PRs, long runs, sore muscles - Oh my!

This was a BIG week of running for me.  Not only was it a big mileage week for me at 40 miles (my longest ever and likely the most weekly mileage I'll have for a long, long time), but I also snagged some great PRs.

I started the week with a 5 mile run on the indoor track at the YMCA thinking that I'd be doing 10 on Wednesday and another 5 on Thursday.  When I realized my work schedule wasn't going to allow me to run 10 miles before work any day this week, I decided to take my running gear to work and finish off another 5 miles at lunch.  My legs were a little tired from Saturday's 14 miler so I wasn't particularly fast, but I did get to run outside at lunch for the first time in weeks!  The sidewalks were clear, it was about 32 degrees outside, and did I mention the fact that I got to run outside?!

First 5 miles indoors - 10:21/mile avg
2nd 5 miles outside - 11:19/mile avg

Wednesday morning I got up and pounded out my fastest 5 miles EVER at an average pace of 9:31/mile.  That's a time of 47:44, people!

Thursday morning was sort of sluggish, but I did get to run with Lynn again.  She's been out of commission with a hip issue and hasn't been able to run but Thursday she ran a mile with me on the indoor track. It was nice to have some company!  Average pace?  10:10/mile.

And finally, yesterday's 20 miler.  I've been checking the weather forecast all week and yesterday was supposed to be clear with a high of 35.  I was super excited to run outside for my long run and mapped out a route from our house to Meridian, back to Boise near the mall, then finally back to our house. But when I went upstairs to throw on running gear, I could hear the wind howling outside. I think I paced around the bedroom for a solid 30 minutes checking the weather, listening to the wind, and trying to figure out if I should continue with my plan to run outside or if I should head to the indoor track yet again.  The wind wasn't expected to subside anytime soon and was blowing 20+ mph.  As much as I hated to do it, I made the decision to pack up some gear and run at the Y again.  Sigh.

I was really trying to slow my pace for the long run so I would still have some energy at the end of it is really difficult to control my pace without the ability to use my Garmin indoors.  I started out too fast and I knew it by mile ten (1:41:54), by far my fastest 10 mile run ever.  I finished (approx) 13.1 in 2:13:51 (new PR at 10:13/mile!)  and took a little break to eat 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich and have some Honey Stinger Chews (I had some Jack3d before my run) and set out to finish the final 7 miles.  My first 13 miles were all under 11:00/mile but my last 7 were all over 11:00/mile, my fastest of the 7 being the 20th mile at 11:32.  One thing I've been focusing on is pushing myself the last lap or 2, like I will want to do at the marathon in 3 weeks (holy crap, THREE WEEKS!!!).  I finished 20 in 3:35:28 which is an average pace of 10:45/mile. 

My legs are sore but that's to be expected.  Now the taper begins...

Dare I say it? A fast 14 miles?

Well, once again my plans for outdoor running were foiled yesterday.  I was quite excited that the temps were above 22 degrees for my 14 mile training run but when I stepped outside I was once again greeted by an icy driveway, icy sidewalks, and icy roads which left me nowhere to run that morning.  We made plans to drive to McCall for the Winter Carnival that afternoon so I didn't really have the option of waiting until later in the day to run and I really like having Sunday as a rest day so I wasn't very interested in waiting another day.  Plus, I had already taken my Jack3d that morning and if I didn't go work out I would have exploded. 

So I trudged off to the Y for another indoor track run.  My first mile was surprisingly difficult.  My shins were screaming at me to stop, so I took a few minutes to stretch a little bit about 1/2 mile in and then continued on.  They still hurt a bit and I realized my form was terrible so I made a conscious effort to straighten up and correct my stride and that made all the difference.  Believe it or not, I was not trying to run this super fast. 

I tried to take it easy and slow things down a little bit since I've been really bad about slowing down my long runs.  They (whoever "they" are) say I should I should be running my long runs at a 12:30 pace or so but that feels so. damn. slow.  So I haven't been.  I just run them how I feel.  I walk when I need to walk and I run when I feel like running.  That method played out pretty well for me on this run.  I ran my fastest half-marathon ever during this little training run (2:16:57 - my previous PR was 2:21:13!) and in the end finished 14 miles in 2:27:18, faster than 2/3 of the half-marathons I've run over the past few years.  Say whaaaaaat?!

I stretched and got home to shower before Josh and I headed out the door for the ride to McCall.  Sitting in the car for a few hours after running that hard probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had, but the decision to stop at Gold Fork Hot Springs on the way back sure was!

Jack3d 9 miles

Jack3d.  It's kind of like crack for workout freaks.  Seriously.  I got a little sample to test out last week and I used it before my long run.  It was pretty good but I don't think I realized the full benefit of it since I ran 18 miles that day.  I took it again this morning before scheduled 9 miler and wowza, did I ever run fast! 

Breakdown:

Mile 1 - 9:30
Mile 2 - 9:29
Mile 3 - 9:56
Mile 4 - 9:50
Mile 5 - 10:16
Mile 6 - 10:10
Mile 7 - 10:38
Mile 8 - 10:27
Mile 9 - 11:00

The last mile was pretty rough but I flew through the first 4 like I was a girl on fire. I'm actually not sure if I've ever run 4 miles continuously at such a fast pace.  Go me!

December has been slow...

Slow with the running, anyway.  My Grandpa Keyser died on the 14th, almost exactly a year after my Grandma Keyser died last year.  My parents, siblings, and I went back to South Dakota for the funeral and I was smart enough to take my running gear with me.  I only got a 2 mile run in while I was there, but my Garmin said I ran one of them in 9:08!  Woah!  I'm pretty sure it was because the first mile was a lot of downhill stretches followed by flat stretches, but I'll take it!  I forgot that the little town where we were staying has a lot of rolling hills, so it was a surprise to do the slightest bit of hill work while I was there. 

Fast forward to Christmas Eve.  I met up with Renee and her sister and managed a slow 3.5 mile run, 1/2 on pavement, 1/2 on the trails.  It was nice to have a nice, easy run in the books. 

Fast forward yet again to today.  Our Director let everyone off work an hour early (yay!) so I went home with the intention of going on a longer run of 4-6 miles.  When I started out, I noticed some dark clouds and lightening in the distance, but it seemed fairly far from where I was that I didn't worry about it too much.  I got about a mile down the road and took a look around.  The dark clouds had started to come closer and it was pretty gloomy, so I turned around and headed home.  Within 5 minutes of me being home the lightening was crazy and it turned into a torrential downpour.  I was pretty damn glad to be home!  I don't even remember what my pace was, but I do know I ran about 2 miles. 

I'm thinking about trying to get up to join the Shu's trail running group tomorrow to get in a few more miles before the year ends, but that also means I'll have to get out of bed earlier tomorrow than I have for the past few weeks.  We'll see what happens...

Chicago Monster Dash Recap!

The Monster Dash has come and gone and I have done much celebrating!  I have a feeling this is going to be another long post, so go grab something to drink and come back to have a read. 

I flew into Chicago on Friday afternoon about 2 hours later than scheduled due to an electrical error on the plane.  Once I landed, I was able to navigate the CTA train downtown to packet pickup where I picked up my bib, timing chip, and rad new jacket.  I found a quaint little joint to grab a bit to eat and a beer and waited for Jamie to get to the hotel.  We gathered her race stuff and headed over to see our friend, Kirby, in action at the bar where he works.  We grabbed a beer and a small pizza before making our way to a running store so Jamie could stock up on Gu-like substances and to Walgreens so she could try to find a costume.  We were supposed to be Mario and Luigi but with all of the stuff that happens in life the Luigi costume didn't happen.  It was a toss up between Cleopatra and "Sexy Pirate Lady" for costumes and since the "Sexy Pirate Lady" looked slightly more comfortable, she decided on that one. 

With packets picked up and costumes purchased, it was time to eat some real food. We stopped at the grocery store and picked up some pasta and spinach to eat with some chicken breasts back at her apartment.  It was an uneventful night, which was just fine since Saturday would prove to be a busy day. 

I woke up without an alarm on Saturday at just the right time.  I enjoyed some coffee and a breakfast bar, threw on my Mario costume, and we loaded up to go to the race start.  Parking was a little more congested than we expected and we got to the race start with just enough time to put on some last minute items (Garmin, iPods, etc.) and check our bags at the bag check before heading to the portable toilets...except that the lines for the toilets was really long.  It was 9:11 and the 1/2 marathon was supposed to start the run at 9:15!  Knowing we wouldn't be able to hold things off for the length of the race and risking getting ticketed in Chicago, we snuck down into a bushy area and dropped trou to relieve ourselves.  We were lucky with the fact that only one person come down to that area during that time and that 1) he wasn't a cop and 2) he didn't care because he was going to do the same thing.  Turns out we probably could have used the toilets because the race didn't end up starting until 9:25 and we had to wait another 5 minutes to cross the start line due to the congestion of the race. 

Once things go started, I felt like we moved fairly quickly.  There was quite a bit of congestion, but it didn't slow me down much since I'm a slower runner anyway.  Jamie and I stuck together for the first 5 or 6 miles, which was cool.  We lost each other at one of the water stations and she kept up with her 10:50 pace.  I slowed down a little, which was a wise plan.  Miles 6 and 7 were my hardest for some reason and I got into a bad habit of looking down at the ground as I ran.  I constantly had to remind myself that I was on the lakeshore in Chicago and that the view was something to be seen, not ignored!  I took 2 Clif Shot Bloks at miles 4, 6, and 10-ish and actually wish I had more, something else, or that I had some Nuun in a water bottle with me, but I didn't...and I still survived. There were several mile marker flags missing throughout the race, which was disappointing.  Even though I had my Garmin, there were a few times I knew it was not registering the satellites due to the bridge and I wasn't entirely sure the miles were tracked accurately.  I could have used another water station somewhere between miles 9 and 10 but there was a drinking fountain available, so that wasn't so bad.

I don't have any really memorable moments from this half-marathon except for the last 1/4 mile or so. As I rounded the corner for the last bit of the race, I squeezed out every ounce of energy left in me and felt like I was running really, really fast!  I passed a few people at the end, which may or may not be contributed to the number of people yelling out "Go Mario!" as my feet hit the pavement.  I crossed the finish line in 2:27:11 for the race and had I not been gasping for air, I probably would have been beaming from ear to ear for my PR! 

I grabbed the goody bag of food and found my bag at the check station before heading to the meet up spot to find Jamie.  We hugged and I let her know my unofficial time and that I had accomplished yet another PR!  After a little while we took a rather lengthy walk to find food with a few other friends.  I'm sure Blue Man Group, a bee, Mario, and the Sexy Pirate Lady eating pierogies and drinking beer and this small little restaurant, but we were all smiles and didn't give a lick about what everyone else thought of us!

The rest of the weekend may or may not be shared at a later date, but here are the official stats from the race and a few post-race photos:

2011 Team Ortho Chicago Monster Dash - Half Marathon
Miranda M        Age: 32             Residence: Boise, ID

11:15 per mile
Overall place: 2203 out of 3030
Gender place: 1332 out of 1966 Females
Age Group place: 247 out of 385 Females in the F3034 Age Group

Passed 450 runners
Passed by 112 runners in the overall category

Sexy Pirate Lady and Mario

Post-Race Beers!

PR!

Running the Gap - Pocatello 1/2 Marathon Recap

I spent my junior an senior years of college in Pocatello, Idaho at Idaho State University.  I almost just said I studied there, but that would be a pretty big lie since I mostly spent my time eating junk food and drinking a lot of alcohol.  A. LOT.  I was pretty big before I moved to Pocatello, but nothing compared to how fat I was when I left.  So when Team Beef announced the Pocatello Marathon events would be a part of the program, I was glad to join the crew to run a half-marathon in the city that made me fat.

I was able to make arrangements to stay at Josh's uncle and aunt's home in Pocatello on Friday night, even though they weren't going to be there.  At first I was a little anxious about staying in someone's home alone but when I got there I quickly realized what a blessing it was to be able to tweak my playlist, sprawl my things out across the living area, curse at my non-working iPod shuffle charger, and be quiet for awhile.  I couldn't get my shuffle to sync or charge with my computer, so my minimalist plan to run with only my shuffle and Garmin was thrown out the window pretty early in the evening.  I was glad I threw my running belt (ok, it's a small fanny pack) into my bag before leaving Boise, because I was forced to run with my iPhone for music and I'm not sure how I would have pulled it off without the belt.

The buses were scheduled to load at 7:00 am with the first one leaving as soon as it was full and the last departing no later than 7:20, and I wanted to be sure I got on the bus as early as possible to get myself some time at the race start.  I awoke around 5:30 to be sure I got enough coffee and water in my system with plenty of time to let it run through me and to apply my Body Glide for the first time ever.  This was my first half not wearing tights, and I was concerned about the possibility of chaffing, so at the recommendation of a few female bloggers out there, I tried out the Glide, and it was a worthy investment. 

I packed up the truck and headed out around 6:30, since I wasn't entirely sure where I was going.  My real first excitement for the morning came around 6:45 after I parked the truck (and then moved it when I realized I was sticking so far out into the parking lot) when two middle-aged women accused me of backing into their truck and taking off some paint.  Of course, they were wrong and I proved to them that there's no way my truck could have hit them in the place they were saying it did.  I didn't hit them, and I'm certain of that because I got out to see exactly how close I was to them and how far I was sticking out into the parking lot and saw there was room between our vehicles (they did a stellar job of parking too....so stellar that the bed of the truck was at least 6 inches over the line).  It was no way to start the morning.  I loaded the bus shortly thereafter and all of the buses left at 7:20 to go to the start line, which meant a lot of full port-a-potties at the race start.  I dropped off my duffel (very cool race give-away, by the way) at the UPS truck (seriously, this was the BEST bag check EVER - more later) and stretched a bit.  And then with little warning, it started.

I crossed the start line, started my Garmin, and was on my way.   I don't remember much about the first 4 or 5 miles, mostly because it was pretty uneventful.  I tried to keep my pace between 11:00 and 11:15.  There were a few downhill stretches, which were awesome and made me feel super fast without zapping all of my energy.   Every so often a Team Beef runner would pass me (or in a few cases, I passed them), and it was fun to yell out "go beef!" or "Team Beef" to them and to hear it in return.  At mile 6 I ate 3 Clif Shot Bloks and chased it with a gulp of water.  There was a ridiculous hill between miles 7 and 8 that a lot of people walked, including me....I walked the 2nd half after realizing I still had 5+ miles to go once I got to the top, and I think that was a good decision.  The aid stations came almost every mile thereafter.  I ate 3 more Clif Shot Bloks at mile 10 and felt way better than I did at mile 10 on my last long run on the Greenbelt.

It was shortly after that when I descended into a recognizable part of Pocatello, and I grinned from ear to ear.  There was something about the moment that changed me.  I was running in to Pocatello.  I was running in a place where I had been so inactive and allowed myself to be slovenly and gross and fat.  I was running there and proving to all of Pocatello (and myself) that I am no longer that person. 

At mile 11 I looked at my Garmin and realized I had been running for just over 2 hours.  I grabbed a cup of Powerade at the aid station and powered on.  I passed a guy walking on my left, slowed, took out my headphones, and yelled, "I have to tell someone - I'm totally going to meet my goal!"  He cheered me on and encouraged me to keep up my pace.  Thanks for being there, random middle-age man, because I'm starting to think if you hadn't been there for me to say it out loud, I wouldn't have had as much ambition to actually meet my goal of running the half in under 2 hours 30 minutes.  I had 25 minutes to go 2.1 miles and I was certain I could do it, given how great I felt.

The 11th mile was fine, but mile 12 hurt.  I walked for a few seconds after drinking my water at the aid station and then pushed on.  When I got to the mile 13 marker, I took out my headphones and tucked them into my shirt.  The number of people along the side of the race route grew as the finish line came into view, and I kicked it into high gear.  I didn't look at my watch, but I felt so close to failure and didn't want to let Pocatello and the old me win.

I crossed the finish line, stopped the time on my Garmin, gathered my medal, and looked down to see 2:29.  I almost burst into tears on the spot.

Instead, I looked to my left to see a woman hand me my race duffel with my extra water, Nuun, flip flops, and some other post-race clothes.  There was no standing in line waiting to get my gear, just a lady handing it over the makeshift fence to me.  Some guy (who did not look official at all) handed me a cold bottle of water.  I found a clear spot near the finish line and stood there for a minute.  I was out of breath and thought I was going to vomit and the thought of that made me want to cry.  I didn't do either.  I held it together as I stretched and shared the good news via text message to Jamie in Chicago and then wandered around until I found the official time check.  I stood in line in front of a couple whose daughter ran the half that morning and when I got to the computer to check my time, I turned to them and said, "I just want you to know that if this says I'm over 2:30, I'm probably going to cry."  They nodded their heads as I turned to punch in race bib 1404.

2:29:32.

I turned around and high-fived them before walking away to find my car.

There was no intense celebration at the park, nor did I partake in the free beer and food; it's not quite as fun to drink a beer at 10:30 am without someone standing by your side.   (Don't worry, there was much celebration afterward with the in-laws.)

For now, all I have to say is this: I win, Pocatello. I win.

Bib	1404
Gun Time	02:30:22
Chip Time	02:29:32
Pace	11:25
Gender-Age	F-32
City	Boise ID
Division	Half
Division: Half	270 / 350
Division: Half - Gender: F - Age Group: 30 - 34	50 / 60
Division: Half - Gender: F	164 / 231
Division: Half - Age Group: 30 - 34	61 / 73

9:23

I had a pretty decent run on Tuesday.  I was excited about my new route and the fact that I didn't have to be at work right away, so I set out for another 4 miler with Seymour.  I started out too fast and it showed as my time increased every mile. 1) 10:07, 2) 10:15, 3) 10:46, 4) 11:28.  Now, don't get too too disappointed in my 4th mile; Seymour stopped to take a leak and I forgot to stop the time on my Garmin.  He also decided to sniff a whole lot while we were stopped and I didn't bother to pull him off...I mean, we were SO close to home by the time that happened and I was tired! 

I took Wednesday off from working out and struggled to get out of bed this morning.  I knew I'd be worthless if I didn't go for a run (work is SO stressful right now), but I slept for so long that I knew a longer run would not be possible.  Off we went for a quick 2 miler this morning.  I wanted to make the 2 miles count, so I decided to push myself a bit.  I tried to stay around a 9:30/mile pace, but since I don't run at that pace very often, I couldn't keep my rhythm and stride consistent.  I finished my first mile in 9:23!  My fastest mile yet!  I got a brief rest when Seymour stopped to use the lawn and got right back to the pavement after I tied up his bag of poo onto the leash.  Second mile: 9:44. I ended up running another 1/4 mile at a 9:33 average pace and arrived at home.  My 9:23 mile lifted my spirits and gave me a boost for the day!

9:40 mile!

Confession: I didn't run yesterday.  I was tired in the morning (what's new?)  I was kind of cranky.  And when I got home from work I drank 2 16 oz Bud Lights. I also ate a crap load of candy at work and after dinner I made cookies.  Wha?!  Ugh. Then, the power went out last night.  Not that that had anything to do with me not running, but it added to the hectic and disgusting food day I had. 

That being said, I was equally as tired this morning. I hit snooze on my alarm a few times.  When I got up I contemplated not running again and just taking my running clothes to work.  I knew if I did that I wouldn't run at all and then I'd feel even more lazy.  I got out the door at 6:30, which was actually the time I wanted to get HOME from my run and decided 4 miles was not going to happen and that I should be happy with 2.  And then I realized I didn't have anything pressing going on at work and I needed to just run to run.  And that's exactly what I did.  Seymour and I ran 3 miles this morning.  I was inconsistent and I didn't really care a whole lot.  I checked my pace but I didn't try to stay at any particular pace...until I was running my 3rd mile, that is.  I glanced at my Garmin around 2.25 and realized I was running at about 9:45 and I felt pretty good.  I glanced again later and I was at 9:30.  2.75 miles down and I was back to my neighborhood and running at 9:20.  Determined to continue at an above average pace, I pushed my last 1/4 mile and finished my 3rd mile in 9:40.  I think that might a record. 

For a girl who didn't want to get up to run this morning, it was a pretty good one.