April So Far

So, I did a work out today.  Just because I haven't updated my blog doesn't mean that I haven't been putting in work. Yes, it's not very typical of me to let my blog go beyond two weeks without an update.  However, this April weather in Charlotte has been absolutely unbelievable and amazing, so I didn't want to waste time indoors updating a blog that has no more than five readers. Since my last post, lots has happened.  I became an aunt to Elijah Taylor Chrisman, won two races and spent 7 days on a grand Midwestern tour with my family.  I guess I should start where I left off…

After the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k, I took three days off from running for a mini mental break. I take such breaks throughout the year, even when training has been going well, so that I can ensure I don't burn out 12 weeks later.  Training has been terrific, but I've learned too many times that overtraining can crop up out of nowhere, so I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Not many days after the break, I spent time in Ohio and Illinois visiting my newborn nephew for a Chrisman family reunion with my siblings and parents.  I enjoyed lots of slow runs with my dad and my high school coach.  I even managed to get in some quicker runs too so that I had ample reason to savor the homemade family dinners every night. I watched the Boston Marathon coverage with my parents, both veterans of Boston (their last was at the 100th anniversary race), and enjoyed hearing some memories of their glory marathon days.  Admittedly, with Meb's win and other gutsy performances from girls coached by Terry, I was inspired to perhaps race a marathon this fall before I go to China for my Duke MBA residency. We'll see.

Upon my return back to Charlotte, Coach T-Bone had me jump right back into training. Weeks run with 75 or more miles are commonplace again.  It was tough the first week back, but now I feel well adjusted...After all, I’m on a road to PR at the Grandma's Half Marathon on June 21.   In the last week or so, I've had a terrible workout, a five mile race win and PR, and, finally, a solid workout today:

Goal:

2 x 3.5M with first 2 miles @ 600-605 and last 1.5 miles @ 5:50. 1 mile jog rest between in 7:00.  Option to stay at 600 if weather sucks or I feel bad, or option to go faster than 5:50 if I feel good. 

Actual:

3 mile warmup

2 x 3.5M via

3.5M in 20:38 (601, 600, 545, 252)

.96M uphill jog rest in 6:49 (7:07 pace)

3.5M in 20:23 (555, 553, 542, 249)

3.4 mile cool down for 14.4 miles total

Surprisingly, a 5:20AM start time didn't deter me from hitting the pace goals in this one.  It didn't hurt that Laurie and Eric were along for the ride (or more accurately, they were dragging me along).  The route we chose almost perfectly mimicked the Grandma's race course. Conveniently, at the moment where we needed to pick up the pace, the course started rolling downhill for about 1000 meters, which naturally propelled us forward.  Similarly, Grandma’s course is slightly downhill and flat.

On the first set, we ran together as a pack and we hit all the target paces without an issue.  After a quick sip of water, we ran a mile back up the hill from Freedom to hit the top of the Speed Loop for the start 3.5 mile loop again.

After 400 meters, I could tell that the pace was brisk (5:35) so I backed off a little so that I could have enough left in the tank to pick it up later.  Laurie and Eric charged ahead, while I hung back and coaxed myself into not falling apart and, instead, believing that I was indeed still ahead of the target pace.  A couple of times, I even wondered if my Garmin was telling me the wrong times, but then I realized that they were just running really, really fast.  I was just running fast.  With the pair just 15 meters ahead of me, I slowly reeled Laurie in as we approached the finish line.  Once finished, I felt pretty damn accomplished.  My target pace for Grandma's is sub-5:50 and I hit 5:49 pace average for the last set.  While that pace didn't feel quite as easy as I would have liked, I have just under eight weeks left to focus on that pace and to get even stronger and faster.

Week of May 31
52 Miles
10k race in 34:45 (PR)

Week of April 7
34 Miles
11 Mile MLR

Week of April 14
75 Miles
13 miles with 3 miles @ 6:00 average
16 miles @ 6:48 average
1 Double

Week of April 21
77 Miles 
6 x 1000m @ 3:36 - 3:29 with 1:00 rest
5 Mile race in 28:07, with long cool down for 18 miles total