Shamrock Half Marathon: A PR in Wicked Weather

Today's Shamrock Half Marathon was truly a breakthrough experience for me, in many ways.

At the expo

The weather conditions have been described by many as "brutal," "torturous" and even "horrendous." But in spite of that, I still managed to set a significant PR, after just having set a massive half marathon PR last fall at the Richmond Half. The weather for Richmond was near ideal-- low 40's very light winds and party sunny, and when I ran it, all of my training was geared specifically to the half marathon distance.

With Shamrock, the race came in the middle of Boston Marathon training, on semi-tired legs and a marathon-specific workouts as the buildup. I did have a mini-taper, but considering I had come off of a 68-mile week (my highest-mileage week ever) I wasn't sure how my legs would fare.

I had high hopes, however, and set my sights on running Shamrock 5 seconds per mile faster than Richmond, at a pace of 7:10. My workouts indicated that this pace was realistic for me, so I went into the race with a good bit of confidence. Earlier in the week, I had run a set of 6 x 800m + 3 x 200m. The 800m's averaged 3:12, and I felt like I could have done a few more of them.

Daily runs leading up to the Shamrock Half Marathon

The Day Before the Race

Pot of gold!

Greg and I drove down to Virginia Beach yesterday morning, encountering quite a bit of traffic on 95 due to spring break. I had half a pack of Sweet Tarts and some Skittles on this road trip, which I am including as a note to myself: it's okay to have candy the day before a race! When we arrived, we had lunch with one of my best friends who lives there, and then headed to the expo. At the expo, I purchased one of those medal racks with hooks to display race medals. I currently keep all of my medals on a shelf, but it's starting to look cluttered. This one is a chalkboard with a place to write all of your PRs, and also to clip your bibs to! Once it's up and running, I will share a photo.

I must have checked the weather about 30 times yesterday! But it wasn't with the same attitude/mindset of my former self. I wasn't stressing. I wasn't getting anxious. I wasn't feeling cheated. I knew that I was going to run the best race I possibly could in preparation for Boston. I kept looking because the temperature kept changing (from 42-48) and the amount of rain kept changing. These types of things would determine my wardrobe decisions.

The below screen shot shows the forecast as of 4:00pm yesterday, and it ended up being somewhat accurate. The actual temperature was 45 and with the rain, it felt much colder. Greg and I met up with some friends at dinner, and my friend Lexi and I debated over our outfits. Long sleeves? Or short sleeves with arm warmers? Hat? No hat? It would be a game-day decision.

Race weather

Wardrobe
When I awoke on race morning, I checked the weather one final time and decided I would go with short sleeves + arm warmers. My long sleeve shirt was a bit bigger and I didn't want it to be flopping around all wet. The short sleeve shirt had a tighter fit, and the arm warmers were much more substantial than sleeves. Note: there is no need to pay for expensive running arm warmers. Mine were $3 socks from Walmart and I cut off the toe area to turn them into arm warmers. This meant I could toss them at any point in the race. They were super comfortable the entire time, and kept my arms relatively warm and dry.

I was a little bit worried about my hat flying off in the wind. I wanted to wear a hat with a brim to keep the water off of my face, but I've been in windy races where the hat keeps flying off and it's annoying. So I used about 8 bobby pins to keep the hat securely on my head and it didn't budge.

Nutrition
As I've mentioned in previous blogs, I have been training exclusively with Generation UCAN. I am now an official UCAN ambassador, so if anyone wants a 10% discount code, be sure to use this link and the discount will apply.

Two hours before the race, I had about 3/4 of a bagel with peanut butter. 30 minutes before the race I drank one packet of lemonade flavored UCAN mixed with 8 oz of water. I brought some chews with me in case I started to feel low on energy, because I have never raced a half marathon with just UCAN. But, I never needed them! UCAN was truly a savoir here because my hands were numb for pretty much the entire race, which would make taking a gel or chews rather difficult. So, I didn't have to take in any additional fuel during the race. The pre-race drink was all I needed to feel energized throughout.

As for hydration, I filled a water bottle halfway with warm water because I knew the bottle would soon become to cold to  hold.

Strategy
I had my strategy all mapped out, and I was focused on executing it more than anything. My plan was to start with the 1:35 pace group and stay tucked in with them for the first half, which would be a headwind. Then, once the headwind was gone, my plan was to speed ahead of them and come in somewhere in the 1:34:xx range.

Start Line
Greg and I left the hotel 20 minutes before the race started. When we got outside, it was a rude awakening. It was pouring rain, the wind was slapping us in the face at 23+ MPH, and it was really cold. Instead of focusing on that, I focused on executing my plan. I immediately began my warm up which included running 7 blocks to the start and then back and forth on the course a little bit. I ran for 10 minutes, and then got into the corral. During the warm up, I had to keep my head down to avoid rain flying in my face, and I tried not to think about the fact that I would be racing in these conditions. It was also dark, which made things even more difficult.

With 5 minutes to go, I handed my jacket to Greg. Brrrrr!!! It did not feel good getting rid of that jacket. I found the 1:35 pacer and I asked him if he was planning on keeping an even pace throughout, or running slower through the wind. He said he was going to try to run an even pace. That's exactly what I wanted!

There was definitely a unique camaraderie at this start line as we were all getting pelted with cold rain. The speaker system kept going in and out, and we were worried we'd end up with no announcer. During the National Anthem, the sound kept cutting out, which was kind of cool because at the end, when it cut out, the entire crowd sang "and the home of the brave!" The energy was contagious. My spirits were high and I felt ready.

Miles 1-4
The race started and I told myself to stick with the 1:35 pace group. It was dark and quite crowded, so the actual pacers got a little bit ahead of me, but I was still well shielded. I realized that I have not run in a "pack" like this since I was a much slower runner and the pack was due to crowding. I realized liked "pack" running. It's like what you see at the NYC marathon or Boston when there's a pack of elites running closely together for the first half. I just pretended that was me and enjoyed it!

Even though I had filled my water bottle with hot water, it got cold very quickly, so I decided to ditch it during the third mile. I figured it would be good practice drinking from cups later in the race.

The wind was the worst during these early miles because it was a direct headwind. But due to being in a pack, I didn't feel all that much resistance. We were also running a pace that was slower than what I would have otherwise started at, so it felt relatively easy. We turned a corner after the first three miles, and the wind was no longer as brutal. The pacer sped up, and I heard someone behind me yell out that it was too fast as we hit the mile 4 mark.

Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 7:17
Mile 3: 7:16
Mile 4: 7:04

Miles 5-8
During the 5th mile I wanted to hit a tangent, which required me to break away from the pace group. It came at the perfect time because the pace group pace was feeling a bit too easy for half marathon pace and I was ready to pick up the pace. I didn't notice much wind during miles 5-6, I think it must have been to our sides or our backs. It allowed me to dial in a nice, strong, pace.

Mile 8, brutal winds!

I felt awesome! When I hit the halfway point, I realized that it wasn't even feeling hard yet! My spirits were high, I felt light on my feet and I kept passing people. I knew that miles 7-8 would be back into the headwind, so I was mentally prepared for that. And when I got to those miles, I was amazed at how well I managed. I drank a tiny bit of water from cups during this portion. I knew I needed the water, even though I wasn't thirsty, and I really did not want to slow down.

I ran this race in 2014 and the wind during miles 7-8 kicked my butt. Not only did I slow down significantly, but I also got really upset and had a negative mindset. I was determined that no matter what, I would keep strong and stay positive! This was partially a revenge race for me. Two years ago, pretty much everyone I knew running the race set a PR except for me. I hadn't set a half marathon PR in 4 years and I was frustrated and upset. I got over it pretty quickly, but I didn't want any of that negativity today.

During the windy part, I encouraged other runners, and I got outside of my own head. I was running with one girl for about half a mile and just having someone next to me was energizing.

Mile 5: 7:12
Mile 6: 7:07
Mile 7: 7:10
Mile 8: 7:17

Miles 9-13

Mile 13

I knew that these last 5 miles should be a tailwind, or least not such a nasty headwind. With that in mind, I executed on my plan of really gunning it home. I started passing a lot of people and I felt like I was flying. I remembered feeling like death two years ago at this point and I was so happy to be feeling strong!

At mile 9, my Garmin read 7:11 for the average race pace. I wanted to bring that down to 7:10. So I told myself to try and run 7:07 or faster for the rest of the race. Turns out I had even more than that in me! As I got closer to the finish line, and saw my average race pace slide under 7:10, and I knew that I could break 1:34.

Many runners say that they do better when they don't look at the Garmin and just run by feel. For me, it motivates me to run faster if I'm feeling good.

Mile 9: 7:05
Mile 10: 7:01
Mile 11: 6:58
Mile 12: 7:02
Mile 13: 6:56
The last 0.14: 6:03 pace (thanks tailwind)

The Finish
Once I realized what I had just accomplished, I could feel tears coming to me as I walked through the finish line chute. I had overcome my demons. I did not let the wind get me down. I ran a half marathon at a pace of 7:09 and I qualified for the New York City marathon. I DNF'ed the Shamrock full marathon in 2010 and 2012. That's two DNFs at the same race. And here I was, on a day when the weather was arguably as bad as it's ever been for this race, with a huge PR by one minute and 32 seconds.

I'm so happy with these results! I was elated when I ran Richmond in 1:35:08, but to pull this off in the middle of such an intense marathon training cycle with bad weather is not something I expected. I knew I had the fitness for a pace of about 7:10, but I wasn't sure if it would actually happen.

I think so much of my success today was mental. Of course I wasn't thrilled about the weather conditions, but I took them in stride, and accepted them. I had a strategy for dealing with the wind, which worked, and focusing on that made the race seem a lot more approachable.

Up Next: BOSTON!!!
I'm feeling more and more confident about my ability to run well in Boston. Even if it's windy, I think I can manage. I do hope it's not hot though, particularly with that 10:50 start. According to the McMillan Calculator, this race predicts a 3:16:59 marathon. I would be happy with anything under 3:35, and I'm planning to shoot for somewhere around 3:25. (Boston is just a wee bit hillier than Shamrock.)

Now I am going to focus on recovery so that I can run a strong workout on Thursday, and 22 miles on Saturday.

News Headline

Greg made me a PR cake!

Boston Build-Up: 5 Weeks To Go

Boston is freakishly close! In five weeks I will be eating my "last supper" before running my first Boston Marathon.

Training has gotten super intense over the past two weeks. I never thought I would be able to train at this level--at least not without getting injured. Here's a snapshot of the training cycle so far:

This week was 68 miles and last week was 67 miles. Because I did this week's long run on a Friday, I actually had a rolling 7-day total of 80 miles as of Friday, March 11th. That's a 7-day record for me, and this 68-mile week is a "Monday-Sunday" record.

I've been running marathons for 10 years, and I've been training seriously (with a coach or plan) for the past 7. So why haven't I been able to run like this until just now? I think that I've built up to it properly. When I first started working with my coach in July 2014, he dropped my mileage and had me running faster, more intense workouts. Doing difficult workouts while keeping the overall volume low has prepared me to safely tack on miles.

Also, it used to be that I would run a lot of "junk miles" and my quality/speed workout days would have low mileage. For example, in the past, I might have run 10 miles easy on a Monday, followed by 5 x 800m on a Tuesday. The Tuesday workout, including warm up and cool down, might have only amounted to 8 miles. When I started working with my coach, I flipped that, making my easy runs only 4-7 miles (truly easy) with workout day mileage totaling 10+.

Essentially, I've been building up to this level over the past two years. So even though going from the low 40's in December to the high 60's in March seems like a huge jump, my body was prepared for it. One of my favorite all-time running quotes is "you do the training so you can do the training so you can do the training." And I've found that to be true.

Here's a look at my daily mileage for the past 30 days.

In addition to the high mileage, I've had some really fun/interesting/crazy workouts. I about had a heart attack when I saw this on my training plan last week (it's the purple tempo run above): "15 to 30 minute Warm-Up + 4 mile tempo run, 800m jog, 2 times 90 seconds, 4 times 60 seconds, 4 times 45 seconds, 4 times 30 seconds, 6 times 15 seconds all with the same recovery as the rep time + 15 to 30 minute Cool-down." I ended up with 45 splits on my Garmin! I felt really accomplished when the run was done, having stayed strong all the way through the finish. My tempo pace for the 4 miles was 7:02, and I kept all of the shorter intervals at a 6:35 pace or quicker.

On Tuesday of this week, I ran 10 miles at marathon pace, plus warm up and cool down. Thankfully, I had perfect weather (overcast and 44 degrees) and I felt amazing. I was able to average a pace of 7:39 and it didn't even feel hard until the last two miles. Do I plan to run a 7:39 marathon pace in Boston? I think it's possible if the weather is just right and I'm having a good day. But never having done it before, I'll probably start out slower and then speed up if I am able. My main goal with Boston is to have an amazing experience and to soak it all in! Part of that is running my best race possible, and I know I'll be prepared to do that.

Earlier I mentioned that I did this week's 20-miler on a Friday. That's because I spent my Saturday

At the start line of RNR DC

morning cheer for my husband and good friend Allison at the Rock 'n' Roll DC Marathon. Greg broke his ankle one year ago, and it's been a long road back to running for him. He was in a boot for nearly two months, and then stayed on crutches for a few weeks after that. He wasn't able to return to running until the end of August. He ran the Columbus Half Marathon in October, and then began training for the marathon in November. I wrote his training plan for him, which was very conservative to make sure he came back safely.

Greg and Allison were planning on running similar paces, which made it easy for me to cheer and take photos. Even though they weren't planning to run together (and didn't actually "run together") they were always within about a minute of each other. I was able to take the metro around the city to see them at mile 7.5, 15, 17, and the finish. I had a lot of fun, and it was so exciting to see all of Greg and Allison's hard work pay off. Greg wound up with a 3:40, which is amazing given all the time off he took last year, and Allison with a 3:39 BQ! Both of them looked strong throughout and I plan to use them as inspiration during my next race!

Greg is always so supportive of me and my running that it was nice to be able to support him, give him his water bottle when he needed it, and take photos. I also just really love the "vibe" of a big race. So much excitement!

Allison in purple tank, Greg in blue shirt at mile 7.5

I ended up logging about 17,000 steps on my FitBit, which winds up being 7-8 miles of walking. It was definitely a tiring day of being on my feet, but I loved every second of it.

I hope the next five weeks of training continue to go well. My legs are definitely feeling the miles, particularly since I run my "easy" runs on very hilly routes, sometimes with downhill strides at the end. I want to be really prepared for all the hills in Boston so I am seeking them out on my training runs.

Oh- and my Boston Marathon jacket came in the mail! I tried it on to make sure it fit, but I won't wear it until I actually arrive in Boston. I was temped to wear it yesterday at the RNR DC marathon since the weather was perfect for it, but I didn't want to tempt fate! I'll probably end up being one of those people who wear the jacket to race expos even when it's like 70 degrees outside. . . :-)

Boston Marathon Training Update: 7 Weeks To Go!

The end of a 20-miler on the W&OD

I can't believe that I will be running the Boston Marathon in just seven weeks! This has been a dream of mine for over eight years and it's finally coming true. So far, my training cycle has gone well. I've had to make a few adjustments due to weather, like changing workout days around, or running after work instead of the morning, but I'm extremely grateful that I have not yet missed amazingly any runs!

I've been getting plenty of sleep, taking ice baths after hard workouts, foam rolling religiously, eating plenty of protein and carbs immediately following my runs, and regularly doing my hip exercises. All of this is simply part of my lifestyle, and it hasn't felt like it's taken over my life. I've been eating a ton, but my weight is the lowest it's been in over 8 years. My coach says this is normal when you change up your training. I've lost about 10 pounds since I started working with him nearly two years ago.

My coach has gradually built my weekly mileage, and removed my one rest day at the end of January. As such, I have run every single day in February, which is new territory for me. Ever since I've started running I've always had at least one rest day per week. On Sunday, my prescribed run is "30 minutes recovery or rest," but I've found that my long runs don't beat up my legs too much and I can easily manage those 30 minutes. As the race gets closer and I really want my legs to be sharp, I might opt for the rest option.

The last 9 weeks of training

Tempo Intervals
Above is a snapshot of my weekly mileage. One of the interesting things is the lack of tempo runs during the past four weeks. This is because my coach has prescribed tempo intervals instead, which I log as intervals. The great thing about tempo intervals is that you run faster than tempo pace, which is designed to build your lactate threshold more than simply running at lactate threshold.

One example of this was on Tuesday, when the workout called for 5 x 8 minutes at medium-hard effort, with 3-minute recovery jogs. Followed by 3 x 40 seconds to keep the legs sharp. My paces were 6:58, 6:57, 6:53, 6:53, 6:52 for each of the 8-minute segments (1.15-1.16 miles each). Another example was two Thursdays ago when the workout called for 8-10 x 1000m with 200m recovery jogs. I polished off 9 of those at paces from 6:45-6:50/mile. I think that workouts like these will make my marathon and half marathon pace faster.

Fueling
I've changed my fueling strategy and it's worked really well. I used to use Honey Stinger gels every 45-60 minutes, but those sometimes upset my stomach. I was able to run my Boston Qualifying marathon with them fine last spring, but during my previous marathon, my stomach revolted and I could only have two of them.

I started experimenting with UCAN when I received a prize pack of it from McMillan Running, including all the flavors and pretty much every product they offer. Not once has this fuel upset my stomach, and it lasts much longer than  honey, so I don't need to take it as often. It comes as a powder, and I drink it before my long runs, and make a gel out of it to take mid long run. That way I can carry water and put the gel in my skirt pocket. Because the Boston Marathon starts mid-morning, I'm going to start my next long run at 10:30 and eat exactly as I plan to on race day.

Long Runs
Whenever I start training for a marathon, I find the first few long runs really hard, and then my body adjusts. I ran 20 miles yesterday and it didn't feel as challenging as some of my earlier long runs, which were 15-16 miles. I'm trying to incorporate hills into my long runs and easy runs so that my legs will be ready for those on race day. When I ran my 20-miler yesterday, the last 5 miles were at marathon pace, and the last two miles had an elevation gain similar to some of the Newton hills.

Here are my splits from yesterday's run, with my average heart rate in the middle of my Zone 2 (aerobic zone). This was extremely encouraging.

My training plan for the next several weeks looks really, really intense. I hope I am able to continue to crank out these runs as well as I have been for the past nine weeks.

After 19 miles on the W&OD Trail

Run Your Heart Out 5K

I plan my race schedule for each season far in advance. As I train for the Boston Marathon in April, my coach and I agreed on two tune-up races: the GW Birthday 10K on February 14 and the Shamrock half marathon in mid-March. I may also squeeze in a Crystal City 5K, but I'm not sure about that yet.

I've seen another jump in fitness lately and I was excited about the possibility of crushing it in a 10K. I think my 10K PR is soft, and I was planning on going for a 30-40 second PR in the 10K yesterday. BUT. . . the race was cancelled. The race director's email said that it was too cold and unsafe to run, but I disagreed and so did other area race directors. Two other 5Ks took place as scheduled, and as well as a local marathon. Unfortunately, there were no other 10K races to choose from so I settled doing one of the 5Ks-- the "Run Your Heart Out" 5K in Fairfax Corner.

The weather itself was really not that bad-- 14 degrees, sunny, with 8-10 MPH winds. I've done quite a few training runs in really cold weather and I've raced in worse. Far worse, in fact. Last winter, I ran a 15K in a torrential downpour, and at only 39 degrees, I was feeling pretty close to  hypothermia by the end. Yesterday's weather was a walk in the park compared to that 15K, and compared to most races in the summer when I overheat!

Race start, I'm in the pink. Photo courtesy of =PR= Races

Overheating was actually a concern of mine. I overheat very, very easily, particularly if it's sunny. For me to perform well in sunny weather, the temperature needs to be below 45. I qualified for Boston on a 25-degree day with plenty of sun, and I felt great in just a lightweight top. I decided I would wear a very thin short-sleeve shirt as a base layer, and then wear a medium-weight half-zip top over that. I also wore heavy tights-- Saucony "Siberius" tights that are rated for temperatures far below freezing.

Based on my knowledge of the course, my plan was to run a race with splits that looked like this: 6:28, 6:54, 6:54. I wasn't trying to PR, given that this course is much hillier than the one I PRed on, but I thought that a 6:45 average pace was within my reach.

Before the race
Greg decided to sit this race out and do a long run later in the day once it warmed up. He drove me to the race and waited in a coffee shop while I warmed up. I knew that starting the race warm would be really important to avoid muscle cramping, so I ran the full course, and then went into the coffee shop to ditch my jacket. I then went back outside and jogged around the parking lot until one minute before the race start.

Mile 1: 6:39
I've run this course before so there were no surprises. I planned on the first mile being my fastest because it's mainly downhill, and I had actually planned on it being in the 6:28-6:30 arena. But it's difficult for me to start running fast right out of the gate (even if I've already warmed up) so a 6:39 was the best I could do. Whenever I run intervals, my first rep is always significantly slower than the rest of them, which I am okay with, but when racing short distances like the 5K, I need to learn how to turn on the gas ASAP.

Mile 2: 6:47
I actually started to feel warm during this mile as I ran directly into the sun, so I unzipped my top

Heading for the finish line.

down as far as it would go, and I un-tucked my base-layer shirt. I spent this mile focused on keeping the effort level strong, and I even passed a few runners.

Mile 3: 7:05
This last mile was brutal. I was mentally prepared for it, but it was a huge hill directly into the headwind and I had to push so hard just to maintain my 7:05 pace. I think my effort level here was significantly higher than it was during the first mile, but the hill and the wind were working against me.

Last 0.17: (6:36 pace)
Usually I have a stronger final kick in the 5K, but this one included 2 turns and I was so beat from that last mile that I didn't have a lot left in me to give. As I approached the finish line, I was disappointed to see that the clock read 21:40. I knew I hadn't run as fast as I had planned, but I thought for sure I'd at least be in the low 21's. And then I realized that my Garmin measured 3.17 miles, which equates to a 21:41 at my average pace of 6:50.

After the race
Instead of having an awards ceremony, they gave the awards away inside of the running store immediately after the race. This meant that we didn't have to wait around in the cold. I ended up in 4th place for the women's race, winning 1st place in my age group. Having just watched the Olympic Trials the day before, Greg told me I was the Kara Goucher of the race. Which isn't too shabby!

After I got my award, Greg and I made our way back to the car where I changed into a heavier running top and swapped out my racing shoes for a more cushioned pair of Nike Lunarglides. Greg drove the car home and I ran home! My coach wanted me to run an additional 90-120 minutes after the race, but given that I had warmed up for about 4 miles beforehand, I thought that 80-90 was more realistic.

My run home felt really great, and it didn't even feel like I had just raced a 5K. With only 3 miles left to go, I ran into Greg who had driven home, changed into running clothes, and started his long run. (I had told him what my route would be so that we could meet up.)

My total mileage for the day was 16.1, which includes a 5K at a pace of 6:50, and a first place age group award! Not too shabby for a day that some race directors consider "unsafe" weather. I would have liked to run that race about 30 seconds faster "officially," although I was only off my pacing strategy by 5 seconds per mile.

I'm looking forward to some nicer weather toward the end of this week!

Photo courtesy of Greg Clor.

Mizuno Wave Catalyst Review

I typically don't review products on my blog. I don't have relationships with particular brands, and I

Mizuno Wave Catalyst, released February 2016

am usually not offered free stuff. But when it comes to something I am passionate about, like my beloved but discontinued Mizuno Wave Elixir shoes, I need to speak out. Today I offer a Mizuno Wave Catalyst Review, which is supposed to be a replacement for the Elixir.

Background
About two years ago, Mizuno discontinued the Mizuno Wave Elixir, arguably one of the best running shoes ever created. This shoe had it all. It was supportive enough to run a half marathon in (and some people even ran marathons in them) but also lightweight and fast-feeling. The shoe molded to my foot perfectly and had just enough cushion to be comfortable, while still feeling the ground beneath me.

I wasn't alone in my love for this shoe. It had a cult-like fan base who are all in strong agreement that it was a huge mistake for Mizuno to discontinue the shoe. Online forums and discussion groups exploded with heated comments about the decision. And whenever I wear my Elixirs to a race, other runners tell me how much they loved those shoes, and how disappointed they are that they are no longer available. Whenever I post a photo of myself racing in the Elixirs, people comment asking me where I got them. Fortunately, I stock-piled about 10 pairs of them, so I still have two of them new-in-box, and one of them with about 2/3 life left.

When Mizuno discontinued the Elixir, they came out with the Wave Sayonara. I liked this shoe quite a bit, but the drawback was that it didn't have as much cushion as the Elixir, so I was afraid to wear it in a half marathon, when my feet begin to hurt at mile 10. I added the Wave Sayonara into my rotation, using it for races shorter than a half marathon, and shorter, faster speed workouts. I continued to use my Elixirs for half marathons and longer workouts, like 5-6 mile tempo runs. I should also note that I wear the Nike Lunarglide for long runs and the Mizuno Wave Inspire for easy runs.

Mizuno Wave Catalyst
After two years, Mizuno realized its error, but instead of simply putting the Elixir back on the market, or making the Sayonara more similar to the Elixir, it came out with a new shoe--the Mizuno Wave Catalyst. I pre-ordered my pair on RunningWarehouse and expected it to arrive on Feb. 19.  The shoe unexpectedly arrived early, however, and I received it this week.

My first order of business when I received the Wave Catalyst was to weigh one of the shoes, and compare it to that of the Wave Elixir.

Top Left: Inspire 11, Top Right: Catalyst, Bottom Left: Sayonara 2, Bottom Right, Elixir 8. All shoes size 6.5

A few things to note about my shoe-buying habits. For some reason, I only get about 180-200 miles out of my shoes. After that, my legs begin to ache and I feel a distinct lack of support. So to save money, I always buy the previous year's shoe model on sale. I've gotten year-old Inspire models for as low as $45!  In the photo above, the Mizuno Inspire is last year's model, as is the Mizuno Sayonara. I have not yet tried this year's models and I will not try them until they go on sale! I will be basing my review and comparisons off of these models.

Before I even put the Catalysts on my feet, I made some observations based on their weight, and what I know about their specs from RunningWarehouse. My first question is, why does Mizuno have three

Mizuno Wave Catalyst, fresh out of the box

pairs of shoes that are so similar in terms of weight, stack height, and support? Apparently, the new model of the Sayonara, Inspire, and Catalyst all weigh almost the exact same amount! The only real difference is the amount of stability, but even the Sayonara, which is supposedly neutral, has enough stability for me.

I think the biggest disappointment, though, is that the Wave Catalyst is 1.3 grams (about half an ounce) heavier than the Elixir. And RunningWarehouse rates it as a shoe for "standard" running-- not for "performance" like the Elixir was. And the Sayonara 3 (not pictured here) supposedly weighs more than the 2. Meanwhile, the Inspire keeps getting lighter. In other words, they are making their lightweight performance shoes heavier, and their supportive everyday shoes lighter. That makes no sense to me.

Test Run
I figured I would try out the Wave Catalysts on an easy 60-minute run. I didn't want to experiment with a new shoe during a workout, for fear that they wouldn't support me properly.

When I first put the shoes on and walked around I was optimistic. They felt comfortable and they fit pretty well (as all Mizuno shoes tend to do with my narrow feet). The first two miles of the run were promising. The shoes seemed to have more bounce/spring than the Sayonara and the Elixir, and they felt more cushioned as well. In fact, they seemed most similar to the Inspire.

But as I got further into the run, I determined I didn't like the shoes as much. They actually started to feel more like the Elixir in that I could feel the ground beneath my feet a bit more. But the downside was that my feet started to hurt a little, and the shoes became uncomfortable. I felt like my left big toe was hitting the top of the shoe (and I've been wearing 6.5 in Mizuno for years without that problem) and on the right, the shoe seemed to get tighter around the forefoot, and the ball of my foot began to hurt. Sometimes these issues resolve themselves once the shoe is more broken in, but I never had to break-in the Elixir.

The Verdict
By the time I hit mile 6, I was ready to take the shoes off. They didn't feel as good as the Elixir, and they certainly weren't as fast/light as the Sayonara 2. And they weren't as supportive as the Inspire. My overall impression: mediocre. I think Mizuno is trying to "please everyone" with this shoe, and they make a ton of compromises to do so. It's basically a slightly less supportive version of the Wave Inspire, potentially for people who love the Inspire but are ready to "graduate" to a little less support, and a slightly smaller heel-toe offset.

I will note, however, that my average pace for this 60-minute run was 8:46 (6.8 miles total). Typically, I run my easy runs at a pace of 8:55-9:10, and I wasn't trying to run any faster today. So maybe the shoes were "faster" or maybe it was just a coincidence.

I think I am going to return the shoe to RunningWarehouse for store credit. Initially, I was going to trade it in for the Sayonara 3 to see how that felt, but apparently that shoe weighs even MORE than the Catalyst, so why would I do that? I have enough Elixirs to last me another year, and I'm going to start stockpiling the Sayonara 2 as well. Once those run out, maybe Mizuno will have released a version of the Catalyst that's lighter, that fits better, and is a true Elixir replacement.

Mizuno- PLEASE stop messing with your customers' favorite shoes!

Mizuno Wave Elixir- Bring back these shoes, please!

I hope you enjoyed this Mizuno Wave Catalyst review, and I welcome your comments and experiences.

The Sleepy "Snowzilla" Blizzard of 2016

The Washington DC metro area was hit with a huge blizzard last weekend. Known as "Snowzilla," "Storm Jonas," and "The Blizzard of 2016," this system dropped about 28 inches of snow onto my neighborhood, and similar amounts around all of Northern Virginia and DC. The storm began at around 1:00pm on Friday, Jan. 22, and continued until about 10:00pm the following day. Regardless, I still managed to keep up with my training plan. Here's how.

Friday, 1/22: 16-mile Long Run

View from my window on Saturday

Instead of doing my regularly planned 60-minute easy run, I did Saturday's 16-mile long run, starting at sunrise. This was challenging because I had done a 5.5-mile tempo run the evening before, which meant I only had about 15 hours to recover from that before doing the long run. I was supposed to run the second half of the 16-miler 20 seconds per mile faster than the first half. Miraculously, I was able to do this, even on very tired legs. The trick was to keep the first 8 miles slow (9:16/mile) so that I could run the last 8 miles at an average pace of 8:56/mile.

Saturday, 1/23: Blizzard Peak
There was definitely no way to run on Saturday. The snow was coming down heavily with "whiteout" conditions. I spent the day inside with Greg, just relaxing and doing housework. We had stocked up on good food, so we had a really nice dinner with wine. It was nice having the long run behind me and not having to worry about it. Saturday night, I slept for 9 hours and 41 minutes, without waking up at all. It was truly amazing because I usually get about 7 hours and 30 minutes. I guess the blizzard totally relaxed and de-stressed me!

Sunday, 1/24: 41 minutes + 41 minutes
A plow came by our neighborhood relatively early in the day, so by about 10:30, my neighborhood road had a clear path of packed snow. I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to try out my Yaktrax (which I had bought last winter but never wore) to run in the snow. They worked really well-- no slipping or falling! But because there was still quite a bit of snow, my gait was not normal, and I

In front of my house after run #2. Greg shoveled this snow.

found myself using extra stabilizer muscles. My original plan was to run the 60 minutes that had been scheduled for Friday, but I stopped after 41 because it just felt weird and I didn't want to strain myself running in the snow. However, later in the day, the sun came out and the road looked better, so I Yaktraxed my way out of my neighborhood, removed the Yaktrax and ran on the completely snow-free road. There were almost no cars out, although I did have to dodge the snow plows. I ran another 41 minutes, giving me 82 minutes total for the day (8.7 miles). This gave me 52.7 miles for the week.

Monday, 1/25: 6 x 800m, 3 x 200m
I woke up on Monday morning in amazement. According to my FitBit, I had slept for 10 hours and 16 minutes, uninterrupted. This was completely unheard of! I had no clue why I was sleeping so much. I didn't feel sick, but I guess my body needed it.

My office was closed, which meant I could run at whatever time of day I wanted. Given this flexibility, I figured it would be best to get Tuesday's speed work out of the way on Monday, in case I had to go into the office on Tuesday. Obviously the track was not an option so I programmed the workout into my Garmin and ran a half-mile stretch of the street just outside of my neighborhood. I could not run in my neighborhood without Yaktrax, so I simply walked on the snow until I reached the edge of my neighborhood before and after the run.

As for the workout itself, yes, I had to share the road with cars. And yes, this was a little dangerous. But this street was fully plowed and wider than the typical road, so there was enough room for me. My paces were slower than if I had been at the track, but I chalked it up to being an incline/decline instead of a smooth track. After warm-up and cool-down, I logged a total of 9.1 miles for the day.

Tuesday, 1/26: 60 minutes
And AGAIN I woke up after an insanely long and uninterrupted night of sleep! One theory is that there's a constant noise of construction or trucks near my house that goes on at all hours of the night, and I'm guessing it stopped with all this snow. So maybe I finally had the quiet I needed to sleep well. 9 hours, 19 minutes.

I did Monday's 60-minute easy run on Tuesday. My office was still closed, which gave me the flexibility to run in the middle of the day again, with a reduced number of cars. I still had to walk through my neighborhood instead of run, but once I got out of it, I was able to run on clear roads. Once again, this was a little bit dangerous because I was sharing the road with cars, but I saw other people walking/running as well. Further, the roads were wide, so if two cars had to pass each other, there would still be room for me!

Wednesday, 1/27: 30 minutes
By Wednesday, I was finally back on my normal schedule and my office was open. My neighborhood had been plowed thoroughly by this point, so I simply ran in circles around the 0.6-mile loop. Boring and hilly, but safer than venturing out onto the main road during the morning rush hour.

Thursday, 1/28: 6-mile tempo
Thursday was tricky because temperatures got down to 16 overnight, which meant a refreeze of all the water/snow on the ground. Therefore, I had to wait until after work to do my tempo. The good news is that it was a warm and sunny day, so by the time I started my tempo at 4:15pm, everything had melted. I got into work at 7:00am and left at 3:15, which gave me an hour to drive home, change, and drive to the tempo location. Thankfully, my tempo route was ice-free and mostly dry, so I could run without worrying about slipping. I averaged a pace of 7:08 for the six miles, which was very encouraging. Including warm-up and cool-down, I ran 9.5 miles for the day.

Friday, 1/29: 60 minutes
The road outside of my neighborhood was coated in ice in the morning, so I resorted to doing laps around my 0.6-mile neighborhood loop! Very boring (and hilly) but I got it done.

Saturday, 1/30: 17 miles
Because sidewalks were still not clear, Greg and I decided to run the entire long run on neighborhood roads. We drove to this neighborhood (which is also my tempo location) and parked our car at the Starbucks at the end of the neighborhood. We challenged ourselves to run on as many of the neighborhood streets as possible. The result looked like this:

I missed most of Pennerview and all of Midstone!

All in all, the storm did not affect my running too much. Thankfully, I was able to adjust my schedule. One of my neighbors had offered me her treadmill as a back-up plan, but thankfully I didn't need to use it. I much prefer to run outdoors whenever possible. I logged 54.7 miles this week, and managed to do all workouts as prescribed by my coach.

It's hard to believe I still have 11 weeks until Boston. I already feel like the training is pretty intense, and it's only going to get more challenging!

How I got faster in 2015

2015 was the best year of running I've had since I started racing 10 years ago.

10K PR, October 2015

It’s easy for beginning runners to improve. Usually runners see major gains during the first several years, but then the law of diminishing returns kicks into effect, making PRs less frequent and smaller in size. This is particularly true for racing at shorter distances, where shaving just a few seconds off of one’s time becomes challenging. Therefore, I see 2015 as "the exception" and not the rule. It's highly unlikely that I will have another year like this again, so I wanted to document what worked for me.

This year, I set six PRs:

• 20:51 in the 5K (38 seconds PR)
• 30:08 in the 4-miler (8 seconds PR)
• 43:56 in the 10K (17 seconds PR)
• 1:37:33 in the half marathon (4 minutes, 7 seconds PR)
• 1:35:08 in the half marathon (2 minutes, 25 seconds PR)
• 3:35:29 in the marathon (4 minutes, 31 seconds PR + BQ)

With the exception of the marathon and the 4-miler, all of these PRs occurred within the October/November timeframe. What did I do differently in 2015 as opposed to prior years of running? 2015 was not my highest mileage year-- in fact both 2010 and 2014 were higher in overall mileage. Here are what I consider to be the key factors.

I trained differently.

After having spent years and years doing the same tempo runs and the same interval workouts, I finally broke out of that patten and gave my body new training stimuli. While different training approaches work for different people, I think that one thing is true for everyone: variety is key! Not only did my training approach change in 2015, but I rarely repeated workouts. There were a few workouts that I did maybe 4-5 times this year, but that's it.

Here is a comparison of my training log from 2014 vs. 2015. Note that in 2014 I ran two marathons, but in 2015 I ran only one marathon in the spring.

2014 Training

2015 Training

The overall training volume is almost the same. The difference is how I ran the miles. In 2014, I focused more heavily on tempo runs and long runs. In 2015, I focused more heavily on intervals and hill sprints. Particularly in July, there was a 4-week period that was very hill intensive, sometimes combining hill repeats with mile repeats and tempo runs. The major differences in 2015 I see are:

• Lower weekly mileage during the second half of the year allowed for more quality speed work
• Shorter intervals at a faster pace (e.g. 1 minute, 2 minute as opposed to 800's and 1200's)
• More varied workouts
• Fewer tempo runs
• Lots of 5Ks in the heat-- one per month from April to September
• More combo runs (e.g. hill/tempo, hill/interval, tempo/interval)
• More consistency in monthly volume, even though overall volume is slightly lower

I trained consistently, without illness or injury.

I was able to train consistently throughout the entire year without any time off for illness or injury. In the past, I have never been able to keep up with injury prevention exercises because there were too many of them, and they took too much time. So in 2015, I focused on my left hip. It's my weakest area, and the first thing that starts to hurt. I did strengthening exercises for my left hip only about 3 times per week, lasting about 3 minutes. I didn't do any core work this year or anything else. I find that if I take on too much, I end up getting overwhelmed and ultimately ditching the exercises altogether. 

After the Richmond half marathon, a lot of stuff hurt, so I was diligent about foam rolling and I got two massages. I also took an entire week off, as prescribed by my coach. I also finally have a shoe system that works. Nike Lunarglide for long runs, Mizuno Elixir for long speed work, Mizuno Sayonara for short speed work, and Mizuno Inspire for short easy runs.

I focused on the process, not the outcome.

Even though I of course love setting PRs, I was more focused on the process of racing than I was the result. I learned to take risks, to experiment, to be bold, and to have a more relaxed attitude about racing in general. I used to get extremely anxious and uptight whenever a race approached, and now a race is "what I'm doing this weekend" and not something to get all worked up over! During races, I was more focused on pushing hard than on what my watch said, and I didn't spend mental energy focusing on things I didn't like. I embraced training and racing in the heat. I focused on running by effort instead of by pace, so I was never upset about being slower during summer races.

I had the help and support of great people.
The combination of having two great coaches-- a McMillan coach to help me with the physical side of things and a P.h.D in sports psychology to help me with the mental side of things--has really helped me succeed. And of course, having Greg support me all year even when he was unable to run was hugely valuable. I had all of these people in 2014 as well, although I didn't start working with the running coach until July.

I'm hoping to squeeze out a few more PRs in 2016, particularly at the marathon distance where I think I have the most room for improvement. I look forward to more healthy, happy running this year!

B & A Trail Marathon - a BQ by 4:31

PRR Festival Twilight 4-miler in 80+ degrees!

The Richmond Half Marathon

Ringing In Hope 10K: Keeping Up With Tradition

Yesterday afternoon, I ran the Ringing in Hope 10K. The inaugural event was held in 2010, and Greg and I have run it every year since it started. Even though I have quite a few issues with how this race is managed, I continue to run it each year to keep up the tradition. Along with the Firecracker 5K and the Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K, it's nice to have races that I run year after year, for both the sake of tradition, and for benchmarking. I'm pleased to say that I have set course PRs in all three races this year!

Ringing in Hope 2014

Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. I may suggest these changes to the race director, but I don't want to come across as ungrateful. I know that managing a race is difficult, and I will continue to participate in this race even if nothing changes.

The time of this race changes almost every year. I think the first year it was at 4:00pm, and then it's moved between morning and afternoon. I think it was 10:00am last year, and this year it was at 1:00pm to accommodate government workers' schedules. But people who work for the federal government (in Washington D.C.) even for a half day, will not be able to drive 30 miles out to Ashburn in time for a 1:00pm start. So, either move the race to 3:00 or 4:00, or keep it in the morning. I personally prefer morning races because it's what I'm used to, but I don't shy away from races that start at odd times. Particularly since I will be running the Boston Marathon in April, which I think starts sometime around 10:00am. My biggest challenge with the later start this year was the warmth. It was 58 degrees and sunny. There were times when I could feel myself baking, and I even ended up with a nice suntan!

The race offers a 5K and a 10K. The 10K course is the same as the 5K course, times 2. The 5K started at 1:00pm, and the 10K started at 1:15pm. This means that the 10K runners have to weave through all the 5K walkers (with their strollers, walking in large groups) and the slower runners starting at mile 2. This requires a lot of additional energy to be expended and prevents runners from running tangents. There'd be some trouble if a 15:00-16:00 5K runner showed up. At 1:16pm, I'm guessing that 10K runners were still moving through the start line, which is also the finish line. I can just imagine a super speedy 5K runner coming toward the finish line, with all the 10K runners lined up.

Speaking of tangents, cones are placed seemingly randomly throughout the course. It's never clear what side of the cones you are supposed to run on. The course is USATF certified without any cones at all, so I just ignore the cones and try to run the tangents. Even still, the course always measures at least 6.27 miles on my Garmin. On the last turn before the finish line, they had a row of cones blocking the path to the finish line. You're supposed to run through the cones (which are meant to block cars) but many people were confused and didn't see the finish line. The only reason I knew to turn right was because I've run this race so many times.

Okay, I'm done griping. My attitude toward this race is that I do it because it's a tradition and it's close to my house. I don't run it for its superior management. I mentally prepare to weave through 5K walkers and I don't let it upset me while I'm running.

In terms of a time goal, I wanted to set a "Garmin PR" by running faster than a 7:02 pace according to my Garmin-- ideally somewhere around 6:55-6:58. Comparing this race to the Boo Run For Life 10K where I set my current PR isn't really apples-to-apples because that race is flat with only one turn, and therefore always comes out to exactly 6.2 miles. This means that I could technically run 6.2 miles faster at the New Year's Eve race than the Boo! race and still not PR according to my official time. I also wanted to beat Greg's PR on this course of 43:20, but I thought that might be a stretch.

I also used this race to experiment with Generation UCAN fuel. I'd ideally like to switch from Honey Stinger gels to UCAN for the marathon, but I need to make sure it works for me. I was introduced to UCAN when I won a huge prize package of it by being McMillan's "Athlete of the Month." I had used it before long runs and it seemed to work well for those. The Honey Stingers are hit or miss-- sometimes my stomach tolerates them, sometimes it doesn't. UCAN is supposed to be the easiest-to-digest source of fuel, and it's supposed to last longer than a gel.  I mixed one packet of the UCAN powder with water and drank it 30 minutes before the start of the race. Greg and I warmed up for about two miles, and then lined up at the start.

Miles 1-2
My original plan was to run the first mile at a pace of around 6:55, but instead I just ran it by feel and logged a 6:47. Even though this mile starts with a huge uphill, there was a significant tailwind, and then there's a downhill afterwards which actually makes the mile a net downhill. After I turned a corner and started mile 2, I found myself running directly into a headwind and I was unable to maintain my speedy starting pace. I instead ran a 6:57, which was more in line with my goal anyway. It was during the second mile that I had to start weaving through the 5K walkers, but I didn't let it bother me.

Miles 3-4
The third mile was tough. The headwind continued and there was a sizable hill to run up, while continuing to dodge 5K walkers, and even those who were running, but then who would suddenly stop to walk. One guy who was running in front of me stopped dead in his tracks to look behind him for his daughter. Sigh. I felt myself losing some major steam, and the race started to get really hard. Mile 3 is supposed to feel really hard in a 10K, but this mile just took a lot of out me. I logged a 7:07, which I thought was pretty good, given the big hill. Mile 4 was a repeat of mile 1. The biggest challenge of this mile was the heat. I was running directly towards the sun, high in the sky, and I felt my energy level waning. Thankfully, there was a tailwind to help push me up the hill again, but I'd pay for it with a headwind later. I ran mile 4 in 7:02.

Miles 5-6
My goal was still attainable by the time I reached mile 5, but I was completely spent. I had zero energy left to fight through the headwind. I poured water over my head to keep cool, but it didn't do much good. I also had worn heavier socks (mistake) and my feet were burning up. Even though I was losing steam, I still managed to pass some runners during this mile, which was encouraging. I logged a 7:13. The sixth mile was pure torture. A woman whom I had passed earlier in the race passed me about halfway through the mile and I tried to keep up with her as best as I could. I even tried to draft off of her. "That's fine if you run ahead of me," I thought. "I'll just run directly behind you and draft." I knew my goal was slipping away from me, but I was mainly focused on just hanging on. That final hill was killer, as it always is, and I was happy to see that I didn't lose too much time going up it. I actually was slower at the beginning of the mile with the headwind than I was at the end of the mile, running up the hill with less of a headwind. That last mile was a 7:22, which is slower than my half marathon pace!

The Finish

Accepting my award- it got cloudy after I was done racing!

After the hill during mile 6 there were a few more turns to get to the finish line. Thankfully, everything was downhill for the last 0.27 miles. The woman in front of me made an incorrect turn, and I almost followed her, thinking it was time to turn. But I quickly realized she had made a mistake so I didn't follow her. People behind me were yelling "go straight." Once again, it really wasn't clear where you were supposed to turn, so some volunteers would have been nice to have at that point. The only reason I didn't follow her was because I had run the course so many times in the past, otherwise, I would have made the same mistake. I continued toward the finish line, and I ran through the confusing cones at a pace of 6:35.

My overall finish time was 44:18 for 6.27 miles, a Garmin pace of 7:05. I was the 4th overall female
finisher, and I won 1st place in my age group. I won a substantial gift certificate to Potomac River Running, which was nice.

I told Greg about the woman who made the wrong turn and I said I felt badly for her--and a little guilty for beating her because of it. But he reminded me that part of racing is knowing the course. It's about more than having physical ability, you also have to have "situational awareness" he said. He told me I beat her fair and square, which I guess is true. But I still feel badly that she made a wrong turn.

The Analysis
Even though I technically didn't meet my goal, I accomplished a lot!

• I ran this race faster than last year by 1:09, and I think it was windier this year, and definitely hotter. 
• I ran very close to my PR pace, on a hiller, hotter and "longer" course.
• I experimented. I tried a new fuel and I tried going out at pace that was faster than my goal (but that felt sustainable), without being afraid to bonk. 
• I avoided making a wrong turn because I knew the course well.
• I won my age group and was the 4th overall female.

I don't have any photos of me actually racing because my personal photographer is now able to race himself! Greg finished in 45:50, which I think is amazing for spending 5 months of last year injured with a broken ankle. 

I definitely plan on running this race again next year-- at whatever time of day it may be! Happy New Year to my blog readers!

Turkey Trotting: Massive 5K PR

This morning I ran my 10th consecutive Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K. That's right- my 10th year in a row! I'm thankful that I have never been injured on Thanksgiving and I have always been able to participate in this race since I discovered it.

After running the Richmond Half Marathon 12 days ago, I took a full week off from running. I made the mistake of not stretching or foam rolling during that time. After two days, my legs felt fine just walking around, but I didn't realize how tight my left IT band and calf were. When I returned to running, my entire left leg was tight and and everything felt like it was pulling on everything else. I started foam rolling twice a day and eventually my hip/hamstring/IT band felt better, but my calf was still an issue. It had seized up and was tender to the touch. I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to run this race, but I went for it anyway.

I aggressively treated my calf by having Greg massage it twice a day, foam rolling it, stretching it three times a day, using Salonpas patches, taking Aleve, and wearing a compression sleeve. Instead of running yesterday as originally prescribed by my coach, I took the day off entirely.

Strategy

Compression socks for my calf, and matching shoes!

I had this race planned down to the second. Since I had 9 of these Turkey Trots under my belt, I knew the course profile like the back of my hand. Last year, I ran the first two miles at the same pace, and then the third mile was about 10 seconds faster. The first two miles are a net uphill, with a significant hill in the second mile, and the last mile is a net downhill.

The McMillan calculator predicted a pace of 6:37 for my 5K. I wasn't sure I wanted to go for that, though, given I had taken a full week off of running and I was optimally trained for the half marathon, not the 5K. My plan was to run the first mile at a pace of 6:43-6:45, and then run the second mile at the same pace as the first. My plan for the last mile was a 6:35, and then an even faster final kick for the last 0.1. This would give me an average pace of about 6:40, putting me comfortably below 21 minutes.

My previous PR was a 21:29, and I was hoping to smash it, just as I had done to my half marathon PR just 12 days prior.

Before the Race
I think I set a PR for the most amount of quality sleep the night before a race. I slept for a full eight hours, and then woke up extremely gradually. I was so relaxed and rested that it took me about 45 minutes from coming into consciousness to actually feeling awake. I also slept insanely well two nights before the race. I think I have this no-anxiety thing down pat!

Greg and I did our normal pre-race routine: bagels, bathroom, and bib affixing! We arrived at the race 35 minutes before the start, with just enough time to warm up and then line up. We warmed up for 20 minutes, and I felt ready.

The weather was absolutely perfect. 40 degrees, mostly sunny, with 0 mph winds. Usually this race is in the low 30's, so it's rather chilly at the start. But this year, I was rather comfortable at the start line in my shorts and short-sleeves after having warmed up.

Mile 1: 6:43
I hate the first mile of this race. There are so many slower runners who start at the front, go out at a pace of 6:30, and then slow down to an 8:00 mile shortly thereafter. This equates to quite a bit of passing and weaving. I knew to expect it, so I managed as best I could. At one point, there was a group of 3 people running side-by-side and it was difficult to pass them. I tried to not let it fluster me. When I saw my Garmin beep at 6:43, I was pleased. I was executing on the faster end of my narrow 3-second window!

Mile 2: 6:43
This mile features a significant hill. I've gotten much better at hills over the past year, and was able to pass quite a few runners on this hill. Regardless, I was happy to be over it and running down the hill on the other side. I stayed focused, and tried my best to run the tangents. The good thing about mile 2 is that the course opens up with a wider road, so it's easier to pass people. I was pleased to see that I logged another 6:43, exactly as planned.

Mile 3: 6:35
I knew my PR and sub-21 was in the bag if I just continued to execute the plan. The last mile is a net downhill, but of course I was getting tired, so I had to really work for this. Since I've never run a 1-mile race, this 6:35 is also a 1-mile PR for me.

The last 0.14: (6:03 pace)
I gunned it to the finish and was happy to see the clock was still in the 20's.

My official finish time was a 20:51. This is a PR by 38 seconds from my 21:29 that I ran at the 2011 Turkey Trot. Last year, I ran a 21:30, missing my PR by just one second.

I was slightly annoyed that even though I was trying to run the tangents, my Garmin measured 3.14 miles. Greg's Garmin was closer to 3.1, and in the past mine has been closer to 3.1 as well, but I think all of the weaving during the first mile was the culprit. Anyway, according to Garmin, it was an average pace of 6:39 for 3.14 miles, which is very close to what the McMillan calculator had predicted.

Even though Greg hadn't done any speed work since the Columbus half marathon nearly six weeks ago, he ran a 22:01, which pleasantly surprised us both.

After the race, we found one of our friends and cooled down with him for about 15 minutes. The cool down was really important. When I first started running, my left leg was extremely tight. I was worried I had done some serious damage. But after a few minutes, it started to feel better, and by the end of the cool down, my left leg felt semi-normal again.

Final Thoughts
I think that having a well-defined plan was critical to my success. I knew exactly how I wanted to race this one, and my execution matched my expectations perfectly. Could I have run it faster if I set a more aggressive goal? I think maybe by just a few seconds. I was feeling really exhausted by the end of it, so I don't think I could have squeezed out more than 2-3 seconds extra. I'm trying to move away from "playing it safe" in races so I can run at my full potential. I don't think I played it safe here, but on the other hand, I wasn't quite as risky as I was in Richmond. There was also my tight calf to consider, and I definitely didn't want to pull it or tear it.

In any event, a 38-second PR in the 5K is HUGE, and I am super excited that I have reached a new level of fitness and I can run a race without anxiety.

Being Bold: The Richmond Half Marathon

I spent the past week visualizing the race I wanted to run this morning in Richmond. Four weeks ago, I considered the Columbus Half Marathon to be my breakthrough race of the season, and Richmond would just be “gravy.” I ran a 1:37:33, which was PR by over 4 minutes, so I was extremely satisfied. My first thought after I finished Columbus was that I ran so well, I could just pass on Richmond completely and be satisfied.

But I quickly dismissed that thought and realized that Columbus was really just a build-up to Richmond. At least, that's how my coach had planned it out. Thanks to an amazing training cycle, I’ve reached a new level of fitness that I had never imagined attaining.

I realized that I wasn't afraid of bonking. I intended to start this race at a pace that used to be faster than my 5K PR. I told myself that I was going to push harder earlier and make the tough part start sooner. I was mentally prepared for it to get really, really hard and I intended to push my way through it. I decided that I wasn't going to be intimidated by paces on my Garmin that were faster than I thought I was capable of.

Coach Greg McMillan says, “Going to a new level is scary even if workouts show you're there. In races, be committed and brave. That's where the PRs live.”

Training Plan
I had a pretty aggressive training schedule in between Columbus and Richmond. Thankfully, I recovered quickly and was able to return to speed work the following Thursday. The mileage was the same as it  had been (in the low to mid 40's) but the workouts were intense. Some of the more challenging workouts were:

• 3 mile tempo, 3:00 recovery, 4 x 30-second hill repeats, 3:00 recovery, 2-mile tempo
• 2 miles at half marathon pace, 3:00 recovery, 4 x 1-mile at 10K pace 
• 5 x 1600m with 400m recoveries, 3 x 200m with 200m recoveries

I ran the 1600's at an average pace of about 6:53, which is faster than my 5K PR pace. The last one was 6:47 and I didn't feel like I was overdoing it. The combination of these three workouts gave me an immense amount of confidence. Not only were the paces much faster than I anticipated, but I felt strong throughout each workout. I recovered well from them, and was able to log some "quality" long runs with speed incorporated as well.

Pre-Race

Race gear laid out

Having just run the Columbus Half Marathon four weeks ago, I knew that my pre-race routine would work well. I ate bland pasta with chicken and tomato sauce the night before, and the morning of the race I ate a salted bagel with peanut butter, along with a good bit of water.

In terms of feeling rested, I had slept really well all week. This had not been the case for Columbus, so I was determined to not "sweat the small stuff" this time. The issues that caused me to lose sleep prior to Columbus didn't affect my sleep whatsoever this past week.

When I pack for races, I usually bring two of everything, just in case something is wrong with one of the items. I packed two pairs of socks, and I was very glad that I did because one of the pairs ended up belonging to Greg. And it was actually the pair that was my first choice. Phew!

Speaking of Greg, he decided to sit this race out. He broke his ankle back in March, made a strong comeback in Columbus, but felt that he needed more recovery before running another half marathon so soon.

I also learned from Columbus that leaving the hotel 25 minutes before the race start is not a good idea. So we left 45 minutes before the race start, which left plenty of time for me to get a short (7-minute) warm up in-- something I did not do in Columbus. I got into the corral, and handed my jacket to Greg.

Waiting at the start line

The weather was in the low 40's and sunny with a 5-10 mph sustained wind. My plan was to start the race at a pace of around 7:20, maybe a tad slower because the first two miles were slightly uphill. This is what my coach advised and at first the concept seemed scary. Given that my average race pace in Columbus was 7:24 according to my Garmin, starting out at a faster pace with a plan of speeding up was ambitious. But I spent the past week building the confidence to do it and mentally preparing to push really hard.

In terms of a time goal, I wanted to go sub-1:37 (with a PR by over 33 seconds) and a stretch goal was to go sub-1:36. I fully expected that my time would fall somewhere in the 1:36's but my sports psychologist told me not to rule out the possibility of the 1:35's. Lately he's been encouraging me to not set limits for myself and the more we've talked about it, the more aware I've become on the limits I set for myself. He told me I was in a "purple period" of training-- an extended period of successful training without illness or injury with continued fitness gains. So this was a huge opportunity for me to take advantage of. As I stood at the start line, I went over my race plan in my head a few times. I was prepared to run really hard and really fast.

I lined up just a few rows back from the 1:35 pacer and before I knew it, the race started.

Miles 1-4
The race started and it was really crowded during the first mile. I wanted to be running faster than I was during the first half mile, but there was no way to weave around people. Ultimately, I gave up on trying to weave through people and I told myself that this was actually working in my favor because there was a noticeable headwind.

After the second mile, things spaced out a bit and I knew that mile 3 would be slightly downhill. So I decided to run a bit faster. During mile 4, I finally started to feel comfortable. I rarely feel comfortable during the first 3 miles of a half marathon. I just need to settle in and establish a rhythm. I usually feel like I am kind of all over the place initially, until I settle into a nice even rhythm and effort.We also turned a corner during the 4th mile, which meant there was no more headwind.

Mile 1: 7:26
Mile 2: 7:23
Mile 3: 7:18
Mile 4: 7:11

Miles 5-8
I think the "old me" would have been intimidated by a 7:11 mile, especially so early in the race, but I told myself ahead of time that I would not ease up on the effort based on what my Garmin was saying. I've run over 20 half marathons-- I know what the effort level should feel like.

I continued to press on, fully confident that I could maintain these faster-than-planned paces. Miles 6, 7, and 8 were in a park. I had run this race in 2012 and I remembered the park being the most challenging section of the course. It was hilly and windy and a bit of a roller coaster. And the terrain isn't as smooth as the rest of the roads.

I crossed the 10K timing mat in 45:25, at a pace of 7:18. I knew that Greg was tracking me and it
made me happy knowing he would be getting a status update on me.

The most difficult part of the race came during mile 7 when I had my Honey Stinger gel. I learned in Columbus that I only need one gel in a half marathon, so I took it during the 7th mile, at the same time that I was running up and down hills and trying to follow tangents. The process didn't quite go as smoothly as I hoped. I spilled some water on me and the honey didn't go down all that well, but I took a few seconds to slow down, and "reset." In spite of all this, I still logged a 7:10 for mile 7.

I've learned that when you hit a rough patch in a race, a mental "reset" really works. It's an opportunity to remind yourself that it was just a tough patch, and you can continue on just as you had before.

Mile 5: 7:11
Mile 6: 7:16
Mile 7: 7:10
Mile 8: 7:24

Miles 9-12

I was so happy to be out of that park. It was mentally easier to run in a straight line and be back on

Focused.

normal asphalt. Mile 8 had been mainly uphill, too, so I was relieved to be just 4 miles from the finish line, heading directly toward it.

I hit the 10-mile timing mat at 1:12:xx. My 10-mile PR  is 1:15:26, so it felt amazing to set a 10-mile PR in the midst of a half marathon.

During mile 11 I saw a friend of mine cheering. I worked with this guy back in 2005 and he since moved to Richmond and is very active in that running community. I knew he would be there and as I ran by him, I said, "I'm going to run a 1:35." I was amazed at how conversational I was, given how hard I was pushing. But I wanted to say it aloud. Saying it aloud made it real, and made me commit to it. I knew that I was on track for a 1:35:xx, but that I would need to continue to push hard to make it a reality.

When I got to mile marker 11, I was ready for the race to be over. It was the first feeling of "oh my God this hurts so much." I fought back and reminded myself that my mind would give out before my body would and I just pushed with everything I had. I knew that once I got to mile marker 12, there would just be one more mile left, and half of that mile would be a huge downhill.

Mile 9: 7:06
Mile 10: 7:09
Mile 11: 7:17
Mile 12: 7:16

Mile 13 and the last 0.14
Mile 13 seemed to go on forever until the downhill finally came. I saw Greg just before the hill and then just let gravity carry me. The hill was so steep that I was afraid I'd fall if I went as fast as I could possibly go, so I had to put on the breaks just slightly.

Headed for the finish

As I approached the finish line, I saw the clock turn from 1:34:59 to 1:35:00. And I was really close to it! I hadn't been looking at the cumulative time on my watch so I had no idea how close I was to 1:35:00. I crossed the finish line, and looked down at my Garmin to see a pleasantly unexpected 1:35:08.

Mile 13: 6:58
Last 0.14 (6:30 pace)

Ironically, I think I could have run that last 0.14 closer to a 6:00 if the downhill hadn't been so steep.

After the Race
I was really in shock at the fact that I ran a 1:35:08. Sub-1:36 was a stretch goal, and I was really close to sub 1:35! If someone had told me at the beginning of this training cycle that I would run this kind of time, I never would have believed them. After all, my PR at the time was 1:41:40.

I found Greg and we walked back to the hotel. I was simply beaming. I was so pleased with my performance. I did everything I set out to do and more!

I think it was a combination of the following:

• Injury and illness free training cycle
• Training specifically targeted the half marathon distance
• I had the confidence to run boldly and without fear of bonking
• The weather was conducive to fast running (not too hot, humid, or windy)
• I went into the race well slept and recovered from previous workouts
• I had the recent experience of a half marathon to learn from and build on

This race really shows that I am in an entirely new league. My original thought was that I would target a 3:30 for Boston but now I am thinking that something around 3:20-3:25 might be doable. I'll just have to see how training goes. 

I'll take the next week off from running entirely so that my body can recover fully and I can lay the foundation for Boston. Oh, and run a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving!

Final Stats and Fun Facts

• In just four weeks, I took my half marathon time down from 1:37:33 to 1:35:08
• This is a PR by 2:25
• I ran the first 10K at a pace of 7:18, and the rest of the race at a pace of 7:12
• I was the 72nd female finisher out of 5,350, putting me in the top 1.3% 
• According to Strava, my best half marathon effort during this race was 1:34:52. This number is based on a 7:14 pace for 13.1 miles. (The official time is slower because my Garmin had 13.14)
• According to the McMillan Calculator, this performance predicts a 10-mile race at 1:11:19, and a full marathon of 3:20:13.

Photo by Greg Clor