Browsed by
Tag: 2013

It’s a-callin…

It’s a-callin…

And here we are, in April, which means only one thing: race month.

Looking forward to our date on 4/28! (and how nice that that also rhymes....)
Looking forward to our date on 4/28! (and how nice that that also rhymes….)

!!!!

When we last chatted, I had just run a strong 21-miler at the Arboretum with Mort, and I had about a month and change left til Eugene. Now, as the weekend approaches, I’ve got my third and final 20(+) miler of the training cycle, as well as the world’s largest 8k race the following day, and then will slowly and gradually start to taper off the long distances each Saturday morning from here til 4/28. (Sidenote: the only real goal for Sunday’s 8k is to be faster than last year’s 36:51, which I did after having my second sinus infection in four weeks, not running for five consecutive days because of it, and running 20 miles the day before in an obviously sub-par state. If I can’t post sub-36:51, I’ll be irked).

If you follow me on twitter and/or dailymile, it’s redundant of me to say in this space how cautiously optimistic and borderline thrilled I am that my training seems to be clicking these days. Last weekend’s 18 miler, back out at the Arboretum, except this time around, with David and a bunch of his friends from the Evanston Running Club, went exceedingly well, with a 7:36 average and two of my last 6 at a 7:01. David needed to run a 7:49 average for his 13 miler, and I thought that was a tall order–since that’s faster than my projected Eugene MP–but we stuck together and flew through it on the Arboretum’s hills.

Running with a bunch of dudes; the other two ladies were doing their own things. Apparently, you can also tell I don't exactly *belong* here :)
Running with a bunch of dudes; the other two ladies were doing their own things. Apparently, you can also tell I don’t exactly *belong* here 🙂

Aside from these past couple strong long runs, my speed stuff of late has been surprising me as well: 8x800s a couple weeks ago, ranging between a 3:04-3:23, and just a couple days ago, 4 sub-7 mile repeats embedded into a 10 miler.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not listing all my training “accomplishments” to boast or anything like that–but I think what has helped things to “click” from the beginning of this training cycle has been my balls-out effort to convince myself here *points to forehead* and here *points to heart* that I am totally capable of going sub-3:30 in 24 days (wow… hello, wave of anxiety).

I would be lying if I told you that I haven’t been talking to myself–yup, out loud and everything–on some of my hard workouts in the past few weeks.

You’ve probably seen it just as much as I have, all this literature about sports psychology, flexing your mental muscle, overcoming your fears, chasing your A goal, all different sorts of “you can do it! just believe in yourself!” new age-y, self-help, ultra-motivational diatribes out there; hell, I linked to a bunch of resources about this very topic just a couple months ago!

While I think there is definitely some degree of “yeah, but…” that inevitably comes with folks believing that they should go after their ultimate race goal (namely: how has your training been… for starters, have you been training? any nagging injuries? and your diet, how have you been fueling your machine?), I think I am slowly but surely coming to the realization that, barring absolute catastrophe (read: hurricanes and superstorms, GI malfunctions), there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to finally realize my dream of entering club sub-3:30 in 24 days.

Nobody else is putting this pressure on me but me, myself, and I, and truthfully, I’ve started and stopped writing this post repeatedly–and have even considered deleting it–because the vulnerability of putting myself and my goal OUT THERE like this is just… well, it’s fucking scary. Heebee-jeebee inducing.

However, I need to.

I’ve got nothing to fear about this goal any more.

I’ve burned my boat.

I’m doing the work–the training, the speed, the strength, the core stuff–and the important ancillary stuff–sleeping and fueling effectively–so the only person (or thing?) weighing me down from *not* realizing my goal, at this point, is me.

Weeks 1-2 were my last taper week and then race week for Houston. Weeks 3-on have been recovery and Eugene training, and I just closed out March with 230 miles for the month, with several 50+ mpw--highest volume EVER for me... and still loving it!

Weeks 1-2 were my last taper week and then race week for Houston. Weeks 3-on have been recovery and Eugene training, and I just closed out March with 230 miles for the month, with several 50+ mpw–highest volume EVER for me.

So… here we are.

Twenty-four more days to wrap my head around my goal, to continue to train as well (read: effectively and intelligently) as I can, and perhaps most importantly, to continue to train… uh, my head (?), that FDR must have been a closet marathoner, talking about realizing our race goals, when he said that we had nothing to fear but fear itself.

I should buy this. Thank you, http://bit.ly/ZCgx9v :)
I should buy this. Thank you, http://bit.ly/ZCgx9v 🙂

 

A month and change

A month and change

Kinda wild to believe that Eugene is just about four weeks out now–a month from Thursday, as a matter of fact–when it wasn’t *that* long ago that I ran Houston and was subsequently waffling in my decision about which training plan to use for sub-3:30 attempt #2.

My training has been going well, which is giving me an incredible confidence boost, and I feel like I’m making progress where I ought to be. The Pfitz plan has me topping out around 55 mpw, and this week closed out my peak week: with a 12 mile tempo run (with 7 at half marathon race pace… holy hell) and a 21 miler on hills on Saturday (wherein my buddy, Mort, and I did the last 5k descending from an 8:15 down to a 7:15 pace).

post 21 hilly miles with Mort. I insist on getting pics after long runs, ha.
post 21 hilly miles with Mort. I insist on getting pics after long runs, ha.

I hit about 56 miles this week, which is tied (I believe) with two weeks ago as being my highest-volume-week ever… not that I’m necessarily a numbers gal, but that’s pretty cool.

My sleeping almost 11 hours today (7 hours overnight plus two, two-hour naps) is probably indicative of the aforementioned “peak week” concluding 🙂

Though it’s still too early to say, since I have a good month of training left, so far I feel pretty happy with the Pfitz training plan. I’ve followed it pretty closely, with the exception of using the long run mileage from the up to 75 mpw plan instead (since I was coming right off Houston training, I already had the base). The speedwork is tough as nails–let’s call it “humbling,” ha–but I know it’s making me a stronger runner. Doing what Pfitz calls “medium long runs” between 10-12 miles during the week, in addition to the weekend’s long run, has also taken some getting used to–those “medium” runs necessitate a 4:45am wake-up–but like the speedwork, I know they’re making me stronger and helping my endurance.

…at least, this is what I’m telling myself.

Anyway, as Eugene inches its way nearer and nearer every day on my calendar and training program, I’ve been thinking about my goals there with more intentionality and focus. It’s no secret that I want to shoot for (sub) 3:30, but I haven’t really decided on a time yet… and I’m thinking I probably won’t for a few more weeks still.

What has thrown me for a loop, in this regard, is that Eugene has pacers at 3:25 and at 3:35, but nothing at 3:30, which is where I was planning to set myself up for most of the race (barring catastrophe). I’ve had mixed experiences with pacers, as have many of my running friends whose expertise and experience I trust, so while I would be absolutely *floored* to run a 3:25 this spring, blindly entrusting my running–and a 3:25 might be a stretch for me right now–to a stranger just makes me downright nervous.

We’ll see.

It’s not a decision I need to make right now; if nothing else, it’s just something else to think about as part of my racing strategy.

In the week to come, I’ll be heading back out to the Morton Arboretum where I ran my hilly 21-miler, but this time, “only” 17, and with my friend, David. Coincidentally, I met both Mort and David when we were all training for Boston ’09. Two weekends from now I’ll have my final 20 on Saturday and then an 8k, the Shamrock Shuffle, on Sunday, so like with my Eugene goals, I’ve gotta figure out how I want to swing a 20 mile training run the day before an 8k that I want to race.

Decisions, decisions…

Otherwise, all is well. Fortunately, the appetite that seemed to have disappeared for a couple weeks came back–and with a vengeance–in the past week, and I think the ancillary RYBQ/StrengthRunning bodyweight strength and core stuff has also been improving my game since I have now graduated to being able to do 3 sets of the Standard Core, at :60/exercise, without dying (hooray!).

I guess no news is good news on the blog front; things seem to be clicking, and I’m going right along.

I’ll leave you with an image and a video that C was finally able to capture of A today. I’ve been leaving my foam roller out with her toys, so I remember to use it, and of course, that means that it has become fair game for her to play with, on, under, over, [insert preposition here].

Rollin with my homegirl
Rollin with my homegirl

Suffice it to say that for an almost-two year-old, her IT bands, quads, hamstrings, and glutes have got to be in incredible shape.

What say you? Have you figured out your goals for your target spring race(s)? How’s your training?