This week was the first week of a new training cycle, so it seems like a fairly fitting time to ease back in with some weekly training logs. As I mentioned in my previous post, my short-term goal is to continue to focus on the speed stuff (i.e., one mile and 5k). I had a bit of a down week after the final McKirdy Mile race and this week began the process of building things back. We went out of town for the Fourth of July, which worked out well as far as not having any major workouts on the calendar.
When we got back in town last weekend, we discovered that it had rained a good bit while we were gone and that the driveway had gotten very messy (to put it lightly). For some context here, we live at the end of a one mile long, hilly, winding dirt road. If we know it’s going to rain and we’re going to have issues, we typically leave a car in a safe place out in civilization on dryer ground.
Here is what training looked like the week of 07.06.20 – 07.12.20:
Monday – Easy: 4 miles (7:25 pace)
We went out to check the driveway first thing Monday morning and as we suspected, there was no way either of us were going to be able to get our vehicles out. We got stuck (in a 4WD truck no less) and had to be pulled in on our way back home Sunday evening, so I knew that there was a good possibility it would still be a no-go come Monday morning. At that point, my thoughts shifted from am I going to be able to run today to how in the world am I going to get to work today and the latter had to take precedence. Richard ended up taking me out to the “paved road” on the four-wheeler and my boss’ wife came and picked me up (that’s a serious employee perk right there, folks).
I did actually manage to get 4 miles in on the treadmill after work. By that point, I was kinda just over the day, but also kinda just wanted to run off some steam. I ran this easy run much faster than I typically do, but my legs felt good and I just went with it. As a side note, I am planning to use the surveyor’s wheel to measure the accurateness of my treadmill in the not too distant future. I know that it is off, but I don’t know how much. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but somehow it keeps getting overlooked on the priority list.
Tuesday – Easy: 7 miles (7:25 pace)
For years and years, I was almost exclusively a morning runner, but it seems like I am trending a little bit more towards being an evening runner at this point. I’m going to attribute it on the long daylight hours that we get to enjoy this time of year. I find myself up way later than usual and subsequently not wanting to wake up any earlier than necessary the next morning.
Tuesday evening I did another quick for me easy run. For what it is worth, VDOT has my easy range as 7:01 to 7:45, so technically my runs on Monday and Tuesday were within the prescribed limits, but I am usually closer to the 8:30 to 8:45 range on most of my easy runs.
Wednesday – Easy: 6 miles (8:23 pace)
I actually got up and got moving early enough Wednesday to get in a few treadmill miles before work. It was raining and our road was still not drive-able or run-able, so that was pretty much my only option. I am very thankful for the treadmill when I need it. I don’t prefer to run on it, but any run is better than no run. Am I right or am I right?
Thursday AM – Easy: 5 miles (8:06 pace) + PM – Easy: 4.5 miles (9:05 pace)
I ran on the treadmill again Thursday morning. We had a really soggy week, which exacerbated the driveway situation. If it had been dry, I think we would’ve been back in business in a day or two, but instead it went on for four. Thank goodness for the four-wheeler!
I did an unplanned double Thursday evening. My coach gives me the flexibility to add a few miles in here and there as I see fit as long as I don’t go overboard with it. I really appreciate having a little bit of wiggle room in a training plan. I’m sure this is some sort of control issue, but I really just like to be able to decide for myself how much to run based on how I feel sometimes. As long as you stay within the general parameters of the plan, I think this works nicely.
My unplanned run was actually a run with a purpose. I ran out and back on the driveway twice. Once to retrieve the four-wheeler that I had left out there that morning and then to retrieve the tractor that Richard had left out there that morning. If you had told me two years ago that I would need to take a tractor or a four-wheeler in any capacity to get to work, I would’ve looked at you like you had five heads. And yet, here we are!
Friday – Quality: 5.5 miles (2 mi. WU, 10 X 30 seconds, 1 mi. CD)
Friday morning was my first tiny quality session of the new training cycle. It was nothing major, but I was super pumped about the idea of snagging some extra endorphins! My workout was a 2 mile warm up, 10 X 30 seconds at threshold pace with 1:15 jogging recoveries and a 1 mile cool down. I was finally able to run outside from home on Friday, which was really nice.
It seems that I have also gotten super lazy about how far I am willing to travel for a workout at this point. Lazy probably isn’t the right word, but it’s also not wrong. I feel like I will probably get back to the super early wake up calls and driving to meet friends to get the workouts in midweek eventually, but for right now, it just feels right to stay close by.
My workout was fine, but ironically was nothing to really write home about. My goal pace for the pickups was 5:22 and I averaged 5:42. I didn’t seek out a super flat route and I ran in my regular trainers, so I honestly wasn’t expecting to run super fast. It felt good to pick the pace up even for just half a minute and I feel like the intent of the workout was definitely accomplished.
Saturday – Easy: 9 miles (8:38 pace)
I got in a bit of a longer run from home Saturday morning. We were under a heat advisory all weekend, so I tried to get out there and knocked out before it got too toasty. I listened to Lindsey’s podcast w/ Mary Cain and it was really good. Her story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It’s sad that she had to endure such abuse, but it’s also amazing that she has come out on the other side and that she has been able to help so many other athletes in similar circumstances. I’ve listened to her story on several podcasts at this point and she seems genuinely kind and down to earth and always brings a lot of wisdom. I’m a big fan.
Sunday – Easy: 6.3 miles (9:08 pace)
Sunday morning I got in a [socially distanced] run with friends! Our runs together are few and far between at this point, which is sad, but luckily these are the types of friendships where you can just pick back up right where you left off and never miss a beat. Afterwards we sat outside and had some good old-fashioned coffee + conversations, which is also a rarity these days.
As long as nothing drastic changes in the next week (which I feel has to be said at this point because who the heck really knows what sort of changes any given week can bring), we are headed to the beach for a joint “bachelorette party.” And yes, I am already married, but Lizzie isn’t (at least not that we know of :)), so it still works. Plus celebrating the end of tax season in July and having a bachelorette party after your wedding just seems like such a 2020 thing to do. Hashtag that’s so 2020.
Just over a year ago, after 6 months of not posting, I wrote a post saying that I was “back” to blogging. In my defense, I also said that I didn’t know exactly what it would look like. Apparently what it would look like is a few posts and then nothing for another year. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone back and forth and back and forth some more about whether I wanted to continue to blog or even be on the internet period. Indecisive much? Yep! At one point, I took down ALL social media (were are talking no Facebook, no Instagram, no Strava, no blog, no nothing). At the time, I think it’s EXACTLY what I needed. I even went without TV or internet at home for over a year! It was quite refreshing.
I’ve had a few big life changes (i.e., I got married and moved). With all the changes going on, I just didn’t have time or energy to devote to the blog. There was also the whole no internet thing that made it slightly problematic. Ha. At this point, I can honestly say that I miss blogging and connecting with random strangers on the internet. During the time that I wasn’t blogging, I even had the opportunity to meet a couple of my “blog friends” in real life. The connections were priceless and wouldn’t have existed at all if it wasn’t for this blog. Pretty cool!
So here I am, sitting in my She Shack (think She Shed, but more redneck), telling you once again that I am “back.” I see myself writing weekly training logs, monthly recaps, race recaps (if we ever get to have races again!), etc. You know, typical running blogger stuff. I also see myself writing more about projects and things we are doing at home. In the last year we planted a garden, birthed baby goats (triplets!), got some ducks, built a barn and built a shop. It was a busy year! Our next big project is going to be to build a house. I would love to document that process and our progress here. The plan is to do it as an owner-builder with hopes of saving a substantial amount of money. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never built a house before and this will definitely be learning process for me. Oh and apparently, I am in charge of the budget. This will be very interesting!
As far as running goes, in this time of no “real” races going on or coming up, I feel like I’ve been doing a fairly decent job staying motivated and I think it’s because I truly love the process of training and feel like it helps me to be the best version of myself that I can be on any given day. While I do enjoy the process, I would be lying if I said that the results don’t drive me as well, because they absolutely do. What I have actually learned over the last few months is that I am super competitive with MYSELF. I participated in a number of virtual races this Spring and I had such a good time with it (pun intended). I have run my fastest times at the 1 mile, 5k and 10k distances over the course of the last four months. I hesitate to call these races PRs as I feel that is reserved for certified courses, but there is no doubt in my mind that these were my best performances to date.
After the McKirdy Mile series this summer (four 1 mile races over the course of the last two months and actually I ran five because I am extra like that), I took a slight down week last week and this week I am starting to ramp back up again. I ran a 5:02 for my last mile in the series. Five oh freaking two. I am pretty determined to work on getting 3 seconds faster and making that a 4:59 by the end of the summer. I would also really like to “race” (i.e., time trial) a 5k on the track by the end of the summer as well and get just under 17 if possible. Those are my current short-term plans at least. I’d like to then progress up to a 10k and hopefully, maybe, if all the stars align and races go on, find a half marathon to do later this fall.
Testing. Testing. Is anyone out there still reading? If so, what are you training for during this time of no “real” races?!
I’m excited to be back and hopeful that this time it will actually stick! Fingers crossed.
I am coming at you today with a long-winded race recap of the CNO
Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. Let’s just hope that the post is
less windy than race day in Indy! I don’t really even know why I am back on the
blog writing this, but perhaps, “I just felt like writing.” If that last
sentence conjured up some sort of mental image of Forrest Gump saying, “I just
felt like running,” in your brain, then you are my people. I mean, have you
really even lived if you haven’t referenced Forrest Gump in a post about
running on the internet? You’re right. You really haven’t. Now, where were we?
The short version is that I felt like running a marathon and subsequently felt
like writing about it.
I’m finding that it’s a tad tricky to just jump back in with a race
recap blog post without filling you in on some of the details along the way. I
will try to be brief, but if you have read a single one of my blog posts in the
past, you know that is not really my style. I seem to be flipping and flopping back
and forth about whether or not I want to write about my life, training and
races on the interwebs. As of right now, the answers seem to be no, maybe and
yes, respectively. Ha.
Life
Seeing as how I JUST said that I don’t want to write about my life on
the internet, I will actually keep this part brief. A lot of things in my life are
still the same (same wonderful family, same friends, same job, same adorable doggo)
and a lot of things are … well … different (new boyfriend (although he’s not
really all that new at this point 😉), new home, new goats and an entire new
outlook on life). I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionistic, people-pleaser
and while I am sure there are still a few remnants of that hanging around, I really
feel like I have started to let go of other people’s expectations about what my
life should or should not look like. I am happier and more confident in myself
than I ever have been and honestly, it feels REALLY GOOD.
Training
After a disappointing (yet completely expected and understandable) race
at Boston, I started thinking about the idea of a fall marathon. My coach
suggested Indy as a goal race and that was really all it took for me to jump on
the wagon. I was even able to secure a spot in the “elite” field, which was
such a wonderful experience. It should be noted that they had so many
applicants for the elite field this year that they actually had to lower the
time qualifications along the way. If I hadn’t signed up in May before they
changed the standards, I likely wouldn’t have been accepted into the field.
Even with a marathon on the calendar as my primary goal race, I wanted
to spend the summer months focusing on speed and racing some shorter distances
before building the volume up and easing into marathon training. I ran a 5k in
June (my last blog post!), a 5k and a 2 mile race in August and another 5k in
September. I ran 17:37, 17:36 and 17:21 for the 5ks respectively a 10:58 for
the 2 mile race. I was satisfied that my speed was where it needed to be, but I
knew that the bigger challenge was going to be getting my endurance up to par.
Over the last couple of years, it has become increasingly evident that speed is
my strength, while endurance tends to be a bit of a struggle (which is
obviously not wonderful when your goal race is a marathon).
During September and October my workouts got longer as the focus shifted
towards working on my stamina and being able to comfortably sustain marathon
effort. A few of my key marathon pace workouts went really well, but I had a
few flops too. The key ones that stand out as “good” now were 12 miles with 8
miles at marathon pace (6:09 avg.), 17 miles with 10 miles at marathon pace
(6:03 avg.), 18 miles with 12 miles at marathon pace (in the form of 3 X 25
minutes (6:17 avg.)) and another 18 miles with 12 miles at marathon pace (in
the form of 2 X 6 miles (6:11 avg.)).
I also had a few really, really strong threshold workouts. The threshold
workouts really seemed to be my sweet spot throughout this cycle. I really wish
I had gotten to do a 10k this fall because I know my threshold work had me set
up for a big PR. I was supposed to run a 10k in October, but I had a minor
hamstring niggle and also got a cold shortly thereafter, so I didn’t end up
doing the race. I remember telling my coach that I wasn’t as disappointed about
missing the race as I thought I would be because I KNEW that my fitness would
be back to this same level in the future. That was a mental turning point for
sure. Last fall, I distinctly remember always feeling like I would never be
this fit again in my life. Getting back to that same level and even a little
bit stronger this fall helped me realize that perhaps the best is still yet to
come!
A few of my key threshold workouts were 12 miles with 8 miles at
threshold pace (in the form of 4 X 2 miles (5:44 avg.)), 10 miles with 7 miles
at threshold pace (in the form of 4 miles, 2 minute rest, 2 miles, 1 minute
rest, 1 mile (5:49 avg.)), 9 miles with 6 at threshold pace (in the form of 4
miles, 3 minute rest, 2 miles (5:50 avg.), 11 miles with 10 X 1k at threshold (5:35
avg. (got a little carried away on that one)). I also did a 16 X 400 meter
repeat workout not once, but TWICE during this training cycle (5:10 avg. &
5:16 avg.). Holy moly. Those were some REALLY long track workouts!
My hope going into all of this was that my fitness would reach a level
that would put me in a good position to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. In
order to do this, I needed to run faster than or equal to 2:45:00, which is the
women’s B-standard for 2020. My previous personal best was 2:53:05, so I needed
to take just over 8 minutes off of my time. My training indicated I would be
really close and I was ready to take a swing and see what happened!
Race
I mentioned earlier that I was accepted
into the “elite” field in Indy and what a huge blessing this was! As it turns
out, McKirdy Trained (my coaching group) had 15 athletes in the elite field and
the majority of these were women. We were given bottles to use for our fuel and
I was able to meet most of the other women the day before the race at either
the shakeout run or at the elite athlete meeting. I really enjoyed the team vibe
that we had going!
The race did a really good job hosting a whole heap of elite athletes. There were 62 women and 60 men in the elite marathon field. There were also elite fields for the half marathon as well as the 5k, so it was A LOT of runners to accommodate. I believe this was actually the first year that the entire race itself sold out with 19,000 participants! Wowza. We were asked to give a predicted finishing time for seeding purposes and I ended up with bib #61 out of 62. Ha. Like I said, got in the elite field by the skin of my chinny chin chin. For whatever it is worth, I predicted a finishing time of 2:50:00 and I’m assuming almost everyone else predicted closer to 2:45:00, as it seemed that just about everyone was gunning for an Olympic Trials Qualifier (OTQ).
We had an elite meeting Friday
evening to go over a few of the last-minute logistics (most of it had been
communicated via email already). The main thing that we did at the meeting was
drop off our water bottles and learn how we would actually locate them during
the race. They set up 10 tables at the 10k, 20k and 30k marks. Each table had
12 bottles, 6 bottles for women on the left side and 6 bottles for men on the
right side. The tables were well spaced out and the bottles on the tables were also
well spaced out. We were all assigned a specific table and bottle position. I
was table 10, position #1, which meant that each time we came to a fluid
station, I was always going to grab the first bottle from the tenth table.
In addition to meeting several of
the McKirdy Trained crew, I also got to meet up with a couple other “internet
friends” that I have followed on various forms of social media on and off for
years, which was wonderful. Sara and I messaged a good bit before the race and
planned to pace together. After the meeting, I also got to meet Elizabeth! We
had a wonderful, early dinner and then headed back to the hotel so that I could
lay out my paraphernalia (and believe-you-me, it was A LOT) for the next day
and get some rest.
The temperature race morning was in the twenties and it actually never got above freezing during the race. The majority of my training was done in temperatures in the seventies, so this was quite a stark contrast and shock to the system. I feel like one of the biggest challenges of the race was actually figuring out what to wear. Minor details … running 26.2 miles. Major decision … WHAT DO I WEAR?! While I originally planned to wear a crop top and shorts, I also was not anticipating running in temperatures that felt like the teens when I was planning that. I ended up with a singlet instead of the crop, shorts and basically any and all sorts of extra “warming accessories” I could get my hands on. These included things such as gloves with hand warmers inside, ear muffs, a neck warmer, arm warmers, sunglasses and an extra set of hot hands tucked into my sports bra. The sunglasses helped to keep my eyes from watering (and the tears subsequently freezing on my face). I also wore a throw away jacket for a mile or two, but tossed it earlier than I expected.
The elite athletes had access to a very nice, very warm building before
the race, which was nice, especially given the frigid conditions. The plan was
that we would be “escorted” to the start line fifteen minutes before the race,
but I was in line to go to the bathroom when they came and got everyone. I
ended up making it to the start line with less than five minutes to spare,
which on one hand was a teensy bit stressful, but on the other hand meant that
I was in the warm building for a little bit longer than I would’ve been
otherwise (and I was definitely A-Okay with that). Thankfully I was still able
to find Sara, Tawny and few other women that I was planning to run with before
the gun went off and it was time to get the show on the road.
Pace-wise, my plan was to start out between 6:20 and 6:25 and gradually
drop it down every six miles (or every 10k). It was supposed to look like something
along the lines of 6:20 to 6:25 for the first six miles, 6:15 to 6:20 from six
to twelve, 6:10 to 6:15 from twelve to eighteen and 6:00 to 6:15 from eighteen
to the finish. Fueling-wise, I planned to take a gel at miles three, nine,
fifteen and twenty-one as well as have my bottles (with water and fuel) at
miles six, twelve and eighteen. Support-wise, I had someone to look for at
miles two, six, ten, seventeen, twenty-two and twenty-six. I really like how my
plan had everything spaced out, as I basically had something to think about every
few miles … whether it was taking a gel, seeing Richard or his mom and dad,
grabbing a bottle, dropping the pace, etc.
According to my data, our average pace for the first six miles was 6:13,
but according to the race data, our average pace was 6:19. My splits were a tad
wonky, so I am assuming that the race data is more accurate. While 6:19 per mile
isn’t much quicker than my range of 6:20 to 6:25, in hindsight I think I really
needed to be at the upper end of the range at least for the first 10k. I took a
gel somewhere around mile four. I was planning to take it at mile three, but I
honestly got so caught up in the race that I completely forgot! I saw Richard
at mile six and was supposed to get my first bottle shortly thereafter.
This was my first time having my own bottles provided at a race and also
my first time trying to grab said bottles off of a table whilst running by at a
decent clip. I actually did try to practice this at home, but my version was
definitely the “you might be a redneck if” version, as I was grabbing my
bottles off of a step ladder and of course, there were no other bottles on the
ladder. When I went to grab my first bottle in the race, I misjudged how much
the hand warmers stuffed into my gloves would affect my grip. My palm (err
well, the hand warmer) hit the bottle before I thought it would and instead of
grabbing the bottle, I knocked it over and wasn’t able to grab it. In hindsight,
I should’ve just slowed down a tad to make sure that there were no fumbles, but
… oh well. I knew that there was a possibility that I would miss one of the
bottles and I still had plenty of gels and other fuel ahead, so I didn’t worry too
much about that one.
One of the other girls even offered to give me some of her bottle,
which was incredibly kind. I didn’t know what she had in it and I didn’t want
to mess up her fueling either, so I politely declined. I was still with the pack
and I was feeling really good. The miles were clicking by really smoothly and
quickly. There were several times where we would come to a mile marker and I
would be completely surprised that we were already there. I kept thinking we
were a mile or two behind where we actually were. It was always such a nice surprise
… think you’re at mile eight? Nope! You’re at mile ten! Sweet! I really didn’t
look at my watch at all during the race. I didn’t want to obsess over the pace
or splits or how far we had been (or rather, how far we had left to go).
According to both my data, our average pace for the next six miles was
6:14. Again, while 6:14 per mile isn’t much quicker than my range of 6:15 to
6:20, I likely still needed to be at the upper end of that range. I took a gel around
mile nine as planned and was extra careful when I grabbed my bottle at mile
twelve. I successfully grabbed the bottle this time! However, when I tried to
drink the contents, nothing came out. I don’t know if it was frozen or if I
mixed it too thickly. Perhaps it was some combination of the two, although I
didn’t hear anyone else say that their bottles were frozen … so maybe that wasn’t
it at all. I tried my best to get anything I could out of the bottle, but I was
not having much luck and it was honestly more exhausting than helpful, so I ended
up just tossing the bottle.
We still had a pretty decent sized pack when we came through the half
in just over 1:22. This was technically a half marathon PR for me, which seems crazy,
but going into the race I knew that I would potentially be running one, if not
two, half marathon PRs en route to what I hoped would be a full marathon PR as
well. I didn’t do any longer races during the training cycle, but I really
think that my half marathon fitness would’ve been right at or just under 1:20
if I had raced a half leading up to the marathon.
Our pack slowly started to dissipate somewhere around mile sixteen or
seventeen. I felt really strong all the way to seventeen, but then I got a
terrible side stitch around mile eighteen. It was bad enough that I actually
stopped to stretch it out for a minute, which helped, but I couldn’t ever get
back into a good groove after that point. If I hadn’t stretched it out when I
did, I think it would’ve just gotten worse and potentially caused me to slow
down even more. I’m still not entirely sure what caused the cramp, but I think
that lack of fluids might have something to do with it. I drank a few sips of
water along the way, but definitely not as much as I planned to had I been able
to drink both of my first two bottles.
According to my data, my average pace for the six miles leading up to
the cramp (miles twelve to eighteen) was 6:24. This means that I ran eighteen
miles at 6:17 average, which oddly enough is the EXACT pace that I needed to
run in order to get the OTQ. Granted I didn’t know this at the time, nor would
I have been able to hold that pace if I had known, but still … it’s at least
promising that I did what I needed to for that many miles.
At this point, I was running pretty much alone. Every now and then I would either pass someone or get passed by someone, but I was never in a group again. Unfortunately, it also got pretty windy at this point as well, making things even more challenging. I needed someone to block the wind for me, but I didn’t have any luck with that. I had been decently warm up until this point as well, but once the wind came out, I got really chilly. Miles nineteen to twenty-six were all about survival.
I knew that I wasn’t going to get the OTQ, but I also knew that I could
probably still get a PR if the wheels didn’t fall off too badly. I averaged
6:46 for these miles and I’m really proud of that. When I got the side stitch, it
would’ve been really easy to just “give up” and jog it in (or you know, not
finish the race like I did in Boston), but instead I kept fighting! I ended up
working with a couple of other girls during the last two miles, which was really
nice. One of us would lead for a bit and then another would pull ahead for a
bit and so on. I didn’t know these girls, but in my mind, we were working
together. My hamstring also started to get really tight during the last two
miles as well, but it wasn’t debilitating. Again, I just knew that I had to keep
on fighting.
I fought my way to a 4-minute PR and a sub 2:50 marathon (official time was 2:49:16). I was SO HAPPY when I got to the finish line. This was like one of those on cloud nine, over the moon, super-duper elated happies. While I didn’t get the OTQ I was hoping for, I did run a faster marathon than I ever have before and I gave it my very best effort on the day that I was given. I am simultaneously thrilled with my race and excited to take the lessons that I learned and put them to good use.
What’s next you ask? Oh … you didn’t ask … well, let’s just pretend,
shall we? I am planning to run the Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge on January
19, 2020, which is actually the last day that you can earn a qualifying time to
run in the U.S. Olympic Trials for 2020. I feel like I have nothing to lose at
this point and as long as I can stay happy and healthy during the training, I
might as well give it one more shot. Who knows what the standard will be 4
years from now and who knows where my life will look like 4 years from now?! For
now, I stand by my sentiment from earlier that the best is still yet to come.
As promised, here is a bit of an update post for your reading pleasure …
I basically tried to disappear from the Internet for a few months. Every now and then I think we likely could all benefit from a little break. In my case, I was going through a very stressful life change and I didn’t want people coming to my blog (or Facebook or Instagram or whatever) to try to snoop around and figure out what was going on.
I mentioned a while back that my now ex-husband and I were kinda sorta thinking about starting a family. So yeah … I guess you could say that we essentially ended a family instead of starting one. I don’t plan to share too much about this, partly because this is supposed to be a running blog and mainly because it doesn’t affect just me.
It wasn’t an easy decision, but I truly believe that it is ultimately for the best. It became very apparent that we weren’t on the same page whatsoever regarding much and neither one of us was truly happy. Granted, only one of us was willing to admit this at the time, but seeing as how the the other one is already in a very serious relationship, I would venture to say that we are likely on the same page with that now too.
Edited one year later to add: We are both remarried now and while I can’t speak for anyone else, I would venture to say that everyone involved can now agree that everything that happened was for the best and that everything worked out how it was supposed to.
Looking back I can definitely see that when we first met, I had a lot healing left to do. We got married too young and too quickly (blah blah blah (I know it’s the same thing a lot of people say)). We didn’t consider some very important issues on the front end and to be fair, we didn’t even know that certain issues would even be issues. I have done A LOT of work over the last 4 to 5 years and I am in such a better place now. I could honestly write an entire book about some of these topics and one day I just might. If I do, I’ve already got the title or at least one of the chapters names picked out. It will be, “I’ll love you forever, but I’m going to need that ring back.”
At this point I am trying to learn from my “mistakes” and am very much trying to retrain my brain to view mistakes not as mistakes at all but instead as “learning opportunities.” Everything that has happened up until this point has shaped me and made me who I am today. I am using my past experiences to guide my future. There is no looking back … only forward. Basically now I am just looking for a human who will love me as much as my dog does. Is that really too much to ask? I mean, Brooks has set the bar very high, but I feel certain that someone will come along that can fill his shoes.
I’ve gotta say, work has been such a blessing during this chaotic time in my life. In the past I would’ve likely said that work was one of the most stressful areas of my life, especially during January to April. Well this year … work really seemed to be one of the only stable and least stressful things in my life. I am so incredibly thankful for that because I really don’t think I could’ve taken any more stress. I didn’t cry once because of work this tax season, which may seem silly, but is actually quite a good way to measure how the season went. My employers (a husband and wife team) have been incredibly understanding and have gone above and beyond to show their appreciation and gratitude for the work that I do.
Whew. Now that we’ve knocked out the major “life” stuff, let’s get back to talking about all things running, shall we?
Another fiscal year is coming to an end for me (i.e., my birthday is tomorrow), so in the spirit of continuing with birthday blog traditions (here is year 30 and here is year 31), I decided to take a look back to remember what all went on during the last year. I think it’s important to take time every now and then to reflect back on things. Before I wrote this post, I actually was thinking that not much happened this year, but after looking back … I was wrong!
Here are 32 memorable events (most are silly, some are more serious) from the year! They are not numbered, which is only driving me slightly crazy, but the list formatting just wouldn’t work with the links and pictures that I have included. I promise that there are 32 things. I counted. Multiple times.
I celebrated my actual birthday by running 32 miles! This is one of my favorite yearly traditions. I’ve got a 5 year streak going with this now and I’m hopeful to continue the tradition this year. The Ragnar Relay we are doing in Colorado is actually on my birthday this year! I’ll be running close to 20 miles as part of that, so I just have to figure out how to squeeze in another 13 miles afterwards. Piece of cake (hopefully literally and figuratively)!
I joined Salty Running! I have been a reader of Salty Running for quite some time and somewhat on a whim, decided that it might be fun to write for them as well. The idea of writing posts that aren’t as personal in nature (i.e., not a list of 32 things that happened in my life) is appealing to me. My favorite piece by far was a collaborative effort called #MeToo – Women Runners’ Experiences of Sexual Violence, Assault and Harassment. It has been really cool to be part of a group of such fierce, intelligent and strong women. I also started doing some editing work for the site this summer and I really, really LOVE editing. I wish that I was qualified to do that as my actual job.
Brooksy joined IG and got a little bit into running. He averages a mile or two per week. His insta game is not exactly stellar and he still prefers swimming and fetching over running, but regardless, he enjoys an early morning trot every now and then.
I coached girls on the run! I loved being part of the GOTR organization! Their mission is to “inspire girls to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running,” and their vision is to “create a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams.” Yes, yes and more YES!
We celebrated our 7th anniversary with matching cards. We really did get each other the same card! You might think, “What are the chances?” but really … there are two golden retrievers on the card. We’re pretty predictable like that. Next to you … is my favorite place to be!
Daniel did his first Ironman 70.3! This was quite an amazing feat. After spectating this event, I have mad respect for all of you triathlon types out there. What you do is incredible!
I ate candy corn and got a tiny candy corn figurine. Candy corn is definitely one of my guilty pleasures in the fall. What’s not to love about pure sugar? AmIRite?
A client brought me eggs from her chickens (which indirectly impacted my decision to become a vegetarian). Side note: I do *now* realize that there aren’t little baby chickens in these particular eggs. This great egg incident (the “egg-cident”) of 2017 was the primary driver of my decision to become a vegetarian.
Brooks turned 6! I can’t believe our little buddy is so grown up. He brings so much joy to our lives.
Halloween meant dressing myself up as Galen Rupp (for a Salty Running post) and dressing Brooksy up as a lion (for funsies). We don’t typically do the Halloween thing, but it was fun to “celebrate” in our own little way.
We got a Christmas tree and decorated our house for Christmas! This was our first Christmas in our new house and we thoroughly enjoyed our tree and our lights. We haven’t done much decorating in the past, so this was definitely special.
We saw ELF the Musical at the Saenger Theatre in Pensacola! It was a great show and definitely had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions!
I went to the chiropractor more times than I can count. I had (err … have) a nagging left … leg. It’s primarily in the hamstring and glute area, but it likes to show up in the calf, hips and IT band sometimes as well. Thankfully, it is mostly under control and the staff at Coastal Chiropractic has been extremely helpful in keeping me up and running!
It snowed! Twice. This is not typical for lower Alabama. I found out pretty quickly that I was not cut out for frigid running temperatures. I thought I was going to lose my fingers to frostbite. I wish I could say that I am exaggerating, but I’m not … my hands have never hurt like that in my life.
I ran the Mississippi Gulf Coast Marathon as a pacer. This was my first time officially pacing a race. You can read more about this race (if you so desire) by clicking on the link in the first sentence. The key takeaways are that pacing a marathon is a lot of fun, but short courses are the worst.
I became a Run Angel ambassador. It’s really cool to partner with a brand and a company whose sole focus is on personal safety. Safety is always a top priority for me and the Run Angel brings me a lot of peace of mind in the event that I am out running alone.
I ran the First Light Marathon. You can also read more about this race (if you so desire) by clicking on the link in the first sentence. I tried to keep races off of my “memorable events” list, mainly just because if I included all of them, that would’ve been 22 of my 32 things! Ha. However, I feel like a marathon is pretty significant event that indeed deserves a memory of its own. When I first started training for First Light, I was hopeful that I would have a shot at breaking three hours. As the race got closer, it became fairly evident that this wouldn’t be the race. Getting sick a few weeks before the race was definitely the main factor, but now looking back, the whole training cycle really fell apart about six weeks out. Even though I didn’t get that sub three, I really enjoyed training with so many great friends and I crossed the line as the first female at my hometown marathon, which was incredible feeling!
I taught corporate tax at a local university. If we are talking about things that I did this year that were outside of my comfort zone, teaching would likely be at the top of the list. I have always had teaching in the back of my mind as a potential “second career,” and I was able to get my feet wet and see what that was all about. There are definitely pros and cons. At this point, the cons outweigh the pros and I don’t see myself pursuing this more in the immediate future. The door isn’t completely closed though!
Mom and I took a quick trip to Birmingham. We always have a good time wherever we go and I am definitely thankful for the time that we have to spend together.
Brooks and I mastered the puppy plank. Y’all. Isn’t he the cutest? If I am ever doing planks or push ups (or anything on the ground really), he loves to get right under me and sprawl out.
I played lots of ping-pong and a little bit of tennis! We set our ping-pong table up in our living room (kind of by accident). It was supposed to go to a friend’s house, but we had car issues with the delivery and it ended up staying at our house instead (it had been in my parents’ garage before that). We ended up using it a pretty good bit. From table tennis to regular tennis, I played more tennis this year than I have in the last few years for sure. I only played regular tennis a handful of times, but it’s always fun to get back out on the court.
I survived yet another tax season. I don’t know how this keeps happening, but I can’t seem to get out of the tax world (and believe me, I’ve tried!). This was my tenthtax season! In all seriousness, I am thankful for my job and for the ability to use my brain.
We officially cleaned out our storage unit. We moved into our house last February and likely should’ve cleaned it out long before we did, but better late than never. The most notable items that were discovered were my magical “PR” shoes from 2010 and my wedding dress. These bad boys carried me to a lot of big running milestones, including my first sub-20 5K, my first sub-40 10K, my first sub-1:30 half and my first marathon. Those were some good shoes right there!
We rescued several baby birds. We noticed their nest well before the birds hatched. Once they hatched, those little guys (or gals) were on a mission to fly the coop. They were jumping out left and right and we had to keep our eyes peeled when we were outside so that we could safely return them to their nest before they were able to fly.
I started working with Sarah Bishop of McKirdy Trained! This is also on the list of things that has pushed me outside of my comfort zone (I kid, I kid … kind of). I have done several challenging workouts, many of them have left me looking a bit like this …
I went on a bike ride with Daniel and rode a bike without a kickstand. Biking is definitely not my thing, but I had fun riding that day. I don’t think that I have a future in biking, but I had a lot more respect than normal for the guys riding in the Tour de France this year. A little perspective can change a lot of things.
Mom and I took our annual trip to Watercolor! I look forward to this trip every year and it’s always wonderful. Again, I am just SO thankful for the time that we get to spend together.
I went paddle boarding and skiing and, in general, enjoyed #baylife. I have always enjoyed being on the water and Mobile Bay has always held a special place in my heart (hence the name of this blog).
I had the opportunity to share my story on two podcasts! This would definitely be another thing that was out of my comfort zone. Speaking up and speaking out against sexual assault is very important and it has been a big part of the healing process for me.
I got a state record for the one mile! I would love to do more one mile races. Of course, this might be because I’ve been reading “The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It” by Neal Bascomb. The book tells the stories of Roger Bannister, John Landy and Wes Santee and details their training in pursuit of breaking the four minute mile. It’s been really interesting to read about their training. To quote Roger Bannister, “We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it is to find some outlet for this craving for freedom.”
Last, but certainly not least, we are flying to Colorado for the Ragnar Colorado Relay! I will definitely be sharing all of the details (probably more than you want to know (because I tend to do that)) of our trip when we get back, but for now, I am spending the last day of 32 flying across the country with some of my best friends to do something that I enjoy more than just about anything else. I can’t think of a better closing to year 32 or a better start to year 33!
The Running
Obviously running was mentioned in several of the memories already, but here’s the “run down” of what year 32 looked like from a purely running perspective.
I ran 3,382 miles while I was 32. Included in those miles were 22 races. The breakdown of races by distance is below.
It’s almost time for one of my favorite races of the year (and yes … I realize that I have lots of favorites). I’m pretty sure that the LuLu’s Hot Trot is my favorite 5K of the year though. The race is this weekend and I’m getting pretty pumped about it. I just registered today, so I thought it might be fitting to share a few memories of Hot Trots of years past.
I always like to compare race times from year to year to see how my fitness has progressed over the years. Hot Trot is a pretty good one to use, because while the conditions aren’t always (or ever) optimal, the conditions are always the same (i.e., hot and humid). Similar conditions make for better comparison at least.
A quick summary:
2012 – 19:56. The year of my inaugural Hot Trot. Finished (barely) under 20 minutes.
2013 – 19:35. The year I won an hourglass. Super unique prize! 2015 – 20:50. The year of the 3.25 mile 5K. Major bummer. 2016 – 19:05. The year Daniel had to work. 2017 – 19:01. The year that I missed breaking 19:00 by 2 seconds.
Hot Trot also holds a special place in my heart because it was the first race that I ever blogged about! It’s crazy to me to think that this will be my fourth year of blogging. How in the world did that happen?!
Here are some of my favorite pictures and memories over the years!
The race takes place at Lucy Buffett’s restaurant in Gulf Shores, LuLu’s (Lucy Buffett as in sister to Jimmy). The location makes for a wonderful pre-race and post-race environment. The post-race party is always so much fun. Everyone just hangs out at the restaurant before it opens. It is a relaxed, fun beach atmosphere and is very family friendly.
The course is also very flat and would be very fast were it not for the minor detail that it is mid-June in Alabama. I wish they had a race here in November or December. That would be fantastic! The course is best described as out and back with a side loop added on the way back. You hit mile one just before the turnaround and you hit mile two somewhere along the loop. Then you just have to finish the loop and book it back home.
I would absolutely love to be able to break 19:00 this year. I think that is a fairly reasonable goal. It might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s at least within the realm of possibility. Of course, you never know what might happen on race day, but in the meantime, I’m just going to envision running 6:00 to 6:05 pace and hope for the best.
We’ve talked one mile, 5K and 10K race strategies, so it only makes sense to move it on up to the half marathon, right? Right!
If you’ve read all three posts, you will definitely notice some common themes. I think it’s best, from a big picture perspective, to keep your overall race strategies fairly similar across these distances. As the race gets longer, there is more room for variation within each phase of the race plan, and there is more potential for outside variables to affect your race. These strategy posts can serve as fundamental building blocks for your race plan. You can easily tweak these strategies as needed based on any weather or course specific issues that you encounter on race day.
Fueling: Fueling needs vary from person-to-person, so I hesitate to give a fueling “strategy.” Fueling wasn’t specifically mentioned in the one mile, 5k or 10k race strategy posts, so adding it here should serve as a reminder that fueling needs to be addressed, at least on some level, during a half marathon.
The important thing is to test whatever you are going to do during the race during your key workouts and long runs. I try to eat a light, simple, and easily digestible breakfast an hour or two before the race starts (definitely nothing new!). If I get thirsty during the race, I will drink whatever water or sports drinks are provided along the course, but that is all I take in during the race itself. Personally, I find that I don’t really need an elaborate fueling plan for a half marathon, but others may disagree. Nailing down a half-marathon fueling strategy will likely involve practicing your fueling during your training and learning via trial and error at races.
Warmup: For a goal half marathon, I typically do a one mile warmup. Remember: you do you! Try to pick the pace up a notch or two to a tempo type effort during the last minute or two or the warmup to stir those aerobic enzymes and prime your engine for the race. Try to stay warm and loose while you stand at the start.
First 10%: As usual, try to avoid the early sprint out and ease into the pace. You’ll want to start off as smooth as possible and use the first mile to gradually settle into your rhythm and goal pace.
Speaking of goal pace, you may be wondering how you know what this should be. I recommend racing a shorter distance race (a 5K or 10K) during your half marathon training and using a running calculator to predict your goal half marathon pace based on that result. Take your predicted pace and create a goal pace range of about 10 to 15 seconds per mile around it. By easing into your goal pace over the course of the first mile, you will not only increase your chances of feeling good later in the race, but you will also be setting yourself up for a nice little negative split. Patience is a virtue that we want to possess during our longer distance races for sure!
Middle 70%: Once you settle into your goal pace range it’s time to relax, get comfy and plan to stay here awhile. The “middle” section of the half marathon is going to take us from the start of the second mile to mile 10. You will want to be running as strong, as smooth and as sustainable as possible (after all, this is a half marathon, not a sprint).
The goal during this middle section is to stay within the targeted pace range and use as little energy as possible to do so. Try to stay in the moment and engaged in the race, executing one mile at a time. If you think it is better mentally to break the race up into other manageable “chunks” then, by all means, do that. I have tried this in the past, with some success, but I end up coming back to the whole “run the mile you are in” philosophy most of the time.
Last 20%: You ran the first part of the race with your head, by easing into it and then staying mentally focused, holding a good strong rhythm through mile 10. Now it is time to race it home (the last 5K) with your heart, by competing and pushing yourself to give the very best effort possible on this day. Depending on how you are feeling at this point, you will likely still be within your goal pace range or hopefully even a little quicker if you can manage it. This is often the point in the race where, if you paced correctly, you will catch up with and pass a lot of people who didn’t have as much success with their pacing strategy and are slowing down.
Cooldown: After the race, get in an easy mile jog to flush out the system and jump-start the recovery process. It’s a good idea to take an ice bath or warm Epsom salt bath in the afternoon for recovery. It can be difficult to make yourself do anything else after the race, but it is always worth it to do a proper cooldown and pay attention to your recovery needs. We take our races seriously and we should take our recovery seriously as well!
I recently got a question from a reader as to whether or not I was still working with the coach that I worked with for over three years. The short answer is, no. The long answer is going to turn into an overly wordy post that is likely not necessary, but for the sake of transparency, I want to share …
Let’s start of by talking about coaching in general. Having a coach is wonderful and it can be a very rewarding relationship to have. However, I don’t think that everyone *needs* a coach. If you are just starting out and you have a goal that is primarily to “complete” a certain event, chances are that you can find a plethora of training plans online that will likely do the trick. If you aren’t entirely sure what you want to do, but want to focus on general fitness and perhaps you just need some guidance as far as what paces to train at, then there are also lots of resources online (including the VDOT calculator) that can help you.
Running friends can also be a wonderful resource. Talk about your training plan with your running partners (as ifyou really talk about anything else anyway :)) and bounce ideas off of each other. You might be surprised at how much you can learn from the seasoned veterans in your group!
All that being said, I think that if you have a specific goal in mind for your current training cycle or you have specific long-term goals (i.e., each training cycle builds on the previous one and you are, for the most part, constantly training), you can afford a coach and you find a coach who works well with your needs, then having a coach is definitely the way to go! I much prefer working with a coach than coaching myself, even though I feel like I likely have the knowledge to coach myself. I mean, I technically have a coaching certification myself (but really, who doesn’t ;)). It’s really nice to have someone else that is invested in your training who can look at your workouts objectively and encourage and believe in you when you may not even really believe in yourself.
Prior to working with Coach Hadley, I worked briefly with another coach that just wasn’t a good fit for me. His methods worked well and I ran some of my best times (at that time). However, I didn’t feel like I got enough attention (I realize how diva-ish that sounds) and he also didn’t offer the type of encouragement that I needed (also likely diva-ish). For example, there was this one HUGE workout leading up to my goal marathon. It was the workout of all workouts, the make or break workout of the training cycle and (not to brag, but) I crushed it. I ran my heart out and really put a lot into that workout and the feedback I got was something along the lines of “that’s what I expected you to do.” Alrighty then … I’m going to need a little bit more head pats validation than that.
After that, I worked with Coach Hadley for over three years. He is a fantastic coach and I learned so much from working with him. His knowledge of the sport is incredible and he was very encouraging and very easy to talk to and work with. After my marathon in January, I decided to take a break from coaching. At the time, I wasn’t planning to focus on marathons anymore and I honestly wasn’t even sure what direction I wanted to go with my training at all. It just seemed like a good opportunity for a break.
Here’s the part of the story that has nothing at all to do with running, but will help to explain some of my indecision and lack of direction in general. You see, Daniel and I have been talking about starting a family. That’s right … you read it here first. We have been married for almost 8 years now (CRAZY) and having a kid (my preference) or two (Daniel’s preference) is something that, for the first time ever, is actually on our radar. I honestly wasn’t sure that it would ever be even on our radar, so this is kind of a big deal.
What I have come to learn over the last few months is that just because it is on our radar, it doesn’t actually mean that it is something we are ready to fully commit to at this exact moment. I could likely write an entire post about the decision (or lack thereof) to start a family and all of the pressure, etc. that comes with it. As an only child, I think that pressure is amplified by about one thousand percent. My parents (for the most part) haven’t put any pressure on me, but at the same time, there is no way to escape from the reality of the situation. I am the only person in the world that can give them a grandchild and none of us are getting any younger.
If we were to find out today that we are having a baby (this post is NOT a pregnancy announcement), would we be excited? Probably! Would we be scared out of our minds? Absolutely! People like to tell you that “you’ll never truly be ready,” but I like to think that a time will come when I might be a little bit more ready than I am at this exact moment. Having a child is one of the few things in life that can’t be undone. I’m not saying that I would want to “undo” it or would regret it in any way, but I do think the fact that I am keenly aware of this fact means that maybe, just maybe, I’m not quite as ready as I thought I was at one point.
I have realized over the last year or so that I actually do have some maternal instincts, which is quite a relief. I thought maybe those were missing entirely, but I think that they were just suppressed for the first 30+ years of my life (which is definitely not a bad thing (ha)). Funny story: Last fall, a client brought me some eggs from her chickens and I was almost in tears in my office thinking about how those eggs could’ve been little baby chicks running around my office. Side note: I do realize that those eggs actually couldn’t have hatched into baby chicks, but the point is, I couldn’t get the idea of baby chicks out of my mind.
I became a vegetarian shortly after this. The thought of eating animals is terrible to me and I don’t know how I did it for so long. You know … just another random side note that has absolutely nothing to do with running. I haven’t eaten meat in almost 6 months now! I haven’t mentioned it yet on the blog (at least I don’t think I have), so now seems like as good a time as any to share. I could likely also write an entire post about the decision to become vegetarian and how to navigate that as an endurance athlete who has a tendency to struggle with eating issues. It gets tricky.
So where does that leave us exactly? Well, to summarize, I am a confused thirty-two year old vegetarian who might want to become a mother at some point in her life and, in the meantime, will likely stick to running marathons. I kind of aimlessly trained for shorter distance races this Spring and I ran several races, while simultaneously surviving both tax season and my first semester of teaching as an adjunct professor at a local university. Again, not to brag, but I’m proud of myself for surviving all of these things!
Let’s bring this back to coaching, shall we? Over the spring, a local coach wrote my plans for me. This was great for what I needed at the time. I likely could’ve done this myself, but honestly, having someone else think for me and tell me what to do was very nice at the time. Overall, it just really wasn’t a great fit for what I am looking for and have come to expect from my coaches. I worked with him for three months and have since decided to move on to a different coaching group. I can’t stress enough how important it is to find a coach that works well with your needs! If you are paying for a coach, you should be happy with the relationship.
After some thought and some research (thanks to a fellow Salty Running cohort for sharing her thorough coaching research with me), I have decided to work with Sarah Bishop (of McKirdy Trained). I am going to be focusing on some short stuff this summer (one mile to 5K) and then I plan to do another marathon in the late fall (likely early December) and also plan to do Boston in 2019! Woo to the hoo for long-term goals and clarity!
You might wonder why I didn’t go back to Coach Hadley. I definitely thought about it! He isn’t coaching full-time anymore (unless something has changed) and I am really just excited about the idea of something new and different. I could basically predict the workouts that I would be doing from training cycle to training cycle and that just isn’t much fun. If it is working, then fun isn’t really necessary, but at the same time, I do think that we should be able to improve and still enjoy the process. It was also difficult not to look back and compare my previous times for the same workout one or two years ago since I had done the exact same workouts several times over the years.
After talking with Sarah the first time, I was more excited about my training and running than I had been in years! Years! She is an amazing runner herself (she WON the Marine Corps Marathon in 2017 and qualified for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials) and she has complete confidence in me and my abilities, which basically blew me away. I’ve only done a few workouts with her at this point, but so far, it’s been great! She has given me specific advice on how to pace my workouts and has already adjusted a workout that I was super intimidated by to make it more doable (while still getting the same benefits).
As predicted, that got a little lengthy. I have a tendency to do that sometimes, but it’s really been a while so you were likely overdue for some rambling. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions! I’m always happy to hear from you guys!
Today we are talking about a short and sweet race distance, with some tips on how to successfully compete in a one mile road race. You may be thinking, it’s just one mile, how much strategy do you really need? Initially, I had the same reaction. Then, last summer I did a one-mile road race, and I used an awesome effort-based pacing strategy that helped me more than I could have imagined. Having a strategy helps, as does thinking about said strategy pre-race (i.e., not winging it).
I’ve done a couple of one mile events over the years and I have thoroughly enjoyed each one. It’s not everyday that you get to go out and see how fast you are truly capable of running. In fact, I would venture to say that a lot of us have not tapped into our true potential as far as our speed goes. A one mile race is an excellent place to test your limits and find out what you are really made of!
Warmup: I recommend doing an easy 2 miles pre-race, followed by several strong 10-15 second strides to get the blood pumping and muscles primed.
We are going to divide this race up into four segments, but it’s not going to be the exact four quarter-mile segments that you would likely expect. Here’s how the race should go down:
First 12.5%: You should take off fairly quickly during the first200 meters, but don’t sprint to the point of distress this early on. You want to start out quickly enough to give yourself some room and establish your position among the other runners. Try to be as smooth as possible.
Next 37.5%: From 200 meters to the half way point, you want to stay strong, smooth and controlled. This gives you lots of good one-word mantras to focus on while you are suffering (side note: suffer isn’t one of the go-to words). Be aggressive (after all, it’s just a mile). It’s early enough in the race that you will still feel good, so enjoy it, get excited about challenging yourself in this event and get through the half way point strong and in control.
Next 25%: The stretch from the half to three-quarters of a mile will likely be the toughest section of the race. If you know this going in, you can expect it and not let it derail you when you actually get there. You will start to get tired and your lactic acid levels will be rising. Other runners will likely start to slow down during this stretch. Tell yourself that you are smarter than those runners and see how many of them you can catch by staying strong, focusing on your leg turnover and simply maintaining your pace.
Last 25%: I’m not going to sugarcoat it here … you will be in distress, but it’s almost over. Now is the time to really be aggressive! The hardest part of this section is simply making yourself start the finishing kick. Did you know that you actually tap into new glycogen stores when you transition into an all-out sprint? Say what?! Hear me out here. Once you think you are done and you have nothing left to give … give MORE. Make yourself sprint and give it all you’ve got. You will find a new energy source that you didn’t know existed and you might just surprise yourself by running faster than you ever have before.
Cooldown: I recommend doing another easy 2 miles post-race jog to flush all the junk out of the system (and a one mile race will produce some serious junk). This will help you to jump-start the recovery process. If you have the time and the willpower, take an ice bath when you get home.
While you can find a local 5K or 10K just about every weekend, the local one mile race seems to be much harder to come by. Sometimes races will have a one mile “fun run,” but it can sometimes feel a little awkward “racing” those. I mean, sure, it’s fun to put a 5-year-old in his place sometimes, but it’s much more fun to race against runners of your own age and ability. If you are looking to branch out and test your abilities with a one mile road race, here are some good options:
Today it is double the pleasure, double the fun for some tips on how to run your best 10K. In case you missed it, I recently wrote a post about my strategy for running your best 5K. From a big picture perspective, the strategies are very similar. Keeping it simple is often best (and let’s face it, easier to remember when you are deep in the pain cave during the actual race). There are a few key differences though, so read on to find out more.
Warmup: I like to do at least 2 easy miles pre-race. The caveat here is to use your own judgement as far as what you think your body can handle, based on your experience level and overall mileage. After your warmup miles, pick up the pace and do a few strides to stir up the aerobic enzymes and prime the engine before heading to the start line.
Here’s how the race should go down:
First 10%: Avoid the early sprint out and ease into the pace. Start off as smooth as possible and use the first half to three-quarters of a mile to settle into your race rhythm and goal pace. Remember that you will soon be passing all of the folks who started out too quickly. I don’t know about you, but catching other runners during a race really motivates me to run harder. You might as well “let” them have a little head start and then focus on reeling them in. Not only does it make sense physiologically, but also it’s just more fun that way.
Middle 70%: Once you settle into your goal pace range, get comfy and plan to stay here for a few miles. There is more room to negative split and run to your true potential and also more room to have a goal pace “range” in a 10K, as opposed to a 5K. For example, I try to give myself a 10 second goal pace range during a 10K, whereas during a 5K, I likely have a specific pace that I am targeting. I would suggest running the first mile at the upper end of your goal range and easing it down as you go. After you pass the 5K mark, so 50% of the way into the race, do a quick reassessment of the pace. Do you feel good? If so, you might want to lower your goal range at this point and start picking it up just a tad. Do you feel okay? If so, you are likely running about where you should be running at this point. Focus on keeping a consistent rhythm and cadence and let the pace take care of itself. Do you feel bad? Hopefully not, but if so, don’t stress about it. Slow your pace down a tad and let yourself regroup. You can (and will) still finish this thing strong.
Last 20%: During the last mile and a quarter, challenge yourself to compete and give it your best effort. Focus on someone ahead of you and work to catch them. You can do anything for one mile. Check in with yourself every quarter-mile and count them down. Less than four laps around the track to go, less than three laps around the track to go, etc. It’s time to leave whatever you have left in the tank out there on the course. Don’t worry too much about your pace at this point, just give it all you’ve got. If you follow this strategy, you should be able to make your last mile the fastest of the day and that, my friends, is a wonderful feeling.
Cooldown: I also like to get in 2 more miles post-race (again, use your own judgement here). This will help you flush out your muscles and will promote recovery. It can be difficult to make yourself do anything else after the race, but trust me, it is well worth it!
This is a simple pacing strategy that has served me well over the years. If you are competing for placement or running on a course that has significant uphill or downhill sections, then you would definitely need to factor those things into your plan. For the most part though, your training prepares you for race day and the magic will happen on its own as long as you have put in the work during training.
Try this strategy at your next 10K and let me know how it goes!
