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May 27, 2008

24 Days, 1:22:50 Half in Practice, and 85 Miles

Well, the title pretty much sums up everything! 24 days until the marathon and I am one nervous runner. Every time I visualize the race, I get little flip-floppers in my stomach. To note that I am hungry for a strong marathon is a gross understatement . . . I am ravenous, starving, insatiable. After the disappointment in Chicago last fall, all I ask my running goddesses is that they greet us with a lukewarm morning and some calm winds. That's basically asking for perfection, but why not start pleading now?

Last week marked a new milestone: 85 miles, including a 1:22:50 half on Saturday. We ran the half in a workout and H. set it up so that Tim and I simulated the marathon. Our goal was to run the first 5 in 32:30 (our goal for the race), then churn out 5 in 31:15 (6:15s), and then smoothly cruise the final 5K @ 6:30 pace.

Here's how it shook out: first 5 in 32:00 exactly. It felt harder than I thought it should have so I immediately started to worry. But as soon as I ditched my long sleeve shirt and hit "start" again, I was mentally in it. Tim took it out hard the first mile and, not knowing what pace we were running, I struggled to keep up so I let him go. In spite of pulling up a little, I still came through in 6:08. I struggled through the final 4, running slightly faster than 6:15 pace (6:11s), but it was the kind of struggle that we feel when our legs are screaming with fatigue from several weeks of hard training. I hit that 5 in 30:53. Tim waited for me and as soon as I turned around, we started the final 5K. We hit 6:25 - 6:27s and they rolled like butter . . . smooth and even. I always forget how "comfortable" sub 6:30s can feel after hitting 6:11s. My main problem now is figuring out the middle 15 miles of the marathon . . . is 6:15 realistic? I am still not confident that it is.

I followed-up that workout with a 20 miler on Sunday and a much needed rest day yesterday. The plan this week is to hit 76-80, all singles, and 6 days :) After that, we start sliding the mileage south . . . and I *love* the taper!! I truly feel like the taper is the final reward for several months of hard work.

Aside from running, things are great right now! I have absolutely no complaints. Final grades have been turned in, I said "no" to teaching summer school, and I am catching up on sleep. While, I am a notorious under-sleeper, an insomniac some might say, but anything around 5 straight hours and I am ready to rock. H. has been warning me to watch the sleep, though, so I have tried - whenever possible - to sneak in 20-45 minute naps; those short naps are quite rejuvenating.

I still have several summer projects to complete, but I enjoy working on them at home or in the coffee shop around the corner. I am totally digging this mini break! I think my June marathon is my best bet for a fast time because as soon as our semester commences in August, I am going straight to the slaughterhouse. I will still be an Assistant Director of the First-Year Writing Program, but I will still be teaching a full load of writing courses. Ugh. But I am not going to think about that chaos just yet. Instead, I am going to fantasize about some kind of 9-5 job that I can find, or maybe I will finally suck it up and strike out on my own and start building my dream career. Whatever I do, I know one thing for sure: I want to put my heart and soul into this running thing and see where it takes me by 2012 :-)

Posted by bridget at 11:46 AM | Comments (9)

May 22, 2008

Wheels Are Spinning

While I have not been Debbie Downer lately, I haven't exactly been Debbie Upper either. I'll be the first person to admit that last week had me worried - really, really worried. I was worried that I had suddenly trashed the past 18 months of consistent hard work. I was worried that my legs were completely dead and completely incapable of being revived in time for the marathon. I was worried that I had lost complete control of my body and that I was spiraling - dangerously - downward.

Well, I am relieved to report that my body has surfaced from the trenches - 3 of the 4 pounds that weirdly disappeared last week are happily back in place - and I am feeling 20000000 times better! I took it easy last week when I realized that I was in trouble, but I still harbored that lingering fear that I had not slowed down in time. I am still not completely out of the ground yet, but as the week has progressed, my workouts have gotten faster, my legs have grown fresher, my appetite has gotten bigger, and I have logged more sleep! My glutes, of course, are still screaming, but not quite as loudly as they were yesterday.

Thank goodness, too, because this week is a big week!

I am on track to hit 80 miles this week . . . the most I will have ever recorded on my legs in one week. My Tuesday and Thursday (today) runs were both 12 total, including a fairly brutal fartlek workout with 2 x 1 mile thrown onto the end. I logged 13 peaceful miles yesterday! Yesterday was actually a treat because my twin sister, Anne, joined me for the first 3 before we went our separate ways. It was so lovely to run with her! Colleen (my older sister) was out of commission this week for our usual 4:45AM run/therapy session . . . but she promises that she will be back in action next week.

4 weeks until the big dance. I am so so so so nervous. I just need to stay healthy and make friends with the ice pack. Ice and I are not fond of each other.

As my mom would say, shake out your hands and take a deep breath . . I need to do that!

Posted by bridget at 3:01 PM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2008

Pain in the Butt (literally)

So last week went from bad to worse pretty quickly. I dragged on our Tuesday run after getting a deep tissue massage on Monday, and then I barely crawled through my 11 mile run on Wednesday. I survived the workout on Thursday, but I started to feel an ache in my right glute - the same ache that forced me to drop out of the Milwaukee Marathon at Mile 19 in 2005 :( I stretched and iced. I felt better on Friday, but then I felt like running death on Saturday.

The prescribed workout for Saturday was 8 x 1.25 miles @ 6:15 pace with 30 seconds rest. Theoretically, this should be a comfortably hard workout for me, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. I ran the first interval in 7:38 (6:06 pace). I felt confident and great . . . ran the second one in 7:38. Then I started the third one and a fatigue slammed my quads like whiplash. I slowed to 7:55. The 4th rolled painfully in 7:55. And then I did something I haven't done for the past 18 months of my running rebirth: I quit. I looked at H. and finally admitted that I was tired - and not just "tired," but BONE TIRED and dead. I wanted to fall asleep.

H. let me run the next one with my friend Mark and I jogged the loop in 8:17 (6:37 pace). Funny how 6:37 pace felt slow . . . . I would have rallied for joy 2 years ago for 6:37s to feel easy . . . but I'm a different runner now and my running "norms" have undergone a drastic makeover. Maybe I'm getting too greedy, but every time I toe the line, I expect my body to perform. This week has been a stab in the heart because my body said - loudly, clearly, and defiantly - "NO."

H. ran with me on the 6th interval and we ran 7:48 - two seconds faster than the goal pace of 7:50 (yeah - I made the rookie mistake of running the first two waaaay too fast - hence, digging my ditch and falling in face-forward). I would like to report that I walked away happy and proud of myself, but the opposite is true. I worked too hard to run 6:14 pace on that last rep - a clear sign that my legs were begging for a break. I bagged the final 2 intervals and did an easy cool-down.

I cut Sunday's run from 20 to 16 and for the first time all week, I felt remotely human. However, my right glute is an absolute mess and I would be lying if I said that I was not worried. As my legs grew more weary and tired over the last week, my stride and my form got sloppy, and I think that lethal combination (fatigue + sloppy stride) brought back some bad habits, which ultimately triggered the sore glutes.

I am 5 weeks out from my goal race; I have 2 more 20 milers to run, and 3 more weeks of 70+ mileage. I am confident that this is just a speed bump in the training - a speed bump that most runners must endure and cautiously drive over as they race toward the summit. I am acting conservatively and cautiously right now - I want my breakthrough 1:20 half to be the dress rehearsal for the big dance; I don't want to come through this marathon training cycle with just a half PR.

Here's to hoping for good things to come!

Posted by bridget at 6:44 PM | Comments (1)

May 12, 2008

Another Win, 76 Miles, and Screaming Quads . . . Taking It Down a Notch

Another week, another win, and a brick wall . . . I'm taking a giant leap backwards this week.

I recovered well after the half - better than expected- and I was even excited to hear that people thought the course was actually 13.22 miles (which would have put me in at 1:19:54). BUT, I am not one to get excited about "what ifs" or to get my hopes up over rumors regarding long courses. In my mind, I was just relieved to hear people chirping that the course was long as opposed to charging that it was short! That race and the time still haven't hit home with me . . . I am finally reaching goals that I have had since I first started turning circles over 20 years ago, but it's hard to believe what has magically come together over the past 18 months.

So last week I hit another 76 mile week - I had a couple of solid workouts, and I capped off the week with a win at the Lemont Quarryman Challenge 10 mile run (I finished in 1:03 exactly and managed to break the course record by 5 minutes; the first mile climbed 100 feet . . . it was BRUTAL . . . the entire course was a roller-coaster), and a Sunday 20 mile run into winds gusting up to 35 mph and rain the size of golf balls. The race on Saturday was not planned - H. decided to have all of us do it as a solid hill workout. I averaged 6:18s over a super hilly course and while I did not feel like I was working particularly hard, I definitely felt the burn in my quads. My legs were still coming out of the previous week's half (whether I felt it or not). It's not surprising that everything came crashing down during Sunday's 20 miler. I was so miserable that I wanted to cry and then walk (in that order), but I kept coaching myself into believing that these kinds of tough runs are what separate the Paula Radcliffes from the rest of us.

I returned home from Sunday's run and spent the rest of the day with the chills, a fever, and a lot of bathroom breaks. B's parents were in town so we went out to eat the night before at a fun Mexican restaurant and something that I ate completely disagreed with me. After my run on Sunday, I mustered up the energy to celebrate Mother's Day with B's mom - she is sooooooo awesome, beautiful, and warm! We had a great time together as a family even though I felt awful the entire time; it was just a rough day.

I took Monday off and got a deep tissue massage. The massage is definitely helping, but I feel more run down now than I can ever remember feeling. I don't have any red flag symptoms of over-training - other than sore quads and fatigue, but I always experience some level of that at this stage in training. My hunch is that the massage - and I haven't had one since October 9, 2007 - released a bunch of toxins and crap that are swimming throughout my body as I write this. I feel kind of flu-like and exhausted.

BUT, all of that said, I am incredibly optimistic. This is all to be expected, especially considering that I have sewn together weeks of 65-77-73-70-58 (race) - 76. I have no idea what kind of mileage I will log this week, but I am not worried about it. My primary goal is to get my legs back so that I can focus on sneaking under 2:50 in a few weeks.

B. took some neat pictures of the race on Saturday - I will try to post a few :)

Posted by bridget at 6:45 PM | Comments (2)

May 5, 2008

Palos Half Race Report

I am still experiencing an adrenaline rush over this race. I have never indulged in illegal substances, but I imagine that the kind of "high" that I felt yesterday is the kind of high that most people crave; it was beyond euphoric, not to mention incredibly emotional.

I am not one for suspenseful endings (knowing how something ends never stops me from watching a movie or reading a recommended novel!), so I'll start with the results: I won my first big race, and I extended a 1 minute lead over the first half of the race into a 2 minute lead in the end. I broke the tape (B. saved the bright pink tape!) in 1:20:48 . . . so I averaged 6:10 pace/mile, but this average is slightly deceptive. The course was not "flat and fast" as advertised (but, with the exception of Chicago races, are they ever really flat and fast?) - it was slightly rolling the entire way - out and back - so my splits varied quite a bit.

The day began with B and I arriving around 6:10 AM for a 7:30 AM start. When I went to pick up my bib number, it was missing. I immediately let a negative thought creep into my mind: "So this is how today is going to go . . . " but the minute B. started to see the negativity creep in, he grabbed my reassigned number and shouted, "this is the BEST number ever!" I couldn't help but let some of the pre-race jitters drain from my body . . . I started to laugh and it felt good to brush off the little things and re-focus on the race. (We did see a woman at the start with my original bib number, though! I guess they assigned two numbers 1028).

I warmed up for 10 minutes and felt the usual way one feels pre-race: rusty and stiff and "bad." Fortunately, I know better than to put any weight on how a warm-up feels. I jumped into the starting corral too early because I was worried about having to push my way to the front - I always feel rude and bad pushing my way to the front. I didn't do any more jogging or stretching; I just tried to breathe and relax. I saw one Kenyan woman and a few local stars line up in front of me. For an inaugural race, the director managed to toss together a sweet prize money purse: $1000 for first, $750 for second and so on. That kind of money always brings the Kenyans out :)

The gun went off, and I went out with a 5:50. I knew that was too fast, but I was not laboring in my breathing or in my stride (which actually worried me). I let the Kenyan woman take us through mile 2, but she was extremely hard to pace off of. She would surge, slow down, surge, slow down . . . she literally fartleked an entire half marathon. However, I knew that I could take her. Her breathing was severely labored for 2 miles into a race and her stride looked too rigid. I let her surge and fall back; I stayed steady and relaxed. After we hit mile 2 in 11:59 or so, I never saw her again. From that point on in the race, I ran completely alone . .. which makes this race even more of a shining moment. H. has been reinforcing the importance of biofeedback and of racing relaxed and within myself . . . while STILL staying competitive. I tend to lack an "I want to kick her ass" attitude. H. is trying to make me "mean."

At mile 4, I rolled up by B. - who showed up EVERYWHERE on the course! - and I told him, with a look of worry on my face, "I am going too fast." He yelled back, "slow down!" The people around him thought he was off his rocker, but I did slow down - I slowed down enough to prepare for a solid second half. As usual, I don't collect splits, so I cannot rehash all of them here, but I do remember some numbers.

I ran relaxed to the turn around - somewhere near the 6.5 mile mark. At that point, I could tell that I had at least a one minute lead. I wasn't comfortable with that . .. I know that 6.5 miles is a long way to go in a race and a LOT can happen. I did an internal gut check, and decided, as soon as I hit the 7 mile marker, to run like hell. Because the course was out and back, I spent miles 6.5 - 10 passing people making their way to the halfway mark. This proved to be one of the most amazing racing experiences I have ever had.

While the course itself was kind of boring (a long country road with trees on both sides), I was invigorated by the cheers from the other side of the road. I felt such a kindred spirit among the women who were out there. Sure, a lot of men cheered me on as I raced by, but the women were cheering and screaming as I ran by - I spent 3 miles hearing "You go girl!" and "FIRST woman!!" Chills enveloped my body as I pumped by arms harder and really relished the moment; to hear people cheering like that was so humbling, if not a little embarrassing! I am used to finishing second (and, let's be honest, no one really remembers who finishes second) so this was such a new experience.

(I know this post is disjointed and jumpy - it mimics how I feel right now!)

I dropped a 5:50 at mile 8 and followed that up with a pair of 6:00s . .. I came through 10 in 1:01:11. I hit 11 in 1:07 and change, 12 in the high 1:13s and home in 1:20:48. This is where some post-race disappointment settled in. By mile 11, I knew I had a strong lead and I also knew that I would comfortably break 1:21, but not 1:20. I let myself relax and slow down WAY TOO MUCH. However, I am not going to dwell on that now . . . instead, I am going to enjoy this one and worry about race tactics the next time I lace up the Mizunos and slap on the bib number.

There were three amazing things about this race that I cannot stop thinking about:

1) B. is amazing :) He is the best support team a person could hope for. He zoomed around the course and saw me 5 times . . . every time I saw him, I felt energized and happy. He reminds me why I am so lucky in this world :)

2) The other runners on the course, particularly the other women, were sooooo supportive. I know that I am nothing special in the world of running and racing, but the other runners made me feel like all of my hard work and patience has paid off. As cheesy as this sounds, I was so damn proud to be a woman out there! One woman, she was probably in her mid 70s, came up to me after the race and whispered, "Do you know how many men you beat?!" She was great!

3) My dad, my sister, Colleen (and her three kids), and B. were all at the finish to see me get my first win. I high-fived my dad at the start, but to see him yelling and screaming as I sprinted to the finish still gives me the chills now! He was so proud . . . as a coach and an athlete himself, he knows what kind of work goes into my training (all of the 4:30 AM runs) . . . I told B. after the race that if I never win another race, I will be okay because my dad saw this one and that - that is something - a feeling - that I cannot translate into words.

I have so much more to say, but I will save it for the next entry . . . which may be a painful one since my legs are screaming.

Oh - and just in case you are curious - I used some of my $1000 prize money to take B. on a shopping spree at Patagonia! He got some really cool new clothes :)

Posted by bridget at 8:41 AM | Comments (11)

Update!

Before I jump into the race, I have a few weeks and workouts to highlight. But before I even go there, I feel the need to apologize for not updating in almost a month. I have been busy teaching and administrating (what kind of word is that?), and, of course, running . . . and running a lot (keep in mind that my definition of "a lot" is anything 60 miles/week and above). Anyway, the craziness of my semester is starting to calm down - leaving me with more time write (and breathe, which I find necessary and good in life).

Historically, I have been a 40-50 miles/week kind of "runner." For the past 18 months, under the magical guidance of H., we have steadily built my mileage to a high of 78. The last 8 weeks have gone something like this: 65, 60, 60, 65, 73, 78, 70 and then this week, a huge fall back week, 58. If someone would have told me several years ago that I would spend 3 weeks in a row making friends with the 70s, I would have laughed. But now I understand just how necessary that kind of mileage - run all in singles and in 6 days/week in my case - is. My legs are stronger than ever and my endurance is gradually increasing.

Last weekend, I knocked out a 20 mile run in 2:17 and the day before that, we did a pretty tough workout (accompanied by 20-30 mph wind gusts). H., his friend, Mike, and I ran a 7.5 mile warm-up, and then we did 5 x 1 mile with 1:00 rest on the track. Our splits were 6:04, 6:00, 5:58, 5:59, 6:01. After that workout - and after last Wednesday's 800s - H. predicted that I would run yesterday's half in 1:20:55. I didn't believe him. My fastest half was 1:23:17, and the lower these times get, the harder it gets to lop off seconds, let alone minutes!

Last Wednesday, we did a pre-race "tune-up": 6 x 800 with 30 seconds rest. We split 2:55, 3:00, 2:53, 2:56 and then H. told me to "go" and I dropped a 2:38 and a 2:44. I think I knew then, too, that I was ready to race.

I will write up a separate race report so that this post does not get annoyingly long!

Posted by bridget at 8:15 AM | Comments (0)

May 4, 2008

1:20:48 at Palos Half

Race report coming tomorrow (I am way too tired to recap the race and the past few weeks tonight). This was my first big win, and the best part of the morning was that my father, B., and Colleen and her three children were there to see me break the tape.

My semester ends next week so I intend to re-direct my energy towards updating this blog . . . I cannot wait!

Posted by bridget at 10:20 PM | Comments (1)