Go the Distance

People sometimes ask me “what next” after learning the number of marathons I’ve run. The fact is, I continue to learn with each one.

Today’s take-aways:

1. I am good at sticking with an established plan and meeting my goals. I flounder if I don’t have a set goal in mind.
2. Clif shots don’t do it for me. I had one at mile 7 and spent the rest of the race belching when I tried to ingest anything.
3. Bring ID to a race, especially if it’s known a beer garden will be at the finish.
4. Put flip flops in your gear bag!

Today was the Denver marathon. Having just moved to Colorado two weeks ago and not having followed a formal training program, today’s run was ‘just to finish’. In the few days leading up to the race, I wasn’t preparing as for a target run: I spent Saturday wandering Boulder with a friend, had a beer and no bananas! My last short run the day before, my knee seemed a bit out of whack. And, I moved from the Saucony Omni Moderate 5 to 7 on Tuesday, leaving me only a few miles to test them out before race day. Lastly, last night my ear started ringing and my lips felt chapped, so I was a bit concerned I may have had a cold coming on.

Still, this morning I rose at 5:30 and prepared for the race. It was forecast to be warm, so I was prepared for a potential sports-bra appearance. I headed downtown and had no problems finding a parking spot. I was pleasantly surprised as I arrived in Civic Center Park: they had a nice large starting area. It took a few moments to locate the gear check, but it was well-manned and organized, and then it was time to toe the line!

I started off behind the 3:40 group a bit. I knew my goal was sub-four, but I figured a 3:40 would be REALLY nice! The race started, and I went out at what I felt was a conservative pace. The 3:40 group pulled away, and I let them, because I knew I wasn’t tied to a time goal. Imagine my surprise when I hit the first mile marker at 8:14! I kept trucking along, and the second mile came in at 7:56. By this time I was closing in on the 3:40 group, and I wondered how his math was so different than mine (3:40 is an 8:24 average). The first water stop was around mile 2, and I learned that the Denver marathon organizers do NOT water down their gatorade!

My Garmin beeped at me that we’d done three miles a mere 7:48 later, and I wondered about the strategy of the pace group leader. Obviously, I’ve never led a group, but I’ve always guessed that running too aggressively at the beginning probably discourages runners. Mile 4: 8:00.

Before I’d started running, I’d checked on Meredith’s time in the Columbus marathon. She had a goal of 3:30, and I knew she was aiming for an eight minute mile pace. I knew I didn’t have the same training or goal, so I wasn’t sure why my own splits were mirroring hers.

I’ve done this enough, you’d think I would know better. Around mile 4 or so I pulled ahead of the 3:40 pace group, and I hit the 5th mile in 7:42. This is definitely not the race I should have been running, I knew. Yet I didn’t have a firm goal, so it was hard to reel it in.

The Denver marathon is only in their third year, so they may have had a few things to work out yet. No plastic cups is one of those things. Water was served in plastic cups that didn’t fold well, so I found that if I wanted to actually get some in my mouth without spilling or choking, I had to walk a little. My 6th mile was a more acceptable 8:07 before I rebounded to 7:56 for the 7th mile.

I should mention that as the race went on, my mile splits from my Garmin became further and further off from the official markers. in the end, my Garmin had a distance of 26.49. Therefore, my splits are somewhat more aggressive than the official splits.

They had clif shots at mile 8, and I simply must learn that Clif shots are not my friend. It was very hard to choke down even with water (walking), and after this point for much of the race I belched anytime I tried to take in anything. Free gels aren’t worth not being able to properly fuel later!

I have a few personal checkpoints in any marathon. I generally tell myself that I shouldn’t feel anything until mile 8; the time should just fly by til then. In this race I felt pretty good at mile 8. Yes, my pace was starting to slow a bit but I knew it was still definitely a good clip. Mile 9: 8:10

The course was really pretty: for many of the early miles we were running through downtown and I was admiring buildings. Around mile 9/10 we were running around a beautiful park. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, and the beautiful blue sky was just gorgeous.

Mile 10: 8:20
Mile 11: 7:56
Mile 12: 7:49

We split off from the half marathoners at about mile 11, and I actually felt like a bit of my energy left as well. All of a sudden the course was half (or less!) as full. I’m actually surprised to see my splits above! There was a bit of an out-and-back at the half way point, and I was surprised to see that I seemed closer to the 3:30 group than the 3:40 group. I toyed with the idea of catching them for a moment, and then was actually prudent enough to realize that was silly. I wanted to keep running my race and see what happened.

So, remember the new shoes I bought this week? Up until the middle of this race, I’d forgotten what specifically I didn’t like about the Omni 6. I found I had an ongoing problem with the tongue of the shoe sliding to the side. I made the unpleasant discovery that the Omni 7s suffer from the same problem. However, they did it not just in the right shoe (as the 6), but in both. I don’t know how many times I slowed to adjust my shoes, and as I type this now, the tops of my ankles are sore from the friction. I also found that the banked roads caused the sides of my ankles to become sore as well, as though my feet weren’t aligned straight forward.

Mile 13: 8:37
Mile 14: 8:18
Mile 15: 8:14
Mile 16: 7:51

Since Steamtown in 2005, my other personal checkpoint for marathons is mile 16. In fact, I like to tell myself that the race doesn’t start til 16. Although my pace had started to slip a little, the checkpoint helped me get my head back in the game again.

And then, I’m not really sure where my head went. Or my legs, for that matter. I wasn’t sore (other than my ankles), I wasn’t overly hot, but I stopped to walk water breaks (I even started mixing gatorade and water in a cup to overcome the too-strong gatorade and the plastic water cups), and my mile splits reflected it.

Mile 17: 8:43
Mile 18: 9:09
Mile 19: 8:21
Mile 20: 9:04

Mile 20 made me happy. I was in a decent place in my head: it was the first time I realized that 20 miles is roughly 75% done. Sometimes in a rough race hitting mile 20 can be demoralizing, that you still have so far to go, but I knew it was just a matter of bringing it in. I stopped at mile 20 to adjust my shoes yet again, and when I looked up, the 3:40 pace group had passed me! For the next two miles, my eyes were fixed on those balloons bobbing up ahead. Based on my garmin overall pace, I was still on track for sub-3:40 (which, remember, wasn’t a REAL goal anyway) so I just kept plugging along.

Mile 21: 8:45
Mile 22: 8:10
Mile 23: 9:40 (Another “walk-and-mix-gatorade” break.)
Mile 24: 8:34

Although the pace doesn’t reflect it, I felt like these miles flew by. At 21, it was easy to think “only 5 more miles” and believe it. Probably the worst part of the last few miles was that it was a straight shot up Santa Fe, which was concrete and ran right next to traffic. Yuck!

By mile 25, I knew I wasn’t making 3:40. So in true Andrea fashion, I decided to walk some.

Mile 25: 9:45
Mile 26: 8:51

I think that one of the hardest parts of a marathon are those signs that people hold up that say “1/2 mile to go” when they’re wrong. My advice to any spectators, don’t do that!! I ran past a 1/2 mile to go sign.. and ran…and ran.

The end of the race did end ok, with a few twists and turns and then there was the finish ahead of you! I don’t like a long finish. Although I knew I was ready to be done, I managed to pick off a few people in the final stretch, and was happy to hit the finish mats in 3:42:20.

Despite the heat, I felt ok upon finishing (unlike Edmonton!). I grabbed some water, apples (thanks, McDonald’s!) and made my way out of the athlete section. At mile 19 the announcers had been talking about the Left Hand Brewing Company being at the finish line, so I grabbed my gear and headed over to the Beer Garden, to be greeted with an “ID Required” sign. What?? In all the races I’ve seen beer at before, I’ve never needed ID before. The Canadian in me questioned how any runner could be under 18, and then I remembered this was the US and the drinking age was 21. Whoops! So, no beer for me!

I wandered the rest of the little expo, and was really impressed. There were samples of 
“runner’s chocolate”, a few massage tents, and my personal favorite: the Melting Pot was giving away trays of chocolate sauce for marshmallows, strawberries and pineapple. Attention race directors: get the Melting Pot at your next expo! I was happy to hear that Helen and Meredith did well at the Columbus marathon, and then I happily headed home, another race under my belt!

I will admit, the last few miles weren’t as great as they could have been. But overall I wasn’t sore, or defeated. This was my first marathon in Colorado, two weeks after moving to altitude. I expected battered lungs and a struggle. I ended up with a pretty decent time for any course! Now I just have a week to recover before I can start training for Arizona!

Average heart rate: 172
Max heart rate: 186

Overall: 359 of 1719
F30-34: 19 of 143
Gender: 77 of 685

photo.jpg,
originally uploaded by afhill.

At the 10K last Saturday, I received a coupon for $10 off a new pair of shoes if I recycled my old ones. As my old shoes are ripe for replacement, I decided to do some shopping.

I went in to the local Runners Roost on Monday and they didn’t have the Omni Moderate, only the Ultimate. I gave it a try, but I didn’t want to make too dramatic a change this week. When I told the sales staff I had to have the shoes broken in by Sunday for the marathon, they asked if it was my first time. Uh, no. I know it’s a typical newbie mistake, but I’m definitely a repeat offender! I just don’t worry too much about optimizing everything for the race.

In the end, they ordered the Moderate from another store, and I went in to pick them up last night. They have peach/pinkish trim! I put them on and they felt ok. Still, the sales staff didn’t want to leave me stranded before the race, so they told me they’d honour the coupon, but to keep my training shoes just in case, and bring them in later. I am sure the new shoes will be fine, but it is a relief to have the back-up pair.

Sure enough, I went for a run this morning, and the new kicks felt just fine! Good support, but yet they felt really nice and springy! I’m glad I got them before Sunday!

In one week, I’ll have completed the Denver Marathon. And then, my sights are firmly set on a big PR, the elusive sub-3:23:00 in Phoenix on January 19th!

I haven’t really followed any sort of a training program this year. I ran Boston, the Flying Pig, the Buckeye Trail 50K and the Edmonton marathon within 4 months. Then with getting a new job and moving across the country, I didn’t have time to really focus on the Denver race either. I liked not feeling obligation to a training plan, but believe me, I am ready for structure! As well, the Phoenix race is exactly 13 weeks after Denver, so I have the perfect amount of time to settle down and really focus.

I had been considering the Pfitz plan, as I shaved 8 minutes off my PR from 2004 to 2005. However, I have been incorporating many of the Pfitz workouts for a few years, and I wasn’t sure if it was the best to continue along this same path. I was just looking at the McMillan Running Calculator to determine what some of my training paces would be, when I noticed the link at the top of the page: “custom training programs“. Yes, Greg McMillan offers personal training, but you can also buy a personalized plan for 8, 12, 16 or 20 weeks. You fill out a questionnaire about your history, goals, life schedule, and after evaluation and follow-up, you get a personalized plan.

I think I have some interesting “quirks” related to my running: my ability to recover quickly, the fact I don’t have much variation in pace regardless of distance, etc. After 21 marathons, I will be eager to see what sort of suggestions can be made.

Today I ran the Compass Montessori Harvest Run 10K. My friends Brian and Bridget from Columbus had been planning to run,but Bridget broke her ankle a few weeks ago. I headed out to the race this morning, still expecting to see Brian. It was a chilly day - grey with a misty rain falling. I arrived at the school in plenty of time, and anxiously changed a few times: shorts and a t-shirt to pants and a long sleeved shirt, and finally to shorts, a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket.

Due to the rain, my left knee was grumbling a bit. 14 years after my car accident, I still struggle with some intermittent stiffness when the weather changes. However, as I walked around the school before the race, I found it loosening up. By race time, although I’d given myself permission to take it easy, I was feeling strong. It was a small race, so I started up close to the front. As everyone rushed out to start, I found myself settle into a –if not comfortable, at least sustainable– pace within the first half mile or so. I felt like I was running steady and was surprised to see my first mile was a 7:30. (My 10K pr is a 7:43 pace)

The course was a series of out-and-backs, and the 5K and 10K overlapped often, so it was a bit difficult to gauge how you were doing. At the first water-stop, (1.5 miles in), there was one woman ahead of me, and a few men. The 10Kers had a nice loop on some crushed rock surface around a park, when I had a few guys pass me. The surface was probably good for us, but I felt very sluggish on it. My second mile was a 7:36, and we’d hit mile 3 (7:47) before we left this quicksand-like surface and started our route back to the finish.

I don’t run many 10Ks, but I’ve never really liked them much. Today actually felt good: the distance seemed manageable. As the second half of the race was underway, I kept close to the two guys that passed me. I felt myself panting behind them, but I was able to stay reasonably close. I was getting warm, so I slipped off my jacket and tied it around my waist. We closed in on another guy, and then there was a group of four of us in a pack. There were still no girls in sight ahead of me.

We repeated the first part of the course around to the water stop. Breathing deeply but happy to be off the packed trail, I was surprised to see a 7:19 pace. Evidently the Colorado altitude wasn’t having too much of a negative impact on my performance! I grabbed a bit of water, and in my mind, we were on the homestretch.

I will admit, the last ~2 miles started to seem long. Our pack of four shrank to three, and I’ll admit when I hit the 5 mile marker (7:37), I was wishing this were a 5 mile race! Much of the course was on trails, which in the drizzle made for a bit of a messy run. I did a good job of keeping up with the guys until one last mini-turnaround, and then they slid further and further out of sight. I told myself that I wasn’t competing with them anyway, and forced myself to keep pushing! I have a bad habit of walking when things seem tough, but I forced myself to gut through it. As I neared the 6 mile marker, I knew I was doing well, and I knew that sub-47 would guarantee me a good PR. I was careful not to jimx myself by looking at my watch. Before I knew it, I had hit the parking lot and came barreling down the slight hill to the finish. My garmin complained that I was going too fast, and I cheerily ignored as I crossed the finish in a proud 45:55!

Yes, despite a knee that had been bothering me in the morning, despite the CO altitude that’s supposed to add minutes to your pace, I managed to set a nearly two-minute PR this morning! As I finished I heard some other women talking about their finish time, so I figured that I had missed them somehow with all the twists and turns of the course. I changed, and stuck around for the awards, as I knew I was ripe for something. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the two guys I’d stuck with for most of the race were #1 and 2! Yes, dear reader, that meant I was the first place female finisher in the 10K, third place overall (can you tell it was a small race?). My loot bag for winning was impressive; I received a running shirt, a $15 roadID GC and a $10 running store GC. Not bad for a $30 race!

Prize for 1st Place Female

Afterwards, I found myself coughing, which was what used to happen after playing hockey in college. Based on the fact that my average HR was 181 for the event, I think I definitely was pushing myself! The fact is, though, I’m glad I did! I feel really good and strong. While I don’t anticipate the marathon next week will be anything outstanding, I have a really good feeling about January

Lately I’ve been doing some workouts that have included some faster running with Meredith. These have been good for me, to break out of the monotony and “easy” running I’ve become used to. And..it may be paying off!

I missed my 20 miler this weekend, there is just so much going on. Lately many of my workouts have been running errands: yesterday to the bank, today to the car rental place and then from a stop to drop off my car (it’s now en route to Colorado, where I’m flying on Sunday).

Today on my runs I felt GREAT! The run out to the car rental place was 2.15 miles, down a bit of a sloping hill. I felt like I was flying, and as it turned out, my pace was 7:21 overall. That’s 7:50 for the first mile, 7:02 for the second, and then 6:05mm for the last .15miles. I’m not sure what the guy at Enterprise thought about giving the sweaty girl the keys to the car

Later on, I had to drop off my car for transport. He offered to drive me home, but I decided I’d run it as well. For some reason, I pushed it even harder than this morning. I stopped at a traffic light just as my watch hit a mile: 7:32. Nice! I kept going, and just as I hit mile 2, I stopped to walk. I glanced at my watch: 6:54. Well darnit, if I’m running that well, I can’t walk! I was flying (and dying!) when I hit the third mile at 6:38. At this point I could do enough math to realize that my 5K PR of 7:04 wasn’t holding up. So when I got home at 2.93 miles I knew I had to keep running. I ran until I saw 3.1: finish time was 21:36 (6:58mm)

So, despite not having trained for a 5K, and having run two fast (for me) miles this morning, I tore out a darned good effort! This makes me feel good about my upcoming race. After 21 marathons, the distance isn’t the challenge anymore: its moving beyond that comfort pace. Today I pushed myself just that extra step, and I feel pretty good about it!

(oh - heart rate this morning: average 162, max 181; heart rate this afternoon: average 167, max 191.)

After an off month in August, I got back in the swing of things in September. I did miss one day of running.

Mileage: 144.8
I hit 40 mpw twice this month, and would have done it a third time if I hadn’t missed that *ahem* 20 miler last weekend..
I’m now officially in taper for the Denver marathon, so I don’t think I’ll make up that 20. The fact is, I’ve done 5 runs of 20+ miles this year (3 marathons, 1 ultra and 1 in training), I know how to do it.

I’ve been doing some workouts with Meredith where we push the speed a little bit, those are feeling pretty good. I think that while running every day is good from a discipline standpoint, I also like the effort of actually focusing on a workout.

Last year was the first year I recall the Boston Marathon actually filled up. This year, they are anticipating meeting the registration cap by January.

I re-qualified last year at Boston, running 3:36:08. However, I have my eyes on a big PR at the Rock and Roll Arizona race in January. I was conflicted; do I register now to ensure I get in, or wait until I have that faster time?

I contacted the BAA, and their response was as follows:

If you achieve a faster time, please notify us by February 13, 2009 so we may update your registration.

We cannot update qualifying times after February 13th.

So, I can go ahead and register to ensure the hotel I’ve already booked doesn’t go to waste!

Today I met with Meredith for another of her scheduled workouts.

20 minutes warm-up, 15x(1:00 @ 5K pace, 1:00 recovery), 15 minutes cooldown.

We met in the middle of the afternoon, when it was nice and steamy. After a few repeats, we switched to walking part of the recovery.
Overall, it was a decent workout. Certainly not easy, but that’s what makes it a workout, right?

The biggest challenge with “5K pace” is determining what that is! My PR is a 7:04 pace, so I had my garmin set for a 6:30-7:15 range. However, Meredith didn’t realize it was beeping at the upper limit as well, so sometimes she’d push HARDER after it beeped that we were going too fast.

So how did our repeats go? Overall, I’m pretty content:
1: 7:01 - avgHR 167 - maxHR 175
2: 7:02 - avgHR 171 - maxHR 179
3: 7:18 - avgHR 172 - maxHR 179
4: 7:06 - avgHR 174 - maxHR 180
5: 6:37 - avgHR 176 - maxHR 180
6: 6:45 - avgHR 171 - maxHR 180
7: 6:41 - avgHR 171 - maxHR 179
8: 6:42 - avgHR 171 - maxHR 179
9: 6:50 - avgHR 172 - maxHR 181
10:6:33 - avgHR 173 - maxHR 181
11:7:02 - avgHR 172 - maxHR 180
12:6:52 - avgHR 172 - maxHR 181
13:7:05 - avgHR 168 - maxHR 178
14:6:52 - avgHR 172 - maxHR 181

Despite the heat, we definitely kept the repeats going strong. It was hard to try to keep a conversation going with all the intervals, but it was a good workout and I’m happy to sneak in any running I can with folks before I leave.

Hard to believe the marathon is in just over three weeks!

I was in Denver this past week, working and trying to find a place to live! I’ve read plenty about the benefits of running at altitude, but of course the flipside is that you need to become accustomed to the thinner air in order to reap the benefits in the long run!

They say it can take up to 6 weeks to adapt. I’m moving on Oct 6th, and the Denver Marathon is Oct 19th, so I’m already anticipating a hard go at it. Yet I was just reviewing my runs I took there this week, and I feel all right about them!

On Thursday, after 2 days in Denver, I took my first outdoor run. It was 6 miles in and around the hotel area. I came across the Greenwood Village Trail system, which was fantastic!

Splits: 10:11, 9:52, 9:24, 9:25, 9:16, 9:12.

Wow, looking back it appears I was getting acclimatized even during the run itself! The overall pace was 9:34, which is nothing outstanding but certainly not anything out of the ordinary for a general aerobic run. (to put it in perspective, my heart rate was an average 147 and my max was 166).

Then on Saturday I took a longer run out to an apartment complex I was thinking about. Yes, I decided to run the 6 miles to the complex and then run home. The run there was all right, and then I decided to take a different route home. I hadn’t gone for very far when I came across a beautiful trail. Every cross roads had a map and a distance to the next cross road. There were plenty of folks out running and walking their dogs. The path was hard-packed dirt rather than concrete. It turns out I’d come across the famed “High Line Canal Trail”, which is 58 miles of pathway! The path ran past streams and several parks. Everyone I passed was friendly, and as I ran, I decided I had to live in an apartment this close to the trail!

Did I mention that I hadn’t had breakfast before heading out? After awhile I could feel the distance was long, so I started to pay more attention to exactly where I was. There were so many trails that crossed each other and looped around that I was worried about becoming disoriented. But I just needed to ask for directions once and realized I was only a few blocks from the road my hotel was on (just several miles down). I was frustrated when I realized at 11.39 miles that I’d stopped my watch awhile earlier at a water fountain, and hadn’t restarted it.

All in all, my watch registered 14miles in 2:03:49, which is an 8:50 pace. Well heck, that’s also nothing to slouch at! I hit my highest heart rate in the first mile, and it was also one of the only miles where my pace was over 9 minutes. Evidently I do have a little something to get used to!

I don’t know how a race on 10/19 will go, but I also feel like it won’t be a complete death march. Based on the running I’ve done here so far, I’m sure it will be gorgeous!

I can’t think of the last time I bought Runner’s World magazine. Today I picked one up for reading on the plane, and it was a fantastic issue! For one thing, because it’s late in marathon season, there was no “how to run a marathon in 2.5miles a week” cockamamie plan. Instead, there was an incredible story called “Life and Limb”. The teaser on the front of the magazine asked “Would you cut off your leg so you could keep running? Tom White did. This is his story”. This is the sort of stuff I’m interested in: someone’s story. Most people think runners are extreme, fanatical, pick-your-adjective. Only a fellow runner understands some of the things we do. “Life and Limb” is truly an amazing story. It got into detail about Tom’s journey-physical, mental and emotional. Essentially, Tom was a runner who was injured in a motorcycle accident in college. He got back into running a few years later, but the article picks up as Tom is realizing that his old injuries are preventing him from participating in the sport that helps to define who he is. The doctor makes a tremendous decision to amputate, and then must learn to run (and live) anew…

There was also a story about pace teams written by a pace group leader. He made plenty of mention of his co-leader, Starshine Blackford. Star is from Columbus, a year older than me. Although I’ve never officially met her, I’m used to seeing her name in results listings (ahead of my own!) Her 101 marathons make my 20 look like child’s play!

The magazine was also enjoyable in light of my impending move to Colorado. I don’t know how many times Colorado or Boulder was mentioned! One event I did take note of (and will participate in if I remember!) - the Denver Gorilla Run!
Every participant in this race to benefit the mountain gorilla conservation fund receives a full gorilla costume to wear during the 5.6K race! There are some fun prizes as well. Sure, it’ll be the week after the Denver Marathon, but this is a fun run, right??