"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!

The Not so Exciting 2015

Mile 10 at The London Marathon

So it's been awhile since I last posted.  London has come and gone and so has post marathon indulgence, recovery and a mental reset.  Basically I screwed up London.  I felt good, really good.  I kept trying to slow down, but every mile in the first 10k was too fast.  I had 2 sub 6:00 miles at 3 & 4 and went through the 10k in 37:29, more than a minute faster than I wanted.  Despite going through the half close to where I wanted to be (1:20:30), the first 1/4 had done some damage.  I had waves of feeling good and not so good between 13-18, but then I knew it was done.  I stopped racing at mile 20 and finished at an easier pace.  I ran 2:48, not what I wanted.  I had many mixed emotions after this race, no longer caring about the trials, or the marathon in general, to feeling good and knowing had I listened to my race plan I could have ran sub 2:43.  I needed to reset both mentally and physically, I needed to be hungry to train and race again.  It took me 5 weeks to really want to be running again and to start back up.

I can tell you trying to race back in shape isn't the best feeling in the world and can be a huge knock to your confidence.  I ran a few races (3.5 miler and two 5k's) since the marathon which were suppose to be just for "fun", but I'm hard on myself and although they were fun, I always want to be racing faster.  But it is and will be O.K.  It will come, this isn't my peak time right now, I'm at the bottom so I suppose these races could have gone a lot worse.  Winning the Corporate  Challenge (even though I wasn't too happy with my time) was a pretty cool experience and fun.  My next training cycle doesn't start until June 22nd and I'll do everything as usual that I'm scheduled to do to the best of my ability during that time.  

My first real race back into training will be Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile at the end of July.  I'll target Hartford Marathon this fall and go after the sub 2:43.  In the meantime though I've had fun with my teammates and have enjoyed downtime. It's not often I don't feel like running and after the marathon that seemed to be a frequent occurrence, which meant I needed that downtime.  So 2015 has been a funky year for me so far, but at least half the year remains and I'll do everything I can to make it go up from here!

 

4 weeks until London

So, I really don't know what to say about this entire cycle except for the fact that I am training A LOT.  This winter has obviously sucked weather wise, but that hasn't impacted my mileage.  I've been running more miles than ever and my long runs have been solid.  My training is very different from last Spring though when my focus was the half marathon, which makes me feel slightly disappointed in myself today for running 15 seconds slower this year at a 5 mile race compared to last.  BUT here is why and why I HAVE to be okay with it.

The past 2 months:

February 2nd-8th

Total:90

Monday- 8 

Tuesday- 4 am, 10 pm

Wednesday- 3 mile warmup, mile-800 x 3 (the last set I hit some crappy roads/footing so I just called it quits with a mile-400 on the last set.  6:04, 2:50, 5:47, 2:50, 5:56, 1:26, cool down

Thursday- 7 am, 7 pm

Friday- a.m.-4 miles, p.m-3 mile warmup, 35 min tempo, 1 cooldown, 13.75, the full miles on the tempo were 6:15, 6:18, 6:11, 6:04, 6:18, +

Saturday- 19.5, 2:16, second half was a lot faster than the first

Sunday- 7.5 and 2.5

February 9th-15th

Total-85

Monday-8

Tuesday-5 am, 9 pm

Wednesday-3.5 am, 10 pm

20 x400m on 60 second rest

Thursday-5 am, 8 pm

Friday-8

Saturday- 20, 2:15
Sunday- 8.5

February 16th-22nd

Total- 82.5

Monday-10

Tuesday-12.5, got in 2 x 1k, but conditions sucked so I pushed it to wed

Wednesday-12.5 total, 3 warm up, 10 x 1k, 90 rest, averaged 3:23.  The first was my slowest, 3:34, then I had a bunch of 3:20-21, fastest was 3:19, last couple were 3:27, 3:29.  Cool down 

Thursday- 5 am, 9 pm

Friday-am, pm total 10.5

Saturday- 5.25

Sunday-17.75 total- DH Jones 10 miler (61:02), hilly, some slush on the dirt road

February 23rd-March 1st

Total 85

Monday-5

Tuesday-5 am, 8 pm

Wednesday -10

Thurs- 3 mile warmup, 2 x 2 miles (6:12, 6:12, 6:13, 6:28), 1 x 1-6:22, 1x2- (6:09, 6:10), 1 x 1- 6:10.  Cool down.  I had to change it slightly, but I still got in 8 miles of work

Friday-8 am, 6.4 pm

Saturday-21 miles in 2:25

Sunday- 8.5 easy-ish

*All at altitude (Colorado)

March 2nd-March 8th
82 miles total
mid-week 1 mile-800m repeats
Long run workout: Saturday- 16 total (1:45)  w/ 2 x 4 miles close to MGP in the middle. I did a 3 mile recovery in between the 2 sets.  First set: 6:14, 6:17, 6:18, 6:19.  Second set: 6:03, 6:13, 6:12, 6:17. 

March 9th-15th
Taper down to 72 miles for New Bedford, which didn't really happen.  I don't know why, I was only a little off my PR pace at mile 6, but just wasn't feeling it, so I dropped out, which is the first time I did for no reason (such as puking).  This was a huge disappointment and I was upset after with myself.  HOWEVER, the positive spin, I was able to have a good training week after instead of recovering, which maybe was more important for myself given the goal is my marathon.

March 16th-22nd
90 miles
Mid-week turnover workout, fast 20 x 1 minute on with 1 minute off
Saturday- Long run, 24 miles and felt AWESOME
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/726425527


March 23rd-March 29th

83 miles
Mid-week workout: 3 x 3 miles, 3 minute rest (6:12, 6:07, 6:04-- 6:02, 5:59, 6:03-- 6:01, 6:14, 6:01)
Sunday- Delmar dash- 29:13

Okay, so boohoo I ran 15 seconds slower than last year.

Last year:
week of DD- total- 55 miles  vs. this year 83
6 x 1 mile repeat with 2 minute rest  vs. 3 x 3 mile repeats with 3 minute rest
Sure, mile repeats are faster, but there aren't as many, that's more miles, more rest for the miles and about 30 more miles on my legs for the week.

The week prior to DD last year 60 mile week vs. the week prior this year- 90 miles
Oh and wait instead of an easy17 miles for my long run the week before I did 24 in 2:43 (6:49 pace) this yr.

Also, do I need to say it was 22 degrees at the start this year and ice on the course!?  I am so over this winter as I know every other runner in this area is as well.


So 4 more weeks to go until London, the goal race.  One more week and I can start to taper, get my legs fresh and ready to go!  I would love nothing more than to have a great race in London, accomplish my goal and relax with the mileage this spring and summer.  I've been wanting to destroy my 10k PR sometime soon!

Damn Groundhog

January 4th, 2015, officially marked the start of my 16 week training cycle for London.  Coming back after my short break wasn't the most motivating, speed is lost quickly, but I did as Coach Mike instructed and worked my way back up.  The downside so far is the fact that this winter has SUCKED!!!  We've gotten so much snow, the temperatures and wind have been brutal.  I've become "friends" with the treadmill, which I really detest.  I have tried the indoor track for workouts, which left me with stiff ankles from the turns.  Despite all this, things have progressed pretty well so far (at least I think).  It's hard to know where you really stand when you haven't raced.  There are times I feel scared for the marathon and upcoming half marathon, what if I run ridiculously slow?!  I haven't raced since CIM.  My workouts this cycle have been completely new.  I am usually do 3 x 2 miles, 3 x 3 miles, etc.  This cycle has been about speed and quick turnover.  My first workout back was 200 and 400 meter repeats.  This last week I had 20 x 400 meters and tomorrow 15 x 1k.  Totally new for me!  I have gotten in lots of miles though.  This cycle I have run the most miles despite the weather.  The other week I hit 90 miles, last week was 85, and I will stay at 85 this week before going back up.  This weekend I am going to try DH Jones 10 miler.  I feel very unprepared to "race" that long.  I have no problem doing 20 miles at 6:45 pace, but to run 10 miles 30-40 seconds faster per mile seems distant right now.  BUT, this is essentially what I need to do for 26.2 miles in a couple months, so I better get ready...  Hopefully this race doesn't knock my confidence down the gutter, but we shall see.  It is suppose to be above 20 degrees after all, major heat wave :)

Aside from following my training plan, it's been a lot of eating, foam rolling, and massages this winter.  The cold beats you up and makes you hungry!  And naps.  Lots of naps!

I'm going to Colorado next week to try to escape the cold, get on some trails and run.