recap :: MoHud2013 week 9

...you know it's summer when...
you're scheduled for more than 1 race per week.

To preface: when I say "race" what I really mean is a run with 100+ people I may or may not know, while wearing a bib, maybe a timing chip and pretty much sticking to the same course. Clearly I'm not out to fight for a spot in Rio 2016.

Last week was a reminder of when I loathed running because it made my whole self hurt (thanks knees, calves, feet and the rest of my aging body). Thankfully I was signed up for two races so I used those for training runs and was actually excited to lace up.

Thursday was a 3.5mi race and Sunday was a fun 5k for a great cause. This was my third start for each of the races. Last year, these races started the season  and were two of the few races I actually got to do (note to self: do not sign up for your entire season of runs all at once in April or May - if you hurt yourself in, say, August, you're out a bunch of money).

Thursday was warm, windy, sunny and fabulous for running. I PRed the distance and the course over my previous two attempts. Sunday was freezing less nice, but it ended with a stop at my favorite food truck for an early morning slider, so it wasn't all bad. I PRed the course and took a minute of my time from last year.

There may or may not be a duathlon relay in my future for next weekend. Yikes.

Monday: 60min BCC (arms)
                scheduled - 30min walk
Tuesday: 60min spin w/ abs
                scheduled - rest
Wednesday: 60min BCC (lower body), 2mi
                scheduled - 2mi  
Thursday: 3.5mi
                scheduled - 3mi  
Friday: 60min BCC (cardio); 2.5mi (speed work)
                scheduled - 2.5mi  
Saturday: rest
                scheduled - rest  
Sunday: 3.1mi
                scheduled - 3mi

Weekly mileage: 11.4mi
Scheduled weekly mileage: 10.5mi

recap :: MoHud2013 week 6

Sunday was my first 5k since the great fracture of 2012. I was just happy to be there, happy to sport a bib and timing chip and happy for the orange slices that were waiting for me at the end. I had no plan but to take it easy and would have been very happy with anything under 30mins as my first go at it, so I was pumped when I crossed the line and saw "28" as the first number. I made a concerted effort not to check my Garmin throughout the race and strategically picked runners ahead of me that I would eventually move ahead of. My internal dialogue sounded like this: 

"grey shirt guy, I'll get him on the hill. He doesn't look like he's made for hills. Grey shirt guy is slowing down... move."

"I see you, pink shoe laces. I'm coming for you. Slow down pink shoe laces, slow. it. down."

At mile two, I passed the marker but didn't hear my Garmin beep (probably because Britney Spears Jay-Z were blaring in my headphones). I took this as a sign to check my stats begrudgingly looked down to make sure the sign wasn't lying to me (because most race directors set out to trick you) and saw 18mins and change displayed on my watch, got a little excited and also a little tired. My training runs have been between 10:40 and 9:22 per mile, so I thought I'd replicate that effort on the course, but ended up picking it up a bit. My last mile was 8:58 (weee! broke into the 8s!!). Of course once I realized I was going faster than usual, I got incredibly tired and wanted a walk break. But everyone knows you look like a quitter when you take a walk break and there was a 70+ year old man ahead of me that clearly wasn't into walk breaks, so I stopped whining and continued on for ~9 more minutes. Chip time at the end was 28:30 (only 15 seconds slower than my 5k PR), I started my Garmin when I crossed the start and it reported 28:21.

sweet, new, colorful babies.

After the magic of race #1 in 2013 I retreated home to try 1.5mi in my old-because-they've-been-sitting-in-a-box-but-new-because-I've-only-worn-them-for-a-mile Mizunos. Huge mistake. Maybe not if I had hit the road a few minutes after the race, but over an hour after was a bad idea. The only plus of the painful, lactic acid filled run was that my shoes looked fab. 

Monday: 60min spin; 45min total body
                scheduled - 45min walk
Tuesday: rest
                scheduled - rest
Wednesday: 3mi (1.5mi on the trail)
                scheduled - 2mi  
Thursday: 2mi
                scheduled - 3mi  
Friday: 2.25mi (fartleks)
                scheduled - 2mi  
Saturday: rest
                scheduled - rest  
Sunday: 4.65mi
                scheduled - 4.5mi

Weekly mileage: 12.40mi
Scheduled weekly mileage: 11.5mi

gooooodbyeeeee treadmill.

in the PT waiting room, ready to roll.

Well. I ran. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't fun. It hurt.

After excitedly lacing up my trusty Mizunos and stepping onto the treadmill my hopes and dreams of being completely recovered were shattered by .25 miles when I realized I could feel the bone in my leg every step I took (not that I was going to say that out loud...). My physical therapist was watching my feet, analyzing my gait and looking at me grind my teeth together with every step - she thought it best I stop and pulled me off the 'mill at .41 miles.

Not only was I mad that I'm not healed, but who stops a run at .41?? That's not even CLOSE to being a reasonable, even number. I'm sure the .09 needed to get to  an even half mile wouldn't have killed me. No one wants to put that weird number on their excel spreadsheet of workout activity.

zombie tees on the dog's zip line.
totally normal.

Just because I had a huge runfail on Friday didn't mean I wasn't going to dress up like a zombie and chase 5k runners on Sunday. I was out of the house by 6:30a on a Sunday and dressed in running tights and a homemade zombie tee - the last time I was pulling those hours with that outfit was pre-fracture. I met my sister at the make-up tent where we were transformed from sleepy 20-somethings into sleepy zombies.

a close up.

The event was sort of a disaster from an organization standpoint, but we had fun nonetheless. When runners went to the start line, they were wearing flag football belts with three flags. Zombies were stationed all over the course on a mission to steal the flags of the runners, rendering them unhealthy and eventually turning them into zombies when they lost all three of their flags.

I got a little taste of the injury free life as I was running through a field chasing runners and stealing their flags. I think it was the adrenaline that blocked the pain signals to my brain. Running INTO a mass of runners starting their race isn't something I ever thought I'd try. While getting trampled was a very real possibility slight risk, it was fun...and we got to wear zombie make up and make shirts. Win.

...not so fast.

As defined in my previous post, speed work is, in fact, “not so speedy, but I try really hard with longer rest breaks in between bouts of “speed” ”. Wednesday was my first official mandated day of speed work. The excel spread sheet that governs my life dictated three miles in total. Mile one was a warm up followed by a stretch and then the fun begins. The next quarter mile is a build to race pace, then the following quarter mile is at or below race pace, finally the last half mile is one minute above race pace – then repeat. Because the mile markers were so specific, I hit the track to give my knees a break and so I would have clearly marked start and stop points. I decided that the best possible time to do this would be at 2pm on an 89 degree day in June. I breezed through the warm up. It was a real confidence booster until the speed work actually began and I hated my life. I was tricked into thinking this would be an easy workout by the total mileage being three, with a full mile warm up. Between water breaks, stretching, starts and stops, my total time spent on the track was an hour for a whopping total of 3.25 miles. I ran a 5K in 28mins and 16seconds earlier this month. I’m struggling to see where the speed comes in to play. The only comfort I have is knowing that these workouts may prevent me from finishing after race have deconstructed the finish line the marathon with a less than ideal time. Yikes.

r & r

I knew that the 20+ week training plan would be foiled at some point and last week was that week. Life interfered with my training plan and I had a bit of a break. I just assumed I’d be sidelined for a while because I sprained my ankle while stretching or something (it happened before… yoga circa 2002). And so there I was with a nine day hiatus from pounding pavement.

As luxurious as my mini-break sounds, I was bummed because my scheduled long run was in the double digits, the first time this training plan. When I finally mustered up the energy to lace up my kicks it was for a local 5K with 549 participants and the route lined with spectators. No pressure.  Much to my surprise, my legs felt great and I was able to keep up reasonably well. The first mile was annoying, but once I stopped whining about it in my head worked my way around the crowd and was able to settle into a comfortable pace it was great. I ended up finishing 21 seconds over my 5K PR.

And now the best part:  a peanut butter and jelly (or as my Gram would call it, "peanut butter and jel") sandwich station. Yep. After the finish a table of snacks greeted you. You could find the usual suspects; water, bananas, oranges, granola bars (gross)…but beyond the monotony of typical post race snacks was the best idea ever. A table with a few kinds of bread (sliced in half), various peanut butters, an impressive array of jellies and jams in multiple flavors and a whole lot of plastic knifes – genius! Why doesn’t every race offer this?? Regardless of time, it’s clear we were all winners at the snack stand.

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