Wordless Wednesday

at finish

legs were toast from hills....still love this run though!

stil having fun despite the used quads/gluts....notice my form is GONE!



Feeling great around mile 5!



1st 8 miles went as planned! :) The hills on the following 4 miles finished my legs, hence the time....o well! Next flat race is mine!

Big Sur race report

Well that race is hilly! I found out today that yep, still have a long way to go with my strength; the left butt is still so much weaker than the right from my earlier in the year butt issue. (My trainer LAQ said we'll work on more one legged strength exercises, yyessss! I need it)
Anyhow, here's the race report:
I definitely tapered perfectly! My legs were so bouncy and fresh, and I had so much energy! When I feel over carbed, under workout, full of energy, and lite/springy legs, I know I tapered right! I slept well and hydrated well too. So the issue lies with my lack of strength, still- but I'm not discouraged, I'll get there!
Miles 1-4
About a couple weeks ago, I emailed Coach George about his recommended start pace for me; he recommended to start about 8:15's since the elevation chart showed most hills in the first four miles- so I did my best to start here:
8:13, 8:12, 8:10, 8:16
I felt so good, I was smiling and felt so springy! I had a feeling this was my day....
That mile 4 has quite the everlasting climb, which caused my breathing to get quite labored- so I slowed my pace a bit to conserve energy. This hill just kept going... Or it just seemed that way to me because I hate hills! It was quite the incline, wowzers! (Like the hill at about mile 4/5 in the San Fran 1st half, it just keeps going...)
Miles 5,6,7
Further recommendation was to start to drop pace after the hilly mile 4; to start to get serious about the race, so I did-
7:48, 7:56, 8:02- I was feeling fine, falling back into my rhythm post mile 4 mountain;)
7:50-8's are my current happy spot/pace in running, it just feels perfect to me. I like to settle here...
Miles 8,9,10
8:18, 8:15, 8:22
Where did these hills come from?! WTF! I totally do not remember these many rolling hills on the course! Up, up, down, down, up, down, more up, up...how did I forget about these?! I was not mentally prepared. It is the same course as it always have been since I first ran this race in 2004 and 2007. I'm convinced I forgot about these hills (and the pain from them) like women forget the pain of labor- then we are silly enough to do it again, only to remember, oh ya, it hurts!
My quads were starting to tire quickly, and my weak left butt was also starting to scream "weak and tired!!"
Miles 11,12,13.1
9:16, 8:17, 9:00 (8:29-0.1)
Ya, these times speak for themselves- I blew up, ka-boom! My quads screaming, my left butt hollaring "overused!!" I fought hard both
physically and mentally not too stop, I didn't want to quit despite my screaming, tired legs!
I have never felt my legs so used- truth. Wowzers!



Finish was 1:50:27. Only one split was recorded at mile 8- 1:03:56 avg pace at that point 7:56.
*We ran through a pretty long tunnel, which I'm sure threw my Garmin times slightly off...

Moral of the story- I have a lot work to do on leg strength! (Hill workouts start in Decemeber, plus strength training..)
OR pick flat courses ;)


Despite the above, this race is my ultimate favorite, and I plan to do it next year! I had fun, and I'm in love with the views!!

Until my next race... Jingle all the way 8K

It's been awhile...

Now that I am finally getting back into the swing of things, aka racing, I'll start blogging again. (I actually will have something to write about!)

It has been an up and down year for me coming back from an injury, with my running. I thought I could just jump right back on the saddle and just run how I was pre-injury. Whoops, my bad- wrong!
Finally after a few months of running, then injuring, then running, and yes injuring once more, I took a different approach- the smart approach. Evaulation>Strength>Speed.

1st step get my gait evaluated.
I had read from fellow Capital Area Runner blog's about how they went to a Dr.Magg's to have their running gait evaluated at,

http://activespineandsport.net/staff/kevin-maggs

So, naturally, I made an appointment!
I brought all my running shoes to Dr.Magg's- my old minimalists, my old Mizuno Wave Riders, and (during that time) my current Brooks stability- (Brooks that I was placed in by Pacers.) Dr.Maggs had me run with my neutral Mizono's, and after a hour with Dr.Magg's video tapping my running outside, and watching me do various movements, I learned/he taught me:

1. My right ankle collapses when I do squats. This is the ankle I broke- no surprise I still have to do work on it.
2. I do not pronate (just a tinge) and it would be best for me to run in my Mizuno neutrals! Good bye Brooks stability shoes!
3. I have a "hip dip" to my left hip as my foot strikes the ground.
4. I do NOT over stride! Yay!
5. I have good running posture- but need to work my core.

I now had the knowledge on what to work on, next step, address the issues!

The next day I went to Road Runner's and bought new Mizono Waveriders (which I've been in since 2004) and set out to run an easy 2-4 miles that afternoon. I was nervous making the shoe switch, but excited to see if I felt any difference in my achy right calf.
First, let me back up. Two days prior I ran in the Brooks and my calf muscles were still hurting as I tried to run.
Okay, fast forward me heading out on my 2-4 mile run with my new (old) Mizono's, and the second I started to run in my Mizono- NO CALF PAIN! Seriously, I'm not making this up. I even wrote my coach to tell him this after my run, I was so amazed! I have always known the importance of having the proper running shoe, but this was crazy- no pain, it was gone! All this time, I was just in the wrong shoe!!! (Lesson learned- do not go to Pacers to have your gait evaluated on a treadmill. FIND A PROFESSIONAL)
Calf pain has not return since the shoe change...

Evaluation and proper shoes, check! Next step, get strong. I had a weak left hip, and a weak core. My plan, find a personal trainer...So, I wrote my friend/body pump instructor LAQ asking her if she knew of a good trainer at Gold's Gym- well, low and behold, she is a trainer! (and a great one at that- she kicks my butt!) I met up with her later that week, and I have been working with her since! She has made me so much stronger and has taught me so much. That left hip/butt is slowly getting stronger, (although still weaker compared to the right hip) but it's getting there. Thanks to LAQ, I am such a different athlete now!

Third, it was time to be patient and smart (again) about my running. My "smart plan", take my mileage up very slowly. I started in August increasing my miles. (at just 10 a week) Now in November I am now just hitting 26-27 miles a week. Baby steps.
I also have promised myself, one achy anything, and I'm shutting down and hitting the pool, or just dropping speed work for a week, and only easy run.
I actually did this is early October, I had something tight happening in my left inner thigh, so I shut it down, and after a week of pool/easy run, I was back at track and the tight inner left thigh was gone. No fitness loss, and no time loss.

Of course, I am referring to my coach, A LOT. I email Coach George A LOT, and I listen.... and so far so good. I've been training steadily with speed work since September.

Big Sur half marathon next weekend! I feel fit, and would love a 1:44-1:45, but in the end, I just want to have fun, relax, and enjoy my most favorite race ever!! (It was also my very first long distance race ever in 2005)

PS. I need to really learn how to use this blog, and make it fancy like everyone's I read! :)

I never have time...

To write a blog. Life is busy; work barely allows me time to pee, much less blog. I'm also up early to train/early to bed to do it again the next day, busy!....So you can find me on daily miles where I post much shorter workout updates.
Happy trainings!

(I'm not closing blog; just posts will be very spotty!)

Week in Review

Total miles this week: 33.5
total miles last week: 34.2
Plan miles this week: 35-36


Week 6/6-6/12

Monday:
easy 4.5 mile run
abs

Tuesday: Track. Repeat 800's. total 5 miles
It was a hot morning. Coach had said 6-8, 800's. I managed 4. My body was tired, my legs felt heavy, and my body was not a fan of the humidity. I have lived out east for about 4.5 years now, and still, I am not used to running in humid conditions. I also think my mental endurance was lacking today. The work out was okay, but definitely not solid.
The work out went as follows:
I ran late, so only a 1 mile warm up
800-3:30
easy 400
800-3:27
easy 400
800-3:21
easy 400
800-3:24
easy 400
attempted another 800- bonked!
cool down 1 mile



Wednesday:
Body Pump
Cross Trainer, easy, 35 minutes
abs


Thursday:
REST (1st rest day since Sunday May 29th....whoops!)

Friday:
Easy 5 miles, early in the morning.
abs


Saturday:
7 miles.
Please see the race/day recap:
taramasu78.blogspot.com-10k-that-was-5k. (Previous post)

Sunday:
12 miles
It was a great long run. I joined the group Maria Sherwell, Katharina, and Joseph. Coach had us running the Capital Cresent because it was a warm muggy morning, and this trail had a lot shade and water fountains.
The run felt pretty solid. My Garmin choose to stop working after mile 6 (too wet from all my sweat?!) but according to my running partners, we clocked 8 min/mile and less for the last 4 miles of our 12 mile run, yay!. Despite my not so hot training week, todays run was pretty solid way to end the week.
The only splits recorded: (dam you Garmin!)
9:43, 9:02, 8:59, 9:00, 8:57, 8:27, non-functioning Garmin, gggrrrr.

Next race is July 1st, a 5k.

DNF- the 10k that was a 5k

I woke up at 5:30am this morning, ready to run a 10k!
At 6am I decided to check my iPhone to see who has emailed me throughout the night. (From my west coast family or friends), and there it was, an update from Lawyers Have a Heart race director, "10k changed to 5k due to heat advisory" Ughe. I wasn't prepared for a 5k! I had made my game plan earlier this week, and re-played it in my head over and over throughout the week...for a 10k!
My game plan: Start slow 8 min pace, at the 3 mile turn around, drop my pace to end fast. (~7:30's) which would easily have gotten my a PR, of around 46-47 minutes. (My current 10k PR in 49:11)
I hate not feeling prepared for a race, and this last minute change bothered my running OCD personality! I was so not prepared to run a 5k today.
After some thinking, going back and forth- "Yes, I'll run", "No, I'll just do do the long run", "Oh, maybe I'll do the 4 mile race tonight"...I decided I would go run the 5k, but just as a tempo. That's a fine plan, right? I figured, at this point I will just get my miles in for the day-warm up 1 mile, tempo 3 miles and cool down 2-3 miles. Great plan right? Well, my new plan didn't really go, well, as planned....
"Race" report:
1. At the start, my shoe untied! What the?! I had to pull over to tie my shoe just after crossing the start, and I guess out of habit I turned my garmin off, ughe!(I stop running = I turn off Garmin) Already a bad start!
2. Okay, LLH had wave starts. Wave 1 was for 8 minute mile pace, or less. There were several joggers in wave one. Once I pulled back onto the street to run, post shoe tying, I then was weaving through slow runners. As I went to look at my Garmin for my pace, that's when I realized it was OFF!! (Why didn't I just quit then?)
It just erks me, slower joggers start at the front, it's just rude.
3. Okay, regrouped, shoe tied, and out of the crowds (just after running up the ramp, and turning left to head to canal road) I turned my watch back on, to at least watch my pace, I cruised the first mile at 7:40, and felt fine. I thought maybe I could savage such a bad start, and honestly, at this point my body was feeling great!
4. At the mile and a half turn around, I then decided to start to drop my pace down to 7:30; still I felt okay. I maintained that pace for a little while, and decided I felt good enough still to drop it a bit more. (Figuring I probably only had a mile left to this run) Just after the water stop (I did not see a mile 2 marker, and my garmin was obviously way off) before turning back onto the over pass, I dropped to a 7:17 pace.
5. I was able to hold the 7:17ish pace, until about half way through the over pass; at which time my body decided to start to protest. The sun was blaring, the over pass omitting heat, my legs started to feel weak, and I couldn't get good breath in; I began to worry, and so I stopped.
6. I caught my breath, walk a few seconds and said "F*ck it" to myself, At that point I decided to DNF this run, and I did. I began to start running back in, slowed my pace to 8:30 and jogged in. I did not cross the finish, and did not take a finishers medal.
7. I was able to meet up with a few CAR runners post race, and we ran a nice 3 mile cool down. (The Capital Crescent Trail was nice and cool with all that shade!) I still managed to get my miles in for today: 7. :)
This is my first DNF in years!! I hate the feeling of DNF, BUT it's still so early in the season, I have many races still ahead of me. I'm trying not to feel disappointed or worried about my training-I keep reminding myself- I've been strong at track and tempo, and what really counts is Oct. 9th, 2011!!
One side note: My mental endurance sucks, still. How does one work on that to improve it?
Thanks for reading! :)

Week in Review

I'm so in love with running right now. I'm so happy to be back at it. I'm not a religious person, but I pray daily that I continue to improve, that I stay healthy, and that I continue to train smart. (being surrounded by Capital Area Runners helps with the training smart part)

Last weeks miles: 28.5 land
This weeks miles: 34.2 land


Monday:
7 miles with Maria Sherwell.
She was strong, I was still sweating out alcohol from my Atlantic City trip. I said last week that I plan to minimize my drinking while marathon training, and this run was my reason. It's awful to feel how alcohol really effects your body. I'll still drink the occasional beer or glass of wine, but no more crazy nights for me, at least not until 10/10/11. (With my job, and drug reps taking our office out all the time for FREE happy hours, you start to find yourself in a bad habit...no more!)

Tuesday:
Track. Repeat 400's. HOT 6.5 miles total.
2 mile warm up
400-1:44
400-1:43
400-1:40
400-1:36
400-1:38
400-1:39
4001:36
400-1:39
400-dropped. Couldn't breath problem again.
4001:39
1 mile cool down.

Considering it was a million degrees today, I'm okay with the workout.

Wednesday:
easy 35 minutes on Elliptical
Body Pump

Thursday:
4.7 easy miles on a gorgeous DC morning.

Friday:
Tempo. 2x 2mile. Total 6 miles
Negative split!!
2 mile warm up
1st 2 miles:
1-7:47
2-7:23
400 very easy
2nd 2miles:
1-7:35
2-7:13
1 mile cool down. I felt great today. Strong. It's my 1st 4 mile tempo since last summer.

Saturday: LET MARATHON TRAINING BEGIN!!
Long run: 10 miles.
I miss my running pals. I ran alone. I may need to find another running group for my long runs. Running 10 miles alone is okay, but 20 miles, no thank you. Does anyone know of other groups that long run Saturday mornings?
Splits: 9:27,9:14,9:02,9:17(potty/Gu) 9:05,8:10,8:13,7:45,8:18(gu), 7:49

Sunday:
70 minute Spin Class
Body Pump


Lawyers Have aHeart 10k next Saturday!! The forcast looks like the weather breaks Friday, and the race maybe warm, but not hot. Fingers are crossed!