M'kay

Well, I felt pretty decent this morning (although a bit tired, since it was 5am), so I decided to drive to Olympia, WA, to race today. Cold and frosty, especially at the race site, where the humidity was thick and the air was a frigid 30-something. At registration, decided to go for the 1/2 marathon, deceiving myself into thinking that the slower pace (compared to the 10k) would make the race "easier". Also decided to go out by feel and not worry so much about the target pace. I honestly figured there was no way I'd PR this race, since I ran 18 miles yesterday, and a relatively hard workout Friday (not to mention a somewhat stressful week).

After milling around trying to stay warm and warming up with a quick .5 mile jog, 8:02 am arrived and we were off. First watch check was a few minutes in and my garmin pace was around 6:30.....a bit fast, I thought, but that usually happens right out of the gate, so I wrote it off. I was in a pack of around 7-8 for the first couple of miles but pretty soon the pack dwindled to 4-5 and soon thereafter became an extended line. Seems like my downhill speed is pretty good as I was able to pass most of the pack I went out with and soon was trailing just one individual relatively closely with one more about .2 in front.

I managed to pass the close guy on the steep downhill at 4.5 by running a good tangent. Also managed to hold him off on the steep uphill, so now the chase was on for the final guy I could see. Ahead of him were the gazelles, so I concentrated on not letting my rabbit get away from me. That chase lasted the remainder of the race.

I did see the lead group, college track stars out to try to qualify for the NAIA Marathon Championships as they headed back up the path near the road at around the 6 mile mark. We were headed generally downhill for a while and figured I'd enjoy it while it lasted, paying for it on the return. At this point, my legs did feel pretty worn out, but I was still holding pace under 6:40, which was well into PR territory. Hmmmm....

The return trip uphills went thru some dense forested areas (ah, the beautiful northwest), which completely threw Garmin off. Up to this point, it seemed like the mile marks were coming up .02 short, but in here Garmin lost almost .5 mile and therefore lost track of accurate splits, which as it turns out was a good thing. I focused on pushing as hard as I felt I could sustain (plus a little) and in not letting my rabbit in front of me get away. I was definitely using all the tricks to stay on target....not thinking of the # of miles left, focused belly breathing, concentrating on the next step, etc. The icy patches made turns interesting (downright exciting in a couple of spots), but I managed to negotiate everything safely.

I managed to keep my rabbit on a leash until around the 11 mile turnaround point (last 4 was an out and back stretch) when he started slipping away. Mentally, hitting the turnaround point was helpful and I managed some stronger pushes on the last couple of miles. It wasn't enough to keep up with my rabbit, who seemed to have saved up for a gear I didn't have. Still I kept pushing on until I had the finish in sight, and managed to kick to the end. I knew I was spent when my breathing in the last .2 or so started sounded asthmatic, something that happens to me when I'm about done in.

1:26:15. Huh? That's almost a 5 minute PR from last August! Granted, that's 6 months of training, but 5 minutes? Wow, I was pretty pleased. I'm pretty darned happy with the result considering I was about as unrested as you can get.

My garmin splits, which are probably mostly worthless, were:

* 6:33
* 6:43
* 6:40
* 6:44
* 6:49
* 6:42
* 7:03
* 5:17 (This split was way off, as I manually hit the lap button to help Garmin out. Splits from here on out are pretty good.)
* 5:56 (This split was real since it was right after I got Garmin caught up and corresponded to the mile markers! A sub-6 split??? It wasn't even all a downhill! What was I thinking!!!)
* 6:44
* 6:53
* 6:28
* 6:38
* 1:00

So, one mile slower than 7, which is likely true as that was the all uphill mile. One faster than 6 which I'm still amazed about. Plus, a PR to boot. Good race day!

Of course, my internet was down again all day, so I was forced to suffer in silence and had blogging withheld until today, when it magically restored itself. Argh!

Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 239 miles.

7 miles in 58:44, 8:23/mi, HR 142.

Legs dead.  That familiar uncoordinated feeling after a hard race kept my pace very easy today.  First mile around 10:00/mi pace, but did loosen up some.  I have the feeling tomorrow medium-long run will be more of the same.  Some definite tightness in left ITB, hamstring, so some good stretching afterwards. 

Brooks Trance - 370 miles.

13 miles in 1:42:13, 7:51/mi, HR 150.  

Despite not wanting to wake up this morning, felt remarkably good through most of the run, reflected in the pace.  An emergency PB at 8.5 for a brief timeout, but otherwise uneventful.  New shoes!

Asics GT 2120 - 13 miles.
 

7.5 miles in 58:40, 7:49/mi, HR 152.

More snow last night so most of the run was through snow and slush.  Legs still feel a bit tired, but still wanted to move out smartly.  Felt better doing core exercises and stretching afterwards.

Brooks Trance - 377.5 miles.

13.13 miles in 1:40:00, 7:36/mi, HR 154.  30 minute warmup, 40 minute Fartleks (5 x 5 minutes on/3 minutes off), 30 minute cooldown.  Fartleks: .77 (6:31/mi, uphill/flat), .86 (5:49/mi, flat/downhill), .73 (6:52/mi, uphill), .79 (6:21/mi, rolling/flat), .78 (6:27/mi, rolling/flat), avg HR 173.

Tried to keep on portions of Fartlek between 5 & 10K effort...honestly felt more like 5K for much of the session.  Was wanting it to end by repeat 3, but repeats 4 and 5 felt better...perhaps just getting used to speedwork again?  Luckily, the rains had come to wash away much of the snow on the roads.  Unfortunately, during the cooldown on the way back the rains came again, then the hail, then the heavy wet snow so that I was soaked and cold by the time I made it back home.  Oh, and the winds decided to blow periodically, usually in my face as I was running an uphill stretch.  Yippee!

Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 252.13 miles.

6.25 miles in 48:17, 7:43/mi, HR 148.

Felt much better than expected after yesterday's Fartlek workout, especially since I didn't sleep well (common for me after a hard workout/race).  Short pause .35 miles and .95 miles into run, as I encountered a stranded motorist in need of water for his radiator, so I took ran back to the house and returned with a gallon of water (which got heavy quickly!).  After ensuring he was okay, continued run in light misty rain (much better than hail from yesterday), feeling pretty good and keeping a faster pace than normal.  I can tell my fitness has improved quite a bit lately, as my pace was usually 15-20 seconds slower at the same effort a short couple of weeks ago.  A good sign.

Had a 6-month checkup with the podiatrist today.  The left foot ball pain I'd been having late last year has almost completely faded, but he was able to find some type of nodule in that area that was suspicious, so foot xrays were take to determine whether it was in the tendon or a bone spur.  Also, its been a year since I was fitted for orthotics, which helped quite a bit.  I've read that you should periodically be re-examined as your gait changes over time (with increased fitness and strengthening), so I asked about it and he agreed.  Lo and behold, even I could tell on the fancy schmancy computer image where you step onto the pressure sensitive pad that things had changed.....last time there were blotches of red (high pressure areas) everywhere and my arches were pretty flat.  This time around, one tiny red spot on my left foot, but everything else was smoothly graduated and my arches seemed higher.  So new orthoes are going to be on the way in 4-6 weeks, which will also provide a bit of lift to take the pressure off my left foot metartarsals (where the nodule he found is located).  I'm encouraged that actively working to correct strength weaknesses in my core and legs has obviously paid off in more ways than just running faster. 

Things are feeling like they're really coming together.  Enough so that I may adjust my goal for the spring marathon downward a bit, but it's still a bit early that take that leap.

Brooks Trance - 383.75 miles.

20 miles in 2:39:23, 7:58/mi.

After dropping our truck off for a service, ran the Puyallup Riverwalk trail, then jumped onto the Foothills trail and headed out towards Orting and back.  Could've done without the winds, but the rains held off and I even got a little sun, so all is forgiven.  Forgot my HR strap in the rush out the door.  Aimed for 8:21/mi pace for the first half, 7:39/mi pace for the second half.  Around 10 miles in, inside of left hamstring started feeling a bit strained and tight.  This progressed until eventually it started cramping (or what I figure is cramping, never having had cramped leg muscles before), so that I was forced to stop and massage it for a few seconds every couple of miles after 14 or so.  Fortunately, it didn't seize completely (a long walk back) nor did it really affect my pace (aside from the quick stops), so I'll chalk this up to experience.  I took no water with me, it was a bit warmer out today than it has been (~52F to start), and I added a new exercise to my core routine that I think worked my poor little hammies more than they're used to, so my left one started crying uncle today.  Otherwise, a good solid run.

The course I ran was pretty flat and subconsciously I found myself doubting my flat-course running skills about halfway through.  Decided enough of that garbage, that I was just *making* myself poor at it, and lo and behold, managed my target pace without too much strain for the last 10.  I really need to get this mental "I can't/I'm not good/This is hard" stuff under control, so I will focus on positive thinking on my hard/long runs from now on to see if it helps.  Afterwards, I reflected on how 10 months after my first marathon, I'd just completed a long run at under the goal pace I'd set for that race easily and afterwards went about the rest of my day.  It certainly helps for generating positive thoughts.

Asics GT 2120 - 33 miles.