Cathy and me under the cherry blossoms after the B.A.A. 5K
Race: B.A.A. 5K
Place: Boston, MA
Date: April 16, 2022
Time: 26:46
Because I needed a shakeout run prior to the Boston Marathon, I opted to register for the B.A.A. 5K and use that as my shakeout, leaving me my usual rest day prior to a long run/race for the day before. And I did promise my coach, Kim, that I wouldn’t pull a New York City and be on my feet too much leading into the big day.
Me and Cathy at the corrals of the B.A.A. 5K
When you aren’t racing a 5K, they are way more fun, let me tell you. But this was a good way to kick-start the weekend for sure. And my roommate, Cathy, was also going to run it. That was my fault. I convinced her that since we were in Boston, she should at least do that and she’d get to make that famous turn from Hereford onto Boylston and run under that famous finish line. Worth it, if you ask me.
The B.A.A. mails out the bibs for this race for most people, and we received ours a couple weeks ahead of the trip to Boston. I repetitively reminded Cathy to NOT FORGET to pack those bibs. And she didn’t. But I think it’s because I kept freaking out about it and she finally put them in her trip folder.
I spent much of Friday traveling, at the expo, and doing some fun sightseeing with Cathy and my best friend since childhood – Heather. The expo was much smaller than I remember it being in the past (someone else back me up on this) and the Adidas (official merch) part was INSANE! Like, insane insane. So crowded. Lines that wrapped. Crazy. We survived that and had some fun and random experiences at the expo. We legit stumbled across Meb at the KT Tape booth. Got his autograph and had a great conversation with him (per usual).
We grabbed dinner at Tavern on the Square, which had so many amazing gluten free options that we all got small plates to share and then got our mains. There was a lot of food, but it was DELICIOUS. Gluten free fried pickles. Yes please…more of that in my life from here until forever. My main dish was the Quinoa Bowl, which was roasted cauliflower, winter squash, beets, broccoli, kale, avocado, goat cheese, and crispy carrots over a bed of quinoa. It was amazing. Very happy with our decision to go there to eat. Sat outside. Had a great view, and a very fun waiter, Melvin, who kept us laughing and entertained.
Quinoa Bowl from Tavern In The Square
We returned to the hotel that evening completely stuffed and ready to cycle through showers and get some rest. I set an alarm to give us time to get the three of us through the bathroom and getting dressed to head to the 5K start…and it seems to be the wake up time we’ve stuck with this entire trip.
We made the walk to Boston Common and over to the race staging area. Heather was kind enough to hold my jacket (it was a bit cool to stand around in my tank top that long) when I went to head to the corrals. Wave 1 had white bibs and Wave 2 had blue bibs. Wave 1 was going to go first and then the blue bibs were supposed to line up after us and…you know…be Wave 2. But it didn’t work that way.
A very windy day at FanFest
Because there was no one helping at the corral entrances. So everyone just sort of piled in. And when the first wave of pros went to move…we all started to move…and everyone else who was standing outside saw everyone going and all flooded into the corrals. So…by the time the corral I properly placed myself in for my shakeout pace got up to the start line, the pros were already done. Legit, I saw Kiera D’Amato in the finisher’s chute (I mean…that was really cool, but…). So, people were flooding into the finish line by the time I was starting. I wasn’t happy about that.
Thankfully, for me, this wasn’t a race. With everyone from every wave together, it made for a lot of bobbing and weaving (which, honestly, can be a bit dangerous) around other runners who have a more deliberate pace than me. I did my best not to trip and stumble, and carefully weave through the crowd as I made my way into the first mile. Let me tell you, Boston even loves the 5K as there were plenty of people out cheering and encouraging everyone out there. It made me smile. I’m all about smiles on the run.
Finish Line Feels
After Mile 1, we head under a bridge, where everyone started WOOOOHOOO-ing. It was such energy. I loved it. We make a turn and head back, going back under the bridge, with more WOOHOO-ing and more energy, and then we head toward Mile 2, by making that famous right turn onto Hereford. Climb that short hill, and make that famous left turn onto Boylston.
Now you get to run the longest stretch of road ever, where you can see the Boston Marathon finish line, but it seems so far away. AND…you do get to cross it, but don’t get it twisted…this is NOT the 5K finish line. You have to run all the way down Boylston, past FanFest and make a turn just after Mile 3 to head into the finish line.
I spotted Heather immediately and waved at her as I ran to the finish. I walked through the crowd at the finish to get my medal and head back into the staging area to grab the snack bag and my t-shirt. I went to find Heather and drink some water while we waited on Cathy to finish. I was tracking her so I had a good idea of when she would be rounding the corner. We cheered her in and went to go wait for her on some bleachers near the exit. We started talking about the mess at the start and she said there were a lot of angry runners near where she was lined up (she was Wave 2 even).
Tourist Pose on the Boston Marathon Finish Line
You win some, you lose some. I accomplished my goal of running an easy couple of miles and enjoyed most every part of it. The part that was frustrating, well, that’s just part of what sometimes happens on race day. I was just surprised there weren’t volunteers at the corral entrances to help direct a little bit more. In the end, it was fun, and I had fun, and it accomplished the purpose of the run…and earned some bling too.
Spent the rest of the day at FanFest and going to check out the Finish Line. Then we went to the Boston Red Socks game. I mean…a game at Fenway…count me in!! Had a blast hanging with Cathy and Heather and doing the wave and listening to the crowd boo people on the Minnesota Twins, and then having to Google why they are booing these players. True story. And we got a Green Monster home run…so BONUS!
After 2015…this trip is already 100% more fun! Can’t wait for tomorrow.
Anyway, the results of my shakeout run at the B.A.A. 5K are that I finished with an official time of 26:46. I was 2622/8193 finishers overall. I was the 971/4584 women finishers. And I was 141/665 in my age group. And because I was literally running easy, all my finish line photos look amazing. HAHA!
Heather, Me, and Cathy at Fenway to watch the Boston Red Socks vs the Minnesota Twins
Crossing the finish line of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Race: CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Place: Indianapolis, IN
Date: November 6, 2021
Time: 3:33:46
Life is all about taking risks. If you never take a risk, you will never achieve your dreams.
Let’s skip to the good part:
BOSTON QUALIFIED!
This was my second fastest marathon in the 17 I have run (my PR was my first marathon back in 2013)
I negative split a marathon for the first time…EVER.
I threw the plan away halfway through the race…and this wasn’t a bad thing.
Whew. Deep breath. Now let’s talk about why all of the above is important, because coming into race day, I was starting to really have my doubts. Legit, I was having meltdowns over the possibility of everything going wrong on race day (hey…it can happen), and in turn letting myself and everyone else (honestly…no one would ever be disappointed in me) down in the process.
As many of you know, this race, initially, was supposed to be Marathon #3 in a span of 6 weeks. Berlin 2021 would kick it off…then Boston 2021…then Monumental. So, when I started back with my coach in February, we were working on getting me prepared to run decent marathons over such a short span of time. But, I opted to defer Berlin, not knowing where the world would be with COVID at that point, and I really wanted the FULL experience in Germany, up to and including Oktoberfest, which was canceled in 2021. Boston announced a reduced field size, but with it being the 125th running…registration was crazy (this included international, which eventually meant spots opened up because of travel restrictions, which were then given to those who qualified and registered for the Virtual Boston Marathon (I have a lot of opinions on that too…and if you know me, you’ve heard them, so I won’t voice it again). So, when I lost Boston because a buffer that would have been big enough on a normal year wasn’t good, I was heartbroken. When Boston offered spots to those who opted to do the virtual (I opted to train and do a marathon and qualify again for more than that reason), I was crushed. It was heartbreak all over again. And it took A LOT of wind out of my sails. Not going to lie.
But we move on.
I will say this…my training from February through November was crap. I pretty much hated every bit of it. Not all of it. But I felt like the things that concerned me or that I didn’t like weren’t being heard. For instance, I don’t like training by time. I would much rather be told how far to run, and not what amount of time to run for. I have never enjoyed training by time, and I still don’t. Pretty much every run had some aspect of speed in it. I love a run where I get to chill and not think about pushing paces. Whether it was fartleks, or strides, or hill sprints, or some ungodly amount of 800 m repeats…it was always something. And let’s talk about the summer heat. For years, I was fine in the heats. I did better in the heat. But the last three or so years, I wilt in the summer and summer runs legit take it all out of me. And speed work in the heat…that’s instant death. It was rare a summer speed session went the way it should have. And when you’re a perfectionist like me…well…that gets in your head.
Add to that, getting a text from your coach a few weeks out and being told that he isn’t confident, based on training, that my BQ goal was likely. Nothing sucks more than having the person who is supposed to be confident and instill confidence in you tell you that he’s not confident. It made me not confident. Thankfully, I have family and friends who told me otherwise on repeat because that totally messed me up. And guess what? When the cooler temperatures moved in, my paces got faster and felt easier. I ran a fast half marathon without even pushing my full potential just a few weeks prior to this race. That was a confidence booster there.
Shake out run feels!
On the Thursday before the race, my coach called while I was driving home from work to go over race day expectations. He was out on his long run and had three athletes running Monumental, so hew as knocking them out while on the run. He once again brought up my training, and how it really never clicked until 3 weeks out from race day. So, he said, expectations for a 3:35 were possible, but felt my 3:30 suggestion was out of my reach. He said, honestly, that a 3:37-3:40 was most likely where I would come in. He said lining up with the 3:30 group might be disheartening if I went out hot and then fell off. He said to line up with the 3:35 group…and expect that I might fall off them, but to just do my best to hold on. And…to have some names of people in mind to dedicate the later miles to, when the race would surely get hard and start to hurt. Considering I dedicated every mile in my first marathon to people, this is a tactic I have used before.
Welcome to Friday. I took the day off work so I wouldn’t have to try to make it up to Indianapolis after work when traffic might be crazy and I would be stressed out. This allowed me to do my shakeout run (45 minutes…PLUS STRIDES) in the daylight, which gave me way more options on where to run. I chose a hilly route and took it easy…then finished off those strides feeling strong and fast. Awesome. Took a shower. Finished packing. Called in my order to my local sushi place to get my sushi to go and haul it up to Indianapolis (in a cooler, just FYI) with me so I could keep the “magic sushi” pre-race/long run tradition alive. We picked it up…stored it in the cooler, and made the drive up to Indianapolis…with no delays or problems.
Because I am a self-proclaimed princess (or maybe it’s the 4 tiaras that I own…ha!), my roommate and I were staying at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. I know…fancy. And Marriott rewards points are always nice to have and use. This was convenient, as it wasn’t far from the start and finish line…nor was it far from the expo. The one thing that was of concern was my roommate had suddenly started snuffling on Wednesday. She claimed, like everyone does, that it was allergies, but finally admitted on Friday it was a head cold. Worst. Timing. Ever. We got up to the room, on the 18th floor, and then headed out to the expo. Despite being triple vaxxed (2 shots + booster) we masked up, and with Cathy dealing with a head cold…it was the smartest thing to do.
EXPO TIME!
The expo was small, but this one usually is. Cathy got her packet first…super easy. I went and got mine. And then I picked up a packet for a friend of a friend of mine. No hassles or problems. Very easy and streamlined. Then I went to Runner’s Services to pick up my Monumental Ambassador shirt (did I mention I was a race ambassador? This was fun…but it weird to still be doing it in a pandemic year as I feel like there would have been a lot more going on had we been able to gather) as well as a hoodie that was mailed to me, but never actually got to me. Seems about right. Thanks for that USPS. I met up with fellow BibRave Pro, Juan…and then took a spin through the official merchandise. It’s good luck for me to buy SOMETHING from the race. I thought about a coffee mug, but they weren’t selling any. Boo. So, I started looking for some tops…which, sadly, by 3 pm on Friday, all that was left were the L-3XL. I was really disappointed. On a side table, I did spot a bright yellow quarter zip that had a few women’s smalls in it. So…that’s what I ended up with. It wasn’t the piece of merchandise I was interested in…but it’s something that will get worn. I wandered around the expo, hoping to run into a few friends…but eventually had to head back to the room and get off my feet.
My name on the race poster
On the way back to the hotel, I did run into Tammy & Dean, who I’ve run with in the past and are local runners and friends of mine. We chatted for awhile, I we informed them of the lack of actual merchandise for smaller people. We parted ways so they could get down to the expo and I got upstairs. My friend Kelsie called just as I got back and was down at the expo. We decided we would meet up before the race because we both wanted photos together. Afterwards, I showered and settled in for the night. Yes…with Food Network and Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives (duh…always!). Cathy ended up opting for an easy room service order of a quesadilla, instead of trying to find something downtown that she could carry out back to the hotel. The box she picked up had three quesadillas in it. No lie. I think she ate half of it and put the other half in the fridge to have after her 5K (she never got around to it, though). I busted out my sushi I brought with me from Dragon King’s Daughter. I didn’t have any chopsticks with me…so I turned it into finger food. You do what you gotta do. Thankfully, sushi isn’t a messy meal.
Pre-Race Vegan Sushi has never let me down
Soon after, I was brushing my teeth and getting everything ready for the morning. I set three different alarms. One for me. Another for me. And one for Cathy. Lights out was close to 9 pm. And, of course, I couldn’t sleep. I haven’t really had good sleep since I moved apartments in March 2020 (and we all know what else happened in March 2020). I try though. And while I did fall sleep, it was for 20 minute spurts and then I’d wake up…roll over a couple times…and try again. My first two alarms never actually went off because I was already awake to turn them off.
All week, I had been fussing over the weather. We were getting a cold snap, so once again race morning was going to be cold. If you remember, in 2019…it was around 29 degrees when I crossed the finish line. This year, it was going to be 30 degrees at the start…no wind. So, after going back and forth on it…I opted to wear shorts (who am I?). Getting ready in the morning is easy. First I ate my over night oats. Then I put on my race outfit. Then sunscreen (always sunscreen!). My new friend, Sue, who I had picked up the packet for, was on her way to my hotel to get her stuff, so I headed downstairs to meet her. When I handed it off, she mentioned that it didn’t feel too bad out there. I asked her if the shorts were appropriate. She said yes. We wished each other luck and I went back up to my room. I now had to put my hair extensions in and put the signature pigtails in my hair. Thankfully, everything cooperated. I brought some throw-away clothes, which I slipped into and filled up my hydration pack with Nuun, and grabbed my Maurten gels and my Maurten 320 to drink about 30 minutes prior to the race. Cathy handed me a Mylar to wrap around myself while waiting for the start…and we were out the door and on our way to the start line.
My roommate surprised me by putting these tags on my racing shoes. One a Ted Lasso sentiment. The other, something my mom always says to me.
The plan was to meet up with EVERYONE at a specific statue at the Indiana Statehouse. I managed to find a few members of my She Runs This Town (SRTT) chapter, but not everyone was there yet for the photo. I went to go fuel…and immediately had a meltdown over the race, which Cathy had to deal with. She spotted my pacer and told me to go and talk to him. He was easy to spot. REALLY tall. Wearing a throw away tie dye shirt. I called him Tie Dye Guy (any other Only Murders In The Building watchers?). His actual name was Riley. The corrals got really crowded really fast. I met Jason, another pacer. And Gerald, from Chicago. We chatted as other people started to cluster around the pace group. I ducked away just briefly to ditch the throw away clothes and returned…ready to run.
I never did get to meet up with Kelsie or Taushah. And I missed the photo op with my SRTT ladies…but the race was getting ready to go. The national anthem was played. And then Wave A was sent off. I was in Wave B, so we were moved up and had to wait until we were sent off. That was about 5 minutes later.
Race outfit. ALL THE COLORS!
The first mile of this race was CROWDED. I mean…crowded. The pacers were having a hard time getting up to pace and the rest of us were trying to duck and dodge people in order to keep up with our pacers. Despite all of that…the first mile was WAY behind pace…clocking in at 8:30 (a 3:35 means an 8:11 mile average). They encouraged us by saying that we would slowly chip away at that in the next couple miles and get back on track. Mile 2 came around at 8:08 pace. As we entered Monumental Circe, there was a crowd there and a lot more room to move (finally). So Riley and Jason took us a bit faster but got us back on pace by the time we clipped over to Mile 3 with a 7:33 pace. WAY faster than we should be, but back on track.
Miles 4-7 were really easy. I stayed with the pacers or just behind them for most of it. And I found myself moving slightly ahead around Mile 6. I was talking with Gerald. Easy conversation. I could easily have a conversation. But we noticed the pace group was falling back behind us and both decided we should back off pace and keep them closer. Here, Riley busted out one of his cheers, which really made it fun. Just before Mile 8 is the split off where the half marathon runners go left and those running the full go straight. I fueled at this point with the rest of my Maurten 320 and again found myself up ahead of the pace group. I eased back again, even thought I felt good. I was Mile 8…too early, I told myself. I still stayed just ahead of them though…because I know sometimes pace groups can get crowded (I have been tripped more than once running with a pace group). I heard someone chatting behind me about living in Clarksville, Indiana. And I turned my head and said, “I’m in New Albany!” He mentioned probably seeing him on the Greenway if I run there. I’ll have to see if our paths cross next time I am down that way. I remained really steady with my pace from Miles 9-13, and was distracted between Miles 10-11 as I searched to see if my friends George and Susan were out as they live on the road those miles fall on. It was really cold…I didn’t spot them. I doubt they were out, but I always check…just in case.
A very chaotic and crowded start!
We ran through the halfway point, and Riley busted out his second cheer to get us motivated and keep it fun. I still felt really good. I moved ahead again. In my head, I was hearing my coach telling me to hang with the pacers through at least Mile 20. I thought about how much further I still had to go. But I also knew I felt GOOD! So, I said…”FUCK IT!” And I went.
This is where I meet my new friend Stephanie. She moved up with me and asked if I was going for a BQ. I told her I was and asked if she was as well. She said she was and she said I looked really solid with my pace. So for awhile we were right there with each other. The miles clicked off and I never felt tired. I fueled at 12 and again at 16. I made sure I was hydrating at every mile, and in between if I felt I needed it. Mile 18 clicked off and then we hit my favorite part…the downhill at Mile 19. Love it. Downhill is my favorite.
Mile 20 is where most people start hitting the wall, but I was starting to pick the pace back up. I started passing people who were slowing down or starting to walk. (No shame in the walk game, FYI…I managed a 3:49:46 at the Dopey Challenge in the marathon (which is after running a 5K, 10K, and Half in the 3 days prior to the marathon) taking walk breaks). I actually felt like I could run this pace all day. Stephanie and I ended up running those last few miles together. It was nice to have company stride for stride. She was kicking ass. In 2019, the last three miles had a terrible headwind. This year…none of that. The sun was out. It was over 40 degrees (which meant I was now hot, but didn’t want to slow down to mess with taking off arm warmers). At Mile 23, i said, “We’re going to do it!” to Stephanie. She said, “Fuck yeah, we are!” I knew I liked her. I took my last Maurten Gel at Mile 24. I know only 2 miles remain at that point, but why risk having a lull in energy? Stephanie moved just slightly ahead after Mile 25 and inside my head I was cheering her on because it was motivating me. My friend Dean was somewhere around that last mile and he gave me a motivational cheer as I ran past. I smiled and waved. I still felt good. That final turn into the finish line was amazing. So many spectators cheering. I was looking for Cathy in the crowd, but didn’t see her as I headed into the finish line. I crossed…throwing my hands up into the air and stopped my watch AFTER I moved past the photographers. She was on the other side of the finish…holding a sign.
Post-Race representing the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Stephanie turned around and we gave each other a hug and congratulated each other. We’re now friends on social media. I then went over to Cathy, and finally uncovered my watch, seeing 3:33 staring back at me. And I broke down in tears of joy. I not only hit my goal…I smashed it. She told me to go get my medal and goodies and she would meet me at the end of the chute. I spotted Riley after that and he said, “Did you get your BQ?” I said I had and he high fived me. So did Jason. I got wrapped in Mylar and received my medal. A volunteer opened my water bottle for me and I took a sip while I waited to take a photo with my medal. Gerald found me then and we talked. He also got a BQ. And the guy from Clarksville…he was behind me in the line and we chatted some more too.
Got my photo. Got my winter hat. Grabbed a bag of chips and a cookie. One runner dropped his cookie near the table and thought about bending over to get it. He started to do that, but then stopped. I said, “It lives there now…just grab another!” He did exactly that.
I met up with Cathy and we moved to the lawn so I could lay down and put my feet up. We were waiting on our friend Greg to arrive. Cathy went to grab my Indython charm and scarf and to try to get my medal engraved. The line was crazy long so I said it wasn’t that important. Greg did arrive as I was finishing up a phone call to my mom (I always talk to my mom when I finish a race). We headed back to the hotel so I could get warm. I laid on the floor with my feet up for a little longer before heading into the bathroom to shower and change.
Greek Tacos & Kettle Chips at Woody’s Library Resturant
While I wasn’t very hungry, I also know that post-race nutrition is important. So, we walked down to Harry & Izzy’s, but the patio seating wasn’t open and there was a wait for seating. Instead, we walked to where Greg was parked and headed into Carmel to try to get seating at Woody’s Library Restaurant. There was a small wait, and we decided to walk up to the gluten-free bakery, No Label at the Table, for some goodies. The restaurant called while we were in there so Greg and a I hurried back to get the table. I noticed then that I wasn’t as sore as I usually am after a marathon. Not mad at that.
My dinner was Greek Tacos with Kettle Chips (the tots and fries and stuff used to be GF here, but it’s been 2 years since I’ve eaten there and that is no longer the case). After that, Greg drove us back to the hotel and dropped us off. Cathy and I took a walk through the park before calling it a day and heading in for the night.
It was a good day. It was a very good day.
The official results of the CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon are that I finished in 3:33:46, which now makes this my second fastest marathon to date of the 17 I have now fun. This honor had since gone to the 2019 Monumental Marathon, but I beat that time by 2 minutes. Also, this was the first time I ever negative split a marathon. Cathy waid she was watching my splits and going, “She’s speeding up!” I was 1315/3948 finishers overall. I was the 333/1598 female finishers. And I was 54/287 in my age division. Considering how nothing felt like it was clicking or going well in all of my training leading up to the day…this result couldn’t have been more welcome. In the end…trust yourself…trust your abilities. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that you aren’t ready or that you can’t do it. Prove them wrong. Chase your dreams!
I will always love the Indy Monumental Marathon! So proud to represent it this year as an ambassador!
Me crossing the finish line of the CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon – Indianapolis, IN
Race: CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Place: Indianapolis, IN
Date: November 9, 2019
Time: 3:35:13
“Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Shooting for the stars when I couldn’t make a killing
Didn’t have a dime but I always had a vision
Always had high, high hopes
Had to have high, high hopes for a living
Didn’t know how but I always had a feeling
I was gonna be that one in a million
Always had high, high hopes”
~ Panic at the Disco
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
BOSTON QUALIFIED!
But I am getting ahead of myself at the moment. Because like any and every story…you have to start at the beginning. And the beginning, for me, started on Friday.
Day Before The Race Breakfast!
Friday was a complete rest day for me. Normally I do shake-out runs and the like, but I had a continuous training cycle through taper, and had done my usual (albeit much lower mileage) runs on Sunday-Thursday, with 2 of these including some sort of speed workout. So, I slept in, per usual. I took a shower. I didn’t go to work…so I had time to stretch, finish packing, and enjoy a leisurely breakfast at home. For the record, it was Trader Joes Gluten Free Pumpkin Bagels and Kite Hill Vegan Cream Cheese. I had my first melt down. I ran a couple of errands with my roommate. Made a quick lunch. Had another meltdown. She called in my sushi order at Dragon King’s Daughter (if you’ve been following my weekly training logs, you know about my “magic sushi”…so you better believe an order was traveling in a cooler up to Indianapolis with me), loaded the car, took out the garbage, went to pick up sushi order…and hit the road.
Day Before The Race Lunch – Dr. Praegers Gluten Free & Vegan Chik’n Nuggets with Farmwise Foods Veggie Rings
The drive up to Indianapolis was easy and uneventful. Just the way we like it. My coach, Daniel, called me on the drive and we talked. He always knows what to say to calm me down. He asked me how I felt…I told him I was nervous. He asked what I was nervous about. And I told him…the weather. To date, this was shaping up to be the coldest marathon I will have run. Beating out Twin Cities in Minneapolis, MN…and Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 2018 in Orlando, FL (which held the record…yes, Florida was colder than Minnesota). The weather was showing a 28° start, with a nice wind chill making it feel more like 21°. Good times. We discussed how my training had done, despite not really having weather like what I would be running in for the marathon. I told him this would change my wardrobe and we went over what I could/should wear and ways to keep my core temperature up before the race. I told him I already had cried twice that day…and he asked what type of crying it was…and I told him it was the “I want this so bad” type of cry. He told me how to channel that and my unease about the weather into mentally having a successful race. Honestly, I found the BEST coach. We hung up…and as we neared Indy…the local station we had found started playing every hype song it could throw at me. I cried…again.
Expo Time!
We made it to the hotel, staying once again at the Omni Severin Hotel in downtown, and only a short walk to the start and finish lines. We got checked in. I put the sushi in the fridge, along with my overnight oats I made at home to have race morning (just as I did before EVERY long run this cycle). Then we went to the expo. I got my packet for the marathon. Cathy got hers for the 5K. And I picked up my friend, Melissa’s, packet for her so she didn’t have to drive 4-5 hours round trip with her baby to do it. Then, we went exploring. I ended up buying a singlet for this race, and my roommate bought me a finisher’s jacket (she’s the best) and a Bondi Band. She also got herself a new racing hat, featuring this race (the first one she ever trained for last year). Then, we made our way around the expo, checking out the different booths and races that were represented there. Once done with that, we took photos with our bibs, found my name on the giant poster, and headed back to the hotel.
Cathy and Me at the Expo with our bib numbers!
We settled in for the rest of the day, because I wanted to stay off my feet as much as possible. We watched a couple episodes of Mindhunter. Cathy went and got herself dinner from the hotel…which was offering a nice pasta dinner with a side salad and breadsticks (although she got hers to go and they didn’t pack the breadsticks…but she said there was plenty of pasta). We ate. I stretched and foam rolled. We watched Top Chef (still in Boston…again…good sign!). Then, we called it a night. Lights out.
I didn’t sleep well. I kept waking up…needing some water…or just nerves at times. I turned off my first alarm before it went off because I was already awake. The second alarm went off at 6:00 am. Both my roommate and I got up with that one. It was officially the start of race morning. She had coffee and juice delivered to the room for her to have with her breakfast (she does this every morning, so this is part of her routine).
Found my name!
I had about 3 meltdowns just getting ready. I wish I were kidding. After talking to my coach on the drive up, I decided to officially nix the shorts. While the temperature would be climbing in the over three hours I would be out there…I didn’t want to start cold. So, for the first time in the history of my marathon running…I ran in pants. Capris. Of course they were bright and wild colors. HA! Because I gotta be me! I decided to go with a short sleeve shirt (BRIGHT PINK), compression sleeves, my Newtons (I also brought my Adidas Boston Boosts), arm warmers, a buff, a Bondi-Band, gloves (with hand warmers), and a throw-away hat. I wore everything pink I could…to represent my mom (as has been my theme this entire year I have raced). I started to put together my hydration pack, pouring room-temperature Nuun into the bladder (I knew it would be cold just being out there…so why make it super cold by starting that way?), packing my Maurten Gel 100s (three with caffeine, three without), shaking up my Maurten 320 Drink Mix (which some of it went into a little bottle in my pack to take at Mile 8), and then I tucked some very important tokens into a pocket to carry with me. My amazing friend, Kelly Lorch, gifted me with some plates that were to go on my shoelaces. I had my shoes on…and tied…so I said I would carry them with me. She is amazing and has been SO supportive of me reaching my goals. There was no way these weren’t coming along on the journey in some way.
Magic Sushi from Dragon King’s Daughter: GF Green Acres & GF Spicy Tofu Rolls
Cathy pinned my bib on…then I pinned her up. I layered on my throwaway clothes and then we both wrapped ourselves in old Mylar from previous races and trash bags. Then, we headed out to meet up with Melissa at the MRTT/SRTT photo meet-up spot in the Westin (which also gave us a warm place to wait for the start AND bathrooms if needed). I walked in and was immediately flagged down my Kelly. Melissa came over and gave me a hug too…and I started to have another cry. But, thankfully, group pictures were happening so I had to go and attempt to look “homeless chic” in my “how to stay warm on a cold-ass race morning” attire. The photos were taken and Melissa had me join her as she waited for her husband, Paul, to park the car and bring the bundled up baby inside. They arrived and she brought out the MOST AMAZING sign ever. It said, “My auntie Karen chases unicorns and runs BQs.” She said she and the baby worked very hard on it the night before. I cried…again.
Packing up the hydration pack on race morning!
No sooner had I dried those tears, Cathy said we had about 15 minutes until the start of the race…so we needed to mosey outside. BOOOO. I shed all my throwaway stuff and handed it off to Paul, who was finish line support and baby watching this morning. He was very kind to let me do that so they can live to be tossed another day. I got re-wrapped up in the trash bag and Mylar…and we headed out into the cold. We stopped just before the start line, where I needed to make my way down to my wave corral, and I got final hugs. Cathy let me know (for the 2 millionth time this training cycle) that I had this. Paul wished me luck and told me I had this in the bag. And Melissa, because we are the same person, took my head in her hands, made me look right into her eyes, and gave me a pep talk to end all pep talks. We hugged it out…and I went to go get into place.
Kelly Lorch gifted me these shoe tags, which I carried with me the entire race!
At first, I thought I was about to have a Glass City Marathon replay…because as I got to my corral…I could see the 3:40 pacer and the 3:30 pacer. No 3:35. I was about to cry again, when I spotted a guy standing in an Official Pacer orange shirt…minus the sign. I went over there and asked if he was the 3:35 pacer. He said he was, and his partner was currently missing and had the sign. The other guy showed up a few minutes later, but he was prepared to get us all there with or without the sign. I felt a lot better. No need to stare at my watch and fuss over the pace if I could hang with them. About 5 minutes before the start, I went to ditch the Mylar and trash bag and got back in line with the two pacers. The race started, with the wheelchairs. Then Wave 1. Then my wave. As we crossed the start line, it was crowded and packed, and the pacers were a bit ahead of me, but I didn’t panic. I waved to Cathy, Melissa, and Paul…and began to weave a bit to make my way closer to the pace group.
I caught up to them in the first quarter of a mile and made sure not to feel crowded. If you remember, last year I attempted to do this very same thing…but ended up getting tripped a few times. That wasn’t happening this year. NOPE! We were a fun group and the pacers were great at not only giving direction on where we were turning or where aid was…but just keeping us talking to keep our minds off the race. One of my pacers was from Sellersburg and we talked about Louisville races and whatnot for awhile. That was really cool. He apparently had never heard of me. He must run in the wrong circles, HA! Just kidding.
MRTT/SRTT
By Mile 2 I had already talked his ear off about the Dopey Challenge. So…there was that. This is also where my watch was off from the mile markers. And, yes, my friends…it remained like that until…I kid you not…MILE 26. My watch was beeping about .1 mile after the actual mile markers. So, with the new course changes this year, I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to get in a full 26.2. BUT…I was also reminded by the pacers, that with the tunnel overpasses we run under/through, plus the buildings in downtown…you can’t really trust your GPS and that the course WAS measured correctly. SO…we went with it. I let it go. I just let it be.
Melissa, Baby C, and Me before the start of the marathon!
The first couple of miles of this race is a lot of turns. For real. I feel like we go around so many corners, but it was okay. Also…we were slightly behind pace for the first couple of miles, but I trusted the pacers to get us where we needed to be. I was, however, keeping a close eye on my watch, in case I needed to just break away and do this on my own. Then, we busted out a faster fourth mile and had to tone it down a bit. Too early for that kind of craziness…and they knew it.
From there on, we pretty much stayed steadily just ahead of the actual pace, which made up for those first three, crowded miles. Also, this time I wasn’t tripped about three times heading into the 10K mark. For real. Last year, I had lined up with the 3:35 pace group and it became hazardous to my health around this time. Nope. We were a large group, but we were very aware of each other’s space. And that made a whole heap of difference. I was able to stay relaxed and just breathed. We crossed the 10K mark and kept on going. One of the pacers asked, “Who was worried, for no reason, about how cold it was today? You’re warm now right?” We all raised our hands. Don’t get me wrong, it was cold…but our bodies were working hard and we were definitely warm.
3:35 Pace Group taking off!
At Mile 7, we separate from the half marathon runners. They take a turn and the full marathon continues on straight. I was surprised at how good I felt at this point, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Despite the cold, I was fueling how I did in training and staying relaxed. I had goals, but I didn’t want to get worked up over them. I was just going to run my best on this day. And right now, my best was feeling good! At Mile 8, I fueled with the 5 oz flask I brought of the rest of my Maurten 320 from the morning. Onward.
I stayed just slightly behind the pacers through Mile 15 to be honest. But, I wasn’t going to sweat it. I distracted myself from Mile 10 to Mile 12 looking for my friends Susan and George. They live along there, and were going to come out to cheer. If they were out, I totally missed them. If they weren’t…I don’t blame them…it was cold. But, I continued to search for them on the sides of the roads, where people had come out of their warm houses to cheer everyone on. At Mile 12, I took a Maurten Gel 100. AND…I ditched my throwaway hat that I had kept on my head until then. The sun was finally coming out and I knew that the day was about to really start warming up. I was, however, glad I had my head covered up until that point. But now…now it was time to let those pigtails fly!
Cathy got a 5K PR at the Monumental 5K
Halfway there…and I was smiling and high fiving kids and just having a blast. I mean, if you’re going to run 26.2 miles…you might as well have fun while doing it, right?
I was keeping a very steady pace, which continued as the miles ticked off. I fueled with another Maurten Gel 100 (and I was taking sips of water from my hydration vest EVERY mile (because I tend to under-hydrate in marathons and had practiced this in training so that it would be a habit and I wouldn’t crash at the end…which I still think is what happened at Glass City) at Mile 16, because I was going to do it every 4 miles to make sure my fuel stores stayed primed as the race went on.
The pacers had pulled slightly ahead of me, but I remained calm and breathed because I still had a ways to go. Panicking over pace right now wouldn’t serve me. Stay calm. My mantra crept in…”Keep Fighting.” At Mile 18 we went through this little park-like area…which I remembered last year had a lot of people inside just screaming. Same thing this year. It made me smile. “Keep Fighting.”
Finish line in sight! I was ugly crying already!
I caught back up to the 3:35 pacers as we started down the exit ramp at Mile 19. If you know me…you know…downhill is my favorite speed. I smiled a lot at this point…because I was still feeling good. I was feeling strong. I was ready to keep going. I had 7 more miles to go. I did that pretty much every easy run day. I just had to hold on.
Keep Fighting.
At Mile 20, I took another gel. This was the last 10K. This is where most people hit a wall. Not me. I wasn’t going to hit a wall today. I was on a mission. I kept my head up, soaking in the sun (which was now up), thinking of my mom, running as fast as my legs could possibly go that far into a marathon. I was feeling strong still. No wall to have to break through this time. Although…to be honest, they have you run through this inflatable arch thing that looks like a brick wall… which did amuse me.
I maintained quite well the next few miles. I could feel some fatigue setting in, but it wasn’t bad. I still felt good. I kept telling myself that I had done this before. I raced a 30K and managed to be under my marathon pace. I did two of my five 20+ miler training runs at my marathon pace. Whatever road I still had ahead of me…I knew I was beyond capable of bringing this home.
Official Results
And then, around Mile 23, we turned a corner and the headwind hit. And it hit hard. While the pacers continued on, I could definitely feel the need to fight a bit more now. The wind was no joke…and I knew we’d have it for the next few miles, at least until we turned and headed to that finish line. I wasn’t going to let it get in my head. I had time. I had this.
Keep Fighting.
At Mile 24, I tried to open my final Maurten Gel 100 (I listen to enough runners on podcasts warn people to not skip that final gel in the last few miles…and now I understand why). It was hard to tear open, so I slowed to a light jog, got it opened, and picked it back up while I took it down. 2.2 miles to go.
Keep Fighting.
FINISHED! Here with my Indy Monumental & IndyThon Ultra medals!
The next few miles, I had my personal trainer, Corey’s voice in my head. All these little moves he had me do that would strengthen my body and get it prepared to find that “next gear” all came into play here. The wind was whipping, and I was fighting it the best I could. The next couple miles ticked off. I even had a friend of mine from Instagram shout at me from the side of the road. I smiled. That was amazing.
I made the turn onto W New York Street. From the years prior of me running this…the full and the half…I knew the finish line was around the corner. I made the turn. I could see it. I could see it and I picked it up…I started to just fight every part of my body that wanted me to slow down. As I got closer, I spotted the signs…the one Cathy held and the one Melissa held up. I could hear them shouting at me. I could hear them cheering. I was already crying. I was already crying because I knew I was doing it. I knew I was about to do it…FINALLY!
I have THE BEST friends!
FLY!
I crossed that finish line, arms up…and then, after I moved past the photographers…I paused my watch and glanced at it.
3:35:13…I had done it. I had gotten my BQ time for 2021. And the instant I confirmed it, I just started bawling. I was ugly crying right there at the finish. Cathy, Melissa (and Baby C), and Paul rushed over to me and we all hugged and cried together. All of us. Except for the baby, ironically. HA! Cathy pulled up her phone and started to play Dropkick Murphy’s “Shipping Up To Boston.” I cried some more. I cried more than I thought I could because I was just so happy. Cathy texted my mom and my coach. She told me they would meet me at the end and to go get my Mylar, medal, and snacks.
A shower and some coffee!
After I got my medal and Mylar, I spotted the pacer I ran with from Sellersburg and I told him I got my time. He high-fived me and I tried not to cry again…but I think I was. I met up with my amazing friends and they were patient enough with me to let me lay down and put my feet up for a few minutes. Melissa went to retrieve official results. Cathy and I went to see about getting my medal engraved. Then we went to retrieve my bonus shirt and medal for the Indython Ultra (for doing Fort Ben Half too). I gave Paul my free slice of pizza. It was a lot of emotions all at once and the reality of it all just kept hitting me. And I just kept crying…and smiling.
We made the walk back to the hotel together. Paul and Melissa very kindly went to retrieve some coffee for all of us. I took a shower and got dressed because I had the USL Eastern Cup Final happening in Indianapolis as well and I needed to go cheer on Louisville City FC. This also meant I had to go back out into the cold, but Cathy promised to bring blankets. Our friend Greg came with us to the match and to dinner.
A very cold, intense victory at the USL Eastern Conference Final in Indianapolis the same day!
I actually didn’t get to eat anything until long after the match, but the wait was worth it. I enjoyed some gluten free pizza and gluten free fries from Harry & Izzy’s. I had half the pizza left, so Cathy and I decided that would be breakfast the next morning. No shame.
We then returned to the hotel where we FINALLY got to crack open the wine I had been saving for the BQ moment. The three of us lifted our hotel plastic cups and enjoyed the celebration.
Let me also mention that Melissa and Cathy ran the 5K on race morning, with Melissa turning in her BEST post-baby 5K time and Cathy running a new PR (and her first sub-45 minute 5K).
Harry & Izzy’s Gluten Free Pizza (no cheese) and Fries. FINALLY got to eat!
Now that I’ve bragged on them…let’s go to the stats…
The official results of the CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon are that I finished in 3:35:13, which makes it my second fastest marathon to date of the 16 I have now fun. This took down Marshall by about 42 seconds. So damn proud of the hard work and training I did to make this happen. I was 1282/4962 finishers overall. I was the 329/2111 female finishers. And I was 98/412 in my age division. I might still be in shock from how everything played out that day. When it started to feel hard…I just kept fighting.
Never, ever give up on your dreams. It sometimes takes time to reach your goals. But that’s what makes them mean so much. Keep fighting.
FINALLY! After 2 years of seriously trying, I finally cracked open the wine I saved for when I got my BQ!
I don’t know how I made it through these last 20 weeks, but with that said…race week has arrived. I’m both nervous, excited, anxious, and calm. How is it possible to feel all the thingsand remain sane? Well, the vote is still out on that whole remaining sane thing. HA!
This was definitely a week to turn it down. And my coach gave me specific instructions that he didn’t want me to take a complete back seat this week, but I could move or change whatever I needed to going into it. I didn’t change a damn thing. I did, however, knock my recovery runs down one mile and made sure to keep that pace nice…and…easy. The last thing I wanted was to go into race morning with lactic acid hanging around in these legs. NOPE NOPE NOPE!
As I mentioned previously, my coach does an untraditional taper. He does lower mileage (although I was in the 60s, 50s, 40s for the last three weeks)…kinda. He makes a lot of it all about that speed work. Getting those legs to fire…right at the end of a run…when they are the most exhausted. But this week really didn’t have too much on it. My longest run was 7 miles, and that was the ONLY one that really had a speed element to it. And it was a 4 mile fast finish. Other than that…strides on the last day I ran before the race. But I’ll cover all of that in this week recap.
It’s race week…let’s go!
Monday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
I love that even in taper, my coach trusts me with “Choose Your Own Adventure” runs. Knowing that this is race week, I really wanted to make my primary focus recovery. I want to hit that start line feeling fresh and ready. I was stressing over the forecast a little too much, because it looks like this will be my coldest marathon I have run. Thanks to Canada and this arctic blast that is attacking our nation. HA! Anyway, I woke up to weather JUST above freezing. So it was a long sleeve, capris kind of a run. I didn’t wear my Dunkin’ Donuts hat…don’t know why. I just didn’t. And the legs did a little shakeout. They felt good for a Monday. I opted to do 4 instead of my usual 5 miles…and somehow snagged some negative splits in the process. I called it a day. No personal training. Just my normal PT stretches. I didn’t even do the additional hip strengtheners this week, not wanting to accidentally tweak something. Simple. Basic. Got it done.
Tuesday: INSTRUCTIONS: 5-8 MILES WITH 3-5 MILE FINISH AT MARATHON PACE – GOAL 6.5 MILES – EASY DOES IT UNTIL THE FAST FINISH AT THE END
I woke up on Tuesday morning to 50 degree weather. Yep. From 33 degrees Monday morning to 50 degrees on Tuesday. Fun times. I knew he gave me the option of 8 miles…and if this was training on a normal week and I was feeling good…I might have pushed for it. BUT…it’s taper. It’s race week. I don’t like half miles…so I rounded up to 7…and I opted to go right in the middle with that fast finish, doing 3 easy miles and pushing pace on those last 4. It felt hard. It shouldn’t have felt hard. But, I did at least get it done. My sinuses were having a fun reaction to the yo-yo temperatures, so that was fun. Other than that…I took it for what it was. Finished as strong as I could for the day, then went inside to shower and just do my usual stretching. Keeping it nice and easy. Oh, and I went and voted. Because that needed to happen!
Wednesday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
Second verse, same as the first. My only other “Choose Your Own Adventure” run for the week. Happy to have had 2 of these. I opted to do 4 again, unless I just wasn’t feeling it. That’s the glory about these…I control them. I did make a note to back off on pace and just let the legs work a little less. My last 2 miles were much quicker than my first 2 miles, but that’s because it took me 2 miles to feel warm. Isn’t that fun. OH…did I not mention that the temperature dipped back down to just above freezing again? Another morning with 33 degrees. Oh…joy. And the fact that I went from a warm apartment to run and it took me 2 miles to get my legs going was a bit of a concern. I just tried very hard not to let it get into my head. I did my stretches twice that morning. And I foam rolled before work. After work, I had a sports massage and I was so thankful for that. Basically all that is holding me back right now is the weather.
Thursday: BASE FUN 4-8 MILES + 4-6 STRIDES – GOAL 6 MILES – EASY OVERALL EFFORT
It was another rainy Thursday morning. Just like last week. UGH. MEH. BLAH. I originally had thought about just doing the run on the treadmill, but I can’t do strides on the tready. Nope. So…I opted to just go and get it done. It never stopped raining on me…but thankfully, we were back up to 50 degrees. WHAT THE HELL WEATHER?! So, I definitely didn’t want to push anything. Not even the hills I go up and down. This was one of my slowest training runs to date. And some of it might have been fear of slipping on the wet pavement and falling. I won’t lie. But I really just wanted it all to feel super easy. It didn’t. I blame the rain. But, I did get in 6 miles. See…I was given the option of going up to 8…but I really am doing JUST what needs to be done this week. I reset for strides and pushed those legs on some short sprints…then went inside to take a hot shower, stretch, and get to work. I met my friend, Melissa, for coffee after work…and she gave me my start line pep talk just in case she couldn’t get that out at my start line. I appreciated it. Went home to eat dinner. Was supposed to pack. Didn’t pack. Went to bed by 8:30…because I really wanted to get some quality sleep knowing that I probably won’t sleep much on Friday night.
Friday: REST/RECOVERY DAY!
Thank God for small miracles. I woke up at normal time…of course. I didn’t set an alarm. I just woke up. So I lounged and dozed and finally got up at 5 am. I showered. I stretched. I was thankful to not have to do one single mile today. I was thankful that it was 26 degrees outside and I got to stay inside, stretch, hydrate, and sit under my snuggie, working on this blog. That’s what I did. I eventually made breakfast and my roommate and I got to packing…pretty much every option for any scenario on race day. I still don’t know what I should or want to wear during the race. We haven’t had weather this cold yet here…so I am at a total loss. Not to mention, I have never run a marathon or a long distance run in temperatures like this. It doesn’t sound fun. It’s producing a lot of anxiety…but we’re working through it. We had to wait for Dragon King’s Daughter to open so I could order my “magic sushi” to take with me to Indianapolis. Then we hit the road to get up to Indy, check into the hotel, and hit the expo. The rest of the time, I was going to spend in the hotel…rolling, stretching, and keeping myself off my feet. I wanted to feel good Saturday morning.
Saturday: CNO FINANCIAL GROUP INDIANAPOLIS MONUMENTAL MARATHON
Goal: Qualify for Boston – needed 3:40 time.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Finished in 3:35:13.
More to come in actual post race recap! This girl is going back to Boston in 2021! This is my second fastest marathon…EVER. This beats out my 2nd marathon, the Marshall Marathon, by about 42 seconds. Super proud. Super sore. But my day didn’t end with that finish line. Then I went and sat outside in Indianapolis for the USL Eastern Conference Finals between the Indy Eleven and…Louisville City FC. We won. In overtime. It was a long day of being cold.
Sunday: REST/RECOVERY DAY!
I just can’t sleep the night after I run a marathon. I was up until after midnight, watching Mindhunter (finished Season 2) and was still NOT tired. I tossed and turned all night. Finally got up and decided to finish this blog. Will take a short 20 minute walk on the hotel treadmill this morning before grabbing breakfast, packing, loading up the car, and heading out for some shopping and lunch (you know I’m going to Woody’s). Then, the long car ride home to Louisville, where I still need to buy groceries, meal prep, and all the usual stuff. This coming week will bring my 20-30 minute walks (just like I did post Glass City Marathon in April). I want to get back to spin classes…all the stuff I stopped doing when marathon training took over my life. Looking forward to this recovery time while I make plans for 2020, which now doesn’t need to include a marathon!
Guys…we have 19 weeks of hard training down…and only one more to go until the big day. Am I nervous? Of course. There’s something scary about putting your goals out there for people to see…for putting your training out there for people to read. Setting big goals in and of themselves can be a scary ordeal.
But there is no turning back now. We’re in the homestretch. That start line and that finish line are waiting…
So let’s do this thing.
Monday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
I was so thankful to have another Monday as a “Choose Your Own Adventure” kind of run. After moving my long run last week to Sunday, it was nice to not have to worry about hitting paces or doing some sort of workout. I didn’t know this, however, until the morning when I woke up. My coach sends through my plan after his children go to bed…and I had already gone to bed ahead of that. What can I say? Rest and sleep have been a priority this entire training cycle and it has made a world of difference. So…I went out there, watch covered, and put in some miles. I kept it easy and relaxed and just let my legs do what they needed and wanted to do that day. No pressure. No anxiety. Just a simple run to shake out the legs. I finished up with 5 miles for the morning, because my legs felt that good. I did my additional hip strengthening exercises with my morning round of stretches this morning. Then, at noon, at met with my personal trainer, Corey, who put me through a leg day workout, targeting some muscles that don’t get a lot of love. I stretched and foam rolled that evening and went to bed early (as always)
Tuesday: INSTRUCTIONS: SPEED WORK – MONA FARTLEKS W/ 1 MILE HARD EFFORT
I didn’t want to incorporate speed during my taper…but it’s important to keep that rolling. And my coach, thankfully, handed me my favorite of the speed workouts to do. The Mona Fartleks. If you haven’t tried these yet…DO IT! You’ll see what I mean. Mona Fartleks work like this: 2 mile warm up, 2 x 90 sec, 4 x 60 sec, 4 x 30 sec, 4 x 15 sec (with equal recovery after each at a pace faster than base pace), 1 mile hard effort, 2 mile cool down. Simple. Basic. FUN! It was a cool morning…and I felt fast. I really did. I kept my warm up nice and easy then really hit those intervals. I even managed a mile in the 6s for pace at the end. My cool down…faster than my warm up, but it usually is. I mean…I wasn’t expecting my legs to respond like that, but they felt ready to go. They felt strong. It worked out to be 8 miles for the day. I went inside and did my second day of additional hip strengtheners with my morning stretches. Went to work. Came home and did those evening stretches before hitting the sack for some sleep.
Wednesday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
It was the perfect morning for another easy “Choose Your Own Adventure Day.” When I have those in the middle of the week, it always means another bit of speed is coming the following day. With that in mind, my watch was covered and I went out and ran comfortably. And apparently comfortably that day was…faster than anticipated. I felt amazing the entire time. Rested. Strong. Capable. This is what you need to be feeling this week of training…and I’m hitting it. I did another 5 miles this morning, surprised with the average pace at the end. I hoped it wouldn’t hinder my run the following day. I stretched. I went to work. And I met with Corey at lunch for personal training, focusing on triceps. We kept the session shorter than usual because he wanted to make sure I had no lactic acid built up as I go into race week. He’s a runner. He’s an athlete. He gets these things. That evening I had a great sports massage and all felt right with the world. Except for…the rain.
Thursday: 8-10 MILES WITH A 3-5 MILE FINISH AT MARATHON PACE – GOAL 9 MILES – EASY DOES IT UNTIL FAST FINISH AT END
I didn’t casually mention rain yesterday for no reason. When I woke up early to fit in this run (knowing I wasn’t going to do anything over the goal distance)…it was pouring rain. Fun fact…if it starts to rain on me after I’m out running, I’m okay with it. I don’t like starting in the rain. At all. And…if this wasn’t as long of a run, I probably would have gone to the gym and done it on the treadmill. My plan was to go out and do 5 easy and 4 at marathon pace. When the rain picked up that morning…I hit four miles and chose to just hit 5 at marathon pace instead. So…off I went. And even in the pouring rain (thankfully it was 58 degrees outside)…which I always fret over slipping…I nailed it. Completely nailed it. I even felt like I could have pushed harder, but the purpose of the exercise was to hit marathon pace, not half marathon pace. This was also the first time since July that I have run with my watch uncovered. And it didn’t stress me out at all. That being said, I was very happy to finish up this run and get out of the rain. 9 miles for the day…5 of them fast. It was a HUGE confidence boost to do that in rain. I did my stretches in the morning and night. Oh…and by the time I left work, winter had arrived. We legit had snowflakes in the air. NOPE!
Friday: REST/RECOVERY DAY!
I didn’t sleep in much for some reason this Friday. I kept waking up. So, eventually, I just got myself out of bed and went to be a little productive. I erased my whiteboard art and went and did up something new for the month of November. I used Simba from The Lion King (the original animated one) with his mane of leaves. Because it’s fall. Leaves mean fall. And I love drawing Disney characters. I showered. I stretched. I finished filling out my paper work for my podiatrist. My appointment got moved to just before lunch today. I don’t anticipate this being a long visit…but hoping he can do something about some of my nails (marathon training for 2 years = ugly feet). And…after work, we hit up Dragon King’s Daughter for “magic sushi” as I prepare for my long run on Saturday.
Saturday: 11-13 MILES WITH 5 MILE FINISH AT MARATHON PACE – GOAL 12 MILES – EASY DOES IT UNTIL FAST FINISH AT END
Woke up to weather in the 20s. No joke. It was 28° and I was not happy! Not one bit. I don’t do well in temperatures below freezing. It’s part of having Raynaud’s. It sucks to try to run when you can’t feel your feet. So, I admit…I was in a bad mood at the start of this run. Not even going to lie. I didn’t even plan out a route or think it through the night before. I just was determined that this run was going to be awful. It wasn’t too bad. It was just cold. But guess what…I warmed up. The sky was crystal clear. The sun came out. And while I wouldn’t call it warm by any means, my movement did finally give me some feeling in my extremities. YAY! The same could not be said for my iPhone 7. The battery died 30 minutes into my run. Guys…I can’t have my phone battery dying when the weather is cold. It’s a safety issue for ME. Against my will, I ended up turning the phone off and finishing up the run, with the last 5 miles being along my super-hilly Thanksgiving course. WHY do I do this? Why do I forget (I run this course all the time) how hard those hills are? But I pushed my fast finish at marathon pace. It was a bit of a struggle today, but my last long run was done. I took a warm shower. I put on real (warm) clothes. I watched Mindhunter with my breakfast gluten-free bagel. I went grocery shopping (all day). I came home and put away groceries. Stretched. Watched Top Chef. Watched Mindhunter. Then watched Louisville City FC win (on the road) the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Guess what? The Eastern Conference Finals are being held in Indianapolis…the afternoon of my marathon. Guess what we’re getting tickets to go watch!! It was a late night (for me) but worth staying up for.
Sunday: BASE RUN 5-8 MILES + 4-6 STIDES – GOAL 7 MILES – EASY OVERALL EFFORT
The time change messed with me. I always panic when we have to fall back or jump forward. Especially when I am meeting with friends to go running. I set my alarm clock (which I needed to adjust the time, but in hindsight didn’t actually move it when we jumped forward in the spring…so I totally had the time wrong. But I also set my phone alarm. Then I woke up, not trusting it. And my alarm clock (was wrong) said one time. My phone and Garmin said another. The clock in the living room said the same time as my phone, and the clock in the kitchen had the same time as my alarm clock. I was driving myself crazy. I finally asked Siri what time it was…and my phone was correct. I just don’t trust technology to actually fall back. Deep breath. So, I snuggled down for another hour…but didn’t really sleep. Finally got up to stretch, hydrate, fuel, and get my stuff together. I figured, with it being another below freezing morning, I’d have to give myself time to scrape the windows of my car before driving to meet my friend Ron for my last weekend run before the marathon. Murder fog rolled in as I arrived. He had gone to do his additional 2 miles ahead of our meeting. And we ran through it for a mile before it started to lift and the sun came back out. We kept it easy and talked a lot about race strategy and the weather (he’s a meteorologist) and how to dress. It’s all confusing to me. Aside from the weather (which is an uncontrollable), I do feel confident and good and better than ever as this training cycle wraps up. We threw in the strides at the end of the run. Walked it back to the cars. Stretched. And that was it. The last long run before the big day. 8 miles total.
So, yeah…a part of me is internally freaking out because I have put this HUGE goal out there for everyone to see, read about, and follow along with. But, it honestly doesn’t feel like any pressure to perform has been put on me. I trust my coach…his plan…my training…and I know I am capable of having a great race. Now…I need the day to go well. You never know on race day what can happen. But…honestly, I have never felt more ready to run 26.2 miles.
Six days to go. And, let me tell you, my friends running the NYC Marathon have been quite the inspiration! Here’s to staying focused, healthy, and strong in these final days before the start line.
It’s taper…but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. I’m still around 50 miles this week. Not unusual, to be honest. This was about what happened when I ran Glass City Marathon back in April. I told you…my coach is very untraditional when it comes to the actual taper leading into a marathon. That being said, mileage did go DOWN from last week…so it is technically a taper, right?
RIGHT?!
This week was crazy. Lots of rearranging due to events and/or weather. Tuesday night I was out late at the KFC Yum! Center seeing Celine Dion perform. So I flipped speed work to Thursday. Saturday’s weather was calling for TONS of rains (up to 3 inches) and some strong wind gusts…so I flipped my long run to Sunday. So, structure isn’t a thing this week. This week, it was all about fitting it all in. October has been a crazy month and we are now two weeks out from the big day. I need things to slow down a little.
Let’s take a look at the week, shall we?
Monday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
After last week’s hellish week of speed, I was thankful that Monday showed up as a choose your own adventure run. That is…I choose the distance and the pace…depending on how I feel and what I want to do. I always appreciate these runs. No pressure to put in any sort of long run. I could stop at 1 mile…I never go over 5. I was thankful for the recovery day and just let me legs do what the wanted and needed that day. Kept my watch covered and just paid attention to if/when I was struggling with hills or feeling like I needed to stop. It was just what I needed and I was happy that this turned, allowing me to not have to think about my run. Just plug in and go. I ended up with 5 that morning, as I felt good and the temperatures seemed just perfect. Low to mid 50s…that’s a happy place for me. I did my additional hip strengtheners with my stretches this morning as well. AND…I had a personal training session with Corey, focusing on legs. It was a busy and full day, but thankfully the run felt good.
Tuesday: INSTRUCTIONS: BASE RUN 6-8 MILES – GOAL 7 MILES + 4-6 STRIDES – EASY EFFORT – TRY NO WATCH AGAIN
Tuesday morning brought one of the speed elements I was given this week, but thankfully, it’s the least intimidating. Strides. My run was to be kept at my base pace, not really pushing it but keeping it where my rhythm naturally falls. It was almost 60 degrees this morning, so I was back in a tank top and loving it. I ran 7.5 miles without issue, keeping it around my usual base pace (sometimes faster, it just depends on hills). And I felt amazing. I added on the strides at the end, and my legs felt fast and strong as I pushed through 6 of them. That was 8 miles total for the morning. And after my shower, I went ahead and did my next round of hip strengtheners with my stretches. Got through the work day, ate dinner, and headed out to the Celine Dion concert in Louisville. The show was great…and I got home late. That being said, it wasn’t yet midnight (I got in bed at 11 pm), so I didn’t have to get out and run my miles before bed for Wednesday. And I set a later alarm, knowing that I didn’t have my big (and high mileage) speed work that following day anymore. Thank God for a flexible coach and schedule. I slept really well, surprisingly…just not enough despite a later (by about an hour) alarm.
Wednesday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
From tank top to sleeves. Wednesday morning, I headed out to run just after 4:30 am. Thankful for the change to an easy, recovery run, I was hoping to at least get 3 miles in. I would let my legs and body tell me what I had in me. It was 41 degrees, but felt like 39. That was a big change from the 60 degrees the previous morning. I started off nice and easy and, while I felt tired this morning, my legs apparently felt good. I was a little surprised by the overall pace when I uncovered my watch at the end of my run. I never pushed pace, or even worked hard on the hills. Recovery is very important and even I take recovery runs seriously. Since it all felt so fluid and good that morning, I went ahead and did 5 miles. After a shower, I did my stretches twice…and then later that evening, after work and dinner, I went and got a sports massage…which I felt I really needed! I went right to bed when I got home because the second speed element was in my track workout (that I don’t do on a track) the following morning.
Thursday: TRACK WORKOUT: 1 MILE WU; 10X800M (GOAL: 3:30 OR ~7 MIN PACE) W/ EQUAL RECOVERY (AT A JOG, NOT WALKING), 1 MILE CD
It had been a full two days since I had an actual foam rolling session. Granted, I did get a sports massage the night before, but when I stepped out (back in short sleeves because the temperature was in the mid-40s), I really knew I needed to get some good foam rolling in after this. I won’t lie, 800s are my LEAST favorite speed workout. Seriously. I feel like they take forever to actually run (even though, for me, it’s close to 3:30 minutes…but that’s an eternity, honestly). I don’t have a track nearby or open to the public…so I use a stretch of road and just run up and down it. My warmup was nice and easy, followed by some dynamic stretches (high knees and butt kicks) before I launched into all TEN…TEN!! of my 800s that morning. I could feel how each one was becoming harder and harder to hit, but I actually managed to keep the prescribed pace and never was slower than Daniel wanted me to aim for. So, that was good. In fact, before I could even fill in the comments on the training app we use, he was already commenting on how I nailed this one. It was a good feeling. So was finishing this up. Because I really was not loving the speed work. The cool down mile gave me 12 total for the day, 10 of which were the run/jog intervals. I really made sure I kept it at a light jog, so I could feel recovered enough to push on every interval that followed. I succeeded. I stretched that morning and later that night went on a 5 mile run (doing the Thanksgiving route) with my friend Melissa. It had been forever since we had run together and, she really wanted to do this route WITH me. I don’t get invited to run with people often, and I don’t care if you run slower than me or not, I love running with people. We kept this at a very, very easy pace because we both needed it that way. After I downed a bagel for dinner, I stretched again and FINALLY got in some foam rolling. I went to bed, setting a late alarm because my rest day was coming.
Friday: REST/RECOVERY DAY!
I was definitely sleeping better this week than I had been in the previous weeks. So, that’s an improvement. That being said, I woke up a full hour before my alarm. I tried to lounge in bed and doze, but I was awake. So…I got up, showered, did my stretches, got ready for work, ate breakfast, had coffee, survived the workday, came home for dinner. My coach and my training partner opted to move my long run to Sunday due to the weather on Saturday…so I wasn’t feeling pressed for time. I started a new season of Top Chef (I’m on the season in Boston, ironically), went to bed, setting a later alarm once again because I knew I was either going to do a short run in a gentle rain, or head to the gym to use the treadmill if it was a harder rain. At this point in the game, I’m 2 weeks out from my goal race…why risk slipping on wet leaves or pavement, twisting an ankle in a pothole that I thought was a puddle, or putting my immune system to the test in inclement weather? Not worth it. I’d make the call in the morning.
Saturday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
Well, it was pouring when I woke up. It was. But I still had some time to make the decision. I got over 9 hours of sleep, so I was feeling rested and ready, regardless. I went ahead and did my stretches and hydrated. I stepped outside, and it was still a steady rain, so I decided that, the best thing for ME to do, was to do this easy, recovery run inside. On the treadmill. You guys know I’m not a fan of the treadmill, but this was definitely the right choice. I know a lot of people who were training and/or racing out in the weather, and that’s fine. I don’t risk anything this close to race day. And while it is possible it could rain on November 9…I have run and raced in the rain before. And the training ground is NOT my proving ground and never will be. I went to the gym and did a very easy pace (with a 1% incline) for 5 miles. I forgot to set the incline at first, and my shins were killing me. I was really confused and then I figured that out. Sometimes a flat treadmill works best, sometimes that additional incline works magic. I needed it today. Honestly, I really kept an easy pace…probably easier than I would have done if I had been outside. And that was the entire purpose of this run. I went home afterwards, ate a big breakfast that my roommate prepared for me. Then went grocery shopping. Came home, prepared my breakfast to eat before my long run on Sunday…watched some soccer and rugby…and then went out to Dragon King’s Daughter for my “magic sushi” as my long run was tomorrow. The playoffs for the Eastern Conference Finals were happening at Slugger Field tonight, but with the rain, despite having paid for the tickets, we bowed out. Sitting in the rain and strong winds just didn’t sound appealing at all. I went to bed early…hoping our soccer team pulled off a win…and preparing for my long run, most of which, thankfully, I’d have some company for.
Sunday: 14-18 MILE LONG RUN – GOAL 16 MILES – WITH 3 MILE RACE PACE FINISH: EASY PACE – DON’T PUSH IT! AND PRACTICE RACE DAY FUELING STRATEGY. AT THE END, CLIMB DOWN TO RACE PACE FOR 3-4 MILES.
With the whole intention of tapering down, I could have easily have gone on the higher end and pushed 18 miles. But I honestly felt the goal of 16 was enough for this week. And, thankfully, my training partner was free both days this weekend, so when we flipped to the better weather of Sunday from Saturday’s lousy weather…he was still able to join me and help me with my last push at the end. I ended up getting up at 5 am. This gave me time to stretch, do my pushups, eat breakfast, foam roll, get dressed, put on sunscreen, fuel, pack up my hydration vest, put on reflective gear, and head out the door at 7:20 am…without feeling rushed. And I still had over 8 hours of sleep the night before. I ran from my apartment down to the YMCA, where Ron was going to meet me. I had 4 miles down there, and Ron showed up (a little late thanks to crazy road closures and traffic) and we headed out. We kept the pace pretty easy on the 6 miles down the Greenway…which felt fast because we had this great tailwind. BUT…this also meant when we turned around to head back (and do the fast finish) we’d have a headwind. We eased into it…and both decided to just do the 3 miles fast at the end. We hit it and Ron was amazing at keeping me on pace and making sure I didn’t push too much when I didn’t need to. It felt easy having someone worry about the pace for me…and he’s really good at it. We needed to beat a train, so the last .1 of our run was up a hill, but we were at or just slightly faster than my marathon pace. Spirits lifted. Feeling so good. He was kind enough to give me a lift home afterwards.
So…we’re 13 days away from the official start of the Monumental Marathon…and with every run I’m growing in confidence and feeling more and more ready. That’s the whole point of taper.
And, to be honest, I’m hoping that the miles go down a lot more this week…but we shall see what my coach has in store. I trust him. It trust the process. And for the first time in a long time…I trust my training.
Me finishing the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon – Louisville, KY
Race: Urban Bourbon Half Marathon
Place: Louisville, Kentucky
Date: October 19, 2019
Time: 1:42:48
Oh, Urban Bourbon…it’s been a hot second. I haven’t run this race since 2016. Not because I haven’t wanted to. Probably mostly due to training for other things, or injury…or whatnot. Honestly, when races happen in my own backyard, I try to make a point to show up to them when possible.
So, trust me, I was happy when my coach gave me the green light to include this race into my training cycle as we began to head into taper. Kinda. Because I was under the impression that I would get to basically cruise through these additional races on the calendar, using them as easy training runs, right?
Nope. Marathon pace. That’s what I was told. For both this one and Fort Ben. Well, we all know I ran a little too fast at Fort Ben (despite the hills). But, that wasn’t all bad. Except my fast finish run on Sunday the following day pretty much felt like trash. So…we repeated the hell week of speed work pretty much every day. I did this just before Fort Ben too…but he really wanted me closer to my actual marathon pace this time. So, I worked out a plan in my head to line up with the 1:45 pacer and stick with them. I’d be slightly faster, but it would keep me steady and on pace.
Friday just after I ate lunch…I stopped by the coffee shop next to my office to say “HI” to my friend, Melissa. Then, my roommate and I headed down to Slugger Field for packet pickup. Melissa, her hubby, and their baby were coming down shortly behind us. Picking up the packet was a breeze. I was bib 306…first window. AND…to make things better, my personal trainer and friend…and the Volunteer Coordinator for the Louisville Sports Commission, Corey, was right there to give me a hug. We chatted for a few minutes, but Cathy and I needed to skedaddle back to the office (BOOO!). As we were leaving, Melissa, Paul and the baby were arriving. We were going to give them our parking space, but one opened up just slightly closer. That being said, Melissa still managed to give my SRTT magnet a flip before we parted ways.
My “magic sushi” from Dragon King’s Daughter
Finished up the day at work before heading over to Dragon King’s Daughter. Because that’s where the “magic sushi” combo is. I had my usual…the Gluten Free Spicy Tofu and the Gluten Free Green Acres Rolls. Devoured them. Went home to stretch and get to bed. It was going to be an early morning.
Race morning came…and I think I actually slept well going into it. YAY! I didn’t lay anything out the night before. Didn’t think to do it. Oh well. I wasn’t too worried about it. I took my vitamins and ate my overnight oats that I had prepared the night prior…sticking with my fueling plan I am using for my marathon in November. I stretched. I hydrated. I changed. And, yes, I even put on sunscreen. All the things. I remembered my anklet and my race bib (long story, but both of those involved turning around and heading home at a different local race soon after I got back into running after the hip labrum tear). On track. The original thought was to come home after the race so I could shower and we could make a brunch happen…but I packed a backpack with a change of clothes because Cathy was kind of leaning toward staying over on that side of the river post-race…getting brunch, picking up a Cinnamon Roll & Donut from Annie May’s (for breakfast on Sunday), and getting some of our grocery shopping (it ended up barely being any of it) done while there. I was game to come home and save a bit of money…so we decided we’d pack for options.
It was a bit on the chilly side that morning…but I was planning on wearing what I wanted to wear for my marathon. It’s what I’ve been wearing at my races…so I know it works. I was just concerned about freezing near the start. Luckily, Cathy wasn’t doing a 5K at this one and I could shed clothing just before the start (so I could stay semi-warm leading into it) and leave them with her. I like when that happens. I know I have throwaway items for a reason…I just hate leaving them behind when I could probably get use of them again down the line. So…that was a plus. She pinned my bib on…I went to mix up my Maurten 160 Drink Mix…and we were out the door.
Bib is on and ready to head out to run!
The drive into Louisville wasn’t bad at all. We didn’t even hit traffic. Cathy found a parking garage that was a bit of a walk to and from the start and finish area…but it would allow for easy exit as no roads would be blocked. We found a spot and sort of hung out in the warm car for a little while. Eventually, we did decide to start heading toward the start of the race, which was on W Jefferson Street. It was here that I met up with my training partner, Ron. He wasn’t sure what his plan was for this race, but he was going to line up with the 1:40 pacer. It was at this moment, I realized there was no 1:45 pacer. There was a 1:40 and a 1:50. So…I decided I would just have to line up in between them and try not to pass or be passed.
I mean…that seems like a logical and good plan, right?
As the race start drew nearer, and the sky turned BEAUTIFUL shades of cotton candy pink and purple (Louisville was showing off!), Ron went to go shed his layers and I went to go see if I could make the MRTT/SRTT Louisville photo. It was at Panara Bread. I noticed how full the corrals were getting as I headed that way, and after a short walk and not seeing where I needed to be…I opted to instead turn back and try to find my spot for a good start to the race. I never seem to make photo ops before races unless they are right near the start line.
This turned out to be a good decision. The only way into the start area was through the back of the corral. I had to shed my warm outer layer and go try to find a spot. It was REALLY crowded and I entered, finding my friend Tracy and tapping her on the shoulder, and she said, “Hey…shouldn’t you be further up.” HA! She wasn’t wrong…and it was really hard to move through the tight crowd of people. There was a lot of me tapping people on the back, asking them if I could slide through, saying a lot of “Sorry” and “Thank you.” BUT…I got there. Whew.
Ron gave me a high five and told me that if I passed him, he was going to yell at me to slow down. Which was the best idea ever. Fun fact…I never passed him so he can save yelling at me for another day.
Me heading out of the start at the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon – Louisville, KY
The National Anthem was played and we all moved up toward the start line. A gun went off…and so did we. I gave a wave to Cathy on the sideline as I ran past…and really just felt good that morning. YAY! To be honest, while it was chilly (41° F) at the start, it was ideal running weather and was supposed to warm up as the morning went on. That being said, unlike at Fort Ben a couple of weekends before this race…I ended up keeping my gloves on and not shedding them.
So, there are actually quite a few turns in the first mile of the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon. It starts off nice and flat and fast…and you don’t even realize you’re running that fast until you hit that first mile marker. It was, as I said, the perfect morning for a half marathon. The sun was coming up. It was crisp and cool.
And I settled in pretty quickly into a rhythm. It was, for the first mile and a half, with a tall guy who was constantly commenting on how he couldn’t believe how far up the 1:40 pacers were at the start. Let it go, dude. Let it go. They have a pace they are going to run. Those who can go faster…will. We also had to run past EMW Women’s Surgical Center, which meant we were greeted by a guy with a speaker and a microphone basically preaching to us about why abortion is bad. Dude…we’re running a race here. Go do something useful with your time.
I knew I was pretty fast on my first mile, so I made a point to back off as we the loop leading into the second mile, and taking us back onto E Witherspoon. We turned this time though, heading onto Preston before turning again E Muhammad Ali Blvd. A couple more turns, keeping my pace in the mid to low 7:40s…which was still faster than I should have been…but I hadn’t passed Ron yet and 1:50 wasn’t coming up on me. It was still early, and I knew the hardest part of the race would happen once we got into the park. For now, I’d just soak it in. Once we got onto Lexington Rd I was in some pretty familiar (even though it had been ages since I’ve run it) territory! YAY!
It was along this stretch between Miles 4 and 5 that I high-fived some kids, tried to find a spot on the road where I wasn’t running on the shoulder (that had lots of debris from trees) but also not running on the grade of the road, which is kinda tilted at this point. My watched beeped a bit before I saw the Mile 5 marker…and I was questioning how I screwed up the tangents already (NOTE: I don’t actually run tangents…but my watch was WAY ahead of the mile marker). As we crossed Grinstead, we had to avoid the rubble and construction stuff (there were LARGE concrete tube-things (technical term) on the side of the road, and lots of dust and stones in their wake), but this is also where we turn and head into Cherokee Park.
Welcome…to the land of hills.
I want to give a shout-out to one of my training partners this past summer…Christine…because she had us running these hills pretty much every weekend. And I think that, while I slowed down some on these climbs, I handled them better than I would have. So…thanks, Christine! That being said, I have run in Cherokee Park so many times, that I know what the hills entail. So, I respected that. And I respected the goal of this race, which was not to kill myself trying to race it, but to aim for marathon pace. Slowing down, if necessary, was perfectly fine. And the hills were my reminder of that. While I still pushed up them, I didn’t push too hard…I let it be a hill and allowed my work, but not overwork. There was nothing to prove at this race. I was just here to finish.
We go into the park just before Mile 6 and we exit the park just before Mile 10. So, that’s about 4 miles inside Cherokee Park. And this is where you get to experience the major climbs, but also, the best part of the race. Cherokee Park, no matter how many times you run it, is beautiful. And in the fall, I think it’s even better. Highlights for the race all happened inside the park. I do want to say, I appreciate the photographers inside the park being just before that HUGE, winding climb to Hogan’s Fountain. You still look good, because when you get to the top, you pretty much feel and look like death…except you go downhill after that. Making the turn, my friend, Dan, was at the bottom. I heard him cheering for me and I high-fived him as I ran past. Up another hill. THE BEST water stop around was Water Stop 5…run by MRTT/SRTT Louisville. Costumes, cheers, and a whole lot of noise. My name was in chalk on the ground. My name was shouted and I had LOUD cheers as I ran through. Just the boost you need after all those killer hills. Itw as phenomenal! I love being in a girl gang! Around Mile 9, my friend Simon caught up to me. I could hear him coming though…because he was complimenting everyone on their dogs. I got to hear that for the rest of the race, and it kept a smile on my face.
So…much…bourbon! Runners get 4 bourbon tastings at the after party!
We head out of the park and head back downtown. At this point, I was ready for my legs to just pick it back up, but after Cherokee (and this seemed to be a sentiment shared by lots of runners that Saturday)…the legs just had no go. The hills ate them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So, I just pressed on, once again reminding myself that having no go here was fine. This wasn’t my goal race. I just settled in, and eventually my legs picked it up a little, just not much. I was ready to be done.
The last few miles went by relatively quickly, and when I hit Mile 12, I did start to pick it up a little more. There was more of a crowd, there were lots of encouraging cheers…and I could almost feel the electricity of that finish line. Making the final turn to run it in felt amazing…and, per usual, I threw my arms up as I crossed…because every finish line, whether you are first or last, should be treated like you won the damn thing! Always celebrate that finish line.
My training partner, Ron, had made it in exactly a minute ahead of me. We high-fived and hugged, collecting our medals, and making our way through the snacks to go to the afterparty (where I promised my roomie my beer and pizza…I can’t eat them…because gluten), and I was hoping to give away my bourbon tags…but I ended up having no one to share them with. It was pretty windy and chilly. I put my sweatshirt back on after standing around for a moment. Eventually, Cathy and I needed to go. We decided to grab a real breakfast at North End Café…then get some goodies for my post-run breakfast on Sunday (another 13.1 miles) from Annie May’s…and grab some groceries before heading home.
It was a great day to have a great race. I need to just keep this one on my radar every year, because Michael Clemons is phenomenal as a race director and ALWAYS puts on a great event.
Ron (my training partner) and me at the finish line of the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon
So, my official results of the 2019 Urban Bourbon Half Marathon are that I finished in 1:42:48. Not mad at all at that time, because I finished within my goal range, between the 1:40 and 1:50 pace groups. I was, technically, only 5 minutes faster than my marathon pace, and my coach said I maintained a great pace on this (aka: he wasn’t mad at it). I was 208/3026 finishers overall. I was 40/1739 female finishers in this race. And I was 6/301 in my age division! Sometimes, working in some races to the training plan is a great way to figure out where you are with your training…or a good way to squeeze in a training run (keep that pace easy and controlled) and earn a medal in the process. Definitely coming back next year!
This is how my week started out. My training plan came through Sunday evening, before I had gone to bed. I opened it…expecting a lot less intensity and fewer miles. What I got was a repeat of the week of speed work. I actually replied to my coach’s message with, “Well, this wasn’t the week I was expecting.” He knew I was fresh off a 22 miler, and told asked me if I felt like I was too beat up to do it.
Honestly, I knew I could do it. Mentally…I didn’t want to. This was taper. Right? Physically, though, I knew I could do it and told him as much. And so…the week of speed work returned…with a vengeance.
Let’s get into it…because while the workouts are all a repeat…how I ran them definitely was different.
Monday: INSTRUCTIONS: BASE RUN 6-8 MILES – GOAL 7 MILES + 4-6 STRIDES – EASY EFFORT – TRY NO WATCH AGAIN
I woke up on Monday morning feeling restless and tired. It’s been happening a lot this training cycle – I’m just not able to sleep well after long or hard workouts. And that, my friends, sucks! A LOT! So, I was tired. But on top of that, my left hamstring (which apparently wants to be tight after every long run I do on hills) was tight and sore. AND…on top of that, I had a few other aches that were niggling at me. I got dressed, feeling moody, and went out for my base pace run…not even sure if I’d actually be able to do it…and not really sure I could do the strides at this point. The good news is…after about 2 miles, it all felt better and I really started to flow. I didn’t push the pace at all this time…but I did decide that things felt good enough to do those strides. I knocked them out, feeling a bit of speed in my legs and was grateful that everything seemed to work itself up as I warmed up. I did my additional hip strengthening exercises afterwards when I was working in my morning stretches. And later that day, I met with Corey for my personal training session. He, being an athlete himself, was very considerate of my hamstring and we worked with it and around it. Later that night, I made sure to foam roll everything really well. I had commented on my training plan that my hamstring was bothering me, and Daniel (my coach) did reply with that if I still felt beat up, to cut out the speed work tomorrow and just do a base pace run. I went to bed early, per usual, uncertain of how my morning run would go.
Tuesday: INSTRUCTIONS: SPEED WORK – MONA FARTLEKS W/ 1 MILE HARD EFFORT
Well, my hamstring felt much better when I woke up on Tuesday morning. That was a good thing. And while I had an out…I decided that unless something didn’t feel right on the 2 mile warm up, I would do the speed work exercise that day. And this particular day was none other than – Mona Fartleks. If you’re an avid reader, you’re very familiar with these by now. If you’re just joining me on this journey…here’s how these work: 2 mile warm up, 2×90 sec, 4 x 60 sec, 4×30 sec, 4×15 sec (with equal recovery after each at a pace faster than base pace), 1 mile hard effort, 2 mile cool down. I felt good this morning. Really good. I hit all my paces hard and fast. I recovered, keeping it faster than base pace. And I managed to hit 3 new records on my Garmin. Of course, I deleted these because they weren’t under race conditions (this is just how I do it…some people would have kept them, and that’s fine). So, you could say I was feeling much better. I surprised myself that day, even managing a 6-minute something mile for my one mile hard effort. I don’t know HOW I did it…but I did. And I won’t argue with the data. After a shower, I did my second day of additional hip strengtheners with my morning stretches.
Wednesday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
I was looking forward to Wednesday. I really was. Because this was the morning I got to chill. I actually slept in an hour later, knowing that my run would be shorter and easier. This was the one day this week that would not have some speed element in it. And I was going to chill and just enjoy it. And while some of my splits registered faster than they felt (not that that is a bad thing…but I really try to keep easy miles easy on these days), I didn’t want to overdo anything. I ran 5 miles, nice and easy. That was my day. Just my morning and evening stretches and some foam rolling. I went to bed just after 7:30 pm because I knew what hell awaited me in the morning. And it was a double-digit weekday run.
Thursday: INSTRUCTIONS: 11-13 MILES WITH 3 MILES FAST FINISH – GOAL 12 MILES – EASY DOES IT UNTIL FAST FINISH AT THE END.
I slept really well coming into this workout. For that, I was relieved. But, I still woke up sort of dreading this run. First of all, it was cold outside, in the low 40s. It was windy. And I really hate double digit runs on weekdays. I work very hard and sometimes put in long days, so when I have to wake up 30-60 minutes earlier than I normally would to squeeze in marathon training…it makes me grumpy. I get the value of an occasional mid-distance run during the week, but as someone who already runs pretty early in the morning…these get really hard to fit in more often than not. My body felt good, and I made sure that I kept my pace truly easy for the first 10 miles. Then, I just pushed it on the last 3 miles. I did this better than I had the week previously that I had done this same week of workouts…which was nice, because I was also fighting headwinds on my uphills (that’s not an exaggeration…my hills all had me running INTO the wind). But I got it done. And it was a relief to put it behind me. I showered and started to do my stretches (which I had intended to do twice because I had plans that evening), but remembered that I needed to make Friday’s lunch for the office because I wouldn’t have time to make it tonight before we’d have to head out the door to Derby Dinner (I won tickets). So, I did that…then finished my stretches…but never did get to foam rolling or the second round of stretches.
Friday: REST/RECOVERY DAY!
Thank God for rest days!! I was up WAY past my bedtime on Thursday night with Derby Dinner Playhouse. It was fun. But I was tired and really ready for bed when I got home (and still had to change, brush my teeth, take out contacts, etc)…so I crashed hard. I set an alarm for my usual Friday morning time and woke up with the alarm, but wasn’t ready to get out of bed. Fifteen minutes later…I did haul myself out of bed to shower, stretch, drink coffee, and get ready for work. I left the office shortly after lunch to head to Slugger Field to pick up my packet for the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon. I met up with my friends Corey, Paul and Melissa…and that was fun…but I sadly had to go back to work. I finished up the day, went over to Dragon King’s Daughter for “magic sushi”…and then went home to settle in, stretch and foam roll. I went to bed at normal time…and set an alarm with enough time to get up and get ready without feeling rushed.
Saturday: URBAN BOURBON HALF MARATHON AT MARATHON PACE
I’ll have an entire blog on this race. Let’s just say, I still finished sooner than I probably should have. But my plan to line up with the 1:45 pacer was thwarted by the fact that there was a 1:40 pacer and a 1:50 pacer. So I figured if I stayed in between them…I’d be doing fine. I forgot how much the hills in Cherokee can beat up your legs. Thankfully, my training partner, Christine, often had us run that particular way and route around the park, so even though it had been awhile, my legs had done it often enough. I started off way too fast…eased it back…got killed by the hills (thank goodness my marathon is flat)…ran through the best water station run by MRTT/SRTT Louisville where I got a ton of screams and cheers, and then…finished strong, even though the legs were pretty much done by the 15K mark. Press on. Get it done. I officially logged a 1:42:48 half this week, purposefully easing back on the pace. I’ll take it. OH…and this was my 40th half marathon I have run to date. And that was with 2 years of little to no running due to injuries. Not too shabby!
Sunday: 11-13 MILES WITH 3-5 MILES FAST FINISH – EASY DOES IT UNTIL THE FAST FINISH AT THE END
Ever have one of those days where you want to be excited about the run that is assigned to you, but just can’t. That was this morning. I really, really, REALLY didn’t want to run a third 13.1 miles for the week. I was fighting it all morning. And I was in a very bad mood when I realized that the sunrise wasn’t until 7:59 am. I hate this time of year ONLY for that reason. That and winter coming too soon. But the temps today were a beautiful 57°-60° in the morning. I decided not to wait until it got light out, but to go ahead and put on some reflective gear, get some mileage done, then ditch it at home before finishing it up. That’s exactly what I did. And I kept a pretty steady pace for those first 8 miles. Then…I picked it up. The first two fast finish miles felt fine. It got hard after that. The legs were not wanting to push and I just had to keep giving myself those pep talks and letting it feel hard. I was glad to finish up that run, for sure.
For it being taper, I logged 60 miles this week. I’m really hoping the intensity and mileage start to go down from here. I feel like I’m getting stronger, but I’m feeling pretty beat up at times…so a nice taper would feel amazing right now. And I love long runs, but I just want to be sure I feel ready, able, and rested for November 9th’s starting line.
Feeling very inspired, confident, and ready right now. Three more weeks. Let’s do this thing!
Remember how I said I was in taper? I was apparently confused. Out of my mind. Wrong. Because my coach had one more long, long run up his sleeve. And I didn’t know about it until I was leaving the Kentucky Center of the Arts. I had gone to see Dear Evan Hansen. I was in a pretty dress and heels. I had a message come through from my coach telling me my schedule was posted and that I could choose how to run the 5K I was participating in on Saturday, but to not go 100%…because we (as in me…he wasn’t doing it with me, HA) had one more long, long run to tackle.
I flipped to my calendar and it was staring me down. One final 20-22 miler.
Here. We. Go.
Monday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
Thank goodness for easy, recovery days. With as stacked as last week was with three 13.1 runs…I was happy to have the chance to rest up a little. Especially since I had a late night with the Broadway show. I slept in as much as I could…then got up to go out for an easy run. The temperatures had dropped into the high 50s. It was supposedly raining. It wasn’t. It was a nice run that morning. No pushing pace. I ran faster than I had been in the past…probably because I had no humidity weighing me down. It was a good morning for a good run. Even if I wore a hat because of rain and it didn’t rain. I ended up with just over 5 miles. No personal training…which was a blessing with the week I had leading into this one.
Tuesday: INSTRUCTIONS: BASE RUN 6-8 MILES – GOAL 7 MILES + 4-6 STRIDES – EASY EFFORT – TRY NO WATCH AGAIN
On an even more perfect morning temperature-wise, I went out in sleeves and some gloves (if temps are in the 40s or below…gloves always because Raynauds is real friends) and shorts and just let my legs do the talking. I reminded myself not to push any sort of pace. Just to go with the flow…stay in control of my breath. And let this run be the miles I needed that day. I ended up with 7.5 when I stopped. Then, I got to add strides on to the end. Six of them. And I felt fast and strong and I was fast and strong. And that’s the bonus of the cooler weather. When you suffer and die and cry throughout summer as you sweat it out…you fly in the fall. Hoping this trend continues because there comes a point where it gets too cold for me to function. And right now…we’re right in my happy place. Ended with 8 miles for the day. Also tacked on my additional hip strengthening exercises to the stretches I do every day.
Wednesday: INSTRUCTIONS: TRACK WORKOUT – 1-2 MILE WU; 7 X 800M W/ EQUAL RECOVERY; 1-2 MILE CD – AFTER 1-2 MILE WU, DO SOME DYNAMIC DRILLS TO LOOSEN UP FURTHER. THIS IS A REPEAT OF A PIOR WORKOUT. WE ARE SHOOTING FOR AROUND 3:30 FOR THE *ON* TIME (~7 MIN PACE) AND THEN RECOVERY CAN BE LIGHT BUT NEEDS TO BE JOGGING, NOT WALKING.
Wednesday was a bad day. Not that anything tragic or life changing happened. But I had a double digit run on the schedule, so I had to go to bed SUPER early on Tuesday. Then, I had to wake up every super earlier than usual on Wednesday morning. I wasn’t loving it. Not at all. I also wasn’t loving the 800s that were scheduled. I will gladly and happily force myself to do speed work when asked, but I LOATHE 800s. The instant I got up, I went and made my Maurten 160 Drink Mix up and began to drink it while I was getting dressed, putting in contacts, all the things. I got my hydration bag ready to go and I headed out for my speed work. And then…my stomach decided to be on the fritz all morning. I just think it doesn’t like having things fed to it at 3 am before pushing a fast pace. At all. So, had to stop a couple of times for that, but felt better and rounded it out. I also feel that EVERY FREAKIN’ TIME I have speed work, the road I cross on the stretch that I run for it (no track…because this area is the worst) has the most traffic of any other day, no matter the hour. UGH! But, you know, maybe it wasn’t perfect, but I hit my paces, recovered properly and wrapped it up with stretching. I also had personal training with Corey that afternoon. He, thankfully, kept it basic…challenging, but nothing too intense. And for that, I appreciate him. Also…Annie Mays didn’t have soft pretzels…so lunch was a no-go. Had to improvise. It just wasn’t my day.
Thursday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
I love a good recovery run. We were back in the 50s this morning, so I kept the short sleeves and shorts, but ditched the gloves before I even went out the door. My goal, once again, was just to let my body do what it needed to that morning. I know that I have a pretty stacked weekend, and one rest day (which will involve the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Iroquois Park), I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize how my body would feel going into those. I figured 3-5 miles would be perfect. I felt good out there. My turnover felt amazing. My breath stayed controlled. And I finished up with 5 miles. Went inside and did my second day of additional hip strengtheners with my stretches. Had to walk a bit farther to the office due to Harvest Homecoming happening downtown. And spent a good chunk of my morning standing in line for Masonic Donuts (which I can’t eat, but my office loves them…except for this year…or something). But, it was a good way to head into the weekend.
Friday: REST/RECOVERY
Full rest day! YAY!! I slept over 8 hours. Got up to shower. Did two rounds of my stretches and my foam rolling, just because I was unsure of when/if I would be able to get to it that night with the Pumpkin Walk happening. I went into work…favorite t-shirt day…ready to sit and stand at my desk to get work done, go pick up Amanda (roomie’s sister), go to get Indian food for dinner, then head (weather permitting) to Iroquois Park to do the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular. It was a bit chilly, but the worst of the rain happened while we were under the canopy of the trees. It was a good way to wrap up the evening. I went right to bed when I got home.
Saturday: RACE FOR THE CURE 5K – YOU CAN APPROACH THIS HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE OTHER THAN PROBABLY NOT A FULL OUT EFFORT
Let me preface this by saying that this didn’t feel like an all-out effort. Not one bit. In fact, for the first two miles of the race, I couldn’t feel my feet because I was so cold. Most of this will be covered in my official blog on the race itself, but I felt good this morning. I had a fantastic group of people running on my team for my mom, Dottie Brady, showing their support and honoring her and others in her family. I love all of them for showing up and running for this cause. So, I ended up averaging a 7:07 mile for the 3.03 (the course was either short or the GPS cut out when we went through the tunnel twice) miles, finishing third overall and first female. I had a sweet woman come over when I finished and just gave me a hug and I loved her for that. I needed it. It was an emotional race and I felt so supported by my friends and team. And for that…I am thankful. So, it may appear I went all-out, but honestly, I had more in the tank. But tomorrow’s run will be a good judgement on how I ran this one. I felt amazing the entire time…and the cheers and shouts from not just my team members, but also the people along the course and in the race was uplifting. What an amazing race!
Sunday: 18-22 MILE LONG RUN – EASY PACE – DON’T PUSH IT! AND PRACTICE RACE-DAY FUELING STRATEGY.
To be honest…I expected today to suck. I really did. After the 5K, a day full of grocery shopping, grabbing “magic sushi” during Harvest Homecoming (traffic and parking nightmare, friends), and a chilly Louisville City FC soccer match…I didn’t have high hopes for this run. I set an alarm for 5:15 am. Got up, put in contacts, ate breakfast, stretched, hydrated, got dressed, drank my Maurten 320 Drink Mix, and got ready to head out as it was getting light out. It was 36° outside, so I put on bright yellow capris and a long sleeve shirt with gloves. And I realize I would have been cold for a few miles, but I probably would have been fine in short sleeves and shorts with the gloves. Eventually. I wasn’t pushing pace at all, and I was doing what I could to make it so that when I did my Thanksgiving course at the end of the run, I could head straight home. The cooler weather was nice, but I did feel overdressed after a time. I rolled up my sleeves halfway through the run. I did practice my fueling…and I definitely have that dialed in for race day. YAY! And I felt strong, even on the super hilly back half of this run. I finished it up, feeling confident about the race four weeks from yesterday. Honestly, I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Now it’s just a matter of taking care of myself through taper. I’ve been a bit sluggish the rest of today…but aside from that, feeling good. Happy that taper has officially (for real this time) started! YAY!
Bonus Sunday inspiration was Kipchoge’s world record 1:59:40 marathon finish on Saturday…and Sunday was also the 6th Anniversary (to the day) of me running my first marathon and getting my BQ. I hope it serves for further inspiration and motivation as the weeks wrap up and I head into my 16th marathon.
I have no idea what my week will look like, save for a half marathon on Saturday of this coming week. I anticipate that I’ll be told to take this one easy and not push the pace. And that’s fine by me. I’d like to just cruise a half marathon because I’m tired. I’ve had some pretty crazy weeks these past two weeks, and I’m ready to start seeing some downtime.
Who else is happy to hit taper time? Anyone else running Urban Bourbon next Saturday?
Whew. I was hoping for the weeks to feel a little less daunting and less of a grind, since I hit that last 20+ miler last weekend. But, apparently, my coach had other plans for this week. I warned you…he’s very nontraditional when it comes to the taper. That being said, I was expecting some room to breathe, so when I woke up Monday morning to my schedule (I go to bed before children go to bed…and sometimes I don’t have my schedule Sunday night before I go to bed…and this week, it came through 2 hours after I had already gone to bed), I was a little bit surprised. I wasn’t thrilled with it…but I know there are methods to what my coach prescribes me in these weeks leading into my goal race…so I put my trust in him.
Take a deep breath…we’re diving right in.
Monday: INSTRUCTIONS: BASE RUN 6-8 MILES – GOAL 7 MILES + 4-6 STRIDES – EASY EFFORT – TRY NO WATCH AGAIN
I knew with every run this week having some sort of speed component in them, I really needed to pay attention to those that instructed me to run a base pace, or easy, and do exactly that. My Monday morning run is generally the same every week. So the fact that I didn’t have my schedule prior to going to bed wasn’t stressing me out at all. The only addition to this week’s Monday run was the inclusion of the strides at the end. This run went well. I kept things controlled and easy for 7 miles. I had been struggling in Florida with any sort of speed, and despite the heat and humidity, I managed to turn out some decent strides without feeling bad about my effort. I did my additional hip strengtheners during my stretches that morning. And I met with Corey, who did a full-body workout with me outside…which was insane and challenging. Let me tell you, I was still feeling it two days later. I did put in extra time that evening (after some further meal prep) to stretch and foam roll.
Tuesday: INSTRUCTIONS: SPEED WORK – MONA FARTLEKS W/ 1 MILE HARD EFFORT
Welcome to Day 2 of some sort of speed element in my running this week. Let me tell you, I run 6 days a week, and 5 of them included something that involved speed. This is my nightmare. BUT…at least he gave me my favorite of the speed workouts he throws at me – Mona Fartleks. If you’re an avid reader, you’re very familiar with these by now. If you’re just joining me on this journey…here’s how these work: 2 mile warm up, 2×90 sec, 4 x 60 sec, 4×30 sec, 4×15 sec (with equal recovery after each at a pace faster than base pace), 1 mile hard effort, 2 mile cool down. I felt really good during the actual workout…but I had a few bumps in the road. Not literally. First of all, there was a woman riding around on her electric scooter with a mean, yappy dog VERY early in the morning. And it was barking and coming at me, and at one point within my first mile, decided to chase me (there was no avoiding her), and it ripped the leash from the lady’s hand (and the handle cover off her scooter) and made for a very awkward situation and way to start. I actually paused for a few minutes to let them scoot on away so I could, possible, stop encountering them along the way. I don’t have a track (and it is currently WAY too warm to wait until the evening to do the track workouts with the local running store), so I do these on the road. And for a bunch of these intervals, I need to cross a main road. And this week…there happened to be a LOT of traffic at the time I chose to run. This rarely happens, but it does make me mad when it does. That being said, I did power through the intervals. The fast mile was a struggle because my legs were getting really tired and the humidity was wearing me out…but I finished it up, did my cool down, and happily went inside. I did my second day (I do 2 days a week usually) of additional hip strengthener moves with my stretches. And, progressively got a little more sore throughout the remainder of the day. That night I did attend Ladies Night at our local running store, which kept me out later than usual, but I got to hang with some amazing friends, which made it worth it.
Wednesday: INSTRUCTIONS: NO WATCH ALLOWED! FOCUS ON THE GOAL OF THE RUN = RECOVERY! GO AS FAR OR SHORT AS YOU NEED, AS FAST OR SLOW AS YOU NEED, WALK OR RUN AS YOU NEED.
Welcome to the one and only day this week that DID NOT include some element of speed. Thank goodness I had one. I woke up, still sore from personal training and very glad I didn’t have to push any sort of pace because of that. I got to bed late, but as this was a run for me to choose the distance, I know I wouldn’t go too far, and if the soreness got worse, I would keep it really short. I woke up later than my usual alarm (Thursday would be earlier, so it balances), got dressed, fueled, put on my gear and headed out. It took about 2 miles for my legs to find a rhythm and to not ache as much in the muscles. But they did feel better. I was very mindful of any sort of pain, but as things got easier…the run also progressed. Not with speed. I still kept that down and under control. I have enough speed happening this week…I wasn’t going to put any unnecessary energy into this run. A recovery run did me good though, because I did feel the muscles loosen up and I felt a lot better afterwards. I put in 5 easy miles…which I was thankful I was able to do and that my body allowed me to do that morning. I did my stretches I got from physical therapy YEARS ago (the ones I do every morning and night) twice this morning, as I had a sports massage scheduled for that evening. Corey texted to say he was sick, and very kindly didn’t want to give what he had to me. I was thankful for that. And I think my muscles appreciated an extra bit of time off. The sports massage…was glorious. I went to bed as soon as I got home though…because Thursday was the start of what I considered to be my hell. HA!
Thursday: INSTRUCTIONS: 11-13 MILES WITH 3 MILES FAST FINISH – GOAL 12 MILES – EASY DOES IT UNTIL FAST FINISH AT THE END.
I barely slept the night prior. I had set an early alarm…for 2:30 am, with the hope of fueling (which isn’t easy on a weekday), getting ready, and heading out the door by 3 am. I did manage all of that, but damn…I was tired. With having spent most of the night tossing and turning, I was not looking forward to doing this run. But, I told myself to just take it easy, gradually ease into it, and just prepare for those final three miles. My legs felt SO much better after the sports massage. Seriously! But I was just fatigued. I had fueled with the Maurten 160 Drink Mix before heading out and had one of their new Maurten 100 Gels with Caffeine on me to take around Mile 9.5 (which I did). It was a hot, humid morning. Every now and again, a bit of a breeze would blow, but I was not enjoying having to squeeze in a half marathon distance on a Thursday. It’s hard for me to do double digits on a work day. It’s hard enough to fit in single digit runs, and since I never sleep well before these double digit ones (they don’t happen often…but when they do…), I know the logistics just stress me out to that point. I made a good effort of keeping those first 10 miles easy. Then, I threw down, the best I could, for those final three miles. They weren’t impressively fast…but they were good enough for the day. The second one had a few more turns than the other two, so it was totally slower than the ones that sandwiched it. But…I got it done. And 13.1 miles later, I was happy to BE done. I showered and stretched and ate a protein-filled breakfast. And I really hoped I would sleep better leading into my rest day.
Friday: REST/RECOVERY DAY!
I did sleep better leading into Friday. That was good. I slept in. I showered. I stretched. I finished packing. I headed out to work. I put in about 6 hours, leaving the office around 2:30 pm. I went and picked up my order of “magic sushi,” loaded it into a cooler and headed up to Indianapolis for the Indy Half Marathon at Fort Ben. I have never done this race before. But I stopped by the hotel, dropped off bags (and put my sushi into the fridge), went to the expo to pick up packets (I was grabbing my friend’s , went to Fresh Thyme (I left my pre-race breakfast at the office in my rush to leave, so I found a good replacement with Brekki Blueberry Overnight Oats, Julie’s Real Cashew Butter (coconut vanilla bean flavor), and some waters for the room and pre/during/post race things. Then we hit up Noodles & Co. so Cathy could grab herself dinner before we returned to the hotel, turned on Food Network to watch Diners, Drive-ins & Dives, and eat dinner. I stretched and foam rolled, then…stayed up until about 9 before calling it a night.
Saturday: INDY HALF MARATHON AT FORT BEN AT MARATHON PACE
Okay…let me be the first to admit that I ran this WAY faster than marathon pace. But, it was 47° outside. And while I had another restless night…I was feeling good. I connected with Kelly first thing in the morning when we got to the giant parking lot they parked us in. So we hung out before the race, which was fun. I don’t get to hang with friends ahead of a race very often. With the fall air here, the bon fires at the start were nice and we hung there until we had to get into our corrals. I will do a full race report on this, but let’s just say this…I felt strong for the entire run, even on the giant hills. I knew I was running well because the 1:40 pacer was behind me the entire time. And in my head, I kept reminding myself that my goal isn’t to PR…it’s to run a race at marathon pace. The pacers in that group were phenomenal and while I didn’t run with them, I went and thanked them after the race itself. I would go back and run this one again in a heartbeat. Great race. And I am only 21 seconds off of a new PR in this distance. Knocking on the door of a breakthrough. After the race, I showered, packed up, went to Woody’s Library Restaurant for lunch, grabbed some goodies at the gluten-free bakery up the way, went to the Indiana State Fairgrounds for the Half Price Books Clearance Sale (books were $2 and under), before heading home. It was a lot of time in the car post-race and I did stiffen up some. Got back and swung by the office to grab the breakfast I was supposed to have from the office so I could have it on Sunday, ran into Melissa, Paul, and Carrick. Talked for a bit. then went to get wheat we came for, returned home, didn’t unpack, just changed into pajamas, stretched, foam rolled, made popcorn, watched Top Chef…and went to bed.
Sunday: 11-13 MILES WITH 3-5 MILES FAST FINISH – EASY DOES IT UNTIL THE FAST FINISH AT THE END
UGH. I didn’t sleep well leading into Sunday morning either. UGH! What’s up with these restless nights? Is it the change in the weather? I need it to stop now, please. I actually got up a few times, but nothing seemed to really work. I eventually through my comforter over me, and that helped for a bit. Maybe I need a weighted blanket. But what this did leave me with was very little motivation to do this workout today. I wasn’t feeling it at all. I really just wanted to curl up on the couch and not move. But, I eventually got up, stretched, fueled, got my stuff together, put on sunscreen, got dressed and got out the door. I kept those early miles easy. I wasn’t loving the return of the 70° weather this morning. Or the humidity. But I think it’s going away after today. The first 8 miles felt harder than they were. My legs were tired from the race the morning before. The last 5 miles that I pushed pace were trash. Honestly, they were the hardest in a long time. And, because I’m dumb, I used my hilly Thanksgiving course for the last 5 miles, which made it even harder to push that fast pace. I was dying. It was a HUGE struggle bus. But I just took it for what it was. I ran too fast yesterday and that was reflected in my performance today. I wrapped it up, hoping for a bit of a break in the workouts next week. I don’t want speed every day again. I really don’t. I’m also going to be out late because I’m seeing Dear Evan Hansen tonight. So, tomorrow should be interesting.
And that’s how I taper, I guess. I run really fast for 5 out of 6 days of training. And I’m sure the workouts aren’t done yet. That’s just how my coach does “taper.” And I trust him. With my performance at the Indy Half Marathon at Fort Ben, his methods are working. But, dammit, I want to sleep, and feel rested, and maybe have a week to breathe.
I don’t know how I made it through these last 20 weeks, but with that said…race week has arrived. I’m both nervous, excited, anxious, and calm. How is it possible to feel all the things and remain sane? Well, the vote is still out on that whole remaining sane thing. HA!
This is how my week started out. My training plan came through Sunday evening, before I had gone to bed. I opened it…expecting a lot less intensity and fewer miles. What I got was a repeat of the week of speed work. I actually replied to my coach’s message with, “Well, this wasn’t the week I was expecting.” He knew I was fresh off a 22 miler, and told asked me if I felt like I was too beat up to do it.
The Celiathlete 