Going With The Flow

AM - Ran along Ipanema Beach in Rio - easy 7 miles. Stopped a few times to take pictures :) Then cooled off in the ocean....I could get used to that!

In US again!! Planning to run this afternoon, but I wanted to update now since I have been MIA for a few days - I spent the weekend in Rio de Janeiro...Saturday I did a long run of about 15 miles along Rodrigo de Freitas and Sunday I ran easy 7 miles on the Ipanema Beach. My coworker and I spent the rest of the weekend sightseeing and swimming/people watching/laying around at the beach - just living up the opportunity of being in Brazil. I wouldn't mind another work trip there :) I'm working on a blog post with more pics and details...

PM - 9.5 miles. Met Jake running home from work then 4 x 200m at 40s to get the legs moving. I can tell that I've been traveling for 17 hours.

AM - 4.9 mile extended horsepark loop with Jake. I made him run slow this morning!

PM - Warm-up for 2+ miles. Stretched then began the workout. I had a pretty conservative goal today of 4 x mile at 6 min pace with 800m recovery because I'm still pretty exhausted from traveling (and I wanted to make sure to hit my target for confidence boosting). Ended up with 4 x mile at 5:56, 5:54, 5:49, 5:51 with 400m recovery then decided to jump in on Redd's workout for 4 x 200m at 5:35 pace. Cooled down with ACorn, Redd, and Jake for a total of 8.3 miles. I'm really happy with this workout - I'm starting to get my speed back a little bit! Baby jumps :)

I'll be posting blogs of my trip to Brazil over the next few days. I have a lot of pictures so I'm breaking it up into a few more blogs. Here's a couple from Sao Paulo - Andrea's Brazil Journal #3 - Sao Paulo (Day 1) and NOW (Day 2) as well.

AM - Good to be back running with JAJAF crew this morning. I felt a little tight this morning from the workout yesterday afternoon, but we still ran a solid 7:25 pace. Nice talking to the group and trying to catch the "racing vibe" from them because I need more motivation to race and they need LESS! I think I'm going to set everyone's marathon limit this year to 4 (and mine to 0!).

Started yoga up again and got a friend to work on my back for a few minutes - wow, what a difference. My back feels so much better already.

Another blog post of Brazil - Final weekend in Rio de Janeiro (Day 1 of 2)

AM - Ran partway up to Jake's work and back home. Fritz sighting at mile 4. Planning to do a short track workout this afternoon.

PM - 2 mile warm-up then 10 x 400m with 200m recovery (avg 82.5s) and 2 x 200m with 200m recovery (avg 42s). Mile cooldown. I feel good about this workout!

Jake and I decided to bail on the Striders Half this weekend. It's supposed to be really cold in the morning (20 degrees) and the cold temperatures have a really bad effect on my feet. I'm making such good progress that it's not worth the risk to regress. For Jake, a 13 mile tempo is a little too long with only 8 days out from Boston. It's the smart decision.

PM - 6.2 miles horsepark loops. 2" fresh powder to run on!

Anyone interested in some mile repeats (5:50-5:55 pace) at Liberty Park tomorrow morning?

I wrote a blog post about my frustration with injuries the past few months and finally feeling good running again - On the Upswing.

AM - Waited until it was warmer outside (11am) to do the workout this morning. Headed to Liberty Park for mile repeats. 2 mile warm-up, then 5 x mile with 0.4 mile recovery. Miles at 5:49, 5:47, 5:46, 5:43, 5:42. Great workout for me! I've made a lot of progress in the last three weeks and I'm feeling stronger with every run. 

AM - Beautiful Easter morning! Ran the SLC Half Marathon course with the JAJAF crew this morning - a really great course except for maybe the Sugarhouse turnaround point and the monster hill up State Street. It has a great downhill for the majority of the race and especially the last half mile. I've decided to run it, even though I don't feel quite ready for a half marathon yet. It should be fun to run a race on familiar streets!

PM - Did a shakeout run with Jake. It was so nice outside that it was too hard to say no. And I had to make sure that Jake wouldn't pad his mileage this afternoon :)

AM - 4.5 miles really easy, first half with Jake. Feel pretty exhausted and have a little pain in my foot, so I gotta be careful about not overdoing it.

PM - 3 miles easy around Sugarhouse. Was planning to do more, but felt so fatigued that I called it early.  It's probably about time to have a lower mileage week.

I finally bought some liquid iron. Then Allie told me on Saturday that it tastes like blood so I'm afraid to try it.

AM - Easy 3 miles this morning. I feel fatigued, but I might be okay by this afternoon for a workout...still deciding. I was planning to do 5k at HM pace, but I might have to change it to a longer MP tempo instead if my legs are lacking the pep to go really fast. We'll see. 

PM - Warmed up 2 miles. Ran 5k in 18:43 (LT/HM pace). Splits - 5:59, 5:59, 6:00, :45. Thankfully ACorn decided to do the workout with me and Jake was timing/taking pictures so I had to be accountable even when I wanted to stop after one mile! This felt hard - a mentally tough workout on tired legs. Now to reel in the JAJAF(A?) crew tomorrow morning for an easy run....

Today from Functional Path Training:

"Most people agree that speed wins, then why if that is the case isn’t it made a priority. You must work on speed first and foremost.  You must incorporate some elements of speed from the first training cycle through to the peak competition. That is true if you are training for a marathon or 100 meters, basketball or rugby. It must be part of every training cycle. I find it quite amusing when I hear a coach say that we have been working on base work, but I have not started speed work yet. What are you waiting for? The problem with that approach is that they are not training to be fast, they are training to endure, and then magically they hope that the fast will come. They are essentially training speed out that is easy. The inevitable result is undue soreness and greater risk of injury because of the abrupt change in the training program when they do start to emphasize anything fast. The key is to never get too far away from running fast. Always train speed in.  It should be part of the first training cycle of the year and be a part of each subsequent training cycle. Speed development work can be as simple as sprint drills, light acceleration drills, or for a distance runner simply finishing each run with 8 –10 x 100 meter fast strides, but it must be there all the time. Speed first to be first."

AM - JAJAFA Run. Recruited ACorn this morning - we are getting quite a Wednesday crew now! Since the gimps (James and I) are now feeling good again and Jake doesn't have to run to work, we were able to run farther than 1 mile away from Sugarhouse Park. We ran a nice loop around Millcreek with some decent uphill and downhill. 7:37 pace.

Yesterday I posted a quote about the importance of speed workouts. This is a great article about How Training for a 5K Can Help Your Marathon . A quick quote from the article -

"I am a huge believer in mileage and, in running easy. These are still, all things considered, the most important variables for distance running success. However, it's also true that you can't get fast without running fast in training. Running fast is a skill that can be practiced; you can get better at it. Volume is a huge determinative of distance running success, but so is balanced and progressive training. Taking an occasional break from the relentless slogging of miles to really think about how you can get faster will keep you mentally fresh and also allow your body a different stimulus for training."

AM - Extended horsepark loop with Jake. Short track session this afternoon.

PM - 2 mile warm-up. Track workout with Allie. 3 x (400m-200m-200m) with 200m recovery. Splits were 84, 41, 41, 83, 41, 41, 82, 41, 38. Kept it around 5k pace. I still have tiredness in my legs, but hopefully that'll be gone by Sunday.

In case you want to be really unproductive on Monday morning, the Boston Marathon will stream live for free on Monday, April 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST on the Universal Sports Network and UniversalSports.com.

AM - 5 miles with Jake, extended horsepark loop again. 

Boston, please be cooler on Monday!

AM - Early morning run in the rain before our flight to Boston.

Good racing start to the year!

I was super nervous for this race. I haven't raced since November and have only been feeling strong (back from injuries and a pitiful 4 month post-marathon recovery) for about 3-4 weeks. With that said, my fitness has come back pretty solid in the past few weeks and I have been able to get in some great workouts. I still had lots of doubts and low confidence though (within reason, I mean I was struggling to break 8:30 miles a month ago) - my A+ goal today was 17:30.

I did a 15 minute warm-up followed by 6-8 strides trying to get a feel for pace. The elite field was very intimidating - Kim Smith, Desi Davila, Stephanie Rothstein, a few Ethiopians, etc. I got some great pictures next to Kim Smith :) I'm still not sure how I got elite status with my name on my bib and everything! I knew the race was going to go out fast so my goal was to be super conservative and go for negative splits. 

As soon as the gun went off, I was immediately engulfed by the field. A lot of really fast people! However, I was very proud to look at my Garmin and see that I was going the exact pace I wanted. There was a good hill at the end of the first mile but it didn't seem to affect me. It helped that Rachelle was at mile 1 cheering for me! First mile was 5:45. The first half of mile 2 was an awesome downhill stretch followed by flat for the rest of the race. I hit the 2 mile mark with a pace of 5:41.

Here, a little 13 year old boy running decided to run with me and said "Come on - let's do this together!". Haha that just made me smile. He was about half my size too! I was feeling great so I really picked it up the last mile. We turned onto the finish line street with about a half mile to go and I ran hard. The last 1.1 was 5:21 pace and I finished in 17:23! I am slightly embarrassed to say that the 13-year old beat me, but what can you do?

It is a great feeling to know that I'm not even close to my best shape right now and was still able to run that fast. I probably could've gone out a little faster (given the much faster last mile) but I still think it was a smart move to be conservative.

After the race, I met up with JG, Dan, Hamdog, Jake, Rachelle, and (briefly) Steam8. So nice to put faces to names and talk with everyone. Several of us did a 4 mile jog around the parks. I wished them all the best of luck tomorrow and to go out CONSERVATIVE!

FYI - I was a little nervous about my hamstring which is why I'm wearing compression shorts. But I had no problems!

PM - 1.5 mile shake-out with Jake.

From BAA 5K

AM - Got up early to wish Jake good luck at the marathon. Then a couple friends and I headed to the 6.5 mile mark to watch. Man, it was hot (and only 9:30am)! The sun was beating down hard. Jake was in high spirits at this point, really working the crowd. I gave him a water bottle and a cold sponge. Then we headed to the 15.5 mile mark. I decided to run a couple miles further on the course so he could have another spot for aid. So I saw him again at mile 17.5. He told me "This is getting really TOUGH". The heat was really starting to get to him.

That was all I got to see of Jake. I wished him best and thankfully Emily Bates was at Heartbreak Hill to help him out as well!

 I ran back to the 15.5 mile mark, somehow missing a lot of the bloggers. I did see Kam and ran with him for a few minutes. I was getting really nervous about not seeing Rachelle (b/c I was planning on running with her), but she came along looking great. Soaked from head to toe from pouring so much water on herself! We ran together from 15.5 - 24.5 miles. Unfortunately, my water bottle fell apart so I wasn't able to help her with that as much as I had hoped. I tried to get Gatorade and water at the (very busy) aid stations every once in a while though. We were passing people left and right. I would say we passed probably 1000 people in 9 miles - it was awesome.

But I gotta say, those 9 miles were not easy. I felt like I was overheating after about 4 miles in the conditions so I can't even imagine what it was like for everyone racing for a full 26.2 miles. I cannot stress how much the heat factored into this race. That said, I am very proud of everyone that stuck it out and ran hard today - they all deserve a half gallon of ice cream tonight (after about 10 bottles of Gatorade!). 

Anyway, I ended up somewhere in the 15 miles today, but I feel like I ran at least 20! My friend Greg got some awesome pics of Jake so make sure you check them out on his blog (when he gets them up).

AM - 5.2 miles really slow and easy with Jake. I need an easy day after the race and the long run yesterday.

I am SO HOT. Probably because it's still almost 90 degrees again today in Boston and no air conditioning. I got pretty overheated from being out in the sun for so long yesterday - and I didn't even race! Jake and I are both sitting on the couch with ice packs on our necks, head, and chests. I'm pretty sure we would both have a core temperature over 100 degrees!

PM - After a long day of traveling and then working, my motivation level was at about 2 for a workout. I ate a couple scoops of ice cream once I got home which brought my level up to 3 - enough to get me out the door. I ran a 2.5 mile warm-up then got into my planned 4 mile tempo at marathon pace. The pace felt surprisingly comfortable so I extended the tempo out and ran it slightly faster than MP. 5.5 miles at 6:14 pace. Ended with a short cooldown for a total of 8.7 miles. Going to take it easy the next two days for the half marathon on Saturday.

I got to try out some new shoes that I got from my visit to the Saucony headquarters - Fastwitch 6. They aren't out in stores yet, but they are pretty awesome. I currently have the Fastwitch 5 (which I love) and I could tell that these have a little less support and are about an ounce lighter. I think they will be great for me in a couple months...but with my recent foot injuries I'll probably stick with the 5s for this weekend for a little extra support. The headquarters has a track runway down the middle of their work hallway and shoes everywhere - I want to work there!!

AM - 5 miles, extended horsepark loop with Jake. Then 30 minutes of yoga. My back felt like it was tied up in knots from all the traveling so it was good to stretch and loosen it up again.

AM - 4.6 miles easy with Jake. 

I thought it might be fun to get a group together for lunch after the SLC race tomorrow...let me know if you are interested! 

Comparison of an elite entry at the BAA 5k versus an elite entry at SLC Half Marathon. So if anyone running wants to be elite, just get a sticky note and write "ELITE" on it! :)

AM - Salt Lake City Half this morning. I was fortunate enough to be in the "elite math suite" until 20 minutes before the race. Then Allie, James, and I did our 1 mile warm-up to the start. I'm pretty sure I would've run 13 seconds faster if I didn't have to run an all uphill warm-up. 

My goal going into this race was 1:18-1:18:30. I couldn't decide which splits to go with, but they were only 2 seconds different per mile so I was just freaking out about nothing. Typical pre-race activity for me. Turns out I just split the difference between the two for my final time, so I was pretty spot on with what I thought I was capable of today. 

Got to the start and was happy to see that Devra and Emily B decided to jump in the races at the last minute. I ran a few strides and then we were off.  I immediately settled into goal time pace for the first mile and kept that effort for the whole race. The half marathon seems to be the only distance that I am very in-tune with what effort level I can maintain. Adam Wende jumped in to run with Emily B and me after about a mile, and he stayed around until mile 7 or so. Jake was on a bike with LuluWalls around mile 1 as well and the race crew was totally fine with them biking along the course with me. It was fun to have them for the whole race - this is probably the greatest benefit about lower-key local races. I love it!

I felt pretty strong throughout the whole race. Got pretty tired by mile 10, like usual. Then I had to trudge up the hill and try to get some sort of turnover in the last half mile. Splits were a bit all over the place, but that was to be expected because of the different inclines throughout the course. I ran 5:49, 5:59, 5:47, 5:43, 6:06, 6:11, 5:53, 6:03, 5:51, 6:05, 5:58, 6:15, 5:55 pace for the last 1.1 miles.

Overall I'm very happy with the race today. I am exactly where I was hoping to be right now in my training. I have about 8 weeks until the Half Marathon Champs so just enough time for a good buildup to bring that time down!

Ran a cooldown with Jake for 5 miles to get 19 for the day.  I have to say, I was really impressed with how well the race was organized. I was a little nervous since I have heard so many bad things about it, but the new owners did a great job. I have a feeling this race is going to get BIG in the next few years (well, assuming I get paid!!).

Great job to all the FRB group today! We had quite a showing! Jake got some great pics from the race. Here are a few -

AM - Really easy shakeout this morning to get some race soreness out of the legs. I feel okay overall, but my quads and feet are definitely feeling it. 

After about 3 months off from skiing due to terrible avalanche conditions and training, Jake and I finally headed up to Little Cottonwood Canyon again. We had so much fun - there's just something about the mountains that is mentally uplifting and refreshing. We skinned up Twin Lakes to Patsy Marley then toured around the ridgeline of Wolverine Cirque. Skied Wolverine Bowl, Stupid Chute, and the groomer back to the car. We definitely need some practice - our skiing abilities are terrible right now!!!

We continued our fun day with some bowling with Fritz and Amiee. Turns out Jake and Fritz are just as competitive with bowling as they are with running!! Not that I'm completely surprised...

Last up was a 5.5 mile bike ride with Jake during his afternoon run. I mainly tagged along to make sure Jake didn't throw in a 4:30 mile like he did yesterday!

Whew - what a day! Feels like last summer all over again with all the non-stop activity :)

AM - Shuffle-run just until I could manage a semi-normal stride. My quad muscles are really sore at the inner knee which makes running really awkward. Worked on some hip strengthening Myrtle Exercises then yoga for 20 minutes. Planning to do more mileage this afternoon, hopefully more graceful. 

PM - 5.6 miles in the Sugarhouse area. Feeling a little better - soreness should be mostly gone by tomorrow. 

I analyzed the SLC Half course with Utah Valley Half to see how they compare. SLC has 260ft uphill and 808ft downhill, UV has 168 uphill and 854 downhill. So my time of 1:18:13 on Saturday is about equivalent to a 1:17:38 at UV (based on Runworks calculator). I know these calculators aren't super accurate, but they do enable some sort of comparison between courses. This definitely makes me feel better because it means that I'm in equivalent shape, if not better, than I was in June last year :)

AM - Horsepark loop. Ran an easy, relaxed pace which was about 9 min pace this morning :)

PM - Two laps around the Sugarhouse perimeter. Felt terrible for 3 miles then all of a sudden not so bad anymore. 

Jake and I got our new team kits from Saucony! So exciting!!!

AM - Yoga.

PM -  Ran from Sugarhouse up towards campus and met up with Jake. We ran back and did a few 200s on the grass. I ran 4 x 200 in 41-42 seconds. I started a 5th one but my hamstring got too tight and cramped up so I called the workout. Ran a few slow miles home.

SLC Marathon/Half Marathon pictures are up on marathonfoto.com for those that ran and want to check them out. 

AM - Ran about 4 miles with Jake then back home.Yoga for 20 minutes.

 The last few days I have completely lost my appetite. I love to eat so this is really weird. 

AM - Finally broke the 8 min/mile barrier today, so I should be recovered enough from the race last weekend for a hard tempo run tomorrow.

PM - 2 miles easy.

Short article about Kim Smith and her struggles with the marathon . She is running the marathon at the Olympics and at NYC, and I really hope that she is able to perform to her abilities this year!

“It’s still a scary distance to me because there are so many other factors that come into it than just running,” Smith said. “I am worried all of the time about drinking enough, or having to stop to go to the bathroom. You just don’t know what is going to happen in a marathon. There is more of an unknown than with the other distances.”

Smith says she wrestles every day with internal questions as to why she has had such difficulty. “Maybe there is something about me that’s just not right,” Smith said. “Maybe it’s going to happen every time I run a marathon, that it won’t be as good as how I have run the half-marathon. Take someone like Ryan Hall, who hasn’t really had a bad marathon. I haven’t had any really great marathons. Maybe it’s my body type. Maybe I’m too skinny. In your head, you start thinking about all of the things that could be wrong. I just don’t know."

AM - Thanksgiving Point Half this morning. Jake and I decided to run this as a marathon pace tempo run after getting entries earlier this week. The rule was to run no faster than marathon pace since I ran a hard half last weekend and Jake ran the marathon 12 days ago. And if either of us could get in the prize money, that would be nice too!

The race started and I immediately let Julie Thomas and Arianne Brown set the pace. We came through the first mile in 6:23. Perfect!! I was so excited that they were running my exact goal pace (along with a couple guys as well). We cruised through the first few miles on the road. Then the course got interesting. We meandered through the gardens from miles 3.5-7, weaving around islands, running on cobblestone path, up hills and down hills, and with lots of turns. It was actually pretty fun!

Miles 8-12 were all on the golf course. This part felt like a cross country course! There were so many short steep hills and downhills with a significant turns at the bottom...brought me back to my high school days (although much more enjoyable). I lost the other girls through this section and ended up running the majority of the race with this guy named Dan Vargo (not Dan Varga from the blog, weird!). At mile 11, we were both ready for FLAT. The rest of the course was just that, and we both picked up the pace pretty significantly though the last mile.

I came in 1st with a time of 1:24:15 - right on for my goal. The overall time is a little slower than marathon pace, but the course is rather challenging and at altitude so it felt like the right effort. Splits were 6:24, 6:23, 6:11, 6:24, 6:39, 6:31, 6:35, 6:32, 6:33, 6:27, 6:49, 6:21, 6:26 for 1.1 (5:54 pace).

After a 1-2 minute recovery, Melody, Jake and I went for a long cooldown. It was so nice to finally meet Melody - she won the 5k this morning only 12 days after her marathon! We ran around 5 and I got 19 miles for the day.

The after-race party was super fun. So many friends there! I got to chat with Preston and his wife, RAD, Smooth (so nice to finally meet her too!), Toby, Scott Keate, the Altramaniacs, our very own Dan V, Melody, Lily (who got 2nd in the 5k!), Carina, Riley, Walter (1st master), Jake, and lots of others too.

Oh yeah - I got a sweet champion cup too!

AM - Short 3 mile jog around the block.

Then we headed up to the mountains for a beautiful ski tour. Started at Brighton and skinned up to Catherine's Pass. We had never been over this way before, so it was really fun to check out a new place. The area has great options for skiing - from mellow bowl skiing to steep couloirs. It will probably be one of our go-to spots in the future. After a couple laps of awesome skiing there, we headed to the top of Tuscarora via bootpack then traversed the ridge over to Wolverine Bowl. A couple laps there and a long route back to the car. Total of 6.6 miles and 3800 ft.

It was a very typical "Jake and Andrea Adventure Day" with Jake triggering a couple wet avalanches, us both making things way more difficult than they needed to be (the bootpack up steep terrain), me chickening out on a sketchy ice couloir, skiing with our skins on because we were too lazy to take them off, and a crazy trail fiasco back out to the car. Good times :)

AM - Horsepark loop 4.4 miles. I wore my compression shorts because my hamstrings have been tight recently. The shorts helped a lot - I'll probably wear them every day for a while.

PM - 5 miles around Sugarhouse Park + Murphy's neighborhood.