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

Pre-Race w/ Tim

Goal:
10 miles with 4-5 x 400M @ 80 w/ 90s rest, 1 mile @ 530-535, 2:30 rest, 4-5 x 400m @ 78

Actual
3 mile warmup
4x400m in 78, 78, 78, 76 (w 72-84s rest)
1 mile in 531 (2:16 rest)
4x400m in 78, 78, 76 75 (w/ 80-87s rest)
3 miles cool down for 10+ miles total

Today’s 5:30AM workout can best be summed up with Tim’s Facebook post:

Speedwork with Caitlin. Very 'unique' motivation. I heard "hurry up old man," the lie of "after these 400s this 535 mile will feel super easy," "you dropping back motivated me to speed up even more" and my personal favorite "don't pass out cause you're way too heavy for me to pick up and move”

While the above makes me look like an arrogant POS, I promise that Tim enjoyed every second of this workout.  We really pushed each other on the 400s and I definitely ran faster because Tim was there.  I feel really fast and strong going into Cooper River.  Now I’m just hoping that the win cooperates some!

Week in Review and a Blog Nomination

60 Miles
1 Workout
10 mile MLR
12.5M Long Run + Workout
1 Blog Nomination

This week in running was the beginning of my taper for the Cooper River 10k.  Everything of importance is recapped in the workout posts, so I’ll focus on the surprise of this week!

Miraculously, other people (besides my parents and Meagan Nedlo) read my blog.  Shocker, I know.

I was nominated for Salty Running’s Greatest Women’s Running Blog by an anonymous fan.  Admittedly, I do not have time to frequent many running blogs besides Meagan’s, but I had been on Salty Running’s page before when they wrote an article on Alana Hadley last summer.  They seem to have a great page that promotes women’s running.  Thanks Salty for creating this awesome competition!

So, somehow someone told Salty about my blog, and viola, the underdog blog was in!  Paul Mainwaring found my nomination in the first round and sent it to me via a FaceBook message.  Needless to say, I should probably pay Paul for the recent agent services he’s provided as he promoted the first round vote via the Charlotte Running Club’s private “Seven Minute Milers” FB group.  I’m very humbled by the support for my blog...which features a writing style that I describe as very factual, frank and to-the-point.  I hope that I can continue to provide motivation to those post-collegiate runners out there who aspire to better their college PRs.  It is completely possible!

Next year, I hope to nominate Meagan’s blog so she can compete.  I am very shocked that Meagan Nedlo was not on the list because her blog offers wit, sarcasm and fun in every single post.  Heck, there is even another blogger out there that steals paragraphs from Meagan’s blog and makes a few wordsmith changes and pastes into her own blog posts.  I guess plagiarism is a form of flattery?  Stay tuned for results!

2 x Broken-Two-Mile

Goal:
2 x 2m via 550-600 pace through 1.5 miles, then fast (245 or faster) last 1/2 mile. 3:00-4:00 jog between. If no worse for the wear after, then prior to cooldown do 6-8 x ~100m strides at a fast but controlled effort (e.g. anywhere from mile to 3k race pace).

Actual:
4 mile warmup in 30:00
2x2 mile at 11:23 - 550, 533 (2:48/2:44), 3:21 jog rest, 11:12 - 539, 533 (2:51/2:42)
4 mile cool down in 29:00 with 6x ~100m stride for 12.5 miles total

It’s always a huge confidence booster to nail the workout one week prior to a goal race!  Around 8AM on Saturday, I headed out the door to meet Phil and Eric at the Speed Loop for some two mile repeats with a faster last half mile.  I knew that this workout would be mostly solo after the first mile since I had prescribed a different workout for Eric as he preps for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.  Sure enough, after 1 mile into my first set, I felt really good and was already a couple steps ahead of Eric.  I barreled ahead, with my own will and determination propelling me forward.  I pushed through a little too hard on that last mile, but my legs felt absolutely great. During my jog rest, I mentally prepared to ensure the same speed was maintained in the second set.

Fortunately for me, I did just that and came through 1.5 miles in a solid 5:40 pace and picked it up to a 2:42 last half mile.  I was really thrilled to hit these paces without much effort.  Especially after such a dismal mid-week workout, I was happy I didn’t have any stomach issues on this one.  I’ve really enjoyed the workouts that Terry has given me over the past couple of weeks.  They’ve really zoned in on my goal 10k pace (5:30-5:35) and have allowed me to come out feeling strong and confident for Cooper River in just 7 days.

After the workout, I hopped in the car for a quick day trip to Durham to make our final decision on housing.  Within 8 hours, I saw two houses, ate lunch with my in-laws and determined that the carriage house truly is the perfect fit for Garrett and me to live in during our time in Durham.  Basically, we will live in Hope Valley Country Club, which is nestled only half a mile from established greenways, but also filled with several road loops that I’m sure I can turn into my own new “Speed Loop.”  I am excited!