knee issue, I stuck with that goal, and luckily for me I had the caveat of not skipping a long run "because I didn't want to." I will say with 100% certainty that I didn't want to skip the long runs when my knee was bothering me, but I had to. I did skip one long run while I was in Boston but I blame that on an unplanned night on the town and Jeri not being able to go out and have a good time like she used to be able to in her early 20s. Oops!

During our training cycle we'll have several long-long runs 14-20 miles. Uff da, that's a long way. We also have a lot of longer runs during the week ranging from 6-11 miles. Extra uff da. Anything to make that endurance base stronger to help me reach my marathon goal. PR or bust guys. Shoot, I should stop saying that. I think every time I've been PR or bust, I literally bust something during the race. I TAKE IT BACK. IGNORE EVERYTHING.

Moving on.

Luckily for me, I had a major shift somewhere over the last year and long runs really became fun. It's in large part to my BRF Toni, and the fact that a couple of hours running with her flies by in the blink of an eye. But it's also largely in part to the level of shape I'm in right now. It's been a long time since I've felt this strong and fit physically, and it's no longer an anxiety inducing event to go out and run 10-12 miles on the weekends. I will likely be singing a different tune when we're running 18-20 in the blazing heat in July/August, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, just ask Kelly Clarkson.

Mental Toughness W

It seems like we've yet to complete a long run that hasn't been on snowy icy roads. Oh wait, that's because we haven't. The roads/sidewalks/trails have been in varying conditions of #winter for all of February and we've just made the best of it.

During our 12 mile long run, I had the chips stacked against me. First of all, Toni was out of town, so I had to recruit a new running buddy. Secondly, I was teaching yoga in the morning, so I had to make sure that I hydrated and fueled properly so that I could run after it. And third we woke up to surprise snow. What's surprise snow? You might ask. Well that's 2-3 inches of sparkly powdery goodness that was on not a SINGLE G.D. WEATHER FORECAST. Surprise! It snowed.

I remained optimistic as I knew the sun would be out and it would be warm for the run. In fact prior to the surprise snow I had been counting down the hours to my long run because of how perfect the weather looked for the run. Finally I could have a strong long run! Surprise! g.d. it.

We decided to try the bike trail, hoping that it had a chance to melt off by 1pm. We jumped on and it was beautiful. Clear, melted, a little windier than I expected but it felt great. And that lasted for one half mile. And then we encountered the unplowed portion of the bike trail ie: the entire rest of the bike trail save for that singular half mile stretch. We stuck with it for about 3.5 miles, feeling like we were running on the beach in a Baywatch episode, except a lot more clothes and supportive chest gear.

We made a game time decision to deviate from the trail and head to some residential areas. My running buddy energizer bunnied ahead of me, taking us through some insane hills on the east side of town. And after we had hit our 4th one that also was snow covered, I was moments from a temper tantrum. We had a quick powwow and then opted to run toward the center of town to a residential area we were both familiar running in, hoping that at the very least we could run loops around the road.

Now let me remind you of a run a couple of months back when Toni and I were supposed to do speedwork at the track, and it was such a mess that I ran one mile and called it a night. Remember? It was one of my more proud running moments. Well since that point, I have had a bit of a come to Jesus moment with myself, vowing to become a bit of a stronger runner mentally. Taking a breath, a pause, and figuring out a solution before immediately jumping to a reaction. Sometimes my anxiety flares up in this way that it's just easier to quit and be done with it. I HATE that.


We had to run a giant hill to get to the area of town we were going to. And on many many unplowed sidewalks, and through giant frozen melted puddles of water through intersections. But when we got to where we were going, we could finally settle in, figure out some loops and get the run done. It took until mile SEVEN of this long run to actually enjoy running. That's a long damn time to be struggling and suffering. But when I realized this, while still running, I also realized that I had stuck with it and kept going. Which is not something Jeri from a few months ago would've done. And that's some progress to be proud of.

Magical Unicorn Long Run

I should've know that when I had the worst run ever, followed by hash tagged messages in the snow, that a magical unicorn run was just around the corner. That's just the way it works. When you have what feels like, the worst run of your liiiiiife, 9 times out of 10 the perfect one is just around the corner.

But honestly, it's been awhile since I've had a legit shitty run, so I forgot about this magical equation.

Then SUNDAY. We had our 12 mile long run. I woke up and could not get myself out of bed to get the run done before work, so I texted the BRF to let her know she could go without me, or I could plan a route after work. Without skipping a beat, she agreed to run after work.

THANK GOD.

I planned out a route and warned her that it looped by my work twice, and to mentally prepare for that. I know that for me, when a long run is feeling rough, or I'm just getting tired, I could easily be tempted to call it a day on the first loop around. When in actuality we went by my work place 3x. Oops.

But the miles flew by. I couldn't believe how quickly our watches were beeping another mile complete. When we finished 12 miles, I seriously contemplated doing another 3 because it felt so good.

Maybe I'll turn into a long run lover just yet.

605 Series 8 Mile Race Report

This past Sunday was the second race in the 605 Series. We had 11 on the schedule, so we signed up to do it as part of our long run. We got there super early, about an hour before the race which was great because I needed to use the restroom and Toni had an issue with not having a bib or packet at packet pick up. Before too long we were off on our "warm up" aka 3 miles. And I felt like crap. My stomach felt terrible, my legs felt super duper heavy, and my breathing felt super labored. Oh boy, this is going to be fun.

About a mile in I realized I needed to use the bathroom again, so we made a stop at the halfway point. Side note: I really need to stop eating pizza before long run/races. I love it so so much, but my stomach really hates the gluten. It's too bad, really. After that bathroom stop I felt much better, and my legs warmed up and didn't feel like lead anymore. We finished up our 3 miles and then met up with the group running the 8 miler.

We found out we were doing two double loops, which is different from last year, and really not my preference. I much prefer an out and back or even a double loop/butterfly sort of situation, but oh well. I took a GU shortly before we started. Right before we started,  my stomach started to get race day nervous which is silly because we weren't racing. And it knows that. Chill out stomach. We passed right by a bathroom early on but I chose to keep going thinking my stomach would settle down. We were going way too fast off the bat, so we had to focus to keep at our 10:30 long run pace.

Eventually we settled in and had a nice little pack of runners right with us, all getting their long runs in as well. YAY! Team work makes the dream work.

1. 10:22
2. 10:25

During the race, I told Toni that the plan was 3 miles at long run pace, 2 miles around 10 pace, and then we'd cut down the last 3 miles--9:40s, 9:20s, 9s. Now that I'm looking back at my race plan, apparently we were supposed to go more aggressively than that. Oops. Fail on my part.




I debated stopping to use a bathroom in this stretch but felt like I could keep going, and the bathroom was quite a ways off of the trail. We ran up on one of my co-worker's daughter and chatted with her for a couple of miles as well.

3. 10:20

Once it was time to pick up the pace a bit, I kind of felt like a jerk, because we started passing people who had passed us to start. Normally I get a burst of energy passing people in races, but since I knew a bunch of people were doing this as a long run, and I knew most of them, I felt way less competitive about it, and more of a jerk. Ha. During mile 4, I finally snagged a bathroom stop, and was quickly in and out while Toni refilled our water bottles. She's the best. I took another GU around the 4 mile mark (7 miles overall).











4. 10:04
5. 9:50

I could hardly believe it when we were down to our last 3 miles. They had gone SO FAST. But honestly any time I run with Toni the miles fly by, but there were so many more people and everyone was cheering and high fiving as we went along. It was awesome. We were picking up the pace, but it didn't feel as hard as I thought it would, which was a good sign!



6. 9:38
7. 9:17

Based on our tempo run earlier this week, where we ran 16, 12, and 8 minute stretches at tempo pace, and it was HARD, I was really worried about running the last 3 down to tempo pace. 27 minutes of tempo seems way harder than three shorter sets with a jogging break in between, ALSO doing it at the end of an 11 miler seems EXTRA HARD. But we kept chatting and talking through it like it was NBD.

The final mile I wanted to get as close to 9 or under as possible, while not all out sprint/racing it. A gal that had been right on our heels for a few miles prior to the finish flew by us during the final mile, and I really really really wanted to chase her, so I had to remind myself over and over that this wasn't a race. Dang competitive brain in there. We kept to our plan of comfortably hard and then really strides out the final little turn/stretch. I told Toni to go ahead and that I'd chase her.

8. 8:50

I finished in 1:19:22 for a pace of 9:55.

It was a great run, and I would highly recommend the 605 Series to any runner that wants to race or do a supported long run for their summer training!

How to Fail a Long Run

Saturday I was scheduled for a 9 mile long run during our cut back week. I did not complete that 9 mile run. Not for lack of trying... ish. But I also failed along the way. I was so excited. *ONLY* 9 miles! Cut back week! NBD distance! I love that our training has gotten to this point where a 9 mile run is NBD. But apparently I should've respected the distance a bit....

Things I Did Right:

• Hydrating heavily Friday night and Saturday morning. I drank so much water I had to pee all through my yoga class Saturday night. I thought about leaving them in a lunge for 3 minutes but decided that'd be rude.
• I went to bed early. A friend was in town, but we both planned to go to bed early, so I was in bed by 10pm. I only had a glass of Champagne instead of the six that I would've liked to have.
• I packed all of my running things so I had no excuses to skip the run after yoga class.
• I checked the weather, and it was supposed to be lovely and cool all day, so nbd that I pushed my long urn until after yoga!
• Yoga before running. Ahhhh bliss.
• NOT drinking my beer after yoga at the brewery. I didn't even take one because I knew it would upset my stomach or lower my interest in running.
• Foam rolling Friday night. My quads and IT band have been slightly annoying lately, so I spent some good time foam rolling them, as well as my calves and working on my feet.

Things I Did Very, Very Wrong:

• I went on an impromptu walk with one of my college BFFs, in sandals that maybe weren't the most supportive, resulting in swollen legs/feet and blisters.
• Not eating breakfast. Not bringing a snack for after yoga. Attempting to run 9 miles on one singular luna bar at 1:15pm after teaching a yoga class.
• Not running at 6am as originally planned. If I had gone, I would've been fine with not eating beforehand! My GUs would've gotten me through, and I would've been able to take a glorious post long run nap after yoga.
• I skipped my epsom salt bath Friday night because I wanted to hang out with my friend who was in town. Had we not gone on a walk, it would've been a-ok. But going on the walk and having tired legs, spelled disaster....

So do as I say, not as I do. Drink a lot of water, get good sleep, fuel properly, and don't except your body to be able to perform if you're not setting it up to do so properly. Duh.

Twin Cities 10 Training Week 3

Week of July 24-30

Monday Planned: General Aerobic 3 mile 
Monday Actual: I convinced Kyle to join me on then bike for an easy 3 mile run. I sucked planning my route and ended up at 3.1 miles and walking the last two blocks home. Hah.

Tuesday Planned: General Aerobic + Speed 8 miles 6x12 sec uphill, 6x100
Tuesday Actual: Toni and I met at 5am to get in 5 miles before the sun. We did our strides and our hill repeats, and my legs felt like garbage. We met up with Ale at the group run for an additional 3 miles.

Wednesday Planned: General Aerobic 3 mile Wednesday Actual: Easy 3 miles at the group run at 605 with Bobby. It was warm, but nothing like it has been lately. After the run we had a yoga session with a glorious legs up the wall.

Thursday Planned: Endurance 11 miles
Thursday Actual: Rest day. I didn't have to go into work until 12:30pm on Friday so I swapped my long run to Friday and took a glorious rest day on Thursday.

Friday Planned: Sanford POWER
Friday Actual: Sanford POWER and 11 endurance miles. It was my first time back at POWER in 3 weeks. Woof. It was awesome and hard, and the sun was gorgeous when we were done.

Toni was sick, so I set out for 11 solo miles. The first 3 miles were a struggle, but I took my first GU around mile 3, found a bathroom, and my legs loosened up dramatically. My left knee felt a little wonky during some of the miles, so I really focused on running tall. My watch was being weird and not telling me mile lap times, so I was pleasantly surprised when I finished to see my time and pace.

Saturday Planned: General Aerobic 3 mile 
Saturday Actual: Rest.
:( I woke up to some super tight IT bands. I attempted to foam roll (3 times), stick, epsom bath, drinking all the water, napping.

Sunday Planned: 8 miles, 4 at LT (605 Series 4 Miles)
Sunday Actual: Rest. Again. My IT bands were still so ridiculously tight that I knew that running would cause my knee to hurt (been there done that). Another rest day, more foam rolling. :(

Total Mileage Planned: 36 miles

Total Mileage Actual:  25.1 miles

Long Run Pace

I confess: I used to run my long runs way too fast. I did every long run as hard/fast as I could with the thought process that running that pace during my long run meant I would be capable of running that pace for a race. I did this for several half marathons and even my first marathon (still my best marathon time, but let's ignore that for now).

This past training cycle, my long run pace ranged from 10:30-10:50. There was one magical unicorn long run day where our easy long run pace was 10:18, and one long run with a workout in it (a couple of miles at LT at the end of the run) that had us running right around a 10 minute pace. Yet my pace for the Brookings half marathon was a 9:33. 60-80 seconds per mile faster than my long run paces.

Since I started running distance back in 2005 (uff da, that's forever ago!) I've read a lot of books and articles about endurance training principles. What can I say, I'm a nerd and want to learn whatever I can about what I'm passionate about! One of the principles that resonated most with me is heart rate training, which is essentially training your heart to work more efficiently while you run. By running slower you are able to increase efficiency, so over time, you are capable of running faster without running harder. It's not any fun at ALL to start heart rating training, because you have to slow down. A LOT. To keep your heart rate in the correct zones for the various types of training runs. But once you dedicate some time and effort to it, it's awesome to see the benefits.

I think so many runners would benefit from slowing down their long runs, reaping the heart rate benefits and establishing time on their feet. An occasional faster finish, or a long run with a couple of minutes of pick ups throughout once a month is fine, but when we essentially "race" our long runs, not only are we not getting the endurance benefits from the training run, but we're also causing our legs to have to recover as if they've raced every weekend that we run long. And then we're also asking our legs to run hard and fast during a speed session during the week as well.

I spent a lot of time this winter base building aka a lot of slow mileage. Eight week of dedicated base building before I started a training plan and then an additional 4 weeks of base building within the training program. To say that I was ready to have some workouts when week one million hit, would be an understatement. But I found that the 12 weeks of base building really helped to lower my "easy" pace on runs, without doing anything but keeping my heart rate in the correct zone when I was running. And once our workouts started, I was continually surprised at how I was capable of hitting paces that were so much faster than what I was training at, and my legs were recovering well and quickly from the runs. It's almost... as if it's magic! Or science. Definitely one of the two.

If anyone wants some heart rate training reads, I would suggest either of Pete Pfitzinger's books. I also have an awesome 21 page document that someone sent me forever and ever ago, and it's super insightful and written in a very easy to digest way (despite it's length). I'm a convert, and I think others should be too!

My Favorite Long Run Workout

I tend to be a self-proclaimed long run hater. Identifying as a sprinter for much of my life growing up, long runs have always been hard. Endurance... not my strong suit. The last couple of marathons that I have trained for, I have loathed the long runs (why, you may ask, do I keep signing up for marathons? good question....).

During my last training cycle, I actually enjoyed my long runs. Shocker, I realize. Ten miles has, and probably always will be, my favorite running distance. It's double digit, so you automatically feel like a bad ass, but it's not a long run that takes all morning to prep for, run, and recover from. *cough* 20 milers *cough*

While training for the Monster Dash Half, I had a lot of fun training for my long runs. When I train for a marathon, I'm all about that long slow distance for my long runs (see above: not a strong endurance runner, always trying to increase that ability). But when you train for half marathons, there is an option to add in a wee bit of speed to spice things up a bit! (Less injury prone runners are certainly able to add in some speed to their long runs, but it just breaks my body, so I've learned not to.)

One of those long run strategies is the 3:1 long run. The specifics for this is to run the first three-quarters of the run at your regular long run pace, and then pick up the pace for the last quarter of a mile, perhaps goal race pace, to simulate those final miles of the race where you're running hard on already tired legs.

My favorite long run workout is to include three minute pick ups after every 20 minutes of running. This breaks up the monotony of the long boring run, plus by picking up the pace for a few minutes every couple of miles, it reminds my muscles how to run strong instead of relaxing into my poor form that I tend to take on during LSD runs. During this run, when I picked up the pace, I landed almost exactly in between half marathon race pace and 10k pace, which is typically the goal when I do this workout. This workout is especially great when training for a race that has a hillier profile. The surges cause your heart rate to surge, and then your body has to work to recover after the three minutes, similar to bounding up a hill in a race.

I will say that there are times to not do these workouts. When you're just getting started doing longer runs, just getting in the distance is the best thing you can do! I have had a horrific long run more times than I can count by trying to add in 3 minute pickups when I just wasn't in good enough long run shape to do the long run distance + tax my body with some extra speed workout. In fact, I did zero of these types of workouts leading up to the Sioux Falls half, because my body just wasn't in great long run shape at that point.

When training for a half, I tend to do three weeks of long runs, followed by a cutback week with shorter overall mileage and long run mileage. I will do one of these workouts in a three week span. I'm sure some would/could have success doing an additional workout within their long run 2 out of the 3 long runs, but again, I'm overly cautious because of my tendencies to break!

What's your favorite long run workout? What should I be trying?

Sioux Falls Half Marathon Training Week 10

It was crazy hot out over Labor Day weekend, so I pushed my long run until Monday when it cooled off, hoping I wouldn't regret it. It was a gorgeous glorious run and a huge confidence boost for the upcoming half!

 

Tuesday night my legs were still really tight from my long run, so I went to a yin yoga class. I am not a huge fan of yin yoga, but I know that my body needs it, so I sucked it up!

 

Wednesday morning I went to a barre class. Lots of glute work to get me ready for Sunday's half.

Wednesday night I went to restorative yoga and fell asleep at least 3 teams during class. Oops.

Sioux Falls Half Marathon Training Week 5

Tuesday morning I ran to the yoga studio for run club and got my middle tempo miles in with the group before running home.

And after work I got to enjoy some rooftop yoga downtown. Yoga studio mirror <<<outdoor view.

Wednesday night I did an easy shake out run at run club before yoga. 

And then we did a fun flow outside in the SUN! 

Thursday I took a read day, and Friday I was up super early to run long. I had a great run, especially for not having run long for... Probably six weeks?? 

Saturday Kyle and I joined a group that were riding the new Sioux Falls race route. Kyle agreed to ride the half route, so we peeled off the group around mile seven. They gave us doughnuts pre rice. Excellent fuel.

Sunday I debated and debated about going to barre, but eventually opted to go. And it was awesome as always. 

Weekly Training Recap

Tuesday I ran to and from barre. I ran hard to class and took it easy on the way home. Both ways were hilly.

I had a tough barre class at the studio. I haven't been to barre in two or three weeks and my muscles felt it. Uff da.

Wednesday I magically convinced Kyle to join me for National running day. Shocker.

Thursdays morning I woke up early for a power vinyasa class. Nice and sweaty and awesome. 

Friday afternoon I hit another barre class. I thought this graphic summed things up perfectly. :P

Sunday I ran long and went 7 miles. It was crazy humid out but it made me so happy to be running long.

Weekly Training Recap

I promised myself I would get out of bed for the last week of ashtanga yoga. So 4:45am I was up and at em for class. It was so cold out that by the time I got back after class, I snuggled up with Kyle and Ollie in the covers and fell back asleep until 9am. Can every day be like this?

Wednesday I woke up early for class again and I already miss my early morning ashtanga crew!

After work on Wednesday I hit the running group for a tempo run. I almost went sub 9 for a 5k. Whoop.

Friday I had the day off so I attended ALLOFTHECLASSES. Starting with a shake and flow class at noon.

And then I was back to the studio a few short hours later for an awesome power vinyasa class.

Saturday I considered running after work until Ollie made it very clear that she wanted to snuggle with her mama. I listened.

Sunday I woke up early for a super stellar power vinyasa yoga class.

 I had every intention of running right after, but somehow that ended up being 6 hours later. Oops. I did manage to run my longest run since the marathon in Bemidji (what?!?!) and at a great pace for me.