Monday, July 10
Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 5 x 1000 at 5k/10k pace with 600 m recovery in between, 1.5 mile cool down
What I do: REST. I switched up this week as I was still very tired from the weekend and knew it would not be in my best interest to do a speed workout today.
Tuesday, July 11
Plan says: 0 miles
What I do: Speed work! Unfortunately I had a 7 AM meeting at work so that meant 4:30 AM alarm to get this done. Ooh I laid in bed for ten extra minutes. I was so not prepared for that alarm, despite my 8:30pm bedtime the night before. Eventually, I rolled out and got dressed. It was still kinda dark so I wasn't sure if the track was open so I did this on the road (which Hanson's prefers to track anyways). This was struggle bus for me. I definitely could have used another rest day, or at least an easy workout today. The barometer for this is my recovery jogs - faster 1Ks were slower recoveries!
1.63 mile warm up, 14:07 (8:40 avg pace)
5 x 1000m with 600m recovery (Goal pace for 1000m = 3:48)
Road conversions = 1000m = 0.62 miles, 600m = 0.38 miles)
1 - 3:51.6 / 3:15 (6:12 avg pace / 8:48 avg pace)
2 - 3:47.2 / 3:10 (6:06 / 8:23)
3 - 3:38.6 / 3:27 (5:50 / 9:04)
4 - 3:46.3 / 3:22 (6:04 / 8:49)
5 - 3:40.7 / (5:54)
1.6 mile cool down, 13:22 (8:22 avg pace)
Even though I know I am probably setting myself up for disappointment in doing this dumb comparison game, I can't help myself. The comparison this week isn't great. Back in March, I did this workout on a treadmill so I could basically guarantee hitting my goal pace of 3:48. These were my 5 1Ks on 3/19.
1- 3:48
2- 3:48
3- 3:47
4- 3:46
5- 3:47
Wednesday, July 12
Plan says: 1.5 mile warm up, 4 miles at half-marathon pace (6:44), 1.5 mile cool down
What I do: I planned to do tempo on Thursday this week to have a day in between the two hard workouts of the week. Since I had taken Monday off, this meant that 5 miles easy was up.
Wednesday was one of those days, beginning at 2 AM when the severe weather alert on my phone went off warning me of the possibilities of flash flooding. Trust me when I say, I did not care. We were having crazy storms, complete with downpour, and in between the loud thunder and drip drip drip on my windowsill that my brain refused to ignore and my kids waking up, I did not get much sleep. Thus, when the alarm went off at 5 AM and it was still pouring, I said "F it and went back to sleep".
This led to all of us OVERSLEEPING and me getting to work 30 minutes later than usual, translating to me getting home later than usual. It was so hot and muggy out, but I did have time to squeeze in 5 miles.
I started running and it was so hard. I was listening to a podcast trying to distract myself but it wasn't working. Then the few routes that I tried to take were underwater. I stopped several times and at around 3.5 miles I said that I was quitting at 4.
4 miles, 31:32 (7:53 avg pace)
Thursday, July 13
Plan says: 5 miles easy
What I do: It was time to tempo. Again, I overslept. I think my sh**ty sleep from last week just caught up with me. (I know scientifically they say that this doesn't happen, but I truly think it does for me.) SOOOOOOOOOO....again I was running after work in the heat. The good news was that the humidity was not as bad as Wednesday afternoon. The bad news was that this run still felt so hard. My legs were dead, with no zip in them at all. I made multiple stops along the route for water.
1.51 mile warm up, 11:49 (7:50 avg pace)
4.0 miles tempo, 26:52 (6:43 avg pace)
1.5 mile cool down, 12:17 (8:11 avg pace)
7.01 miles total
Friday, July 14
Plan says: 6 miles easy
What I do: I was up around 3/4 AM because my son woke up. I tossed and turned, but never went back to sleep so it was not too difficult to get up at 5 to go run. Reflecting on my week of running, I had the duh moment that I got caught up in pace and again was in a place where I was trying to force the run. This lead to feeling like junk, being extra tired and really not enjoying myself.
My goal for this run was to run EASY.
6.1 miles, 53:39 (8:47 avg pace)
Saturday, July 15
Plan says: 10 miles at long run pace (7:30-9:00)
What I do: I wanted to get this done early, but slept through my alarm. (That is basically the theme of my summer running.) Thus, I was running in the heat in the early afternoon for my son's nap. This run was fine. I was excited to run over a newly constructed bridge over the river. I was excited to be able to fill up my handheld several times along my route.
10 miles, 1:17:36 (7:45 avg pace)
Sunday, July 16
Plan says: 5 miles easy
What I do: We stayed at my husband's family lake house on Saturday night and I was in charge of making breakfast so I wasn't able to get up and run early. I again headed out when my son was napping and it was a breezy, partly cloudy day and scenic. When I returned to the cottage, my son was awake, but CRABBY. I did a few cannonballs off the pier in my running clothes to cheer him up. They felt AMAZING!
Additionally I got some more stand up paddle boarding in AND a long kayak ride. I LOVE SUMMER!
Plan Miles: 41
Total Weekly Miles: 39.96 (FOR REALZ. I should have checked the weekly mileage before heading out to at least get that up to 40).
And with that, I've cleared the 1000 mile mark for the year!!!
Showing posts with label garmin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garmin. Show all posts
Monday, July 17, 2017
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Two Years of 5K Data Review!
I am a data nerd so I combed through two years of 5K race data to look at my average pace at each mile mark.
The pace in the Mile 1-4 columns is the "Average Pace" data from my Garmin for the race while the Finish Time is the finish time per the official race results. Most of the time my Garmin is off by a few tenths of a mile in distance and a few seconds in finish time compared to the official race results.
2015 was injury free for me. I injured my foot between the Silver Lining and Acuity Health races in 2016.
My Takeaways
1. I.ALWAYS.START.TOO.FAST...
What was I doing starting Acuity, the first run I had in a month, at the same pace as the race I set my 5K PR in?! Similar thoughts for Hank Aaron. The go-out-fast-approach does have some research behind it. My homegirl Lauren Fleshman suggests this:
"Try this next time: Run the first mile with your head, the second mile with your focus, and the third mile with your heart. In the first mile, you can’t let any emotion or excitement in at all. Start with a pace you are confident you can maintain and then relax a little bit more. Until you see that one mile marker, all you are allowed to think about is running smart. From 1-2 miles, focus on maintaining your form and start to look around you, taking a survey of which runners around you probably went out too hard, and which ones you should make your prey in the third mile. You are taking some time to strategize for the big battle, and you aren’t allowed to draw your sword until you pass the 2mile marker! The last mile, start to pick off your victims, and allow your mind to feel gratitude for how powerful and strong your body is. As soon as you can see that finish line, pretend you are Meb running down Boylston St in front of all of America and run with passion, tall and proud!"
This strategy advocates for even pace.
This article has different strategies for different runner types. For an experienced competitive runner the "strong start, middle float, strong finish" is recommended. I would say some of my 5Ks follow this. Annnnnddddd some do not.
2. ...and then my second mile is slow. Sometimes I can pull off a faster 3rd mile. Sometimes. (Definitely not post-injury this year!)
3. The second mile of Silver Lining SUCKS. I recall thinking this during the actual race this year. Hills and turns. Hills and turns.
4. Run Tosa Run 2016 was such a good race. I loved it during and I loved if after and I love it now.
I think this will help me set some goals for my next 5K race.
What about you - What pacing strategy do YOU follow for a 5K? Have you looked at your race data in a similar way?
The pace in the Mile 1-4 columns is the "Average Pace" data from my Garmin for the race while the Finish Time is the finish time per the official race results. Most of the time my Garmin is off by a few tenths of a mile in distance and a few seconds in finish time compared to the official race results.
2015 was injury free for me. I injured my foot between the Silver Lining and Acuity Health races in 2016.
My Takeaways
1. I.ALWAYS.START.TOO.FAST...
What was I doing starting Acuity, the first run I had in a month, at the same pace as the race I set my 5K PR in?! Similar thoughts for Hank Aaron. The go-out-fast-approach does have some research behind it. My homegirl Lauren Fleshman suggests this:
"Try this next time: Run the first mile with your head, the second mile with your focus, and the third mile with your heart. In the first mile, you can’t let any emotion or excitement in at all. Start with a pace you are confident you can maintain and then relax a little bit more. Until you see that one mile marker, all you are allowed to think about is running smart. From 1-2 miles, focus on maintaining your form and start to look around you, taking a survey of which runners around you probably went out too hard, and which ones you should make your prey in the third mile. You are taking some time to strategize for the big battle, and you aren’t allowed to draw your sword until you pass the 2mile marker! The last mile, start to pick off your victims, and allow your mind to feel gratitude for how powerful and strong your body is. As soon as you can see that finish line, pretend you are Meb running down Boylston St in front of all of America and run with passion, tall and proud!"
This strategy advocates for even pace.
This article has different strategies for different runner types. For an experienced competitive runner the "strong start, middle float, strong finish" is recommended. I would say some of my 5Ks follow this. Annnnnddddd some do not.
2. ...and then my second mile is slow. Sometimes I can pull off a faster 3rd mile. Sometimes. (Definitely not post-injury this year!)
3. The second mile of Silver Lining SUCKS. I recall thinking this during the actual race this year. Hills and turns. Hills and turns.
4. Run Tosa Run 2016 was such a good race. I loved it during and I loved if after and I love it now.
I think this will help me set some goals for my next 5K race.
What about you - What pacing strategy do YOU follow for a 5K? Have you looked at your race data in a similar way?
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
What to Wear on Race Day
As race day approaches, I have been thinking about what I am going to wear. Unless it is suppossed to be FREEZING, my plan is a 3/4 crop top and shorts, although I likely will start with a throwaway long sleeve.
TOP
I still haven't altered my Oiselle Volee singlet. I am (still) slightly nervous that I will ruin it by trying to take it in. Oiselle made some new top options for the Volee and released an order around Thanksgiving. The options included a 3/4 crop top, a bra top and a long sleeve. I kinda wanted the 3/4 crop top, but didn't know if I would be brave enough to wear it and $75 seemed like a lot for a top I wasn't sure I would wear...so I passed. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when everyone else got their tops and I was REALLY bummed that I didn't order the 3/4 top.
I posted on the Volee Facebook wall a couple of times to see if anyone wanted to sell theirs via our gear swap. No bites. I contacted Oiselle to see if they had extra in my size. They did not, but encouraged me to continue asking them as more people got theirs and potentially returned them.
Then, because the universe liked me, one of the WI teammates was selling hers and emailed me to see if I wanted to buy it. YES!
It was due to arrive last week and when it did, I came home from work, ripped off my shirt and tried it on.
It felt really comfy and great, but I wasn't sure how it would be to run with. AND it isn't really 3/4 on me. It is basically a sports bra.
I wore it under my shirt during my long run on Saturday and it felt great. I had some redness around my collarbone so I will have to lube that up before wearing it again just to be safe.
I would like to try running in just that top before the marathon to see how I feel just wearing that. Hello Bare Midriff. I also have to figure out what shorts to wear with it!
SHORTS
Right now, I am planning on either wearing my stride shorts or my Roga shorts, both by Oiselle. I am kind of tempted to get some distance shorts since every one loves those. I ran in the Rogas for my last marathon, but that was before I embraced the booty shorts. I don't know that I can do the Stride shorts AND the 3/4 top together. That may be a little too much for me.
SHOES
I recently retired one of the three pairs of shoes in my rotation (Farewell Brooks Glycerin 12). The shoes that I have been doing my long runs in are the Adidas Energy Boost and I love them. They are also getting up there in miles though. EH advised me to get new shoes before the marathon and get some miles on the new pair beforehand. Last weekend, I went to my favorite running store, handed the clerk my current Boosts and said, "I need these exact shoes". I was excited that they had a fun color in stock!
ACCESSORIES
I also bought new SuperFeet berry insoles as I am fairly certain I have long worn out my current pair, purchased last March. I tried running without these for a while but my foot started bothering me so back in they went!
I have been doing all of my long runs in CEP compression calf sleeves, gifted to me by Erica Finds. I will be wearing these on the course!
I need to get more of these, but I have one pair of Balega socks from the Another Mother Runner event gift bag. I plan on wearing the pair I have. (Fun story - the woman who sold me the 3/4 top is also one of the essayists that was at this event! Small world!)
I am still in bangs/hair grow out mode and thus, hoping I can braid my own hair for the race and wear a race hat over it. I typically use a blue Moving Comfort hat (also gifted to me by Erica Finds!) but have an Oiselle Fast Cap coming from gear swap that I may use, provided it fits my large head!
I will also be sporting my trusty Tifosi running sunglasses and my Garmin that day!
After finishing this post, I had to laugh because my husband always makes fun of the fact that running is an "Easy, low-cost sport. All you need are shoes!".
Sunday, May 3, 2015
THE MARATHON...and Beyond!!
24 hours ago, I qualified for Boston! Woohoo! I checked that goal off the list.
Want the details? You got 'em:
Last Saturday evening, I started having a sore throat, which blew up on Sunday and Monday. Then on a 4 mile run on Tuesday evening, my knee felt a little weird. Wednesday, the knee hurt all day. I skipped the 3 mile run the plan had. Thursday it felt ok during the 3 mile run I did - the last run of the plan! My throat started feeling progressively better through the week but still was bothersome.
Friday night, I set my alarm for 4:45 and went to bed at 8:30. I slept great but still dragged a little when my alarm went off.
I had set out all of my stuff the night before so I quickly dressed and went downstairs to wait for my mom, hoping my kids would stay sleeping! My mom got there around 5:10 and I grabbed my Nuun All-Day water, my peanut butter toast and we were off to Kenosha.
I was feeling pretty good, although I was slightly nervous about the temperature in the forecast. Last weekend, I did my last long run in tights and a jacket. But of COURSE, we were in for a hot weekend the weekend of my race. OF COURSE. Side note - I am not a fan of hot weather running.
We easily found a parking spot and started the walk to the start. I had planned out cheer spots for my mom and two friends (BCK & RTC) who were making the trip down so my mom and I tried to figure out where she was going. I had a successful porta potty stop (runners, you know what I mean) and I started peeling off my clothes. I was trying not to think about how nice it felt, already at 6:45 to be in a tank and shorts.
The gun went off and we were off. I started my Garmin when I crossed the start line, which ended up being about 10-15 seconds off from the official clock. I wish I would have started my watch with the gun for several reasons that i will get into.
My "strategy" other than to make it to the finish was to run the first 5 miles on the slow end of my preferred pace - so 7:45-7:50. This was very comfortable in terms of pace for me, although I really had to fight the urge to pass people. The marathon and half marathon ran all the way together. I saw my mom at mile 4.5ish and I was all smiles. Here are my Garmin splits. You can see the boost that seeing my mom and the crowd had on my mile 5 split:
Mile 1: 7:49
Mile 2: 7:41
Mile 3: 7:42
Mile 4: 7:44
Mile 5: 7:28
The next 5 miles were going to be through a few parks and along the lake. My strategy for this section of 5 was to pick up my pace to around the 7:40 range and see how it went. I felt GREAT during this section and took a gel around mile 7 with a water. (Other than the first water station between mile 1-2 I took water or gatorade from every station). Here are the mile 6-10 splits:
Mile 6: 7:38
Mile 7: 7:39
Mile 8: 7:40
Mile 9: 7:40
Mile 10: 7:41
My strategy for the next 5 miles was to see how I was feeling and try to hang on if it felt difficult or try to push it a little more if I was feeling good. I was feeling GREAT so I pushed it. I again saw my mom, RTC and BCK between miles 10 and 11. This was a surprise to see RTC & BCK as I wasn't expecting them until mile 14 so I definitely started running faster (see Mile 11 below). Once we hit the spot where the half marathoners turned to finish it was like instantaneous crickets. The whole first 12 miles had great crowd support and there were also a lot of runners around you. It became clear that most people ran the half marathon at the turn spot. I still felt really good at this point and was prepared for the 2nd half to be pretty quiet. I was excited to see BCK & RTC at around Mile 13-14 again.
Mile 11: 7:26
Mile 12: 7:35
Mile 13: 7:33
Mile 14: 7:38
Mile 15: 7:29
My strategy from this point forward to just hang on and do what I could do. I was feeling good still but it was definitely getting hotter and the sun was beating down on us. (It turns out that we would not get a break from the sun from Mile 14/15 through the finish). There were more than a few spots where we were on gravel roads going through marsh and that sucked. I got a few pebbles in my shoe and the dust was not fun. It was very lonely. I almost expected a tumbleweed to cross my path. I started really struggling at Mile 19. I was very hot and thirsty.
Mile 16: 7:32
Mile 17: 7:25
Mile 18: 7:37
Mile 19: 7:45
Mile 20: 7:53
The remaining 10K was not pretty. I walked some. I stopped to stretch. I desperately wanted more water than was available. At this point, I knew I had a cushion to work with in terms of qualifying (that's the bad part of having a Garmin). I knew RTC & BCK were going to be around mile 23-24 so that kept me running and then they told me my mom was going to be at Mile 25. A guy that I was running near for the whole second half asked when the next water station was going to be and I replied that I didn't know. When I saw my mom, I yelled for her to grab my water bottle out of my backpack and so by the time I reached her, I chugged half a bottle and offered the rest to the guy. I tried very hard to run the rest of the way to the finish from that point. I again saw RTC & BCK at the 26.1 mark and I heard RTC yell "Yeah! BOSTON!" and at that point, I just tried to keep running, but I had a huge smile on my face. I crossed the finish and my watch said 3:25:35 so I knew it would be 3:25 something given the 10-15 second delay (My garmin also had me at 26.49 miles instead of 26.2 - yep, I'm not great at running tangents!). My official finish time was 3:25:50, 15 minutes faster than the time I needed! Yee-haw! 3:25:50 finish is 7:52 pace. Not too far off my official marathon pace of 7:45 that I used for training. Here are the splits for the last 10K+ :
Mile 21: 7:50
Mile 22: 8:00
Mile 23: 8:03
Mile 24: 8:31
Mile 25: 8:15
Mile 26: 8:37
0.49: 3:46
Place stats - Finisher #63 of 762 total and 11th woman out of 360.
Let's see - what else did I get yesterday? Oh yeah. A lot of sunburn. Dumb - I didn't wear any sunblock. I have zero clothing rub or chafing though so I was happy about that. I have a big blister on my right bunion.
Have I thought about what might have been if I hadn't been so hot? Oh yeah. I mean, I'm thrilled with the outcome - I qualified for Boston (My original goal) and I shaved 4:30 off my previous marathon PR (A secondary goal). I still think I could have stayed under 8:00/miles the whole race in 20 degrees cooler. Ah well. I was heartened to see this post on the Milwaukee Running Festival Facebook page this morning:
"Looking for a fast Marathon or Half Marathon this fall? They say temperature is the number one factor in good race times. Just ask those who participated in last month's Boston Marathon where, despite a strong headwind, rain and a very difficult course, the average times were faster than in previous years and many runners were turning in PRs due to temperatures in the 40s for the entire race. Or ask those who ran in yesterday's Wisconsin Marathon (ahem) where temperatures rose into the 60s and 70s by the end of the race, resulting in slow times and tough conditions."
Apparently I was not alone in thinking it was hot. (RTC and BCK said that one of the women who finished well before me said "This F___ING SUCKS" when she passed them.)
My husband asked me "What's next"? Even though I plan on taking it easy for the rest of May, I actually have two 5Ks planned for May. My colleagues have a 5K planned for 2 weeks and then I have a 5K with my BFF on 5/31. As I told my friend Erica via text yesterday, I will NOT being doing a fall marathon. Sorry folks, I think I might still have to talk myself into training for the actual Boston marathon next year. I still do not love the marathon! I do want to do a half or two in fall. Until then...onto working on my core and trying to break 19:00 in the 5K!
Keep checking in - I want to try to keep this blog up with the same weekly posting schedule that I have been (mostly) maintaining!
Want the details? You got 'em:
Last Saturday evening, I started having a sore throat, which blew up on Sunday and Monday. Then on a 4 mile run on Tuesday evening, my knee felt a little weird. Wednesday, the knee hurt all day. I skipped the 3 mile run the plan had. Thursday it felt ok during the 3 mile run I did - the last run of the plan! My throat started feeling progressively better through the week but still was bothersome.
Friday night, I set my alarm for 4:45 and went to bed at 8:30. I slept great but still dragged a little when my alarm went off.
I had set out all of my stuff the night before so I quickly dressed and went downstairs to wait for my mom, hoping my kids would stay sleeping! My mom got there around 5:10 and I grabbed my Nuun All-Day water, my peanut butter toast and we were off to Kenosha.
I was feeling pretty good, although I was slightly nervous about the temperature in the forecast. Last weekend, I did my last long run in tights and a jacket. But of COURSE, we were in for a hot weekend the weekend of my race. OF COURSE. Side note - I am not a fan of hot weather running.
We easily found a parking spot and started the walk to the start. I had planned out cheer spots for my mom and two friends (BCK & RTC) who were making the trip down so my mom and I tried to figure out where she was going. I had a successful porta potty stop (runners, you know what I mean) and I started peeling off my clothes. I was trying not to think about how nice it felt, already at 6:45 to be in a tank and shorts.
The gun went off and we were off. I started my Garmin when I crossed the start line, which ended up being about 10-15 seconds off from the official clock. I wish I would have started my watch with the gun for several reasons that i will get into.
My "strategy" other than to make it to the finish was to run the first 5 miles on the slow end of my preferred pace - so 7:45-7:50. This was very comfortable in terms of pace for me, although I really had to fight the urge to pass people. The marathon and half marathon ran all the way together. I saw my mom at mile 4.5ish and I was all smiles. Here are my Garmin splits. You can see the boost that seeing my mom and the crowd had on my mile 5 split:
Mile 1: 7:49
Mile 2: 7:41
Mile 3: 7:42
Mile 4: 7:44
Mile 5: 7:28
The next 5 miles were going to be through a few parks and along the lake. My strategy for this section of 5 was to pick up my pace to around the 7:40 range and see how it went. I felt GREAT during this section and took a gel around mile 7 with a water. (Other than the first water station between mile 1-2 I took water or gatorade from every station). Here are the mile 6-10 splits:
Mile 6: 7:38
Mile 7: 7:39
Mile 8: 7:40
Mile 9: 7:40
Mile 10: 7:41
My strategy for the next 5 miles was to see how I was feeling and try to hang on if it felt difficult or try to push it a little more if I was feeling good. I was feeling GREAT so I pushed it. I again saw my mom, RTC and BCK between miles 10 and 11. This was a surprise to see RTC & BCK as I wasn't expecting them until mile 14 so I definitely started running faster (see Mile 11 below). Once we hit the spot where the half marathoners turned to finish it was like instantaneous crickets. The whole first 12 miles had great crowd support and there were also a lot of runners around you. It became clear that most people ran the half marathon at the turn spot. I still felt really good at this point and was prepared for the 2nd half to be pretty quiet. I was excited to see BCK & RTC at around Mile 13-14 again.
Mile 11: 7:26
Mile 12: 7:35
Mile 13: 7:33
Mile 14: 7:38
Mile 15: 7:29
My strategy from this point forward to just hang on and do what I could do. I was feeling good still but it was definitely getting hotter and the sun was beating down on us. (It turns out that we would not get a break from the sun from Mile 14/15 through the finish). There were more than a few spots where we were on gravel roads going through marsh and that sucked. I got a few pebbles in my shoe and the dust was not fun. It was very lonely. I almost expected a tumbleweed to cross my path. I started really struggling at Mile 19. I was very hot and thirsty.
Mile 16: 7:32
Mile 17: 7:25
Mile 18: 7:37
Mile 19: 7:45
Mile 20: 7:53
The remaining 10K was not pretty. I walked some. I stopped to stretch. I desperately wanted more water than was available. At this point, I knew I had a cushion to work with in terms of qualifying (that's the bad part of having a Garmin). I knew RTC & BCK were going to be around mile 23-24 so that kept me running and then they told me my mom was going to be at Mile 25. A guy that I was running near for the whole second half asked when the next water station was going to be and I replied that I didn't know. When I saw my mom, I yelled for her to grab my water bottle out of my backpack and so by the time I reached her, I chugged half a bottle and offered the rest to the guy. I tried very hard to run the rest of the way to the finish from that point. I again saw RTC & BCK at the 26.1 mark and I heard RTC yell "Yeah! BOSTON!" and at that point, I just tried to keep running, but I had a huge smile on my face. I crossed the finish and my watch said 3:25:35 so I knew it would be 3:25 something given the 10-15 second delay (My garmin also had me at 26.49 miles instead of 26.2 - yep, I'm not great at running tangents!). My official finish time was 3:25:50, 15 minutes faster than the time I needed! Yee-haw! 3:25:50 finish is 7:52 pace. Not too far off my official marathon pace of 7:45 that I used for training. Here are the splits for the last 10K+ :
Mile 21: 7:50
Mile 22: 8:00
Mile 23: 8:03
Mile 24: 8:31
Mile 25: 8:15
Mile 26: 8:37
0.49: 3:46
Place stats - Finisher #63 of 762 total and 11th woman out of 360.
Let's see - what else did I get yesterday? Oh yeah. A lot of sunburn. Dumb - I didn't wear any sunblock. I have zero clothing rub or chafing though so I was happy about that. I have a big blister on my right bunion.
Have I thought about what might have been if I hadn't been so hot? Oh yeah. I mean, I'm thrilled with the outcome - I qualified for Boston (My original goal) and I shaved 4:30 off my previous marathon PR (A secondary goal). I still think I could have stayed under 8:00/miles the whole race in 20 degrees cooler. Ah well. I was heartened to see this post on the Milwaukee Running Festival Facebook page this morning:
"Looking for a fast Marathon or Half Marathon this fall? They say temperature is the number one factor in good race times. Just ask those who participated in last month's Boston Marathon where, despite a strong headwind, rain and a very difficult course, the average times were faster than in previous years and many runners were turning in PRs due to temperatures in the 40s for the entire race. Or ask those who ran in yesterday's Wisconsin Marathon (ahem) where temperatures rose into the 60s and 70s by the end of the race, resulting in slow times and tough conditions."
Apparently I was not alone in thinking it was hot. (RTC and BCK said that one of the women who finished well before me said "This F___ING SUCKS" when she passed them.)
My husband asked me "What's next"? Even though I plan on taking it easy for the rest of May, I actually have two 5Ks planned for May. My colleagues have a 5K planned for 2 weeks and then I have a 5K with my BFF on 5/31. As I told my friend Erica via text yesterday, I will NOT being doing a fall marathon. Sorry folks, I think I might still have to talk myself into training for the actual Boston marathon next year. I still do not love the marathon! I do want to do a half or two in fall. Until then...onto working on my core and trying to break 19:00 in the 5K!
Keep checking in - I want to try to keep this blog up with the same weekly posting schedule that I have been (mostly) maintaining!
Monday, March 9, 2015
Marathon Training Week 10
Overall I am happy with the week even though I missed one workout due to the cold and bad planning. After a beautiful weekend in the 40s, I am hoping the cold is going to make an appearance less and less! I am REALLY EXCITED to have to use the treadmill less during evening runs due to daylight savings time. Things are looking up, people!
Monday 3/2
Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles
What I do: I was still in FL and thus ran 5 miles in 80 degrees. It was glorious. No watch so not sure how long it took me.
Total: 5 miles
Tuesday 3/3
Plan says: Negative Split 4 miles (2,2)
What I do: I wanted to get up early and get a final workout done in FL before we had to head to the airport but it didn't work out because the kids were up and there was packing. By the time we got home, grocery shopped and unpacked, I was pooped. No gym for me.
Total: 0 miles
Wednesday 3/4
Plan says: Rest or cross-train
What I do: Tuesday's negative split workout on the treadmill. WOMP WOMP. Do you know how hard it is to go back to a treadmill after running in tanks and shorts outside for a week?!
First 2 miles: 7.8 mph (7:47 pace)
Last 2 miles: 8.3 mph (7:14 pace)
Total: 4 miles
Thursday 3/5
Plan says: Easy 5-6 miles
What I do: Nothing. I forgot that the hubs was not going to be home due to an overnight meeting so no childcare = no running at night.
Total: 0 miles
Friday 3/6
Plan says: Optional 3 miles
What I do: Usually I do not work on Fridays which can mean an easy way to make up a workout that I may have missed during the work week. However, due to vacation and the fact that I am leaving, I worked this day and then met a friend for drinks after the kids were in bed. Friend with drinks trumps workout every time in my book.
Total: 0 miles
Saturday 3/7
Plan says: 20 miles
What I do: Curse. Did I mention that I can count the nights that I have slept through the night in the last month on one hand? Friday night was no different. Thank you children. That combined with the 2 beers I drank Friday night and I was needing some super strong coffee Saturday morning. I was not in the mood to run 20 miles.
I still did not have a GPS watch so I planned a route using gmap pedometer. My planned route ended up at 21 miles. All that clicking was driving me bonkers so I guessed at how much to chop off so I would only do 20.
I may not have had a GPS watch but I did have a running watch...somewhere. We got the kids down for naps and I started looking for it and after 30 minutes gave up. The next thing I had to use was my phone, which is enormous. There was no way I could carry that and 2 bottles of water. I decided to leave the stopwatch on my phone running in the house, starting and stopping it as soon as I walked out/in the door. Armed with 3 Gu pouches and 2 bottles of water, I was off!
My route was two big loops so that I could stash water and not have to carry it the entire time. It was a gorgeous day and I was a little hot because I still dressed like it was 20 degrees cooler. The first loop was 11 miles and fairly uneventful save for a few backtracks because I couldn't find where I left the water bottle and soggy feat from running through so many puddles due to melted snow.
On my second lap, I ran into a couple that saw me an hour prior and the lady yelled "HOW LONG ARE YOU RUNNING?! GEEZ!" and I replied, "I'm doing 20 miles today!". It was then that I knew I would finish.
I felt really good. I used gels at approximately 7 miles, 14 miles, 18 miles and finished the two bottles of water (32 oz). I could have used more water but it was fine.
I got back home to stop my phone and the time was 2:31:38 or 7:40 pace! Given that this was likely a little off due to stopping at stop lights, I was happy. I really really tried to start slow to be able to finish strong.
UNFORTUNATELY I really only ran 19.75 miles. I chopped off a bit too much in my mental guessing.
Total: 19.75 mi
The runners world calculator says this workout burned 2,031 calories. THAT IS INSANE!!! Pass the girl scout cookies!!!
Sunday 3/8
Plan says: Rest
What I do: Rest. The weather was SO NICE that I attempted going out to get in Thursday's missed workout. I got about 0.1 miles before turning around because my legs were so sore!
I did get to our local running store and have a new gps watch. PHEW! All that gmap pedometering was driving me crazy.
Week 10 Total Mileage: 28.75 miles
Completed 3 of the 4 mandatory workouts.
Monday 3/2
Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles
What I do: I was still in FL and thus ran 5 miles in 80 degrees. It was glorious. No watch so not sure how long it took me.
Total: 5 miles
Tuesday 3/3
Plan says: Negative Split 4 miles (2,2)
What I do: I wanted to get up early and get a final workout done in FL before we had to head to the airport but it didn't work out because the kids were up and there was packing. By the time we got home, grocery shopped and unpacked, I was pooped. No gym for me.
Total: 0 miles
Wednesday 3/4
Plan says: Rest or cross-train
What I do: Tuesday's negative split workout on the treadmill. WOMP WOMP. Do you know how hard it is to go back to a treadmill after running in tanks and shorts outside for a week?!
First 2 miles: 7.8 mph (7:47 pace)
Last 2 miles: 8.3 mph (7:14 pace)
Total: 4 miles
Thursday 3/5
Plan says: Easy 5-6 miles
What I do: Nothing. I forgot that the hubs was not going to be home due to an overnight meeting so no childcare = no running at night.
Total: 0 miles
Friday 3/6
Plan says: Optional 3 miles
What I do: Usually I do not work on Fridays which can mean an easy way to make up a workout that I may have missed during the work week. However, due to vacation and the fact that I am leaving, I worked this day and then met a friend for drinks after the kids were in bed. Friend with drinks trumps workout every time in my book.
Total: 0 miles
Saturday 3/7
Plan says: 20 miles
What I do: Curse. Did I mention that I can count the nights that I have slept through the night in the last month on one hand? Friday night was no different. Thank you children. That combined with the 2 beers I drank Friday night and I was needing some super strong coffee Saturday morning. I was not in the mood to run 20 miles.
I still did not have a GPS watch so I planned a route using gmap pedometer. My planned route ended up at 21 miles. All that clicking was driving me bonkers so I guessed at how much to chop off so I would only do 20.
I may not have had a GPS watch but I did have a running watch...somewhere. We got the kids down for naps and I started looking for it and after 30 minutes gave up. The next thing I had to use was my phone, which is enormous. There was no way I could carry that and 2 bottles of water. I decided to leave the stopwatch on my phone running in the house, starting and stopping it as soon as I walked out/in the door. Armed with 3 Gu pouches and 2 bottles of water, I was off!
My route was two big loops so that I could stash water and not have to carry it the entire time. It was a gorgeous day and I was a little hot because I still dressed like it was 20 degrees cooler. The first loop was 11 miles and fairly uneventful save for a few backtracks because I couldn't find where I left the water bottle and soggy feat from running through so many puddles due to melted snow.
On my second lap, I ran into a couple that saw me an hour prior and the lady yelled "HOW LONG ARE YOU RUNNING?! GEEZ!" and I replied, "I'm doing 20 miles today!". It was then that I knew I would finish.
I felt really good. I used gels at approximately 7 miles, 14 miles, 18 miles and finished the two bottles of water (32 oz). I could have used more water but it was fine.
I got back home to stop my phone and the time was 2:31:38 or 7:40 pace! Given that this was likely a little off due to stopping at stop lights, I was happy. I really really tried to start slow to be able to finish strong.
UNFORTUNATELY I really only ran 19.75 miles. I chopped off a bit too much in my mental guessing.
Total: 19.75 mi
The runners world calculator says this workout burned 2,031 calories. THAT IS INSANE!!! Pass the girl scout cookies!!!
Sunday 3/8
Plan says: Rest
What I do: Rest. The weather was SO NICE that I attempted going out to get in Thursday's missed workout. I got about 0.1 miles before turning around because my legs were so sore!
I did get to our local running store and have a new gps watch. PHEW! All that gmap pedometering was driving me crazy.
Week 10 Total Mileage: 28.75 miles
Completed 3 of the 4 mandatory workouts.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Marathon Training Week 9 Review - HALFWAY DONE!
Last week was an epic one. Last week of brutal February and I spent it in mostly sunny FL! We took the kids on our annual trip to FL to do Disney World and visit my BIL. And shocking, it is somewhat easy to get runs in when:
1) You and your husband are both on vacation from work;
2) It is not only in POSITIVE temperatures, but in the 60-80 degree weather range;
3) You have extra sets of hands to watch your kids.
Needless to say, I had a stellar running week, which I desperately needed.
Crazy enough finishing this week means that I am exactly halfway through my training plan - 9 weeks down, 9 weeks to go!
Monday 2/23
Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles with 10 strideouts
What I do: Nothing. I worked 8 hours before heading to the aiport to catch our flight. We ended up having a big delay so ended up getting to our hotel around 12:30 AM instead of the 8:30 PM we anticipated.
Tuesday 2/24
Plan says: Tempo workout - 1-2 miles warm up, 4 x 1 mi at tempo pace with 0.25 mile recovery in between each, 1-2 miles cool down
What I do: First run through Old Key West resort at Disney World! They had a running trail that was about 1.5 miles and also linked up with a trail that connected to Saratoga Springs resort. I was happy to have my Garmin along so I could just wander around linking to different paths/trails and not have to do the pre-determined resort loop. I didn't do the exact workout because I didn't copy down the plan right and missed the 0.25 mile recovery so instead of a 4 x 1 mi tempo intervals, I did a 4 mile tempo run, no recoveries.
1.25 mile warmup at 8:00 pace
4 mile tempo run at 7:00 avg pace
1.32 mile cool down at 7:38 pace
6.58 total miles, 48:01
Wednesday 2/25
Plan says: Rest or cross-train
What I do: We went to Magic Kingdom for 12 hours this day - so a LOT of walking. I'm counting that as cross-training!
Thursday 2/26
Plan says: Another speed workout. 7 miles as 10 min warm up, 8 x 4 min in Zone 3 with 3 minute reovery, 10 minute cool down
What I do: 10 minutes warm up, 8 x 4 minutes with 3 minute recovery, 7:40 coold down. I hit 8 miles by cheating on the cool down so I stopped. I probably did this in Zone 4, not 3.
8.01 total miles 57:26 (7:10 avg pace)
Mile Splits:
7:39
7:06
7:01
6:58
7:06
6:59
6:58
7:36
Friday 2/27
Plan says: Optional 4 miles
What I do: Monday's missed workout - 5 miles easy with 10 strideouts incorporated. My last run through the resort path.
Unfortunately, I ended up dropping my Garmin in the process of taking my long sleeve shirt off (I had put my watch on over the shirt and had to undo it to take my shirt off) and the screen no longer works! So I guess I will be using some birthday money to replace that! I have no idea what pace or time this run took me since I only brough my Garmin as a watch on vacation.
Saturday 2/28
Plan says: 13 miles, with a strong 15 minute finish
What I do: It was pouring out and we had planned on going to Hollywood Studios so I had a "rest" day which really meant another day walking around the park.
Sunday 3/1
Plan says: Rest
What I do: Long run. We were now in Celebration, FL which I have run in plenty of times, including training for the Chicago Marathon in 2006. Unfortuantely I had no watch to figure out exact distance or pace/time and using the Gmap Pedometer on an ipad is not optimal. I did what I thought was 13 miles based on my gmap pedometer work, but when I got back home to WI and re-traced my route using Gmap Pedometer on a computer, I ended up with only 12.62 miles. It was done pretty quickly though because we headed off to Epcot after I got back! More walking!
Week 9 Total Mileage: 32.21 miles
Completed 4 of the 4 mandatory workouts.
1) You and your husband are both on vacation from work;
2) It is not only in POSITIVE temperatures, but in the 60-80 degree weather range;
3) You have extra sets of hands to watch your kids.
Needless to say, I had a stellar running week, which I desperately needed.
Crazy enough finishing this week means that I am exactly halfway through my training plan - 9 weeks down, 9 weeks to go!
Monday 2/23
Plan says: Easy 4-5 miles with 10 strideouts
What I do: Nothing. I worked 8 hours before heading to the aiport to catch our flight. We ended up having a big delay so ended up getting to our hotel around 12:30 AM instead of the 8:30 PM we anticipated.
Tuesday 2/24
Plan says: Tempo workout - 1-2 miles warm up, 4 x 1 mi at tempo pace with 0.25 mile recovery in between each, 1-2 miles cool down
What I do: First run through Old Key West resort at Disney World! They had a running trail that was about 1.5 miles and also linked up with a trail that connected to Saratoga Springs resort. I was happy to have my Garmin along so I could just wander around linking to different paths/trails and not have to do the pre-determined resort loop. I didn't do the exact workout because I didn't copy down the plan right and missed the 0.25 mile recovery so instead of a 4 x 1 mi tempo intervals, I did a 4 mile tempo run, no recoveries.
1.25 mile warmup at 8:00 pace
4 mile tempo run at 7:00 avg pace
1.32 mile cool down at 7:38 pace
6.58 total miles, 48:01
Wednesday 2/25
Plan says: Rest or cross-train
What I do: We went to Magic Kingdom for 12 hours this day - so a LOT of walking. I'm counting that as cross-training!
Thursday 2/26
Plan says: Another speed workout. 7 miles as 10 min warm up, 8 x 4 min in Zone 3 with 3 minute reovery, 10 minute cool down
What I do: 10 minutes warm up, 8 x 4 minutes with 3 minute recovery, 7:40 coold down. I hit 8 miles by cheating on the cool down so I stopped. I probably did this in Zone 4, not 3.
8.01 total miles 57:26 (7:10 avg pace)
Mile Splits:
7:39
7:06
7:01
6:58
7:06
6:59
6:58
7:36
Friday 2/27
Plan says: Optional 4 miles
What I do: Monday's missed workout - 5 miles easy with 10 strideouts incorporated. My last run through the resort path.
Unfortunately, I ended up dropping my Garmin in the process of taking my long sleeve shirt off (I had put my watch on over the shirt and had to undo it to take my shirt off) and the screen no longer works! So I guess I will be using some birthday money to replace that! I have no idea what pace or time this run took me since I only brough my Garmin as a watch on vacation.
Saturday 2/28
Plan says: 13 miles, with a strong 15 minute finish
What I do: It was pouring out and we had planned on going to Hollywood Studios so I had a "rest" day which really meant another day walking around the park.
Sunday 3/1
Plan says: Rest
What I do: Long run. We were now in Celebration, FL which I have run in plenty of times, including training for the Chicago Marathon in 2006. Unfortuantely I had no watch to figure out exact distance or pace/time and using the Gmap Pedometer on an ipad is not optimal. I did what I thought was 13 miles based on my gmap pedometer work, but when I got back home to WI and re-traced my route using Gmap Pedometer on a computer, I ended up with only 12.62 miles. It was done pretty quickly though because we headed off to Epcot after I got back! More walking!
Week 9 Total Mileage: 32.21 miles
Completed 4 of the 4 mandatory workouts.
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