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Taking the steps

Taking the steps

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I’ve done a decent amount of racing post-Eugene, with the 5k, Ragnar, and the 15k, yet I’ve been finally antsy lately about my Chicago and NYC training. In my distorted view of the running community, it seems like *everyone* I follow on Twitter or dailymile is talking about their training for either race, which makes me nervous because I haven’t started training yet, because I’m planning to do a 12-week program, but then because all these other people are talking about their training RIGHT NOW, it makes me nervous, and then I start to reconsider my plans…

and then I calm the fuck down.

Or try to, anyway.

And trust myself that I know what I’m doing.

In an effort to hold myself over (read: maintain some sanity) and not let this pre-training taper, if you will, send me climbing the walls for the next three-four weeks, I’ve put together a basic-yet-structured “maintenance plan” that I’ve begun this week. The only real noticeable difference between these next few weeks’ running and what I’ve already been doing is:

a) I’m reintroducing speedwork for the first time since Eugene, and

b) my weekend long runs will alternate between 2 and 2.5 hours. The distance matters less to me right now than the time on my feet, though really, I’m not totally wed to anything right now. I will definitely do everything I can to get back into this type of zone, just so I’m ready to go in a few more weeks, but if not, it’s definitely not the end of the world. The fitness is there; I just have to believe myself (and my training partners, who know a lot, who tell me so).

I’m planning to continue to strive for my strength and core week thrice weekly, each, over the next four weeks, and then I’ll reassess come “official training” time. Otherwise, not much is new in my running these days; I’m just putting my head down and (slowly) beginning to focus.

I also had the pleasure of clocking in some healthy mileage on Sunday, thanks to a solo 10k I did prior to pacing Stacey for 11 miles of her (very hot and steamy and humid) half marathon. Being on my feet for 17+ miles in some good, ol’ fashioned Chicago heat and humidity I think hazed me back into summer running. (Sidenote: I will NEVER understand people who dislike winter running and prefer this nonsense over the sub-30 temps. NEVER!) A few added bonuses from Sunday’s running included meeting Molly, a member of Fellow Flowers, mid-race while pacing Stacey, and Molly kicks serious ass because not only was she haulin’ it on a nasty hot day, but she also JUST FINISHED CANCER TREATMENTS (as a young 30 year-old, no less), was on track for a sub-2 half… and did I mention she had just finished cancer treatments?

Pretty sure I teared up when Molly overheard Stacey and me talking about Stacey’s friend undergoing treatments, and she (Molly) turned around and said, “cancer treatments? Yeah, I just finished mine, too!” like it was just something else she did recently, like her laundry.

Talk about a moving (and humbling) experience.

While waiting for Stacey post-race, I also got to meet Jenny and Hillary, more excellent and speedtastic Chicago running bloggers, who had raced the 5k that morning. I saw them both (and even got a shout-out from Hillary mid-race) at their half marathon on the north side, through my stomping grounds, back in the winter, but we hadn’t gotten a chance to meet or chat in real life, like normal people, since then. Interestingly, I think every person I’ve met from Twitter (and/or dailymile) since I joined in January has been a really fast runner.

Anyway, things might be quiet-ish around here for the next few weeks. You might have noticed the shiny new badge to the right, announcing that I’m an ambassador for an all-women’s 10k in late July here in the city. That’ll be my last official/chip-timed race pre-Chicago & NYC, since the WTTW 5k is more a fun run than anything (and a chance for the little one to meet the Sesame Street gang again this year).

I’m thinking of this interlude right now like how I approach getting ready for a big test; I usually can’t just sit down and study for hours on end. Instead, I have to make sure my room is clean (or clean enough), put out some beverages and/or food so I don’t have an excuse to leave the immediate area, and only then, once I’ve taken all these little steps, can I finally begin to sit down and focus.

Establishing the strength and core habits, in addition to reintroducing some speed and long runs, before I really “sit down” and focus on my training, I guess is my way of doing the necessary pre-studying before it’s really time to.

One of the more impressionable quotes Runner’s World sent me came from Mia Hamm, the professional soccer player. As soon as I read this quote, I knew it would become a new training mantra for this fall cycle. I’ve committed it to memory already, so I can start dropping it to myself in the throes of some ass-kicking speedwork.

I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel.

At just the right moment, I light the match.

What are your pre-training “habits” that help focus you for when your “official” training begins? Am I the only one who does these?

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Comments 7 comments

Alright, let’s be honest: I’m still floored (and floating) about Eugene. Words can’t adequately describe how special (aww) you all made me feel during my training and particularly on race day (and since!) with all the shout-outs, words of encouragement along the way, and general awesomeness. So thank you. Thank you very much. 🙂

I’ve been thinking a lot about my running since Eugene, for all the obvious reasons, but also because I think it’s imperative to reflect on experiences of any kind in an effort to figure out how to replicate outcomes, avoid ill consequences, or in general, just to improve.

(I’m hearing my professorial side coming out here… these are the same lines I feed tell my students to think about when they think about their writing and why they write how they do. Weird…)

I think a lot of things came together in my favor on race day, some of which I had absolutely no control over (helllllllo, perfect running weather!), but some that I did and that would behoove me to consider doing again. On the flip side, there are some things that I should consider doing differently, so I’ll break everything down accordingly… call this “Erin talking to herself” (isn’t this what this platform is for in the first place?), but definitely chime in with your vast runnerly wisdom and experiences.

Oh, and here’s some Eugene Marathon on-the-run race pics action.

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What’s worth replicating:

  • training. This might be obvious to most, but to be a better runner, you have to run more (notwithstanding pre-existing conditions that might preclude you from doing a ton of mileage, that is). This cycle was the first that I had used a Pfitzinger Advanced Marathoning plan, and it was a good fit for me. I don’t think I’d want to jump up to 70 miles/week, but having mid-week “moderate distance” runs of 10-14 miles, in addition to the weekend long long runs, helped my endurance tremendously… and the speed work was a whole different animal for me this time around (and coming from someone who loves speed work, this is saying something). I’m glad I found this plan.
  • ancillary work. I quit CrossFit in February in part because of how ridiculously expensive it was but also so I could devote more of my “exercise hours” on activities that would directly, unquestionably, improve my running. I tried to maintain some degree of strength and core work by doing at-home and bodyweight-based work about 4-5 times total/week, often 2-3 times/week for strength and another 2-3 for core. Though I certainly can’t power clean or throw up (and down) some thrusters like I could a few months ago, I think I still have power and strength where it matters, and this at-home business is definitely a keeper for future training cycles.
  • fueling. At the recommendation of my new friend Dan, from the Houston Marathon, I trained with AccelGel and used it during Eugene. As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t want to drink/consume the stuff as I do water, but it’s palatable, and it agrees with my body. In time, I will probably move toward a vegan product, but since I haven’t fully committed to veganism yet, I’ll keep using it. It jibes with my “strict vegetarian/almost vegan” get-up. 🙂
  • accountability. I haven’t suffered from not doing the running that I should be doing because of a lack of motivation, but it really has been kinda cool to see other runners’ running- and training-related commentary on twitter, dailymile, and RYBQ over the past few months. An added bonus is that I get to meet other people who are the same type of crazy as me 🙂

Let’s improve:

  • pacing. I did very few of my long runs (or even shorter runs, for the matter) at my strict, projected MP. Thus, while I knew what a 7:40, 7:49, or 7:55 felt like, and knew that it was comfortable, I never really knew what a true, flat 8 felt like. I was aware of this and knew that I “kinda” knew what an 8 felt like, so I just broke the race up into parts, as most runners do, and focused on running as close to a 1:45 half as possible. I was a bit nervous to be -2 at the halfway mark, fearing that that would surely promise a crash-and-burn later in the race, and how I pulled a 6+-minute negative split is still beyond me. For my future marathon training cycles, I want to run many more runs, of varying distances, at my legit MP, for both the physiological and psychological benefits. Moreover, that I could pull a 6+ minute negative split in a marathon makes me wonder about if I did the first half too slowly… I’ll revisit this later.
  • stretching. I stretch when I think about it, which isn’t very often, except for the maybe 2 minutes immediately before I leave (hop on a foam roller) and when I return (stretch my calves on the stairs leading up to my condo… and then hop on a foam roller, maybe, once I’m in the door). Likewise, I never did any dynamic stretching before any of my long runs (except once, on a 21 with Mort, at his suggestion), even though I know it’s a wise use of my time. I plan to be more mindful of that going into this next cycle. I can spare 3 minutes.
  • sleeping. Even though I’m a SAHM these days and not needing to bust out at 6am to get to the office, I know I’m not sleeping as much as I should be, because A awakens me in the middle of the night or early morning hours, I’m staying up late finishing stuff I didn’t do during the daytime, or because I’m just wasting time online doing nothing important. I usually prioritized sleep on the days where I had a big run coming up, like a mid-week moderate distance run or some speedwork, but I could be better about it. I should consider a “no technology after ___” type of rule. How do you prioritize your sleep, particularly for my readers with kiddos?
  • strength work. I want to get stronger. Though I don’t necessarily miss CF, I do miss being as strong as I was, because I think that helped keep me healthy/injury-free and helped me as a runner. I don’t need super huge biceps or anything like that, but I do want to be more diligent about my strength work and aim for 3 times/weekly for this next cycle instead of 2.

What comes next:

  • marathon goals. I’m at a loss here, and I’m telling myself that I’m not going to really think about it until early July, when I start marathon training again officially. As you might recall, the plan was to do 3:30, maybe a 3:27, in Eugene, if the stars aligned, and then train for a 3:25 in Chicago, and just “play” in NYC. I don’t know what to do now. All three times I’ve run Chicago, I’ve run poorly–likely due to hot weather or pregnancy (or both, as was the case in ’10!)–so part of me feels like I’d be happy to just go sub-4 here for the first time. A bigger part of me thinks that’s totally unacceptable and that I should see what I can do with this 3:20 fitness I have right now… and as for NYC, if I have no idea about Chicago, I have even less of an idea about NYC. (I am leaning toward just making the big apple a “play” race though).
  • races. I have a healthy mix of racing coming up: a 5k in Ohio on Memorial Day, the Madison-Chicago Ragnar Relay in early June, and the Espirit de She 10k inaugural event in Chicago in July (this one for which I’m an ambassador… once I have more info, I’ll let you know. It looks kinda cool). I want to clock a sub-20 5k this year and whittle down more time on my 10k that I posted in January, but we’ll see. I’m cautiously optimistic I can do both, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
  • reading. I have so many running, racing, vegetarianism, and veganism books I want to read to glean what else I should be considering in my training. I think I need to tell my toddler boss I need to take a sabbatical…
  • coaching? Should I be hiring a coach or just continue to rely on my training partners for their collective and very good advice? Would it be worth the investment?

Lots going on in this post for sure, but reach out. I’d love to hear your commentary on this stuff.

What do you think about after each race you run? How do you figure out where to go “from here,” and what do you do to keep the momentum and excitement going? Do I need to stop being all reflective and professorial and just enjoy things a while longer?