Marathon Training

Talks of marathons have been in the air for months now.  After backing out of the Marine Corps Marathon just weeks ago, Josh was giving me a lot of grief.  Although I was disappointed with not following through; life just got in the way and my training was weeks behind, I knew that I was making the right decision by not forcing the race.  However, over and over I have heard Josh say anyone could be a marathoner and that it wouldn't take much training to hold a 14 min mile (most course minimums) for 26.2 miles.   After spending a great deal of my life over the last year and a half dedicated to training (over 1000 miles logged) I was a little offended by his statements.  Not that I am a marathoner, nor do I think I am ready now.  But a lot of hard work, sweat and time go into conquering this large goal and it isn't going to be for anyone.  Yet, he persists that most anyone under 35 in moderate health could knock out a race like this on any given day .

And so the challenge began.  He found a marathon, that is now 5 weeks away, and signed us up.  His training plan doesn't exists, crazy I know, and mine was already in a few weeks (from the previous marathon training and multiple half marathons on my list) so it is building quickly now.  I am close to 40 miles a week now (this week will fall short a bit due to a 10 miler this morning being cut to 5...my body just wasn't having it) and really determined to keep this going so that I can no only finish this race but kick Josh's butt.

Tomorrow I will be running the Baldwin Park Half Marathon as part of my training program.  Paying for a race is practically insurance that I will get in a long run and be aggressive with my pace.  Not to mention it comes with a pretty medal at the end to add to the collection.  This race will mark my 6th half marathon for this year and coupled with a 2 mile warm up will give me a 15 mile long run this weekend.  I still feel like I am a little behind building my mileage for the full but at least I will be better off those who aren't training for the full (boy will I be eating my words if he finishes this thing).

Beach Running World Championships

This run started with poor nutrition, little sleep, and a sour attitude but that is certainly very opposite of how it ended. I have contemplated how to detail my lack-luster run through my blog and kept coming back to the same concept.  It wasn't my time that mattered, it wasn't my finish that mattered; it was my attitude and the experience I had along the way that mattered.

By the time I got to the first mile marker, my attitude had already greatly improved.  I mean the race was right along the shoreline and the sun was rising...how could you be in a bad mood when the world's beauty surrounds you and good health has allowed you to make another race regardless of lack or sleep or nutrition. Not only was I staying strong in my running pace, but the music was just right for the morning.  I tend to get caught up in my thoughts and music and the miles pass pretty easily.  Before I knew it 3 miles had passed and I was feeling really good...that is until the music died.  I knew very quickly that I had to focus on something else if I was going to keep running for the next 10 miles.

By this point there were many 10Kers that had started heading back to the finish line on this out and back race, so I played cheerleader for them and they were generally grateful (not to mention my encouragement is typically pretty entertaining and funny so I was cracking myself up). It wasn't too much further that the really strong half marathoners were now heading in the direction of the finish line, so my hilarious cheering continued.  Both time and miles passed quickly, but by the time I got to the turn around and then made it to the 8 mile mark in this very small race, there were very few runners heading in the opposite direction to cheer on.  Time to refocus my energy again; I noticed a runner using the Galloway method and we were playing a tag. I would be leading, he'd catch me; he'd be leading, I'd catch him.  I actually pulled out a great mile pace just pushing myself not to let him win.  But if you know me, you know...I'll eventually start a conversation with you.

Turns out this Galloway runner was a really interesting person and I actually joined his run-walk-run method to hear all about him "giving life the middle finger one more time," his actual words.  Scott was out running with his daughter who was training for a marathon in January and he wanted to support her pursuit of this goal.  We became instant friends and he revealed to me that he had not only had a kidney and a lung removed, he survived cancer once before and was about to start chemo again.  What a bad-ass!  I was so intrigued with his spirit and his drive and decided to run/walk the rest of the race with him.  We had 5 miles to become BFF's and it really changed my attitude from the beginning of the day.  In fact, I haven't been able to stop thinking about him since that day.  I find the world to be filled with so many wonderful people and when you couple this with an over zealous and friendly person, you find it isn't difficult to meet them.  So I present to you my new blog chronicling all the people I am fortunate to meet...drum roll please, "*My New Best Friend."

*My New  Best Friend is in the very early stages and is still being developed, but I promise great stories to come.

hot Hot HOT!

What a cool running season for me - I went from running my first half marathon in January and crossing the finish line with my mom to running my fourth, personal best half marathon and crossing the finish line with my father in April.

Leading up to the run, I was stressing a lot of the outcome.  I really wanted to run a half marathon at a sub 2 hour race and I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to make this race the race for it to happen in.  But I knew it was going to be hot and I didn't train very well during the 4 weeks before.  I decided not to write any goals on paper and just make my last half marathon of the season a good race to end with...and that it was.

By 530 the temperature was already ready 79 degrees and the sun hadn't even come up yet.  I am super paranoid of dehydration and decided to run with a bottle of water since it was only getting hotter by 7.  They were expecting temps of 86 during the day with no cloud coverage.  And when I say no cloud coverage, I literally mean there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. So the race was off (you can catch a glimpse of my mom in the picture as well to the left).  My dad, who is like speed lightning, volunteered to help pace me to a sub 2 hour race.  I was just off of this mark a few weeks earlier by 1 minute and 13 seconds at the Gasparilla half.  The first two miles felt great even though the heat was brutal.  My plan was only to do 9:15-9:20 for the first three miles but I wasn't complaining about the 8:56, 9:02, and 9:00 miles.

By mile 3, I was drenched in sweat, almost through an entire bottle of water (even though I stopped at each water stop) and having a little fun since my times were slightly faster than I planned.  We were still with the masses at this point and had a couple interesting conversations.  Two nice ladies recognized my dad from the previous month's Double IronMan wished me luck for my finish.  It was a little too early on, but still got me a little too excited about really doing this. This is my first season of running and really committing to training for long distances and I want that sub 2 hour goal more than anything. The mile markers started giving a few people concerns.  Being off by any where up to a half a mile.

By mile five I picked up a friend.  Met #614, Emily, who was on her 7th half marathon and trying hard for her first sub two hour finish.  We quickly decided, without speaking it, we'd work together and push to that goal...of course relying heavily on my father to help us pick up the pace when needed. I find is so awesome how many people are actually willing to have a conversation out their even when we are huffing and puffing to make it to the finish.  The three of us chugged along and head to a pretty steady pace during the long stretch that ran right up along the beach.  Next set of miles were 8:54, 9:10, 9:15, 9:16.  Slowing down a bit but knowing we weren't off our mark...or were we? The mile markers were still giving us issues and I wasn't sure if we had ran 6.5 miles or 6 miles at the 6 mile marker.

Approaching the turn around right around the 7.5 mile mark, I was able to get down a gel (gosh those things are disgusting, seriously all flavors suck) snag a cup of water, push toward the finish and actually match right around 7.5 miles on my watch.  Silly mile markers.  The next 3ish miles were really exciting and helped to get my mind off of the agony of the heat.  We got to pass all the others that were still running to the midpoint.  Passed a friend, passed some of my mother's co-workers and got to cheer on my mom who was just about a mile behind us.   I was burning up though and made the decision to de-cloth slightly to try and stay cool.  My wonderful father even agreed to carry my drenched shirt just so I could concentrate on running. Clocking these miles at 9:05, 8:59, 8:59.

We made it down the coast and back into the neighborhoods and it suddenly wasn't fun anymore.  There no longer was a sea breeze and the heat seemed to intensify.  I seriously contemplated just stopping and walking the rest of the way.  My father on the other hand thought he would stop and take a shot of rum.  No seriously, at the "free rum shots" stand he stopped, told a joke, took a shot and then caught back up.  What a daughter I am...I didn't even wait on him or attempt to slow down.  So with that in mind and seeing him be such a sport (he doesn't drink liquor) I decided to tough it out. And tough it was.  I was really started to struggle, but sub two hours could still be met. Emily dropped off a bit as well.  Powered through a 9:10 and 9:13 mile but hit the 12 mile mark on my watch way before the sign.  

As we rounder the corner and came out from the neighborhood, the finish line was in sight. But I knew I only had a minute or two to get there and it wasn't going to happen.  I wanted to just give up right there, nearly broke into tears and broke down.  My dad wouldn't let me stop though and even with wanting to quit and getting hotter by the second I did my final full mile in 9:26 and the last stretch in roughly 2:39 (my watch says this was .34 miles).  We picked up the pace and pulled the last little bit of energy out to finish strong ( I totally to kicked my dad's butt by one second).  Final time 2:01:06; that is a 7 second PR.  Not what I wanted, but it felt good.  I raced a good race and had a solid finish to my first of what should be many seasons of running.

So, yeah, a cool running indeed - I went from running my first half marathon in January and crossing the finish line with my mom to running my fourth, personal best half marathon and crossing the finish line with my father in April.

Trying a Tri

This past weekend, I attempted my first trial run of a triathlon.  That's right...I tried a tri.  And what an awesome try (or tri) it was! 

It is no secret that I didn't grow up around water and well, my swimming is less than good.  I decided to take swimming lessons about 4 weeks ago and they have been great help getting me to where I am...but I still have a long way to go.  I am still building my cardio in the water.  It is a very different kind of cardio verse the bike or the run.  And swimming in the ocean is very different than swimming in the pool.  So when I got out there Saturday morning...I panicked.  Thanks to Josh and Suomi I didn't drown but I definitely had to turn back only about 50-75 meters out.  Although I didn't make it the 800 meter distance, I still feel like it was a triumph.  I may have turned back, but I didn't get out of the water.  I ended up doing laps in the area I felt comfortable in.  Out of the water and on to the bike...

Another non-secret is the fact that I have not taken the bike onto a road with cars since my accident in September.  My knee still doesn't seem to be fully healed and neither is my brain.  All the boys took off far ahead of me.  I just didn't want the pressure of trying to keep up while I was trying not to freak out any worse than I did in the water.  But when I finally made it out there to the main road, it felt good and my spirits began to raise.  I only went out for a slow 11 mile ride, but I think it was exactly what I needed to feel good back on the bike.  And then there was running...

By the time we all got back to the meeting point, it was already at least 85 degrees and super sunny.  But the run was only 3.4 miles. I averaged 8:30 minute miles even with the heat.  So after a small workout in the water, 11 miles on the bike and on to a run - that isn't too bad for me.  With some work, I definitely would like to make the swim, speed up the bike and cut the run down till about 8 minute miles.  Can't wait for the real deal in June.

Below is our little "trying a tri" group.  The 9 year pictured totally kicked my butt!

Scope It Out 5K

I am up in Washington DC this week and ran a 5K race this morning.  The weather went from the mid 80's and sunny on Friday to in the 50's and rainy this morning.  Not the best of weather but that was part of the fun.

Melanie and I did a warm up run from the hotel to the starting line at around 8:10 this morning. After a small detour and about 3.5 miles we found our way to freedom plaza and the start of the 5K Scope it Out Race.  We got there just in time to stretch, use the restroom, walk to the front of the starting line...and then we were off.  We were very lucky that we were able to easily make our way to the front, so there was no fighting for road space once the race started. My intentions were to hold pace with Melanie for the first mile, but I quickly lost site of her after about .1 miles in.  None the less, I had a great first mile, clocking it at 7:42. I think this might be my fastest mile since I started back up running.  Second mile was 7:56 and third was 8:05 with a strong finish of 24:50.  A new PR for me by 1:03.  I love 5K's!!

Savages!

Not too many races end with digging mud out of your ears for three days but you can't run a Savage Race without getting a little dirty.  All my favorite ladies and I participated in the first ever Savage Race last year and had the best time; so when the opportunity arose again...it was time to run.  This time the group grew and most of our handsome men joined us for what was an amazingly fun day. Photos came out yesterday and they cracked me up.  As much fun as I had, I looked as though I was in pure AGONY the entire time.  I'll let the pictures tell the story.

Sand Bag Run

Running out of the water after a huge (and very steep) slip-n-slide

Lots of Mud Crawling

More Mud Running

Ice Plunge...my face says it all

 

Fire Jump (and warming up from the ice plunge)

"Here for Beer" Team had an awesome finish (all the ladies finished in the top 7 of our division out of 260, I took 5th)

First Marathon

Its official.  I am signed up for my first FULL Marathon.  This October 28, I will be racing the Marine Corps Marathon!

Third time's the charm

What an interesting race that started as just a run.  I decided about a week before hand that I would just take this run easy and have some fun.  I have one more half marathon this season next month that I decided to focus on; so this run was just going to be for training. And when I woke up to 50 degree weather, rain, and winds up to 30 MPH, it was confirmed...time to just have fun and run. Or at least I thought but just a few miles in...it turned into something incredible for me.

I had the most random mind set that morning.  I was just in the best of moods and not worried about time or trying to get a person record.  I was gabbing with other runners, commenting on all the ridiculous sayings on the back of people's shirts and hamming up each photo op.  Turned up the jams and was just in the zone.  As mile 1 and mile 2 passed and I was averaging 10 minute miles, I wasn't even worried.  There were a ton of people and I was taking my time.  After about mile two, things started to thin out a bit and I fell into a groove. I watched my time drop to the mid 9s and I am usually good with that.  Its not a race pace...but I wasn't racing so I was happy to just be cruising along.

As the sun started rise, it seemed we were in the clear from having any further rain.  With over cast skies, cool temps and a breeze (okay, still very heavy winds), it was near perfect conditions for a long run. By the time I got to the mile 6 marker, I was still having fun and watching my time drop with decent ease; I then changed my mind that maybe I would actually try and race the second half. I didn't have anything to lose and if I hit a wall...well then I would just say that I intended to just "run" anyhow.  I crossed the mat at the half way point at 1:04:10 which was actually about 6 minutes slower than my half marathon last month.  But it was about this point last time that I hit my wall and quickly started averaging high ten minute miles.

At mile 7 I took a gel and picked up the pace again.  I love running sub 9 minute miles, but since I am still a slow poke and I didn't want a few really good miles kill the rest of the race, so pulled it back a bit for mile 8 and 9.  During these miles, I made sure to stop at both water stops and drink both water and Gatorade as well as eat my gummies with intentions of running a good remaining 5K.  My plan worked.  In fact, it worked really well.  A 27 minute 5K is great for me, and most of the time I don't run 10 miles before hand.  I was ecstatic to cross that finish line and proclaim a new personal record.  My second half took just over 57 minutes! That is the gusto I have been talking about for months. Guess, third time's the charm!

So close to a sub 2 hour half.

A small look into the world of CRAZY!

When my dad called me a few months back and asked if I would crew for him as he attempted to complete a double iron distance (4.8 mile swim, 224 mile bike ride, 52.4 mile run); I was hesitant but certainly accepted. Although I agreed I was vocal in letting him know that I thought this was the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.  In fact, I questioned his mental stability and encouraged him to see a therapist.  Throughout this experience I realized that I was likely right...those athletes are absolutely insane. Even as a "spectator" I was exhausted in the two day span (and I got two 45 minute naps in) but I gained a unique perspective on the different emotions that the athletes experience over a 30+ hour work out.  From the start, we had 4 people to help crew three individuals; Dad, Dave from England, and Deb from Utah. By nights fall two other individuals showed up to help so we were six strong by about 8 at night.  I decided to tweet updates throughout the day (at least while my phone was alive) to keep people abreast of his progress and here is a compilation of the tweets.

The swim was the easy part for the spectators.  I could constantly see dad and know that he was chugging along, I felt that he was safe (other than possibly getting bit by a snapping turtle) and he didn't seem to show any signs of fatigue.  Keeping track of the laps (averaging only 2 minutes each time he finished one) helped the first three hours fly by.  Excitement for the day grew as he finished and was in good spirits.  I was able to share with him the good vibes that were sent his way via twitter as well.  I always knew that he was stubborn enough to finish the double iron distance but I didn't think (until that moment) that he would enjoy any part of it, or at least it seemed at the moment that he was having fun.  But how long could this "fun" last, I mean most people start hating exercise before it even begins.

The bike was intense.  By the time we made it over to the park, unloaded the multiple cars and RV with supplies, fluids, and nutrition, he was on the third lap.  Awesome! This might go by quicker than I thought. Well I definitely spoke too soon. At almost 7 miles a loop and 31 loops to do, we were just gearing up for the long haul.  Temps were higher than initially predicted, hitting 86 for the high and not a cloud in the sky. The winds were another story with sustained winds over 20 MPH and gusts even higher than that.  As a spectator, I was over-heated, disheveled and already drained from the early morning rise by mid afternoon.  As a group we decided to remain positive and try not to show our exhaustion considering we weren't working out as hard as these athletes.  By night fall however, it became apparent that as "crew" our job was tough as well. With only about 7 minutes between seeing Dad, Deb, David, the Dad again; we were constantly on our feet, filling up water, mixing poweders, making sandwiches, tracking times, getting gu, finding dry clothes, tracking down misplaced bike tool and the list goes on.  On top of taking orders, attitudes started flaring.  Even though we knew that this would happen, it can still be daunting to have orders barked at you from multiple people over and over, loop after loop and not feel a little frustrated.  Luckily around 8 we had two fresh faces to help crew and give a few of us a few hours to lay down and work on restoring our positive attitudes.  

Got a good 3 hours to lay down, but due to the noise and high temperatures probably only got a solid 45 minute nap in.  None the less, 3 am was wake up time and time to help pace pops.  Jon had already gone several laps with him by the time I woke up, quick change and I tagged in.  I was able to get about 7 laps in with my dad running about 1 mile of the 1.7 mile loop and walking the other.7 before Josh tagged in.  Limited lights + limited crew + one person out running = we were starting to lose our ability to keep everyone happy with the things they needed when they needed them.  Once the sun came up, it was definitely easier to prepare for these shorter loops and the three individuals. By sunrise, it was apparent that fatigue had set in for most of the athletes. Most everyone was walking, no one was talking, some were taking naps, several people had already dropped and attitudes were only getting worse.  But with the sunrise, the crew found our humorous spirits.  Joke telling, laughing, crude remarks and great drawings emerged to help entertain those who passed by.  We should have put a tip jar out cause the athletes were loving it and participating back.  During this time, we saw several people napping, several walking zombies and even one person practically pass out mid step for a two minute nap.  I remember thinking - "why would anyone want to do this." The joke telling and laughter at least helped all of us to get through a few more hours of agony.  In between, we took turns pacing all three people we were crewing and all got several miles in for the day.  I was actually just shy of a marathon; not a fast one, but certainly something to say I did.  My dad was one of the lucky few that didn't have to do a single mile on foot by himself.

As you can see above; he was miserable. And this started around the beginning of the second marathon.  He made a good decision at the half point to just try and walk out the rest of the race (although he got a burst of energy around lap 15 of 30 to do about 3 laps running).  I tagged in to walk the last seven with him and I am a little surprised that he didn't request for another partner.  I did what I could to keep his mind off of things and concentrated on just staying awake and staying safe; but I can only assume hearing me go on and on about who knows what, can get annoying.  My dad has always been stubborn when it comes to things like this, so although he mentioned quitting like 100 times, I never took him seriously. Every time he sat he said he was ready to turn in his chip, every time he rounded the corner to finish a lap he gestured that he was done, but walking continued.  I questioned his sanity multiple times and got very scared when he response time was delayed.  I don't even know if he remembers half of the things we talked about because he seemed to be going in and out of consciousness. There were a few times that his feet and head weren't communicating and he almost fell forward flat on his face.  I had to convince myself he would  be okay just so I wouldn't try and convince him that he should quit.  Seriously these people are crazy and this is only a small look into the world of crazy; I am sure I am leaving out so many details. As we got the bell indicating there was just one lap to go, he cried like a little baby (see that is where I get my crazy emotions from) and I cried too.  We were close to the end and we were all more than thrilled to finally be at that point.  For this last loop the entire 6 person crew joined him to walk the entire last 1.7 miles.  It was awesome to be there to support him for this goal.  I captured the picture above and he couldn't even muster a smile.  But before we knew it, other athletes were congratulating him, encouraging him, and cheering him across the finish.  As crazy as these people are, they are so kind, supportive and generous.  Glad I got the chance to be a part of this.

What a wonderful moment to share with my dad.  As he teared up as they played the national anthem, I did as well (although I don't know if I was crying out of pure joy for his accomplishments or pure joy that this experience was finally over).