Training is heating up!

It's been awhile since I've posted a training update. I blogged regularly about my Boston Marathon training, and it helped me see the bigger picture of my hard work.

After the marathon, I took a few weeks of recovery. I did not run at all during the week following the marathon, and I took it extremely easy the following week, logging just a few very easy treadmill miles while on vacation. I eased my way back into things the third week after Boston, culminating in the Mother's Day 4-Miler. And then, "operation get Elizabeth speedy" kicked into full gear.

The plan is to keep the mileage relatively low (like in the 40's instead of the 60's) and to run two interval sessions a week. No tempo runs, no marathon pace runs-- just really fast stuff.  This means spending a lot of time at a sub-7:00 pace. Ultimately I hope to run the Army 10-miler at a sub-7:00 pace, so that work starts now. And of course, building this fast base will only help me when it comes to training for my fall marathon in November. On top of it, all of this work is happening in the heat and humidity of northern Virginia, which is great for both physical and mental strength.

Here's a snapshot of my training from the past five weeks:

I don't anticipate that my long runs will get above 12 miles for at least another six weeks. Running for an hour and 45 minutes is plenty to keep my endurance up without tiring my legs for the speed work. Let's dive into a few workouts.

I ran this workout about 10 days prior to the Twilight 4-miler. It was three sets of 1600m, 1-minute recovery jog, 400m. In between each set was a 3-minute recovery jog, which equated to just over a lap around the track.

I always start my track workouts conservatively and I find that it's hard to go fast for the first rep of anything. But this was different. I run my track workouts by feel (I don't use the Garmin pace) so imagine my shock when the first 1600m clocked in at 6:38. Oops! The good news is that it felt like a 6:50. The bad news is that the humidity would catch up to me, making the rest of the 1600's slower. My times were:

1600m: 6:38
400m: 1:30
1600m: 6:48
400m: 1:30
1600m: 6:43
400m: 1:29

The fact that I ran a 1:29 (5:56 pace) for the last 400m means that I still had plenty of energy at the end, despite the speedy start.

Onto another workout. On Thursday of this week, I ran a workout that was really challenging to commit to memory! I had to look at it several times and remind myself that the ladder climbed up (not down) for the interval parts.

The photo above just shows one rep. I've recently started using Instagram to share my workouts and I'm never sure how to quickly represent a complex interval workout! This one combined 10K effort with mile-race effort. It was 4 x (1000m at 10K effort, 200m jog) followed by a bunch of really short/fast intervals. I think I may have done this workout once before, but I'm not sure! It was 72 degrees and 99% humidity, threatening thunderstorms. Definitely tough. Here's how it went:

1000m: 4:23 (7:03 pace) -- too slow. I was being overly cautious about going out too fast!
1000m: 4:12 (6:45 pace) -- too fast. I was overcompensating for being too slow on the first one.
1000m: 4:17 (6:53 pace) -- just right!
1000m: 4:15 (6:50 pace) -- just right!

Then I had the three-minute recovery jog. Then I did this:

200m: 0:42 (5:38 pace) followed by a 200m recovery jog
300m: 1:06 (5:54 pace) followed by a 300m recovery jog
400m: 1:28 (5:52 pace) followed by a 400m recovery jog
600m: 2:23 (6:23 pace)

I wish I had given a bit more effort on the 300m and not completely wasted myself on the 400m. It was a challenge to run the 300m hard because I finished around the curve of the track instead of the straightaway, and usually the straight finish is where I pick up most of my speed. That 400m in 1:28 was a PR for me (or at least tied with my PR) so by the time the 600m rolled around, I didn't have much left. I would have loved for that 600m to be about 3-4 seconds faster. But, it was so hot and humid! Overall, I was really pleased with my effort level, and I think that this workout will help me immensely in my upcoming 5K.

When I'm not at the track, I'm taking my easy runs really easy. Those are typically 50-60 minutes in duration, but can be as short as 30 minutes. My pace is typically 8:50-9:10 depending on how my legs feel and how hot/humid it is. This week I have a workout that's so challenging that my coach told me to stand still during the recovery period to catch my breath. I've never done that before (I always jog) so I'm excited to see how it goes!

My next race is the Firecracker 5K on July 4th, which I did last year and the year before. It will be great to see the year-over-year progress.

Special thanks to Greg for taking all of these photos of me! I love being able to share these workouts on Instagram.

Beating The Heat with a Frozen Drink Pre-run

I once read somewhere that quickly drinking a slushy-type beverage shortly before a race or workout in warm conditions can help performance by cooling the body's core temperature. I had always wanted to try this, but it's not always convenient to pop into a 7-11 immediately before a race or run.

Since you're not supposed to do anything new on race day, I figured I would try drinking a frozen beverage before this morning's workout. My coach recently started hosting workouts very close to my current office location. This is kind of ironic because I will be changing jobs in two weeks, which will put me only one mile away from the regular team workouts that have been going on for years.

The meeting spot for today's workout was in front of a Panera. I figured this would be a perfect occasion to drink a slushy just minutes before a warm weather workout. Not only that, but this meeting spot is also the exact same location as the 4th of July race I am running next week. So I will have access to that same Panera, and I confirmed that they will be open on the 4th. The plan would be to warm up for a mile or so, get the frozen drink about 15-20 minutes before race start, drink it quickly and then be ready to race.

My beverage of choice was the frozen lemonade. It seemed like it would be pretty easy on the stomach and

Panera Frozen Lemonade

that the consistency would be good-- not too heavy or too thin. I purchased it, and started drinking it as quickly as was comfortable. One of my teammates approached me and I told her what I was doing. I was really excited to finally try this out, after having heard of it a long time ago.

Shortly after I finished, I noticed that my teeth were chattering and I was getting goosebumps. Yes! I really did feel like my core body temperature had dropped. It was actually a bit uncomfortable waiting for the rest of the group to arrive while not moving around.

It was a small group today-- 5 runners plus the coach. We jogged out to the W&OD trail (a paved biking/running trail with mile markers) and did about a 2-mile warmup. And then we talked about the workout. It would be three 1-mile repeats, back and forth on the trail with about five minutes of recovery in between.

Our coach briefly discussed a pacing goal for each of us. Last week I had run a two-mile tempo run at a pace of 7:12, so this week he thought that 7:00 would be a good target for my mile repeats. I honestly hand't anticipating my pace being that fast. It was warmer and more humid than it had been last week, so I figured I would be lucky just to match my 7:12 pace.

Of the five of us runners, the coach decided to pace me for all three repeats. I wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing because that 7:00 pace sure was intimidating, and I didn't want to disappoint!  The trail is a little hilly, with the first mile being a net downhill, the second a net uphill, and the third a net downhill. But all three miles have their fair share of ups and downs!

Mile 1: 6:57
I didn't look at my Garmin here and just trusted the coach. It actually felt relaxed and somewhat easy until the final uphill, when I let out my gaspy scream that happens when I am working hard. My coach told me to  keep my breathing controlled and that wouldn't happen. Interesting revelation. I never thought I could control the grunts and screams that I let out, but apparently it's a product of my breathing not being even and it also causes uneven breathing- making it a cycle. Now I have a new "process" goal as opposed to always thinking about time goals!

Mile 2: 7:01
This was much harder than the first mile since it was a net uphill. If I had been pacing myself, it probably would have fallen closer to the 7:10-7:15 range. But the coach pushed me on the hills and we maintained the pace. I typically slow down a little on uphills and speed up on downhills, but instead I kept the pace even and it worked out well. By the end of this one, I was beat!

Mile 3: 6:50
This was the exact same mile as the first one, so I knew what elevation profile to expect. Since I pushed pretty hard on the second mile, I was worried I wouldn't have enough left here. But the first half of the mile felt nice and relaxed, and it wasn't until the second half that I felt like I was really working. I was shocked to see the 6:50 when we finished the mile.

Then we cooled down and jogged back to the Panera. I think that my coach pacing me here was the largest factor in my success. I wouldn't have been as motivated on my own. And I also think that the frozen lemonade kept me from overheating, which I tend to do in workouts like these (70 degrees, 99% humidity).

This workout proved to me that I am in better shape than I previously thought. To run these kinds of paces in such weather and on hills is a huge confidence booster. These are the types of paces I would expect from a 45-degree day on a flat surface!  I'm therefore pretty optimistic about my upcoming 5K. If the weather is similar to how it was this morning, then I think a sub-22:00 is in the cards, which would be a "summer race" PR for me.

I am also excited to have a new non-time goal to focus on: breathing. I will try my best to focus on that and see if it helps. Another process goal would be to get energy from other runners. To find a runner who is running the pace I think I can run and then stay close to them.

And of course, the frozen lemonade will be a must!

Speedwork: Then Vs. Now

I ran 7.5 miles this morning:

• 2.5 warmup at 9:40
• 2 miles tempo at 7:43
• 1:30 recovery jog
• 2x800 w/1:30 recoveries, 3:43 for each (7:26 pace)
• 2x400 w/1:30 recoveries, 1:45 for each (7:00 pace)
• Cooldown at 10:10

I did this workout at the same point, 10 days out from RnR Arizona on January 7 of this year.

The tempo miles were 7:53, the 800's were at 3:45 (7:30), and the 400's were at 1:47 (7:08). Also, my log only shows one of the 400's, so I guess I couldn't squeeze in that last one.

Due to the "meltdown" at Arizona, I will never know what kind of time I would have gotten if I hadn't been so impacted by the heat and cramping.

I'm scheduled to do this workout again on Tuesday, but with a total of 6 miles instead. It might be too intense a workout just 5 days out from the race, but I will see how I feel and maybe only do the tempo portion.