AM's marathon training phases

I have noticed that marathon training tends to follow several phases:

1. Weeks 1-4 - "I am so slow. But, my body is ready and I am excited"
These are the weeks when I feel the most excited about training. I strive on discipline and long terms goals, and the training structure of a marathon grounds me. Legs feel fresh daily. At the same time, it feels like I am going to bust a lung in every single speed and tempo run, and I am going to die of boredom running long. It's hard to imagine that a month before I was so much faster...

2. Weeks 4-8 - "I am still slow. But, my body is still ready and I am still excited...1/2 of the time"
It still feels hard to hit my target paces. I puke at the track. I start to worry that the MP I set might be a bit out of my reach. I push the thoughts out of my mind and plug along. I hang onto the one or two workouts that go very well and hope. I learn to expect puking. I make friends with myself during the long runs, and we start to get along fine.

3. Weeks 8-12 - " I am faster, my body is still strong..mostly, and I am excited....mostly.
Hitting target paces becomes easier. MP miles become comfortable. The body is holding up, recovering well. A twinge of pain here and there, but nothing too bad. I start to believe that I may be able to hold MP for the entire 26.2 miles, and that is exciting. At the same time, I am getting a little bored. Seems like I am getting little return for what I put in...

4. Weeks 12-14 - " I can go even faster. I am confident. I like to suffer. But, my body starts to complain"
This is the most annoying part of training for me. I am faster. My speed becomes addictive. I hunger training hard. I have the confidence, motivation and excitement. But, I need to restrain myself because of the twinges of pain that start to make their appearance, and because of the slower recovery after tough runs. I think back at the begining of training, where I would have to push so hard to hit my target paces, and I miss that feeling. Here is where I make deals with myself and the powers above with regard to staying healthy.

5. Weeks 14-16 - " Phew, taper. I made it. But, I am going NUTS: phantom pains, withdrawal anxiety, doubts"
This is where I need to keep busy. I get super productive with work. I make deals with myself about how much time I get to spend obsessing about the race, checking out the race course, etc. I start doing shorter but more intense cross training intervals, searching desperately for an endorphin kick. I accept all the negative doubting thoughts as "not reality", and try to replace them with positive ones, even though I don't believe the positive at the moment.

6. Race day - "I am so excited, I just can't hide it. I am about to lose control and I think I like it" (POinted Sisters)
By the time race day comes, I can barely hold my excitement. I feel slow, but I don't even care anymore. I just want to run. Can we get started, NOW? This feeling holds on until mile 19. Then, you all know what happens.

7. Post marathon - " I am sore. I am a rock star - I ran a marathon. I can do anything"
Post marathon I am exhausted but can't sleep. In fact, I can't stop talking (and I am actually shy). I have too much psychic energy. My family falls asleep exhausted while I stay up writing the race report.

8. The week post marathon - " There is NO WAY I can make it one week without running. I am tired. I am hungry. Life sucks"
In a matter of hours I go from megalomania to depression. I feel somehow lost. Here is where I have to have something prepared ahead of time, to throw myself into - a new project, a new book, a trip, a new training plan/marathon on the horizon. Cross training helps a lot, and eventually my mood normalizes.

!!!! DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE CHOCOLATE #9 GIVEAWAY ENDING SOON!!!

Chocolate #9; Product Review and Giveaway

Chocolate # 9 is a new energy gel designed specifically for athletes. This product fits a gap in the current market of energy gels, by delivering a consistent energy flow without the spike and bonk of the energy gels that are currently available. Chocolate #9 is made with the organic, natural sweetener Agave, as opposed to the other gels on the market that are made with various combinations of refined sugars.

Each packet has 70 calories.

Three packets cost $ 4.99 (shipping included)

Check out the site for more info: http://chocolate9.com/




From the manufacturer:
Chocolate # 9
* contains no refined sugar
* is sweetened only with organic agave.
* contains pure belgian cocoa
* has been tested and certified as a LOW glycemic index item (e.g.,
* because of its low glycemic index, when you use the gel you will reduce the negative effect of repetitive insulin spiking during sustained exercise (it's the reason you choose wheat bread rather than white bread, fruit rather than candy)
* won't cause sugar low-bonk
* is an excellent energy choice for athletes in general, and for those with diabetes, low blood sugar in particular, or those who want to avoid refined sugar
* it is vegan and low in fat
* contains no synthetics, no unpleasant after taste.

My personal experience with Chocolate #9
I took along 3 Chocolate #9 packets for my 22 mile run this past Saturday. A pretty big risk given that I have been having issues and eventually gave up the Chocolate GU I absolutely love taste-wise. I anxiously took the first gel at mile 5. The packet was easy to open, and it did not require a stop (I absolutely hate stopping when I run). The gel had the consistency of chocolate syrup, and it went down easily. It tasted great, too, like melted chocolate, much better than the Chocolate Gu. I took the entire gel with water, over the course of a quarter mile, as I wanted to enjoy the taste. I did not feel any different after I took the gel. Typically I can "feel" a Gu, I get a burst of energy. I did not feel this with Chocolate # 9. My stomach reacted very well, and I had no post gel nausea or bathroom (aka woods) emergencies. I took another gel at mile 10, even though I did not need it. I took the final gel at mile 15. I was running pretty hard by this point, my legs were getting sore, and I was breathing harder. I had to push myself to take another gel. As much as I like the idea of chocolate, and the taste of Chocolate #9, it was hard for me to take the last gel in chocolate. I wished for a different flavor. I took it, however, and reacted very well to it. Again, no highs or low. The gel has 75g sodium/pack, a bit more than Gu, so I drank less Nuun than typical. The gel and Nuun combo did not hurt my stomach. 22 miles, 3 packs of Chocolate #9, 2 Nuun pills, 2 hours, 59 min and 40 seconds! Tired but feeling great.

Things I like about Chocolate # 9
1. The taste - it has the best taste of any gels I have ever tasted. In fact, it does not taste like gel, more like dark chocolate syrup (but not too sweet).
2. Consistency - went down very easy. The manufacturer noted that the gel does not harden in the winter, so it is easy to take regardless of weather.
3. More sodium. I have salty sweat, and sometimes eat salt during races. I love gels that add sodium, so that I have to eat less of it plan (blah!)
4. Consistent energy flow - although I missed the initial boost I get with typical gels, I did not miss the low.
5. Did not upset my stomach (no nausea or bathroom urgencies).

Things I would change:
1. The gel does not contain caffeine. While I know that caffeine has some effects on blood sugar, I would prefer to have the option of caffeine in the gel, given all the research about increased performance due to caffeine intake. Can the manufacturer make a caffeine version in addition to the almost caffeine free current product (there is only caffeine from the cocoa)?
2. How about other flavors? It was easy for me to take Chocolate #9, but after 2 gels, I was done. I would have prefered to have the option of other flavors.
3. Speaking of flavors.....how about a ginger flavor? I would absolutely love to be able to take a ginger #9 during the last part of the marathon, when I tend to get a bit nauseaus due to the hard effort, as ginger has anti nausea properties.

The Giveaway:
The manufacturer is giving away 2 boxes of 24 Chocolate #9 gels to two readers (one box each).
Here are the rules:
1. One entry if you leave a comment.
2. One additional entry if you become a follower.
3. One additional entry if you mention the giveaway at your site.
4. One additional entry if you write a comment (can be same comment) including what you are looking for in a gel.
6. Giveaway ends September 21st, midnight.
7. The winner will be selected via a random drawing.
Good luck!

22 miler

This morning I ran again in New Hampshire. We are at my in laws' house dogsitting (aka walking Luke a couple of times a day, eating yummy food, and overdosing on the tennis channel). Chris and I had a late night - when you don't allow yourself to have cable for fear of watching too much TV (hm, Chris) you have to catch up on all the episodes of Mad Man that you missed. Everyone slept late, so when Mr Petru came into our room shouting "It's wake up time" it was 7:45am. I was not worried, though, because it's Fall weather, yay. Plus, the boys had a plan to spend the entire morning at the Children's Museum and the toy stores in town. Love 'em.

I started my run at 8:45, after a double serving of oatmeal and a small coffee (the only downside of being at my in laws is that they drink half caf coffee....and I forgot to bring my own). I packed water, Nuun, and ....Chocolate # 9 gel, the product of my next giveaway (to be posted on Monday). The plan was complex: 1) run 22 miles, 2) run negative splits, 3) run the last 4 miles at MP, 4) run 8:15 average pace as opposed to 8:30, as my training plan suggested, 5) suffer, 6) suffer some more, 7) take risks by getting on pace early on, and 8) use the chocolate Nr. 9 gels.

It was cool, gray and rainy in New Hamshire today. I was actually happy about that. The first few miles were rough. It's tough mentally and physically to start a run on heavy legs. I did not allow myself to recover properly after the 1/2 last week, and ended up running all my key workouts as planned (speed) or faster (tempo). I reminded myself that the goal was to suffer, and plugged along. I had a couple of podcasts prepared, and they kept me entertained for the first 10 miles. The initial plan was to run 10 miles out, 10 miles back, and then add 2 more miles. But when I got to mile 10 I knew that there was no way I would add the 2 miles at the end. Legs were already in too much pain. So, I ended up turning back at 11 miles, which guaranteed that I would run, walk or crawl 11 miles back. I stopped at mile 12 for water, and switched to listening to music. When I get tired my eyes start to be fixated on the watch, which makes for a slooow run. This time, I did not allow myself to look at the watch except at the end of each song. This worked very well, and helped me pick up the pace, in spite of a horrible headwind after the turn around. The music helped, the scenary was beautiful, and people were turning their heads watching the mad woman running in the crazy rainy and windy weather. Loved that.

I did achieve all my goals. The run was seriously painful. My legs are still heavy, even after the icebath. Yet it was an awesome run: 22 miles 8:10, with miles 19 and 20 @ 8, mile 21 @ 7:53, mile 22 @ 7:48.

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Please check back for a review of the Chocolate #9 energy gel, and the Chocolate #9 giveaway.

The other element of mental

If you haven't already, go to Nitmos and read his post on mental training. His post and my mental battles during my race last weekend, got me thinking.... Bear with me.

Until now, I considered mental toughness to be defined as ability to push through pain without giving up. I've got that. In the bank. In fact, I think I only ran one race (out of, like, over 30) when I slowed down toward the end, and that was after Boston, on tired legs. I expect pain during the last 3 miles of a 1/2, and the last 6 of a marathon. I am not surprised if I puke at the track (I often did this summer, I habituated). I can deal with that. I've devoured Matt Fitzegerald's book on mental training, and have used the strategies he suggests. I visualize a race over and over, I imagine myself wanting to slow down, and plan how to deal with the demons of a fatigued mind.

However, there is another element of mental training that I think gets ignored. It's confidence. It's self efficacy as a runner. It's fearlessness. It's the ability to go out hard without worrying that you are going to crash and burn. It's not fearing the unknown, and believing that you can deal with whatever comes during the last few miles of a race. This is what I don't have. This is what I need to develop. I am cautious and I like control (who does not). I follow a training plan and run the paces that my plan tells me to hit. And I do. Always. I train for races with a goal pace in mind. That goal is often too cautious, I think. I almost always get a PR, because I train for a faster and faster pace, but I never give it my all until I am close to the finish line.

I think it is easier to be fearless at a younger age. The 19 years old version of myself came to the US alone and made herself a pretty good life. That takes guts. But then something happens to us in our 30s. We start to become cautious. Family, work, kids, there is so much to lose. For me, this translates into running. I no longer take huge risks in life, and I don't take them in running either. However, while taking huge risks in my personal life no longer interests me - I feel challenged, I feel fulfilled, I like my life and really have the ability to do whatever I chose to - I would love to be able to take risks in running, to experience it, to learn about myself, about my reactions, about how tough I really am. I don't have a plan for now, and I will certainly won't take a huge risk during the marathon. I think my brain is still digesting this idea. I certainly hope that when I see a 7:30 or lower pace on my watch during my next 1/2 marathon, I won't feel intimidated by it and won't feel the need to slow down "just in case". Until then, I am going to start looking at my Garmin less and less in training....hopefully I'll discover, like I did today, that I end up running my tempos much faster than planned, with the same perceived effort.

09 - 09 - 09 Happy Birthday to ME

I though I could celebrate today by running or biking my age in miles. Well, 36 (yikes!) miles is a lot, and so I ended up doing a combo of running and biking, for a total of 1hour and 36 minutes. Good enough! My legs are finally back in business, phew. After Sunday's race I biked and swam on Monday (thank you, Labor Day), and did my run on Tuesday. I left the house thinking that I am NOT going to do the 3.5 miles of speedwork, but then somehow my legs took me to the track. Once there, I planned on NOT doing the intervals at the speed called by my training plan, but somehow my legs had a different idea (1000m @ 6:36, 2000m @ 6:40, 1000m@ 6:33, 1000m @ 6:30...oops). I ended up running 9.75 miles including speed, and took an extra cold and long ice bath. Legs were sore after the run. The roller did not work well enough on my hamstrings, but the tennis ball did. Wow, that tennis ball knows how to torture one's hamstrings. If you have not tried it, please do; it is painful, but it helps a lot if you have tight spots that the roller can't get to. I thought about running another race this training cycle, but I think I am going to stick to marathon paced runs - I would love to do at least a 15 miler at MP. Will see.

So back to the birthday. It was nice and simple - funny card that my son picked (I am thinking he has a future in comedy), flowers and more flowers, CDs, subscription to triathlete magazine, biking shoes and pedals (yay!). Our neighbours surprised me by taking Petru over this evening so that Chris and I could have dinner out. Sweet. We all had chocolate cake with peanut brittle icecream, YUM! A good day. I am already looking forward to my tempo run tomorrow. It seems I can't get enough of this running thing!

Swanzey Half Marathon Race Report -A PR and a lesson on mental training

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while are aware that my race reports tend to be long. Since I love all my readers, I am giving you two versions of the race report

Short version:
Perfect weather conditions, hilly course, well organized race
Gun time: 13.1, 1:39:51, 7:37 pace, 5th overall, 1st age group 30-39.
Garmin time: 13.2, 1:39:39, 7:33 pace.
Yay, PR by 3 minutes and change...

I would like to thank the weather Gods for giving me such a beautiful running day, my mom in law for taking over the little guy, and Chris for being my supporter extraordinaire.....

Long report:
Chris and I did the drive from New Castle, NH (my mom in law's house) to Swanzey, NH on Saturday afternoon. Having grown up in a small country, I still need to mentally remind myself that if a race is in NH, it does not mean it is going to be close to my mom in law's house. We got there in about 2 hours, grabbed some lunch and found a hotel room right in Swanzey. Since we got there so late and it was dark outside, I did not have a chance to drive the race course. I was later thankful for that.

I had mixed feelings about this race. I did not taper for it (I actually ran a pretty fast 12 miler on Wednesday), and had been sick the entire week. There was also the mental part - more on this later - and I did not truly believe that I could run a 7:40 pace, which was what I was hoping for. The night before the race I was feeling great, so I told myself to just go for it, and see whether training for a 3:30 marathon is realistic, based on the 1/2 marathon time finish.

Since the race was so close to the hotel, we slept in (til 7:00am). I made my oatmeal in the microwave and Chris went out to get some gas station coffee, which we both deemed to be way better than Dunkin Donuts, the other available choice. We got to the race around 8:00am, and chatted with some runners about the looooooong line to pick up the packet. I also heard that there are hills, rolling hills on the race course, nothing too steep, though. Hm, that's not what I read on the website... I did a 1.5 mile warm up (I am learning about how important warming up before a race is), said good bye to Chris, and went to the start. Although we did have timing chips, there was no timing mat at the start, which meant that we would all go by gun time. The race was pretty small, so I positioned myself around the middle of the pack.

Miles 1-2 "Are you crazy, slow down!"
Although I tried hard not to start too fast, I failed. Mile 1 was 6:45, after which I worked super hard to get on pace - 7:40 at that point. Not such luck. We went under the first Covered Bridge around 1.9 miles, and somehow my GPS got screwed up because in a matter of 100 feet my pace went up to 7:48.

Miles 2-5 "Just keep up the pace!"
By mile 2.5 I was down to 7:40, and planned to stay there. We started mile 2 on a trail, which was very muddy, with many pot holes. That helped me keep my pace down. Then we ran on sand for a while; I had never ran on sand before, but that was tough. By mile 5 I was running with a group of guys, and there was no woman in site. I knew that there were some ahead of me, but there were none in my site.

Mile 5-8 "Where did they come from" and "There is no way you can keep up this pace"
At mile 6, all of a sudden, I got passed by a group of 3 girls in their 20s. In retrospect, that was what I needed, a little competition. We all started running faster, so that by mile 7 we were at a 7:35 average. And that's when I freaked out a bit. 7:35 is fast. Although my legs felt great, by brain was not comfortable with such a fast pace so early on. I panicked a little - what should I do? Then I remembered that part of the race plan was to suffer. I was not suffering, so I decided to ignore the watch and see what happens.

Mile 9-11 "Darn hills! Keep going legs!Stay in the mile you are in!"
At mile 9 it was only me and one of the 20 y old girls. The other two were trailing back. She was still in front of me, and I was gauging my pace by hers. Legs started to burn a bit - this is what typically happens to me, I never get out of breath, it's the legs that start complaining and make me slow down - but nothing too concerning. At this point I decided I was going to listen to each song on my playlist and not look at the pace or distance on my Garmin until the song is over. This was a great strategy and made the miles go by quickly. I also decided not to think about how much more I have to run, but to stay in the mile I was in. That worked well, too.

Mile 11-12 "See you 20 y old! I can do this! I feel great"
By mile 12 I passed the 20 something year old girl, while thanking her for running such a great race. My legs got a second wind after mile 11. I am not sure what happened. Was it Madonna's "Holiday" on my I-pod, and memories of my 17 y old self watching her videos and dancing along? Was it the risk I took passing HARD and FAST the 20 y old girl in front of me? Was it that I could smell the finish line? Was it that my brain was getting used to the pace? Whatever it was, I was feeling great.

Mile 12-13. 3 "Go, go, go"
I started going faster. I stopped looking at the watch. I started focusing on passing more people. I saw Chris at mile 12.5 and he cheered on. I saw the finish line around 12.9 and I went into an all out sprint. I saw the clock showing 1:39:30 and sprinted even faster. I crossed the finish line at 1:39: 39, gagged a few times (but did not puke, yay!) and looked around for a chair to prop myself onto. I typically get dizzy when stopping quickly after a run.

Summary:
1)Great race overall.
2) I think I might have broken a mental barrier here. For my next race, I am going to try to get my brain used to a range of paces, including some that might seem unrealistic for me.
3) I also think I may need to start racing without the Garmin.
4) I am a bit too cautious. I think I could have gone faster than I did today, had I not slowed myself down in the beginning miles. I was lucky with the 20 something woman who actually helped me by going faster than I had planned to go.
5) Sometimes it is better NOT to know the race course. I would have not raced as well had I known about the hills.
6) I need to run a few races with the sole goal of "suffering" rather than having a PR. I think part of me is scared of suffering during a race. It will be key to get over that.

Bullet points

1. The cooler weather is playing with my confidence; I am running fast and comfortable. The speed work this week, 4.5 miles of it (6X1200) were ran @ 6:34-6:36 pace, with no leg heaviness or shortness of breath; and how's no puking for a change? The MP run today turned into a tempo, 12 miles with 10@ 7:42. I started out at 7:55 average, and ran the last 5 miles progressively faster. Legs felt great.

2. I am officially running a 1/2 marathon this Sunday. With no taper, of course. I am not sure what to expect, aside from running under 6 covered bridges, a fairly flat course with some rolling hills. Will let you know.

3. Does anyone feel that summer has gone by too quickly?

4. The groin pain is completely gone. Not sure what that was about but it freaked me out and made me super aware of my R hip for a couple of days...

5. Although training for Baystate is going well, I don't have the fire I had when training for Boston. That may change IF we decide to go for nr 2....this might be the last time I run a marathon (for time) for a while...can you tell I am not that excited? The idea of a surrogate is oh so appealing...

6. Did I mention that taper for Baystate starts 3 weeks from Monday? Only 2 20 milers to go....so sad!