10,000 Miles

I started using the RunningAhead training log on January 1, 2008. During the Philadelphia RnR Half Marathon last week, I logged my 10,000th mile.

I figured now would be a good time to reflect on these miles, and the past 5.75 years it took me to run them.

From January 1, 2008 to September 15, 2013:

• I've run 10,004 miles
• Time-wise, this equates to 63 days, 6 hours, 29 minutes and 9 seconds
• I've run 72 races, for a total of 661.5 miles raced
• This means my average distance raced is 9.1 miles
• The 10,004 miles were spread across 1743 runs
• My average run distance is 5.7 miles
• Note: I breakdown interval warm ups and cool downs into separate runs, so this data is a little off!
• 586 runs were done on the treadmill, which equates to 2,956 miles (29% treadmill)
• 73% of these treadmill miles were run in 2008-2009, before moving into my house 
• Since January 1, 2011, I have only run 200 treadmill miles.
• I have logged 25 runs that were 20-22 miles, in preparation for marathons.
• That's a total of 511.8 miles worth of 20+ milers!
• I've logged 112 tempo runs for a total of 476.5 miles
• 4.25 miles is the average distance of my tempo runs
• Here is the yearly breakdown of miles:

Can you tell which year had no injuries?

• 2013 is on track to have more miles than 2012, but not as many as 2009.
• I've gone through 67 pairs of shoes. Some of these shoes have logged less than 20 miles, since they didn't work for me. Sadly, this is an average of 149 miles per pair.
• Within the past two years, I have spent $1,412 on running shoes, apparel and gear.
• My fastest mile logged was 6:49, which was run during a 5K in 2011. I am anxious to run a 1-mile race!

I'm looking forward to the next happy, healthy 10,000 miles!

Rock 'N Roll Philly Half Marathon

I've taken an unintentional break from the blog world. I haven't been writing in my blog or reading other blogs. I've been busy with work (yes, even on the weekends) and in my free time I've been more interested in playing Candy Crush Saga relaxing with my husband.

This weekend, however, I'm back to report on my experience at the Rock 'n Roll Philadelphia half marathon. I've run this race twice before-- in 2006 and 2007. The weather has always been pretty good and the course is relatively flat. It's well organized and about 25 people from my team were also running it, as well as a few other friends. Greg unfortunately was unable to run it this year due to a hamstring pull on Wednesday of this week. Thankfully, it's much better now and he'll be running again next week, but it was far too much of a risk for him to race on it. Last year, I enjoyed cheering him on, as I had just recently recovered from mono.

The stress reaction in my shin took me out for the entire month of July. The first two weeks of August were spent run-walking my way back to normalcy and I only resumed "real" training in the third week of August. I only had three weeks of solid running under my belt going into this race. Mileage totals had been 26, 31, 37 (and 38 this week). So this race was going to be primarily about the experience of it all, including practicing my pacing, my ability to push myself, and my hydration.

Unlike my most recent half marathon last April, where I got a sum total of 2 hours of sleep the night before the race and ended up barely hanging on at the end, I felt very well rested for this one. Even though I wasn't in peak physical condition, I had done a great job with my sleep, my nutrition, and most importantly, keeping my anxiety levels down. I had a strategy and my goal was to execute it well. I was so wrapped up in work this week that it didn't even feel like a race was approaching.

Pre-Race
Greg and I opted out of the team dinner to meet my friend, Sara, who had flown in from Boston to run the race on my recommendation. We had a great time, and then walked back to our hotel. Before going to bed, Greg and I played Candy Crush Saga relaxed and I read to him from the book that we've been reading together.

I slept remarkably well. I typically have trouble sleeping the night before a race, but not last night. In fact, ever since my"Over It" revelation, I've been consistently sleeping well, so I wasn't even worried that I might not get a good night's sleep. The next morning, I ate my typical bagel with peanut butter and got ready for the race. Our hotel was just a five minute walk to the start, which was really nice.

Before the race

Once we got to the start area, we met up with some teammates and I made my way into the corral. I re-played my strategy in my mind. I would start out at a pace of around 8:05 for the first 3 miles and then try to run sub 8:00 for the remainder of the race. I had no idea if that was possible given my lack of training, but I thought it was a reasonable place to be.

Miles 1-4
The race started and the pace felt very easy. I wondered why it is that race pace feels so much easier on race day then it does in training. I guess there is something to that whole "race day magic" thing. I hadn't remembered that the sun would be shining directly into my face during most of this part. I suspected that the tall buildings would provide shade, but then again in years past I remember the race starting earlier. Today, it started at 8:00 which meant the sun was high in the sky from the get-go.

Mile 2 was when the sun was shining directly into my face and all the runners ahead of me looked like black silhouettes. I started to poor some water from my handheld bottle onto my head and thought that this would be a hot one. It was in the upper 50's, so it was by no means "hot", but I melt when it's sunny out so I told myself to just hang on until mile 6 when we'd run through a shaded park.

During the 4th mile, some of my teammates passed me. I knew that these girls would be running faster than me, but I tried to keep them in my sights at least for a little while. One of them asked me how I was doing and I told  her I was struggling a little bit, but I knew things would get better once I got into the shade.

I took my first gel at mile 4 and it went down easily. I used to always carry G2 sports drink in my handheld,

Mile 4

but after having stomach issues in my most recent marathon, I switched to water, and that worked really well for me today.

Mile 1: 7:57
Mile 2: 8:03
Mile 3: 8:10
Mile 4: 7:54

Miles 5-9
I saw Greg shortly after mile 4 and blew him a kiss. Some of my teammates were with him, cheering me on and it was a huge boost. At mile marker 5, I saw my coach and he told me to pay close attention to the tangents while running through the park. I heeded his advice, but ultimately ended up with 13.24 miles on my Garmin. The good news is that the discrepancy started with the very first mile marker so I think I did a decent job of not adding too much extra distance through the park.

Immediately after my coach was a good sized downhill and into the shade. Hallelujah! My race turned around almost instantly. I suddenly felt like I had hit my stride. The shade had a lot to do with this, but one thing I have always noticed about half marathons is that the race doesn't start to feel "good" until about mile 5-6. And then it gets hard again at mile 10. If my race goes well, then miles 5-10 are the glory period.

From mile 6 onward, I felt like this race was a net downhill. I felt like I kept running downhill and that sooner or later, I would pay for it with an uphill. The last mile was uphill and there was a short hill during mile 9, but otherwise, I didn't notice hardly any ups. This must have just been a mental thing, but I really felt like I was running downhill for most of the second half of the race. (This would actually be impossible because you finish very close to the area where you start.)

I really enjoyed this part of the race. I did look at my Garmin from time to time, but it was for informational purposes only. I knew I was running at the right pace for me.

Mile 5: 8:17
Mile 6: 7:57 (thank you, shade!)
Mile 7: 7:57
Mile 8: 8:02
Mile 9: 8:24 (this was the mile with the hill)

Miles 10-13.24
I was expecting it to get hard and I thought I would come out of the shade at mile 10. I was pleasantly surprised that the sun didn't hit until the last mile and that I actually felt really good! I think I could have pushed harder, but I was content with my pace and I didn't want to kill myself at this race and not be able to put a strong week of training in the following week. It definitely hurt, don't get me wrong, but I didn't have that death feeling that typically comes at the end of a half marathon. Maybe that's a good thing!

I actually surprised myself with my endurance. In training for this race, I had done a 12-miler and a 16-miler. And that was it for long runs. I was relying on my cross training and the long runs I had done in June before

Just before the finish line

my injury. I was able to hang onto my paces quite well, despite the minimal training and despite the rapidly rising temperature.

The last mile was uphill and in the sun, but I hung in there and pushed to a strong finish.

Mile 10: 8:05
Mile 11: 8:02
Mile 12: 7:58
Mile 13: 8:12
Last 0.24: (7:59 pace)

Final Thoughts and Takeaways
I liked this race and I thought I did really well! I was well rested, I didn't have stomach problems, I felt energized throughout, and I didn't let the negativity of how I felt during those early sunny miles determine my fate.

I enjoyed the experience of racing (although there were those hard times when I asked myself why I enjoyed putting myself through this!)

It was a good confidence booster for the Chicago marathon in four weeks. I will also be under-trained for that race but I am confident in my ability to execute well and have a positive experience, regardless of the finish time.

Oh, I should probably mention that my official time was 1:46:58. I slid in just under 1:47. I'm happy with it, given my minimal training and the fact that it was a sunny day in the upper 50's to low 60's. The cool thing is that I haven't even thought about my time much. It's just a number and it doesn't reflect how great I felt or how much fun I had!

I'm definitely glad I did this one and I look forward to going back next year.

My zebra loves my medal!

Over It.

Running didn't really happen for me in July due to a stress reaction in my left shin and some high hamstring tendonitis. For the month, I logged a grand total of 4 miles over the course of 3 runs-- all of them being "test runs". This morning I had a successful jog/walk session so I plan to start getting back into things next week.

I've been busy pool running, swimming and using the elliptical. I've been doing tempos and intervals on the elliptical, to the extent that I really feel it in my lungs and I am fairly certain that my VO2 max is being maintained. The effort is substantial and I am left feeling like I did a hard workout. I did a jog/walk this morning and the 9:30 pace felt like a 9:30 pace, so I am optimistic about where my fitness is. Definitely not obsessing over it since I know I will gain back eventually.

Where I've mainly been seeing progress is my mentality and attitude about running, and and about life in general. My primary goals for the year had little to do with training and running performance and mainly to do with mental strength. I think I've had a breakthrough. And the breakthrough is that I'm over it.

Worrying about what other people think of me-- I'm over it. Comparing my race times to others-- I'm over that too. Obsessing over getting every run in and following a training plan perfectly-- over that. Revolving my whole life and mental space around my next marathon and my training for it-- done with it.

I'm basically just sick of all the crap I put myself through in trying to improve my race times and it serves no

And if I don't run it perfectly, that's totally cool!

purpose. It's not going to make me a better runner. It's only going to undermine me and hurt me so why do I do it? It's okay that I took a month off of running. It's okay if I don't PR in Chicago. It's okay if I go for a year or two without setting a PR. Everything is my choice and nobody else cares about it to the extent that I do. Nobody is pressuring me to do any of these things except me. And I'm done with it.

That realization is so liberating and I can still remember the moment in the locker room of my building when it just kind of hit me. I had just finished an elliptical workout and I started to think about what my time off from running meant for me. But I just stopped short and realized that it doesn't matter to me the way it used to. It's my life and I can do whatever I want. I was exhausted from the elliptical. I was doing my best to maintain my fitness by doing activities that I didn't particularly enjoy and my best is good enough. Whatever happens in the fall is completely okay. And I honestly felt it, I didn't just force those thoughts into my brain because I know I'm "supposed" to be thinking along those lines.

One of my biggest roadblocks was that I never saw my line of thinking as being hurtful to me. In fact, I have always thought pretty highly of myself in terms of my hard work and motivation to accomplish things. It wasn't me who was hurting myself-- I was just reacting to the bad things that came my way.

When things didn't go well for me during a race, or really for most things in life, I would focus heavily on what went wrong and just wonder why I couldn't have what I wanted. This often led to post-marathon depression. I saw myself as sensitive and emotional about stuff, and that's just who I was. I couldn't help it if I got upset.

The breakthrough is that by focusing on these things that upset me-- I am hurting myself. Even though I'm not saying "Elizabeth you suck," by holding on to the disappointment and analyzing the situation over and over again, that's hurtful to me. If someone else had a race that didn't go well, I wouldn't spend hours talking them through all the details of how and why, and then comparing them to other people. That's not helpful. I'd want them to just move past it and get over it quickly.

Getting over it quickly doesn't mean you don't care or that you don't feel your emotions. It's just that you make the decision not to focus on things that hurt you. You make a decision to focus on things you can control and doing your best at those.

Many of my teammates ran a 1-mile race on a track a few weeks ago and I went to cheer them on. On the ride home, I started to feel a little sad that I was injured and unable to participate. And then I started wondering what my time would have been-- but very quickly I shut that down. I realized that I truly was "over it" and none of this mattered. I needed to focus on getting healthy again, period. And I drove all the way home feeling at peace with the fact that I didn't run and that I didn't speculate about what my time would have been. It was really nice.

I'm excited and curious to see how this breakthrough will look as I return to running. The best way I can describe it is a feeling of freedom. I feel free to do whatever I want and it's just okay.

Stuff Hurts

I was fully expecting my next blog post to be a race report from the Firecracker 5K on July 4th. I was going to talk about how my frozen lemonade experiment worked out, how focusing on even breathing helped to reduce all the noises I make, and how I ran my first "hot weather" sub-22:00 5K. But alas, I have nothing to report because I did not run the race.

Injured!
Just two days after my mile repeat workout, I noticed some pain in the lower calf/shin area a few miles into the long run. I kept running, hoping that it would go away, but it didn't.  I know that shin pain is nothing to mess around with so I headed home and ran only 7 miles. I was able to get an appointment with my sports doctor just two days later and he told me it was a bone irritation, on its way to a stress reaction or stress fracture. Sure enough, this is exactly how my shin felt in the weeks before I was formally diagnosed with multiple stress fractures back in 2011. And it was in a similar spot.

In addition to this bone issue, he told me I had "high hamstring tendonopathy" which is inflammation of the hamstring where it inserts to the butt. I had been feeling this problem for about a week prior, but I thought it was just general soreness/tightness and I wasn't too concerned. I basically feel this when I bend over to pick something off of the ground, or when I put pants/shorts on and have to stand on one leg while bending down.

My theory on how I got the shin problem (left shin) is that the right high hamstring area was bothering me while running so I altered my gait to strain the left leg. And my theory on how I got the hamstring issue was

that I started running higher mileage (averaged 54 miles per week in June) with the Mizuno Inspire as opposed to the Brooks Adrenaline that I had been wearing for years. My sports med doctor looked at my shoes and told me they were not nearly flexible enough and that certainly could have played a role.

My feet don't like Mizuno Inspires

Potentially the source of everything is the fact that the Mizuno Inspire was killing the ball of my foot. Once I started to get past 10 miles in these shoes, the balls of my right foot would start to hurt as if there wasn't enough padding. It was actually quite painful and it would make the run unenjoyable for those later miles. At first, I figured I would just develop a callous and get used to it, but that never happened and the ball of my foot started hurting even without the shoes on.

This ball of foot issue was the first "thing" that hurt me when everything else was 100% so I am thinking there might have been some sort of domino effect.


Recovery Plan
My doctor told me that I should run 1 mile per day to "load" the bone and stimulate healing. I waited a few days before taking this advice because I could feel it while walking around, and I didn't want to run until I was pain free. Once I started my daily 1-milers, I felt like it made the shin worse, so now I am back to not running at all. (It's now been two weeks since I first noticed this shin issue and stopped my normal training). The good news is that bones heal and heal well- they aren't nagging injuries so if I just take the time off and let it heal and gradually get back into it, I should make a full recovery within the next 2-3 weeks. Will I be in the best shape of my life for Chicago? Probably not. But I am hoping to be in decent shape so that I can successfully complete it and be able to have that experience.

Exercises for High Hamstring Tedonopathy

As for the high hamstring tendonitis, the doctor said that could take a long time, on the order of months, to heal. And of course I have read internet horror stories of it taking over a year. This is something that you can run through, but it will just prolong recovery. So in a way, it's good that the shin problem happened when it did because it forced me to take time off for my hamstring. My doctor prescribed exercises for this, which I have been doing every day, and he is also performing A.R.T.

I'll need to maintain the strengthening exercises, and move up to weight bearing stuff to make sure I am strong and don't get this injury again. Also, I will not be wearing the Mizuno Inspire for long runs. I will still wear it for runs up to 10 miles, like I had been doing for years, but I need to find another long run shoe. I could go back to the Adrenaline, but that shoe also feels stiff and is still probably too much support. I bought a pair of Asics 2000 which are nice and flexible and provide more support than the Inspire, but less than the Adrenaline. Another reason I hesitate to return to the Adrenaline is because I had been wearing a size 6 for years and lately I have been getting numb feet and black toenails from them. However, the size 6.5 really feels huge in the forefoot, so I just don't like how it feels.

Cross Training
The first week of these injuries (last week) I went to the pool almost every day for pool running and swimming. I was very determined to minimize any loss of fitness. This week, however, I started my new job and have not been able to fit in going to the pool. My commute has been about 1 hour each way because I am driving at peak rush hour and not able drive on 66 inside of the Beltway during those times. In a few weeks I will start "flexing" and hopefully cut my commute in half. I have been able to devote time to strengthening exercises, though, and I am feeling much better in both the shin and the butt.

This weekend and next week I plan to spend more time in the pool, and possibly on the elliptical if it doesn't bug the hamstring too much. I had worked myself up to 57 weeks in June and was on a "cutback" week when this injury hit me. Greg had urged me to take the cutback week sooner but I didn't think I needed it and I wanted to get in as many high mileage weeks as possible before starting the new job. I hadn't been injured in a year in a half (except for the mono) so I was feeling pretty confident about staying that way.

Positive Takeaways
I stopped running as soon as I felt this shin problem, so it could have been a lot worse. I could be looking at a stress fracture, which would definitely rule out Chicago. I was smart and conservative, and put my health above my desire to keep training at a high intensity.

I don't really know when I will be able to run again and at what intensity but I am surprisingly okay with that! For the first time since I started running, I am okay with not knowing when I will get better and just taking things one day at a time and doing my best to cross train. I think it's because I'm not so hung up on my time at Chicago. I really just want to be able to run the race injury-free and have a strong finish.

Also, I realize that I have more "separation" from running than I have in the past, which has been a goal of mine for the past year. Separation means that I don't define myself as a runner. Running is something I do, not who I am. Before, when I was really wrapping a lot of my identity into running, it would be heart breaking to not be able to run. But now, when I am taking the time to appreciate all aspects of who I am and what I have in my life, running is just a piece. It sucks that I can't run, but I know I will get better eventually and I'm doing the best I can right now.

Although the timing isn't great because I'm supposed to be training for Chicago right now, it's good in the sense that I didn't have the added pressure of trying to run a ton of miles during my first week at the new job. In addition to the long commute times, there have been happy hours and dinners galore, so the days have been extremely long. Enjoyable and exciting-- but also long and tiring. I was thankful that I was able to devote 100% of my mental and physical energy to getting to know my colleagues and diving right into my role.

Beating The Heat with a Frozen Drink Pre-run

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

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

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

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

Panera Frozen Lemonade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New Career Opportunity and Fitting It All In

I was very fortunate to have an amazing career opportunity fall in my lap recently. At first I wasn't interested in pursuing it because I was happy in my current job and didn't see a need to make a move. However, the company changed my mind when they told me about how rapidly they were growing and how my role in marketing could really have an impact on that growth. I did some research and discovered that this was one of the "hottest" companies in the DC metro area and ranked across the board as a fantastic place to work. And they wanted me!

After a day of interviews with some of their senior leadership, I realized that this would be an amazing opportunity in so many ways. The people were all highly intelligent and driven, I would have a good sized team reporting to me, everyone seemed to really embrace the company's mission, and the company was a pioneer in its space. It's a young culture-- most of the employees are in their 20's, bringing a fresh perspective, and are eager to grow/learn.

Only this type of career opportunity could prompt me to change my lifestyle by exchanging my 20-minute,

no-traffic commute to one where I would potentially be sitting in traffic for over two hours each day. Thankfully, they have flex time and told me that I would be able to work from home once a week. It's definitely an office I would want to go into-- a fully stocked kitchen with organic fruits and veggies and juices. Catered lunches. A lounge area with couches where people hold meetings. Super casual attire. And a team of really energized people. I just needed to figure out how to best use the flex time.

Before I went into my interviews, I spent quite awhile "digesting" the possibility of this commute. Even though

This is typical traffic for the road I would need to take.

 the job is only 22 miles away, in rush hour, this would take 60-90 minutes each way, depending on how bad the traffic was. And actually, an hour-long commute wouldn't bother me too much if I was moving. But I have very little tolerance for traffic. I worked out all the various scenarios in my head of when I would come and go, which roads I would take, and when/where the running would occur.

Current Schedule

For the past few years, I have been waking up without an alarm at around 5:30, starting my runs at around 6:00, finishing at around 7:15, taking some post-run recovery time, showering, getting ready for work, and leaving at around 8:15. This gets me into work before 9:00. I work a full day, leave at a reasonable hour and have no traffic on the 20-minute drive home. Pretty simple and stress-free.

Monday: Medium long run (easy pace)

Tuesday: Intervals at the local track

Wednesday: Rest day

Thursday: Tempo run

Friday: Easy run

Saturday: Long run

Sunday: Easy run

Potential New Schedule

There won't be much "wiggle room" here and everything will have to be timed pretty precisely for things to work out. The goal is to get all my runs in, avoid rush hour traffic, and put in a full work week. I could not even imagine what I would do if I had kids!

Monday:  Easy run in the evening. Wake up at 5:00. Get ready for work. Leave the house at 5:40am, avoid most of the traffic, get into work at around 6:15. Work 9 hours (straight through lunch), leave at 3:15 to be able to take the HOV lanes inside of the beltway, get home at around 4:00. Run. Dinner. Relax. Bedtime at 8:30-9:00. 

For July and August, this evening run might need to be on a treadmill at a gym near my house. It can easily be in the 90's at 4:00, so I will have to seek out a treadmill for the summer months if that is the case. I would be done with the run and ready to have dinner with Greg by 5:30.

Tuesday: Intervals with my team in Arlington. Leave the house at 5:20am, avoid all of the traffic, arrive at the track just before 6:00. (The track is located close to my office). Run the intervals. Drive to my office, which has a locker room with showers, get ready for work, start the work day at 8:15. Work 7 hours (straight through lunch), leave at 3:15 and get home at 4:00. Work some more. Dinner. Relax. Bedtime!

I have now averaged 8 hours a day in the office, plus some additional time at home on Tuesday after work. Are we tired yet?

Wednesday: Rest day. Follow the same schedule as Monday (9 hours in the office), only no running in the evening. Instead, do some extra work when I get home while waiting for Greg to get home. 

Thursday: Medium Long Run & Work From Home.  Thursday is my day to really pack in the miles because I don't need to commute or even worry about doing my hair or makeup. I could run as many as 14 miles in the morning and still work a full day. From a work perspective, this would be the day when I focused on strategy and planning and documenting things that might be hard to do with my team around me. The office is one of those open environments where there are no cubicles and only the top 5-6 executives actually have offices. So it will be nice to have some quiet time for things that require a great deal of focus without interruption. I imagine I would be working more than 8 hours this day, too!

Friday: Tempo run with my team in Arlington. Repeat the Tuesday schedule. 7 hours in the office to balance out Wednesday's 9. 

Saturday: Long Run. I normally give myself an easy day between tempo and long run, but I have successfully run 20+ milers the day after a strong tempo, so I am not really worried. I do not want to become a Sunday long runner because I like to get it done with first thing and then relax for the rest of the weekend.

Sunday: Easy Run. If I am feeling good, I can maybe tack on the few miles that I missed from Monday's run because it was too hot to do the whole thing or I got bored on the treadmill. :-)

I think this schedule is completely workable. I know that there will be very little traffic to contend with on Tuesday and Friday mornings because I have done those workouts many times in the past. Hopefully leaving just 20 minutes later on the other days won't make things completely change. I also don't know what the commute home will look like. I think that my 3:15 departure will help me avoid most traffic and get me home by 4:00.  

The company's fully stocked kitchen will help in terms of me not having to worry about packing breakfasts and snacks and such. The locker room is also a huge help. Plus, there's a gym inside of the building in case I ever need a treadmill before or after work. This might come in handy in the winter.

In terms of the career opportunity, it's an amazing one and I plan to work really hard and put in extra hours at home when needed. I do believe that working more hours doesn't equate with better quality work, but I realize that sometimes longer hours are needed to get the job done. I prefer to be as efficient as possible during the workday so I can take full advantage of my relaxation time, and then be able to focus on working efficiently the next day. 

I'll end with a funny story. I had all of my interviews back-to-back in one single day. Within 30 minutes of leaving the office, they called me and told me they would be extending me an offer. I called Greg, told him all about it, and he was really happy for me. That evening, a pair of running shoes that I had ordered online arrived on the front porch in a white box. As I carried them inside, Greg asked me what the box was. I said, jokingly, "it's my job offer". He said something to the effect of "Really! Wow!" And then I told him I was totally kidding. How could they have mailed me something that fast? But Greg reminded me that this was a pretty innovative company.

Then a few days later, a white box of the same size arrived at the door step and Greg brought it into the house. "What's that?" I said. "It's your job offer," he replied. I totally didn't believe him. I thought it must be something else I ordered online and forgot about. But then he said "seriously, it's from them." I opened the box and it was a congratulatory bottle of champagne! How ironic! And what a nice touch from the company. 

The new job starts on July 8, so I am going to enjoy the last few weeks of my current job and the relaxed running schedule. And then, my new journey begins! 

Running in the Outer Banks

Greg and I were in the Outer Banks of North Carolina this week on vacation. We were supposed to be there from Sunday-Sunday, but a tropical storm came through and booted us out. It wasn't a mandatory evacuation, but we realized on Thursday evening that Friday and Saturday would not be suitable beach days with rain, thunderstorms, and high winds. So we left last night and beat the traffic and downpour that we would have undoubtedly faced today or tomorrow.

Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich

When we arrived on Sunday, the first order of business was lunch. I had read great reviews online about the Blue Moon Beach Grill, so when we passed it on the road, I suggested we stop. I loved this place. I normally shy away from fried food, but I had to make an exception in this case and get a soft-shell crab sandwich. It was huge, fried, and wonderful. Their fries are made fresh to order and were some of the best I ever had.

After lunch, we went to the grocery store and stocked up on food. We were renting a condo that had a full kitchen so we wanted to take advantage of that. We finally arrived at the condo, unpacked the car and were ready to relax.

We ate dinner on our balcony which faced the ocean. It was a spectacular view and the weather was beautiful.

Monday: 10 Miles Easy
My first order of business on Monday morning was to get my run in before the sun got too high in the sky. It was a rest day for Greg, who is coming back from injury, so I was alone for this run. Our condo was conveniently located at the start of a bike/walking path that ran next to the "Beach Road". It was pancake flat and far enough from the road to be safe.

The first half of this run was directly into a sustained headwind of about 15 miles per hour. Any fantasies I had about one day running the Outer Banks marathon quickly faded as I realized how windy it could get. It was also warm and humid, but the clouds gave me relief from any sun. I was so happy to turn around after five miles and have the wind at my back. It turned into a completely different run.

The Ship's Wheel "Hot Cakes"

Afterwards, Greg and I had breakfast at the Ship's Wheel restaurant, across the street from our condo. According to my father, they make "the world's greatest hot cakes". I hadn't had them in nearly 10 years, and it was nice to have them again. That's the great thing about logging high mileage on vacation-- you can eat as much of the yummy, unhealthy food as you want!

Unfortunately, it rained for the entire rest of the day, so we got no beach time. We walked around some shopping plazas, and I even built a zebra at one of those "Build-A-Bear" type places.

We bought fresh scallops from a local seafood market for dinner, and had dinner inside the condo, as it was still raining. I didn't mind the rain too much, I was just happy to be on vacation with Greg.

Tuesday: 7.2 miles, including 6 x 800m
Greg suggested that we look to see if there was a nearby track. I initially thought I would just skip intervals

The 6th 800m interval

this week, but when we found a track just three miles away, I was happy to get them in.

I warmed up for a mile and a half and then started the intervals. The first 3 intervals were hot and sunny. And then some clouds rolled in which cooled me down a little, but also brought winds. Even though I was a bit cooler, the wind prevented me from going any faster on the next 3 intervals. In cool, non-windy weather, I consistently run 800's between 3:15-3:20. On Tuesday, my times were 3:25-3:30, which I think is good given the weather.

It was Greg's first interval workout since his injury so he only did 3 of them, and then took photos of me afterwards. It felt awesome to have those intervals out of the way! I was pleased with my performance-- especially after having run 10 miles the day before.

Afterwards, we found a coffee shop where they had fancy coffee drinks, like "S'mores" and "The Somoan" (like the Girl Scout cookie). Why can't they have places like that around here? I decided on the S'mores and went back the next day for the Somoan.

Mutiny Bay Mini Golf

Finally, after having been in the Outer Banks for nearly 48 hours, it was time to go on the beach! It was a windy day, but sunny. I was insistent on getting a tan and I sprayed SPF 15 all over myself. Unfortunately, spray sunscreen doesn't work very well when it's windy outside so I ended up with a pretty nasty burn on my knee and upper shin, as well as parts of my back.

We went out for dinner that evening and then played miniature golf. It totally reminded me of my childhood when I just loved miniature golf. It was one of my most favorite things about the beach.

Wednesday: Rest Day!
Wednesday was National Running Day, and I didn't run. I don't think I have run on the past few National Running Days either. Wednesday is typically a rest day for me, so I think of it as proper recovery so that I can continue to run un-injured. Plus, one of my friends called me that afternoon looking for training advice for  her next half marathon and so I was able to help her with her running. Greg, however, got in a nice 5-miler while I relaxed inside the condo.

Wednesday was another nice day at the beach, although a bit windy. Greg stayed sheltered under the umbrella and I smothered myself in sunscreen (not the spray kind) in hopes of evening out my burn/tan. I put SPF 50 on the areas that were burned, and 15 on the areas that were not. This worked somewhat, but not entirely. We were out in the sun for about 4 hours, and spent the rest of the day relaxing inside.

Thursday: 8.8 miles, including 4 tempo
Thursday was tempo day. I woke up naturally at around 5:30 and was out the door at around 6:00. It was a rest day for Greg, so I was on my own again. The sun was strong and I was very glad that I got out when I did, while the oceanfront properties were shielding me from the sun. It was about 70 degrees and humid.

I ran on the same path as Monday-- 4.4 out and 4.4 back. I knew I had run 7.2 on Tuesday, so this was my way of rounding things out. The first 2.4 miles were a warm up and the last 2.4 miles were a cool down. The middle tempo miles were 7:44, 7:40, 7:44, 7:38. I focused on keeping my heart rate in the LT zone and everything felt great. I loved running on such a flat, straight surface with no turns. My typical tempo route has some inclines and turns, so this was a nice change. Thankfully, it wasn't windy. I definitely think I am acclimating to the warmer weather, because this is only about 20-25 seconds per mile slower than my "cool weather" tempo pace. A few weeks ago, I was about 45 seconds per mile slower.

It felt great to have the tempo run out of the way. I didn't waste any time post-run heading straight to the

beach. I knew that it was only going to be sunny in the morning hours and I wanted to enjoy it as much as possible while I could.

Thursday morning was the nicest beach weather we had. High 70's and not much wind. Greg finally wasn't cold underneath the shade of his umbrella. A good portion of our beach time was spent with me reading a book aloud to Greg. Yes, he knows how to read, but this was good bonding for us. Plus, I enjoy reading out loud. Remarkably, I have read him over 250 pages of a 900 page book. We plan to keep  it going until the book is finished.

Later in the day, it started to rain and reports of Tropical Storm Andrea were all over the news. They weren't evacuating, but we knew that Friday and Saturday wouldn't be beach-able. So we made an on-the-spot decision to leave and hopefully beat the traffic and weather.

Friday: 5.5 miles easy
This morning we were back running around our local streets. It was sad to have cut the vacation short, but we still took the day off work and spent it relaxing together.

All in all, it was a relaxing and fun vacation with some new running scenery to boot!

Ringing In Summer

On Monday, I ran my 4th Ringing In Hope 10K. Don't be deceived by the number-- this race occurs multiple times per year, and sometimes on different courses.

I typically write a race report within hours of finishing the race so my memory is fresh and that I can have "closure" and move on with my day. In the case of this race, I knew that my report would be overshadowed by feelings of frustration and disappointment, so I waited until I could think more rationally and positively about my performance.

I ran the 5K version of this race last Memorial Day and it was so sweltering hot that I had decided I wouldn't return again. But when the forecast came out for low humidity and relatively cooler temperatures, I changed my mind and decided to go for it. I had also sworn off racing the 10K distance in warm weather (with the exception of Laywers Have Heart-- which I do every year). However, the forecast was for 54 and sunny at the start, 60 at the finish with the sun rising quickly. I thus opted for the 10K thinking that my performance would only be impacted slightly by the heat.

I didn't really have a goal in mind for this race. I ran this exact course on New Year's eve in 45:57 and figured I was probably in similar shape now. I decided not to look at my Garmin and I was just going to run by feel, since that has worked for me in shorter races in the past. I had no idea if the weather would affect me or how much, so I figured that trying to run a certain pace wouldn't be smart-- I would just feel the race.

Before the Race
In the days before the race, I made sure to hydrate well. I drank plenty of water as well as coconut water to make sure I had enough electrolytes. When I ran this 10K back in 2011, I suffered from heat exhaustion and was dizzy/spacey for awhile after the race was over. I theorized that I was drinking enough water, but perhaps not getting enough electrolytes so I since made that a priority.

I dressed in a sports bra, shorts, visor and sunglasses. I knew the sun would be strong, so I wanted to keep it off of my face. When Greg and I arrived to the race, it was actually chilly in the shade, but warm in the sun.  I think if this race had started at 7:00 as opposed to 8:10, things would have been a lot different for me. I wasn't obsessing about the weather, as I used to do, however. I had made a conscious decision to run the 10K instead of the 5K because I thought the weather wouldn't be warm enough to slow me down significantly. I was mentally prepared, physically rested, hydrated and ready to go.

My warmup was just under two miles, and I was feeling great. Afterwards, I met up with my friend Liz, who I had seen just two weeks prior at the Angel Kisses 5K. Liz was running the 5K at this event, too and she told me that they were starting the 5K at 8:00 and the 10K at 8:10. This wasn't advertised anywhere on the website or in information emails, but I figured it wouldn't change things too much and might even be better because I would know who was in my race versus the 5K. I cheered for Liz as she crossed the start line and then chatted with Greg as we waited for my race to start. Greg, who is still recovering from a foot injury, was prepared to take photos of me and hand me a bottle of water at the halfway point.

Mile 1: 7:23 
This race features a long, gradual uphill during the first mile. I always tell myself not to go out too fast on it and to save up for later in the race. I ran up the hill at what felt like a conservative effort for a 10K, and then sped up when it came time for the downhill. I noticed that there weren't very many women ahead of me in the first mile. Maybe 4-5. This worried me in thinking that I had gone out too fast, but everything felt good.

Miles 2-3: 7:41, 7:58
At the end of the first mile and for the entire 2nd and 3rd miles, I was dodging 5K runners. I hadn't thought about this when I learned of the different start times. Typically everyone starts at the same time so I am not passing slower 5K runners/walkers on the first loop. Potentially a few 5K walkers on the second loop, but

The end of mile 3, 5K runners in background

they are all spread out by that point. Instead, I spent my entire 2nd and 3rd miles passing people, yelling "passing" as I ran through very narrow areas of runners. No doubt I was expending extra mental and physical energy here, and it was extremely annoying. There were large families with kids all over the course and nobody was telling the 5K runners to keep to one side or the other. There were several occasions where I just had to plow my way through and yell "sorry" as I brushed against people. It was crowded and I had no other choice. Other 10K runners were doing the same.

The last half of the third mile is a long, gradual uphill. Weaving through people at this point was draining me and at the same time I started to feel really winded and tired out by the heat and sun beating down on me. I had been closely following this one runner since the start of the race, and I watched as she made her way up the hill, keeping my eye on her for motivation and reminding myself of the pace I wanted to be running. When everyone around you is going up a hill at a pace that's 3-4 minutes per mile slower than you, it's hard to stay motivated to run your fastest. Looking at my 7:58 split after the race confirmed that this mile really took its toll on me. For reference, my half marathon pace from Disney last January (which was 60, humid, but no sun) was around 7:50. My Love Rox half marathon pace was even faster in cooler weather.

Finally, I saw Greg at the top of the hill, who handed me a water bottle. I took a few gulps and poured the rest over my head. It felt awesome.

Miles 4-6: 7:53, 7:48, 8:10
It wasn't long before I felt hot again and I was confronted with the same hill from the first loop. Instead of trying to be conservative, I was just trying to survive my way up it, trying to not fall too far behind that woman in the orange shirt who I had in my sight in the first mile. I felt like I was bonking and I was doing my best just to hang on. I was wondering if everyone in the race was feeling this awful but when two women passed me (one during the 4th mile and one during the 5th mile) it didn't seem like they were struggling.

My motivation for the last two miles was just to keep my placing and try to win an Age Group award. I actually caught up to the woman in the orange shirt during the 5th mile and we ran next to each other, but then she got ahead again and I simply couldn't keep up. She looked like she was in my age group, but also sort of looked like a newbie, and I thought that on any other day I could probably easily beat her.

I took some water from a water station and poured it over myself. It felt good, but I was still feeling so exhausted and worn down by the heat. Finally, it was time for that last long uphill. I knew the race would be over soon and I knew I just had to get up the hill and I would be almost done. That other woman was about 10 seconds ahead of me. The woman who passed me in mile 5 was about 20 seconds ahead of me. Liz was cheering for me at the top of the hill and it motivated me to keep giving 100%.

Greg yelled "you're in 7th place" as I was approaching the finish line. I gave it all I had, but I couldn't close the gap between myself and either of the women ahead of me.

After The Race
I felt miserable. I was so exhausted physically and happy that the race was over. Liz and Greg found me and

Liz and me post race

got me a water. I asked Liz how she did and she said she won the 5K. First place! I was so happy for her. I figured I probably won something too, just because Greg said I was 7th overall- not because I considered my time to be competitive.

Liz got her award for winning the 5K and we waited for the 10K results to be posted. I saw that I got 2nd place in my age group with a time of 48:29. The woman ahead of me finished in 48:19- exactly 10 seconds, just as I thought. She took first in the age group.


About 5-10 minutes after I finished, I started seeing black spots and getting dizzy. This happened to me after the Nike Women's half marathon, which was also sunny and warm at the end. This continued off and on for a little bit but eventually went away after spending some time seated in the shade.

I ended up winning a $25 gift certificate to a local running store, which almost covers my race entry. I had mixed emotions about the whole thing. I would have been much happier with second place if the first place winner had been farther ahead of me. But the fact that I was tailing her the entire time and she looked like somewhat of a newbie annoyed me. I was frustrated that the heat sucked so much energy out of me that I wasn't able to trim off 10 seconds from my time.

My average pace was 7:48. By way of comparison, I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April at a pace of 7:37, and that race was windy.

Takeaways
Unfortunately, it took me awhile to be able to focus on the positives from this race. In the hours after the race I felt frustrated and disappointed. Even though I knew I ran the best race I had in me and that I prepared well, it was disheartening to learn how much slower I am in 60 degree, sunny weather. It's not that hot. This kind of weather is perhaps the toughest for me to deal with mentally. If it were 80 degrees, then everyone would have been affected. If it were really windy, then everyone would have been affected. I have others around me to "validate" that the race was tough due to weather. But in this 60-degree sunny weather, it seems like I am the only one affected to such an extent.

I was also disappointed that I couldn't just shake it off and move past it quickly. This is something I've been getting really good at lately-- focusing on the positive and not letting a poor performance get me down. This race was different and it made me realize I need to keep working on staying positive and process-focused.

• I gave 100% effort and there is no way I could have pushed harder.
• Based on my splits, I probably went out too fast. This wouldn't have been too fast for cooler weather- but the first mile was obviously cooler than the last few
• I was the 7th overall female (out of 167) and 2nd in my age group of 30-39. 
• The best way to acclimate to warm weather is to put out a hard effort in warm weather. Hopefully my next hot race this summer will be easier.
• I was good about hydrating in the days before the race and the morning of
• I was happy for my friend and teammate, Liz, to win the 5K race
• I felt really supported by Greg
• Next year, it's back to the 5K!

Running Shoes Re-visited

Today is a landmark day as I went for my final run in the Brooks Adrenaline. I've been wearing this shoe for over 8 years, with 37 pairs accounted for in my training log.

The Early Years as a Fitness Runner
I started running back in 2001 as a way to stay fit. I was a treadmill runner and from about 2001-2005 my standard routine was a mile warmup, 30-40 mins of weight lifting, and then 4-5 additional miles on the treadmill. The runs were always at tempo effort. I didn't know what "tempo effort" was, but I just tried to run pretty hard to make sure I was getting the most out of my workout. And I did this 5 days a week! There were two reasons why I never attempted to go further than five miles at a time. First, my sports bra would chafe me horribly and I hadn't discovered body glide. After 5 miles, I could no longer tolerate it. Second, the bottoms of  feet would hurt me.

For shoes, I would go to Modell's, a discount athletic store, and buy whatever New Balance shoe felt the best. I chose New Balance because my college roommate seemed to like that brand, so I figured it would be good. I changed them about every six months. Miraculously, I was never injured.

Transition to Racing
At around the same time I started racing, a runner friend of mine suggested that I get properly fitted for running shoes. I went to Metro Run and Walk, a local running store, and was told I needed a stability shoe. The Brooks Adrenaline felt the best of everything I tried on. With that shoe, I realized I could go further than five miles without my feet hurting. Shortly after the new shoes came the discovery of body glide- which meant that my sports bra chafing wasn't going to hold me back.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6

In 2005, the Adrenaline GTS 5 was the current model. And when the 6 came out, I liked that even more.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6- Ready for the Marathon

But when the 7 came out, my knee immediately started to hurt. I thought I was injured until  I went back to wearing the GTS 6 and realized that it was the shoe that was causing the knee issue. Thus, I stockpiled. I went to every website on the whole Internet and bought every GTS 6 I could find. When the GTS 8 came out, I realized I could wear that shoe without my knee hurting, but I still preferred the 6. So my stock of 6's became reserved for half marathons and marathons only. Lasting me all the way through 2011, at which point my coach told me they were too old to run in.

Mizuno Wave Elixir: It Must Be Love
As much as I loved the Adrenaline, I found another shoe that fit me even better. In 2008, I discovered the Mizuno Wave Elixir, a lightweight shoe with stability. My foot is on the narrower side of normal, and Mizuno shoes are known for being narrow. I loved the way it felt to run in this shoe. But I was afraid that the lack of support would contribute to injury, so I reserved the shoe for speed work, 5K's and 10K's only.

In 2011, as I started doing longer track workouts, I realized I'd probably be okay for a 10-mile race in the Elixirs. I successfully wore them for a 10-miler, and then tried them out in a half marathon and the support was definitely sufficient.

Goodbye Foot Slapping and Heel Striking
In 2011, I noticed that my gait was starting to change. In the summer of that year, I started working with my coach and during our first long run, he told me that I was a foot slapper and I shouldn't be making that noise when I ran. He didn't provide any tips for stopping it, so I just tried to be more aware of doing it.

I think that my regular track workouts contributed to a more efficient stride and within a few months, I was no longer a foot slapper. I am not sure what I changed specifically, but I no longer hear the noise while running.

In 2012, I started to realize that I was no longer a heel striker. This wasn't a conscious change, it just happened naturally. Here is a progression of race photos which shoes my transition from heel strike to mid-foot strike.

Richmond Half Marathon, 2008

Potomac River Marathon, 2010- Heel strike not as pronounced

Crystal City 5K, 2012- Midfoot strike

Angel Kisses 5K 2013- Midfoot strike

The Search for A New Shoe
At the beginning of this year, I was starting to feel like the Adrenalines were heavy and bulky on my feet. I continued to wear them for long runs because they were the only shoes I trusted would carry me the distance without injury. I had also been rotating in the Mizuno Inspire, which is a compromise between the Adrenaline and the Elixir. It has more support than the Elixir, but not as much bulk and pronation control as the Adrenaline. It felt better on my foot than my Adrenaline, but I was worried it was just not enough shoe for the 20-milers and the marathon itself. Nothing could pull me away from my trusty Adrenalines!

Recently, I went to two local running stores for an updated recommendation. I actually hadn't been fitted for a shoe since 2005, and I was curious to see what they would say. The first store told me I would be fine in a neutral shoe, and the second told me I have slight pronation, so I needed a light stability shoe. Both stores advised that the Adrenaline was too much stability control and that it wasn't ideal for me.

Another interesting bit of information I uncovered was that my Adrenalines were too small on me. Sure, I frequently lost toe nails and my feet would almost always go numb. But I thought that was normal. And when I had tried on the larger size, it felt too big. Once the running store rep pointed this out to me, everything made sense. How wonderful would  it be to not have numb feet and loose toenails after a long run!!!

My Mizuno Inspires and Mizuno Elixirs were not too large on me. I bought those in a half size larger than the Adrenaline because they were narrow and fit better at a larger size.

So I had my answer. No more Brooks Adrenaline. The Mizuno Inspire will be my shoe for daily training and the Elixir will continue to be used for speed work and racing. But what about the two pairs of Adreanlines I have left that have low mileage on them? I figured I could still wear them on recovery days, like today.

But I was wrong. I don't know if it's mental or what, but my run in the Adrenalines today was simply unbearable due to how tight they felt. Unless my feet have somehow adapted to the properly-sized Mizunos, there isn't a good explanation for it. I actually cut my recovery run short this morning because the Adrenalines  were hurting my feet. How ironic is it that the shoe that once enabled me to go far beyond five miles, is now limiting me to five miles?! So I must say goodbye to those shoes forever now, and open a new chapter of running with solely Mizunos.

This Is What Strong Feels Like

This morning I ran my 2nd Angel Kisses 5K in Chantilly, VA. My favorite thing about this race is that it's just over 2 miles from my house-- 2.3 miles to be exact. The perfect distance for a warm up and cool down. No worrying about parking, traffic, getting there an hour early, etc. Just a nice jog to the start line from my house and a nice jog back afterwards.

Greg and I had been doing our long run a few years ago and noticed the race taking place, so we decided to run it last year for the first time. And now, we're hooked!

I knew that I wasn't in the best shape physically going into this race. I had only done about 3 speed workouts in the past two months, and that's if you include the Cherry Blossom 10-miler as a workout! Everything else was easy running and low mileage as I felt like my body was asking for a break. The plan is to keep things light and easy for the rest of May and then start packing on the miles in June.

I did want to be prepared for this race, though, so I had done some hill sprints on one of the course's larger hills. On Tuesday of this week and Tuesday of last week, I had run to the race course and done some sprints up the hill. I told myself that I would NOT be running the hill as quickly as these sprints during the race, and the point of these sprints was to make the hill seem more manageable during the race.

Before the Race
Things  have calmed down for me a bit since the blow-up at the Nike Women's Half marathon and I've been sleeping well lately. Going into the race I felt rested, energized, well-hydrated, and relaxed.

We left our house at about 7:20 for the 8:00 start. Greg has been battling a foot injury-- which we think is a strained ligament. He hasn't run in four weeks, and was hoping that today he'd feel good enough to do the 5K. But unfortunately, the jog to the race aggravated his foot, and now it hurts more than it did previously. Instead, he played the role of cheerleader/photographer.

When we got to the race, I was pleasantly surprised to find Linda and Kathy there, who I pool run with regularly. Both of them would be running with their kids in celebration of Mother's day. One of my teammates, Liz, was also there, so it was nice to be surrounded by a group of runners I was friends with.

My strategy was to take the first hill (which measured 0.3 mile when I was doing the sprints) easy. To not get pulled out by all the little kids. And then gun it on the downhill afterwards. I was not going to look at the Garmin until after the race was over-- just like last year.

My time from last year was 22:24, which was good for first place in my age group (30-39). Given that today was windy and I wasn't in as good of shape as I was last year, I thought that my chances of beating it were slim. But I wanted to come close! After seeing Liz, I knew that she would end up taking the 30-39 win, so my hope was to come in second.

Mile 1: 7:06
I really tried to hold back on this hill, but I probably didn't hold back as much as I should have. Lots of little kids shot out at a fast pace and probably took me with them. I focused on my form and remembering that

The end of Mile 1

this should feel easier then all the sprints I did. The entire first mile is a loop, so I also focused on staying as close to the inside as possible. After getting to the top of the hill, it was time for the long downhill. I knew Greg would be there with his camera, and it was nice to have him cheering for me as I passed.

Mile 2: 7:20
More hills, which I expected. During this mile, I was really gaining on this one woman, who I remembered from last year. I remember that last year, she was significantly ahead of me, so I was excited to be catching up with her. When we reached mile marker three, we were neck-and-neck. The mile hurt a lot, as is typical in a 5K. I developed a new mantra on the spot "this is what strong feels like". I was working so hard and everything just hurt to be exerting that kind of effort, but I refused to back off and kept thinking "this is what strong feels like." Pushing through the pain- demanding that my body give everything that it possibly can for just over 20 minutes.

Mile 3: 7:26
That woman got ahead of me again and I had her in my sights for the rest of the race, but I couldn't catch her. She looked extremely fit. Very toned, very strong and I actually was surprised that I was even in her league. I knew she wasn't in my age group, so I wasn't extremely motivated to beat her-- I just wanted to keep her close. This is where the wind really got me, and all the other runners I talked to afterwards. There was a long straightaway directly into a headwind, and of course, up a hill. It was like a losing battle going up the hill and fighting the wind. I remember how hard that last hill was last year without the wind. This was grueling, but I pushed forward. This is what strong feels like!!! If this mile didn't have a nice downhill finish, I probably would have averaged way slower. According to my Garmin data, I was running about an 8:15 up that hill into the wind, but then once the downhill came, I was in the 6:20's.

Last 0.1: This is what strong looks like!

Last 0.14: (6:14 pace)
Once the finish line was in sight, I focused on it and ran as fast as I could to it. I saw the clock as I was coming through and was slightly disappointed. I realized that I didn't beat last year's time even though I had given it my all. I didn't let it bother me, though. I knew I gave 100% and that the wind was truly a force to reckon with.

I finished in a time of 22:46. This was 22 seconds slower than last year, but still good for second place in my age group.

After the Race
Liz and I ran about a mile cool down and then we met back up with Greg and our other friends. The food at this race is really good-- fresh muffins and bagels and cookies! Greg had downloaded this special app for his phone that allowed him to take like 20 photos per second, so he showed me what he had taken.

I was pretty sure I came in second in my age group, and that was confirmed once the awards started. My friend Linda won her age group too! I ended up with a $15 gift certificate to a local running store. Greg and I  started walking back to our house when he told me he didn't think he'd be able to run at all. I ran home, got the car, and then picked him up. :-( I feel so badly for him.

Key Takeaways

• I gave 100% effort during this race, which is always the best you can hope for
• It was nice not looking at my Garmin during the race, and it turns out that my pacing was similar to last year (6:58, 7:17, 7:18). 
• I think the wind probably took about 10-15 seconds off of my time
• I was very happy with my AG award
• This course is pretty hilly- definitely not a course a PR on.
• I really loved that Kathy, Liz and Linda were all there. It was great to have that camaraderie and it was really nice to cool down with Liz.
• I will plan on making this race an annual tradition- the best part is getting to run to and from the start line!

As I said above, I am still in "break" mode for the next two weeks and then I will start ramping up again. I'll probably run some more 5Ks in the next month or so, but I am not sure which ones.

Elizabeth's dominate the 30-39 bracket!

Spring 2013: Season in Review

After the Nike Women's half marathon last week, I consider spring racing season over. I spent the winter months building up mileage, putting in the weekly tempos and intervals, and then I backed off the training to taper/recover for my spring races.

I had my most successful training cycle ever and as a result, became faster than I had ever been previously. The lack of injuries and relatively tame weather enabled me to consistently complete workouts. About 90% of my runs went well, or even exceeded expectations and there was only a small percentage where I felt "off". For the runs that didn't go well, I brushed them off and was feeling good within days. I saw paces on my track workouts, tempo runs and long runs that I had never seen before, while not "racing" the workouts- but doing them within the prescribed range and heart rate zone. I peaked in early February and then tackled an aggressive race schedule.

January: Disney World Half Marathon

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

February: Love Rox Half Marathon

March: Bright Beginnings 5K

March: B&A Trail Marathon

April: Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

April: Nike Women's Half Marathon 

For each month from January through April, I raced a half marathon distance or longer. I can see now that I wore myself out, which is why by the time Nike and Cherry Blossom arrived, I didn't have much left. 

I backed off my training quite a bit in March and April, but I don't think I allowed myself enough time to recover post-marathon. I figured that since I wasn't sore, I could run and not get injured. But recovering from a marathon isn't just about your legs-- it's a whole-body thing, and I wasn't aware of how much I exerted myself during that race since my average race pace was my "easy" pace. I saw it as a 26-mile run at easy pace, something that should only take 3-4 days to recover from. I think my legs saw it that way, but my system as a whole didn't see it that way!

There are many angles from which I can review this racing season. I've been working very hard to look at it in a positive light, to value my hard work and training and to feel accomplished that I gave 100% of myself at each of these races. 

It can be a struggle, though. I am not naturally inclined to be process-focused-- I am naturally inclined to look at my race times and see failure. As I try to have a more positive outlook on my racing, I sometimes find my demons fighting back at me. Avoidance is not a strategy and if I try to ignore the negativity, I think it will ultimately bubble up in some other form later on down the line.

In the spirit of non-avoidance, here are the "demons" that I am battling:

• Even though I was in the best shape of my life, I only got one PR.
• The marathon PR I got was nice, but I still didn't perform to my full physical capacity.
• All that fantastic training, and nothing to show for it.
• My teammates and running friends are all setting PRs and improving. I am not.

This is me-- looking for failure and finding it. I know that thinking about my racing season in this light will only set me up for failure in the future because it's killing my confidence. I would do better to think about each of the bullet points this way:

• My one PR was the marathon, which was the "goal race" that all the training was geared for. The other races were not target races.
• The marathon PR was very significant because I hadn't PRed that distance in 4 years. I had been struggling with anxiety and DNFing. I finished this race strong and worked hard to deal with my race anxiety. It's unrealistic to expect that after years of anxiety-ridden races, I am just going to break out of it suddenly with a 3:30. My mental abilities still need to catch up with my physical abilities and I am showing progress.
• I didn't do the training to have "something to show for it". I know that I worked hard in my training. I know that I consistently got faster as the weeks went by. I had mono for most of last summer and it a lot of patience, focus and dedication to get back to my previous level of fitness, and even exceed it. This training cycle has given me the confidence to do even more with the next training cycle.
• Some of these teammates and running friends haven't been running as long as I have, so they have more room for improvement relative to their natural ability. Also, most of them didn't have the same aggressive race schedule that I did and allowed for more taper/recovery between races.

Looking at specific races, here is the way I should be thinking about them.

The Disney Half Marathon was warm and humid. I've never run a half marathon that quickly in hot/humid conditions. So I would consider it a "warm PR".

The Love Rox Half Marathon was a PR for all intents and purposes. I can't officially claim it because the course was actually 13.45 miles and there were 6 large staircases to run up throughout the race. I've never

Bright Beginnings 5K

run 13.45 miles including staircases that quickly, so yes, it's a PR.

The Bright Beginnings 5K was windy and I had just returned from a business trip from Chicago the night before. It was my second faster 5K ever, which is pretty good considering how windy it was and how "off" I felt.

The B&A Trail Marathon was a huge step forward for me. It was the first marathon I had completed in 5 years that felt good at the end.

The Cherry Blossom 10-miler was extremely close to my PR, and had it not been for the wind (which we didn't have last year), I am confident I would have PRed. I went into the race feeling tired and run-down, so my performance was particularly strong given those conditions.

The Nike Women's Half marathon was the only race where I didn't perform well, and it wasn't for lack of trying. I went into it with only two hours of sleep the night before and very little sleep for the week leading up to the race. I didn't quit and I continued to push when things got hard.

Whenever my mind starts to wander to the first set of bullets, I will remind myself of the second set of bullets.  I don't want to avoid or ignore my feelings- I want to face them head on and fight against the urge to be disappointed in how this season turned out.

Up next, I have some short races to practice speed, and then onto summer training where I hope to be averaging 60 mile weeks and peaking at around 65.