Category Archives: Training

April 5, 2013 · 9:01 pm

You know you’re a runner if…

Runners definitely share some odd traits and I felt the need to start listing them out! I’d love to hear from you all so please share yours below….

1. You frequently have a Garmin watch tan line on your wrist from February to December. Hotness.
2. You have multiple Excel spreadsheets of your training plans.
3. You once hated other people wearing compression socks; but now find yourself owning them in multiple colors. Same could be said for fuel belts.
4. Your kitchen pantry is filled with an abundance of either: GU gels, shot blocks, gatorade, or power bars.
5. You hold on to your old pair of sneakers for no real reason.
6. You have holes in your sneakers from your big toe.
7. You’ve lost a toenail or two.
8. You secretly stalk active.com for new races; as if they’ll just post one today for tomorrow.
9. You spend a Friday or Saturday night prepping for your long run by shoveling enormous amounts of carbs in your mouth and going to bed at 9:30 like an old lady.
10. You plan your workouts a week in advance and when you cross off a workout you feel like you just cured cancer.
11. You think its cute when people ask about your “jogging”.
12. You keep snacks in your car or gym bag…you never know when you’ll need to fuel for an impromptu run.
13. You stalk the weather to plan out your weekly runs.
14. You’re always hungry (rungry).

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March 28, 2013 · 8:41 pm

Post Marathon Blues

girlskipping

What I felt like the 48 hours following the marathon.

I was on cloud 9. Loving life, proud of my accomplishment, bragging, rewarding myself for my Boston Qualifier.  I was excited when anyone asked me how the marathon went. I’m pretty sure I squealed a few times, or at least I did in my head. I was at a good place not worrying about my next race, not worrying about a taper. All I was focused on was being proud of my accomplishment. And recovering. I knew I needed a few days to let my body heal. I let myself eat bad food and be a normal person for a few days.

birthdaygirlcrying

What I felt like a few days after the marathon.

Then a few days passed.  And I found myself missing my training schedule. Missing the daily accomplishments as I crossed runs off my list.  I was missing looking forward to a race and getting anxious/nervous about it.  To most non-runners, they think I’m crazy. Maybe I am, but I actually missed being in training.  I couldn’t just jump back in because I had injuries that needed to heal. I had to let myself recover or I’d be injured for a while and really out of commission.  My body needed to rest. And I knew if I tried to push it, I’d just end up disappointed in my workouts.

At almost 2 weeks since my Boston Qualifier Marathon, I decided I need to let myself be OK with not training year round and that taking a break is normal.  I’d typically jump right back into training for my upcoming race in May (half marathon).  This time however, I decided to make it a fun run. I’m not going for a PR or to win any race categories. I deserve to run a few races a year that let me enjoy the run. So that is how I plan to cope with the post marathon blues: to let myself enjoy running and take it easy this summer and not let running overpower my life. I’m looking forward to a fun run. And will try to make the most of my free time by doing more yoga, pilates, and spin.

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March 20, 2013 · 3:51 pm

DC Marathon Race Recap 3/16/13

So it happened. The race that is. All 26.2 miles through Washington, DC on 3/16.  I learned a lot about my running style and made sure to note some things that didn’t go so well during the run but enough about that for the moment….it’s time to brag a little.  I qualified for Boston in  3:34!  So I qualified in my old age group and my new one!  My goal that day wasn’t to qualify for Boston. My plan was to run DC as a practice to find where I was weak and then spend the next few weeks working on improving. Then make the NJ marathon my qualifier. But as I neared the halfway point at 13 miles, I realized I was way under qualifying pace. So I went for it.

Here’s the details on what went right and what went wrong:

  1. The course: the course was hillier than I expected. Pretty sure the elevation map online was incorrect. I was anticipating agradual hill around mile 7 and was mentally prepared for it.  But that was actually a really steep hill and then there were like 14 more throughout the race.  In fact, the end ofthe race ended uphill. Lesson here – run more hills and stop whining.

    DC Elevation from my Garmin

    DC Elevation from my Garmin

  2. Hydration and fueling: I did a really bad job at this in DC. I brought withme 2 clif shot blocks and never took themout of my pocket. Instead, I took GU gels and ate 1/2 a packet twice.  I trained prior with the gels for other races, but only with the shot blocks for this one. So basically, I ran around carrying extra weight in my back pocket for no reason (and yes, by extra weight I mean like a half an ounce). As for water, I was a mess in this area too. I didn’t hydrate properly the first 13 miles which left me in a bind the second half of the race. I actually had to stop and walk the water stops after mile 18. I would grab 2-3 cups at a time and chug them. I need to really learn how to drink while running. A talent I’m so jealous others can do.
  3. Weather: turned out way better than expected. Just light rain and clouds, perfect 43 degree temps at the start. Couldn’t have asked for better conditions.
  4. Pacing: I was all over the place with my pace after mile 12. I attribute this to my lack of distance runs towards the end of training. I really wasn’t ready to run this marathon. I had only two 20 plus mile runs and had skipped the initial buildup in miles. A no-no for all you first time marathoners. Do as I say, not as I do. Physically, I don’t think I was in the best condition to be running my best but it was good enough. I kept calculating time and how much time I could slow down for so I could still BQ. And I took full advantage of those minutes in the last few miles as I shuffled through to thefinish.
  5. Tapering: I actually did this really well for once. I kept telling myself to trust the taper. I did. And thus, on race morning I felt relaxed, my legs felt energized, and no injuries on race day.  A few days prior to race day, my tendonitis flared up, but I took the time and rested and iced and was ready to go after that.
  6. Mental mind game: Here’s where I did everything terribly wrong. While I’m so happy I had a BQ and PR; I am not happy with my race physically and mentally. I kept trying to quite the entire race. I told myself to make it to the half marathon finish and get a medal at least. I could count that as a training run then. Then I told myself to make it to the next mile, and then if I made it to the next water stop I could stop, etc.  It was a mental nightmare. I didn’t feel strong. I felt defeated at mile 12. There came a point where I had to decide if I was going to miss the chance for a BQ when I was halfway there already. I pushed through. I wish I could say I found my strong and overcame hitting the wall.  But I was weak the entire end of the race. The last 6 miles felt like torture.

Overall, this was a great course and I’m so happy to have run it (except you Mr. Steepie Steep Hill). The race organizers did a great job and I want to give big thanks to the volunteers and supporters who came out that day. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have made it through.

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