Mobile Bay Runner

Hey friends! Time to catch up …

The last time we chatted, I mentioned running a 5k in a couple weeks. I wrote that I felt like my fitness was in a place where a state record should be reachable, but also noted that nothing is ever a given. I didn’t expect is for both statements to be true simultaneously!

I ran the Spanish Fort Fire Rescue “Fire Prevention 5k” on September 28. My husband is a volunteer firefighter for this department, so I have run this race multiple times over the years. I always really look forward to this event as it seems to be the one time per year where our “hobbies” somewhat overlap! Richard was out on the course driving the lead vehicle this year, which was extra fun. To make a long story short, there was some construction going on where the course typically runs, so we had to run an alternate route this year. I was told that the course was “still certified,” but knowing that it doesn’t exactly work that way unless someone remeasured it, I had my doubts. The bad news is that the course was only 2.97 miles, but the good news is that I averaged 5:54 pace, which means that the state record is definitely doable if I can maintain my fitness. The other good news is that there are so many opportunities to race a 5k! You can pretty much find one every weekend if you are really looking, so I guess it is time to start looking!

In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of other races coming up this month. Next weekend I am doing a 15k in Huntsville and then two weekends later, I am doing 20 mile race in Alabaster. I’m calling it a 20 mile race, but it is really a 6 hour event where you run as far as you can. The course is a one mile loop that is record eligible for a variety of distances.

Here is what the last couple weeks have looked like training wise:

Week 37 (09/09 – 09/15)

• Mileage: 77 miles
• Strength: 85 minutes
• Cross Training: 45 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 3 mile warm up, 7.5 miles at threshold (6:07), 3 mile cool down
  • 2 mile warm up, 16 X 400 (87, 87, 87, 88, 86, 85, 85, 85, 85, 84, 83, 83, 83, 83, 83, 82), 3 mile cool down

Week 38 (09/16 – 09/22)

• Mileage: 59 miles
• Strength: 45 minutes
• Cross Training: 230 minutes
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 2 mile warm up, 10 X 1k (3:54, 3:51, 3:50, 3:52, 3:52, 3:49, 3:51, 3:49, 3:48, 3:49), 2 mile cool down

Week 39 (09/23 – 09/29)

• Mileage: 55 miles
• Strength: 45 minutes
• Cross Training: 180 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 2 mile warm up, 2 X 3:00, 6 X 1:00, 2 mile cool down
  • Spanish Fort Fire Rescue 5k!

Week 40 (09/30 – 10/06)

• Mileage: 75 miles
• Strength: 105 minutes
• Cross Training: 90 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 2 mile warm up, 3 X 2.5 miles at threshold (15:23, 15:14, 15:10), 2 mile cool down
  • 3 mile warm up, 6 X 1 mile at marathon w/ 1 mile easy recovery (6:36, 6:42, 6:38, 6:35, 6:27, 6:24), 3 mile cool down

I had somewhat of a planned down week the week of the 5k (as tends to happen on race weeks), but ended up with a bit of an unplanned down week starting the week before. I rolled my ankle during the warm up of what would’ve been a Saturday workout. I ended up with a decent sprain and took several days from running to let that sort itself out. It’s funny to me that life tends to give you down weeks every so often when they are needed. Whether it is a stomach bug, an infected tick bite, a sprain ankle, etc., things just tend to pop up here and there. I’ve always preferred to not specifically plan off days or down weeks in general and instead just roll with the ankles punches ankles and take them as they come.

I hope everyone has a great week! Talk to you guys soon!

Hey friends!

I’ve had several solid weeks with more of a focus on quantity than quality. This wasn’t necessarily an intentional shift. I got a tick bite on my leg right before the Satsuma 2 Miler. I didn’t think too much about it when it happened, but started to notice some weird physical symptoms in the subsequent weeks. The most concerning one was that all of the lymph nodes on the right side of my body were incredibly swollen. The bite got infected and I needed a very high dose antibiotic shot (ouch!), oral antibiotics and a topical antibiotic ointment. Give me all the medicine! Thankfully, everything is healed and all is well. I didn’t do any major workouts during the course of the antibiotics as my body was already working harder than it should’ve been to fight the infection.

Here is what the last couple weeks have looked like training wise:

Week 33 (08/12 – 08/18)

• Mileage: 71 miles
• Strength: 135 minutes
• Cross Training: 30 minutes
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 2 mile warm up, 15 min. tempo (6:08), 4 X 2 min. (5:35), 15 min. tempo (6:22), 2 mile cool down
  • Note: This workout was done prior to me realizing that the bite was infected.

Week 34 (08/19 – 08/25)

• Mileage: 64 miles
• Strength: 105 minutes
• Cross Training: 100 minutes
• Quality Runs: 0

Week 35 (08/26 – 09/01)

• Mileage: 73 miles
• Strength: 150 minutes
• Cross Training: None
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 3 mile warm up, 6 X 800 (2:49, 2:48, 2:48, 2:47, 2:48, 2:46), 3 mile cool down

Week 36 (09/02 – 09/08)

• Mileage: 68 miles
• Strength: 90 minutes
• Cross Train: 60 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 2 mile warm up, 7 X 1 mile at threshold (6:08 average), 2 mile cool down
  • 3 mile warm up, 2 X 800 (2:49, 2:46), 2 X 1600 (5:55, 5:53), 2 X 800 (2:45, 2:46), 3 mile cool down

I believe that catches us up. I will be running a 5k three weeks from now. The state record for 39 year old females is 18:42, which is close to 6:00 per mile. I feel like my fitness points to this being doable, but nothing is ever a given!

Hey friends! The “chase all the age group state records” tour is officially underway and I am happy to report that the first stop was a success. I got the Alabama 2 mile state record for 39 year old females on my 39th birthday! Running a race is definitely a fun way to celebrate a birthday (if you’re into that sort of thing).

The Satsuma 2 mile race is a relatively new event (this being the third year). The race is also referred to as Chicksuma, as it replaced the Chickasabogue Park 2 mile race. The Satsuma 2 miler takes place on the second Saturday in August, whereas the Chickasabogue Park 2 miler used to take place on the second Tuesday in August. The Satsuma races is a morning race, whereas Chickasabogue was an evening race. This is the only local 2 mile race that I am aware of and there is usually a pretty decent turnout. This year was no exception with over 250 runners!

The race is a bare bones, no frills race. Registration is $10 and if you want, you get to pick out a leftover tee-shirt from one of the club’s prior events. The awards are also leftover awards from prior events. The most important thing (to me, anyway) is that the course is certified, making it state record eligible!

My dad went with me to the race this year. We left my house around 5:30 a.m. to head to the race, which started at 7:30 a.m. I was later than I would’ve liked getting to the race last year (actually I’ve been late to the last several races that I’ve run (it’s almost like I’ve entirely forgotten what to do!)), so I wanted to have some wiggle room in the schedule this year. It took us about 45 minutes to get to the Satsuma Community Center, which meant that I had over an hour to register, go to the bathroom, warm up, go to the bathroom, do strides, go to the bathroom, etc. Ha!

We actually had very decent weather this year! Decent by August standards anyway. It was *only* 77°F with a dew point of 69°F! This is the first morning with a dew point in the sixties in months! Going into the race, my coach suggested fairly even splits in the 5:30-5:35 range, which felt a little too spicy in my opinion (especially given the conditions). I planned to run a tad more conservatively in the first mile and then hoped to pick it up in the second mile.

The course is an out and back with a couple 90 degree turns and a 180 degree turn at the turnaround. I remember not running the tangents very well last year, so that was on my mind this year. I lined up about one row back from the start line and prepared myself for the start line chaos that ensues after the gun goes off. Sure enough, I looked down about a tenth of a mile into the race and we were running 4:50 pace, which was way too fast!

After the first half mile, I was probably twentieth place overall. There was a big pack of guys in front of me (far more than I expected!) and I focused on chasing down as many as I could. I remember thinking that the effort felt totally doable. Unfortunately, I didn’t look at my watch again until probably three quarters of a mile into the race and was then surprised to see that we were running 5:50 pace, which was slower than I intended to be running. You really shouldn’t feel too comfortable at any point during a two mile race, so that should’ve been my sign. I made a conscious effort to pick up the pace at that point.

I came to the turnaround at mile one in 5:42. I knew that I could run faster in the second mile, which was a good feeling. The goal was to not “fly and die” in a two mile race. My best races are the ones where I run a tad more conservatively in the first half and pick it up in the second half. Apparently this strategy can serve you well whether you are running a two mile race or a marathon!

I had plenty of guys to chase down during the second mile and I believe I passed about 10 or so runners during that mile. I really picked it up in the last half mile of the race, passing a couple runners with less than a quarter mile to go only to get outsprinted at the line by one of the runners that I had passed. But hey, I can’t outsprint high school boys, so I did what I had to do to give myself a shot at better placement. My second mile was 5:35! I was very pleased with that.

I ended up with an additional 8 seconds of somehow not running the tangents well (even when actively trying to!) and my official time was 11:25. I finished 11th overall, 1st female and got the state record by 25 seconds! It was nice to go ahead and cross one of the records off of the list on the day I turned 39. One down, ten to go. Ha! I believe my next attempt will be the 5k distance and I’m planning to run that towards the end of September.

Talk to you guys soon!

Training is chugging along! I even managed to do my first race of 2024. Boom! Race recap is (hopefully) coming soon.

Week 31 (07/29 – 08/04)

• Mileage: 64 miles
• Strength: 155 minutes
• Cross Training: None
• Rest Days: 1
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 2 mile warm up, 5 X hills, 5 X 300, 5 X hills, 2 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 82°F
• Average Dew Point: 78°F

Week 32 (08/05 – 08/11)

• Mileage: 65 miles
• Strength: 90 minutes
• Cross Training: 60 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 2 mile warm up, 1600 (6:08), 1200 (4:22), 800 (2:49), 400 (1:19), 200 (0:38), 2 mile cool down
  • 2 mile warm up, RACE: Satsuma 2 Miler (11:25), 3 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 77°F
• Average Dew Point: 71°F

Gotta run!

I got a solid week of training in during the last full week of July! I am really pleased with how the two quality runs went and am also pleased that I was able to get in two hours of strength training (over three smaller sessions). I wasn’t able to get to Pilates this week, which was a bummer, but my strength training game was still on point. I really hoping that a stronger runner = a faster runner once the temperatures drop this fall!

• Mileage: 66 miles
• Strength: 120 minutes
• Cross Training: 11 miles of stroller walking (with some running sprinkled in)
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 3 mile warm up, 6 miles at half marathon effort (6:16, 6:14, 6:15, 6:13, 6:12, 6:08), 3 mile cool down
  • 3 mile warm up, 4 X 800 (2:50, 2:50, 2:49, 2:48) + 4 X 400 (80, 79, 80, 81), 3 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 79°F
• Average Dew Point: 76°F

I’ve been enjoying taking Ward to school in the stroller a couple days per week. I count this as cross training because it is more of a walk than a run. Our driveway is mostly sand and rock and is quite hilly. When you add an almost 30 pound toddler into the mix, it makes for a challenging “stroll.”

One of my quality runs was done on the treadmill (the half marathon effort) and the other was done at the track. Getting back on an actual track has been such a treat! They have been in the process of resurfacing the local high school track for what seems like months now, so I have been traveling a bit further to get to a proper track. It is amazing what a world of difference that extra “squish” can do for your speed!

We are officially to the point of summer where the temperature + dew point most days is in the 155-160 range, which theoretically lends itself to a 5-7% pace adjustment. I really couldn’t care less what my pace is on any run other than my quality days, so the pace adjustment isn’t something that I typically think about. I am documenting it here for the sake of acknowledging that summer training can quite literally be a slog and reminding myself that it will get better. Granted, it will get worse before it gets better, but it will get better nonetheless. Taking one quality session indoors seems to be a good adjustment, as I don’t feel quite as run down at this point of the summer as I have in the past.

That’s all for now friends! Stay hydrated out there!

Okie dokie folks. Time to put pen to paper (err … fingers to keyboard) and figure out what chasing a bunch of state records in my 39th year of life might look like. I’m pleased to realize that I might be able to do this with only two trips out of town. My A goal will be to get all of the Alabama state records for 39 year old females from the mile to the marathon, my B goal will be to get as many of the records as I can and my C goal will be get myself to at least one race this year (kidding!).

The 10k and the marathon are going to be my biggest challenges. The 10k record will require a massive (just over 1 minute!) 10k personal best and the marathon record will require a significant postpartum personal best. If it was easy, the pursuit wouldn’t be as much fun! While there are plenty of 5ks, 10ks and even half marathons to choose from, there are also several distances where I will likely only have “one shot or one opportunity” to seize everything you ever wanted race the distance. The question is obviously, “Will you capture it or just let it slip?” Ha. I foresee toddler sicknesses being a bit of an obstacle, but we shall see! Fingers crossed.

T minus two weeks until the madness begins! Stay tuned friends!

Hey friends! As a surprise to no one, I got super behind on my training logs. I’ve been thinking a little bit about how I want to “show up” online and what “content” I want to create. I’m pretty clear on the fact that I am not trying to create content or be an influencer on social media these days. However, I do miss the days of blogging and sharing my training online. I realize that no one else really cares too much about what I am doing in my training and that is a-okay. However, if someone does want to follow along and is able to gain something from it, then that is awesome! If not, it will be documented for me to look back on.

This is the first summer in several years where I haven’t done a specific “summer of speed” training block. This has instead been a summer of base building. The summer of speed is typically meant to sharpen the legs before building into a marathon training block. I have no immediate marathoning plans, so I am basically doing the opposite and building my base before transitioning into more of a speed focused block in the fall.

I have done several other things differently this summer as well, including putting major emphasis on strength training and protein intake, monitoring sweat & electrolyte loss and doing one quality session per week indoors. I plan to include more details about my sweat rate and sweat composition going forward, as I am feeling more confident in the data that I am collecting using hDrop. I am also planning to do a V02 test as well some lactate threshold testing coming up in the next few weeks. I find all of this stuff to be super fascinating!

In general, I’ve been doing one threshold workout per week, one faster workout per week and one longish run per week. These are the three quality days and the rest of the runs are purely easy miles. I don’t always get all three quality days in, but for the most part I have been. Typically the threshold workout is between 10-12 miles and the long run is between 12-14 miles. My preferred running schedule at the moment is threshold workout on Wednesday, longish (easy) run on Friday and track workout on Sunday. I don’t really have a good schedule for the strength training, but rather just fit it in wherever I can find little pockets of extra time. I am still doing one Reformer Pilates session per week, typically on Wednesday.

Without further ado, here is what the last couple months have looked like:

Week 22 (05/27 – 06/02)

• Mileage: 64 miles
• Strength: 90 minutes
• Cross Training: None
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 2 mile warm up, 11 X 1k @ 3:45 (6:03 pace) w/ 1:15 recovery, 2 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 82°F
• Average Dew Point: 71°F

Week 23 (06/03 – 06/09)

• Mileage: 66 miles
• Strength: 90 minutes
• Cross Training: 45 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 2 mile warm up, 8 X 3:00 (5:55 pace) w/ 2:00 recovery, 2 mile cool down
  • 3 mile warm up, 6 X 400 w/ 1:15 recovery + 8 X 200 w/ 1:10 recovery, 3 mile cool down
    • 400s: 80, 78, 78, 79, 78, 77
    • 200s: 36, 38, 37, 37, 37, 38, 37, 38
• Average Temperature: 76°F
• Average Dew Point: 68°F

Week 24 (06/10 – 06/16)

• Mileage: 63 miles
• Strength: 90 minutes
• Cross Training: None
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 2 mile warm up, 15 X 1:00 on/off, 2 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 77°F
• Average Dew Point: 68°F

Week 25 (06/17 – 06/23)

• Mileage: 63 miles
• Strength: 135 minutes
• Cross Train: None
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 3 mile warm up, 5 X 1 mile (6:04 pace), 3 mile cool down
  • 3 mile warm up, 5 X 300 hills (79, 76, 75, 78, 79) + 5 X 300 track (59, 59, 57, 57, 57), 3 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 85°F
• Average Dew Point: 72°F

Week 26 (06/24 – 06/30)

• Mileage: 64 miles
• Strength: 135 minutes
• Cross Training: 55 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 2 mile warm up, 6 miles @ marathon pace + 8 X 200, 2 mile cool down
  • 2 mile warm up, 12 X 0:20 w/ 1:00 recovery, 2 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 83°F
• Average Dew Point: 75°F

Week 27 (07/01 – 07/07)

• Mileage: 74 miles
• Strength: 45 minutes
• Cross Training: 40 minutes (paddle board!)
• Quality Runs: 1
  • 2 mile warm up, 2 X 10:00, 3 X 5:00, 5 X 1:00 (all at threshold (6:04)), 2 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 86°F
• Average Dew Point: 75°F

Week 28 (07/08 – 07/14)

• Mileage: 65 miles
• Strength: 135 minutes
• Cross Training: 60 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 3 mile warm up, 6 miles @ marathon pace (6:23, 6:23, 6:24, 6:20, 6:20, 6:12), 3 mile cool down
  • 2 mile warm up, 8 X 200 hills (avg. 50 seconds) + 2 mile threshold (6:10) + 8 X 200 track (avg. 36 seconds), 2 mile cool down
• Average Temperature: 83°F
• Average Dew Point: 75°F

Week 29 (07/15 – 07/21)

• Mileage: 66 miles
• Strength: 150 minutes
• Cross Training: 65 minutes
• Quality Runs: 2
  • 3 mile warm up, 4 X 5:00, 2 X 7:30, 2 X 2:30 (all at threshold (6:04)), 3 mile cool down
  • 3 mile warm up, 8 X 800 + 2 X 300, 3 mile cool down
    • 800s: 2:50, 2:47, 2:47, 2:46, 2:47, 2:47, 2:50, 2:49
    • 300s: 56, 57
• Average Temperature: 81°F
• Average Dew Point: 75°F

After looking back through all of this, I feel really good about where my fitness is! My mileage has been super consistent and this is BY FAR the most strength training that I have ever done in my entire life. I am hoping to keep the momentum going in the next month or so before it cools down and I can shift my focus to some fall races.

LET’S GO!

Earlier this summer, my coach asked all of his athletes to do a goal setting exercise regarding our short and long-term running goals. Admittedly, this exercise was harder than any physical workout he’s given me. I used to have no problem coming up with concrete goals, but the majority of those goals were likely very time specific. While I do have a couple time specific goals now, running is about so much more than racing and the time on the clock.

Somewhere along the way, I seem to have lost the desire to actually show up to races. As someone who used to run 10 races in a low year and upwards of 25 races in a high year, this is quite a change. As of today’s date (late July 2024), I have yet to toe the line for one single race this year! What?! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still been training and working very hard. Why can I not get myself to an actual race?

Not to bring everything back to being a mom (I used to hate when people did this before I was a mom), but it literally changes everything. The logistics of getting to a race are certainly more complicated and that is whether I am bringing the little guy with me or not. I have also found that (for me), the race itself is so much more meaningful if I have my people there to support me (husband, child, parents, dog … bring them all!). At the same time, I feel guilty asking them to show up to race after race after race, so it seems as if I have basically just stopped racing altogether. However, I plan to change this!

There is obviously a nice middle ground where I ask them to come to races that are more important and I ride solo to ones that maybe aren’t as important or if I have friends running or something like that. I have also been feeling very disconnected from the local running community that I used to feel very much a part of and putting myself out there and showing up to more races will definitely put me back in the mix. Side note: I would also like to get to more group runs, etc., but I also don’t want to sacrifice time with my family on the weekends (such a conundrum!).

Here are the goal prompts that my coach gave us (numbered below) and my responses (bulleted below):

1) Long-term goals for your running career, including a process oriented goal:

• Train in such a way that I am able to achieve longevity in the sport
• Train in such a way that I am able to continue finding joy in the process regardless of if there is a race on the calendar or not
• Train in such a way that I am able to continue loving the sport regardless of the “outcome” (i.e., time on the clock)
• Take another crack at the marathon in 2025 or 2026
• Possible transition to trails and ultras in 5+ years

2) Short-term goals you have for your running in the next 3 to 12 months:

• Run some middle-distance races including 10k, 15k, 10 mile & half marathon
• Run a half marathon faster than 1:20
• Go after state records for 39 year old females (I truly only care about being my best on any given day, but if I can get some state records in the process, that would be cool!)
• Work on lowering my threshold pace (currently 6:04)

3) Macro-cycle goals you have for the late spring and summer:

• Run a 5k rust buster at LuLu’s Hot Trot on 06/16 to get a gauge of fitness
• Work on increasing my VDOT score (currently 58)
• Run a 2 mile race on 08/10
• Look for a 1 mile race in late July/early August

4) Make a list of actionable step by step plans on how you believe you can accomplish said goals:

• Run 7-8 x per week (includes potentially one day off and one to two doubles)
• Strength 2-3 x per week (includes Pilates)
• Cross Train 1-2 x per week (includes elliptical, arc trainer and/or stroller walks)
• Adequate hydration & electrolyte use as well as adequate fueling every single day
• Sleep 8-9 hours per night
• Regular supplementation with Iron Ferrasorb + Iron Bisglycinate (1 of each on empty stomach (typically in the late afternoon))
• Bloodwork 2-3 x per year
• Massage 1 x per quarter

There you have it. I have some good goals to work towards, a good plan of how to get there and I am already doing a good job of finding joy in the process regardless of whether there is a race on the calendar or not! However, I do plan to race more this fall as I work on chasing some state records in my last year before maturing into the master’s category.

Happy running friends!

Hey friends! Here is what the last three week’s training looked like:

Week 19
Monday – Easy: 8 miles
Tuesday AM – Easy: 8 miles + PM – Blitz45: Back + Biceps
Wednesday AM – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 2 X [2k @ threshold, 1200m @ interval], 2 mi. CD + PM – Blitz45: Legs + Shoulders
Thursday – Easy: 8 miles
Friday AM – Pilates + PM – XT: 60 minutes
Saturday – Easy: 12.4 miles
Sunday – Easy: 8 miles

Week 20
Monday – Easy: 7 miles
Tuesday – Easy: 9.3 miles
Wednesday AM – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 10 min. @ 10k, 2 X 5 min. @ 5k, 6 X 1:30 @ 3k, 2 mi. CD + PM – Blitz45: Legs + Shoulders
Thursday – Easy: 8 miles
Friday AM – Easy: 9.2 miles + PM – Blitz45: Back + Biceps
Saturday – Easy: 6.7 miles
Sunday – REST

Week 21
Monday AM – Easy: 6.3 miles + PM – Blitz45: Chest + Triceps
Tuesday – Easy: 9 miles
Wednesday AM – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 3 X 10 min., 4 X 3 min. @ threshold, 2 mi. CD + PM – Blitz45: Legs + Shoulders
Thursday AM – Easy: 8 miles + PM – Easy: 5 miles
Friday – Easy: 8 miles
Saturday – Easy: 12 miles
Sunday AM – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 16 X 400, 2 mi. CD + PM – Pilates

Hey friends! Here is what last week’s training looked like:

Monday AM – Elliptical: 75 minutes + PM – Easy: 6 miles
Tuesday AM – Easy: 9 miles + PM – Blitz45: Chest + Triceps
Wednesday – Quality: 2 mi. WU, 6 X 5:00, 4 X 3:00, 2 mi. CD
Thursday – Easy: 8 miles
Friday – Easy: 8 miles
Saturday – Easy: 9 miles
Sunday – Quality: 10 miles w/ 8 miles at marathon pace + 30-40 seconds

Talk to you guys soon!