Off Season

I haven’t written in awhile and while that’s been unintentional, it still feels a bit remiss.

After Erie, I felt sort of bittersweet. Actually, bittersweet is a good way for me to describe this entire year in terms of running. I’ve had more downs than ever when it comes to racing. But I also hit 2 PR’s in the half and full marathon distance.

I hit a half PR after Erie about a month later, at Grand Rapids. The last half that I raced was in 2013, and I ran around 1:51. I signed up for the GR half 3 days before, since I had friends running the race. It was kind of cool to run the half this year, since GR was my first sub 4 marathon last year. However, I was still a little nervous. My longest run prior was 10 miles (after Erie, I got sick and took some extended rest). I truly had no clue how I was going to feel (especially in that last 10k) or what I would run. When I registered, the website asked me to guess what my finish time would be, so I put 1:47.

On race day, I felt a little nervous that I wouldn’t be able to hit the splits my coach gave me, but decided I would just try my best. I started out conservatively, then settled into a groove and hung on exactly to the pace she wanted (7:55). I focused on those splits the entire time while racing, not paying attention to my actual overall time. Around mile 6, a friend running the course ran with me a couple miles and we chatted. I was surprised at how easily I was able to talk at that pace! I felt pretty good, but continued to focus, because I knew that last 5k was going to be a wild card. When I turned off around 9 miles, I said goodbye to my distracting friend and pressed on to the finished.  Once I got to 11 miles, I kicked it up a little more because I knew the end was near. When I hit the finish line and saw 1:44:xx, I was very shocked.

What happened after I crossed was even more shocking — I was about a minute faster than that — 1:43:52 overall! 7:55 pace exactly.

To be honest, this year has not been my favorite year for running. I haven’t felt “fast”  and I’ve watched other friends gain amazing progress, and I just felt kind of… blah. On this day, for the first time in a LONG time… I felt fast. I felt like an actual contender in terms of what I believe I’m capable of. It was one of the few races I have ever finished and didn’t think “I could’ve done this this better”. I was just pleased with my results.

And now… I’m going through a bit of some other issues, that I won’t dwell on here about for now. Not because I enjoy vague blogging, but because I have spent enough damn time feeling sorry for myself and alone, and I’m sick of it. It’s my own figurative punch in the face. It’s off season. I’m grateful for being able to complete my third marathon and get a PR in the full and half distance. I’m trying to look forward to the future, instead of focusing on current setbacks.

I can be very hard on myself, as many of us are. It’s hard to focus on the here and now when you are the type that is always looking ahead. Truly, I believe that what is happening to me now is forcing me to realize the value in both. And to remember that even if things lapse, I can get back to where I was and be even stronger. I’ve watched friends endure terrible hardships and injuries and come back gracefully and triumphantly. It’s off season, guys! No need to take it so seriously for now.

What’s Next?

It’s been just about 2.5 weeks since the Grand Rapids marathon and I’ve had some time to reflect. I took the first 4 days off completely, then biked 2 days and did a shake out, creaky 2 mile run on the 7th day.

My return to running was a bit slower than I’d hoped. When I ran Bayshore, 5 days off was no problem. I think I assumed that would be the case here. Only thing I had to remember was, I ran GR about 78 minutes faster than Bayshore 😉 yeah, that may change things just a bit.

just after Bayshore 🙂

 

Last week I ran 10 miles. 10 miles!! that seemed like nothing compared to the 40+ mile weeks I’ve been pulling. and you would think I would relish in the break- nope. At first I thought I’d love it, but that quickly turned into disdain and wanting to run fast. I am so fortunate that my coach was giving me post-race instructions, because I may have been tempted to get out there and do something I wasn’t ready to do, causing an unnecessary injury.

This week, I’m slowly heading back to normal. I’ve already ran more than I did last week (yay!) but my pacing is still a bit off. I’m able to run the paces I was before, my easy pace.. but it isn’t feeling quite so easy. At first I was feeling frustrated by this, but I figure as long as I’m getting out there, that’s what counts.

So now that I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things, I’m thinking forward. If you would have asked me 4 hours after GR when my next full was, I probably would’ve slurred something along the lines of “no more fulls, EVSSSS”. I basically told Nate 17 million times that I would never run another full on the way home from GR. I was a very captivating conversationalist on that 2 hour drive home, trust.

maybe this is why he’s doing this during race weekends?

Seriously, I mean why would I do another full? I hit my goal. I wanted sub 4. I was praying for 3:59:59. I got nearly 5 minutes under that. It’s AMAZING.

And yet, now I’m curious as to what else I can do. You see, even though GR was my 2nd marathon, in many ways it felt like my first. My training was derailed by injury when I trained for Bayshore, and I ran the actual race in pain from mile 9 & up, also stopping whenever my friends needed to. I don’t regret that at all (they stopped when I needed to as well!) but it’s hard for me to reflect on that training. Obviously going into GR I was like “duh, don’t get injured aka don’t go out on a race trying to PR like crazy and do something stupid”. Which I didn’t, I am so proud of myself for that. (Seriously not racing at actual races isn’t so bad).

my AG win for my first 25k back in may. I ran it as a training run partially for marathon training purposes and also because it was my anniversary and I didn’t want to be coma ridden for the day.

Because Bayshore was so rocky, I had no idea how my training for GR would go. My coach helped a lot, but sub 4 just seemed like this elusive, greedy dream. After all, going from a full in the 5 hour mark to completely sidestepping the 4 hour range? Kind of crazy. I’m so grateful, truly. The body is a wonderful thing.

BUT now? I’m thinking about what else I’m capable of. And how I can tweak things that I noticed during GR to help for future races. After all, it wasn’t like GR was just easy peasy street. I left everything on that course. Even though I stopped and walked, I truly believe I gave it 100% my all. I fell apart at mile 14 when I lost all that time using the bathroom, for sure. Maybe I could’ve gotten those few minutes back, had I not had a meltdown and started panicking. But the walking during miles 22-23? that was straight fatigue. I don’t think I could’ve gotten out of that.

I want to eliminate that. I set out basically hoping I could maintain a 9 flat pace for a marathon. and I did just that (actually 8:59 if you want to be technical, which in this case, LET’S). Now I want to work on getting faster, not needing to walk, and making that somehow not terrible during the latter half of a full. So I’m coming up with a few things after discussing with my coach.

First, incorporating core work into my weekly routine. Some of you know I used to be all about the planking but that became a thing of the past because of my schedule. Really though, I’m not satisfied with that for an excuse. Core work doesn’t take a ton of time. I did find an extremely awesome core workout thats about 25 min (thanks SMCC!) that I plan to do 3x a week, in addition to planking.

Secondly, speed work. Only way to get faster. Gotta keep it amped up. My coach primarily followed the Hanson plan (lots of miles, most of them easy pace.)This for me correlated to about 30 seconds slower than my desired race pace. paid off big time. Now? I want to drop that pace so I have to get used to running faster, WHILE doing lots of miles at an easier pace that will likely end up resembling my race pace from GR or faster. I hope that makes sense. I don’t want to do numbers, because I’m just not sure.
Why am I not sure? because my coach and I haven’t discussed a sensible goal for the next full. My amazing kickass beautiful friend Karly got a BQ at GR. Sure, that would motivate me to want to BQ next year. But in all honesty, I’d have to shave 22-25 minutes off my time. I am not sure how long that will take me to achieve. So I’m going to make practical, realistic goals for myself (especially with my hectic schedule, because law school isn’t going anywhere right now) with my coach. To be continued.

Lastly, run the F out of hills. I did NOT do this enough during my training cycle. But hills build up your endurance and muscle which make you faster. GR was not hilly by any means (a few rolling, for sure), but I know that hill work would have helped me avoid some fatigue. I’ll be on my game for this next one.

My plan is to do a spring marathon and then a fall one next year to see how far I can get. Do I know for sure that’s the plan and have my races committed to? no. mainly because I have to see how my school schedule is going to be (I’ve got some things in the works that I’m just finalizing. I will do a post on them once I have). But that is the plan for now.

Today, a friend of mine told me how it is impossible to put my name and complacent in the same sentence. and I realized how true that is. Am I happy with my time? Immensely. Being able to say I ran a marathon in 3:55 is a dream come true for me. I used to be embarrassed about my marathon time, when people would ask me (I know, I know, just doing a full is an accomplishment. but I gotta keep it real). So yes, I am extremely happy and grateful. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t look ahead for the next one while enjoying this victory. It’s going to take a lot of work, just like this one did. But I’m up for the challenge. And I’m looking forward to it.

Grand Rapids Marathon & a little (lot) of reflection

First off, I owe somewhat of an apology for my huge lapse in blog posting. When I first started working with my coach, I had all these plans of writing about my progress and keeping everything nice & orderly. Little did I realize my schedule was going to be so crazy that I just lived through each day and completely forgot about blogging. I realize I have some people that actually read here (imagine that 😉 ) and that’s why I’m writing this post now. Plus I want to memorialize what these last few months of training have taught me, and where I hope to go from here. There will be a lot of numbers in this post and I apologize in advance.

Without going too much into detail, my life this year has been crazy busy. I’m currently taking 4 classes, 2 co-curriculars (basically they are like additional classes but you don’t meet regularly and teach yourself the material), working part time, volunteering on 3 boards at school and one in my city. I think I knew going into my second year of law school that I would be busy but I definitely underestimated how much. Add training into the mix and well- it’s been one heck of a ride, that’s for sure.

My training this year actually was so solid. Since May, I’ve logged 100+ miles per month, peaking at 170 in September despite missing a few runs from being sick. I am proud to say that my schedule did not cause me to miss any runs. I was dedicated to being prepared for this full and not having a disaster like Bayshore. So I missed a lot of family/social events (I had to get some studying in between all the running!) but I am really happy that I did. My monthly average for running was always around 9:00-9:10 which was on par with my goal for the full.

When I first started working with my coach, I told him that I thought I had a 4:20 in me for a full. 4:20 is about a 10 min avg pace, and while I thought that was doable, it still seemed so crazy in comparison to my first full time (remember, that was 5:12). Since I was injured and ran with friends, I really had no clue what to expect or even predict for a time.

selfie during a 25k this past May… which I placed 1st in my AG

Around June, after I did a couple races as training runs (re: not actually racing- one of the hardest lessons I had to learn this year), my coach suggested that I start looking more at close to 4 or sub 4. THAT SOUNDED TERRIFYING. But I deferred to his judgement (after all, he’s the expert), and I incorporated the modifying training runs without a hitch.

12 mile training run on vacation in Petosky. take me back!

if I’m being honest with myself, the closer I got to that race, the more I really really REALLY wanted to hit sub 4. Friends would ask me my goal and I would be evasive, mostly because I was afraid of falling short. So much can go wrong in a marathon. at night before I went to sleep, I would close my eyes and visualize crossing the finish line and seeing 3:5X:XX on the clock (I was merely praying for 3:59) and how that moment would make me feel. I didn’t want to, but I was getting totally caught up in it. Which made it even more scary because I didn’t want to fail. I know, there’s always another day, another race. But human nature sometimes doesn’t follow that logic. 😉

When school really started ramping up in September (aka my highest mileage month– I’m the best planner ever for training purposes….), I definitely felt the pressure. But I also decided to eliminate anything that could contribute negatively to my time management. I stopped drinking 7 weeks out from the race, tried to go to sleep at a decent hour (I’m like a grandma so this wasn’t a hard sell), and got up even earlier to make sure I fit my runs in, so that I could do my readings at night after class/work. It wasn’t always easy but I just kept thinking about the ultimate goal.

September I also ran the Capital City River Run (my 3rd time- I just love this race and it has a special place in my heart because it was my first half), as a training run. I was just getting over being really sick (and I’d run an 18 miler while sick, which exacerbated it- not the best idea), so I didn’t look at my watch at all and was gentle on myself. I ended up running 1:53:19, which according to the McMillian calculator put me at a 3:58 full. I knew it was going to be close- I was either going to be just under 4 or over. But all I could do then was get through my 20 miler and then taper!

at Capital City, around mile 12

During taper, I was in denial for awhile and my nerves did not get to me. I just kept thinking like I had no upcoming race, no major dreams happening on October 19. That worked until about a week before, but then I just got so busy at school I still didn’t have time to think about it. Truly, working with my coach and doing 98.9% of the runs (remember, I got sick), I could not have felt more prepared going in. Looking back, there is really nothing I wish I would have done differently EXCEPT run hillier routes. But mileage wise, I was as solid as I could be.

I am flying through a lot of this stuff because this post is already going to be so long, so I’ll just jump right to the race. I started out strong- coach and I had discussed pacing and he said if I could try to maintain 9 flat for the whole race I would be golden. I started with the 3:56 pacing group (they were supposed to be going 9 flat), but I quickly realized a couple miles in that they were going more like 8:20/30’s and I didn’t want to burn out too quickly so I hung back about 30 seconds behind them. I was following my time on my garmin and everything was going well. First 7 miles I ran in 63:01, then I hit the halfway point right at 1:57:18. I was on target for a perfect pace. It didn’t feel hard or anything.

Then, I started having to go to the bathroom. UGH. I actually started feeling that way around mile 10, but I kept passing porta potties because there were lines and I didn’t want to wait ( that cost me 5 min at a 25k I did earlier this year). Finally, just around mile 14, I saw a porta potty that one person had gone in so I stopped, figuring it wouldn’t take that long.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. SO wrong. I waited 2 minutes just for them to even come out! I was SO angry, I was saying a lot of really choice words while I was waiting (I feel bad for the volunteers at the aid station nearby). When I got out, I could no longer see the 3:56 pace group. In my head, a small voice said “you just lost your sub 4” and I started sprinting to try and catch them, but I quickly realized that was a dumb move. This was not a 10k where I was almost done, no, this was the halfway point. If I sprinted now I would surely burnout and crash.

I started frantically doing the math in my head and realized I had basically lost all the time I’d saved by doing 9 flat the first half. My mental mojo went way down…. I was running and still going along, but I just felt beaten down. Of course, then the pain started to kick in, right around mile 16 (it wasn’t that bad, but coupled with my negative mental energy it really didn’t help). I was so angry, in my head I just knew I was going to be over 4 hours. and it was all my fault.

I saw 2 of my friends running (who were much ahead of me- one BQ’ed ((HOTSKIRT!!!)) by 5 minutes and another got a 12 minute PR ((SMCC))), and seeing them gave me a little jolt back into reality. As I approached 18 miles, I looked at my garmin and realized if I could hit 20 miles by 3 hours I still had a chance at sub 4, as long as I ran faster than 10 min miles for the last 10k. I pushed it as hard as I could and hit 20 at 3:00:12. OK IT”S GO TIME NOW.

I decided to just take it mile by mile. Literally I was repeating to myself “just get to mile 21” over and over until I did, then I moved to 22. By 22.5 I had to stop and walk for about 30 seconds. I kept looking at my watch to calculate how much walking would set me behind. I ended up walking probably 2.5 min in that last 4 miles (off and on), never taking my eyes off my garmin. Who said law students can’t do math? 😉

I was hurting at that point. My legs just felt stiff, my left foot hurt and felt like it was bleeding (it wasn’t) and I was SO tired. I started to feel a little lightheaded as well, so I took a GU, some water and gateraid. When I hit 24 miles I kept trying to run but had to stop and walk for another minute. I decided at that point I had to give it everything I possibly could, I knew I was going to be under 4 but I wanted to guarantee it. so I took off like a bat out of hell and held it until I crossed the finish line.

My splits (according to my garmin, which said the course was 26.41):
Mile 1: 9:10
Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 3: 8:51
Mile 4: 8:52
Mile 5: 8:55
Mile 6: 9:00
Mile 7: 8:44
Mile 8: 8:47
Mile 9: 8:49
Mile 10:8:39
Mile 11:9:01
Mile 12:8:48
Mile 13:8:53
Mile 14:10:26 (<<<<< Bathroom mile)
Mile 15:8:43
Mile 16:8:53
Mile 17:9:06
Mile 18:8:47
Mile 19:9:04
Mile 20:8:32
Mile 21:9:03
Mile 22:8:33
Mile 23:8:42
Mile 24:9:16
Mile 25:9:07
Mile 26:8:51
Mile 27:3:25

Time: 3:55:50 Official
Average pace: 8:59 (according to the GR website). PERFECT splits, despite the mishap.

Cannot describe the feelings of accomplishment I felt after (much later….. when I crossed the finish line I was pretty much wiped and had to pull it together a little haha). My friend Karly (who BQ'd! I just love bragging about my awesome friends) met me at the finish and I'm pretty sure she had to drag me to the medal station where she medaled me. I was way out of it and did not even think to take my own pictures, aside from the ones I took with my friends lol.

I'm going to save my post about what I learned from this race for next time, this post is crazy long already. I do want to say thanks to my family and friends who supported me throughout this journey (and asked when I was going to post a blog about it ;)). It makes me feel so special and honored to have you on my team!

done with my first year of law school! & Novi Half Marathon Review

I’m back!! I survived my second bout of law school finals and have a little time to breathe. The past 2 weeks have been intense, stressful and amazing all at the same time. I am truly grateful for all of the opportunities I’ve received during my first year of law school. But I won’t lie, I’m welcoming this little break 😉 I have 2 weeks off before I start working full time as a student attorney/ law fellow for an Elder Law firm. I’ll also be taking 2 classes and beginning marathon training. What am I, crazy?! haha.

Back in December, I signed up for a half marathon the weekend following my last final. I figured it sounded like the best way to celebrate being done with my first year. Plus it was a very reasonable price, so double bonus. This was before I started working with my coach (which I owe an updated post on, as well as like a zillion other things), so I had no idea where my training would take me.

Truly, working with my coach has given me a new perspective on running. Learning to not try and PR every race, pushing myself out of my comfort zone with different speed workouts, and most importantly, having someone to answer to every day has really helped me so much. I have noticed that my long distances have been more consistent in splits, and I haven’t felt as zonked by them even kicking up the pace a little bit. But, when this half marathon came around, I was nervous. For 2 reasons: 1. I was in the most stressful week of my law school career, thus far, and; 2. I had only ran 9 miles this year as my longest run.

The last week of school was especially stressful because we had a 72 hour take home exam. I spent most of that time working on that exam, and very little eating/sleeping. I went for what should’ve been an easy 4 mile run on thursday and it was devastating, to put it lightly. I was very bothered by it, even through Brendan (my coach) told me not to be, that because of my stress and lack of sleep it was expected. BUT it was not how I wanted to go into the race. Saturday I had a tryout to be an attorney for mock trial next year, so that was my last little bit of stress to deal with. Saturday night I ordered a pizza, drank a ton of water, put on a face mask and watched Sex & The City re-runs. I am the coolest person you know, believe me. 😉 might sound lame but it was exactly what I needed. I felt well rested and back to normal race morning.

at the starting line

I went into this race with only one expectation- to be able to finish. I saw Karly and Jeff at the start and both of them were all “you’re going to go really fast aren’t you?!”, which always hypes me up to want to be like hell yeah!! BUT I knew I had to think of this like my coach said, as a training run. And adding 4.1 miles on to your longest run this year at once is nothing to mess with.

The race had the Star Spangled Banner to begin and then we were off. I knew the course was mostly flat and on some dirt roads (not nearly as much as I found out to be). I felt really good and settled in without looking at my garmin until the first mile. I ran it in 8 flat. Oops. A little fast for me to be using as a training run, especially when I had no clue how my legs would feel after 9 miles. I slowed a little and settled back into the groove. Ran the 5k point around 25:xx. I felt really good and strong. Around 5 miles I hit an aid station for water so I could take a GU. Walked around 1 min to do so and still hit 7 miles in under an hour. I figured I would keep my pace maintainable until 10 miles because if I felt good then, I’d push a little harder.

on the course

running through some pretty nice neighborhoods

Just around mile 8 we hit the dirt roads. Man, they were pretty awful! Winter was rough on us Michiganders and the roads. Tons of pot holes you had to dodge, felt like I was playing hopscotch while running! I was looking down the whole time. The mental aspect was also a bit rough because it turned around just after the 10 mile mark, so you could see runners coming back. Sometimes thats a positive thing, but at this moment, it was not. I ended up hitting an aid station to take a second GU somewhere around the 9.5 mile mark and walked about 45 seconds or so again.

better part of the dirt road

By the time we turned around, I was over 10 miles so I just kept telling myself “only 5k to go”. At this point, my legs were started to go “wait a minute…” because clearly they haven’t ran over 9 this year, lol. But I was still maintaining a decent pace. When we got to 11 miles it just became complete headwind. It was ROUGH. There were quite a few little uphills that wouldn’t have been so terrible without the wind, but felt really hard with it. I ended up walking up one of the last hills just to take a break from fighting the wind. Another 45-60 seconds. At that point I decided I was going to run, even if I had to slow down, but I was going to run to the finish. Turns out that a guy had been keeping on pace with me (we kept zigzagging each other), so we chatted a little bit which was a welcome distraction. Once I got past 12 I just had tunnel vision. As soon I started to see a glimpse of the starting line I gave it my all and kicked it into the 7 min range. I just wanted to hit that damn finish line! haha.

I crossed at 1:51:54, not a PR for me, but a damn good time considering everything. I met up with some runner friends after, including my girl Karly, who got a killer PR! (1:48:14 I believe?). And of course pictures, because obviously.

a few of us after the race! thanks to Jeff (Detroit Runner) for the photo.

I didn’t see my friend Dee (the races started at different times), but she also ran the 5k and got a killer PR AND placed first in her age group! I love having such speedy, awesome friends to motivate me!

Overall, I am happy with where I’m at in my training. I’m a little sore today, but nothing like last year when I ran almost the exact same time at the Nike DC half, so I know I’m improving. I’m really excited to see where full training takes me this year!

Did you race over the weekend? 

What is your favorite way to celebrate a milestone? 

my first time as an official pacer, group runs and more 1L life

this past week has been hectic! With 4 weeks left of class before 2 weeks of finals (yikes!) I’ve been studying a ton and working in study groups, as well as outlining. Last week I started to feel a teensy weensy bit burned out, so I was lucky to have some fun events to look forward to at the end of the week!

Thursday was the law school Halloween party, which I totally wasn’t planning to go to, but was glad my friend Amanda convinced me!

Amanda, me & Ameena

Rambo got stung by a honey bee 😉

No more pictures…. and it’s probably best that way 🙂

Since I was not planning to go to any Halloween parties, I bought my costume the night before and got 30% off-score! I also planned to double it as a race outfit, which was perfect because I had a race planned for the following (this past) Sunday. Geez was that a confusing sentence.

It was fun to just relax and hang out with my classmates, as well as meet some upper level class mates, who assured me that once you get through the first year it gets wayyyy better. Don’t get me wrong, I love school…. but the whole one final dictates your entire grade (for the most part) is utterly terrifying. I will be relieved once I feel like I finally have a solid hang of it!

On Saturday, I went to a group run at Running Fit, where Saucony was offering runners test shoes to try out their line. I rode with Sherri and we met Katie there.

at the store

soooo many shoes…. which one will I choose?!

I wear Mizuno Waveriders (LOVE) and they are neutral, so when the Saucony rep gave me the choice of the equivalent neutral or something a little more lighter, I initially picked the lighter shoe. I’d love to get into racing shorter distances with a really light shoe, I think it would help increase speed. But this shoe literally felt like I had nothing on, and we were planning to run 6 miles, so I decided to go back to the neutral. One day I may switch, but I didn’t want to be so abrupt. I used to wear the Saucony Rides before I started training for Bayshore, so it was nice to try out the newest version. They have definitely made some improvements.

Ready to run Saucony style!

When we started off, it was still dark outside…. and COLD. Luckily Running Fit was very organized. They had staff members on all routes (there were different distances) and they kept hanging back to make sure the last person knew where to go. They also had cones with arrows set up so you wouldn’t get lost. It was a nice touch

About 4 miles in!

Katie battled a knee injury after Bayshore, and was finally cleared for running a little over a month ago (yay!) so it was nice for her to join us on a run. We kept the pace pretty easy and chatted the whole way. IT was like happy hour with endorphins instead of drinks (my kinda happy hour!)

starting out

Even though I used to live in the neighborhood that Running Fit was in, I was not familiar with this route so it was really nice. We ran through some cool residential streets with pretty houses and the trees are the perfect colors right now.

taken while running, hence the blurry-ness

It was a lot of fun, and they even had breakfast for us when we got back! Eggs and bacon, cider & donuts (guess which course I opted for?)

A lot of people hung out after and chatted about race stories… I hung out for awhile but had to get going for a hair appointment. All in all, a great time and I definitely plan to join in on more group runs!

Then on Sunday, Sherri and I headed to the Wicked 5k. Josh contacted me about being a pacer for the 5k, and when I found out they needed more help I got Sherri involved (free race and getting to help people meet their goal? Sign me up!)

I was originally supposed to pace a 9min 5k, but when I got there, the sign was already taken. The race director told me I could hold the “First Time 5k” sign and run whatever pace I wanted. He said I could join him in running a 20-21 minute 5k- haha! I can’t do that time…. yet 😉 Basically he said I could just run however I felt and cheer people on throughout the course…… sounds like a plan to me!

with our signs

I started out WAYYY too fast (why do I do that to myself) and was averaging 6:50 the first half mile. I was using Sherri’s husband’s Garmin (someone buy me one for Christmas, I’ll love you forever) so luckily I caught it and slowed down…. but my first mile was 7:29. I was having a ton of fun, running and complimenting people on their costumes, their pace, etc. I stayed pretty close to that pace the whole time and ended up finishing just under 23 minutes…. SO close to my PR (22:51). It was kind of funny because I was holding a first time 5k sign….

probably should’ve said 5k cheerleader lol

All in all, I had a ton of fun and would love to pace an actual time to help people get to their PR. I had so much fun when I paced Sherri at the Super 5k. I love helping people realize they can do it, even when it seems like they can’t (and vice versa 😉 )

I also notice how I’ve been really close to PR’ing at my last 2 5k’s and realize that if I actually incorporated speed work into my training, I probably would PR quickly. So, I probably should get on that.

Talk to me!

Do you love Halloween races too? What is your favorite race costume?
Ever been a pacer/cheerleader?

Love group runs or rather be solo?

A weekend of football and a half marathon PR!

Friday consisted of my legal research & writing class followed by LOTS of studying & writing a draft of my first legal memo, so by Saturday I was ready to have a little fun. Our friends Marc & Jessica are big fans of the Michigan Wolverines (usually they come over and watch the game or we’ll go over there and watch… hubs is also a superfan). They had some extra tickets to the game on Saturday and invited us!

pretty good seats

these crazy kids 😉

the only one not wearing a Michigan shirt- like a true fan (in fairness, I had a Michigan hoodie on but got hot)

I kept thinking how amazing the weather was and how I hoped it would carry over into Sunday for my half marathon. Football games are great and all that, but let’s be serious, the races are where the real fun’s at!

I won an entry to the Capital City River Run held in Lansing from Refuel With Chocolate Milk . Michigan friends, if you aren’t a fan of them on FB give them a quick ‘like’- they hold monthly contests for really cool races!

Anyways, what is really cool about this is that I also won an entry from them last year for the very same race, which became my first half marathon.

finish picture from last year

I was in a very different state of mind at that time last year- I was using running as a coping mechanism for my father’s death. The first time I crossed the official line at 13.1 (actually 13.3) miles was not just signifying a personal best for me- but it was in honor and dedication of him, for always teaching me to go after my dreams. This was a very personal moment for me because I actually felt like I could feel his presence, encouraging me when I struggled, and sharing my joy when I succeeded. It was truly an amazing day.

I was also in a different place because I was still relatively new to racing. I didn’t know what my limits were (not to say I totally do now, by any means), but I took ‘newbie’ precautions- that is, I stopped at every porta-potty and walked through every rest station. The course is always long (pet peeve of mine, but it’s not like I’m BQ’ing so I adjust purely for my records), so I ran 13.33 in 2:07:58,  which equated 13.1 around 2:05:58, and I was immensely happy with that at the time.

But as I started racing more, things started to change. Running became less of how I cope and more of who I am. I learned about conditioning myself to not have to hit every aid station, or not even use the bathroom at all during a race. I relished in the feeling of pushing myself to the absolute limit…. and watching it stretch me just a teensy bit farther. I knocked 17 minutes off of that very time at my second half marathon in DC. So as I approached this race, I felt more prepared but still uncertain in what I wanted my expectations to be. I wanted to do better than my first time…. but did I have it in me to pull of a PR? I wasn’t so sure.

My speed work has been shoddy at best, and this is half marathon #2 of 3 I have this month, so I was concerned about overdoing it and risking injury. I decided to just go by how I feel, and make my main goal be beating that 2:05:58 time. Ideally I wanted to be sub 2.

(I apologize that this will be wordy with limited pictures. apparently when you are really trying hard in a race it is difficult to stop and take pictures. at least for me)

I lined up in between the 9 minute & 8:30 pacers and the race took off. I knew for a fact I started out way too fast, but for some reason I just couldn’t slow down. I think in my mind I rationalized that I would push hard now, so if I had to slow down or take a break later, it would compensate. I have no idea but I ran the first 5k at a 7:36 average and I knew it was too fast. Whoops. But I kept going.

Everything was actually going really well. I was worried, because my average pace was hovering just around or under 8 flat, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold that for 13.1 miles. I started to feel hungry just before 5 miles, which is very early for me, and I found it odd. There was nothing I could do about it, so I took my first GU.  This is when the first nightmare happened- I couldn’t figure out which volunteer was giving out water! I understand the school of thought to have an every-other system (every other volunteer had water, Gatorade, etc)… but when you are just trying to pass through an aid station and have to ask 3 people who has water, that takes time away! I then stopped and took my GU, and saw the 8:30 group pass me. Well no way was I letting that happening! A couple quick jaunts and I was caught back up & slightly ahead of them again. Everything was still going good, and I crossed the 10k mark just a few seconds shy of 50 minutes even. Holy canolli, I thought to myself….. this is crazy, even for me! 

And just about the 7.5 mile mark is when I crashed. I don’t know what caused me to stop, fear, low energy, something… but I actually stopped and started walking. I watched the 8:30 group come and go. I texted Nate that I was walking and didn’t feel so great, and wasn’t sure how things were going to go. He told me to take my time and just do what I needed. I probably only stopped about 20 seconds and I picked up again. I ran next to a girl and we chatted a bit about how we both had probably gone out too fast. She looked at me and said ‘you’re doing great though! keep it up!”, I shouted some encouragement back to her, and found my stride again. I wasn’t looking at my time at all at this point, but in my head I knew I didn’t want to give up all the hard work and effort I’d put in the first half, so I kept going. I did stop at an aid station and drank water because I was sooooo thirsty (another odd thing for me because I was pretty hydrated).

The course usually winds through MSU but because the race director couldn’t get an agreement established with them, we had to take some long, boring residential streets instead. This. Was. Brutal. There were hardly any spectators out, no aid stations, just so boring. And LONG. I just kept plugging away, as best as I could. I also took another GU because my stomach was actually growling at that point. SO weird for me.

I crossed the 10mile mark around or just before 1:20, and I realized I could still possibly pull a 1:55, which would be a respectable time for me. I put a little pep in my step and convinced myself it was just another 5k. WRONG. The course was actually 13.54 long! I texted Nate that I had 5k to go and promised myself I wouldn’t stop or walk for the last 5k. Well I saw the distance register 13.06 at 1:47XX and I looked up to see no finish line in site. Expletives ensued out of my mouth and my body actually stopped and started walking. I made it about 3 steps before a guy ran up next to me and said ‘come on iron woman!! just a little extra to go!” and winked, so I knew he understood my frustration with the course length. That pushed me to keep going and I ran as fast as I could while simultaneously telling myself ‘please don’t die’ in my brain, until I finally saw that finish line. I pushed as hard as I could and finally crossed, total 13.54 at 1:51:22,  actual 13.10 at 1:48:04, average pace 8:15.

VERY glad to be finished

After I have had some time to contemplate, I realize now that I haven’t been eating enough food and that is why my body was so hungry during the race. I also noticed a direct correlation with my shoddy speed work since the time frame that my food intake has gone down. Time to focus on fueling myself so that I can not only make the distance but continue incorporating speed without depleting all of my energy sources at the same time.

This race was definitely bittersweet. It wasn’t just like I ran along the whole time like ‘la la la I love running… 8:15’s are no big deal”. I honestly can’t believe I still managed a PR with all the issues I had. I can’t believe I ran 13.54 miles at an 8:15 pace, including when I stopped and walked. I also am not thrilled the course was so long, but I guess I’d rather it be too long than too short.

Looking back to almost a year ago, it is almost crazy to think that I’m still that same person toeing the start line of her very first half. Since then, I’ve ran a handfuls of 5/10’k’s, a FULL marathon, and 2 other half marathons, in addition to a relay and 1 miler.  Even after all this time and mileage of running, I’m still learning about myself; still struggling with those fears of the unknown, challenging my limits and finding out what works. It’s a continual process. But still one that I’m forever grateful to be on!

The Michigan Mile recap- my first mile race!

So despite feeling a little burnout, I had already registered for several upcoming races- one of which was last night, The Michigan Mile. It’s the pre-cursor to the main event, the Crim. The Crim consists of a 10 mile, 10k, 5k, and a Teddy Bear Trot, and was this morning, but they added The Michigan Mile for the Friday evening before.

It was held on the University of Michigan- Flint’s campus, and had a medal that looked like the big blue M, so  I “had” to have it! It was cheap to register ($20 early, $25 late) so I figured I’d just scoot over there after my last day of full time work to run.

I remembered when I registered, they asked you to guess what your pace would be and I put 7:30, figuring I held that during my 5k PR. But with these past few weeks of feeling sluggish and not as speedy-comfy as I’d like, I had no clue how Friday was going to go. In so many ways, a 1 mile race sounds easy because it’s just a short distance….. in reality it can be very difficult because you push yourself so much harder than a longer distance race, and well, that can be hard!!

So I made the trek out to Flint and got there with around 40 minutes to go before the race. I met a really nice family who walked me to the registration area, since I had no clue where I was (thank you!!! by the way) and got through the check in relatively easy. The only thing I didn’t like was that you had to walk through the entire expo just to get to the registration area. Apparently this is how all the big races are…. I guess I haven’t been to any big races, lol. I probably wouldn’t have minded this if I didn’t feel rushed though- they had an elite race right before the mile that I wanted to see, so I had to hurry up and get going!

The race shirt was cotton, which isn’t my fav, but still the back was cute:

Realizing I didn’t have enough time to get back to my car, I threw my bag with my tshirt in a bush. It was still there after, score!

The elite mile race was supposed to start at 7:15, with the open mile at 7:30. Everything was pretty close to on time.

I was further back at this point, but this is the lineup for the elite men

As you can see I moved up, lol…. these are the elite women

No offense to the men at all, but I guess because I’m a girl, it was so cool and awe-inspiring to see the elite women. They were strong and fast!! I know sometimes I’ve had a race where I felt like an elite in my own mind, but I can’t imagine running a 5 minute mile no big deal, like those women. Major props.

There was a high school invitational that I didn’t get pictures of (I didn’t want any parents getting weird about their kids on a public blog, lol), and after that it was time for my race. I was right at the front at first, but the guy next to me told me he was planning to run a 6 min mile…. so I figured I should move back a bit haha.

The crowd behind me- ready to race!

One thing that irritated me was how many young (like really young) children or people who looked like walkers were at the front. The announcers said several times to not be right in the front unless you were a fast runner, to avoid people getting injured or trampled. I don’t think many others aside from me listened. I was looking at moms holding their little kids hands in front of me…. I know they were not planning to run. So I moved up a little bit more, but this time was off to the side so that I could dodge and weave as needed. I ended up next to a guy planning to run 7, so I figured I (hopefully) was close to that.

The race started and off we went! My dumb phone RunKeeper app would NOT start. I was fumbling around with it while running, and I know that cost me a few seconds. I finally just said screw it and forgot about it…. which is when it conveniently started. Figures.

The course winded around the U-M campus, but to be honest I have no idea what the scenery was. I was focused on trying to run as fast as I could, and pushing the thought of ‘what if I die’ out of my head. There was a guy about 20 feet ahead of me in a red shirt, and I literally just stared at him most of the time trying to make sure he didn’t get too far ahead, figuring he would be a good pacer (thanks, red shirt guy).

I battled with wanting to stop most of the time, because it felt hard. But I just kept telling myself ‘less than 2 songs and you’re done!’ which I was right. I finished before my second song was on.

Immediately after crossing the finish line, a girl turned to me and told me she’d been using me as a pacer the whole time and that I was awesome. We high fived and that was definitely pretty cool. My RunKeeper said I ran 1 mile in 6:41, so I’m not sure if the course was long? Because I started it late. Either way, I knew I was a few seconds off but pretty sure I was under 7.

And I was right! Official time was 6:59, and I was 4th overall female, out of 554 women!!!

I could not believe it! Seriously the coolest thing so far in my running career. Our entry also included a beverage and slice of pizza (they had beer, but I just opted for water since I had an hour ride home). I ate half a piece of cheese pizza, figuring I wouldn’t feel like cooking once home.

I also ran into Jeff from Detroit Runner. He ran a sub 7 mile too (I think his time was 6:49) and then raced in the 10 miler today. Nice job Jeff!!

My lungs hurt a little after this race and it almost made me feel like how I did when I first started running. But the fact that I ran that fast, even with the delay of me fumbling with my phone, has only made me realize one thing…. I can get even faster!! haha.

Overall this was a great race and I’m definitely planning to do it again next year. The medal itself is totally worth it!

I’ve never done a mile race before and honestly now, I’m a fan. Definitely want to keep pushing myself and seeing what I can get that pace down to.

Have you ever ran a 1 mile race? Love them or no?

How far would you drive for a race and why?

Anyone racing this weekend?

putting the pressure on the PR

It took me a looooong time to get past the 3 mile range, and when I signed up for my first 10k, I was scared I’d have to be carted to the finish line. But I didn’t, and I actually started to enjoy it. I also noticed my race times getting a teensy bit shorter each race.

First 10k

I used to read other running blogs and think ‘man they are so fast’ or ‘why can’t I be that fast?’ and try to mimic other runner’s training schedules and workouts. I learned rather quickly that only sets you up for heartbreak and injuries.

I am now at a place in my running where I truly only compete with myself. Yes I love placing in my age group, but it’s not about that for me anymore. I really enjoy putting my all into a race, almost where you feel like you’ve got nothing left…. and then you push a little bit more. I live for that feeling. The last time I strongly felt that was the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in DC.

A little post race bling didn’t hurt either

In that race I knocked a solid 17 minutes off of my PR (my first and only other half, almost 8 months prior) and that was during marathon training, where a lot of my long runs were slow. To run sub 8:30’s for 13.1 miles made me feel like an elite in my own mind. It was an amazing feeling!

The problem is that I now crave that feeling. I crave the to-do listing, goal setting, and checking off completed items satisfaction.

This would accurately describe me to a T

I have 2 halfs scheduled in September, one a trail that is just for fun, but the other I’d really like to beat my current PR on. I have an achievable goal (knock 2ish minutes off my time) and am loosely following a training plan that incorporates speed and trail work to get stronger. But for some reason I just feel disappointed in myself. I feel like I should be faster, able to hold certain paces longer, and stronger than I am. When I compare my time and mileage to last year’s, I see immense improvement, but that is not enough. I still feel like I’m not hitting my true potential, even though I’m likely on the right road to getting there.

I realized one morning as I got up early to run last week that I wasn’t even looking forward to the run. Yes, we all have days like that but this was different…. my legs felt tired and I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I suddenly realized that my body was reacting to the disappointment I’d been exuding about my speed. I’m putting so much pressure on the PR that I forgot the main purpose of why I run now… because I love it! I don’t love every single run, but I love being a runner and getting my run on. Sometimes you can train your little heart out and still not PR… and sometimes you can feel totally unprepared and do great. But you know what? when it comes down to it, it’s not about that at all. Because really? Everyday that I get up and get a run in, is a successful day.

and getting to enjoy this scenery? an added bonus

I think it’s important to take time and be grateful for the ability to run. not to be fast or long distance…but just to be able to run. Sometimes even us type a’s need a little reality check 🙂

What is your biggest struggle as a runner? 

Any other type a runners out there? 

Reflections of a marathoner part 1

can I tell you the truth? I feel like my post about Bayshore glossed over sooo much about that race that I wanted to tell you. It’s hard to put it all in writing. For one, I didn’t write a whole heck of a lot about my training. That’s my bad.

Since we’re speaking truthfully here, I’m a subscriber to the believe ‘don’t talk about it- be about it’. I don’t like to tell people what I’m working towards or on, until I’ve achieved it. Sometimes its for reasons that resemble superstition (my runner friends know I don’t like to post pictures at a race online until after) but also, I don’t like to what I consider to be ‘jinx’ myself.

Why do I feel that way and have a blog about fitness & running goals? Because I like to be a living oxymoron. I kid.

at shamrock 10k. PR’ing with a smile

being a type a personality, I have a big desire to succeed and achieve goals I set, but like most everyone, I struggle with failure. It’s not that I hate having to write on here if I miss a goal or don’t PR, but more that I don’t like to talk about what I’m doing and then not do it. If that makes sense?

Training for a marathon teaches you so much about yourself, not only as a runner, but as a person. When I first started training, I was terrified but I just took it one run at a time. Slowly, I felt my confidence increase. Especially as I got a 5k PR in January, a 10k PR in March, and half marathon PR (by almost 17 minutes!) in April.

After that half marathon in April, the side of my knee started to bug me after one mile of my weekly runs. It was so annoying that I could only run 3-4 miles and then have to stop. I took a few days off, including my last long run (a scheduled 20 miler). I felt so guilty missing that run. I felt like I was letting not only myself, but my group down too. They were totally supportive and understanding, but that missing that last run really hurt my psyche. I ended up seeing an orthopedic just to ensure nothing was majorly wrong with my knee, but he affirmed my google diagnosis- IT band. I started foam rolling and went to my first PT session (ouch!), and slowly was able to ease back into running, but my mileage was much decreased. The saving grace was that it was taper time, so the decrease wasn’t that significant in regards to my training schedule.

Taper is a time where you really start to second guess your training and ability, even without coping with an injury. I definitely struggled with this, fearing my knee wouldn’t be able to hold out 26.2 miles. The most I ran since the NWM half was 9 miles. There was no way I wasn’t showing up to the starting line of Bayshore… but could I finish? I just wasn’t so sure.

ready or not…here we come!

pure adrenaline got me through the first 10 miles. that and high fiving fire chief’s along the way

I even fell just after the first 1.5 mile. I was trying not to litter, so I ran off to the side to throw my cup of water in a garbage bag. DUMB. my foot caught a pothole and I went down, movie style. Luckily my friend Dee yanked me up for fear of me getting trampled. love you girl. I didn’t feel anything…. even though I had a scratched knee/hand that I’d find many hours later.

see? adrenaline

I’m not going to recap the whole race, but we all know the end- I finished! Was my time what I wanted? No…. I had much bigger goals but due to my pesky knee, I had to reform them. Does that mean I”m giving up?

HELL NO.

I’m kicking my fear of failure to the curb. Mark my words marathon races…. I will be back. And I will put a hurting on my first time, just like I did with my other 3 distance PR’s this year. Just you wait.

Weekend in DC + Nike Women’s Half Marathon recap

Wow…. So much to say. Where to begin?! This past weekend, my friend Sherri & I traveled to DC for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon. We entered the lottery last year on a whim, never thinking we’d get in. On December 12 (what would’ve been my dad’s 82nd birthday), we found out we got in. I knew it had to be a good sign. 

It’s hard to believe, but I’ve only done one other half marathon, with a finish time of 2:07:58. I was super conservative during that run (stopping at every bathroom), so I kinda wanted to redeem myself and drop that to a solid 2 hours. I was kinda nervous though, because all of the training, coupled with last Saturdays 20 mile run, I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel. I battled some soreness all week, so I figured I’d just make it a fun run.

We headed out early Saturday morning. 

 

I have a ton of pictures, so I decided to collage a few so I don’t blow up the blog paparazzi style.  The drive went really fast, and before we knew it we were at our hotel, Hilton Arlington. My friend Angie totally hooked us up with the reservations and even got us booked on the Executive floor! She even got us brunch vouchers. She was running the race also, her first half so we dropped our luggage off and headed straight to the packet pickup.

We took the Metro down to Georgetown and found a hugeeee line for pickup. 

Luckily the ginormous line moved pretty swiftly- we only waited about 20 minutes. We also found the wall in Georgetown that had all the runners names on it and saw mine pretty easy. We were super hungry so Angie suggested we eat at Serendipity. This really deserves its own picture, Oreo frozen hot chocolate:

 

Yummmmm.

The food was ok, but that frozen hot chocolate stole the show. After we ate, we went to the place I couldn’t wait to see: the White House.

I admit it, I’m a huge history nerd. It was so cool seeing all monuments. I loved the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorial, Executive Office Building (Pictured above). DC is an awesome city because you only have to walk a few blocks to find history all around. Ok, nerding out over. For now. Ha! 

We did venture back to the expo, where they had a Nuun  sample bar, Bare Minerals makeovers, and you could see if you won a free pair of Nike shoes

We didn’t win 😦 to be honest, I was disappointed in the expo. Aside from a couple vendors, there was really nothing there. Not a ton of samples, no free swag, no 13.1 stickers even.  I know this was a first half more many, so that was a big miss in my opinion. The expo was full of cool digital displays but overall kinda boring.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was around 8, so we went our separate ways. I got back to the room and laid all my stuff out so I’d be ready for the 5am wake up call when I made a horrifying discovery: I forgot to pack a sports bra!

Of all the races I’ve done I have NEVER forgotten something as important as that. of course I started freaking out. Everything around me was closing, and not being too familiar with the area didn’t help. Luckily Sherri had an extra one. It was a little big, but way better than nothing, I was so grateful.

I slept alright for me for a race eve, and it was time to head over to the start before you knew it.

The race started right in front of the Capital, which made my inner nerd happy. Hearing the star spangled banner while looking at it gave me chills. They had a moment of silence for those affected by Boston, and you could’ve heard a pin drop. It was really cool. Angie and I had both signed up for the 9:00-9:59 corral and said we’d run together. We were both nervous for different reasons, this being her first half, and me running so much that I wasn’t sure a PR was in the cards. 

The race started right on time and I felt really good. Our first mile was 7:45. Whoa. Maybe we need to slow down? Which we did, but we maintained a pace in the 8’s  and both felt good so we kept it going. The course was awesome! We ran by bands, Chinese parades, and tons of people cheering. We also ran by a lot of monuments, which kept it interesting. It also helped that Angie pointed out what they were, that helped distract me! Ha!

I took a gu around the 10k mark and was still feeling pretty good so we kept our pace. I saw Nate at mile 10, which gave me an extra boost. At that point, we had a 5k to go so we decided to rock it out. I knew 2 hours was in my grasp, and maybe a little under that. Around mile 11, Angie ran to the medical tent because she needed Vaseline (chafing problems). I took off by myself and even though I was feeling a little tired (ok, a lot tired), I thought of my dad and pushed it to the finish.

Official time- 1:51:07!!!!!!! Almost 17 minutes faster than my first half. Could not believe it! I definitely knew I was going to be sore but it was so worth it!

I actually felt fast, like a contender in the speed category during this race. It was awesome!!! Angie was about 40 seconds behind me. What an amazing time for a first half! Sherri also killed it with an awesome PR of 13 minutes from her last, at 2:08! Welcome back, PR city. And hello, Tiffany finisher necklace!

Going to finish this recap in the next blog, blogging on the phone during the drive home only works so long. Toodles for now!