Get Down With The Sickness!

I am supposed to be in beautiful San Diego right now for a work conference. My favorite place in the whole country to be! Instead I am sitting on my couch, legs propped up with lap top, iPad and iPhone, alternating among Chess.com, Facebook, work email, and Greek episodes on Neflix. How did people ever survive being sick before the Internet and iPads?

Here is a progression of the events over the last week. I'm writing this more for my own benefit, so I apologize in advance if it lacks the typical excitement of a Racing Stripes blog post.

Monday: I woke up with a very minor sore throat, went for an easy run which felt great (and had a low heart rate) so I figured everything was good. In fact, the longer I ran, the better I felt! At work, the sore throat persisted, so I got some fruit and soup for lunch, along with Cold-Eeze. I figured I was probably coming down with a cold, but that I could fight it off or shorten it with these simple things. That night, I did not sleep well at all because my throat hurt.

Tuesday: I set the alarm for 5:00am, insisting that I go to my hill workout at Iwo Jima no matter what. I knew I was going to have to miss some of these workouts due to work travel and a July 4th race, so I wanted to make sure I went to every single workout I could. I was tired from not having slept well and it was really humid out. I purposely lagged behind my teammates during the hill workout so as not to overdo it. I felt really awful in the middle of the workout, but things turned around toward the end, and I did the last two at full effort. Probably a mistake. I haven't run since.

Public service announcement: if you think you are coming down with something, do NOT push yourself in a workout. Easy running only!

I showered at a nearby Golds Gym and headed into work. I attended a 9:30 meeting but went home afterwards. My throat was extremely sore and I didn't want to get other people sick.

Wednesday: I worked from home because the throat was getting even worse. It really hurt to swallow and I had to constantly be sucking on a Cepacol in order to feel decent. The rest of me felt fine, my energy level was normal and I had no congestion. Just a killer sore throat. I went to a Minute Clinic for a strep test because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of my doctor's office. It always takes forever when I go there and I always have to park far away. At the Minute Clinic, I was told there was a virus going around featuring a very sore throat, and I tested negative for Strep. She gave me Lidocaine to gargle with that was supposed to numb my throat.  The Lidocaine didn't do much because I later found out that the swelling went much further back than the Lidocaine could reach.

Thursday: I lost my voice. I was able to speak in a very low, dramatic whisper, but it hurt to do so. Even still, I went into work for a meeting. There was no way I could miss this meeting because I was the organizer, and had been planning it for weeks with an outside vendor. Thankfully, I didn't have to do much talking because others in the meeting had most of the knowledge that I did. I was just the one managing and coordinating everything. I spent the entire meeting alternating between Cepacol and warm water with honey. I think I looked ridiculous sitting there with a bottle of honey in front of me, but I needed it! At night, I took NyQuill, but that did nothing. The act of swallowing was so painful, that whenever I felt myself falling asleep, I would swallow, and the pain would wake me up. I was up in the middle of the night having Cepacol and gargling with the Lidocaine, because I couldn't sleep with the pain.

Friday: This was the worst day ever. Greg was trying to get me to go to my regular doctor, but now I didn't have any energy. I didn't feel like I could go anywhere. I was tired, I lost my voice completely (except for a whisper) and my throat was killing me.

I knew that I was in no shape to travel, so reality set in about me having to cancel my trip. I was so excited about San Diego. On a professional level, I had spent a great deal of time building a presentation that was going to be given and coaching the presenters, but now I wasn't even going to see it! I was supposed to be meeting with 5 different vendors (being wined and dined) most of whom I only know by speaking with over the phone. I was also going to meet a lot of the sales people who I work with over the phone but had never met in person. I had my running route all planned out. I had done that same route as a 20-miler back in 2008 and it was one of the most beautiful runs of my life. My hotel was conveniently located right on the route and I was really looking forward to it. I even made plans to meet up with some friends who live in San Diego who I haven't seen in years. Thankfully, there were plenty of other people from my company going so it wasn't like the world was going to end without my presence. I was going mainly for my own benefit. I'm new to this company and this industry and it would have been great for networking and understanding the industry.

Friday night was yet another night of not being able to sleep because I kept waking myself up by swallowing.  More Cepacol. More gargling with Lidocaine.

Saturday: My wonderful husband took such good care of me! He took me to urgent care where we spent about two hours. Maybe more? It felt like forever. At least I got my "airport" experience-- I had to show ID, I had to be X-rayed, and then I had to wait forever. But the end result was getting meds that made me go to a happy place!

Greg made this yummy soup!

I was running a fever, and my throat was so swollen that they had to x-ray to see further down. They ruled out Mono and Strep, and did a throat culture to see if it's a bacterial infection. I won't have those results until Wednesday. It's either a bacterial infection or a viral infection, but she started me on antibiotics just in case. I was prescribed steroids, which immediately helped the swelling in my throat. But it was accompanied by some severe sweating. Best of all was the Vicodin which meant I was finally able to sleep without pain.

As I mentioned before, Greg took such great care of me. He went to the grocery store and bought me everything on my list. He made a delicious healthy soup for us too. Best of all, he kept me company and gave me massages!

Sunday: I finally started to get my voice back and the pain in my throat had subsided immensely, although not 100%. I'm thinking it's because of the steroids. Congestion arrived, which I took as a good sign because at least my immune system was kicking in. I spent the day playing online chess, tracking my friends who were racing in an Ironman, and watching Netflix. Unfortunately, the Vicodin didn't help me sleep as well on Sunday night as it had on Saturday, but it was still much better than it had been earlier in the week.

Greg made asparagus soup from scratch, along with baked salmon. Both were delicious and very healthy!

Today: I have my voice back, but it still hurts to speak loudly. Now my main symptom is fatigue and dizziness. I am not sure how much of this is due to the illness or the side affects of the meds. I don't take Vicodin during the day, so it would have to be the steroids, which I took less of today. I am well enough to be writing this blog, so that is certainly a good sign!

Looking ahead: I haven't run since Tuesday, and the earliest I would think about running again would be Wednesday. Tomorrow I will be off of the steroids and the Vicodin, so if I feel better, then I might attempt something easy on Wednesday. But I am not going to push it. The last thing I need is to prolong my recovery time. Most of my co-workers are in San Diego, so it makes sense for me to be working from home. Today is an official "sick day" because I'm too tired to focus on work. I expect that I will have more energy tomorrow to actually be working. At least I hope!

On the plus side, I haven't been stressing too much about all the time off running I'm having to take. Yeah, it's annoying and I know I will lose some fitness, but I've accepted this. Thankfully I don't have any key races in the near future, so I can take as much time as I need to recover. I'm getting better at speed chess, but I have to stop moving so fast and letting people take my queen! Nothing kills your chess mojo like a queen loss.

Also on the plus side, I figured out how to get people at work to keep their distance from me during my taper and not get me sick. (I'm such a hypochondriac during my taper.) I just have to pretend like I am the one who is sick, and everyone will be sure to stay far away!

Anyway, hopefully I am on the mend. I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who took me to the doctor even when I didn't want to go. I think I'll go have some leftover soup now.

Lawyers Have Heart History -- In Pictures!

I thought it would be fun to take a look back on my race photos from this yearly Lawyers Have Heart tradition.

2005, wearing all cotton.

2006, looks more like the chicken dance than a race.

2007, getting into a groove

2008, my poor knee!

2009, approaching the finish, super hot!

2010, focused on the finish line!

2011, midfoot strike. The only photo they took of me.

2012, red face to match my red top! Nice background.

I shared my race report with my sports psychologist and he helped me see that I ran exactly the race that I needed to be running to advance myself as a runner. He asked me: "if you had set a ballpark goal before the race (not knowing what you know now) do you think you would have set a goal to run a course PR by over 2:30?"  I thought about it, and I probably would have set my goal to run a course PR of about 2:00, which would have been a 47:50.

Only after the fact did I start being hard on myself for not pushing. So in reality, I ran a faster race than I expected by NOT focusing on a goal time. I focused on my strategy, pacing and execution and in doing so, I ran negative splits and exceeded any goal I would have set for myself. And looking at the below photo, I do realize how hot it actually was, despite it being "good weather for this race".

He told me that if I run all of my races like this, where I accomplish everything I set out to do, then I am going to make a lot of progress as a runner. If I look for failure, of course I am going to find it. And my natural instinct is always to look for failure in myself.

So what did I learn by having some gas left in the tank at the end? Not that I need to push harder when I race, but that my capability level is higher than I expected. Which means great things for the next time I race!

Yes, 2012 was hot!

Lawyers Have Heart 10K - Steady As It Goes

This morning I ran my 8th consecutive Lawyers Have Heart 10K.

This race holds a special place in my heart because it was the first large race I ever ran, and it encouraged me to get into racing instead of just treadmill running. That said, this race is always so tough. Every year it's extremely hot and humid and it's usually too early in the summer for me to be properly acclimated.

This year, the weather was rather pleasant, with low humidity and temperatures in the low 70's. Even though this is amazingly good weather for this race, it's still hot and sunny, which I have to keep reminding myself when thinking about my time.

I organized a Capital Area Runners team, which only had six members on it. However, there were at least 10 people from our group running. I think most of them had signed up before I created the team or were running with their law firms' teams. I ended up being the only female, which mean my time would count as being in the top four of the team. As a co-ed team, they have to score at least one female.

Pre-Race
After seven years of doing this race, I know the drill pretty well. Get there an hour early so that there is time to park, walk to packet pickup and line up early for the porta potties. Go back to the car, put on bib, put shirt in car. I find it somewhat humorous that the race runs out of size small every single year. You would think they would learn! Every year I indicate "small" on my registration, but always end up with a medium. This year, I didn't even ask for a small. I took the medium and the volunteer informed me they were out of small. The shirt material is actually rather soft, and they make good nightshirts, so I'm actually okay with my collection of mediums.

After putting our bibs on, Greg and I warmed up for about a mile and a half.  I felt pretty good.

I didn't have a goal time in mind for this race, which worked both for me and against me. I had no idea how much the heat would affect me. Two weekends ago, I went out at a pace of 7:22 in a hot 5K, and I ran the last mile at 8:01. Clearly, I didn't adjust my starting pace enough for the heat. So I decided I would go out very conservatively and then try to maintain an even pace. It's good to not have a goal time because then you are focused more on the execution. But having no ballpark idea of the time I wanted to run also left me unmotivated to push to the extent that I was physically capable of.

Mile 1-- 7:57

My goal with this mile was to take it super easy. I always, always bonk in this race and I was determined to not let that happen. It's really crowded and I didn't want to waste energy weaving and it's also uphill. I just took it very easy.

Miles 2 & 3--  7:35, 7:38
I settled in here. I didn't look at my Garmin for awhile after mile marker one, but when I did, I was happy with a pace in the 7:30's so I told myself to just maintain the 7:30's. I fully expected that I would be in the 7:50's by the time the race was over, as usually happens in this race, so I thought that staying in the 7:30's would be a challenge.

Miles 4 & 5-- 7:35, 7:34
I was so happy to be past the turnaround and feeling strong. Usually this is where it all falls apart for me, but I felt myself getting a little faster! I was so thankful to be maintaining my pace that I didn't dare try and speed up. In hindsight, I think I could have sped up a little and I think I was just being too intimidated by past experiences. I wanted to play it safe, and I did. I started making my grunting and screaming noises in mile 5, which means I was working hard, so I didn't question the effort level. A nice woman ran next to me for about half a mile and told me to relax and focus on breathing. It's funny how I always sound like death when I put out a hard effort, even when I am perfectly fine. I've been known to let out some yelps on the track, and particularly during pool running.

Mile 6: 7:34
The sun was beating down on me here and it got a lot harder, but this mile is a net downhill, so I used it to my advantage.  The last 0.2 is under a bridge, so I don't have Garmin data to support my perceived effort, but I would say I was doing a solid 6:15 pace. I was passing people left and right and now that I was in the shade, I felt awesome. I kept thinking "wow- I have a lot in the tank here, where was this earlier in the race?"

I finished with a time of 47:18, good for 18th out of 364 in my age group.

I must have had the math wrong in my head because as I was running, I was sure that a 7:35 pace would land me somewhere in the 46's, but I guess that first mile worked against me. And yes, my math was wrong. I used to obsess over which pace would get me to which time, but I have stopped doing that (thank God). So, I was a bit let down that I was in the 47's.

Nevertheless, I was proud that I ran a consistent race. I executed my strategy perfectly. This is the first time in Lawyers Have Heart history where I ran a negative split.

Sports Psychology
One of the things I am working on with my new sports psychologist is the post-race "review". We've identified that I am very black and white in my thinking and that unless I amaze myself with my performance, then I'm extremely upset. There isn't any middle ground. So for practice, here are all of the thoughts and feelings that occurred to me once I heard that some of my friends had set PRs, and others weren't that far off:

- I'm two minutes off of my PR. Nobody else is that far off, so the heat must have just affected me more.
- But could the heat really have affected me more? No. I just wimped out. I didn't push as hard as I could.
- 47:18. Sure would have been nice to get into the 46's.
- This is the best weather this race has ever had, and I still couldn't break 47?
- Other people PRed in this heat! I was so far off of mine. Boo!!!!!!!
- It was a mistake to start off so slowly. I should have had more confidence than that.

I know these feelings and thoughts don't get me anywhere. They are counterproductive and they don't build confidence. They serve no purpose and I am being unreasonably hard on myself.  My sports psychologist recommended a much more effective approach to post race "reviews".

50% of the review: What went well?
- I had a strategy
- I executed the strategy exactly as planned
- I beat my course PR by over two minutes
- I ran negative splits and didn't blow up-- which was one of the key goals
- I was in the top 5% of my age group, and this is a competitive race
- I kept a positive mindset while running the race
- I had a really nice final kick, passing most people
- I enjoyed it (as much as one can enjoy the pain of a 10K!)
- I ran the tangents
- I met my total weekly mileage goal by doing a warmup and cooldown.

30% of the review: What Worked? What didn't quite work?
- My nutrition worked
- I was well hydrated
- Focusing on my form worked
- Keeping a positive attitude during the race worked
- What didn't quite work: not having a ballpark goal
- What didn't quite work: being intimidated by my past performances in this race
- What didn't quite work: not asking myself if I could push harder during the race

20% of the review: What should I adjust for next time?
- Have a ballpark time goal, and know an approximate pace I want to run-- adjust that if necessary during the run.
- Don't let past performances affect my confidence for future ones.

Just as I have to make adjustments to my pacing and slow down if I underestimate the effect of the heat (like two weeks ago), I also have to learn to adjust my pacing to go faster if I overestimated the effect of the heat.  However, better to be safe than sorry, and I played it safe. Few things are worse in a race than a heat bonk!

And now the key is not view this is a "bad performance" and not let it feed negativity into other races. There were a lot of positive things that came out of today's race-- particularly in the area of strategy and execution. And a new course PR!  I am just a bit disappointed in my finish time and the fact that I let this race intimidate me. There are some good things to learn from here.

Finally, an important point that my sports psych makes is that once the review is over, move onto something else. Do not dwell on it all day. (Except I do get to write a blog!)

Team Results
Our Capital Area Runners team placed 3rd in the Open category:

  3. 2:49:02.1 Capital Area Runners                              (  42:15.6)
============================================================
  1    37:30.9  Christopher Carney    M 
  2    39:51.7  Jamey Burden          M 
  3    44:21.1  Greg Clor             M 
  4    47:18.4  Elizabeth Clor        F 

Lawyers Have Heart History

Date	Race	Time	Comments
June 2005	Lawyers Have Heart	53:09
June 2006	Lawyers Have Heart	53:32
June 2007	Lawyers Have Heart	50:59
June 2008	Lawyers Have Heart	55:25	Coming off of injury
June 2009	Lawyers Have Heart	51:30
June 2010	Lawyers Have Heart	49:50
June 2011	Lawyers Have Heart 5K	22:43	Race was changed to a 5K due to heat
June 2012	Lawyers Have Heart	47:18

Ringing In Hope 5K: Heat, Hills, Humidity

This morning I ran my 4th Ringing In Hope race (I've run both the summer and the New Year's race ever since the Inaugural race on New Year's Eve, December 2010.) They always offer a 5K and a 10K, and this year I chose the 5K. Last summer, I ran the 10K and it was a truly miserable experience because of the heat. My pace slowed by over a minute per mile during the last two miles and it took everything I had not to walk. Afterwards, I was really out of it and kept feeling like I was about to pass out.

I didn't want a repeat performance, so I decided to stick to the 5K. With a start time of 9:00, I knew it was going to be brutally hot once again, well before the forecast even came out.

I just had to laugh when I received an email on Friday with a subject line of "Weather Looking Great for Monday's Race."  Ha! It was 80 degrees and very humid at the start line. Not exactly great, but I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up.

Going into this race, I was worried about dehydration. Although I had drunk plenty of water the day before, I had either food poisoning or just a really upset stomach. I was in serious pain for several hours and all my hydration work went down the toilet, literally. This morning, the stomach pains were still there, and I just had to hope that my stomach would behave for the duration of the race.

When Greg and I arrived at the race, there was a very long line for getting our bibs. We got there just before 8:30 and it took about 20 minutes to get through the line and pin our bibs on. I still needed to go to the bathroom again, so there wasn't much time to warm up.  We ran for about one minute, and considered ourselves warm. We didn't get shirts because we didn't have time to wait in the shirt line and then go back to put them in our car. Oh well.

At the start line, they announced that the start would be delayed by five minutes due to the number of people still in line to get their bibs. Seriously? UGH. I was getting so hot just standing there. And then when 9:05 rolled around, that's when the pre-race rituals started, meaning the actual start didn't happen until 9:10.

My strategy for this race was to go out slowly and not push until the end. I didn't have a time goal-- I was more hoping to win an age group award of some sort. I figured just getting sub-23:00 would be a nice achievement, given the heat.

It was hot!

The race starts on an uphill, and I am very familiar with the course. My first mile was 7:21. I told myself that if I could hold on to that pace, I'd be golden. Well, it got really hard after the first mile marker. I was so hot, and there was no shade anywhere. High humidity, 80 degrees, rolling hills-- the 3 H's that can really test a runner's mental resolve! I decided not to look at the Garmin and just keep the effort level constant. I don't know if I could have pushed harder, or if I just didn't push harder because I was afraid of passing out in the heat. Either way, the tempo effort was as much as I could muster, and I told myself just to keep going, and the race would be over soon. Mile 2 was 7:39.

During the last mile, I came upon a 10-year old being paced by a woman who looked to be in about her 40's. I wasn't sure if she was the mother or the coach. I was about 10-15 seconds behind them. Normally I would try and catch up, but I thought "neither of them in my age group, it's okay if they stay ahead". All I cared about during the last mile was maintaining my placing and not letting anyone pass me. I had slowed down significantly, but it looked like a lot of other people were, too. In fact, I saw quite a few people walking during the last mile. I remember the one time I walked in a super hot 5K. I wasn't pleased with myself afterwards, so I told myself to just keep running no matter what. I ended up with an 8:01 for that last mile, which included a long uphill at the end. I didn't let it phase me, I just focused on keeping the effort level up and hoping that no one would pass me. I had a super fast downhill finish to 23:39. Far off of my time goal, but I finished in one piece without stomach problems or feeling dizzy at the end.

This is the second 5K in a row that a 10-year-old has beaten me by 10 seconds. I need to watch out for those little ones!

I was the 8th overall female out of 382 and I won 2nd place in my AG. My award was a gift certificate to a local running store. Yay! This puts me in the top 2%, so even though my time was really slow for me, my placing validated how tough it was out there.

It's hard to believe that I can run a 10-miler at a faster pace than I ran today's 5K. Heat is serious business!

Afterwards, Greg and I were chatting with our friend Chad, talking about the potential for age group awards. While doing that, I nearly missed getting my award! I noticed they were giving them out, so I ran over there, and the announcer (who knew me) said "Elizabeth did you get your award?" Ha-- I feel like I crashed the whole order of things. Turns out she thought I was in my 20's and had won first place age group, but then quickly realized I was in my 30's, which was a more competitive grouping.

Anyway, I'm happy about the award, pleased that I didn't stop and walk, but obviously not thrilled with the major slowdown and slow overall time. Is it fall yet????

Chad (won 2nd place AG), me and Greg.

VO2 Max Test Results

Three years after my first VO2 max test, I decided it was time for another one, so I had this done last night.

What is this test?
A VO2 max test tells you how your body consumes oxygen and burns calories during exercise. It also identifies your heart rate zones so that you can train at paces that are most beneficial for your body, as opposed to looking at standardized chart (which may or may not apply to you).

The test is not fun. You warmup for 15 minutes on a treadmill and then put on this mask that's attached to a computer. The computer is measuring your oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output, and from that it can tell all sorts of things. You also wear a heart rate monitor, which is closely watched by the person performing the test. Once the warmup is complete and the mask is on, the person performing the test gradually increases your treadmill speed. In my case, it was 0.2 MPH for every minute. I started at 6.0 MPH and after 10 minutes, I was at 8.0 MPH. Eventually, he also ups the incline along with the speed. The test continues until you can't take it anymore.

The fact that you are running at a high intensity on a treadmill is bad enough. Add the mask in there for additional discomfort and you're really not having fun.

Why take such a test?

My heart rate during the test.

The test provides information that will help you tailor your training. Most critical are the heart rate zones. Using the standard "percentage of max" does not work for every athlete because every body is unique in its oxygen consumption. I've been training with a heart rate monitor since I took this test in 2009, and it's really helped guide my training paces. When it's super hot outside, the heart rate is higher, so I go slower. I'm also more in tune with my body. I can tell when I'm having an off day if my heart rate is abnormally high for the paces I am running. Or if my heart rate is telling me that I need to go much slower than on other days.

The test also provides information that can help with your nutrition plan and lets you know if you need to focus more on speed or endurance.

My results
I have to say, I left the testing location feeling discouraged. Three years ago, this guy told me that I was among the 10% of runners who are more built for endurance than speed, and that I would do better at marathons and half marathons. And I guess back then it was true. My half marathon PR at the time was 1:44:04, but I still had never broken 49:00 in the 10K or 23:00 in the 5K. Yesterday, I learned that the reverse is now true. I am currently in much better shape for short races than long ones. I have a high lactate threshold and I've increased my VO2 max. But my treadmill pace for "easy" was actually slower.

However. . . back in 2009, I did the majority of my runs on a treadmill so I was more comfortable on the treadmill. Last night, my feet hurt right off the bat, and my calves and hips were killing me by the end. In fact, it was my legs hurting me that was the limiting factor and that made me stop the test. So, I really can't compare a treadmill time from 2009 to now, when I do 100% of my running outdoors. But still- it was discouraging that my easy pace was 20 seconds per mile slower on the treadmill than it was three years ago.

Interestingly, Greg's results have also gone in the opposite direction. Back in 2009, he was better trained for speed, and now apparently he's much better trained for endurance. Far better than I am. We always thought that I was the endurance queen and he was the king of speed, but according to this test, the roles are now reversed. His easy pace is faster than mine. I hope he'll still do long runs with me!

The results do make sense. Greg hasn't PRed at a short distance in over a year, but is killing the long distances. I haven't PRed at a half marathon or marathon in over a year, but I'm doing well with shorter stuff.  The guy said that Greg didn't leave anything on the course with his 1:13 Cherry Blossom time. He said that my 1:15 time was soft, and I should have beat Greg. Ha!  This confirms what we've always known--  Greg can really redline it, and I am a wimp at pushing. :-)

It's great that I've increased my VO2 max because that's mainly a factor of genetics, and it decreases as you age. It's one of the hardest elements to change/control.  But hey, I'm three years older, the VO2 max is 3 points higher!

Of course, my heart rate zones have changed. This isn't really a reflection of fitness, but more of age and other physiological factors. Before the test, I actually predicted that the top of my Zone 2 (the "easy zone") was now 162 as opposed to the previous 165. Every time my heart rate gets above 162, I notice I am working harder. 162 and below is easy street, but it used to feel that way at 165 and below. Confirmation that I am in tune with what feels easy vs. slightly harder than easy. Long runs will now be in the range of a 150-162 heart rate.

Fat Burning
Finally, I learned that my body is not effective at burning fat as fuel. In fact, in 2009, my body was burning twice as much fat as it does now for the same paces. This might explain my recent weight gain over the past 4 months. This makes sense because in 2009 I would never eat anything before my long runs. For the past year, I have been having a bagel with peanut butter before each long run, and my body has been using that as fuel instead of fat. I think going forward I will rely on last night's dinner for my fuel, unless the run is 16+ miles, and I will eat a smaller bagel with less peanut butter. And be sure to eat it at least two hours in advance. Eating within 2 hours of a long run causes your insulin levels to rise, and so your body uses that glucose as fuel-- not the fat. It's important for the body to use fat because it's a better, more readily available source of energy than glucose-- especially in a marathon.

Training Volume/Mileage
In 2009, I was coming off a long training cycle averaging about 50 miles per week, peaking at about 60. Since my stress fractures in January of 2011, I have been keeping my weekly mileage in the 30's and 40's. My training for Shamrock averaged in the low 40's. I thought this was okay because I was supplementing with swimming and pool running. Also, I ran Shamrock in 2008 on low mileage and it was a great race for me. However, these results indicate that I probably need to pump up the volume, so to speak. More volume means my body will be better able to burn fat as fuel.

The test administrator also suggested longer tempos. My coach prefers 3-4 mile tempo runs and I can't remember the last time I went beyond 4 miles. They've gotten super fast, but  yesterday I learned that I would get more benefit out of 5-6 mile tempos at a slower pace (still staying within my LT heart rate zone).

So now what?
I gave these results to my coach and I am going to see what he recommends. I am also meeting with a sports physiologist to go through these results in more detail and see what ideas she has on nutrition and specific training must-haves. I have six months until my next marathon attempt, so that should be plenty of time to get  my endurance back to where it needs to be. It's exciting in a way because now I know I have a lot of room to improve.

I'm also working with a sports psychologist on the performance anxiety issue. Even those this test was helpful, it does not explain why I am exhausted at mile 8 of a marathon, but I have no problems with long runs.

Best Bagels in Northern VA: Bagel Buddies

As a runner, I take my carb intake very seriously. But long before I ever laced up my running shoes, I've loved bagels. They've always topped my list of favorite foods.

So where is my favorite place to get bagels? Bagel Buddies in Fairfax. And you can win a free dozen bagels from there by following the instructions at the end of this blog post!

Their bagels are always, always fresh. To me, a good bagel is one that you can eat without having to toast it or put anything on it. You can simply enjoy the texture and the doughy inside. I prefer to eat my bagels by breaking off pieces rather than cutting them-- because I think that cutting them ruins the "chunky of dough" sensation that I love. Not to give the impression that these bagels are undercooked-- they are just nice and soft on the inside. Firm on the outside. Most other bagels are the same consistency inside and out and it's like eating a piece of thick bread. No thank you!

I'm a bagel snob. I refuse to eat a bagel that isn't fresh or that is too firm. When Panera is my only option for a bagel, I use their microwaves to make the bagels warm and chewy instead of hard. Because I love bagels so much, I've tried nearly bagel shop in Northern Virginia, but nothing comes close to Bagel Buddies. Even when I lived in Tyson's Corner, I would sometimes make special trips out to the Fair Lakes area, just to get some of these yummy bagels. I've been a loyal Bagel Buddies customer for over 10 years.

These bagels are so good that I actually brought them to New York city for the NYC marathon. I didn't want to risk there not being bagels in NY as good as these. Ironic, because NYC is bagel central, and Bagel Buddies has a NYC theme to it.

They offer a huge selection of bagels and homemade cream cheeses. They even have a fantastic selection of light cream cheese, where most bagel shops only give you the option of plain light or veggie light.

As for bagel flavors, they offer all the standards, but they also feature a bagel of the month where you can try flavors like carrot cake, strawberry, pumpkin and others. Offered every day are unique flavors such as Cinnamon Sugar, Peanut Butter, French Toast and Orange Cranberry. My personal favorite is the honey 7 grain. It's so wholesome and flavorful! Topped with Wild Berry Lite cream cheese, and you have the perfect breakfast or snack!

I also like going there for lunch because their sandwich selection is huge. They serve both hot and cold bagel sandwiches, and if you are trying to watch your carb intake, you can get a wrap.

The owners are super nice. I've actually known one of the owners since college and was so excited when she bought the bakery a few years ago. She graciously lets me fill up my water bottle and use the bathroom on long runs, as my route often goes by the shop.

Bagel Giveaway Contest
I've never given anything away on my blog before, so I hope this goes well. You can win a dozen free bagels from Bagel Buddies by doing the following things. Please leave one comment for each of these things you do, and that will be one entry for each:

Like Bagel Buddies on Facebook: Link to FB Page
Repost this contest on Facebook.
Follow Bagel Buddies on Twitter: @BagelBuddies
Tweet this contest on Twitter.

Be sure to mention that Bagel Buddies is located in Fairfax, Virginia.

I will announce the winner on Wednesday, May 23. The winner will be chosen at random.

Disclaimer: Bagel Buddies did not pay me to write this blog. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. 

A Run Around The Corner

Greg and I have lived in our house for just over two years. For the past two years, we have noticed a 5K race very close to our house. While we were out for a normal weekend run, we would see hundreds of people in a 5K, running on part of our route. This year we decided we would join in on the fun.

I'm pretty sure this Angel Kisses 5K is the closest race to our house, with the start line about 2.5 miles away. About 35 minutes before the start, we left from our front door and did a warmup run to the start. It was just so cool to be able to run to the race! No worries about parking or traffic or anything. Easy as cake!

This race benefits cancer research and is in its 9th year. It's a very family-oriented race so a huge swarm of kids lined up at the very front. Normally this bugs me, but in a small family-oriented 5K, you just have to expect it. Plus, they go out really fast anyway, so you don't have to start weaving around them until about half a mile in, at which point they are pretty spread out.

I decided to do a few things differently with this race. The first was to not look at my Garmin at all. I tried this approach on New Year's eve and it did not work for me. I wound up going out way too fast on an uphill and was just trying to hold on the rest of the race. I got my slowest 5K time in years. I was a bit worried this would happen again (especially since this race starts on a huge uphill), but I wanted to work on just "feeling" the race and not having a watch dictate what I do. Also, knowing that I wouldn't be able to look at the Garmin at all, I wasn't worried about what the next lap pace would be because I wouldn't see it.

Also different was the use of my iPod. I haven't raced with music in about three years, so I decided to experiment with it. This goes along with my whole "feel the race" approach. I decided I would let the music carry me and I would get into a rhythm with it. The only problem I have with headphones is my own vanity. All varieties of earbuds and behind-the-ear headphones fall off of me, so I must wear the old school over-the-head ones. I have a super skinny pair, but still, it's not the most athletic looking thing. I decided I just needed to get over myself and wear them anyway.

In terms of a goal time, I didn't have one. It was on the warmer side, and I knew how hilly the course was. 100% hills! My primary goal was to run really strong, feel the race, and hopefully win an age group award.

Mile 1: 6:58
This was too fast, but not so much that it killed my race. The race starts on a long, steep uphill. All the kids were just gunning up the hill and I was trying to hold back, but without the Garmin, I didn't know if I needed to hold back even more. After the uphill was, of course, a downhill.

Mile 2: 7:17

Not the most flattering, but hey- I'm pushing it hard!

More hills! There is no part of this course that is flat. The hills are long and steep in some places. I'm pretty sure this is the hilliest 5K I've ever run. I'm glad I wasn't looking at the Garmin because a 7:17 pace would have discouraged me. Even though I knew the course was hilly and it was warm, I would have let that number get into my head. Instead, I was free of it.

During this mile, I was side-by-side with a girl who was about 11. I enjoyed running with her, but kids don't really understand racing etiquette. Periodically, she would try to get ahead of me, and run right in front of my path. I had to dodge her multiple times. She'd get right in my way, I'd have to go around her. I'd be slightly ahead, and then she'd come up and cut me off again. I don't think she was trying to be rude, but maybe she thought that's what people did in races. It is a competitive thing, after all.

Mile 3: 7:18
This was so hard. I knew my effort level was at my max because I was constantly letting out my screaming sounds. In the Crystal Run 5K in April, I didn't let out many screams, and that's how I know that I wasn't giving it everything I had. In this run, I was just sighing and screaming and grunting throughout the entire last mile. I passed the 11-year old for good, but then came across a girl who looked to be around 12. I passed her on the final uphill, thinking I was in the clear, but then she passed me again, and I sped up. I did not want this girl to beat me!

Once we got to the top of the hill, the last 0.3 miles were all downhill, and that's when I just let it rip. I accelerated down to the 6:30's and ended up beating her by about 10 seconds.

Last 0.14: 6:10 pace
I really like the downhill finish to this race and the fact that you can see the finish line balloons from a ways off. I gave a really strong final kick to finish in 22:24. 


Although my time is nearly a minute slower than my PR, I was very happy with this race. My effort level exceeded what I did at Crystal City, and if I had pushed this hard back then, I would have been much closer to my PR. When I crossed the finish line, it took me over a full minute to be able to talk to anyone.

I was 5th place out of 220 women. I also won my age group (ages 30-39).

Afterwards, there was an awards ceremony and a ton of door prizes were also given away. I won a $20 Gift Certificate to VA Runner and also got a medal that said "1st place female, 30-39".  Greg placed second in his age group and won a $15 Gift Certificate to VA Runner! This was his first age group award ever! Greg also won a $25 Gift Certificate to a local restaurant as a door prize!

I also have to mention that the 4th place female was only 10 years old. That kid was on fire! She had actually come all the way from Maryland to run this one. She killed all the boys her age, too. The fastest boy in her age group was a 9-year-old at 23:49.

Loot in hand, Greg and I ran back home. We plan on making this race a yearly tradition.

Science Project

I did a little science project today. I attempted to run the Potomac River Marathon with the goal of simply finishing strong-- no matter how slow.

Back in 2010, I was registered for this same race, but since the weather was in the low to mid 70's with nearly 100% humidity, I decided to run it as a training run, and stop at the halfway point. I ended up feeling better than expected, so I actually ran 18.5 miles that day, and then stopped because it was just a training run.

As for my science project, here is a side-by-side comparison of these activities.

	2010	2012
Weather	70-75 degrees, 100% humidity.	60-65 degrees, 85% humidity
Recent Crystal Run 5K Time	22:21	22:00
Goal	Training Run	Finish Strong

In other words, I am in much better shape now than I was two years ago, and today's weather was cooler. Logically, one would expect my paces for today to be faster. Especially since today was technically a race and I wasn't trying to save my legs for anything else. Were they faster? Absolutely not.

Mile	2010 Pace	2010  Heart Rate	2012 Pace	2012 Heart Rate
1	8:42	145	9:05	152
2	8:37	155	8:54	159
3	8:42	162	8:58	163
4	8:55	163	8:53	167
5	8:44	165	9:02	167
6	8:40	164	8:59	168
7	8:36	165	8:59	170
8	8:51	165	9:11	169
9	8:34	168	9:34	166
10	8:26	170	9:55	163
11	8:48	171	8:52	167
12	8:27	173	8:53	173
13	8:21	172	9:10	172
14	8:03	174	10:27	166
15	8:18	174	9:13	169
16	8:16	178	10:28	164
17	8:31	178	9:44	167

When I stopped the run in 2010, the folks at the water station were asking me "Why are you stopping? You're in the lead! You look so strong!" I smiled and said back, "I feel great, but you know, I'm not on pace to BQ, and that's what I'm after. I'm registered for another marathon in two weeks, and I'll try to BQ there." Today, the people at that same water stop said "Are you okay? Can I get you some ice?" And it was hard for me to reply initially.

2010

In case you didn't guess, I did not finish today's marathon. Really, what would the point be? I wasn't going to finish strong. I felt like death at a pace of 9:45. Three weeks ago, I ran a 21-miler at an average 8:58 pace in much warmer, sunnier weather. And my legs felt fine the next day-- no lingering soreness.

What I'm getting at here is that this is a very physical manifestation of something 100% mental. Mention the word "marathon" and something happens in my brain and subsequently my body that makes me incapable of even running at my easy training pace. It's not lack of sleep. It's not dehydration. It's not the weather. It's not my fitness level. It's not over-training. It's not nutrition. It's not going out too fast. It's in my head and whatever "it" is, I can't get it out.

It's not as easy as just trying to relax. The more I try that the worse it seems to be. In fact, today, I was in high spirits, completely just in it to have a good race. Time wasn't even an element here. I wasn't focused on time, I wasn't obsessively looking at my Garmin. I just listened to my music and treated it like a long run. But it didn't work.

I'm plenty nervous for races at other distances, and yet I can run those with no problem.

It's happened at every marathon attempt in the past 4 years and it's getting worse and worse. Seriously, my fastest mile was an 8:52?!?  I do many easy training runs where my slowest mile isn't even that slow.

2012, Photo by Cheryl Young

When I stopped at mile 18.5, I watched the runners go by. Almost every one was looking strong. I felt like death. I couldn't even communicate properly when I first stopped. Why me? Why can't I just be normal like everyone else? Why do I have to have this flipping complex about the marathon?

I think my next approach will be to come at this whole running thing with a completely different mindset. I need to make it about finding my power through running. It's not about the PR or the time on the clock. I am happiest when I am running strong and feeling the power within me. I kept trying to find that today and it wasn't there. I wanted to get into a groove with the running and it never came. In most of the photos, my form was completely off (I chose one of the few good ones for this blog). I just looked like I was struggling so much.

I won't stop running them. I'm not a quitter and I won't give up. I will figure it out. Maybe not in time for Richmond this fall. Maybe not in time for a Spring marathon. But eventually, one day, it will happen for me.

Workouts Galore

Time for a good ol' fashion workout recap post. I haven't blogged much about my training lately.

I've had some great workouts recently, primarily the ones with my team-- Capital Area Runners. Given how warm it was this winter and earlier in the season, I've been pleasantly surprised by the perfect running weather we've had over the past few weeks. I'm still having to wear gloves and long sleeves on some of my runs, and I love that!

I'll focus on my three "quality" workouts over the past week.

Sunday, April 22: 10-mile Progression Run
I was registered for the GW Parkway Classic 10-miler. My coach suggested that instead of racing it, that I make it into a quality workout. The race course is on a concrete surface (not as much "give" as asphalt) with a lot of rolling hills so it can really trash the legs. Since I already had a solid 10-mile PR for the season, I was totally fine with not racing this one all out. Greg didn't want to race it at full effort either, so we ran together.

My coach's suggestion was to run the first 3 miles as an easy warmup, the next 3 at marathon pace, and the last 4 at half marathon/10-mile race pace. I was more than happy to comply and Greg ran it with me at these paces.

We got to the race, it was drizzling and in the mid 50's. We ran a 15-minute warmup just to get some extra mileage in, since this race was in place of a long run.

Mile 1: 8:16
Mile 2: 8:25
Mile 3: 8:35

It looks like I went out too fast here, but the first mile is entirely downhill and I always run based on effort. If it was an uphill mile, it probably would have been 9:16.

Mile 4: 8:19
Mile 5: 8:14
Mile 6: 7:47

Mile 6 was another completely downhill mile, so even though it looks to be much faster than MP, the effort was consistent with miles 4 and 5.

Mile 7: 7:42
Mile 8: 7:47
Mile 9: 7:55
Mile 10: 7:33

Mile 9 sucked. It was mainly uphill and there was a noticeable headwind. I was actually pretty discouraged that I wasn't running any faster here. After all, my 10-mile PR pace is 7:34, and I couldn't even do 4 miles at that pace?! But I eventually came to my senses and realized that tempo pace is tempo pace. It's going to be hard even if you haven't just come off 7 previous miles at that pace. Especially up a hill.

My finish time was 1:20:48 at an average pace of 8:05. I was disappointed in my last few miles, but when I woke up the next morning and my legs didn't feel even a hint of soreness, I realized that I definitely could have run harder, and it was good that I didn't overexert myself. My coach also pointed out that my first mile of the "easy warmup" section was faster than the first mile of the MP section, which wasn't according to the plan. Of course I retorted that it was a downhill, but I probably should have saved up more juice.

Tuesday, April 24: Track Intervals
I had such a great workout just two days after the 10-miler, that I was even more satisfied with my decision to not race the 10-miler. I was happy to have peppy legs and plenty of energy left to crank out some fast intervals. The workout was a ladder: 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1200m, 800m, 400m, with 1/2 distance recovery jogs.

Interval	Duration	Distance (miles)	Pace
1	1:35	400m	6:17
2	3:18	800m	6:37
3	4:59	1200m	6:40
4	4:59	1200m	6:40
5	3:14	800m	6:28
6	1:28	400m	5:54

Interestingly, the 1200m intervals were close in pace to the 800's. One thing I've noticed about my running is that I am able to maintain a challenging pace for a good distance, but it's hard for me to speed up. I've run quite a few races where I felt like I could have continued on for another mile or so at my pace, but I just couldn't push it any faster. This summer, I am hoping to push more for speed with shorter track intervals and short races.

Even though lately I've been excelling more at shorter distances, I think my body is built more for endurance than speed. When I had a VO2 max test, the exercise physiologist said that I was in the 10% of runners who actually do better in longer races. This is because my body works aerobically at a higher percentage of my max heart rate. Ironically, I have yet to prove this with the marathon, but a few years back, my longer races were always "faster" than my shorter ones, according to the various calculators. I've often set shorter distance PRs within longer races.

Ultimately, it's hard to truly figure it out because so much depends on what your body is capable of on that particular day. There's really a lack of research and studies on many things regarding running performance because you can never replicate racing conditions 100%. Okay, enough of that tangent. Point is, I want to be able to push harder in shorter races.

Friday, April 27: Tempo Run
My coach had most of us run a 5K tempo on the track. I really like the idea of a 5K tempo versus just 3 miles, because then you can really practice hammering that last 0.1. My target tempo pace for a 5K is around 7:11, but lately I haven't been paying much attention to targets (all of the above paces were faster than target) and running based on feel.

Mile 1: 7:11
Mile 2: 7:10
Mile 3: 7:03
0.1: (6:35 pace)

My time was 22:03, which was a bit surprising to me given the effort level. I didn't feel like I was really pushing until the last two laps, and my heart rate stayed at the lower end of my tempo range. It certainly wasn't easy-- tempo runs never are. I practiced staying focused and relaxed and that helped the laps fly by.

This morning I woke up and my legs felt like new, which further validated that even though I ran my fastest tempo ever, I didn't overdo it. I went out for 11 miles at a moderate pace and it felt fantastic. I can't emphasize enough how much I love this cool weather!

Musical Letdowns-- and a few diamonds

This post doesn’t have much to do with running, unless you consider the fact that I sometimes (although rarely) run with music.  Back in the days of MySpace when my blog reached a private audience, I would post about everything and anything—not just running. Music was a popular topic. But now that the blog is “out there” for anyone to read, I typically keep my posts strictly running related.

I just purchased the new Jason Mraz album and I honestly cannot believe how someone so talented could reduce  himself to this. In fact, 4 out of the past 6 albums I’ve purchased have been real let-downs. Bands who used to totally rock my world now reduced to easy listening or elevator music.  I’ll start with Mraz.

Complete Flop: Jason Mraz—Love is a Four Letter Word

I’m sorry, but this album sucks. There’s just no other way to put it. It might be good for if I was trying to fall asleep or something, but compared to his former peppy self, it is a huge disappointment. His lyrics used to be so clever and witty. His music and tones so complex and stylish. Now, it’s this half country-half folk style. Overly simplistic lyrics and melodies, which he probably thought would bring him more success after the sing-songy “I’m Yours” from 2008. That song brought him a huge amount of popularity, but it really took him down a few notches in my eyes. Bring back the days of “Geek in the Pink” and “The Remedy”.  I even loved his slower stuff like “The Boy’s Gone” and “Plane”. It was so powerful and full of emotion. Where is all the emotion now?

Let’s do a comparison of lyrics, then and now.

“Too Much Food” from 2003:
Believe it or not I super sized my sights on the surprise in the cereal box
My stomach’s smaller than my eyes
so I went to see the doctor and he said "turn your head and then cough"
I didn't listen to what he said instead I couldn't wait to get off

“The World as I see it” from 2012
No it’s not hard for me to love you
Hard for me to love you
No it’s not a difficult thing.
It’s not hard for me to love you
Hard for me to love you
Unconditionally.

“Tonight Not Again” from 2003
The night.
She brushed her hands upon my flushed cheek
Smelled of childhood remnants of a dusty weeping willow
Clouds soothe, Shredded by the calico
Were oh so vast and quick as I was on my own now.

“Frank D. Fixer” From 2012
I wish I was a fixer
I would fix you up inside
I would build you a town if the world fell down
I wish I was that guy

It’s like he went from the vocabulary of a fine arts major to that of a 3rd grader.

Plain Vanilla: Incubus- If Not Now When?

Another CD to put me to sleep. With the exception of two songs, this CD is another snoozer. What happened to songs like “Anna Molly” that really revved you up? Or even something more mellow that “Drive” that at least had a solid melody and some good lyrics. Until now, I’ve really enjoyed all of the Incubus CDs. But this one is so boring.  “Isadore” has a nice sound to it and “Switchblade” is typical Incubus style, but the rest of the CD bores me to tears.

Just Annoying: Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto
I was hesitate to purchase this album because this band has been going downhill for awhile now. Nothing will ever be like Parachutes, but the last few CDs have been real let downs. I have to say that Mylo Xyloto gets the award for worst Coldplay album to date. Even with the previous CD, there were two songs that I absolutely loved. On this CD, most of the songs I can’t even bear to listen to they are so annoying. The song “Major Minus” is a major exception. It has an awesome sound to it, and I highly recommend you check it out.

Lacks Energy: Jimmy Eat World- Invented
I was worried that this album wouldn’t be any good and I was right. “My Best Theory” which was blasted all over the local radio stations is a great song, but the rest of the album doesn’t follow suit. None of the other songs have the energy of “My Best Theory”. I really loved Jimmy Eat World’s previous mellow songs, but this CD is primarily of the mellow nature and most of the songs are just boring. I’ll admit that some of them grew on me, like “Movielike”. The Jimmy  Eat World CD is far better than what Coldplay put out. But still, a definite let down from classics like “Bleed American” and “Futures”.

I absolutely love this CD. . . . Red Hot Chili Peppers—I’m With You.

Finally, an album that is just as good, if not better, than its predecessors. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around since the late 1980's and I think they are better than ever now. Californication from 1999 was an obsession of mine, and when By The Way came out in 2002 I was even more obsessed. Stadium Arcadium was good, although there were a few songs I didn't like. But I'm With You has brought me back into full obsession mode.  Favorites include Factory of Faith, Happiness Loves Company, Even You Brutus and Monarchy of Roses. I highly, highly recommend this CD.

A Must-Have: Foo Fighters--Wasting Light

I love this CD. Usually the Foo Fighters' albums are about 50-50 for me, but on this CD, I like almost every song. "Walk" has an amazing build, "Bridge Burning" is something I can totally get into, and "Dear Rosemary" just has a lot of good emotion.


I noticed that all of my new music purchases have been from artists who have been around for a long time. Maybe I just need to embrace some emerging artists and figure out who's just coming onto the scene.

13 Hours, Two 5Ks

I set a new PR for myself in terms of number of races completed in a 13-hour period. Two 5Ks! Why this madness? See explanation below.

My Sister's First Race
After never having run more than a mile in her life, my sister enrolled in a boot camp last fall with her friends. Naturally slender, her nickname in high school was "bones" and she never had to worry about her weight. She's one of those women that you envy because they can eat and drink whatever they want, pop out three children and still look amazing! She decided to join boot camp to improve her overall fitness and she's been religious about going to the weekly sessions. My sister and I have practically nothing in common, so I was thrilled to see her taking a liking to running.

Her boot camp instructor got her up to running 7 miles nonstop, and convinced her to run this 10K race with others in her group. So several months ago, she told me that she was going to be running her first race ever-- the Brambleton Ribbon Run 10K. She asked if Greg and I wanted to join, so we registered for the corresponding 5K.

Crystal Run 5K Friday
Fast forward a few months and I realize that it's also Crystal Run 5K Friday season, and yesterday was the only Friday where it really fit in with my training/racing schedule. (Although arguably it didn't fit in because I was already registered for a 5K today, but let's forget about that for a moment). I love the 5K Friday races, and I have done at least one per year since they started in 2009. It's great because you can run a 5K on Friday and be recovered in time for a Sunday long run.

I ended up picking the perfect Friday. Quite a few of my teammates were also running, and my coach came out to cheer us on. There was very little wind, which is rare for this race. There are a lot of tall buildings, so I often find myself fighting the wind during this race. It was sunny and 65, which is too hot for my liking, but about half the course was shaded by the buildings, and my coach told me that I could definitely race a strong 5K in that weather. I needed to get it out of my head that I couldn't do it.

My only time goal was to break 22:00. My PR is 21:29 from last fall, so I felt like it shouldn't be too difficult to do. I certainly was not trying for PR because I didn't want to go all out and my PR was set in 40-degree weather. I warmed up with one of my teammates and felt extremely relaxed beforehand. The focus was on being there with my teammates and running strong.

Mile 1: 7:07

The race started and it was crowded. These races have gotten extremely popular over the past three years and even though I started near the front, it was difficult to run at the pace I wanted. I was with two of my teammates for the first half mile, and then I decided to pull ahead. At mile marker 1, I realized one of the teammates (Jessica) was still with me and knowing that she is about my pace, decided to try and stick with her. I normally like to run my own race, but I have lately discovered the power that comes from running with others. I knew that Jessica was strong and fast, so I decided to feed off of her energy and make sure I kept up with her. It's hard to say who was doing the pacing, but we ran lock step for pretty much the rest of the race.

Mile 2: 7:02
We were able to go faster now that it wasn't so crowded. I felt myself push harder and it was good. I felt like the first mile was too easy and the whole time I kept thinking: "this is tempo effort, this is nowhere near 5K pace". So being able to finally push felt good.

Mile 3: 7:01
Still with Jessica, we pushed through and maintained a steady pace. We were passing a lot of people and believe it or not, we still had to weave! With about 1/3 mile left to go, I turned on the gas and went for it. I felt Jessica fall behind but just focused on running hard to the finish. I ran past my coach and other spectating teammates and got an extra boost. They were yelling at me to break 22:00. I hadn't been thinking about my time at all during the race, just the effort level. But if I had thought about it, I would have realized how dangerously close I was to 22.

Last 0.13: 6:26 pace
The only thing I don't like about this race is that the finish line is up a hill and around a curve and the surface is a bit uneven. I like to see the finish line way out in front of me and let it pull me in. But I gunned it in, stopped my watch and thought for sure I had a 21:59. The official results said 22:00, and that irked me. I know it's just one second, but I was giving myself a 31-second window of of my PR and I didn't do it.

Jessica crossed immediately after me and told me that I really helped pull her through. I thought that she really helped me! The power of teamwork! It was a strong race-- well executed and fun, but I didn't feel the pain that I do when I go all out in a 5K. Granted, I wasn't really planning on going all out anyway, but not getting that sub-22:00 just left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

It was a course PR by 18 seconds so I am not complaining. I just thought I could have done better.

I got very little sleep that night. I always workout in the morning, and never have a problem falling asleep by 9:00. But last night, I was amped. I fell asleep at 10:15 and woke up at 3:30am with that adrenaline rush feeling. I was awake until about 5:00am, and then the alarm went off at 5:45 for the next race.

Brambleton Ribbon Run
When I decided to do the Crystal Run 5K, I told myself that I would do the Brambleton run as an easy run at my easy training pace. And if my legs were at all sore, I would just spectate. But I woke up with legs feeling fresh. This kind of bugged me because it was yet another reminder that I didn't push myself like I could have in last night's run and I still had the urge for speed.

Greg and I got to the race and warmed up. It was sunny and high 40's-- beautiful weather for a 5K. During the warmup, my legs couldn't at all feel the effects of the 5K, so I decided that I would run this race at a harder effort than training pace. I had run this course on New Year's eve and did horribly. I ran my slowest 5K in years because I went out too fast on the first hill and blew up. I was also coming off of an injury, so I wasn't in the best shape.


Mile 1: 7:20
The race starts on a long uphill (about 2/3 mile uphill). I went out feeling relaxed, not pushing anything and decided I would just run by feel. I reached mile 1 with plenty of energy and legs still feeling strong, so I decided that this would be a tempo run.

Mile 2: 7:19
My tempo pace for a 5K on the track is about 7:10, so on a hilly course I thought that keeping it just under 7:20 would be good. But I really was not at all concerned with time. I did look at my Garmin for curiosity's sake a few times, but I just kept the effort level steady. I had no goal other than to maintain tempo effort. Clearly I was not in need of a tempo workout, but I just wanted the mental practice of staying strong. Plus, I had fun passing people.

Mile 3: 7:14
There's another nasty hill that's about 1/3 of a mile toward the end of this race and it hurts every time I do this course. I'm almost always forced to slow down. But this time, I was actually able to maintain my pace (although the effort increased) and then enjoy the final downhill to the finish.

Last 0.13: 6:22 pace
I find it interesting that my final kick today was actually faster than it was last night. But I attribute that to the fact that Crystal City has that uphill turning finish, and Brambleton is more of a straightaway.

My time was 22:41, placing 4 out of 176 in my age group. Ironically, when I ran this course on New Year's eve, I was slower and placed 3rd in my age group. I guess you never know who's going to show up. I do feel like I got my revenge on this course. My time wasn't fantastic, but I didn't blow up by going out to fast, and this was all within 13 hours of another 5K race.

Greg has been sick all week, so he also treated the race like a tempo, running a 22:30. He, however, did not partake in the Crystal City run. It was a strong run for him after 5 days of no running. I'm so glad he's on the mend!

My Sister's Finish
I watched with excitement as the 10K runners came in, looking for my sister. She and two of her friends came in at about 1:04, looking strong and happy. I was so excited for her! I think I almost have her convinced to run the Army 10-miler with her friends. She thinks that 10 miles sounds like a long way, but I assured her that by October, she could definitely be in shape for it.

What else is in store for me this weekend? I actually have a long run planned with my teammates for tomorrow. I hope my legs don't fall off because we are planning to go quite far. But I'm glad I'm pushing the envelope. My legs feel great, I don't feel any aches or pains, so I think I will okay in terms of not getting injured. I'm taking the "just go with it approach" and really enjoying it.

Jessica (in blue) and I ran the Crystal City 5K Lock Step!

1 + 1 = 3

I realize that I am beating a dead horse with this topic, but I'm both frustrated and fascinated by what happened during my 13 miles two weekends ago. It is what it is, but WTF is it?

Series of Events
I went into the race well trained, rested and confident. I ran 13.1 miles at an average pace of 8:38 and then pulled off the course because I didn't feel like I could continue running. The race started to get hard for me at around mile 8. (Note: this was not a half marathon, I was actually attempting to run a full marathon here. My half marathon pace is somewhere around 7:35-7:45). By mile 11, a 9:00 pace felt like tempo effort. By mile 12, I wanted to stop.

When I pulled of the course, my coach asked me about my legs, and I said that they felt 100%. It was purely a fatigue thing. I was actually amazed at how good my legs felt, given how wiped out I was.

The next day, I realized I was wrong. My legs were extremely sore, much more so than most half marathons I've raced at full effort.

Last week, I naturally wanted to resume training, but my legs wouldn't have it.

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Swimming for 30 minutes + 20 minutes easy pool running
Thursday: 2.7 miles easy
Friday: 4.5 miles easy
Saturday: 80+ minutes of very easy pool running + swimming
Sunday: 8.6 miles

On Sunday, I had hoped to run at least 12 miles, but my body wouldn't have it. I felt extremely tired and my legs started to feel tired seven miles into it. Then Greg and I went to the mall (after 8.5 miles) and my legs were so tired, that I just wanted to leave after going to one store. Walking around was killing my legs.

Frustrating/Fascinating
It feels like I am recovering from a full marathon. The inability to run more than 8 miles a full week later is frustrating and fascinating.  13.1 miles at 8:38 requires over a week of recovery!?!?!?!

Unless I am just getting older and I should just accept a slower recovery, this makes no sense at all. I only ran 13.1 miles at my easy pace. Last May, I ran the Alexandria Running Festival half marathon in 72 degree heat + humidity at a faster pace, and was fully recovered just three days later. I can't think of any half marathon I've ever run (except for maybe my first) where recovery took so long. And this wasn't even my half marathon pace. Heck, this wasn't even my marathon pace!

Does not compute. 1 + 1 does not equal 3.

Some Technical Stuff
I almost always wear a heart rate monitor when I run. However, I rarely wear it in races because I know my heart rate will be elevated due to adrenaline, and I don't want that the psych me out. However, I will wear a HR monitor the next time I attempt a marathon.

I know what my heart rate zones are based on a VO2 max test. When I train, my paces fall in line with my zones in this way:

145-155 Zone 1 (Recovery/Very easy): 8:55 or slower
156-165 Zone 2 (easy): 8:10-9:05
165-174 Zone 3 (no official name, but this is where marathon pace should be): 7:35-8:25
174-183 Zone 4 (lactate threshold/tempo): 6:55-7:45

The above paces are what I can almost always expect to see during training. There is some overlap.

Last 10 miles of a 20-mile run on Feb. 11, 2012. Left column is pace per mile, right column is avg. HR for that mile.

However, effort level isn't measured by pace. Your body doesn't know the difference between a 7:00 mile and a 9:00 mile-- your body just knows the effort level required. You can't assume that because you are running a particular pace that your HR is going to be at a certain level. Even though 99% of the time an 8:38 pace means zone 2, it's not a guarantee based on other factors.

So while I was running a pace that normally corresponds with a Zone 2 HR, on race day, I'm guessing that my HR was probably in high Zone 4. WHY? I don't know. Probably a combination of the heat and me freaking out about the heat. And it was just a viscous cycle.

In terms of my recovery, it's probably taking so long because of the effort level I put out. Once again, it doesn't matter what my pace was. It was that my body had to work SO HARD-- harder than half marathon effort. I don't think I could expend that much effort during a half marathon if I tried!

Now what?
I continue to be both depressed and curious and I wonder what the future of marathoning holds for me. Next time I plan to gear up with some music and a heart rate monitor. It might mean starting the race at a pace of 9:30 if that's what I need to do to keep my heart rate down. I just need to zone out, let the music relax me, and keep that heart rate down-- no matter how slowly I have to run to do it.

I have to hope that if I keep my heart rate down initially, I will be able to run at my actual fitness level later in the race.

As for now, recovery continues to be a priority. No running for me today or tomorrow, although tomorrow I  plan to go to the pool.