Seems like just a few days ago I was writing about my recovery from the Twin Cities Marathon. Now I'm writing about my next race. It was an interesting 4 weeks as for the first time, I had to cram recovery time and training all into a short amount of time. I knew it would be difficult both physically and mentally but much to my surprise, the physical side actually has gone pretty well. Mentally, it's been a grind. I've made it through for the most part. I wasn't able to stick to my plan 100% but pretty close. I just added in one extra rest day earlier this week.
Kimi and I crushed a 6 mile tempo run 2 weeks ago which really boosted my confidence to think I might have a legit shot at running fairly well this weekend in the Bass Pro half marathon. This is the one race each fall that we pretty well don't miss. This race is where I have my P.R. for the half marathon. Everything just clicked together beautifully in 2012. The last few years, I'm still run my 2nd and 3rd fastest half marathon times at this race but each successive year has slowed slightly. I think the majority of the reason for that is that we have been running a June marathon each year which just seems to throw off summer and early fall training a bit.
I really think Kimi is ready for a great race this weekend. We're both running the same race but I'm not sure if we'll be running it together or not just yet. I like to compete for a top 3 spot if possible at this event. That means I'll have to wait and see how the competition shakes out before I determine if I will drop back and roll with Kimi or whether I leave her to do her own thing. I'll probably give it a good 2-3 miles to determine how the race is going and see what happens. I'm just looking for this to be a good springboard race for her into her Olympic Trials training over the next few months.
As of now, the weather is looking extremely promising for Sunday morning which could allow a great race.
I just wanted to take a moment now to wish all of you out there that are running a race this weekend good luck! Remember one thing going into your races, HAVE FUN AND GREAT THINGS HAPPEN!
Friday, October 30, 2015
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Twin Cities Marathon Recap
Over the weekend, we went up to Minneapolis for the Twin Cities Marathon. We left Thursday afternoon to drive up to Des Moines, and then finished up the travel on Friday. This is a great way to travel prior to a race in order to help with any fatigue or tightness that comes from being in a car for 9 hours. Friday, we stopped at an outlet mall and go figure, I would be the one to actually have the most fun while shopping. I found myself some sweet athletic pants and a running vest which I had been wanting for a while.
This trip was a blast. Kathy Carroll joined us on the trip which made the trip that much more interesting. She was in pursuit of a Boston Qualifier so that made for a lot of excitement and nervousness for race day. As we were planning the trip, Kimi received an email from the Twin Cities marathon stating that they had a block of tickets for the Twins vs Royals baseball game for Friday night. I couldn't believe it. We quickly purchased tickets to the game since the Royals are most definitely my favorite team. Plus, this was an opportunity to see them play in an opposing clubs ballpark! I'd never been to another stadium so I was like a kid in a candy store for the entire night.
Saturday was meant to be a more relaxing day. We went to Kimi's professional athlete technical meeting for about an hour so she could get all of her race details. Then we went to the marathon expo to get my packet. We finished off the day with a nice dinner at Olive Garden so we would be well nourished on race morning. After that, we went back to the hotel to just chill for a few hours prior to bed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Race morning!!! 4:30 came around all too quick. I didn't hesitate to jump out of bed however. Kimi had to be on the bus outside the hotel @ 5:00 to get transported over to the start of her race. She was running the USATF 10 mile Road Championships so we were in two completely different races.
I had to go pick up Kathy from her hotel about 4 miles away and bring her back to ours to catch the bus to our race. Fortunately, everything went off without any trouble. Kathy and I boarded the bus at about 6:30 or so and were at the starting area just about 7:00. We got our final restroom breaks completed, shoes changed, and gear checked. The rest was all about covering 26.2 miles in as quick a time as our little legs would let us do.
The weather was perfect this morning which gave me all the more confidence that I was going to have a great race. The starters counted down and off we went! I was a little lost for the first mile in regards to pace as my Garmin was having difficulty getting strong signal. Fortunately, I can feel pace pretty well. I came through the first mile in about 6:00 and things were already starting to thin out some at the front. I found myself around mile 2 next to one other guy. I decided to ask him what his goal was and he said he was shooting for a 2:35. I knew this was a few minutes faster than my goal but I was hopeful that he would be able to help pull me through. For the majority of the race, I just kept rolling along with my new found running partner. I had a few thoughts that I might be running too fast early in the race, but it just felt so incredibly easy that I just went with it. We came through the half in 1:16:52 and I felt great. Over the next 7 miles however, I could slowly start to feel some fatigue setting in. It didn't stop me from rolling though. I came through 20 feeling pretty good still and was mentally preparing for the final 4 miles of the race since I knew they were the up hill miles of the race.
I made it to 22 and was still rolling 6:20's and was pleased with that because I had plenty of cushion built in. That's when the wheels fell off. I just couldn't quite keep it going. I had to walk a bit, stretch some, and then force myself to get going again. It was mentally brutal as I watched the clock tick up and saw my sub 6 min marathon avg slip out of reach. Then I had to set my sights on keeping my time under 2:40. This was no small task as the muscles in my legs were starting to tighten significantly at this point. I put my head down, and started pushing forward. It was interesting that each time I stopped to gather myself, and then started running again, the crowd would open up with an encouraging roar of cheers for me. This helped keep me going.
I finally reached the finish line with mixed emotions. Some joy and some disappointment. I was happy to see that Kimi was able to get to me pretty quickly after the finish. She helped me walk along through the finish line festivities to get my gear and get dressed.
Then we walked up to the 26 mile mark to hang out and wait for Kathy to come rolling down the hill to the finish. When she came rolling by, you could see all the joy on her face as she was running the best marathon she's ever done! Kathy had a huge personal best today and qualified for the Boston Marathon by almost 25 minutes!!! I was very impressed and happy for her as she crushed her goal.
On the way home, I had plenty of time to think about what had transpired during the race. It didn't take me long to set my mind towards going for my goal again next year. In fact, I've already signed up for the 40th anniversary of the Grandma's Marathon. Perhaps the 4th time is the charm!
This trip was a blast. Kathy Carroll joined us on the trip which made the trip that much more interesting. She was in pursuit of a Boston Qualifier so that made for a lot of excitement and nervousness for race day. As we were planning the trip, Kimi received an email from the Twin Cities marathon stating that they had a block of tickets for the Twins vs Royals baseball game for Friday night. I couldn't believe it. We quickly purchased tickets to the game since the Royals are most definitely my favorite team. Plus, this was an opportunity to see them play in an opposing clubs ballpark! I'd never been to another stadium so I was like a kid in a candy store for the entire night.
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| Kimi made a sign! Unfortunately, we sat a little too high I think! Second Row from the top!! |
Saturday was meant to be a more relaxing day. We went to Kimi's professional athlete technical meeting for about an hour so she could get all of her race details. Then we went to the marathon expo to get my packet. We finished off the day with a nice dinner at Olive Garden so we would be well nourished on race morning. After that, we went back to the hotel to just chill for a few hours prior to bed.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Race morning!!! 4:30 came around all too quick. I didn't hesitate to jump out of bed however. Kimi had to be on the bus outside the hotel @ 5:00 to get transported over to the start of her race. She was running the USATF 10 mile Road Championships so we were in two completely different races.
I had to go pick up Kathy from her hotel about 4 miles away and bring her back to ours to catch the bus to our race. Fortunately, everything went off without any trouble. Kathy and I boarded the bus at about 6:30 or so and were at the starting area just about 7:00. We got our final restroom breaks completed, shoes changed, and gear checked. The rest was all about covering 26.2 miles in as quick a time as our little legs would let us do.
The weather was perfect this morning which gave me all the more confidence that I was going to have a great race. The starters counted down and off we went! I was a little lost for the first mile in regards to pace as my Garmin was having difficulty getting strong signal. Fortunately, I can feel pace pretty well. I came through the first mile in about 6:00 and things were already starting to thin out some at the front. I found myself around mile 2 next to one other guy. I decided to ask him what his goal was and he said he was shooting for a 2:35. I knew this was a few minutes faster than my goal but I was hopeful that he would be able to help pull me through. For the majority of the race, I just kept rolling along with my new found running partner. I had a few thoughts that I might be running too fast early in the race, but it just felt so incredibly easy that I just went with it. We came through the half in 1:16:52 and I felt great. Over the next 7 miles however, I could slowly start to feel some fatigue setting in. It didn't stop me from rolling though. I came through 20 feeling pretty good still and was mentally preparing for the final 4 miles of the race since I knew they were the up hill miles of the race.
I made it to 22 and was still rolling 6:20's and was pleased with that because I had plenty of cushion built in. That's when the wheels fell off. I just couldn't quite keep it going. I had to walk a bit, stretch some, and then force myself to get going again. It was mentally brutal as I watched the clock tick up and saw my sub 6 min marathon avg slip out of reach. Then I had to set my sights on keeping my time under 2:40. This was no small task as the muscles in my legs were starting to tighten significantly at this point. I put my head down, and started pushing forward. It was interesting that each time I stopped to gather myself, and then started running again, the crowd would open up with an encouraging roar of cheers for me. This helped keep me going.
I finally reached the finish line with mixed emotions. Some joy and some disappointment. I was happy to see that Kimi was able to get to me pretty quickly after the finish. She helped me walk along through the finish line festivities to get my gear and get dressed.Then we walked up to the 26 mile mark to hang out and wait for Kathy to come rolling down the hill to the finish. When she came rolling by, you could see all the joy on her face as she was running the best marathon she's ever done! Kathy had a huge personal best today and qualified for the Boston Marathon by almost 25 minutes!!! I was very impressed and happy for her as she crushed her goal.
On the way home, I had plenty of time to think about what had transpired during the race. It didn't take me long to set my mind towards going for my goal again next year. In fact, I've already signed up for the 40th anniversary of the Grandma's Marathon. Perhaps the 4th time is the charm!
Thursday, September 10, 2015
10 mile tempo run! Crushed it!
Just over 3 weeks to go until I get the opportunity to redeem myself from my prior attempt at a sub 2:37 marathon. To be honest, I don't think I'll be at my absolute best in 3 weeks but if I can make it through without a side stitch slowing me down again, a sub 2:40 is still something I think I can make happen.
Last weekend I went out to the Frisco trail on Saturday to nail down one of the hardest tempo run workouts we ever do. I had a scheduled 10 mile tempo run with a 1 mile recovery and then 1 more hard mile. On top of that, the 10 mile portion was to include 4 miles at marathon pace, and then 1 at half marathon pace or close to it, and then repeat that for the second 5 miles as well. It was a hot morning but I was determined to not let it stop me from hitting my paces. We woke up at 5:45 and immediately got in the car to start taking out tables to the trail for the water bottles to sit on. I usually use this type of workout to practice nutrition intake along with fluid consumption during the hard effort. Unfortunately, I thought Kimi had grabbed the Nutrilite Endurance cubes and she thought I had grabbed them so I was simply out of luck on that part of it. I still had the water which helped immensely.
Kimi and I were slated for different workouts on this particular day since we are training for drastically different races. However, we both started at the same spot but I just had to let her go since her pace was set to be faster than mine. It's been a long time since I've had to do tempo runs or workouts of any kind by myself so everything felt a little weird getting started. Fortunately I managed to get it going and started clipping off solid splits. My first 4 miles were all under 6 minute pace. Then the 5th mile started and I was to pick it up. I did exactly that. I went from about a 5:57 to a 5:47. The first mile back at marathon pace is always a difficult one because it's hard to slow the rhythm some but not completely ruin it. I kept that mile around 5:57 and then started clipping them off again. During the 9th mile I decided I was going to make it the entire distance but that I didn't feel up to running the 1 extra mile. I was going to change the workout mid-stream and finish with a 10th mile that was around 5:40 and then just call it good.
I finished and thought I was done until Kimi came along having already finished up her workout and encouraged me to do the 1 more mile. I sure am glad she did. I rolled that mile in 5:19 and was flat shocked. I never saw it coming. I started out hard and thought I'd simply have fatigue enough to drop me back to a 5:30-35. Sure enough, I got to the quarter mile and was rolling around 5:15 and just kept working it. Half mile, and still @ 5:18. Then with a quarter to go, the pace had slowed just a bit to 5:20. Thankfully, Kimi jumped into the final quarter and helped me bring it home. I still had a 3 mile cool down to complete but after a workout of this magnitude, the cool down pace just doesn't matter. I trotted for 3 miles and called it a day.
This Saturday, I've got the last really long 'long-run' to complete. It's the 24 miler day. I intend to have a good one and I'm excited that the weather is supposed to be a lot cooler. That will help me out a bunch.
I'll be sure to let you all know how it went when I write my final post prior to the marathon!
Last weekend I went out to the Frisco trail on Saturday to nail down one of the hardest tempo run workouts we ever do. I had a scheduled 10 mile tempo run with a 1 mile recovery and then 1 more hard mile. On top of that, the 10 mile portion was to include 4 miles at marathon pace, and then 1 at half marathon pace or close to it, and then repeat that for the second 5 miles as well. It was a hot morning but I was determined to not let it stop me from hitting my paces. We woke up at 5:45 and immediately got in the car to start taking out tables to the trail for the water bottles to sit on. I usually use this type of workout to practice nutrition intake along with fluid consumption during the hard effort. Unfortunately, I thought Kimi had grabbed the Nutrilite Endurance cubes and she thought I had grabbed them so I was simply out of luck on that part of it. I still had the water which helped immensely.
Kimi and I were slated for different workouts on this particular day since we are training for drastically different races. However, we both started at the same spot but I just had to let her go since her pace was set to be faster than mine. It's been a long time since I've had to do tempo runs or workouts of any kind by myself so everything felt a little weird getting started. Fortunately I managed to get it going and started clipping off solid splits. My first 4 miles were all under 6 minute pace. Then the 5th mile started and I was to pick it up. I did exactly that. I went from about a 5:57 to a 5:47. The first mile back at marathon pace is always a difficult one because it's hard to slow the rhythm some but not completely ruin it. I kept that mile around 5:57 and then started clipping them off again. During the 9th mile I decided I was going to make it the entire distance but that I didn't feel up to running the 1 extra mile. I was going to change the workout mid-stream and finish with a 10th mile that was around 5:40 and then just call it good.
I finished and thought I was done until Kimi came along having already finished up her workout and encouraged me to do the 1 more mile. I sure am glad she did. I rolled that mile in 5:19 and was flat shocked. I never saw it coming. I started out hard and thought I'd simply have fatigue enough to drop me back to a 5:30-35. Sure enough, I got to the quarter mile and was rolling around 5:15 and just kept working it. Half mile, and still @ 5:18. Then with a quarter to go, the pace had slowed just a bit to 5:20. Thankfully, Kimi jumped into the final quarter and helped me bring it home. I still had a 3 mile cool down to complete but after a workout of this magnitude, the cool down pace just doesn't matter. I trotted for 3 miles and called it a day.
This Saturday, I've got the last really long 'long-run' to complete. It's the 24 miler day. I intend to have a good one and I'm excited that the weather is supposed to be a lot cooler. That will help me out a bunch.
I'll be sure to let you all know how it went when I write my final post prior to the marathon!
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Bring it on Twin Cities!
It's been a day or two since my last post. Okay, okay, more like a month and a half. I left off my last post with a recap of our Grandma's marathon in June. Following that, we took about a week off of absolutely no running. Then we started slowly getting back into mileage. Recovering from a marathon effort like the one we had in June is no small task. I think I finally got to the cause of my side stitch problem. Turns out I was in the process of developing 'Shingles' and the inability to fully expand my rib cage must have been triggering the entire thing. I have since been able to return to a full running load. I'm finally hitting upper 50's for weekly mileage again and am on pace for the mid-60's this week.
Following the Grandma's marathon disappointment, I decided to sign up for the Twin Cities Marathon coming up on October 4. I hope I'll be ready for it. It is only 7 weeks away now and I've got a lot of fitness to gain between now and then.
We have yet to have any really good workouts. I personally blame the heat and humidity and our inability to be consistent with morning runs. That has all changed this week. We're back on our routine of running in the mornings to take advantage of being fully rested and having the cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, it takes time for the body to fully get rhythmic with performance. I suspect that by this time next week, I will have rolled a successful 10k effort on Saturday, and then a successful 20 mile long run on Sunday.
I'm also going to start picking up some strength training next week. I've put it off for way too long and need to start that back up in order to gain my power back so I can be an explosive running athlete again.
Over the next 7 weeks, I'm going to be sure to keep all of you updated on my progress as I prepare for my 6th marathon.
Following the Grandma's marathon disappointment, I decided to sign up for the Twin Cities Marathon coming up on October 4. I hope I'll be ready for it. It is only 7 weeks away now and I've got a lot of fitness to gain between now and then.
We have yet to have any really good workouts. I personally blame the heat and humidity and our inability to be consistent with morning runs. That has all changed this week. We're back on our routine of running in the mornings to take advantage of being fully rested and having the cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, it takes time for the body to fully get rhythmic with performance. I suspect that by this time next week, I will have rolled a successful 10k effort on Saturday, and then a successful 20 mile long run on Sunday.
I'm also going to start picking up some strength training next week. I've put it off for way too long and need to start that back up in order to gain my power back so I can be an explosive running athlete again.
Over the next 7 weeks, I'm going to be sure to keep all of you updated on my progress as I prepare for my 6th marathon.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Grandma's Marathon 2015 recap
All day Friday, we were constantly checking the forecast for race morning. We were holding out hope that the rain that was headed our direction would go just South of us or simply arrive 3-4 hours later than projected. Of course, this didn't end up being the case. About 20 minutes prior to the start of the race, the clouds opened up and started dumping buckets on us. Temperatures were nearly perfect in the low-mid 50's but when you added the rain, it made conditions a bit cool. Not only that, the conditions made getting a proper warm-up difficult. Our warm up this morning consisted of a frantic jog from the bag check to the starting area and then jogging in place for about 2-3 minutes prior to the race. This was by no means an ideal warm up and I believe we paid for it for the first 10 miles.
The Race:
The gun sounded and off we went. Kimi and I were starting side by side for the first time since our first marathon together in 2010. Our goal was to run 5:55-5:58 pace for as long as we could manage. We wanted to develop a small cushion for our finish goal of sub-2:37:00. For the first 10 miles, our legs just didn't feel right. I'm not sure if it was the travel, the lack of sleep, lack of warm up, or all of the above, but we just didn't feel like our light, fast selves. Fortunately, it wasn't showing on the clock as we came through 10 miles right on pace as planned. There was an odd moment in the race where Kimi and I both looked at our watches and had a moment of panic. It was like there was a gap in time that we lost somewhere. I'm not sure if the markers were off or if our garmins played tricks on us but somehow we got to the half marathon mark and were exactly at 6 minute pace. This was the first real moment where I think we both realized that breaking 2:37 just probably wasn't going to be in the cards for us on this day. We were still rolling in the 6:05-6:08 range so I knew that we were still on pace for a sub 2:40 marathon and fortunately for me, that pesky side stitch wasn't giving me any problems (yet anyways). 15-16-17-18-19 and then WHAM!!! There it was right around the 20 mile mark. Just like an ice pick in the side. We had just gone through an water aid station so Kimi and I were separated slightly. She kept rolling as I quickly came to a halting stop. I stretched out and watched Kimi stride away. She had no idea where I had gone. I saw her look over her shoulder a few times trying to find me but she never spotted me. At this point, thoughts of would I even be able to finish crossed my mind. I had a 10k to go and it was going to be a true battle of will if I wanted to finish and finish well at this point. I finally started back into the race after being passed by probably 20 or so other competitors. I knew my legs were strong and so long as the side stitch didn't stop me, I was going to work myself right back into a fast tempo and see if I couldn't just reel Kimi back in. My intent was to simply be there to witness her cross the line so we could celebrate together. Much to my surprise, I was able to get the pace rolling at about a 5:52-5:55 clip for the next 5 miles. 21-22-23-24-and then WHAM!! AGAIN!!! Right at the 25 mile mark with only 1.2 miles to go, the dreadful side stitch returned. I checked my watch and knew at this point that I had about 8 minutes or slightly over to cover the remaining 1.2 miles in order to break 2:40. I fought and I fought but it was to no avail. It just wasn't going to be my day. I was extremely frustrated when I crossed the line, yet I was extremely happy for Kimi as well. I saw her waiting near the finish line as I approached. I was incredibly proud of her. She battled adversity all day and in my opinion, had dominated it.
Our next adventures are going to be interesting. Coming up in September, October and November, we have multiple huge races that will truly test our ability to bounce back from this marathon mentally and physically. I might even jump in another marathon in October. I hear the Twin Cities Marathon is a good one, so I might just have to run it to try and redeem myself. The goal of the next few months is to figure out what's causing the side stitch issue, and put a stop to it.
Grandma's Marathon Results
Me - 2:40:19
Kimi - 2:38:34 **NEW PR!**
Monday, June 15, 2015
Race week is upon us! Grandma's here we come!
The long anticipated Grandma's marathon is finally almost here. It's been quite the journey getting to this point this year. I had to deal with some knee pain and tendinitis back in February and March. Then we went on to perform quite nicely at the Rock the Parkway half marathon in KC in mid-April. Following that, we ventured into some very high mileage for the two of us. We had 6+ weeks of 70+ miles and had 3 of those weeks in the 80's and one of them at 90. Our long runs were solid, and our workouts were even better. The only major drawback in the last few weeks has been my hand incident during our 24 miler and of course having to battle the humid conditions.
Last weekend, we went out to the Willard track (first time going there), and completed our last major speed session. On the schedule, we were set to run twenty 400's. We break it down into sets of 4 with a 200m jog recovery and then a 400m jog recovery between each set. Each set was also slated to get faster and faster starting out with 78's and working down to 75's. When we started, it was already very hot and muggy so I wasn't completely sure how it would go. Much to my surprise and satisfaction, we ran the entire first set at 77. Then we dropped it down to 76's, and then 75's for the final couple sets. We usually like to finish with a last one-fast one but I thought for sure we were going to be spent prior to our last one. The last one capped off a great workout with us solidly finishing in 72.
Many people ask me if I get nervous for races. The simple answer is 'Yes'. I explain it mostly as being nervous that somehow things won't go as planned and that the entire focus of the last couple months might feel like it was a waste. However, the more likely scenario is that the better trained you are, the better chance you have to actually reach your goals. I find that those that put in the work, typically get the results. Having talent, but not putting in the training, doesn't get you anywhere.
This week is a laid back week for the most part. We have a small tune-up workout tomorrow and then it's just some really short runs and getting plenty of fluids and rest for the remainder of the week.
Last weekend, we went out to the Willard track (first time going there), and completed our last major speed session. On the schedule, we were set to run twenty 400's. We break it down into sets of 4 with a 200m jog recovery and then a 400m jog recovery between each set. Each set was also slated to get faster and faster starting out with 78's and working down to 75's. When we started, it was already very hot and muggy so I wasn't completely sure how it would go. Much to my surprise and satisfaction, we ran the entire first set at 77. Then we dropped it down to 76's, and then 75's for the final couple sets. We usually like to finish with a last one-fast one but I thought for sure we were going to be spent prior to our last one. The last one capped off a great workout with us solidly finishing in 72.
Many people ask me if I get nervous for races. The simple answer is 'Yes'. I explain it mostly as being nervous that somehow things won't go as planned and that the entire focus of the last couple months might feel like it was a waste. However, the more likely scenario is that the better trained you are, the better chance you have to actually reach your goals. I find that those that put in the work, typically get the results. Having talent, but not putting in the training, doesn't get you anywhere.
This week is a laid back week for the most part. We have a small tune-up workout tomorrow and then it's just some really short runs and getting plenty of fluids and rest for the remainder of the week.
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| Kimi in Beast-mode @ Willard Track |
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Finished our peak mileage! Now on to our taper!
We're finally in our peak mileage week. The last several weeks have contained mileage of 80, 86, and 85 miles. This week, we're going for 90. But before we get to that, let me recap some of our workouts over the last week in a half or so.
Last week, we had a Fartlek-ish style workout that I have come to call a "new style" workout. I don't imagine I'm the first person to come up with it but it's something that we had never done before until last year so it has been deemed new to us. This workout had to be completed in the evening last Wednesday because we couldn't pry ourselves out of bed that particular morning. It might have been raining that morning, which is typically a good enough excuse for us to just keep on snoozing. The workout consists of a 6 minute press with 1 minute recovery, followed by 5 minutes press, and 2 minutes recovery working all the way down to where we end up doing 1 hard minute. It's fairly easy to remember because you always add the press and the recovery and they equal 7 minutes. Much to our surprise, we came through the 3 mile mark under 6 minute average even with our recovery pace mixed in. All in all, we covered 12 miles that evening.
I was a little concerned with just how we would handle our workout Saturday since we were unable to keep all of our longer runs in the mornings during the week. Saturday's workout was scheduled to be a 10 mile tempo with an optional 2 mile recovery and then 1 more mile sub 5:45. The 10 mile tempo also was to include 4 miles at marathon pace and then 1 mile at half marathon pace, then 4 miles at marathon pace again, followed by 1 mile at half marathon pace. Our marathon goal pace is 5:58 and our half pace is about 5:50 miles. The morning started with us taking our tables out to the trail in order for us to have water to grab during the tempo. This also allows us to practice taking our Nutrilite Endurance Cubes while running a long fast effort (basically simulating how it will feel on race day).
We started the workout right on our marathon goal pace and it was feeling surprisingly easy. For our fifth mile, we increased the pace to 5:50 just like planned. The hard part is settling back into marathon pace and not slowing too much. We were able to get things right back on track for the next 4 miles. There was one mile that the pace crept up over 6 min on but I think that was mostly due to it being the turn around mile and having to fight the wind all the way through Willard. (If you're not familiar, Willard always seems to be windy and often seems that way from both directions). All in all, we pretty much nailed this workout. We even managed to crush the optional 1 mile at the end.
--Skipping ahead a week now--
On Saturday, Kimi and I headed out to Frisco for our weekly long run. This one just happened to be our last really long one prior to our upcoming marathon. We set out to complete a 24 mile long run and that's precisely what we did. For our long runs over 13 miles, we will usually wear our water belts and take along our Nutrilite Endurance Cubes as well so we were definitely packing for this one. We established a plan to run out 9 and back 9, then drop one of our water belts, and go out 3 and back 3. Neither one of us enjoys wearing the belt so we typically alternate wearing the belt for the last bit. At a mere 5 miles into the run, we came to a place on the trail where the tree limbs were hanging low and made it narrow. Usually we will just go single file in order to get through these areas but for some particular reason, I decided last minute to just push the limb to the side. Who knew this would be a huge mistake. I received immediate pain in my left ring finger (specifically my proximal interphalangeal joint). I could see a small puncture wound but nothing stuck in it. It immediately became difficult to bend the finger but there wasn't really any swelling just yet. I worked it out and continued the remaining 19 miles of the run just fine. Actually, it was quite stellar really.
The next day, we woke up and ran 9 miles and immediately following, my finger swelled up a bunch and I could feel my ring just holding fluid in the finger. The pressure was building. Finally, I decided to find someone that could cut the ring off thinking that with the release in pressure, the swelling would be able to go down and all would start to normalize. 2 days later and I'm still having a lot of stiffness, swelling, and pain in that finger. It is improving but not as quickly as I'd hoped. Of all the injuries I would have considered during a long run, having something like this to a finger, wouldn't have ever crossed my mind.
All in all, last week was a great week, we completed 90 miles (the most I've run since college, and the most Kimi has ever run in a week), one track workout, and crushed our final long run. Now if my finger could just get better, I wouldn't be so concerned with running over the next few weeks.
Last week, we had a Fartlek-ish style workout that I have come to call a "new style" workout. I don't imagine I'm the first person to come up with it but it's something that we had never done before until last year so it has been deemed new to us. This workout had to be completed in the evening last Wednesday because we couldn't pry ourselves out of bed that particular morning. It might have been raining that morning, which is typically a good enough excuse for us to just keep on snoozing. The workout consists of a 6 minute press with 1 minute recovery, followed by 5 minutes press, and 2 minutes recovery working all the way down to where we end up doing 1 hard minute. It's fairly easy to remember because you always add the press and the recovery and they equal 7 minutes. Much to our surprise, we came through the 3 mile mark under 6 minute average even with our recovery pace mixed in. All in all, we covered 12 miles that evening.
I was a little concerned with just how we would handle our workout Saturday since we were unable to keep all of our longer runs in the mornings during the week. Saturday's workout was scheduled to be a 10 mile tempo with an optional 2 mile recovery and then 1 more mile sub 5:45. The 10 mile tempo also was to include 4 miles at marathon pace and then 1 mile at half marathon pace, then 4 miles at marathon pace again, followed by 1 mile at half marathon pace. Our marathon goal pace is 5:58 and our half pace is about 5:50 miles. The morning started with us taking our tables out to the trail in order for us to have water to grab during the tempo. This also allows us to practice taking our Nutrilite Endurance Cubes while running a long fast effort (basically simulating how it will feel on race day).
We started the workout right on our marathon goal pace and it was feeling surprisingly easy. For our fifth mile, we increased the pace to 5:50 just like planned. The hard part is settling back into marathon pace and not slowing too much. We were able to get things right back on track for the next 4 miles. There was one mile that the pace crept up over 6 min on but I think that was mostly due to it being the turn around mile and having to fight the wind all the way through Willard. (If you're not familiar, Willard always seems to be windy and often seems that way from both directions). All in all, we pretty much nailed this workout. We even managed to crush the optional 1 mile at the end.
--Skipping ahead a week now--
On Saturday, Kimi and I headed out to Frisco for our weekly long run. This one just happened to be our last really long one prior to our upcoming marathon. We set out to complete a 24 mile long run and that's precisely what we did. For our long runs over 13 miles, we will usually wear our water belts and take along our Nutrilite Endurance Cubes as well so we were definitely packing for this one. We established a plan to run out 9 and back 9, then drop one of our water belts, and go out 3 and back 3. Neither one of us enjoys wearing the belt so we typically alternate wearing the belt for the last bit. At a mere 5 miles into the run, we came to a place on the trail where the tree limbs were hanging low and made it narrow. Usually we will just go single file in order to get through these areas but for some particular reason, I decided last minute to just push the limb to the side. Who knew this would be a huge mistake. I received immediate pain in my left ring finger (specifically my proximal interphalangeal joint). I could see a small puncture wound but nothing stuck in it. It immediately became difficult to bend the finger but there wasn't really any swelling just yet. I worked it out and continued the remaining 19 miles of the run just fine. Actually, it was quite stellar really.
The next day, we woke up and ran 9 miles and immediately following, my finger swelled up a bunch and I could feel my ring just holding fluid in the finger. The pressure was building. Finally, I decided to find someone that could cut the ring off thinking that with the release in pressure, the swelling would be able to go down and all would start to normalize. 2 days later and I'm still having a lot of stiffness, swelling, and pain in that finger. It is improving but not as quickly as I'd hoped. Of all the injuries I would have considered during a long run, having something like this to a finger, wouldn't have ever crossed my mind.
All in all, last week was a great week, we completed 90 miles (the most I've run since college, and the most Kimi has ever run in a week), one track workout, and crushed our final long run. Now if my finger could just get better, I wouldn't be so concerned with running over the next few weeks.
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