Peak Week!

I "peaked" with my marathon training this week-- meaning that I ran more miles this week than any other week of the program. I'm definitely feeling it right now! Here is a recap of my week.

Monday- 6 mi The week started off easy with six miles at a "recovery" pace of 10:30. As I approached the end of the run, I did six 100m strides. The purpose of this type of speedwork isn't to get your heart rate up, but to improve your form. The faster you run, the better your form needs to be. So, I ran these strides as fast as 6:55/mile pace. When this was done, I did some core work and upper body strength training. No matter how many miles I am running, I do not want to abandon my core training-- I believe it is crucial to injury prevention. On Monday evening, I went for a sports massage. I have been getting sports massages every two weeks since June, and I think they are helping to keep my muscles loose.

Tuesday- 12 mi w/7 at tempo There is some controversy as to whether or not 7 miles is too long for a tempo run. Especially when embedded inside a longer run of 12 miles. I did this run on the treadmill. A 3.5 mile warmup, 7 tempo miles, and then a 1.5 mile cool down. The tempo miles felt challenging, but they actually got easier as the run progressed. I increased my speed throughout the course of the run. The tempo miles were: 8:18, 8:16, 8:09, 8:05, 8:03, 8:03, 8:00. Average 8:08 pace. I was tired at the end, but felt like I could have gone for longer if I had to. This run has helped me set a half-marathon goal pace of 8:10 for the VA Beach Half next weekend.

Wednesday- Rest! I was pleasantly surprised that I had no lingering soreness or aches from Tuesday's run. I never used to recover so quickly.

Thursday- 12 mi Another mid-week 12-miler. I started this run on the treadmill, because it was still dark at 5:00am. And then after 6 miles, I took the run outside for the second half. I started out at a pace of 9:50, and sped up to a pace of 8:48 by the end of the run. The average pace was 9:23.

Friday- 5 mi Another recovery run at a pace of 10:30. I didn't feel like I could go much faster. My legs felt like bricks. They were so heavy and tired. The two 12-milers had really taken their toll. Apparently, this is normal for intense training. I am training my legs how to run when they are tired. After the run, I spent about 15 minutes stretching and using the foam roller. Afterwards, my legs felt better. I also did some core strengthing exercises, and upper body weights. It's not good to do too much weight lifting on recovery days, because then your body uses some of its "resources" to re-build the muscles you worked. But, I want to maintain a minimum of 2 times per week with weights.

Saturday- 20 mi As I set out on this run, I was not too optimistic about how it would go. My legs felt heavy and tired. 8 miles into it, I simply couldn't imagine completing the full 20. But I kept reminding myself that I was supposed to feel this way, and the this run was supposed to be slow. Thankfully, the weather was nearly perfect. Upper 60's and cloudy. The parts of my run that are typically hellish due to the sun were really nice because the clouds were out. The run averaged a pace of 9:32, which is perfectly within range for my marathon goal pace.

Miles 1-5: 9:50, 9:48, 9:53, 9:51, 9:41 Miles 6-10: 9:49, 9:38, 9:32, 9:23, 9:25 Miles 11-15: 9:28, 9:21, 9:21, 9:23, 9:25 Miles 16-20: 9:32, 9:25, 9:28, 9:07, 9:07

During the last section, I was thinking: I can stop at mile 17 and take a break. (Arrive at mile 17 and keep going). Okay, 18 miles is good, I know that I will have to stop then for a break. (Arrive at mile 18 and keep going). Okay, 19 miles is all I can do. Once I get to 19, I am walking. (Arrive at mile 19 and keep going). Hell, I'll just finish the damn run!!!

The last time I attempted 20 miles, I started having ITB issues at mile 16. I was only able to run 19 miles instead of the full 20. I am pretty sure it was because of the shoes. I love my Nikes, but I have found that they aren't supportive enough for runs longer than 12 miles. Today I was in the Adrenaline GTS 8, and everything was pain-free. I never take a pain-free run for granted. And I am happy to say that this entire week was pain-free and injury free. Just some really tired legs!

Total Mileage: 55

Next on tap is the VA Beach RNR Half marathon on Sunday, August 31. You can track me live, and I will be providing details for that in a bulletin later this week. I am bib 5257, and I expect to finish around 1:47:00.

 

The Leesburg 20K

This morning I ran the Leesburg 20K. My first 20K ever! The weather was abnormally nice for this time of year with very low humidity and temperatures in the lower 70's. The majority of the course was shaded, which also helped.

As many of you know, I am closely following a prescribed marathon training plan for my BQ attempt in October. This weekend, the plan called for 15 miles, with 12 of them being at my marathon goal pace. I ended up running 16 miles, with 12.4 of them being at my marathon goal pace exactly: 8:25. An 8:25 marathon pace equates to a 3:40 marathon, which is a BQ!

Before the Race The race was located about 30 miles west of me. I picked up my friend Lauren on the way (she's run this race every year for the past few years) and she briefed me on the course. I did NOT use my iPod for this race. I knew that it would be a crowded course, run on a narrow trail, and I wanted to be sure I could hear people around me. I can hear even with my iPod, but for some reason, I just thought it would be better to leave it at home.

We arrived at the race, picked up our bib numbers and "ChronoTrack" RFID tags.

New Timing System This new RFID system was being debuted at this race. I wasn't particularly pleased about this. I have my own personal timing chip, which saves me a dollar off of my entry fee. But now with the RFID, I don't get that discount. But what bothers me more is that this technology has not been tested and used as much as the ChampionChip system. In fact, when the Houston Marathon announced that they would be using the RFID tags instead of chips, so many people complained, that they decided to use the chip after all.

The RFID tag is called the "D Tag" and it's a piece of paper that comes attached ot your bib. You make a "D" shape with it and attach it to your shoe. It's much bigger and bulkier than the timing chip, and with my YANKZ laces, it took me awhile to figure out how to affix it. Luckily, Lauren did it for me and she made it secure.

Currently, the online results show that anyone who finished between 1:58 and 2:23 was not timed. There is a huge gap in the results, and I am suspecting it's because of this new timing system. I hope they get it figured out and that all those runners don't go un-scored.

Anyway, after putting the tag on my shoe, I ran a warmup mile on the course. I then met back up with Lauren and we headed to the start.

The Course This course is an out-and-back. When you go out, it's a gradual incline the entire way. I don't recall any part of the course that was flat. And of course, on the way back, there is a gradual downhill the entire way.

Miles 1-4 I knew that the first half of the course would be much more challenging than coming back. One of my friends said to me "If you can't negative split on this course, then you'll never be able to." I almost always try and negative split, so with these conditions, I expected a very heavy negative split.

My strategy was to run the race based on effort. I had my watch and I was recording my mile splits, but I didn't let that dictate my pace. I wanted to practice putting out an effort that "felt" like marathon pace. So I pretty much ignored what my watch was saying and I ran based on effort. I was going for an effort level that was just slightly slower than my tempo pace.

Mile 1: 8:28 Mile 2: 8:34 Mile 3: 8:35 Mile 4: 8:36

Miles 5-8 After four miles, I was really wanting the turnaround to come. I was really getting tired of this uphill battle. There was just no relief. Not a single area that was flat! At mile 6, there was a steep downhill, which was a nice change, but I knew that it would become a steep uphill on the way back. Meaning, I wouldn't be quite "out of the woods" after the turnaround.

I ate my sports beans at mile 5. After eating those, I finally felt "good". I don't necessarily think it was the extra energy that helped. I think it was that I finally got into the "groove" of running this race. Speed is not my thing-- endurance is. I typically feel more comfortable during a run once I am 4-5 miles into it.

Finally, I reached the turnaround and breathed a sigh of relief. I figured that my shot at averaging goal pace

was lost. Most all of my miles had been slower than my target and I figured there would be no way I could make that up on the way back. But I told myself I still needed to run based on effort level.

Mile 5: 8:48 Mile 6: 8:07 (steep downhill) Mile 7: 8:21 Mile 8: 9:00 (steep uphill)

Miles 9-12 This was the best part of the race. I literally felt like I was flying through the miles. It felt so easy. I think I could have even pushed harder, but once again-- I wanted to base my effort on perceived "marathon pace". It was such a nice reward to finally be running fast and feeling strong. I started to get a bit of my ache on the side of my knee near the IT Band insertion point. But it held out pretty well until the end.

Mile 9: 8:25 Mile 10: 8:05 Mile 11: 8:07 Mile 12: 7:54

The Finish I knew that to be at Marathon pace, I had to finish in about 1:43. I looked at my watch and I figured I could finish in 1:44, and still average my BQ pace. The last 0.4 was actually uphill, so I slowed down a tiny bit, and finished in 1:44:26. I don't know how I placed because there are probably 100+ runners who did not get scored. (At least for now, there is a huge gap in the results).

As soon as I realized that I did hit my marathon goal pace average, I was very pleased. I also had "gas in the tank" to go run another 2.5 miles after I dropped Lauren off at her home. Totaling 16 for the day, 47 for the week. At this point in my training, marathon pace should feel challenging, but not like a full-effort. That's how I paced myself, and I ended up meeting my target. Of course, this would yield a 3:40:40 marathon, but hey. . . if I do BQ, I am expecting it will be by the skin of my teeth! If this race had continued for another 0.7 miles and I had maintained my pace, I would have set a half marathon PR.

In terms of injuries, the run was pain free for the most part. At one point, I felt a slight ache on the outside of my knee, so I stopped to tighten my PAT strap and that took care of it. The knee issue that I was dealing with at the beginning of this program seems to have disappeared 100%.

Congratulations to Lauren, and it was great seeing you today!!!!!

Training Mishaps

 

When I began this training cycle, I thought that the only thing that would get in my way would be me getting too sore from too many miles. I was wrong. In fact, I am significantly less sore with this training than I have been in the past. I think the key factors are that I am purposely running slower, and I am keeping up with the strength training. My knee is not perfect, but it's been holding up pretty well, with some minor twinges here and there.

There have been two rather painful and frustrating roadblocks this week. This week was my first 50-mile week, and all 50 miles are complete! But not without some drama.

On Monday, after that insanely hot/humid weekend last weekend, my gym's air conditioning was broke. I walked in and the place felt so hot. I would have taken my run outdoors, but it was still dark, and I hadn't planned on that mentally. It was really hot and humid outside, as well. This was the worst possible day of the week (actually the worst possible day in the past two weeks) that the AC could have died-- a speed workout! The program called for 10 miles with five of them at "tempo" pace.

My strategy was to start with the fan on low and my shirt on, and then when the fast miles started, I would turn the fan to high and remove my shirt, to run in just a sports bra. This strategy didn't work, because the tempo miles were still extremely hot. I began at a pace of 8:16, which normally would be on the slow end of things, with the hopes of speeding up. I only held that for two miles and then gradually had to slow down. I averaged 8:23 for the five tempo miles, which isn't too off-base, but I felt like I was putting out an 8:00 effort. When I was done with the tempo, I still had a few slow miles left, which felt virtually impossible. Finally, I was finished. I was literally drenched in sweat, and my face was beet red. My face stayed red for the next two hours-- even at work! I drank two 24-oz sports bottles of water during the run, and still somehow managed to lose two pounds.

The next day, when I only had to run 4 very slow miles, the AC was working again. Figures!!!

Yesterday, I headed out for 18 miles. I was a bit nervous about this run, because these 18 miles would bring me to 50 for the week-- territory that I hadn't approached since last October. The run went fine, and I was amazed how my legs didn't get sore or anything. But at the beginning of mile 15, a bee flew underneath my sunglasses and stung me right below the eye!!!  I let out a scream and tossed my sunglasses onto the ground, breaking them. (It's okay- they were cheap). With my runner's instinct, I immediately stopped my watch, too!  

I was sort of crying, but I couldn't tell because there was so much sweat on my face! There were quite a few runners and walkers around, but no one stopped to see if I was okay. After a minute or so, I asked a walker if she could tell me what it looked like under my eye. She said it was red, but it didn't look too awful. I tossed some water on it from my bottle, and waited a few minutes, and then continued on. It hurt though. Badly! I hadn't been stung by a bee in over 10 years. I forgot how much it hurt. Especially right under my eye. I ran those last three miles at a much faster pace than I had been going just to get the darn thing over with. I ended up averaging 9:23 for the 18 miles-- exactly one full minute slower than marathon goal pace.

I only live 2 miles from the trail, but it took me 10 minutes to get home, because I literally hit every single red light. The sting lasted a good 9-10 hours and I was miserable. But today, it's fine and I am here to tell the tale!

This coming week, I am planning on running 54 miles!  I'm a bit antsy about Thursday's 11-mile run, with 6 miles at tempo pace, but let's just hope the AC doesn't break again!

Treadmill Marathon World Record Attempt

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of watching Michael Wardian attempt to break the world record for the fastest marathon run on a treadmill.

The event was held at Pacers running store in Fairfax. My good friend Michael Hayden is friends with Wardian, and he flew into town just to support Wardian in his efforts! Michael Hadyen and I got a chance to hang out and catch up while watching Wardian's treadmill efforts. It was really amazing to watch. He needed a 2:21, which is a treadmill pace of between 11.3-11.4 MPH. I can't even get the treadmill up to 9.0 MPH when I do my speed intervals! Anyway, I took quite a few photos of Wardian, as well as some video footage. One of my hobbies is video editing, and here is what I came up with.

And a photo:

Shoe Acquisition Syndrome

I'm a shoe whore.

In my closet, I currently have:

4 pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6 (two brand new, one in-use, one "dead")
1 pair of Brooks Adrenaline Trail Shoes
1 pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 (gave me lateral knee pain, I don't wear them.)
1 pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8 (these are okay, but the fit isn't quite right)
1 pair of Brooks Trance (thanks Mike Hayden)
1 pair of Brooks Axiom (for racing)
1 pair of Asics Gel Evolution (because my PT recommended them)

Most of these shoes are fairly new, with less than 50 miles on them. This is because I have been in search of the "perfect" shoe ever since my GTS 6 was discontinued, and it takes about 50 miles to determine if a shoe will work or not (once you decided you liked it enough in the store to buy it). I track shoe mileage in my training log, so I know exactly how much each has been used. The typical life of a shoe is 300-500 miles. But mine typically only get 250 before they lose their support.

Someone recommended that I try Nike shoes, because they run narrower than most. My problem with the new Adrenaline GTS 8 is that the fit is sloppy, particularly in the heel cup. Additionally, it has far too much cushion, like running on a mattress. I like the shoe enough that I am going to continue to wear it, it's just that it's not quite right.

I had no intention of buying new shoes anytime soon because I have plenty! But I passed by a running store yesterday and could not resist the urge to just try a pair of Nikes, or even another pair that the store recommended. The guy at the store pulled out a pair of Nike Air Zoom Structure Triax +11.

I put them on, and they fit like a glove! I ran up and down the block while the guy at the store watched. He said that I looked well supported in them. They felt amazing. The fit was perfect. The ride was smooth and responsive, with just the right amount of cushion. I had no pain in my feet or legs.  As it turns out, these shoes are 0.3 ounces lighter than the Brooks Adrenaline, and every little bit adds up over a long distance, such as 26.2 miles. In other words, these shoes have the potential to make me go a little bit faster.

This morning, I took them to the gym for a treadmill run. My plan was just to test them out and break them in for 2-3 miles, and then switch the the Brooks Adrenaline. Even with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6, I have to do a few short runs to break them in and prevent blisters the first few times. Well, to my surprise, I just didn't want to take these babies off my feet. I loved how they felt. I ended up running 8 pain-free miles. No chafing, blisters, or anything. I can't even do that with my beloved GTS 6 on the first run! I even did some 100m strides (per my training program), accelerating to a 7:00 pace, and the shoes were very responsive and supportive.

I'm in love! When you run as many miles as I do, a good running shoe makes all the difference in the world. So, I would rather have a closet full of barely-used shoes than a bunch of injuries and/or uncomfortable runs. I do, however, plan on using all my Brooks Adrenalines, including the GTS 8. But as part of a rotation with my new Nikes.

 

"Let's Just See What Happens" is NOT a goal!

Today I ran my 4th consecutive Lawyer's Have Heart 10K in Washington DC. I was in no shape to race a 10K this morning, but seeing as I have never missed a year of this race since I started racing, I figured I should still get out there.

On Wednesday morning, I woke up extremely fatigued with muscle aches. I had to cut my workout short, and I felt so tired that I didn't even go into work. The same thing on Thursday and Friday. It felt like I had the flu, or mono even, because I was so extremely lethargic and exhausted. Only there was no accompanying sore throat or congestion. I didn't work out Thursday or Friday, and I was fairly sure that the 10K race wouldn't be possible for me on Saturday. This was really de-moralizing because it was my first "official" week of marathon training with my knee recovered, and I spent it sleeping.

I woke up this morning thinking I would do the race. I didn't feel fatigued like I had the past few days. Then I checked the weather and learned that it was already in the mid 70's and humid. I decided that it would probably be best to just do a slow long run on the treadmill. But then I stepped outside and it didn't seem too horrendous, so I decided I should do it.

And then I told myself that no real good could come of the race. I knew I would get tired quickly in the heat and not even come close to a PR. So what would the point be? It was a disaster waiting to happen, that would only end in me feeling badly about my time. Well, this went back and forth at least 10 times until I finally decided that I wanted to go to the race. I would stop by the gym for a 1.5 treadmill warmup, and then do a 1.5 cooldown on it afterwards, so I could make up for some of the miles I missed earlier in the week.

I decided not to wear my iPod for this one. And I'm not sure why. I think that if I had it, it might have actually helped motivate me. A few weeks ago, I was thinking that my target goal would be a course PR: sub-50:59. Not a distance PR because I have been doing almost no speed work, thanks to my knee injury. But now with the mystery illness and the muggy heat, my plan was simply to use the race as a tempo workout. And my goal: "let's just see what happens."

"Let's-just-see-what-happens" really doesn't motivate you when times get tough in a race. I went out at a pace that I considered conservative (8:30) with plans to speed up later in the race. I clocked an 8:20 for the second mile, so I was on target for getting faster. But then the heat really started to get to me, my back began to ache (like it had been earlier in the week), so I slowed back down to an 8:30 for the third mile. I have to add here that I saw a woman running in velvet pants. Yes, navy blue velvet pants. My only thought was that she was using this race as some kind of hot weather conditioning.

After the third mile, I sort of decided that I was done with the race. I was really tired, I knew I wasn't going to get a course PR, and I didn't even have a goal other than "let's-just-see-what-happens." I clocked an 8:49 for the 4th mile, and told myself that I just had a nice 4-mile tempo run. (Actually, my "tempo" pace should be a lot faster, but given the heat, it was certainly tempo effort).

During the 5th mile, I walked through a water station, and just couldn't get going again. I didn't really want to. I couldn't believe I was walking during a 10K, but it felt so good to walk! After nearly a minute, I reminded myself that I was in a race. Oops. I began to run again, but at a very easy pace. I was so hot and tired that I just wanted to get to the finish line.

My last two miles were both at a 9:38 pace (including the walking). This doesn't really make sense to me because I walked during mile 5, but not mile 6, so the pace shouldn't be the same. But it was. I crossed the finish line in 55:25 for an average pace of 8:55. Yeah, I ran the Shamrock marathon at a faster pace. It was pretty upsetting to make the realization that I couldn't even run 6.2 miles at the same speed as I ran 26.2 in March.

I know that I lost two months of solid training because of injuries and am just now getting into it. And that I had been sick for most of the week, But still. This is the slowest I have ever ran this race, by over two minutes.

To regain some confidence I have registered for a 4-mile race next weekend. It's an evening race, and I typically don't have much energy at night, but I need to redeem myself! I'm not terribly disappointed because I did end up running a total of 9 miles today, 4 of which were at a tempo effort. Additionally, my knee was pain free! I used the taping technique that my physical therapist showed me, as well as the patella strap. I'm feeling pretty good now, so I hope to be on track with week two of marathon training.

The Road to Boston Passes Through Hartford

Hartford, CT, that is. In order to run the prestigious Boston Marathon, I must first qualify, and I plan on doing that at the Hartford Marathon on Saturday, October 11, 2008. I need to run the race in 3:40:59 or faster.

Why do I think I can qualify?
This will be my 8th marathon, but my first attempt to qualify for Boston. I'll need to shave 11 minutes off of the time I ran last March-- the 3:51:49. Looking back on my training log leading up to this race, there was only six weeks of consistent training. I was injured for the second half of December and the first part of January. I only trained from late January to early March, and then I tapered. If I extend that out to an 18-week training program, I think I will see a faster result. Additionally, my weekly mileage (a large factor in marathon performance) was about 40-45 when training for Shamrock. The program I plan to undertake has me running an average of 45-55 miles per week.

Why Hartford of all places?
At first, I thought I would use the Steamtown marathon to qualify. It has a net decrease in elevation, and most of the race is downhill. But then I thought twice about that. I would have to do a lot of downhill training, and there isn't really proper terrain for that around here. Additionally, all of my marathons have been flat or slightly hilly. I know what I am getting into with a flat course, so I figured I should veer away from Steamtown and find something flat.

My next thought was going to Chicago. About as flat as they come! I earned myself a position in one of the faster starting corrals, so I wouldn't have to worry about weaving through people in the first few miles. Plus, I was supposed to run that last year but I ended up dropping out due to injury. But then I realized that Chicago would be somewhat of a "production" with the travel, getting to the start line, etc. And I wanted something a bit lower key.

So, I did my research and I discovered Hartford. It's a quick flight (which I assumed would be inexpensive, but it's not) and I was able to get a hotel right next to the start/finish area. It's a small enough for there not to be crowding on the course, but large enough to have crowd support (about 1500 runners). It's flat, and has a great reputation. I convinced my friend Jenna to run this one with me, and we are hoping that our friend Randi will join us as well. Also, the race is on a Saturday, which I prefer to a Sunday race. Hartford in October should be ideal race weather (upper 40's - lower 50's in the morning), but I guess you can never be sure!

What are the possible roadblocks?
Injury. My knee is about 99% recovered (I ran 8 pain-free miles yesterday). In order to stay injury free, I plan on monitoring my resting heart rate in the morning when I wake up. I will continue with my core strengthening routine, as well as lower-body strengthening. Most importantly, I will listen to my body for signals that I am doing too much. If I don't get injured, I am fairly confident I will qualify.

What about a training philosophy?
I'm approaching this marathon very differently from those in the past. In the past, I was very goal-focused, and now I plan to focus more heavily on the training, itself, as its own reward. I am only doing two races between now and the marathon (one of them is next weekend) so I won't have that kind of "high". Instead, I am highly enthusiastic about my training, acknowledging the benefits of training-- not just the "reward" of getting a good time. I'll probably blog more about my training than I have in the past-- simply because training will take the place of all the races I used to run. And I need support from you all! Anything can happen on race day, so if I focus all my energy on that particular day, I could be really let down (bad weather, illness, injury, etc.) So I need to stay focused on the benefits I am getting from simply training.

Track my Training!
If you go to the right hand colum on the page, there is a link to view my training log. You can click on that and get an up-to-date view of what I've been doing. Right now, all you will see is someone who's been gradually ramping up miles with short/easy runs, accompanied by a great deal of cross training. A month from now, this will be a bit more exciting!

The program starts tomorrow. I'm standing at the unofficial start line of my BQ journey. Wish me luck.

Come What May

May has been quite a unique month for me. There was no single big "event" but rather a lot of changes and adjustments.

Injury Recovery
Instead of my traditional "running" training, I have been training for overall fitness this month. My main focus has been injury recovery and prevention. Injury recovery (from patellar tendonitis) has involved cutting way back on my mileage and slowing down the speed of my runs. Additionally, I have been icing my knee several times a day and going to physical therapy weekly. As for prevention, I have been stretching every day, and doing a lot of strengthening exercise. It's possible that weak quad muscles caused my injury, so I have been doing a lot of exercises for my quads.  My recovery is coming along well. I would say that my knee is about 90% healed, with some days being better than others.

Strength Training
To prevent other kinds of injuries, I have also been doing a lot of lower body strengthing, with a major focus on the abs, lower back, glutes, inner/outter thighs, calves, and hamstrings. After a month of hard work, I think I have established the strength needed to begin marathon training in June. My hope is that my strength training will also result in the ability to run faster. It will be a challenge to maintain this strength as a pack on the miles, mainly because I only have a limited number of hours in the day to dedicate towards working out-- but I need to make it a priority.

Cardio/Endurance Training
On top of all of this, I have been swimming and biking (stationery bike). Due to "plica" I discovered during last summer's bike ride in Italy, I know that my maximum bike ride is about 20 minutes. Otherwise, the inside of my knee hurts. I have mainly been using biking to warm up prior to my stretching and strengthening. The bulk of my cardio has come from swimming. It was amazing to see myself improve so quickly with the swimming! Back in April, I could only swim for about 15-20 minutes before I needed to stop and take a break. And now I can go for nearly 45 minutes non-stop. I've also increased swimming speed. My waterproof iPod case and headphones have really helped make swimming more enjoyable, as well. Here are the monthly totals:

Miles Swum: 14.7
Miles Biked: 33
Miles Run: 39.2
Strength training sessions: 17

It's been disheartening to watch my mileage go from 91 in March, down to 66 in April, and now 39 in May. My monthly totals for last year were all well above 100! (I typically average around 150).  Anyway, I do feel really good about what I have accomplished this month in terms of balancing my workouts. I really, really hope my knee is ready for the rigorous training program I have planned for it. I guess that all serious runners need some down time and these past three months have been mine. True-- I did run two marathons. But only one of them was at full effort, and my monthly mileage has been an all-time low. 

June, here I come!

Pesky Little 5K

Every time I run a 5K, about halfway through, I ask myself why I registered for this race? What am I doing here? Why do I subject myself to such torture? My lungs ache almost the entire way as I struggle for oxygen. At the end I am always gasping for breath, and I have to wait a few minutes to even be able to remove my chip from my shoe.

But then I ask myself when the next one is. 

The 5K is a very frustrating distance for me. My key strength or "sweet spot" in marathoning is the pacing strategy. I always run even splits, with each mile being run at about the same pace. I've also run negative splits, both in full and half marathons. When it comes to the 5K, though, I cannot pace myself. In my marathoner's mind, I think "Only 3.1 miles- I should be able to run this way faster than marathon pace!" So I go out at a pace that feels fast, which I can only maintain for about 1.5 miles, before slowing down.

This morning I ran the GW Parkway Classic 5K. I was not expecting a PR because I am still recovering from the two marathon I ran, just four weeks apart. I've also spent the past six weeks with knee issues, so my training has been at an all-time low. What I was expecting was a sub-24:00 race, and a possible age group award, based on last year's results.

This was a point-to-point race. They bus you to the start and then you run back to where you parked your car. The race has a 10-mile event, which I ran back in 2006. The 5K is the last 5K of the 10 miles. I knew what to expect, but I had forgotten about the major hill in the third mile. Additionally, we were running into a headwind the entire time. It wasn't a significant amount of wind, but any little bit can have an impact in such a short race.

I warmed up for about half a mile at an easy pace, also including some quick sprints to tune up my legs. I lined up near the front of pack and started chatting with the runners. The race started and I began to run at what seemed to be a "comfortably hard" pace. I would have estimated my pace at about 7:45. However, when I passed the first mile, the clock read 7:20, and I was worried that I made my classic pacing mistake: going out too fast.

During mile two, I paid for mile one. I clocked an 8:04, which really, really should not happen for me during a 5K! I have run faster miles in half-marathons! I tried to pick it up for the last mile. I was pushing really hard, but I felt so extremely tired. I wanted to stop and walk so badly! I ran up the steep hill at a snail's pace, and then down again at a much faster pace. Aboout 200 meters from the finish line, two girls who seemed to be in my age group came from behind me and attempted to pass me. Oh no! I wouldn't let them. I started to sprint, giving myself a nice lead over them. With about 100 meters to go, I eased up on my sprint, and they caught up again. We were neck and neck until almos the finish, but ultimately, they finished first.

I looked at the clock, which read 24:00, and my chip time ended up being 23:58. 28 seconds slower than my PR, but not my slowest 5K ever. I wasn't particularly pleased with my time, but I wasn't devastated either. I was mainly mad at myself for my poor pacing, and was wondering how much time I could have shaved off if I ran that first mile just 10 seconds slower.



What frustrates me even more is that I have not made much progress in this distance in the past year an a half. In November 2006, I ran a 23:32. My PR is only two seconds faster, set in June 2007. Considering that I have brought my marathon time down from 4:24 in the Fall of 2006, to 3:51, you would think that my 5K time would come down with it. But nope, it hasn't budged!!!! I know that I am not in as good of shape right now as I was when I ran that Shamrock marathon, but still!

Nevertheless, I was satisfied with my placing. And just one place short of winning 3rd in my age group (the first and second place overall winners were in my age group, removing them from the "age group" competition).

Time: 23:58
Pace: 7:43

6 out of 177 women aged 20-29
65 out of 876 total finishers (male & female)

My knee didn't hurt during the race, but it hurt afterwards. I am going to take the next few days off, and log maybe a total of 15 miles this week. My goal is to let my knee heal so that I can begin training for my next marathon in early June. (BTW, this is a different knee issue than the one I was experiencing pre-London. That was a shoe issue. This new issue is patellar tendonitis.)

The London Marathon

It's 6:20am. I wake up without an alarm. Even though my body clock is likely still set to 1:20am, this feels normal. I take my time getting ready for the marathon. I affix two analgesic patches to the outside and top of my knee, covering them in an Ace knee sleeve. I have no idea what to expect from today's race. How far will I run before knee pain kicks in? Will I be okay with not getting a medal or shirt?

The one item I don't have with me is my iPod. This will be my first marathon without music. I want to savor the experience in full. I want to hear the crowds cheering, and I want to be able to talk to people. I also want to prove to myself that I can run a marathon without music, and that I don't use it as a crutch. Rather, it simply makes the experience more enjoyable for me. Except for when it's the London marathon. If I ever run Chicago or NYC, I won't listen to music. Ironically, the London marathon is very accepting of headphones, and they have no rules in place that don't allow them.

The sun is shining and it actually feels hot out. I walk down to the hotel lobby and board the bus that is taking us to the start line. The bus is full of Americans who used Marathon Tours to book the trip and receive a guaranteed entry. The ride takes an hour. I don't talk much to the other runners. Most of them have someone else with them, but I am alone. I stay calm, and just try to remember that this race is for fun. Having fun is most important.

I arrive at the start area. The race is so large that there are actually three different starting areas that meet up at mile three on the course. I try to catch a glimpse of Rosa with the elite women, but we aren't allowed to get that close to the start line. I check my bag and think to myself "now I really have to get to the end somehow-- I need my bag back."


I talk to a few random people. Whenever I say I am from the U.S., the first question they ask me is if I have run the New York City marathon. They all assume that American marathon runners have run that one. I make my way to the starting corrals, or "pens" as they call them in the U.K. I am in pen 5, based upon the projected finish time I provided in October. We wait in the pen for about 20 minutes. I talk to a woman from Scotland who is hoping to beat her 3:48 PR from the Edinburgh Marathon. I tell her that my goal is simply to finish.

The London Marathon Course

Miles 1-4
The gun goes off and it takes about three minutues for me to cross the start line. After crossing, I continue on at a snail's pace, as this race is very crowded. The first mile is painfully slow. There are times when the running stops, and I actually have to stand still. I can't even walk. These bottlenecks continue on and off, all the way up to mile 8 of the race. I am happy that I am not trying to "race" this one. This part of the course is boring. There is no crowd support, and it's basically residential areas. I remember from the course map that it's a point-to-point race. So we start in the suburbs, and we don't enter central London until nearly halfway.
Mile 1: 10:27
Mile 2: 9:19
Mile 3: 8:59
Mile 4: 9:02

Miles 5-9
The crowd support starts to show up at about mile 5, although the course is still boring at this point. Knee pain has not yet kicked in and everything is feeling good. I tell myself that I hope I can hold out until the course gets scenic. That's why I travelled all this way-- to see scenic London while running a marathon! Also, I don't think there are many tube stations at this point, so I hope to get to an area where there are more stations.

This marathon has many, many costumed runners and stunt runners. For example, one runner is trying to set the world record for longest scarf knitted while running a marathon. I see a man running the marathon in nothing except for a thong and running shoes. On his back is written: "Does my bum look good in this?" I see a group of six runners chained together. I see someone running as a banana, someone as a butterfly, and someone as Minnie Mouse. I see Brett Favre running with a football.
Instead of cups of water, they give mini water bottles at each station. This is nice because you can carry the bottle with you and you can drink it quickly without the water going all over your face. However, I know that drinking the entire mini bottle would cause cramping, so I drink no more than half the bottle at each station. I'm actually really hot during these miles, and glad I am in a tank top as opposed to long sleeves.

Mile 5: 9:10
Mile 6: 9:51
Mile 7: 9:36
Mile 8: 8:52 (fastest mile of the race- my PR pace!)
Mile 9: 9:20

Miles 10-13
I can't believe I have made it this far without my knee hurting. Everything feels good, actually. The pace is easy and I am enjoying the run. I can't go any faster than I am going because it's still too crowded. I don't want to waste energy weaving through people, so I just stick with the pace that the crowd is going. I do feel a bit sluggish, and I attribute that to jet lag. Also, it had been about two weeks since I ran anything that was 5 miles or more.

It suddenly starts pouring down rain. Out of nowhere! It had been in the forecast, but I wasn't sure when it would start. I am drenched. It pours really, really hard, and I the water tastes salty as it washes away the sweat from my face. A little rain is fun, but this amount of rain is tough. I feel badly for the spectators who are getting soaked and aren't in dry-wicking clothing like the runners.

Running across the Tower Bridge just before the halfway point is an amazing experience. The bridge is quite grand and there are tons of people cheering wildly. I feel like a rock star. Just before crossing, I hear someone call out "Elizabeth!" I look, and I see that Zoe is cheering for me! How wonderful to see a friendly face. Even though I don't live in the UK, I still have my support person cheering for me. Zoe had run the marathon last year, but did not get into the lottery this year.

Mile 10: 9:00
Mile 11: 9:18
Mile 12: 9:08
Mile 13: 9:19

Miles 14-17I cross the halfway point at 2:02 and I think of my mother tracking me online. She must be relieved to know that I at least got halfway. The rain stops and the sun comes out again. I am thoroughly drenched. Surprisingly, my knee still feels ok! I am having some minor aches in my quads, but nothing out of the ordinary. Now that I am in central London, I know that there are tube stations all around and I can drop out at any time if need be. But I then tell myself that if I made it halfway, I should be able to make it to the finish.

During this part of the course, I the elite women running at miles 21-22. I look for Rosa. I later learn that if I had been just a few minutes faster, I would have seen her. But Rosa had passed the mile 22 marker before I reached that area. As I run, I am fixated on the elite women, and some of the elite men. They are going extremely fast, and it's very motivating. Their side of the course is empty, while my side is still too full to choose my own pace. At this point, the pace is still being dictated by the crowd.
Mile 14: 9:16
Mile 15: 9:33
Mile 16: 10:00
Mile 17: 9:39

Miles 18-22
These miles are the hardest for me. I hit a bit of a wall at mile 19, and I just don't feel like running anymore. I slow down and I feel a lack of energy. My carb-load hadn't been very significant because I honestly didn't think I would be finishing the race. My lack of training for the past 4 weeks is beginning to show itself.

At this point, I know I am going to finish, but I picture myself walking the last six miles. I think of how much walking I can do to still get my time under 5:00. I tell myself that walking is acceptable, because I don't want to push myself too hard and risk further injury. But I don't actually walk until I hit mile marker 20. I walk for about a minute, maybe even less. It's almost impossible to walk because everyone is cheering "you can do it!" and I feel like a wuss if I walk. I decide to do the "survival shuffle" which is a very slow run. I think that a 4:13:08 is still possible, but I am perfectly happy to accept anything under five hours.
We run through a tunnel for about 1/4 a mile. I have never run a race through a tunnel before, and it was interesting.

Mile 18: 9:19
Mile 19: 9:47
Mile 20: 9:50
Mile 21: 10:27
Mile 22: 10:49 (slowest mile of the race)

Miles 23-Finish
I become energized once again as I approach the 35K mat. They are tracking 5K splits, and I know that my 30K-35K split was by far the slowest. The sports beans I took just before mile 22 are beginning to kick in, and I tell myself if I run a 10:00 pace for the last three miles, I make my goal of 4:13:08. But I can't walk, and I can't go slower than a 10:00 pace. It's just three more miles, and that should be very easy. Easy. Easy. Easy. I repeat it over and over again.

I see Zoe at mile 23 and she again calls out my name. I get excited to see her. At this point, the crowd support has gotten even more massive and the course has finally thinned out. About half a million people have come out to watch this race, according to a radio report I had heard on the bus that morning. I look to my left and I see the London Eye.

I seem to be on track for a perfect 4:13:08. I pass the mile 25 marker and it begins to pour down rain again. Couldn't it have waited a few minutes until after I finished!? The rain only motivates me to go faster as I pass Buckingham Palace. There is no mile marker for 26, but there are signs that say "800 meters to go" and then "400 meters to go", and I can't think in terms of meters at this point.

I turn a corner and the finish line pops up right in front of me. Much sooner than expected! Usually I can't wait to approach the finish line, but this time, I am a bit disappointed that I had reached it faster than predicted. I am on track for a 4:10, and I figure I can just wait to cross. I start to walk slowly, but then a woman passes me and says "come on, you're almost there!" But I am intentionally walking to get my perfect 4:13! Then I see the race photographers, and I don't want a photo of me walking, so I start to jog. My watch time is approaching 4:12, so I have to decide if I want my 4:11, or if I am really going to wait for 4:13. This all happens in slow motion.

The rain is coming down in buckets and I want to be done with the race, so I make a strong finish, crossing in 4:11:57.


Mile 23: 9:35
Mile 24: 9:41
Mile 25: 10:20
Mile 26 + 0.2: 12:11

After The RaceI am supposed to meet Zoe and Rosa in the Overseas Runner area, but the rain is coming down so heavily, that all I want to do is collect my medal, finisher's bag and go back to my hotel. I don't see them anywhere, so I head for the tube.

Usually, when I finish a marathon, I am extremely sore and still immediately afterwards. It was not the case with this marathon. It felt more like a training run than anything. When I train to qualify for Boston, my long runs will be done at a pace of about 9:30-9:35, so this was like a long run.

I simply cannot believe how well my knee held up. And that I managed to pull off a 4:11:57 with such little training. It was really a miracle. I had my finisher's medal, my finisher's shirt, and I can now say that I completed a marathon without listening to music. What a fantastic and memorable experience!

Results & Statistics

• 14,559 of 34,212 total finishers
• 2,689 of 10,638 female finishers
• Average finishing time: 4:26:09
• My finishing time: 4:11:57
• Rosa's finishing time: 3:10:44
• 7 marathons completed-- 3 have been faster, 3 have been slower

4.13.08

As many of you know, I am running (or plan to run) the London marathon on Sunday. Yes, that’s London, UK. I bought a package through a travel agency last October, so I have been planning this for quite some time. I have always wanted to do an International marathon, and since I have friends who live in London, who are runners, I figured it would be the perfect choice.

I leave on Thursday evening and I will be back home by Tuesday. Just a quick trip, because I don’t get much vacation time with my job. I’ve only been to London once before, back in the fall of 2003.

The Shamrock marathon really took a toll on my body. It took nearly a week for all the muscle soreness to go away, and when it did, I noticed that I also had knee pain. I didn’t run at all for the week following the marathon. The next week, my total mileage was somewhere around 25. And I haven’t run since. So, my total mileage for the 4 weeks in between marathons will amount to around 28 (I plan to run 3 tomorrow).

I’ve been to a physical therapist, a sports massage therapist, a sports med doctor, and an orthopedic doctor. And all of their diagnoses conflict. The shin pain that I was feeling prior to Shamrock has suddenly come back, after a week of no running, and I have no clue what could be causing it. It’s not a stress fracture. There is a small chance it could be compartment syndrome, but the test for that is pretty extensive. I don’t know if my knee problems are related to that or not. It could be IT Band syndrome, or something else.

After all of this, I think I will be okay in London. The pain in my knee seems to have gotten better, although I haven’t run on it in over a week. My shin pain is still present, but I managed to run through that at Shamrock.

Considering that my level of fitness has decreased with such low mileage, and that I am recovering from an injury, I don’t expect a fast time at this marathon. I have just one goal: to not make my injuries worse. I realize I will probably aggravate them, but If I have to change my gait or something, then I’m walking the rest of the way, or even stopping the race completely and taking the tube back to my hotel. 

That being said, I really would like to finish the race, just so I can say "I ran an international marathon". If this were any other race, I would simply drop out. But I’ve made too much of an investment to do that. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

If all goes well, I do have a goal time. Goal times are fun, and they give me a pace to stick to. If I do have ITB issues, running fast is actually better than running slow, anyway. My goal time is 4:13:08. The date of the race. I think it would be a cool "souvenir". This would require an average pace of 9:39. This pace is very comfortable for me, so it will simply be a matter of how my shin/knee feels. The race starts at 9:45am, London time. My race number is 54646.

It's Just Temporary!

I ran the Shamrock Marathon yesterday morning in Virginia Beach.

The Start Line
I was optimistic as I approached the starting area. The winds didn’t seem to be as heavy as forecasted. I was expecting constant winds of 20 mph, but it was more of an occasional breeze, at least at the start line. It also wasn’t as cold as I had expected.

As I was walking around the start area, a photographer asked to interview me for his TV newscast. He asked me about my marathon experience, and my expectations for this race. I basically said that there were a lot of unknowns due to the wind, but that I was prepared and ready.

Miles 1-6
I started the marathon at a pace that felt relaxed and comfortable. Starting at mile 2, my shin began to hurt. I tried not to panic. I tried to ignore it. I was not about to let this muscle strain affect my running. I held steady. At around mile 3, I realized I was running around the 3:50 pace group. I was running a bit faster than them, though, and passed them after about half a mile. I wasn’t going for a sub-3:50, but I figured I would try to stay ahead of them for as long as possible, in case there was any shot of a 3:49. By mile 4, my shin stopped hurting. Or, I stopped noticing it. There was a timing mat at mile six, and my split was 52:46, for an average pace of 8:48 for the first six miles.
Mile 1: 8:41
Mile 2: 8:41
Mile 3: 8:52
Mile 4: 8:38
Mile 5: 8:44
Mile 6: 9:11

Miles 7-13
I started to feel really good, and I started to have hope that maybe I would run a good race and PR. A stretch goal was sub-3:50, because the 3:50 pace group still had not passed me by mile 13. There was a two-mile stretch on the boardwalk where the wind was just awful. There were headwinds at probably 15-25 mph (my estimate) and I tried drafting off of other runners. It helped, but then the person would either speed up, or I would want to go faster than the person I was drafting off of. I reached the half marathon marker in 1:54:50, averaging a pace of 8:46 for these miles.

Mile 7: 8:34 (fastest mile)
Mile 8: 8:40
Mile 9: 8:43
Mile 10: 8:51
Mile 11: 8:39 (I toughed it out through the wind!)
Mile 12: 8:54
Mile 13: 8:41

Miles 14-20Just before mile 14, the crowd thickened. I found it hard to maintain a pace because the course had gotten really thin, with only room for 4 people across. I realized that it thickened because the 3:50 pace group had caught up with me, and it was a large group. The winds were still heavy from mile 13-17, so I used this to my advantage to draft off of these runners. The problem with running in such a tight pack was the water stations and being able to get water when I needed it. I hit the mile 18 timing mat at 2:37:42, for an average pace of 8:46. Things started to hurt at mile 16, and I started to worry a little. Usually in a marathon, nothing bothers me that much until mile 20 or even mile 21. I wondered how I would make it 10 more miles, but I quickly stopped that line of thinking. It’s much easier to take the race mile by mile. Just focus on getting to the next mile marker.

The 3:50 pace leader was amazing. He kept encouraging me and helping me along the way. He was entertaining and got my mind off the race.

Mile 14: 8:39
Mile 15: 8:42
Mile 16: 8:43
Mile 17: 8:36 (not sure how I pulled that off!)
Mile 18: 8:51
Mile 19: 8:44
Mile 20: 8:56

Miles 21-26
I reached the 20 mile marker in 2:55. This was about 5 minutes faster than Richmond. I told myself that if I stayed on pace, I could get a 5 minute PR or even better. I started to fade. As I approached mile 21, the 3:50 pace group started to get ahead of me. I could still see the 3:50 flag in the distance, but I was no longer with the pack, and I was running alone.
I came up with two new mind games on the spot. The first one was to visualize the mile marker pulling me toward it. I thought "the mile marker wants to get me. The mile marker needs me! I have to get to it! It’s tugging at me!" And that really helped as I convinced myself not to stop running in my pursuit of marker 23, 24, and 25.

It was tough. I had to dig really, really deep. Another thing that I started telling myself was that this pain was temporary. It wouldn’t last long. The race glory would last forever, but this pain and this situation was very, very temporary. And if I stopped, it would only prolong it. So, I just kept repeating to myself over and over "temporary. temporary. temporary." And it really helped! I persevered. I allowed myself to slow down a little bit, but I would not let myself walk. At this point, it was mainly just a mental struggle of stopping versus continuing. My legs were killing me!

Mile 21: 8:53
Mile 22: 9:02
Mile 23: 8:52
Mile 24: 9:03
Mile 25: 9:34 (slowest mile)
Mile 26: 9:21

The last 0.2This was the best part of the race. This is where I surprised myself and became my strongest racer. Maybe ever. I looked down at my watch as I passed the mile 26 marker and looked ahead at the finish. I told myself if I picked up the pace, I could sneak in under 3:52. I said "Your job, is to get to that finish line before your watch reads 3:52. Go for it now!"

My eyes were on the Finish Line arch. I kept my running form strong. I told myself that I really, really wanted a 3:51 and not a 3:52. And I did it!

I finished the race in 3:51:49. A Personal Record by 4:52 off of my Richmond time in November. This is an average pace of 8:51.

First half: 1:54:50Second half: 1:56:59
I placed 632 out of 2319 total finishers
I placed 148 out of 886 women
I placed 31 out of 211 women ages 25-29

After crossing the finish line, I received my medal and finisher’s hat. I waited for Brent, who came in about 7 minutes later.


Out of all of the races I have ever run in my life, I would have to say that my final sprint for the last 0.2 was the toughest effort I have ever put out. I was in so much pain, and I didn’t think I could go any further, but I told myself that I had to get in under 3:52, and I did so comfortably.

I have now set a personal record in each of my six marathons. The next marathon I am running is only four weeks away-- the London Marathon! I will probably not try for a PR there because I won’t be fully recovered from this race, and there are 50,000+ runners, making it hard to run at your own pace. So, I expect that my PR streak ends here. However, I do plan on qualifying for Boston in the fall, which would require a 3:40.