USA Half Marathon Championships Recap

Goal:
place in top 80% of the field
goal 1: run faster than 1:20:17
goal 2: run 1:18:36 (6 min pace)

Actual:
1:19:06
27th place out of 44 (37 finished, but 44 started)

As you can see outlined above, I did achieve over a 1 minute PR for the half marathon distance on a course that featured three 180-degree u-turns. However, I came away from this race much more disappointed than I had anticipated. Where to start....

When I arrived in Houston on Thursday night, Ruth and I met up outside the baggage claim and hopped into a shuttle with several other athletes who were competing in the Half Marathon Championships as well. One guy, Jason Orday, actually went to SIUC and we chatted about my hometown for a bit.

There is not much to report between my arrival and race day besides eating healthy and free meals and hanging out with Ruth and my roommate (Ann Alyanak), splitting our time between the Elite Hospitality Suite and our hotel rooms. The race directors set up a nice buffet style lunch and dinner that featured steamed veggies, brown rice, salad, chicken, pasta, and cookies. The food was definitely great, and the pre-race massage was just as enjoyable. I didn't have to pay a single penny for food the entire weekend because they kept the hospitality suite so well stocked with fluids and snack foods. I also met lots of amazing runners, including Jen Rhines, Zoila Gomez, Sally Meyerhoff, and Leah Thorvilson. The best part was realizing that many of these women are not too different from a runner like me, who runs almost 5-7 minutes slower than they do in a half marathon.

On race morning, I woke up at 5am to shower and eat some oatmeal. I headed to the Elite Hospitality Suite to get another gatorade before heading back to the hotel room to waste more time. Ruth stopped by and we headed over to the elite staging area in the GRB Convention Center, which was attached to the headquarters hotel and just outside of the start line. During my warmup, I couldn't help but think that this is the city where Garrett could play some day. It inspired me that I was running in the city of his baseball team!

After a short warmup around the Astros Stadium by myself, I considered my race plan. Originally, I wanted to shoot for sub 1:18:00, but I knew that my training had not been where I had expected it to be for the last six weeks. For instance, I had to drop some key workouts and I never hit 80 miles in a week due to my IT Band problems. Unlike my training leading up to Twin Cities, which left me feeling confident and in control of my goals, my training for this race left me doubting myself and like my goals were out my control. While that statement may sound depressing, I do believe that I was being realistic about how my training had gone over the past six weeks. In that respect, I reassesed my goal to run a PR and to try to hold 6 min pace as long as possible.

Soon, I headed back into the staging area to change into my Nike Zoom Marathoner racing flats. Before I knew it, we were being escorted to the start line with our plastic bags in hands. After a couple of strides and drills, I was ready to get rid of the pre-race jitters and get the show on the road! After Meagan took a cute picture of Ruth and me, we situated ourselves behind all of the really fast professional female runners.


The gun went off. I took off at my seemingly pedestrian pace compared to the front runners' pace. Ruth and I settled into a small pack of maybe 4 women. We tried to recruit people to our pack but the numbers were too thin for the back of the pack. Ruth and I led our small group through mile 3, and then Emily Potter took over the lead for less than half a mile. After the first water stop, we lost our small pack. Ruth and I ran side-by-side as we made our way back to the start line and through the 5 mile mark. I told her that I was glad she was there. Otherwise, it would have been a race completely solo for practically the entirety.

We alternated leads up until mile 8, when Ruth could feel my beginning to falter. She took off, and I fell off pace. At the water stop before mile 9, I accidentally knocked over someone else's water bottle. I didn't want to get disqualified so I stopped to pick it up. Ruth's lead on me went from 3 meters to 15 meters. That was a tough mile. After going through the first 9 miles around 6 min pace, I am most embarassed with how I executed the final 4.1 miles of the race. Instead of focusing all of my mental energy into my competition ahead of me, my thoughts began to slip out of the race. I wasn't looking up and my head was filled continuously with negative thoughts.

I gave up.

This is quite uncharacteristic of me, but I guess this is what happens to me when I'm stuck in no-mans-land and when I'm not that happy about how my training was leading up to a race. The key to success is calm confidence, and I was missing that key ingredient out there on the roads today. My last two miles were 6:11, which is the pace I ran my marathon at. In fact, I closed my last two miles of my marathon at an average pace of 6:04. Today, I was slower than that.

While I suffered, I also got to see Ruth (albeit from behind), race herself to a 2 min PR in the half - 1:18:29 - with almost exactly even splits. Had Ruth not been there, it could have been an uglier day out there for me, and I grateful that she made the trip down south, away from her kids and husband for a couple of days to participate in this championship race. It was also great to see the USA Olympic Trials course for the marathon in 2011. There will be SIX u-turns that are VERY tight. This is in an effort to mimic the Olympic marathon course in London. Why London thought it to be a good idea to make u-turns part of a world race beats me, but so goes it.

The most important thing to come away from this race is knowing what I could have done better and what I will change for next time. Fast is relative, depending on what level you are looking at it from. On a national level, I am nearly 8 minutes behind the champion, Jen Rhines, in a half marathon. That's a big difference. I finished almost fifth to last in a very competitive national race. In order for me to continue making strides in my development as a runner, I need to close that gap and get in the training that will allow me to do so. I need to stay focused during a race, even when I would much rather succomb to my body's tired whispers. Most importantly, I need to trust the work that I've done leading up to it, which is really only possible when you are completely injury free.

On a positive note, I did run a 1 minute PR on training that was not very consistent. Clearly my fitness level is higher than when I ran a half marathon in 2009 at the OBX. Also, I was very close to my 10 Mile PR on a course that was much slower than the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler course. I also was able to scope out the hotel and the course of the Olympic Trials. This will help me be better prepared for when the Trials do come! The race volunteers were also very friendly and helpful, so it is good to know that we will be in such good hands on January 14, 2012.

The plan is to now take a couple of days off, in hopes to get my IT band fully recovered and to make the transition into my next training cycle for the USA 25k Championships in May....

As a side note, some regular runners paid anywhere from $1000-$1500 to run in the Half Marathon Champs with us. Here is a great article about one man's experience.

Last Tempo Before Houston Half

Goal:
30 min at Goal Half Marathon Pace (6:00)

Actual:
5 mile warmup
30 min at 5:58 pace
1.75 cooldown for 11.75 miles total

I ended my streak of not working out alone in five months with two back-to-back solo workouts. While many of my fellow CRC board members are racing the Hot Chocolate 10k tomorrow, I did not want to run this race as a workout and opted to run, by myself, a day earlier in Charlotte instead. This was a good decision because, although I ran alone, I was able to get in a good workout on familiar terrain and in temperatures that were 20 degrees warmer than those forecasted for Asheville tomorrow.

Michelle, Matt, and I all met at my house for a nice warmup together on the Sugar Creek Greenway. We ran 5 miles easy and discussed how Title VI needs to be revised in such a way that men's sports such as Track & Field, Wrestling, and Gymnastics do not continue to be dropped from colleges as funded programs. Matt's alma mater, University of Delaware, is the latest university to drop its running program. Matt has vowed to never donate any money to their sports programs any more.

Once we reached the 5 mile mark, I bid my farewell to Matt and Michelle as they made their way back to uptown and as I began to prepare for my 30 minute tempo. Going into this workout, I was really nervous that I would not be able to hit my goal times. This is very unlike me to not possess a calm confidence and peaceful state of mind before a workout, but every now and then it is hard to keep such thoughts quiet. I decided it would be best for my mental psyche to not look at the splits as I ran from Freedom Park, onto the roads, back into Freedom Park, onto Sterling, and on the Sugar Creek Greenway and then back down Sterling.

In the first mile, I felt fairly relaxed but I was still doubting I was hitting my times. After the second mile, I peaked a glance at my overall time and was pleased to find that I was hitting right below 12 minutes. Here, my confidence seemed to get a boost and I continued to press forward, trying to ignore the fact that the wind was much stronger than I had anticipated. For the fourth and fifth miles, I really had to dig in as there were some decent sized hills and my legs were starting to feel the fatigue build up from Wednesday's speed workout, my weight lifting, and the current workout. For some odd reason, I thought it would be more fun to go through Sterling than to run through Freedom Park. Making this decision meant that I would spend my entire 4th entire mile uphill, versus flat in Freedom Park. In the end, I'm glad I did this because focusing on driving my arms forward on the uphill took my mind off the fatigue I was feeling in my legs.

Splits
5:54 (flat)
6:00 (slightly uphill)
5:53 (flat and wind at back)
6:07 (uphill, turnaround, wind)
6:00 (flat)

I finished up and was pleased to find that I had finished at 5:58 pace for 5 miles, which is exactly where I want to be for the half marathon in 8 days. Considering that I am usually babied when Jordan does all the work in my hard effort runs, I am exceptionally pleased with my ability to push myself to maintain an honest pace as well as with my determination to keep going after mile 4 when I really wanted to just stop and call it a day. I think that running 13.1 miles at this pace is something that is within my reach, if all things fall into place perfectly. On another positive note, my IT Band and knee caused me absolutely no pain or discomfort. In fact, I didn't even notice anything in that region.

After the workout, I ran almost two miles back home and began to stretch for a while before packing. I'm about to head off to Asheville for the Charlotte Running Club Board Retreat. This is where we are going to make a lot of decisions about the future of the club, outline our vision, and determine our 2011 Social Calendar. Don't worry, your membership fees are not paying for the house we are renting...The board members are splitting the cost. We feel this is an important activity that needs to be completed in order to keep our club moving in the right direction and to continue meeting the needs of its members. In fact, Larry Seavers provided us with some great information on how we could throw one really HUGE annual social, with a band, at a low cost to members. I think this could be a good one!

7x3 Min Solo on the Dilworth Speed Loop

Goal:
6-8x3 min with 2:30-3:00 min rest at 5k pace (5:29)

Actual:
4 mile warmup
7x3 min with 2:45 min rest at 5:20-5:28 pace
~2 mile cool down for 11.3 miles total

Upon hearing that it was supposed to be almost 60 degrees today, I opted to run my workout later in the day. Since my normal cohorts - Jordan and Meagan - were out of town selling their brands to various running stores, I was to run solo for this workout. To my surprise, the last time I worked out by myself while in the city of Charlotte was in August. I was a little nervous about working out by myself, knowing that I was going to have to push myself all on my own, without the motivation of Meagan flying by me to propel my legs forward. To replace their fabulous company, I decided to let Mr. Garmin do all the work and to beep at me when 3 minutes was over and then again when my 2:45 rest was over.

I enjoyed an easy 4 mile warmup from my house to Freedom Park on the Sugar Creek Greenway. I passed by Rebecca's house, looked for Jordan's headlamp on the porch, and then continued on to the start of the 800m loop. I did a couple of strides and drills to test out my IT Band. Everything was working properly and without any glitches, I began my first interval. Of course, I technically went out too hard. I think I split 5:19 pace and was somewhere below 80 for the first 400m. I powered through the 800m with about a 1-2 second difference and hoped that I'd be able to continue this speedy trend for the entirety.

Luckily, I was able to maintain my form, composure, and mental tenacity throughout the workout. I felt strong on all of the intervals, except for number 6, where I seemed to be overly sensitive to the sudden increase in wind speed. I focused a lot on the portion after the 400m mark because at that point the course begins to have a slight incline that definitely could impact the pace. I tried to go out a little bit easier on the first 400m and then to make a conscious effort to pump my arms to drive my legs to push harder. This mental tactic seemed to work quite well as I came through all of my 2nd 400m splits about the same pace as the first 400m splits.

I wanted to do 8 intervals, but I could feel the effects of the lifting I had done the previous day as part of physical therapy and I could feel a slight discomfort in my knee. I didn't want to run one last interval to find myself stranded two miles from my house, so I played it safe and began my way back home.* As a side note, Will Isenhour made this mistake in May last year, and his knee gave out...I didn't see him running again until three months later!

I am happy that this workout went well but I wish I had gotten in another one of these workouts a couple of weeks ago. Due to sickness, travel, and IT Band related issues, I had to drop a couple of these workouts. Besides minuters and 6x5 min, I haven't really focused too much on speed. I'm hoping that my strength and endurance will allow me to achieve a new half marathon PR in just 10 days.

*Note: After this workout, my knee felt good and I stretched a lot. However, this evening I feel more discomfort than normal (not pain though), kind of like a tightness or pulling sensation on my knee. I will continue to ice!

Week in Review

74 Miles
9 Runs
4 Days of Pain Free Running
1 Bruised IT Band
1 (Temporary) third roommate in Jordan

So this week started off with a snow storm, followed the next day by ice, and then followed the next day with ice remaining on the sidewalks of uptown. Needless to say, there were three days that I spent on the treadmill because my physical therapist warned me that running on a slick surface could make my IT Band condition worse instead of improve. Fortunately for me, I had company for 13 miles on the treadmill with John, Jay, and Meagan in the morning and a double later that evening. Given the icy conditions of the sidewalks and roads, I am glad that I had a Pura Vida gym membership so that I could still get my runs in without worrying about re-injuring my IT Band.

With the ice, that meant that I had to drop one workout (8x3 min) and just do two workouts within two days of each other: 3x2 Mile and tempo + long run. Given that I ran my first discomfort free run in over two weeks on Thursday, both these workouts went better than expected and were good indicators that my goals for the Houston Half Marathon are still within reach. While I did have a scare on Sunday after my tempo, with a stabbing pain in my knee, I iced and heated in hopes that it would be fine by Monday. I was right as I was able to walk down stairs pain free and run across the street the next day. I also updated my orthotics (they were over two years old), which will again correct my leg length discrepancy. I'm hoping this will help prevent me from having issues again.

On a personal note, Jordan ran with me three out of the four days this week. He also became our third roommate for the weekend as Meagan was out of town winning the 13.1 Los Angeles race. John, Jordan, Garrett and I all enjoyed a lazy day of calf massages, blog updating, tv watching, and eating together. It was a fun way to enjoy my last weekend in Charlotte before I head off to Asheville this weekend, Houston next weekend, and Las Vegas the following weekend.

I will also note that several people have reached out to me offering advice on IT Band recovery, which has been really helpful! On the same note, however, several people have asked me what I've been doing that allows me to continue running 70+ miles without pain. Look for a blog post early this week with my keys to IT Band recovery!

Long Run + Tempo with Jordan

Goal:
10 Miles, 5k tempo, 2 mile cooldown

Actual:
10 miles, 3 miles @ 17:31 (5:47, 5:58, 5:45), 1 mile cooldown, IT Band Messed up

Jordan worked out with me on Friday, worked out with John Compton, Richard Falcone, and Ben Hovis on Saturday, and decided it would be "fun" to work out with me as well. You can question his sanity, but I won't since his decisions are obviously benefiting me. We left my house and ran around Freedom Park, on the Booty Loop and back up to our favorite workout loop, the Dilworth Speed Loop. I was rocking my new Craft running tights and Gore head band that I bought from Jordan. Craft is definitely my new favorite brand for winter running gear. Their tights make me feel almost like I've got nothing on. Obviously, they provide that warmth, but the material is so smooth that it feels invisible on my skin. I'm a believer.

Anyways, there isn't much to report on the first 10 miles of our run as nothing really happened besides talking about training and increasing your VO2 Max for the marathon. Once we got to Rebecca's, Jordan stripped down to a t-shirt and shorts because the weather was so nice and I took off my gloves. We ran a lap and a half of the Dilworth speed loop. My goal was just to run 5:55-6:00 pace in an effort to simulate the final 5k of my half marathon in just 13 days.

Guess what? We went out too fast (5:47), but I felt relaxed and controlled. When my Garmin beeped, Jordan said, "Is that the mile?" I responded, "Apparently..." I thought he was doubting the Garmin's accuracy, but really he was just confirmed that we were running fast. He responded "We're ROLLING!" To further highlight our first mile, a rather attractive blonde took the time to roll down her window and cry out "nice pace!" to us. I figured we knew her. Jordan said we did not. She just thought Jordan was hot probably.

The second mile was mainly uphill, so we slowed down a bit to 5:58. There wasn't much to report except that I was thinking about how badly I wanted to run faster in the last mile. During the third mile, Jordan put on his personal trainer hat and spoke words of encouragement to keep me motivated to finish strong. He told me that we had four minutes left, two minutes left, and then told me to focus on objects like a fire hydrant. We finished up with a 5:45 and I bent over to catch my breath. I was shocked that we had run a pace close to the pace we ran just two days ago in the 3x2 mile workout on the same loop. After I regained my composure, we began the jaunt back to Rebecca's. It was exactly 1 mile there, and my entire body felt absolutely perfect. There was no pain in my knee, no (apparent) tightness in my IT Band or glute, and I felt strong.

Then I took one step down the stairs of Rebecca's porch and it felt like someone stabbed my in the outside of my left knee. As soon as my leg bent to a 45 degree angle, a stabbing sensation rocked through my leg and brought back the memories from two weeks ago in California. I said some profanity and exclaimed that I think I messed up my leg. I was not sure until I attempted three steps of jogging and could barely pick up my leg. I had to stop and, at my second attempt, I told Jordan that I did not think I could run home. He was a good sport and said he'd run to my house (2 Miles away) and come pick me. And so began the trek home...I walked about 3/4 of a mile, stopped every now and then to stretch my IT Band, and waited for Jordan on the street corner like an exhausted prostitute in running attire.

When Jordan picked me up, he had a bag of ice ready in the car and I thought to myself that I'm lucky to have such a nice friend (and training partner). Apparently when Meagan goes out of town, Jordan just likes to hang out with John and I so that he doesn't think about how much he misses her.

Now I'm sitting here icing and stretching. I'm confident that I'll be able to run tomorrow, but know that I will need to take off at least 3-5 days when I finish the Houston Half.

3x2 mile at Dilworth Speed Loop

Goal:
3x2 Mile at Same Pace or Faster than last time (5:40-5:45 pace)

Actual:
4.1 miles warmup
3x2 Mile at 11:33 (5:47/5:45), 11:33 (5:46/5:47), and 11:30 (5:50/5:40)
2 miles cooldown

Before I start with anything else, admittedly, this workout went much better than I had expected. Considering that the last week of the year I had to take two days off due to an IT Band pain in my knee, I was skeptical of whether my leg would hold up during this workout. Fortunately, things seemed to be looking up for me because last night I ran for the first time in over two weeks entirely pain free. Jordan and I ventured up and down hills throughout the Dilworth neighborhoods, which also indicated that my IT Band was feeling better since it was holding up over hills. I will credit my Physical Therapist at Carolinas Rehab for getting me back to a pain free state.

Regardless, Jordan nursed his Achilles back to normal health and was game for working out with me. Typical of Jordan, he immediately agreed, without a second thought, to working out with me on Friday night. We warmed up on the Sugar Creek Path and through Dilworth for four miles and then dropped our stuff off at Rebecca's porch, even though she is in Africa. From our Thursday run, Jordan and I were expecting three patches of ice that were about 5-10m in length. At these parts, we would be forced to run defensively and with tentative, slower steps than on the other surfaces.

For the first interval, my breathing felt more labored than it should be and I hoped that I could maintain an average of 5:45 for the entirety of the workout. It was frustrating to slow down on the patches of ice, and I told myself that I would be running faster if the ice wasn't getting in my way. However, I did not want the ice to be an excuse for not hitting my goal times, so Jordan lead the way for us to still hit an average of 5:45.

After we finished this set, Jordan and I both agreed that my breathing was labored so he told me to focus on pushing the uphills on the second set and to focus on the downhills on the third set. This method would hopefully get my mind less focused on the pace, and more on my form and other, less stressful things.

By the second and third sets, I was more relaxed and tucking in behind Jordan as he did all of the work. I didn't really like focusing on the uphills because it seemed that the majority of the loop was uphill as opposed to downhill, but it did help me keep rolling. We finished up and I was really pleased that 1) I had hit my goal times and that 2) my IT Band hadn't bothered me at all! On the third set, we ran both the slowest split of the day (5:50) and the fastest split of the day (5:40). What was great about the workout is that each set was around the same total time, but each was run with a completely different strategy which allowed my mind to practice more techniques and allowed my body to adjust accordingly to changes in pace.

After we picked up the remainder of our warm weather gear, Jordan and I cool down 2 miles back to my house, where we stretched, ate dinner, and hung out with John and Anne Marie. We watched Inception on Bluray.

15 Days until USA Half Marathon Championships!

7 Mile Tempo at McAlpine

Goal:

60 Min Tempo at 6:15-6:25 Pace (adjusted due to surface)

Actual:

7 Mile Tempo for 44:09 at 6:18 pace

After visiting my Physical Therapist, Angela, at Carolinas Rehabilitation on Thursday, I had developed a large bruise 7 inches long on my IT Band after a Scraping therapy session. Angela used the Graston tool to scrape along my IT Band 9 times. While I was warned of bruising, I will admit that it made foam rolling a bit more painful. The morning of this tempo, I was flaunting the awesome bruise below. Good thing it is winter so I didn't scare any people away with my discolored leg.

I had been warned that the cold would make it harder for my IT Band to feel good, so I took the necessary precaution and warmed my leg during my drive to Mcalpine to meet Stephen and Megan. The temps at the start of our run were in the upper teens, which did not bode well for me. Megan and I met at the main entrance and ran to meet Stephen halfway on the way to Old Bell. After catching up with some good conversation (I hadn't seen Stephen or Megan in over a month), we started our tempo.

With the start of the tempo, I didn't feel too bad. I was glad that my knee actually was pain free, and I wondered if it was due to the IT Band Wrap I was wearing that has been endorsed by Scott Jurek. Stephen was our fearless leader as he lead me through the first three miles in a 615 pace average.

Once we got onto the asphault portion of the trail, however, every good thing unraveled. Little did we know that the next two miles of aspault would be covered with black ice, making it very difficult to go fast. This also put much more wear and tear on my IT Bands and I could feel them getting more and more fatigued with each slippery step. I told Stephen that they were getting tired, and we kept trucking along. We ran our slowest mile here (6:27) and I didn't want the rest of the miles to be that slow. At the 4 mile turnaround, I made a very conscious effort to pick it back up to a respectable pace, which we did. However, I felt like I had spent every ounce of my energy on those two miles of ice, and my legs were working much harder than they should be.

After 6 miles, I informed Stephen that I would be ending early, at the 7 mile mark. He was a good trooper and when we stopped, he informed me that I didn't feel too good on my last tempo before Twin Cities and still ran a sub-2:42. I think that Stephen and I both work well together because we know how to listen to our bodies and minds to know when enough is enough. We also know that it is pointless to spend too much time talking or thinking about a workout that was below our own expectations. The best thing to do is to recognize a weakness for the day and to move on. I know that I ran 26.2 miles 8 seconds faster than I did in this tempo today, but the important thing is that I did get a good effort in. I hope that I can run 6 min pace or faster at Houston, but the key will be to get my IT Band feeling normal again.

I enjoyed a long 4 mile cool down with both Stephen and Megan, where I learned more about Stephen got into running. He went from a 2:42 to a 2:38 to a 2:32! That's pretty much amazing. Megan is less than 100 days from the Boston Marathon, where she will revisit the city where she ran a blazing 2:37:xx marathon at the 2008 Olympic Trials. I believe that all the hard work she's been putting in will definitely pay off come April.

Splits:
616
611
620
627
618
619
614

6x5 Min at McAlpine

Goal:
6x5 Min at sub 5:45 pace with 2 min rest

Actual:
2.64 miles warmup
6x5 Min at 5:37-5:42 pace with 2 min jog rest
~1 mile cool down for 10 miles total

I recruited Meagan and Heidi to run this workout with me so that I would have some company at McAlpine. Heidi runs for NYAC, graduated from Duke XC/TF in '04, and heard about the CRC through the Club XC race. Jordan of course showed up to support his girlfriend and to pace us ladies through the mud.

I was worried about my IT Band rubbing against my knee, so I took all the necessary precautions beforehand: I alternated ice/heat (ending with heat), stretched, and performed my strengthening exercises that I found on youtube. I even curled up on my heated blanket to ensure that my entire IT Band received enough warmth to be ready for the soon-to-be assault on my body. Finally, I tucked a hand warmer into my capris so that my IT Band connector would be warm.

After a 20 minute warmup, we made our way to the 1.75 mile marker at McAlpine in an effort to avoid all hills (big or small) and all cambered surfaces. The plan was to make our way towards Old Bell, turn around and then head back onto the first two miles of the XC Course, skipping the hill. Jordan and I lead the way for the first 2, and I felt strong and consistent on these. My breathing felt a little out of whack, so I'm not sure what that was all about. By the 3rd and 4th intervals, Meagan and Jordan had created a 5 meter gap on me, so I made a surge to finish back up with Meagan by the finish. I was not as lucky on the 5th and 6th ones, as Jordan and Meagan made a sizable gap on me of at least 10-20 meters. I was still maintaining my original pace of 5:40, so I'm guessing she was running 5:30-5:34 pace.

For each of the intervals, I tended to finish about halfway in between the 1.2k and 1.6k marks, a little past 1.4k. I felt the worst on the 5th and 6th intervals because my IT Bands on both sides just felt very weak and fatigued. It could be from the exercises I've been doing, or just from general weakness in those areas. It could also have been from the increased number of turns and the uneven, soft surfaces that were causing me to utilize my IT Band more for balance. ALl said and done, considering that I felt no pain in the side of my knee and that I hit a faster pace than my goal Half Marathon pace, I am really pleased with this workout.

Meagan should be very happy and confident about her workout as well because not only did she rock the 6x5 min portion of the workout, but then she knocked out a 20 min tempo afterward. While her decision to run the Houston Marathon is still to be determined, it is clear that she is definitely strong enough to post some fast times within the next couple of weeks. It will be fun to watch, even if from behind!

Splits
1: 5:40 pace (.88 miles)
2: 5:37 pace (.89 miles)
3: 5:37 pace (.89 miles)
4: 5:40 pace (.88 miles)
5: 5:42 pace (.875 miles)
6: 5:42 pace (.875 miles)

Now I'm off to see Dr. Price, in hopes that he can give me some more pointers to getting my IT Band back to normal!

18 Mile Progression Run

Goal:

18 miles with 50-60 minutes uptempo

Actual:

16.04 miles: 1:48:55 @ 6:47 ave
1st 8 miles: 56:46 (7:06 pace)
2nd 8 miles: 51:46 (6:28 pace)

After exchanging several emails on Christmas day with Bill Sumner, coach of Corona Del Mar High School and at the Cal Coast Track Cub, I finally linked up with Juan and Juan...two runners of the CCTC. Bill Sumner was really helpful and I am really grateful for him linking me up with people to do 16 miles with! He has the most wins of any high school coach in California history. Cool stuff!

I met up with the two Juans at 830am at the Back Bay and I soon learned the plan was to do 8 out and back. After that, I was going to run back to my sister's house which was a perfect 2 miles away. We started out with a 7:15 mile and that would be our slowest mile split of the day. For the next seven miles, I enjoyed the view of the snow covered mountains in the backdrop and the beauties of UC Irvine's campus. At 8 miles, we began to dip under 7 minute pace for a progression run. It wasn't anything that we had verbally agreed to, it just felt good for our legs to gradually pick up the pace, and so we did. My legs felt great until about miles 14-15, where they began to feel fatigued. My breathing became more labored, but I had enough in me to finish up right around 6:00 for the last mile.

One of the Juans has never run a marathon and asked for some advice. I told him to go out so slow that he feels like he needs to rip his hair out it's so boring. The other Juan is 41 years old and looks like he is 30. He was the 2010 masters champion at the LA Marathon this year. It was cool running with such a local stud! He told me that he "liked marathons best because they are like a journey." I never had thought of it like that, and I liked his analogy. I'm going to remember that when my marathon training cycle starts for the Olympic Trials.

I really enjoyed the company and might even link up with these guys again for a tempo on Thursday! It's a lot of fun meeting people from other running clubs and hearing about how they work. This club has workouts led by a coach on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I will continue to get more ides from other clubs to hopefully incorporate into the Charlotte Running Club's future.

After the 16 miles were over, I ran 2 miles back to my sister's and we enjoyed the rest of the day at the timeshare. I went in the hot tub for 20 minutes and wanted to alternate hot/cold, but the pool was heated so it was not worth it to jump out of the tub. It's definitely nice to be with my family during the holiday season.

Splits

9 - 6:55
10 - 6:33
11 - 6:37
12 - 6:27
13 - 6:34
14 - 6:24
15 - 6:12
16 - 6:04

6x2 min on/off in California

Goal
6x2 min on/off at 520-ish pace

Actual

~6 miles warmup
6x2 min on/off at 515-525 pace depending on the uphill

2x1 min on/off

~2 miles cool down for 11.5 miles total

I'm on my third day of taking anitbiotics for my bacterial virus, so I took it easy for the first four days of the week. This was my first workout in 7 days, so I had good reason to believe that my legs would feel pretty good on this one. I was right. After I ran from my sister's house to the Newport Back Bay (only half a mile away), I settled into a nice warmup on the bike path towards UC Irvine. I enjoyed the 65 degrees and hoped the sun wouldn't roast my semi-albino skin too much. I did put sunscreen on my face to prevent from aging prematurely since I'm a redhead and all.

Dad and I before the run

I got in almost 6 miles before I decided to pick it up because a guy was trying to "run with me" and I didn't want him to think he was faster than me, so I pressed the lap button on my garmin and I sped away, leaving him in my dust. I rounded the nature reserve in the Back Bay, enjoying the scenery on my rest intervals and practically ignoring it on my fast segments.

For the fourth interval, I even counted all the way to 90 just to help pass the time. The 6th interval was all on the downhill, so my pace for this one was flying: 5:12. I was pretty happy with that one...but then I paid for it because I could barely finish my minuters that I had planned to do. A stark contrast to how my legs felt for the 6x2 minutes, my legs began to feel like they had no power to lift and drive forward. It didn't matter much because I felt like I had gotten in the quality I needed and ran it back in to the house.

Despite having traveled across the country yesterday and staying up for at least 20 hours before I finally made it to bed last night, I felt really good on this workout. Without any company, I found myself mentally tough and tuned in with my body. I quite possibly got a boost from the temperature, the sun, and the excitement of running on new routes. I'm trying to link up with members of the Cal Coast Track Club to run an 18 miler on Sunday.

I'm looking forward to the Christmas festivites tonight and tomorrow with the Quinn family. Best yet, we check into the timeshare tomorrow so I can get in the hot tub to get the soreness out of my legs!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

3x2 Miles Success

Goal:
3x2 mile at 5:50-6:00 pace, around the same effort as back in September.

Actual:
3.43 mile warmup
3x2 mile at 5:48, 5:45, 5:46 pace
1.93 mile cool down

Wow, that workout went much better than I had anticipated! What a great relief because, to be quite honest, I've been feeling rather flat and tired on my runs. This lethargic feeling actually makes sense because today my doctor confirmed what the homeopathic doctor told me last week - that I have some virus. I'm now taking an antibiotic that is supposed to help me get rid of the sickness that has taken over my lymph nodes in the past three weeks.

For that reason, I came into this workout with less confidence than normal. I knew that I would need to adjust accordingly if my body began to show signs of fatigue earlier than normal. When Thomas and Matt showed up at 4pm to warmup, I warned them of this, they nodded, and we made our way down the Sugar Creek Path to meet Meagan for a quick jaunt before she went right back home to ice her soon-to-be-healed achilles.

After our warmup, we dropped clothes off at Rebecca's house so that they wouldn't get stolen like Billy's Wake Forest sweatshirt, and toed the invisible line near Rebecca's driveway.

On the first set, Thomas stayed with me the entire way. We cruised through the first mile too fast (5:48), but managed to keep it even through the second mile. When I saw our mile split, I kind of freaked out but just kept pressing and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't die on the next two sets.

On the second set, I surprised myself when I still felt good. Matt and Thomas had worked out a scheme where they would meet me at various segments to help out. It was great.

On the third set, my legs felt really tired right off the start, and I contemplated stopping at the mile mark because I didn't want to overdo it. Instead, Thomas pulled me through as he ran with me for the final mile and provided some much needed encouragement.

1st set
11:36 (5:48, 5:48)

2nd set
11:29 (5:45, 5:44)

3rd set
11:32 (5:45, 5:47)

Overall, I am very satisfied with this workout. When I did this workout in September in the same location, I ran 610, 550, and 542 average pace. This is definitely a much needed confidence boost as I head into higher mileage with Houston in sight!

14x1 Min On/Off

Goal:
14x(1 min on, 1 min off) at 5:20 or faster pace

Actual:
14x1 min at just that, for 10 miles total.

Well, I'm trying to get my wheels back on the bus for my Houston training, and minuters workouts seem to always do the trick. I had expected to do this workout solo after work, but I was delighted to receive an email from Will that said he needed to run this evening instead of tomorrow evening. It worked out perfectly as we met on the Sugar Creek Pathway and continued to Freedom Park.

I got in a solid 4+ miles of warmup before we reached the Dilworth 2-mile Speed Loop and began our workout. I was expecting my legs to feel the effects from the 6k XC race on Saturday (or from the night of dancing at the XC Race After Party), but instead my legs felt fresh and light. This could also be due to the fact that I took the day off from running on Monday and slept 11 hours to make up for the lack of running. Clearly, I needed to recover from the USATF Club XC Race more than I had expected!

For the most part, we were able to cruise through the streets of Dilworth, but there were some intersections where we had to slow down because drivers couldn't see us.Considering that Will has only run 200 Miles over the past like 4 months, he did a fantastic job and worked with me through 10 intervals. His company was appreciated, especially after almost 5 months of not having had the opportunity to run with him. Once we finished up two loops, we headed right back to Morehead, where we parted ways.

On my 15 minutes back to the house, I was able to reflect on how awesome it is to know that 99.9% of the time, I can find a running buddy. This is definitely something that should not be taken for granted and that can be attributed to many things - Run With Theoden's facebook page, the Charlotte Running Club, informative blogs on running from local enthusiasts. All of these things have sparked comaradie and fellowship in the running community here in Charlotte. I also like how the triathletes and the runners are training together now more than ever. We're one lucky bunch!

Last Workout Before USATF Club XC

3.72 mile warmup

Goal:
Fartlek cut Down

Actual:
~3-2-2-3-2-1 with ~ 2 min rest @ ~5:14-5:25 pace

~ 4 miles cool down

Jordan is running the Thunder Road Marathon on Saturday. This didn't stop him from doing a workout with me today...or from putting in over 20 miles on each of those days. Despite the three days until his 26.2, he has run two workouts with me in the past week. He not only ran two workouts with me, but before each workout, he already put in at least 9 miles with a different group. Take, for instance, last Saturday: Jordan ran the Thunder Road course preview run for 13 miles, and then ran over 14 miles with us at McAlpine for a tempo. Today, his running schedule was a bit tamer as he had "only" run 8.6 miles prior to meeting up with me, where we ran at least 11-12 miles. While this sort of training approach would probably tear my Achilles in half, this seems to be working fine for him as he has not been injured in over a year. It will be exciting to see how Jordan does on Saturday. He's definitely put in the work.

So back to the workout. Jordan and I left our respective houses to meet halfway on the Sugar Creek Greenway. I got a late start and pushed the first two miles of my "warmup" to run under 7 min pace for both miles. Once I caught Jordan, we eased the pace back down to a more respectable range. I like to keep my workouts before races as fun and low key as possible. So, today I decided to do something different. Jordan and I would run around the Dilworth Speed Loop twice for our workout. I just chose markers to run fast towards, and once we reached those markers, we slowed to a jog rest. We repeated this cycle for two loops and ended up running at a pretty speedy clip. I really just wanted to maintain a solid form, control my breathing, and focus on the target. Although Jordan created a gap between us on several occasions, I visualized picking off girls in the race.

Splits On (off)
3:18 (1:36) at 5:22 pace
2:06 (1:44) at 5:23 pace
2:01 (2:02) at 5:14 pace
3:07 (2:20) at 5:30 pace (felt terrible)
2:18 (1:36) at 5:20 pace
1:16 for 400m

My splits were faster than anything I've done since the summer, which would explain why I felt so oxygen-deprived on the third interval. I got a boost of energy on the last 400m when Rebecca drove by and shouted words of encouragement. As we finished, we walked back to her house to check for some water, and, as a testament to how much Corbett and Rebecca support runners, they had water bottles conveniently out on the porch since the water dispenser wasn't out. I'll keep dreaming up the day that I own a house on the Dilworth speed loop and do the same thing.

In other news, Garrett took me to a homeopathic doctor in Kings Mountain, NC. His great aunt goes to this place, and they told me lot of cool stuff about my iron deficiency and then gave me a vile of liquid that I'm to take twice a day. They told me that I had had the flu (just got over that a week ago) and a bout of food poisoning (no idea) recently and that I'd been exposed to pesticides. Considering that I eat mostly organic, the only thing that could explain the pesticides exposure would be when I got the house sprayed for ants. Anyways, it was a great birthday present for a wannabe hippie like me. Now let's see what happens to my iron levels. Granted, it would be best for me to get my iron checked right now, before I start taking the liquid concoction. Stay tuned.

4-Mile Tempo with Lat

Goal: 25 minute tempo at 6:00-6:05 pace
Actual: 4-Mile tempo at 5:51 pace (5:57, 5:49, 6:00, 5:41)

This morning I woke up at 5:45am to prepare for a 4 mile tempo with Lat. I was supposed to meet him at the Brixx at East Blvd at 615am, so I had 13 minutes to get ready. I was out of the door by 5:57am, an accomplishment in itself. I met him right on time, and we ran back a couple of blocks to our unofficial start line at Dilworth Road East / East Blvd.

For the first mile, we went out a little quick, and Lat pulled us back in to a respectable pace. This mile was flat, then downhill, then a little uphill as we turned on Sterling Ave, Mr. Garmin showed 5:57. The second mile we both knew was going to be the toughest, but we pushed forward and ran actually quite fast on this rolling section. Our breathing was more labored at this point, and when Mr. Garmin beeped, I knew why the breathing was heavier, as we came through in 5:49. To me, the flat section of the Booty Loop is always the toughest because it is flat and you think that you can slow it down a little bit because you were just pushing on the hills, but you really can't. The effort seemed to be most difficult on this third mile and I focused on keeping my breathing under control. We came through right at 6:00 flat and you can tell by this time that Lat and I settled in a little bit during this mile. The fourth mile was flat and then downhill, so definitely the easiest of the four segments. It's pretty fun to just let your legs run with a mind of their own down a hill at the end of a tempo, and that's exactly what I did. Running this last portion didn't require too much thinking; I just trusted my legs would carry me to a fast time.

Next time I do a similar workout, I hope that my breathing feels better. I also felt pretty uncomfortable at that pace, so I want to feel like the tempo is an easier effort the next time I do it. I am pleased with the time as it is faster than my goal going into it. Lat's company was essential, and I am grateful for having him out there to push me. On that note, I am ready for Nedlo and Kinley to return from the great state of Texas so that we can all run together again.

Splits
2 mile warmup

4 mile Tempo (23:27 for 5:51 ave)
1 - 5:57
2 - 5:49
3 - 6:00
4 - 5:41

4 mile cooldown

12x1 min

Goal: 12x1 min on/off at good effort
Actual: exactly that for 3.73 miles in 24 minutes

Today I had the honor to run with Liz, my old teammate and roommate from Wake! She had a workout too since she was selected to run for the BAA at the USATF Club XC Champs. I got together a solid group of Thomas, Aaron, and Eric to meet up with us at McAlpine so that we could check out the race course. In the late afternoon, we warmed up 2.34 miles and then really went right into the workout. In hindsight, I should have done strides since this was the first speedy thing I've done in quite some time, but Mother Nature's clock was quickly ticking to hours of darkness, so we jumped right in.

We started at the 1 mile mark on the bike trail and made our way into the 5k course. The entire time I felt strong and relaxed. I focused on my form and breathing to make the mintuers feel as effortless as possible. It was mentally taxing when Aaron and Thomas began to pull away from me on the 12th one, but I sucked it up and ran around the same pace I had for the previous 11.

We finished up and cut the cool down short so that we wouldn't get locked in to the Main Gate parking lot. Minuters are always harder than they sound, but the workout went well.

Since you asked...

A lot of people have asked me over the past couple of weeks if I am planning on running another marathon before the Trials in January 2012. Most of the time, people have asked this with the expectation that I have a goal to run faster and to try to hit the "A" standard (2:39). To be honest, shortly after running at Twin Cities, I already knew that I did not want to run another marathon before the Trials.

The reason? I left TCM with such a great feeling of elation, confidence in myself, and contentment. I want to enter the Trials race with the complete and utter confidence that I gained from the Twin Cities Marathon. That is not to say that I don't believe in myself; it is to say that the idea of chasing a time in a random marathon doesn't sound nearly as exciting as running my heart out at the Trials with, quite possibly, the same group of women I ran with at TCM (with the addition of Addie Bracy, Megan Hovis, and potentially Meagan Nedlo). Really, I'd like to use the positive experience as a driver for my training in the next 13 months.

On the horizon of 2011, I hope to achieve a new PR at the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston, Texas. This course will be run on miles 1-9 and 23-26.2 of the US Olympics Trials course. I am honored to have the opportunity, yet again, to run with Ruth Perkins. I also will get to watch Meagan Nedlo race for the Olympic Trials qualifying time. Not to mention that I will also be starting the race from the Houston Astros Minute Maid Field, which is Garrett's minor league affiliation, supplying me with yet another reason to run this race. Symbolically, my running endeavors will come full circle with Garrett's baseball endeavors as I run from the place where he strives to be in a couple of years. For these reasons, I am really looking forward to this race. Before then, I've got the USATF Club XC Champs in Charlotte as well as a 9 day excursion to Costa Rica with my family.

Further, Mark Hadley and I agreed that it would be best to focus on some of the USA Championship Races, such as the 15k and the 25k. I'll know more once 2011 gets here, so stay tuned.