Marathoning and Indulgence

So Houston came and gone and so did my final chance to make the Olympic Trials.  I was overwhelmed by the support leading up to the race and really was feeling confident that I could do it.  I came down with a cold a week before and wasn't able to kick it before the race.  Luckily, it wasn't in my chest, just my sinuses, but it made it hard to sleep at night.  I flew into Houston Friday afternoon and got settled in before picking up my packet and going for a shake out run.  I had dinner at a tiny Italian restaurant that night and then hit up CVS.  No more Advil Cold and Sinus was allowed in my system (its on the band substance list), I relied on nasal strips and netty pot.  I barely slept Friday night, I was up constantly blowing my nose.  Saturday I went back to CVS and picked up vick's vapor rub, which I lathered on my nose so I could breathe.  I met up with a friend from high school (we were soccer buddies) who was in town for the race as well.  We got lunch and caught up, which was a nice race distraction.  I ate my normal pre-race pasta and shrimp that night before heading to bed early.

Sunday, January 17th

Marathon Morning.  It was a great day.  There was some light wind, but the temperature was perfect.  As we lined up, we found out there would be a 2:45 pacer.  This was awesome.  They went out a little hard the first mile and I let them go, which was fine since I caught up with them shortly once they settled down.  Around mile 10 I wanted to go, I was feeling so good.  The pacer kept me in check--we are still early, we're jogging, wait until later.  He was right.  It felt easy, like I was jogging, running with the group.  There wasn't another group to catch ahead of me, I'd be running the next 16 miles alone.  I held off.  Around 13 I wanted to go again, it's still early.  Alright, I thought, I'll hang until 20.  Then our mile splits were off.  We thought we had lost some signal as we went through some underpasses, however we indeed slowed down and didn't realize it until a few miles later.  I started to pick it up around 17, then the pacer completely disappeared at 18.  I got through mile 20 with a few other girls.  I saw the 20 mile split and was heartbroken, it was the same split time as mile 20 at CIM.  I felt so much better this race, I thought I was better paced, however, I didn't think I was going to hold those 6:15's the last 10k.  This part of the race was mentally and emotionally hard for me, maybe I decided too quickly it was done, I will never know.  I finished the race in 2:46 and my friend Lisa found me right away.  I was glad she was there to do the normal post-race things with and to distract me from what just happened.  In a way, I was relieved I wasn't running another marathon in 4 weeks.  I walked around for awhile before taking a long shower and heading to the airport.  A long flight awaited me and work the next morning.

Monday, January 18th

Before and after the marathon I was overwhelmed by the support and OK with the fact I wasn't going to be running the trials.  Now add in fatigue, post-marathon depression and work the next morning and a disaster was about to happen.  I was on no sleep, still sick with a cold, stuck in the OR, standing on my tired legs operating and without caffeine so the inevitable was about to happen.  I started balling.  I needed to get away so I walked to get coffee when I ran into someone I knew from running, who had been very supportive.  It was then when I saw her I felt like I had let everyone down.  And there, in the middle of the hospital, I started balling again.  I won't lie, the next couple days were ugly.  I was upset, I felt like I let people down and I had failed.  I thought about everything I had given up the past 2 years to try to reach this goal, for what?  What I needed was a vacation from running, and that's exactly what I had planned.

Saturday, January 23rd & Sunday, January 24th

Winter storm Jonas had flights canceled, but I wasn't going to be one of them!  I got to the airport at 5:00 am to get an earlier flight out of Albany.  I had recently decided 1 week after my marathon I was going to run a half marathon before getting on a cruise ship.  Now, this is not something I recommend, I had never done a race after a marathon like this, but I was in the elite field and for some reason, just felt like I wanted to do it.  I'm glad I did.  The morning of the marathon/half marathon was like a dance party at the start line.  Music was pumping and people were dancing.  We were in Miami!  It was dark, the race started at 6:00 am, and there were NO expectations whatsoever.  I didn't even have to finish if I didn't want to.  I went out the first mile in 6:10.  I continued to run hard, but comfortably and started to enjoy the race.  The amount of support that early in the morning was surprising and awesome.  The moon was awesome, the sunrise was awesome-- these are things I NEVER notice when I am racing.  When we hit a really bad patch of wind, I decided to have a conversation with someone since we were running slower, something else I hardly do during a race.  It was great.  I finished in 1:22:06, far off my best time or what I am capable of running, but I was a week post-marathon and didn't think I'd be able to do it and had a lot of fun running it.  I was happy.

I went on the cruise that week and had a blast.  I ate a lot, I drank a lot and I didn't run.  It was exactly what I needed.  I came home to a package from Pearl Izumi, who gave me some sponsorship this year, and I was looking forward to starting some easy running.  I ran the Joe Benny run this morning and enjoyed catching up with some ARE folks.

2016
The plans and goals are there, but this entry is to be continued...

Final Chance

January 10th, 2016

So it's the new year and for the first time I didn't reach all my goals in 2015.  I ran PR's in the 5k, 10k and half marathon, but not the marathon, which I really was aiming for.  

I am now 1 week away from the final chance I have to run an Olympic trials qualifying time in the marathon.  I've been thinking a lot about how to cut off the 45 seconds I need to make the time at Houston.  The majority of this needs to happen during the final miles of the race, easier said than done.  I wish my friends and family would be there during these tough miles, but they won't, it's too far and they're saving the trip for LA (hopefully!). I'm in this alone, me, my legs and my head.  And with that I need to remember the things that motivate me during these tough miles.  One would think its all the supportive people I have amongst the running community, friends and family.  Although this is true, believe it or not, the jealous, demeaning individuals get me fired up just as much to run fast during these miles. So thank you!  🙂. Jordan Hasay said it best "Whoever is trying to bring you down is already below you."

This short training cycle since CIM has gone a lot better than I thought.  I recovered quickly and had several good workouts.  Last week I peaked at 77 miles (ran a half marathon at MGP with 85 miles under my legs that day for the past 7 days), and ran my fastest mile repeats to date this past Wednesday.  I was pretty stoked when I ran my previously fastest repeats in August (6 X 1 mile, 2 min rest) and thought my legs would not have that speed being post marathon this time around.  However they were 1.3 seconds faster on average!  2 days later I did a progression run closing in 6:06.  I'm ready.  I need to stay healthy this week.  I felt a little sick today, scratchy throat, so I've been downing the EmergenC, Zicam and MV, as well as the fluids.  Fingers crossed this is gone tomorrow.  

18 miler for the day with 13+ @ MGP

Long run/workout 2 weeks ago, alternating MGP/faster and 6:45'ish

Rebuilding. Racing. Survival.

Rebuilding.

My knee took me out a month from 9/12 through Hartford.  I got on the line because I couldn't handle the uncertainty of what if.  What if the adrenaline took over my pain threshold, what if running fast made it not hurt, so on.  I got to mile 5.5 of the race before feeling my knee (+1 mile warmup).  It was done, I was done.  I was angry.  I emailed one of the local sports docs that day to get in for an appointment and MRI.  I had been doing PT, taking NSAIDs, gone gluten free to avoid any additional inflammation, I was doing it all. Below is one of many gluten free meals, the black pasta is quinoa and black bean pasta, 12 grams of protein per serving!!!

The next morning I went out for 9 miles and out of nowhere I had no pain.  We progressed cautiously over the next couple weeks, but I was finally getting somewhere.  I had my first long run again, 15 miles and felt my pain at mile 8.  After stopping on the side of the road to do my PT exercises and stretching, I was able to finish without any further pain.  

Ending a PT session with stim and heat

So now here I was able to run again toward the end of October.  I had 5 weeks to build up for CIM and a week taper.  I got my feet wet by running Stockadeathon 11/8.  Although I finished place wise exactly where I wanted going into the race, my time was not stellar.  I had run 55:20 and 55:30 for my 15k splits of my last 2 half marathons, so running 56:10 wasn't great, BUT it was a step in the right direction and it is a tougher corse.  I managed 19 for the day, with no pain.

10 days before CIM was the Troy Turkey Trot.  I had been ready to run sub 36 for awhile now, but given that it was only 10 days out from the marathon, coach Mike instructed me not to run faster than 5:50 pace, or 36:15.  The clocks were off on the course, but my first 3 miles on my watch were all within 1 second of each other at 5:48, 5:48 and 5:47.  Close to 5:50!  I slowed down the next 3 miles, yet ran those consistently as well, finishing in 36:18 for 1st place, exactly where Mike wanted me.  

Then it was time for CIM. 

 

Racing

On Friday, December 4th, I drove to Newark, NJ to fly out to Sacramento.  I got into Sacramento around 2:30 that afternoon and took an uber to my hotel.  I went for a 3 mile shakeout run, then went to the elite suite to get my bib.  I then met Jaime across the street at the expo, before going to get dinner.

I didn't sleep as well I would have liked Friday night and thought for sure I'd nap Saturday, however I couldn't sleep yet again.  I dropped my water bottles off Saturday then spent the day resting.  I went to bed early in preparation for the next day.

December 6th, 2015

California international marathon.

Weather at the start was perfect.  About 46 degrees and light rain.  As soon as the gun went off I searched for the large group of ladies I had planned on running with.  We went through the first mile around 6:09 and quickly settled into the 6:11/12 pace right after.  The first water stop, I didn't place a bottle.  Too much effort for mile 3.  However at the next stop, I knew I need my bottle and after missing it, ran back for it before sprinting back to catch the girl I had been running with.  Stressful!!!  The next stop I grabbed what I thought was my bottle to find out it wasn't mine.  The rain picked up around the 10k and it felt slick.  I felt like with every stride I was loosing ground and had to work harder.  Mile 10 was fast, 6:05, but we settled down again and went through the half in 1:21:11.  I felt good, but it wasn't as easy as I had hoped.  The hills were almost over and I was just looking forward to mile 16 where things would flatten out. However it was around mile 14 when I felt a pain in my knee.  It wasn't terrible, but all I could think of was the knee pain I had back in September that progressively worsened with each mile until I couldn't take another step.  This wasn't good mentally.  Okay, slow down so in order to make it to mile 20 where I'll then drop out, I thought to myself.  And I did.  Mile 18 was my slowest mile of the race.  I reached mile 20 only to reevaluate and realize my knee pain hadn't progressed like I had anticipated.  Damn it!  I then threw in a little surge for the next 3 miles running 6:22-24's again vs the 6:43 I had just run.  The last 3 miles weren't terrible, but I did gain 22 seconds I didn't want.  I finished 2:46:38.  Not what I wanted, but not terrible considering where I was mentally with a good 11-12 miles left to go.  Had I not worried my knee was going to start really hurting would I have remained calm and held my pace?  That's what sucks about an injury, you get so nervous about going through it again the minute you feel something you panic, and I did.  

I walked a lot (~3 miles) after the race, which was good.  I had a flight that night and it always helps with recovery.  My stomach wasn't hurting, but I couldn't think of food, but knew I needed something.  Finally I thought of ice cream which actually sounded appetizing!  

I flew back that night, landed in Newark at 5:30 am Monday morning.  I drove back to my parents to get Mia and take a power nap before driving home and resting up for a late night out.  Dinner at 677 followed by the bar, I was exhausted and drowned my sorrows for sure.

Survival.

When I was coming back from my knee injury I decided to enter the subelite field at Houston.  After CIM I was on the fence, leaning towards no, about taking another shot at the OTQ.  Then 5 days after CIM USATF announced they changed the standard to 2:45, yes, 2 months out from the trials, with only a little over a month left to qualify.  How could they do this now?!!!  What a difference pacing would have made had we known we had an extra 2 minutes.  Mentally, how much more confident would I had been, a lot!  It's beyond frustrating.  And although I'm now only 45 seconds from the standard, I can't help but feel even worse for the women that ran 5-6-7 seconds over the "new" standard completely unknowing in 5 days it would ruin them.  So, here I am now with a ticket booked for Houston.  I ran 10 miles at 6:55 pace easily today.  Tomorrow and the next few runs I'll shoot for 8:30 pace to ensure I recover.  I have 5 weeks to be ready.  I've done this before, a few times.  In 2011 I ran 2 marathons 4 weeks apart and ran 4+ minutes faster the second one, then later that fall I ran 3:12 and 6 weeks later ran 3:08.  In 2013 I dropped out of MHM at mile 20, 8 weeks later I ran a 9 minute 40 second marathon PR.  

I'm now in survival mode.

  

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."

October 3rd, 2015-  The Unknown.

It's all unknown at this point.  3 weeks ago I had a solid 22 miler, finishing up at MGP, in preparation for running an OTQ time at Hartford Marathon next weekend.  Everything was going as planned, PR's, mileage, etc. However what I hadn't planned was getting runner's knee and changing my marathon training the last 3 weeks.

2 years ago I decided that I was going to go after the OTQ in 2015 (I am a planner for those that don't know).   I plan everything, including how I was going to make the OTQ.  In the fall of 2013 my goal was to get down to 10 minutes within the OTQ (2:53), which I successfully did when I ran a 2:50:01. In the spring of 2014 my goal was to get my half marathon time down below 80 minutes, which I did again when I ran 1:18:28.  My goal in fall of 2014 was to run a 2:45 at the Hartford Marathon, which I did yet again.  2015-OTQ.  I had been running great and my training cycle was going perfectly until 3 weeks ago.  I had given up so much the past 2 years to focus on my training, only to now be injured.  It's like a bad dream.

I've been in and out of multiple PT offices, have undergone graston, massage, ultrasound/stim, heat, ice, so many pool sessions, the bike, the alter G treadmill, cortisone injection, and lowered my mileage significantly.  To say I would have done anything to get to and through Hartford healthy is an understatement.  But the reality is here.  Yes, I have less pain when I run and can run farther than I could 1 and 2 weeks ago, but a marathon is still 26.2 miles and that is a long way.  Am I confident I will be better soon, yes.  I have been through this injury several times in the past-- high school, college, and 2 years ago after I ran 2:50.  But now what?

As of now my plan is to be on the start line at Hartford crossing every finger and toe and praying to make it through to the finish line.  If I feel the pain at mile 20+, I know I can finish.  If I have pain before this is another story.  I will pull out.  I have Philadelphia and CIM as my backups, which are more likely than not.  This is not the story I wanted, but you don't always get what you want, that I know.  So here is to the unknown, the perseverance.  It will happen, I just don't know when.

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."

1812 Half Marathon and then some....

August 30th, 2015

Watertown, NY- Saturday afternoon I picked up my race packet before driving the course backwards back to my hotel.  I noticed there would be no shade, a hill around mile 11 and 2, a few turns, mostly flat with some very gradual downhills.  I found my typical pre-race shrimp and pasta dinner at the Olive Garden across from the hotel and got into bed early.  The next morning I had some trouble getting up and ate my breakfast later than normal before racing.  This didn't feel so good during my warm up!  The temperature was great, 60 degrees, however the humidity was close to 100%.  As the race started I really didn't feel like "racing" and wasn't sure if I was just going to try to get the win or what.

Mile 2 was slow and I wasn't sure this was going to be my day.  The course got pretty empty and I could only see 2 guys ahead from miles 3-9.  Around mile 6, I started to race a little more.  I eventually caught the one guy just after mile 9 and the other guy around mile 11.  I knew during this second half I was feeling good and could go after a PR.  The last few miles I worked hard and kept the same average pace I had been running for the entire race, although the last couple miles were a little tricky.  The race has an 18 mile option and a lot of that race adds on at the end of the half course, so there were multiple turns where the half went one way and the 18 miler went another.  As it was starting to get close to the finish, I knew I would be close to breaking 1:18, a barrier that I had my eyes set on.  I started thinking why I had to go for it.  Achieving a 1:17 half is something NO ONE could take away from me.  I didn't really care to run another 1:18, I already knew I could do that.  I had been dealing with an unexpected event recently and it made me realize that people can come in and out of your life whenever they want.  I wanted something solid.  Something that was mine that no one could take away.  That 1:17 was mine.  And that's when I started to pick it up until I crossed the finish line in 1:17:46.  I did it, I ran a 1:17 and will always have that to my name, it can't leave me, it's stuck with me (until I PR again)!  I got the win for the day, second place overall, set a course record and ran a 42 second PR.

I got in 69 miles for that week (a little low because the 2 days before the race), but had a solid workout earlier that Wednesday and XC run Monday (where I apparently set a course record for the race that included the water crossing).  I drove back home and then had a couple days of easy running to recover.

The next week we took fairly easy around 70 again to recover.  At the end of the week I got in 24 miles (on a Friday at 5:00 a.m.) and was so surprised, but absolutely thrilled to have so much company!!!  Hannah, Matt, Jaime, Bryan and Rich all joined for the run, it was great.  What wasn't great was finishing the run, going home to shower, grab my bags, make a quick smoothie and head to the airport all within 30 minutes!  I flew out to California that morning for a wedding and actually felt pretty good during and after the flight.  The next morning was a super short run since we had to meet to get ready at 6:30 a.m. and had the rehearsal dinner the night before, I was exhausted!  The wedding was a ton of fun and I felt good during a 10 mile run the next morning along the ocean.
Sunday evening I flew up to San Francisco and was scheduled to bump back into the 90's that coming week.  I had a workout Monday which was kind of hard to do, not only because I wasn't in a familiar place, but between the hills, traffic and people it wasn't ideal.  I still managed to get some good miles under my belt during the workout for a total of 15 that day.  Tuesday I doubled and Wednesday I flew home.  I did 10 miles around SUNY in the dark late Wednesday night, but it was okay because I was finally on California time. :)

Dinner in Sonoma, so good!

Thursday I had an awesome workout and felt great.  Friday, I ran with a friend and then did some foot and bounding exercises after with him.  Saturday  I had a 22 miler with progression at the end.  During my progression, my right knee started to bother me, then it was sharp pain.  I managed to finish the 22 miles where I needed to get pace wise, but it hurt.  Sunday, I was hoping that knee pain would be a feeling of the past, however, it wasn't  I felt it again.  I took Monday off and tried again Tuesday, at mile 5 there is was.  I tried Wednesday, same thing.  I clearly freaked out on Sunday and had already been on the phone with my friend Craig who is a PT in Colorado that took care of my runner's knee the last time this happened almost 2 years ago.  I had a massage scheduled and PT here in Albany.  I decided to aquajog on Thursday, rest Friday and try again on Saturday.  This time I stopped before it got bad.  So here I am less than 3 weeks out from Hartford and I am in the absolute best shape of my life with a stupid knee issue that came out of nowhere.  I have felt so great this entire cycle without any issues, other than my foot.  Was it bringing my mileage back up into the 90's when I was out in California, was it getting on the plane after a long run, was it all the walking around in San Fran, was I running funny because my foot (bunion) hurt from the walking, was it the stupid bounding exercises I did, or a combination of everything?  Does it matter, no.  I need to get healthy NOW.  I know I am in sub 2:43 shape and as long as I get to that start line 100% healthy I will do it.  Nothing now really matters as far as workouts, so I am to rest.  I will not run tomorrow, but meet Emily in the pool to aquajog (thank you, Emily!), nor will I run Tuesday.  Wednesday will most likely be a test run.

 Fingers crossed.

"When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there."

Cigna 5k and mid August

Staying relaxed before the start

Thursday, August 13th, 2015
Cigna 5k
Last Thursday I drove up to Manchester, NH to run the Cigna 5k, at the request of my coach, even though my legs were still tired from racing and a long run over the past weekend.  I lowered my standards a little bit before the race, it was 78 degrees and sunny (although the humidity was mild for New England) and it ended up taking me 3 hours and twenty minutes to get there.  I had run this race several years ago with some guys from Keene and for some reason none of us ran well, despite the fact it is suppose to be a fast course.  I got in 2.5 for a warmup, plus plenty of striders.  The first mile of the course is a very gradual uphill, the second mile starts off downhill and then has a few mild rollers, the third mile is just straight and flat until about 2.85, where you climb a hill up to the 3 mile mark, before kicking it in to the finish line.  The gun went off and I started out behind a few girls, I eventually passed one of the girls from NYC just before the first mile (5:31) and felt good.  My second mile was 5:34+ and I thought at this point I was going to have a huge PR.  Then the third mile came, and added some time.  The open straightaway seemed to go on forever and the sun was beating down during that section pretty good.  When I made the final turn up the hill I passed some people, but I am sure that hill added a good 10 seconds to my time.  I finished in 17:29 for third place, a 4 second PR.

After the race I had a 4 x 3 minute on workout.  I did this solely based off of effort, I didn't even record the pace I was running on my watch, although I'm sure it wasn't any faster than 6:20's.  I stayed for the awards ceremony before heading up to Hanover to stay with my friend Janne for the night.  We got in 8 miles in the morning before I left to come home.  That afternoon I got in another easy 5 miles in the pine bush with Josh.

Sunday, August 16th- Easy 20 miles with Hannah, 12 with Frank, and warmed up with Tom, Scott and Matt.  Nothing special, just needed to get in 20 miles that morning and we did, averaged around 7:05 pace.

Monday, August 17th- The heat has returned!  I woke up and ran several miles in Scotia that morning, took a nap, and then went to the TAW XC run that evening.  I ran fairly easy, although I did push the uphills, to finish first female, 5th overall.  It was 90 degrees, yuck!  That evening I really worked on recovery as I knew I had a hard workout planned for the morning.  Contrast shower, foam rolled, elevated legs and PROTEIN!  Omelets and protein shakes are my easy go to meals when I get home late.

Tuesday, August 18th- 5:00 am wake-up to meet Hannah at Corning Preserve at 6:00.  It was already 74 degrees with 90% humidity.  My workout that morning was 4 x 2 miles, 2 minute rest at 6:00 pace.  We did a 3 mile warmup before starting; the first 2 were 5:56, 6:02- perfect.  The second set, not so much.. 5:45, 5:54, which really hurt me on the third set-6:10, 6:02, and then I closed in 6:09, 5:58.  So overall, the workout panned out to be exactly 6:00 pace, which I was happy with, especially considering the humidity that morning, but it was also the first time in years (?) the second half of my workout was slower than my first half.  Aside from the humidity, the fact I ran the XC race the night before and didn't have any water available after the first set of my workout probably didn't help, but I got the job done.

Wednesday, August 19th- I got 12 miles in this morning (84 minutes) out on some nice country roads, it was actually the Turning Stone half marathon course (where I also won $127 in black jack the night before!).  The sun wasn't out, which was good, but it was still super humid.  I replenished with some eggs, and peanut butter/banana stuffed french toast before going to my massage this afternoon, which KILLED, but needed to be done.  I'm drinking lots of fluids tonight!

I get to run easy doubles the next couple days and hopefully recovery fully before my long run/workout  this weekend.  I start my new job tomorrow and am pretty excited, although I must say the past 2 weeks of no work has been pretty ideal for training.  I wasn't even running a TON, but it allowed me to take multiple ice baths, epsom baths, foam roll and nap, all things which suffer when working full-time.

My love.

"Just remember: to be grateful and thank the people who are there and support you along the way is a great start to success." `M. Davis

Hartford Training, Round 2

New shoes, all ready to race again

 August 12th, 2015

I'm officially 8 weeks into my 16 week training cycle, and I am very thankful I have turned things around.  After London, I was a bit of a mess.  Things weren't clicking, I wasn't on a plan, I was afraid I had lost it.  Finally, the end of June, I started back up with Coach Mike again and my training began (goes to show I am lost without a strict daily schedule).  It took a few weeks to finally start getting back into shape again, but things have been going well this past month.  I got in a visit to Colorado, ran with some friends and of course had my post long run breakfast with Ellie at Snooze!

Long run workouts- My first long run workout was a shorter run (15.6 miles), but 10 miles of alternating MGP and a hard recovery miles, these ended up being around 6:10's and 6:50's, which was good.  The following LR workout was 18 miles, with 2 sets of 4 miles, predicted to be slightly slower than MGP.  These were all faster than scheduled and we closed with a 6:01 mile, with the second set faster than the first.  

Training buddies!

Track- Back on the track!  Last week we had mile repeats, all were faster than any set of mile repeats I've done before.  Other track workouts have been going well too, and I am thankful for Hannah, our newest team member who just moved here, to push me each week!



Bridge of Flowers 10k

2015 BOF

Last weekend was the Bridge of Flowers 10k, which I won last year, so I had the extra pressure of winning again this year (and wearing bib #1, ug!).  The race for those that don't know is not a typical 10k.  The first mile is uphill, the second is rolling and the third is a MONSTER hill.  I'm talking about 2 minutes slower than the rest of your miles easily.  I was nervous before the race, but also confident I could shave some time off of last year's finish, particularly in the first 2 miles.  I went out too conservative last year I think, in preparation for the big hill, but in reality, nothing is going to make that hill easier, you are going to be going slow, so I figured I'd go out a little harder.  Each one of my miles this year were faster than last year's.  My splits were 5:47, 5:52, 7:52, 5:28, 5:55, 5:42, then who knows for the .2!  As you can tell, the hill sucks, but I did get up it about 25 seconds faster than I did last year.  I also improved the 4th mile significantly this year.  Last year my legs were so shot from the uphill, I didn't make up as much as I wanted on the downhill mile.  Overall it was a great day, I ran 37:46 (which was a minute and 3 second course PR for me) and had fun with my teammates.  Our team won overall and took home some cash :)

Patience is a Virtue

This is a good place to be.  Last August I was getting in great shape for Hartford, had some solid long runs, ran a 5K PR and felt good.  Coming off a minute course PR last weekend and knowing where I was last year only makes me feel confident I am in a good position for this fall.  I know I can run a 5k PR right now given the right race, but I have to realize that is not the goal or the plan.  I'm running Cigna tomorrow night, which is not the time or place for me to run a PR despite knowing I could if it were a different day.  After BOF, I ran 18 miles Sunday (part of which was a good effort, handful of sub 7's), and could barely walk down the stairs for a few days.  Today is the first day I feel normal (not sore) again.  The weather is going to be warm.  77 degrees is not ideal for me who prefers 36-45 degrees when racing.  Lastly, it's a 3 hour drive.  It's all fine and I know it will be.  I just have to remind myself to purpose of this race is to practice training on tired legs for the marathon.  There's a bigger picture here and therefore my perfect 5k PR that could be just around the corner if I decided to wait and run next weekend is going to have to wait until some other time.  Patience, something I am working on…

Typical pre-race pasta and shrimp is back!