Running, training plans, doubles, oh, my!

I spent this past week reading, researching and playing with excel, trying to create my training plan for Boston, starting next week. No, I will not start training per se on Monday. Rather, I will be getting my body completely recovered and ready to train when the time comes. This requires planning, too.

So what I am doing differently this time?

1. More miles. Since 2009 when I ran my first marathon peaking at 30 miles (don't laugh, I ran a 3:44 Boston then!), I increased my running frequency and mileage with each training cycle. This worked well for me, and I believe a slow progression over the years is the way to go in terms of improving year to year and staying healthy. With A LOT of luck, I managed to stay injury free and PR most of my races. During my last training cycle I had one peak week @ 80 miles. This time I will see if I can go to 90 miles during 3 of my training weeks. In order to do this, and because I want to have one non running day/week, I will need to do doubles. I am a bit excited about doubles. Aside from a 20 miler gone bad, where I stopped at 15 and ran 5 later, I have never run twice a day before. I don't know how my body will handle that, and I am wiling to give the second run up if I need to. The second run will always be recovery (aka slug pace) and will follow a key workout. I will try doing a recovery run after my long run, if I can pull this off with my family's schedule (actually, training for a marathon even when running 90 miles/week will be overall less time consuming than HIM training; Chris is doing the happy dance in the background, LOL).

2. More races. Last winter I had a ball racing Fresh Pond almost every weekend. I am excited to go back. Also, I am considering 2 HMs, Hampton and Quincy, Derry 16 miler which I will not race all out (since it is in January and a tough course), Eastern States 20 miler (though I might skip it since it is flat), and maybe the Ras Ha Nhereim 5K in March (even though I will not be in 5K shape). Boston will be my A race, so I don't expect the PRs I had last year, but they might actually happen. I am also prepared to "not race" a lot of these races, if I feel too tired or burned out:)

3. Hills and plyos and pilates. Obviously I need to do hills for Boston. I do not dislike hills, and I have plenty around (I live in Arlington HEIGHTS, people). I think my problem with incorporating hills in my training has a lot to do with the fact that I slow down on hills (of course) and my average pace ends up slower. Of course. This time around, though, I will not allow myself to avoid hills due to such a silly reason. I don't plan on doing any strength training rather than pilates and ploys and hills, which are not strength per se, but I believe they will make me stronger and more efficient. Maybe I'll lift a dumbbell or to, to get my arms stronger, but maybe not.

So all this schedule making and planning made me appreciate how nice it may be to have a coach. And how hard coaches work. I do think that it is easier to create a plan for someone else than for yourself - at least it would be for me. Anyhow, all coaches out there, hats off to you all!

In other news the back pain I acquired last week is almost gone. I am still not 100% recovered after Baystate. My R leg/hamstring is still stiff and has decreased range of motion compared to the L. Hopefully a few more weeks of easy, mostly trail running, hot baths and streching/rolling will make them feel better. If not, I plan on being patient.

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Just a little disclaimer here. This is the training that I think will work for ME. It may not work for YOU. It may injure YOU. Hire a coach, be patient, read and think about what is going to work for YOU based on where you are now, your running background and injury history.

Back to life, bullet point style

#Ah, life after the marathon! First week post marathon I was all excited about sleeping in, running less, being unscheduled and free to bounce around. By Thursday all the soreness was gone and I found myself lethargic and unmotivated to get things done. Some people are very good at resting, I am not one of those people. I am the prototype of the "if you want something done give it to a busy person" saying!

# Chris and I went to New Hampshire for an overnight to celebrate his birthday. We did an 8 mile run/hike up to Mt Chicoura and had a blast. I've done this hike before, and it is not easy; you go up and up and the last mile you climb on rocks. Yet, I have never felt stronger. Being the type A that I am, I insisted on carrying the backpack the entire way, and managed to get a back strain, which really only means that I have a weak core. No wonder, I have not done any abs since I don't even remember. Hence..

# I started doing Pilates. I have a 20 min Winsor pilates tape that Chris does daily. I did it this morning and I can already feel muscles that I did not think I had.

# I am somewhat back to running more mileage, all easy, all on trails. The weather is gorgeous and it feels so good to be outside and run.

# I am also working my training plan in my head and have a bit of a vision of what I want to do for Boston. More quantity, more quality, the usual! I have a bitter taste in my mouth from my 2010 race there, and would love to smash it with a sub 3:10. I think I can do that but it will not be easy on that course. I have some fast ladies to virtually train with, which makes me even more excited about working hard! Anyone in the Boston area who wants to run long with me?

Moving on, but first race photos

OK, so not the best pictures but good reminders of how hard I had to work for this PR.

This one is very close to the finish. I know that because I ditched my fuel belt once I got to 26 miles.



















These is taken probably around mile 24.5, when we go over the last bridge.



















And this, a bit after, I think.





















#Recovery is going well. Physically I am almost there. All the soreness is gone now. I ran about 16 miles total this week, only trails, some with Chris, and it has been nice. Chris and I are going away this weekend to celebrate his birthday and do a little hiking/walking in New Hampshire. I am so excited about this.

#I am enjoying not having a schedule, but truth be told, I am much less productive in other aspects of my life, as a result. This is fine for now but come November 1st I am going back to probably 50 miles/week running until January when I start training for Boston.

#And what am I mostly looking forward to now? Reading everything running, analyzing my training log, looking up races and creating my training plan for Boston. This will be vicarious serious running for me for the next couple of months, ha!

#In other news I learned that I can't trust Chris with Petru's school projects - one of the pics he sent in for the "me and my family project" was taken right after my bike accident in 1999, and I was sporting a huge bloody bump on my forehead; I was grateful when the teacher sent that picture back. Kinda made me laugh bc this is so typical of Chris, ha!

#This is old news for now and don't hate me, but I am really excited about the new qualifications for New York. I am not really interested in running this race - I heard it is a nightmare in terms of logistics, and also very crowded - but I am very interested in qualifying. What seems weird to me is that a 1:27 is equated to a 3:00 marathon. I know plenty of people who ran a 1:27 but could not run a 3:00 marathon. Even McMillan says that a 1:27 half equates to a 3:03 marathon. So what's the logic, New York?

Baystate Marathon 2011 RR aka You do not need to feel good to run well

Driving back from the race Petru asked me if I liked the marathon. I answered that I did not. Not this time. In fact, I am honestly not sure that I ever liked marathons. What I like about the marathon is being able to say that I did it, PR-ing (when that happens), and maybe the last 100 yards.

Today it was one of those days where I felt bad from the first mile. This was new to me. Typically in the marathon I feel good up to mile 20. Then I have to do work. Today I had to do work for 26.2+ miles. That can make one not like the marathon:)

Lets back up for a bit though.

My plan for going into the race was to run even splits. I wanted to run the first few miles slower than pace, and settle into pace (7:20) by mile 5 or so. This is a good time to mention that I do not believe in running negative splits in the marathon. I think this is a good strategy for beginner, but I think for more competitive runners (I am no elite, but I consider myself fast:) if you can run a negative split, you could have gone faster. If you look at the splits of the first few people in any marathon, you will see that they slowed down toward the end. I did not plan on slowing down, but I also knew that I did not want to have anything left in my tank at the finish. I was prepared to suffer and to fight. Two dear friends, two solid, strong, no nonsense women that I was lucky enough to have met through this blog sent me some pretty inspiring notes which I used a lot during the race. Which brings me to another issue that has been on my mind lately (this is getting long, just scroll down to see my results if that is what you are here for). Running IS NOT 90% mental and 10% physical. I am not sure what the percentage truly is, but if running was 90% mental, then anyone could run a sub 3 marathon, ha! Sure, the mental part of the game is important, but you need to do the work and you need to gain the fitness in order to run well. ANd it gets harder and harder the faster you get. Going into the race, I knew I had that. I always toe the line having done the hard work. That is who I am.

Now back to the race...

There is something about starting a marathon race and feeling pain in your legs. Maybe some of you can relate, but until today, I could have not. I did not panic, as I knew that often in training I need a few miles to get my legs, so I plugged along.

Mile 1: 7:27

Mile 2: 7:22

Mile 3: 7:22

The pain did not go away, even after eating a Gu at mile 2.

So my mantra for the day became: "You do not have to feel good to run well".

And off I went

Mile 4: 7:15

Mile 5: 7:20

Mile 6: 7:22

Mile 7: 7:17

The splits are uneven because this marathon has rollers and more rollers.

Something else this marathon had this year? Wind. Strong headwind. I did not feel it much at the beginning, but it became an issue toward the end.

So I was plugging along, unsuccessful at making friends on the course (I typically try to listen to conversations, or find a couple of buddies to help pass the time). By mile 7 I passed the 3:15 pacer, a very sweet and young lad, who later on I heard that dropped out around mile 10 or so.

Also around this time I started to run shoulder to shoulder with this young woman. I worked hard at running tangents and several times I apologized for moving from one end of the street toward the center, but she did not say anything. I think she really wanted to be in front of me.

Mile 8: 7:20

Mile 9: 7:18

Mile 10: 7:20

So that girl and I kept running in front of each other for a while. I did not like this a bit, because I would have preferred to feel a kinship here (I was not racing for a place here and neither was she!) but she did not give me the friendly vibe. OK then. She eventually went in front of me.

Mile 11: 7:18

Mile 12: 7:13

Mile 13: 7:20

Half time: 1: 36:XX

Chris met me at the half point and gave me some GU and some water bottles for my fuel belt. It was great to see him and I made sure to have a smile on my face for him.

The wind really picked up after the half, as we turned to do the miles 3-13 again. I started slowing down a bit, my legs really heavy now, and I knew I needed to focus on the pace, or I'd lose it.

Mile 14: 7:23

Mile 15: 7:14

At this point, I started thinking about mile 20. Get to mile 20 @ 7:20 average, and then you can slow down and you will still PR.

Mile 16: 7:22

Mile 17: 7:17

Mile 18: 7:22

Mile 19: 7:18

Mile 20: 7:20

Once I got to mile 20 I had a 7:18, and I felt happy. The wind was really picking up, and I literally started to feel like it was pushing me back. But whatever, everyone races in the same conditions, so suck it up (I am usually nicer to myself, but sometimes I need a little tough love). Then I started thinking about this great friend who ran a recent race and ran well up to mile 19, but then she got sick and had to slow down. I was not puking and did not feel sick. So I decided to run the last miles for both of us. Which meant I could not slow down.

Mile 21: 7:26

Except that I did.

So I set a range of paces goal with 7:30 as the high margin.

Mile 22: 7:34

Oops, I guess that did not work.

Lets try again

Mile 23: 7:33

A little better, but man, my legs are like jello. I don't have a "push". Every god damn part of my body hurts. But I am a container, and I can contain all the pain. The more pain, the bigger the container.

Mile 24: 7:24

Better. This container metaphor works well. Will use that again. Nice when work and marathoning can merge successfully. Ha!

Mile 25: 7:24

Here I passed the young chick. I asked her to come with me, because really I though we could push each other, but she did not.

With the new course, after mile 25 you go uphill and around all these little streets. At this point I noticed that my upper lip was completely numb. OK, just don't think about it and just run. (I never like to say you are almost there, because really, you are not; here is the point where I break the mile into quarters or shorter, just can't think of running a mile - too long).

Mile 26: 7:34 BOO

As I rounded toward the end I switched my watch to time and saw that I could come in below 3:14. Hell yes, I ran hard with a grimace on my face (early on in a race I fake-smile, bc it really makes me feel better, but when I actually push at the end, I look like I am about to either kills someone or...something)

.39 7:21 pace - this is the brain letting go in action, but also clearly shows that I had no legs..usually this is a 6:XX end of marathon for me:)

Garmin stats: 26.39, 7:20 pace, 3:13:59

Official results: 26.2, 7:25 pace, 3:14:29

(Me thinks I pressed start too late, or my Garmin was acting up, or something.Whatever, I always go with official results).

Stats: 7th woman out of...I have no idea. There were 1000 people in the marathon, so who knows.

Interestingly, the times for this year were slower than last year (female winner last year went 2:46, this year winner was 2:55), which makes me think that the wind made everyone slower.

2nd AG (30-39).

I am super happy with this race. It is in fact the race I am most happy and proud about. It is nice to know that I can push and work hard even when I feel like crap from the beginning of a LONG race. I have no doubt that I can get a 3:10 next time (probably today in better conditions, but no regrets and I was not even trying for that. I did not train for a 3:10, I trained for a 3:15, and I am the nerd who believes in doing the work). This will be hard to accomplish at Boston, but I know what I need to work on. It is clear to me that aerobically I am very strong (I was never out of breath in this race, OK, maybe toward the end). But, my neuromuscular system needs more work, and this will be my focus moving forward. Also, I think I need a longer taper. Or not running the biggest mileage week 2 weeks before the marathon. I don't like to over think things as I always believe that the decisions we make are the best decisions we can make given the information we have available at the time, but I have lots to think about moving forward. What is important is that I feel confident that I can design a plan that will make me feel stronger before Boston. And I can taste the sub 3:00 marathon sometime in 2013:)

As far as liking marathons? I will probably always like saying I have done them more than actually doing them, but I hope that my next marathon will give me at least 13.1 miles of feeling good. If not, well, I know I don't need to feel good to run well:)

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Thank you thank you thank you thank you infinite + 1 as Petru says to Jenn and Raina (you've made this training cycle really special and exciting), Chris (for shedding a tear when I crossed the finish line AND confessing that you did that!...and other stuff, too), Katie (for running those long runs with me and pulling me along every single time), and to my little imp of a Petru (for making me feel that I can do anything when I think about you)! And thank YOU for reading:)

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A day in the life -just for fun!

Saw this somewhere and decided to play along. Tapering is in full here...

6:00 UP

6:45-3:00 Work-clinic all day; some grant drama which thankfully got solved quickly.

4:00 run 7 easy miles on trails w/ 4x10sec hill sprints.

5ish say a long "hi" to the lovely neighborhood twins on my way back.

5:30 get Petru from after school

Play game he made up yesterday, over and over.

6:30 Chris comes home, warm up dinner.

7:00 run upstairs for a couple of short work calls.

7:15 Chris leaves for drumming.

Watch Wheel of Fortune with Petru.

Draw with Petru.

8:00 Stories with Petru (Alvin Ho, if you care!)

8:30 Finish notes from morning.

Respond to a good friend's email.

Make lunch for tomorrow.

Pick up around the house.

Watch TV while foam rolling/stretching.

Marathon prep

Write note to Chris to be quiet and not wake me up!

10:00 Bedtime

Good night!

P.S. This is really my hardest day of the week, so don't think I am super woman over here, k? I know how to sit and do nothing, in fact I am very good at that, OK, not really but I am trying:)

Tapering

Oh, taper! I am really enjoying it! This week I am cutting down my mileage to 58-60. Every run is shorter than its counterpart from last week. This cut will represent a 30% decrease from my highest mileage week. Next week I am cutting down 60%. So far, my legs are pissed. I think they are not really getting what is going on, they are not used to not running double digits every single day. Ha!

And along with taper came hunger! I am starving. My stomach wakes me up in the morning with the noises it makes. Weird and interesting and scary (not really!).

We are finally getting some cold weather which means that I can wear compression socks under my pants at work, which is awesome! Unfortunately, we are also getting a ton of wind and rain. I feel prepared for any kind of weather on marathon day. My last 4 runs have been in pouring rain, last one in rain and wind, and the entire summer I ran in humidity and heat. So, bring it! Whatever that might be!

So what have I/will I be doing with the extra time? Lets see...I purchased a mac (birthday present from my mom and my MIL - yes, I am loved!) on Saturday and have transferred and organized all my files. I caught up on work somewhat (I have learned a long time ago that I will never be caught up on work). I slept in. I am planning on going through all my clothes and finally bringing at least 50% of them, which I have not worn in over 3 years, to Salvation Army. I've made a behavioral chart for Petru with his schedule written down in bullet points with a time attached to it for every school day (so that he can keep track of what he needs to do before school and before bed; he can read clocks so this works well for him). If he does everything including a few things that are a bit hard for him (e.g., sitting at the dinner table for at least 15 minutes) he gets to go to bed 30 min later, gets to watch Wheel of Fortune (he got into it when my mom visited), etc. Works like a charm. Those behaviorists know what they are talking about:)

So, about that marathon...legs say they are going 7:20s. The rest of us are still working on buying into that idea, but let me tell you, those legs are very persuasive...See ya on the other side!