I don't like to hurt...

Faster as a MASTER: PR at Glass City Marathon!

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 18:30:00 +0000

We flew into Detroit on Friday night and stayed there overnight before driving to Toledo, Ohio in the morning. I found a nearby park for us to do a short shake-out run on Saturday morning before we headed out though.

Atwood Park

The drive to Toledo only took about an hour, and we met up with our teammate Melissa T. and her husband for lunch when we arrived. Then, we headed over to the University of Toledo basketball arena for the race expo. After picking up our packets and checking out the vendors, we walked over to the football stadium where the races would finish the next day.

The races finished on the 50-yard line of the football field

After a quick pit stop to check into our hotel, we met up with my Oiselle Volée teammates for pasta dinner at 5th Street Pub in Perrysburg, just south of Toledo. Having teammates all across the country to meet up with when I am traveling for races (or other reasons) is definitely one of my favorite parts of being on this team! Most of the gals were local, so I got some insight into the next day's race (and other area races).

After dinner, I finally had some time to settle in at the hotel and get my gear ready for race day while Kurt visited with his family who had come up for the race.

We had an early start on race day to ensure enough time for parking and for Kurt to go through his pre-race routine. We didn't necessarily account for time needed to get ice off the car windshield though! That bode well for the morning temperatures during the first part of the race. Cold is my superpower in running!

After grabbing a couple of pre-race pictures at University Hall near the start line and dropping our gear bag, Kurt and I said our goodbyes and lined up in our respective corrals. I had been thinking about starting with the 2:00 hour half-marathon pace group (since there wasn't a 4:00 hour pace group for the marathon) to keep me from starting out too fast. The half and full courses split off between miles 8-9 so I figured I could re-evaluate my pace from there. There wasn't much space between the 3:55 marathon pace group and 2:00 half-marathon pace group, so I just lined up in between and hoped for the best. Let's just say that I never saw the 2:00 pace group once I crossed the start line. I found the first few miles to be incredibly congested, and I even got tripped up by someone to the point that I could easily have lost my balance and fallen in the first mile or so. That was all the impetus I needed to pick up the pace and get moving!

I knew my Garmin was already slightly off distance since it beeped even before I hit the first mile marker. With that in mind, I wasn't paying much attention to the mile pace as I ran, and I focused instead on calculating overall pace as I passed each mile marker. That gave me a rough idea that I was running just under 9-minute pace until the point that doing the math got too hard for me to calculate. :)

I went into this race feeling confident about my training and my fitness level based on my workout performances and half-marathon times this season (1:56 in Phoenix in January; 1:55 in New Orleans a week later; 1:52 in NYC in March). I have really worked on my mental game too. So, I just kept running a comfortable pace and just kept pushing as the miles ticked off. I knew I was making good time, and I felt GOOD doing it! I went through the half in 1:56, maybe a bit ambitious but still within my fitness level.

It wasn't until I hit the 30k mark that I had the first true feeling that things were starting to get harder. The temperatures were warming up with full sun exposure, and I was definitely getting hot. I had been steadily reeling in the 3:55 pace group, and while that gave me a confidence boost, I think I also let that get into my head mentally (You're not a 3:55 marathoner, what are you doing close to them?). I let them pull away as I walked up a short rise (not even a hill or true incline) just before mile 19. From there, I started walking through most water stops - 1 cup of water to drink, 1 cup to pour over myself, and 1 more to drink before I started running again. I was surprised to see Kurt's sisters around miles 20 and 21 when I was in the park area, which was a nice boost.

Yes, I walked through that water stop

I hit 20 miles in 3:00 hours. I'll be honest, this was the point where I let my mental game go and I lost my sub 4 marathon. I told myself that I needed to run 9-minute miles for the last 10k to come in sub 4, which I convinced myself was impossible at that point. Looking back on it now, I wish I had the wherewithal to tell myself that I could run 9:30 pace and I would still come in sub 4. That might have seemed more manageable and kept me in the hunt during the last 10k rather than simply throwing in the towel the way that I did. Obviously there is still room to improve here.

As I passed the 25-mile marker, a guy said there's only 12 more minutes to go. I responded "That's a PR!" I saw K shortly after that point, and I flashed him a thumbs up sign because I knew that I had a PR in the bag. He told me later that he's never seen me smile at mile 25 of a marathon before.

Unfortunately, we had to essentially pass the football stadium and loop around the outside campus before making our way back to the finish.

Pure focus in the finishing chute

4:02:18 PR!!!!

K met me in the finisher's area then we saw Melissa T. who had finished a few minutes ahead of me, also with a PR in 3:57.


Team Mac in O-H-I-O

Kurt ran 1:21 for 15th overall, 1st AG in the half-marathon

Then, we met up with Kurt's family and a former classmate from his hometown who had paced the 3:20 marathoners in the race.

I had seen these signs around town when we arrived in Toledo the day before. I told Kurt that if I did run better here that I was definitely going to get a picture after the race.

Yes, yes, I did!

By the numbers:
4.3 Miles	7:45:20AM	00:38:42	08:54 min/mi
6.7 Miles	8:05:15AM	00:58:36	08:44 min/mi
9.4 Miles	8:29:48AM	01:23:09	08:51 min/mi
12.9 Miles	8:58:12AM	01:51:34	08:37 min/mi
16 Miles	9:27:19AM	02:20:40	08:48 min/mi
20.9 Mile	10:14:18AM	03:07:39	08:59 min/mi
Finish	11:08:56AM	04:02:18	09:15 min/mi

NYC Half...Master's PR!

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 23:30:00 +0000

"In consultation with our NYC agency partners, we are monitoring the weather in advance of Sunday’s United Airlines NYC Half and NYRR Times Square Youth Run at the United Airlines NYC Half. Please check our website and social media channels for updates."

A version of this was posted daily on the race website and social media sites beginning last Monday. Kurt and I had the same immediate reaction: This is going to be Hurricane Sandy all over again when the NYC Marathon was canceled at the last minute as we were making our way from the airport to our hotel. The weather forecast last week was consistently predicting 1-3 inches of snow overnight on Saturday with possible snow/rain showers on Sunday morning. Neither of us were confident that the race was going to happen, and if it did, I was worried about the road conditions. The race day weather forecast didn't actually improve until Saturday morning. When I woke up after a late night arrival and checked the weather that morning, that was the first moment that I actually believed the race would go on as planned. (And, I kind of regretted canceling my pre-race massage the day before!) Off to the Expo we go!

Wall of names at packet pick-up

Washington Square Park after pasta dinner at Mario Batali's Otto Enoteca Pizzeria

The temperature on race morning was quite chilly in the low to mid 30's. I got to the park around 6:30am to allow myself enough time to go through security (with actual metal detectors since it is New York after all) and make my way through Central Park to the start corral (Kurt estimates it was nearly a mile walk). Once I got near my corral, I headed to a sheltered area under a bridge to try to stay warm. I was wearing tights, a long-sleeve top, gloves, hat, and a heavy fleece, and I was so, so cold. I stayed there as long as I could until it was time for the corrals to close. I didn't even bother doing a warm-up because I knew that I would still have 20-30 minutes of a wait in the corral before my wave actually started the race. As I was getting ready to shed my layer and get myself situated to run, I realized that my energy chews that I had planned to use for nutrition during the race were rock solid because they were frozen! Oh, well, guess I'm doing this without fuel.

Since there were about 20,000 runners, the start was organized into 3 waves with multiple corrals in each. I was in the middle of Wave 2 where the 2:00 hour pace group was placed. That didn't seem right to me based on my predicted time (and I later figured out what the snafu was with my seeding-damn NYRR) so I was expecting that I might have to navigate through the crowd more than I wanted...or maybe not. I actually wasn't sure how I was going to feel for the race because I have been sick and taking meds since last Tuesday. I didn't necessarily have a plan going in as a result. I also hadn't tapered down for this race (20-miler the weekend before; 6 sets of 1000/1000's on Tuesday), so I knew that I would be running on tired marathon training legs. Turns out none of that mattered once I crossed the start line.

Shedding my layers in the start corral

The first 10k is in Central Park with a short jaunt into Harlem. Having run NYC Marathon, I was familiar with the hills in the park. The general consensus in terms of race strategy seems to be to respect the hills in the park at the beginning, stay steady in the middle, then let loose after that, so it is a course made for negative splits. I generally tried to stay pretty steady in terms of my effort level. I did have to make my way through a lot of slower-paced runners in the park, but that just gave me a confidence boost since I knew that I was running within myself, even up the hills. I was pretty glad though to get those hills behind me because I knew it was smooth sailing from there. The sun had come out, and I was actually getting fairly warm. I ditched the gloves and actually wished that I was in shorts and a tank (crazy I know, given how cold I was just an hour earlier).

5k: 26:26

10k: 52:37

On the west side of Central Park

Then the fun began. We exited the park and headed straight down Seventh Avenue for Times Square. What a mile! Then, we headed West on 42nd Street for another mile to get on the West Side Highway shortly after mile 8. We got hit with a strong headwind for a short stretch here, but thankfully it was brief. The stretch on the West Side Highway was probably the least interesting and I really had to keep my mental focus here to stay steady. I was looking forward to seeing my Oiselle teammates just past mile 11, so that gave me a target to keep ticking the miles off for.

15k: 1:19:16

After I passed them, I knew there wasn't much more to go. We entered a tunnel just past mile 12 that lasted about a half mile or so.

20k: 1:46:28

We had to climb a short uphill once we exited the tunnel. It wasn't a welcome sight at that point, but it was short and the finish was near! Because of a couple of last-minute turns, you can't see the finish line until you are right there, so best not wait too long to start your final kick with whatever you have left. Thankfully there were 400 meters and 200 meters to go signs, which helped a lot. We finished at Wall Street, and I was incredibly happy with my finish time of 1:52:21. Not an overall PR, but I'm not 29 anymore either. And, who knows, maybe with fresh legs, fueling during the run, and not dealing with illness it could have been? I'll take it as a Master's PR though.

Next up is the big enchilada: Glass City Marathon. That will be the test to see if I can be a "fearless girl."

It's all downhill at Wineglass...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:01:00 +0000

Kurt and I flew into Corning, NY on Friday evening, 09/30 for the Wineglass Marathon/Half-Marathon on Sunday, 10/02. The hotels in Corning during race weekend book up well in advance of the race, so most everything had already been booked when I registered us for the race at the end of April. I kept an eye on it though, and a room at the host hotel opened up about a month before the race. So, I splurged and booked it since I knew it would make everything easier during the weekend. After checking in, we walked out to Market Street and grabbed dinner at Cugini Italian Market (K salivated over the cheeses, while I eyed the desserts for after the race).

We slept in on Saturday (10/01) and met up with Bart Yasso and other runners for a shake-out run around town in the morning.


Chief Running Officer, Bart Yasso

Finish line on Market Street

Then, we headed over to the Corning Museum of Glass to pick up our race packets. The Expo was fairly small, but the runner swag for this race was really nice - we got a small spike bag, a stemless wine glass, a personal bottle of champagne, and a nice half-zip pullover hoodie. Race participants also received 50% discounted admission to the museum during the weekend, as well as discount cards to area shops.

Since it was a Saturday, we stayed off our feet most of the day while Kurt watched college football at the hotel. Then, we headed down to the official pasta dinner at the hotel where Bart Yasso was the speaker. His words of wisdom for the race were that this is a PR course, and your strategy should be to try to negative split it (for both the full and half-marathons). He suggested starting just off the back of your desired pace group then reassess how you feel for the second half of the course.

It rained most of the day on Saturday, but the rain cleared out for the race on Sunday. The weather on race day was warmer than my ideal conditions, but it still felt better than anything that we have run in for months in Texas. The temps stayed pretty steady in the 60's (but 90% humidity at 6am) with mostly overcast skies, although there were a few times that the sun made an appearance during the race and I definitely noticed it. And, there were a few sections where I noticed the wind - Kurt said it was mostly a crosswind.

Since the race is a point-to-point course, all runners are bused to their respective start towns (marathoners start in Bath; half-marathoners start in Campbell). Kurt left first since the half-marathon started 30-minutes before the marathon (I assume to minimize congestion for the faster marathoners since the races share the same course). The buses left from just outside of our hotel, so again that made things very easy.

The start area in Bath was by a large field, but there was a tent and other small building that most of the runners congregated in before the race. Since it wasn't too cold, I just opted to sit on the ground near the bag drop (two UPS trucks) before dropping my bag and lining up on the small road where the race started.

As we were queuing up for the start, I noticed a Oiselle teammate nearby and quickly introduced myself and asked what kind of pace she was shooting for - she indicated that she was going to try for just under 4 hours, so I responded that I probably shouldn't stay with her then. I lined up with the 4:00 hour pace group to start though, but I immediately got frustrated because it was too congested in the first couple of miles around the pacer. If I had listened to Bart's advice from the day before, then the smart thing to do would have been to pull back from them a little. But, no, I ran right through them and decided to run in front of the pace group. Bad move.

With more road in front of me, I allowed myself to run more at the pace that I was comfortable with at the time, especially since we were mostly going downhill at that point. After I passed the pacer at mile 2, I mostly ran in the 8:50's. I wasn't overly concerned at that point, even though I knew it was slightly faster than I should be going because I reasoned that I was going downhill so that those miles would be a little faster. I also kept waiting for the road to flatten out or turn uphill a bit, which would slow me back down.

There was a short uphill turn around mile 4 and a longer uphill stretch around mile 6, but then a steeper downhill coming off that stretch so it ended up being my fastest mile. Around this section a guy made a comment to me about my form - I could tell (or, more accurately, I could hear) that my right foot was slapping the ground. I knew that was probably because my right calf was tight and I didn't have good range-of-motion in my foot/ankle as a result. Interestingly, it was my right heel that ended up hurting the most after the race was over - I assume from heel-striking so much with that foot on the downhill.

Everything was all well and good until mile 10 or so (isn't it always?!?!). By then I noticed that my quads were feeling much heavier than they should at that point. And, the road just.kept.going.downhill. I walked my first aid station at that point and that really ended my day right there. Mentally, I was not expecting the course to be that noticeably downhill. And, clearly, I hadn't really done any extended downhill running for my legs to be ready for that either. Now, I am not talking steep, quad-burning downhills; this was definitely a gentler gradient, but it was still downhill, folks.

Elevation profile of Wineglass Marathon (from race website)

I went through halfway in 2:00, but I had already punched my ticket on the struggle bus for the rest of the race. I commiserated with the fellow bird who I had met at the start off and on from about miles 10-16, as she was feeling the effects of the downhill as well. It was a long, slow slog to the finish - I had already written off my race miles ago, and I didn't have the mental fight that day like I did in Eugene earlier this year.

There was another noticeable hill around mile 14-15 and the only other small blip on the elevation profile is a bridge that you cross as you enter in the downtown area of Corning for the finish. The race has a nice finish through the area main street, which was lined with spectators. I had enough in my legs for a nice finishing kick for whatever that was worth. Once I crossed the finishing line, there was relief at being done, but also such disappointment in the race that I had - 4:37. I have had 3 marathons slower than that - one that I ran while I was sick and two that I ran when I wasn't fully trained. Maybe my legs are trying to tell me that they need a break after being in some phase of marathon training pretty much non-stop since May 2014.

I had a nice bowl of chicken soup waiting for me in the finisher area and then I met up with Kurt, who had finished the half-marathon hours earlier and ran a fairly good effort for 4th in his AG and 19th overall.

After the race, it took awhile for my stomach to really settle enough for lunch/dinner. We managed to get over to the Rockwell Museum to tour the museum and enjoy a free wine/beer tasting with cheeses in the afternoon though.

It was a nice treat to stay over until Monday since we have flown home immediately after the race for my last four marathons. We got to tour some of the wineries in the area in the Finger Lakes region and see the leaves changing colors.

Glenora Wine Cellars on the Seneca Wine Trail

Lakewood Vineyards on the Seneca Wine Trail

So, all in all, this is a fast course, the race is well-organized, and the locals are so friendly and supportive of this race. I need a do-over at this race, so I will be back at some point!

The finish banner being taken down until next year

26.2 in Tracktown, USA...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Tue, 17 May 2016 01:05:00 +0000

After a late night flight to Portland on Friday night, we drove down to Eugene on Saturday (April 30). Packet pick-up was held in the soccer fields next to Hayward Field, so we got to take a peek at the hallowed ground of the track where the race would finish the next day.

The Expo was a pretty small affair, but with some nice amenities including a beer garden and live music in the afternoon. I was happy to find the actual Expo was shaded by tents from the sun and warming temperatures. Let's save the sun exposure for tomorrow, shall we? After a quick stop at our hotel, we had an early pasta dinner at Sweetwaters on the River on the banks of the Willamette River. While there, I got to preview the bike path that we would be running on in the second half of the marathon the next day because it ran right by the restaurant. We then made a quick stop at Goodwill to get throwaway clothes for the morning before the race and then it was time to get everything ready for the morning and catch some zzzz's.

Up and at'em early on race day (Sunday, May 1)! We opted to drive over to Autzen Stadium, home of the U. of Oregon Ducks, to catch the shuttle to the start rather than deal with the hassle of trying to find a parking spot by the start. We got there around 6am and were surprised by the small number of cars there at that time (the race started at 7am). We jumped on the waiting bus and off we went - super easy!

Neither of us dropped a gear bag at the start, but everything in the start area was pretty well-organized and not crowded. There was an abundance of porta-potties (with no lines), so that was appreciated. Kurt went off to do a short warm-up then I met up with the Oiselle girls for a pre-race photo.

Then, we all lined up in our corrals which were located alongside Hayward Field. Run Gum chewed, music queued, and it was time to roll! But, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I was standing at the starting line of my third marathon in a little over 5 months (Philly at the end of November, LA in mid-February, and now Eugene on May 1). And, to be honest, there was a point in mid to late March, that I thought I might have to drop down to the half. I had a key quality workout where I called it quits before even finishing the minimum number of sets because my legs just didn't have it that day. It was about a month after LA and a few weeks after the half in New Orleans, and I think my body was still recovering and I had been pushing it too hard too quickly. I really struggled to call that workout early that day, but ultimately it was the right call. I was able to get my scheduled 20 miler done a few days later, so I felt more confident that I could move forward with the marathon. But, then I had some ITB issues pop up the following week, and it honestly just felt like I was dealing with one nagging minor injury after another in the weeks leading up to race day (not to mention that I wasn't doing myself any favors by doing a Ragnar Relay two weeks before race day and a 10k trail race the week before Eugene). I am so, so thankful for my awesome massage therapist who saw me every week during this period and got me back out there on the roads each time. I wouldn't have been at the start line if it hadn't been for her. Big thanks, Ann!

As has been par for the course lately, how I managed the weather was going to determine a lot of how my race went. The temperature was in the mid 40's to start, which was perfect! But, there was not a cloud in the sky and the temperature rose rapidly throughout the day (high was in the upper 70's-low 80's). I had my salt tablets with me, but I had put them in my back pocket rather than carrying them in my hand during the race because I was apparently being optimistic that maybe - just maybe - I wouldn't need them. HA! I knew by mile 6 that they were going to be mandatory to get through the day. Unfortunately, I missed the upcoming aid station because it was too congested for me to grab water, so I didn't start popping them until mile 8-ish. I started double-fisting water at the aid stations at that point - one cup to drink and one to pour over my head. Pretty soon I added a cup of Gatorade to the mix too, so I was doing what I could to stay hydrated and cool. I also lost any sort of plan to take a salt tablet every 30 minutes or so because I couldn't keep track of when I last took one, so I just ended up popping them like a crazy person whenever I thought about it.

In terms of pace, I didn't really have a true plan going in. I had intentionally started slow in LA because of the heat, and I ended up having the slowest race of the last few marathons that I have done. So, I figured that probably wasn't the best strategy here either. Once I started running, I ultimately decided to take each mile for what it was - meaning the early miles would be cooler than the later miles so I better take advantage of that (without being reckless, of course!). I also decided to take what the course offered - if there was a slight downhill, then I went with it, and I didn't fight the few hills that there were either.

The half and full marathon followed the same course until the split at around mile 10. I passed a fellow Oiselle teammate who was running the half at around mile 9, and I saw another bird up ahead. I tried to keep her in sight and slowly caught up to her. It turned out she was running the full, so once the race split as we entered Alton Baker Park, I asked her what kind of pace she was running. She said around 9:00's. I was okay with that, although I knew that wouldn't hold for me over the long-haul. So, I told her that I was going to tuck in behind her for awhile, and I did. I eventually lost her though as I took my time going through the next aid station...but I passed her a couple of miles later when she had stepped off the course to go to the bathroom. I thought she would catch me at some point because I knew my pace was slowing, but I never saw her again. It is such a boost though to see the Oiselle team singlet during a race, so that is one of the many perks I have found on this team.

Shortly before the half, I stopped to retie my shoelaces, which were loosening because my shoes were getting wet (from sweat and the water I was dumping over myself). I also stopped shortly after the half because I came upon some girls with an impromptu aid station filled with soda. I had been craving a coke (for a caffeine and sugar boost) for the past couple of miles, and I was hoping they had some. They didn't, but I took what they were offering anyway - it turned out to be some sort of flavored Mountain Dew drink with caffeine in it (Kickstart). One of the girls popped open a can for me and poured me a small cup which I drank then asked for another...and another. I told her to cut me off at that point or I would keep drinking - I know how I can get with fluids when it is hot! It seemed to curb my craving and thirst for a bit, so off I went. I had a brief rough patch going over the highway at around mile 15 and walked more than I care to admit because I wasn't going to expend my energy going up even the slightest uphill at that point.

UO Jam Squad, one of the "Spirit Groups" on the course (the table was full of drinks when I stopped)

The course soon entered the bike path where it generally followed along the river from miles 16 to 25+. This probably turned out to be the saving grace of my race because it offered intermittent patches of shade where it was notably cooler. This is also where things got hard, and I had to push to keep going. I went through mile 19 in about 3:01. Surprise, surprise, I've been there before. My finish time was going to be determined by how well I held it together in the last 7.2 miles. I told myself that even if I slowed my pace to 10 minute miles at that point, I had a 4:12-4:13 within reach which I would be happy with. There was a lot of fartlek running during the last part of the race though - run for a bit then walk for like 5-10 seconds while I mentally got my head together then repeat. Those last miles were purely mental - "Don't give up on yourself," "Keep it together," "Just hold on," "Fight!" And, I managed to hold it together just slightly better than I have in other similar races when the weather has played a factor. Before the race, I had told K that realistically he could expect me to finish in 4:15 +/- ? minutes. The unknown was how many minutes on either side of 4:15 would I be - how good or how bad of a race did I have. As the final miles progressed, especially the last mile, I knew that I could pull 4:15 if I tried and didn't give up. I had to fight and I managed to do just enough to meet that goal. What a moment to enter Hayward Field and finish on that historic track happy with the race that I had run. No, it's still not a PR, but I am so proud of myself for fighting for it in the last few miles when I could have taken the easier route with lengthier walk breaks and cruised in at 4:20+.

This is happiness.

Shortly after my finish, Kurt found me in the soccer field behind the track like this:

Cooked well-done

I laid around for a bit in my post-race revelry before we headed over to the finish line at the track for one last picture.

Then, it was time for lunch and a visit to Pre's Rock before driving back to Portland (with a slight detour in Salem so that I could shower at the gym) to catch the red-eye flight home.


Sharing our medals with Pre.

Stats:
5k         00:28:39     09:14 min/mi
10k       00:56:32     09:06 min/mi
Half      02:01:32     09:17 min/mi
20mi     03:11:32     09:35 min/mi
Finish   04:15:43     09:46 min/mi

Wineglass Marathon in New York is up next in October (hoping for cooler weather!). But, first, I am taking a few weeks to really recover this time around before gearing back up for the Fall. In reality, that has looked like a humid, windy, hilly 10k race in Dallas a week after Eugene where I couldn't get my pace under 9:00 min/miles (my body was clearly reminding me that I had just run a marathon a few days earlier), lots of yoga, a few weight training sessions, and easy runs of 4-9 miles.

A weekend of 26.2 in La-La Land...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 03:24:00 +0000

The LA Marathon for me is interwoven with my experience at the US Olympic Team Trials for the marathon held the day before my race.

After a Friday evening of travel, we got up early on Saturday morning (2/13/16). K went out for a run and got to recon the scene and course for the Trials while I took it easy at the hotel - we had a busy day ahead! Around 9:30am, we headed down Figueroa toward the start/finish area of the race then I went a bit further down to the Oiselle cheer location and K joined me after the start of the men's race.

Lauren Fleshman

Oiselle Cowbell Corner

We moved up to have a better vantage point

The Trials course consisted of an initial 2.2 mile loop north of downtown followed by a 6-mile loop south of downtown that the runners did 4 times, so it was a spectator-friendly course that allowed us to see the runners 8 times (although apparently the runners didn't care for all of the turns). The men started at 10:06am and the women started at 10:22am, which made for a tough day in the heat for many of the runners with temps warming into the 70's by the mid-day finish. 64% of the men and 75% of the women finished....meaning 36% of the men and 25% of the women DNF'd. Given that these are the top marathoners in the country, I was obviously concerned about my own race the following day.

Meb and Rupp on the final lap

Amy and Shalane put on a clinic in teamwork

The pass: Des overtook Shalane for 2nd place in the final stretch of the last lap

Kara fighting all the way to the end

Once the top finishers were done, we dashed over to the Convention Center next door to our spectating spot to pick up my race packet then grabbed lunch on the way back to the hotel. We had a couple of hours to relax before the next round of events. First up was the UCAN event at the J.W. Marriott at LA Live with Meb and other top athletes.


Meb and Ritzenhein: Contrasting emotions from the day's race

Then, we rushed over to the Los Angeles Athletic Club for the Oiselle OTQ party for dinner, drinks, and celebrating the 18 qualifiers from Oiselle. It was great to be included in such an event, but I'll be honest though - I kept checking my watch because I knew that we were out later than I should have been given that I was running a marathon in the morning! But, I was definitely glad that we stayed as long as we did in order to hear Kara's speech.

The Fierce Flyers of Oiselle

Lots of love for KG from her coach, Heather, and the founder of Oiselle, Sally

Nothing but love for KG in the room

Red, white, and blue - Go USA!

As we were leaving, I passed by the winner from the women's race hanging out in the hallway by the next room, so I got to congratulate her on her race. We actually had the chance to talk with Amy more extensively last year when she was in town during an event at Luke's.

The third floor was the place to be with Kara, Amy, and Shalane all there celebrating

Not exactly ideal prep for a marathon the next day - 7+ miles of walking and minimal down time. I'd do it all over again though! #runnerd

RACE DAY-AKA Valentine's Day

Going into this race I had been dealing with a minor injury in the taper period. I had some pain on the top of my left foot develop after my last weekend of big miles (22 on Saturday followed by 8 on Sunday) - most likely extensor tendonitis. I got multiple massages, iced daily, took an anti-inflammatory daily, loosened and ultimately changed the lacing on my shoe, but I'm sure the overall decrease in mileage during taper is probably what helped the most. Thankfully, the pain all but subsided by the race, although I still had a nagging concern of how my foot would feel on race day.

But, more than anything, my expectations and race plan were dictated by the weather. Once the initial weather forecast came out in the final 2 weeks ahead of the race, it was clear that race day was likely going to be unseasonably warm, especially considering the race had been moved up nearly a month given the heat of last year's race in March. The situation became nearly laughable (read highly concerning) when the weather forecast predicted a high in the low 90's at one point. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I am not a good warm weather runner. Some people can handle the heat well and still perform, but I am just not one of those people. So, once I saw the weather forecast, I immediately threw out any performance expectations for this race and tried to reframe it as an opportunity to enjoy the festivities more on Saturday (which I did). Obviously, it was disappointing to not be able to truly test my fitness and training, especially since I had made the switch over to Team Mac in the recent months leading up to this race. But, I have had enough experience by now to know that in the battle of Mel running 26.2 vs. the weather, the weather is undefeated in that match-up.

All that being said, I went into this race pretty lax in terms of my race day preparations (which is highly atypical for my Type A control-freak personality). I woke up around 5am and got ready to head out to the shuttle buses. In between all of the activities the day before, I didn't do a great job of prepping all my stuff for the morning (more to come on that in a minute). But, I managed to get myself out the door a few minutes before 5:30am and walked a couple of blocks over to pick up my shuttle bus to the race start. I was surprised to see a long line of folks waiting at the pick-up location without buses lined up to ensure everyone got to the start quickly. I waited about half an hour to get on a bus, and then once we were finally on our way, of course there was traffic getting on/off the highway to get to the start at Dodger Stadium. Thankfully, we had already gone through a security screening to get on the bus, so we didn't have to do that upon arrival at the stadium because it was already 6:15am and I was feeling pretty rushed.

I honestly found the start area to be pretty unorganized and I was running back and forth trying to figure out exactly where I was supposed to go for the seeded corrals. I was also checking the porta-potty lines, which were (not surprisingly) fairly long. The elite women started at 6:45am, and I knew the seeded corrals were going to close at some point, but I wasn't exactly sure how much time I had. I ran over to check the bathroom lines in the stadium, and I knew I wouldn't make it with the limited time I had, so I just made my way to my corral chiding myself for making such a newbie mistake of not allowing enough time to go the bathroom before the race. It's one thing to not put pressure on myself for the race, but I should still have respected the fact that I had 26.2 miles to cover that morning and put a little more effort into race day prep. Once in my corral, I started to pack up my waist pouch and took out my iPod only to realize that again I had made a stupid mistake and hadn't charged it the day before! I had spent a lot of time working on my playlist the week before the race, so I was mad at myself for making another careless mistake. But, there was nothing I could do at that point except see how much juice it had left and see how far it would get me. The race hadn't even started yet and I was feeling like such a rookie.

Start of the LA Marathon at Dodger Stadium

Looking for a bathroom and ended up getting a pic of the stadium instead

Given the warm conditions, my race plan was to start closer to 9:30min/mile pace than 9:00 then pick it up if I could later in the race. I knew that if I started with 9:00min/mile pace in that weather, then I would surely blow up (as I had in my recent races). I had promised myself (and K) that I would shoot for a half closer to 2:04-2:05 than 2:00 then re-evaluate. Throughout the race, I never really checked my pace/mile on my watch because I just wanted to run whatever felt easy...and I figured my body would settle in 9:20-9:30 as an easy pace. And, it did.

I'm thankful that I stuck to my plan to start conservatively because there were a lot of hills in the first 10k. I had been anticipating a hill around mile 4 that I remembered from when K ran this race in 2013. I was spectating there that day and I distinctly remember thinking that it was a pretty big hill and I would surely have walked it if I was running. Fast forward 3 years and I found myself face to face with that same hill. I had told K that I didn't really want him there looking for me because I didn't want to be shamed if I ended up walking that hill. But, to my surprise, I made it up (and the ones that followed in the next few miles).

My view of the hill as a spectator in 2013

Japanese taiko drum ensemble at the top of the hill

Everything went fairly well for the first couple of hours. I was running an easy, relaxed pace; taking water, salt, Gatorade, gummies as I needed; and enjoying the course. I was surprised to see K around mile 11 on Hollywood Boulevard, and I flashed him a thumbs up to let him know that I was doing okay and sticking to my plan.

Around mile 16 or so, I stopped for the first time to walk through a water stop and massage my right quad that was starting to feel tight. It was around this point that I started to notice that I was feeling pretty warm. But, we were entering Beverly Hills, which is part of the course that I had been looking forward to so I tried to keep it together, especially on Rodeo Drive.

No time to stop and shop!

But, I was definitely descending into a rough patch that would follow me for the next few miles. I started walking more, drinking more, and dousing myself with more water every chance I could. I started doing mental arithmetic trying to compute how much longer it was going to take at that pace (which we all know is NEVER a good sign). My running pace never really changed - it was just interspersed with more stretches of walking as the sun continued to bore down on me.

Finally, FINALLY, things started to turn around in the last few miles. As we approached Santa Monica, the course turned slightly downhill, a fog enveloped the runners, and the temperatures dropped slightly with a cool breeze coming from the ocean. Only then was I able to really run again like I knew that I could. I have never finished a marathon as strong as I did in LA - clearly I still had something left in the tank, but I just couldn't use it in the heat. Who has their fastest mile as their last? I finished the last 2k at an average 8:45 pace.

The stats: 4:25 finish.

Top 15% of women, 19% of women 35-39, 24% of finishers

Clearly it was a slow day at the office with stats like that.

So, this was the slowest race of the 4 marathons that I have done in the past 18 months. K noted that starting as conservatively as I did ultimately didn't help me get to the finish line any faster. So, the jury is still out in terms of the best pace and race strategy for me in a marathon. Even though it was a slow race, I knew that it likely would be in that heat. The weather may have won again, but I'll be back for another round soon. Onward to Eugene on May 1st because...

Last long run that I did before LA

Head up, wings out!

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Thu, 11 Feb 2016 20:48:00 +0000

Kurt and I saw this short clip at The Trail Running Film Festival Fall Tour in Austin last year. It really struck a cord with me, even though the person who tends to clip my wings is myself rather than others. I have always been so fortunate to have family, friends, teachers, and coaches who have believed in me and supported me, even when I haven't always believed in me.

As I am getting ready to head off to LA tomorrow for the marathon this weekend in unseasonably warm weather (high temps in the upper 80's), I have made my peace with the weather and the forces that I cannot control. I am finally accepting that there is no "perfect" course or weather (yes, some situations are better than others!) and that I need to focus my efforts on what I can control - my training, hydration/nutrition, sleep, and perhaps the biggest realization has been that I am in total control of my mental game. If I go into this race telling myself that it is going to suck and it is going to be a death march to the beach in Santa Monica, then it will be. But, I alone have the power to change that narrative (I know, can you believe it takes a shrink this long to have this a-ha moment?!?!). I can choose to tell myself instead that I have run a marathon in warm weather conditions before (just last year in fact) and minimized the potential catastrophic meltdown that was imminent. I can choose to tell myself that I am a girl from Texas who has run quality workouts in 100+ degrees for the past two summers and long runs in warm, humid conditions more months than not during the past two years. Embrace the suck. Everyone is running in the same conditions that day (and the pros are doing it the day before). Now, if you'll excuse me, it's 82 degrees outside and I need to run. #womanupLA

She Wanted to Fly. . .So She Flew
by Rachel Nypaver

Once there was a little girl.
She wanted to fly…
So she flew.
She flew over rooftops,
And skimmed the tops of trees.
She flew so high that she soared with the birds.
She flew even higher than the clouds,
She flew among the stars.
Her wings took her anywhere she wanted to go.
Her wings were only visible to her,
And that is how the problem occurred.
She told others of the her magical flights,
And how her wings rose with the wind,
Taking her higher than the mountain tops.
But those who couldn’t see her wings told her this wasn’t true.
They said her imagination was playing tricks on her,
She had no wings,
She couldn’t fly.
At first she didn’t believe them, and she continued to fly.
But they grew more persistent.
They told her she needed to start growing up,
That it was best to keep such silly dreams to herself.
Then one day, a few years down the road,
She tried to fly,
But never left the ground.
She remembered those voices who told her she couldn’t
And figured they were right.
She couldn’t really fly.
Still, she worked hard in school and got good grades.
She dreamed about her future
And about what she wanted to be when she grew up.
However, when she told others of her dreams
They told her she was foolish.
Some said she was not pretty enough,
Others said she was not smart or creative enough.
They said she should be practical
And to keep such silly dreams to herself.
So, she believed those voices too.
Her world became gray,
Rain fell every day.
But then, on a seemingly un-extraordinary day,
A soft breeze blew at her back.
At first she ignored it,
But then it grew stronger.
It lifted her feet right off the ground!
Suddenly she remembered all the times she used to fly.
“Yes!” she remembered, “I flew so very high up in the sky!”
As a young girl, she had flown over rooftops,
Skimmed the tops of trees,
And soared with the birds.
Without any doubt,
She knew her memories were real.
Her dreams could come true,
If she just believed.
And with that thought,
Her broken wings were healed.
Suddenly, she was flying above the clouds,
Higher than the mountaintops,
And found herself among the stars.
Once there was a little girl.
She wanted to fly…
So she flew.

26.2 in Philly...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 01:24:00 +0000

The Philadelphia Marathon was Sunday, November 22, and I have clearly been dragging my feet on writing a race report since then. I was deep in pity party mode in the immediate aftermath of the race, and to be honest, I still don't know that I have progressed much beyond that state with respect to my race. But, 26.2 miles deserves a proper recap, if nothing else than to reflect on this race for future races.

I arrived in Philly on Friday to allow myself plenty of time to take care of packet pick-up at the Expo that day and to avoid the stress of traveling the day prior to the race in terms of potential travel delays. Several Rogues were also on my flights, so it was nice to have a sense of community as we all descended on the city for the race. K didn't arrive until mid-afternoon on Saturday, so I was on my own to navigate the Expo, eat healthy meals (I highly recommend Fuel), and relax. Mission accomplished.

This is the first race that I have done since becoming a member of Oiselle Volée earlier this year. One of the amazing benefits of joining this team has been the national (and international) community of women who are a huge source of running inspiration and support to each other. Since this was a destination race for me, I was excited about the opportunity to meet other Oiselle team members who were running and providing support during the marathon. I normally don't do a shake-out run the day before a marathon, but I met up with a couple of the other girls on Saturday morning for an easy 2-mile run that included climbing "Rocky's steps" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

At Love Park

Rocky and I are ready to take on the marathon tomorrow

Had to climb "Rocky's Steps" to get here

K arrived around lunchtime ready for a cheesesteak, so we headed to Jim's so that he could indulge. I, on the other hand, did not in light of the race the next day. Then, it was time to stay off my feet until dinner with more of the girls from Oiselle that night.

Early to bed, early to rise for race day! I opted to get an early start and walk over to the start area from our hotel, as we had been encouraged to get there early to avoid any delays going through security to enter the start area. The weather was on the chilly side (in the low 40's), which I was super excited about having survived another summer of training through the Texas heat. However, there was a fairly strong wind (15-20mph) coming from W/NW (more on that later). Unfortunately, the start of the race was delayed (I'm not entirely sure why), and my corral didn't start until almost 7:30am, which meant that I had been in the cold for nearly an hour since stripping off my warm clothes for the gear check. Brrr...

First flight in my team singlet

One of my concerns going into this race was that my piriformis muscle had been agitated in the final weeks before the race. I ran five 20-milers in my training leading up to this race, which I think was ultimately too much for my body. I had a massage on Wednesday before the race, and I had been icing and stretching like a mad woman until race time. It ached so badly on Friday night before the race that I had significant difficulty sleeping. So, I was fully expecting that the dull ache would rear it's ugly head in the second half of the race. The challenge that I was expecting to face was how much discomfort would I be willing to tolerate when push came to shove in those later miles. As it turned out, the challenge ultimately came from a different source - for better or worse.

One of the local Oiselle runners wrote this great piece with tips on running the race. And, I think it was pretty accurate.

My race was definitely a tale of two very different half-marathons....

Here's a description of the first half of the course from the race website: From the history-steeped streets of Old City, through one of the liveliest stretches of Center City, across the Schuylkill and through the campuses of University City, up through the bucolic trails of Fairmount Park, and back down to canvas the banks of the river.

How it played out for me:

I started at the front of my corral, so I never felt too boxed in during the first mile with everyone jockeying for position. However, that may have worked to my disadvantage, as I was able to take advantage of the open road in front of me and actually run. I was out of the gate faster than I should have been. To my surprise, I saw K shortly after the first mile, which was an unexpected treat. There was some construction in the next mile or so that narrowed the road in a brief section so things got more crowded there, which was probably good as it likely helped to slow me down a bit. I also saw a fellow Rogue who I ran with years ago and gave him a shout-out as I passed. We wound through the historic streets and made our way through the city center where the crowds got extremely thick on Chestnut Street. I was expecting to see the Oiselle cheer spot and likely K nearby at around mile 6, but the crowds were so large and the streets so narrow that I couldn't pick out anyone. So, on I went.

We then crossed over the Schuylkill River and headed toward the university area. This is where the road went up for a bit, much more so than I was actually expecting. This beat me down a bit mentally because I was expecting more of a blip rather than actual hills. And, then I got another hilly stretch as we entered the area around the zoo. I'm not gonna lie - there was some walking up both of those sections.

I stopped for the first time to fill my water bottle (and add Skratch) at around mile 10-11. This was farther than I was anticipating going before needing my first bottle refill, but I was drinking less in the cooler temperatures. Since Skratch is my primary nutrition though, I have to be careful to ensure that I am still getting in the appropriate calories for the long haul, even when I feel that I don't need to hydrate as much while running.

As we were running along the river about to cross back over to the Art Museum, I had another unexpected K sighting shortly before mile 13. This was a nice surprise because I could already tell that it wasn't going to be my day. I waved my hand to signal to K that I needed him to run along with me for a bit. As we passed the Art Museum, the half marathoners went to the right to finish their race, while the marathoners went left to do an out-and-back section along the river for the second half of the race. And, that's where I fell apart.

Once I made that left turn around the Art Museum, I was hit by the strong headwind that I mentioned earlier. I had felt the wind here and there at various points in the first half, but not really for a sustained period of time like I was about to endure until the turnaround at mile 20. I don't know whether it was the wind, but suddenly my ear buds kept falling out and were getting to be annoying. I stopped to walk several times to fix them and also to try to mentally and physically refocus. K followed along slightly behind me on a bike path that ran along the river for a bit, but I think he knew better than to get too close to me because I would have stopped and had more of an emotional meltdown in his presence. And, I had to get myself through those remaining 13.1 miles by myself anyway, so it was best that he dropped away when he did without calling attention to it. Onward, one foot in front of another I went.

I stopped for another water bottle exchange at around mile 14-15. I know I had another refill somewhere along the way after that too, but I can't remember at what point on the course. The 3 stops that I made to fill my bottle were slower than I would have liked, mostly because I had gloves on and had difficulty getting them off to unzip the pouch on my water bottle to get the packet of Skratch out efficiently. By that point though, time was no longer a priority since my chances of meeting my "A" time goal had already dissipated.

It was a final push uphill to the turnaround point around mile 20 in Manayunk. I realized that I was a few songs on my playlist past where I wanted to be in terms of finishing the final hour to my pre-planned tunes. So, I stopped to walk and rewind a couple of songs to ensure (hopefully) that I got to finish to my girl, Kelly C. After the turnaround, I was so relieved to be out of the damn headwind and heading back in that I let my stride out a bit on the slight downhill section. Unfortunately, my left ankle caught a pothole and turned slightly. This is the same ankle that I broke in 2010, so I am always very cautious and guarded with it. I took the next few steps fairly gingerly, and I was ultimately able to soldier on. That could easily have been disastrous though.

Somehow I got myself back to the Art Museum (with a lot of fits and starts), and I had enough left in the tank for a final kick of .2 miles. I crossed the finish line with my fist in the air, even though the time on the clock above didn't meet the goal that I had set for myself in this race or fully capture the months of hard work that came before it.

2:00 first half, 2:17 second half = 4:17 marathon (for some perspective, I ran the Colorado Marathon in early May in 4:18...at altitude on a warm, sunny day)

Definitely a top candidate in the best marathon medal category

Trying to get warm on the walk back to the hotel after the race

So, where did it go wrong? Ultimately, the headwind in the second half of the race broke me mentally. And, should I have started out more conservatively in the first half? Probably. Will I ever learn to race that way? Hopefully.

The inevitable question is what's next? I had originally planned to run the marathon in New Orleans at the end of February "for fun." However, I have ultimately decided to run LA on Valentine's Day instead and then likely run the half in New Orleans a couple of weeks later. We are planning on going to LA that weekend anyway to watch the Olympic Trials for the marathon, so why not run the marathon there the next day? I am anticipating that there will be a large Oiselle team presence at that race too because of the marathon trials, so that's a nice bonus.

I have also decided to make a huge change in my training for that race. I have been training with the Rogue Sole Survivors consistently since May 2014 - first for MCM, then Colorado, and most recently Philly. For a variety of reasons, I am going to train again with a former Rogue coach who I ran with many years ago and who K has continued to train with for the past several years. I'm excited for the change, even though it means a drastic change in my schedule as I shift to morning workouts twice during the week plus long runs on Saturday.

Welcome back to Team Mac!

olée.

Volée

A month later...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Fri, 05 Jun 2015 02:19:00 +0000

Yesterday marked a month since I ran the Colorado Marathon. So, what have I been up to since then?

Well, I took the week after the race completely off from running. Then, I started back on day 8 post-race with some easy runs. This actually fit perfectly with my group's training cycle, as many folks are building a base this month for fall marathon training. I already have a strong base after a year of consistent training that has included 2 marathons, so I reframed the focus of my runs for May as recovery. My weekly mileage has been in the 32-35 range, which is quite a drop from where I had been in the past couple of months leading up to my race. I have been running 5 days/week consistently (taking a break from running 6 days/week for May) and going to yoga multiple times per week (4 times last week!). The lower mileage has given me a nice mental break and allowed me to enjoy not having every day focused on how I am going to get my mileage in for the day, recovering appropriately with sufficient sleep and good nutrition, and doing it all over again the next day (all the while managing my practice and our household).

One great thing about this training cycle is that Sadie has joined the Sole Survivors to train for the Chicago Marathon, so it has been a joy to spend time with her and run together again after several years away. Speaking of races, I had originally slated Philly as my fall marathon, but St. George opened up to guaranteed entry after they didn't fill their cap with the lottery and I just couldn't resist signing up for that one too! Only one of those will be a goal race though because I doubt my body can handle racing two marathons in consecutive months. Since St. George is one of the earlier fall races and Philly is one of the later races, there should be sufficient time in between for recovery.


Celebrating National Running Day last night with the Sole Survivors on Exposition hills

The weather has definitely turned warmer and more humid, so I am having to acclimate to that all over again. I'm already having to monitor my fluid intake on Saturday morning long runs because summer running = sloshy tummy for mel, more often than not.

A couple of books that I have really enjoyed reading lately:
-My Best Race: 50 Runners and The Finish Line They'll Never Forget by Chris Cooper
-Onward! The Absolute, No B.S., Raw, Ridiculous Soul-Stirring Truth About Training For Your First Marathon by Brook Kreder
-Yoga Girl by Rachel Brathen

A couple of fun things that are coming up that I am looking forward to:
-We are going to Toronto next week to run the Nike Women's 15k.
-We are celebrating my birthday in August with a trip to Denver that will include yoga at Red Rocks and a 10k race in the foothills.
-And, not fitness-related, but we are heading to Europe for our annual summer trip at the end of the month!

CO Marathon...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sun, 10 May 2015 01:38:00 +0000

K and I arrived in Denver, CO late Friday evening, May 1. There was no time to acclimate to the altitude for this Texas girl because we needed to avoid taking a day off from work since we already have K's vacation days allocated for the year. And, part of the appeal of this race was that it was easy for us to access with a short nonstop flight from ATX. The weekend was all business - the business of running a marathon.

After lunch in Denver on Saturday with a friend from my internship year up there, we made the drive up to Fort Collins. We headed straight to packet pick-up, which was a pretty straightforward affair with a small expo.

Go Fast, Take Chances #oiselle

I added a pin for South Austin

Then, we drove the marathon course, so I would be familiar with what to expect during the race. The only other time that I have done that was for my first marathon in Austin (when the course was point-to-point). I was glad that we did because I was able to get a sense for the elevation profile, which was largely a gentle downhill rather than a steep, quad-burning downhill. It also reaffirmed my suspicion that the race was really going to be divided into 2 sections - the first part through the canyon which was peaceful and scenic then the more exposed and boring section for the last 10 miles or so. I knew the temperatures would be warming up too in the latter section, so I had to be mentally prepared for a tough stretch after leaving the canyon. I had a plan though...which ended up helping in the later miles on race day (but probably didn't come soon enough).

We had my usual pre-long run pasta dinner at Noodles & Company (thank goodness for a chain restaurant) then I got everything ready for the next day.

Race day (Sunday, May 3) had an early start with my alarm going off at 3:45am. We left the hotel around 4:15am, and K dropped me off in the downtown area of Ft. Collins to catch the bus up to the race start. Taking the official buses up was the only way to get to the start. We arrived at the start around 5:15am or so, and I was greeted with a sound system blaring a song about Boston when I got off the bus (inspiring for the hopeful BQ runners) and hundreds of runners milling around. I went ahead and hit the port-o-potty before the lines got too long once the rest of the buses arrived. It was actually a bit windy so I stayed in my warm clothes and sat down in front one of the big trucks to stay out of the wind. I just took in the beauty of the moment and thought that this has the potential to be a gem of a race - much smaller and more intimate than the other big city marathon races that I have recently done and in such a majestic setting.

The marathon was capped at around 1,300 participants (and had sold out). There wasn't too much fanfare around the start - a pre-recorded version of the national anthem was played as folks started to mill around to line up for the start, mostly in relation to the pacers. I saw a woman in Rogue socks and her friend in an ARC shirt, so I said hello as we shared in the experience of being there from Austin. And, then a few minutes later, we were off! I choked up a bit when I crossed the start line thinking about how long I have been anticipating this day and it had finally arrived!

The race started at around 6,100 feet above sea level. Going into the race, I knew that how my body handled the altitude was an unknown factor that I couldn't necessarily plan for or control. So, I had just focused on what I could control - my training. I peaked at 60mpw this training cycle with several weeks at 50mpw or higher. That's definitely on the higher end for me, so I was eager to see how my body would respond with the consistent and higher mileage in my legs. I have previously run a couple of 50k trail races in the mountains at much higher elevation, but there's a definite difference between those kind of runs and trying to run a road marathon at elevation well. And, my goal for this race was definitely to run this marathon well - not simply to finish. I don't really know how to describe the impact of the elevation on my performance, but it was definitely noticeable within the first half mile. And, it's not even that I had started super fast (mile 1 was 8:58 or so). My heart rate never really felt like it was soaring and I always ran a pace that felt comfortable for me at the time, so I don't know how to describe how it affected my performance other than to say that I noticed that running that first half mile felt different than starting a run at home.

And, don't even get me started on the sun. Oof. When we drove the course the day before, K commented that I should have enough cover from the canyon walls that I shouldn't have to worry too much about it to start. So, I simply started the race wearing my visor as I normally do, and I had planned to pick up my sunglasses from K when I saw him at mile 16 or 17 as I entered the more clearly exposed sections of the race. I remember how blinding the sun was at MCM last fall, so I was trying to plan ahead for that this time around. Turns out that I needed my sunglasses from the start, as we were running directly into the rising sun from the gun. And, remember how much more intense the sun is at elevation. This did not bode well for my race.

I tried to enjoy the beauty of the course for the first few miles. It was so peaceful with nothing but the sounds of runner's footsteps and the flowing Poudre River as we went along. The miles were passing at a fairly good clip thanks to the downhill nature of the course, but I was a lot closer to the 3:45 pace group than I needed to be. I went through mile 6 in around 52 minutes, I think. But, I already knew that it wasn't going to be my day. The pace felt comfortable, so it's not that I started too fast. I was just really warming up in that direct sun...and I knew it was going to get worse. I was supposed to stop and refill my water bottle at mile 7.5-ish, but ended up going on until about mile 10 (not a good sign in terms of hydrating for how warm it was going to be later). By that point, I had already started walking in some sections - mostly when we were out of the shade. I noticed that nobody else around me had started to walk yet, so I started to worry that this was all in my head (no need to worry because the carnage was to come later for a lot of others apparently).

This was where the first water stop was located - around mile 2.5

My overall pace had slowed considerably because of the walking breaks, and I ended up going through the half in 1:58. While that is a respectable time, it was pretty disheartening at that point because I knew it could have been much faster if I hadn't started to fall apart so early from the weather. Mentally, I actually declared my race done once I reached halfway. I was done. Cooked. I didn't care anymore. But, the thing is that I still had to get back to town 13.1 miles down the road, so even though I may have resigned my race at that point, I had to keep moving forward (no matter how slowly). I knew the 4:00 hour pacers would be pulling through soon and they did. Even though I didn't really have much will, I hopped aboard and stayed with them until about 14.5 miles. The pace was nice and relaxed, but I just didn't have the will because I was so darn hot. So, I let them go, and I just tried to focus on getting to mile 16 where I knew K would be waiting. I stopped to refill my water bottle again at around mile 15...and pour some water over my head to try to cool off.

Mile 16 came and went as we exited the canyon, but I didn't see K until just past mile 17 (near the planned intersection where I knew he would be parked). That had been a tough stretch after I realized it was another mile down the road more than I expected before I would actually see him. I stopped for a couple of minutes while I told him that I was mentally done and so, so hot. I was thankful to get my shades and my iPod and overjoyed to have him surprise me with a coke (something I first appreciated at the aid stations for my trail ultra's). He asked whether I wanted him to meet me at mile 21 since that seemed to be another point that he could access fairly easily. I told him no, just meet me at the finish.

Mile 17

And, with that, I took off down the road for the next mile like I was shot out of a cannon! Wow, what a difference the caffeine and some good beats made! I was seriously flying down the road passing everyone! I knew a hill was coming around mile 19, so that would be a speedbump for my momentum, but I completely underestimated how much of a difference running with music can make. It really helped keep me happy and less focused on the negative thoughts.

Unfortunately, it didn't really help with my overheated body temperature. But, getting to run through someone spraying us down with a hose just past the mile 19 aid station was a welcome blessing. We then entered a bike path for the next few miles that pretty much broke any remaining spirit I had left. It was exposed to the sun and boring. Not many folks looked good here. When I ran, I still had nice turnover in my legs and often got encouragement from the folks I passed about how strong I looked. But, the running was always interspersed with a lot of walking by that point. K ended up surprising me at mile 21-ish, which was a nice boost because I got more of my coke here. I also stopped to refill my water bottle again at this point. I knew I had a bit more on the bike path before the race would enter more of a neighborhood section for the last 5k. The race route had apparently been changed this year due to some construction - which turned out to be a blessing because we got to get off the bike path sooner.

Mile 21

Again, I was thankful that we had driven the course the day before because I had a sense of the last few streets and turns that were ahead in the last couple of miles. I got a big boost from Kelly Clarkson - What doesn't kill you (Stronger) - at mile 24, and she took me all the way to the finish on repeat. I'm definitely not a super expressive person, but there was some fist pumping in the air at the end. I finished in 4:18 - not the time that I was hoping for, but I also didn't implode as badly as it could have been given the conditions.

I waited for K at the finish line - he missed my strong finish because he wasn't expecting me until a bit later given the negative sentiments that I had expressed earlier about my pace and mental state. We then drove over to one of the nearby restaurants that was offering runners and their families free pizza and beer. What a great perk!

And, with that, it was time to shower, pack, and head back to Denver to catch our 6pm flight home.

Closing thoughts:

I am not a good warm weather runner. Period. Doesn't matter if it's humid as it is in Austin or not as it was in Colorado.
I think it's unclear what kind of impact the "higher" mileage and weekly yoga sessions from this training cycle had on my performance. The variables that seemed to really matter in this race were the weather (71 degrees at my finish and the direct sun exposure) and elevation. So, I guess I'll continue with that regimen, but also add another factor of trying to lose a few more pounds to see what difference that can make for the next race (I was up about 2-2.5 pounds compared to when I ran MCM last October).
Never underestimate the power of a coke and some music to get through the later miles.
Even though I never really felt in a happy place mentally, it is surprising to look at the race photos of me smiling and sailing along.
While I think of myself as someone who loves the downhill, I think I need the downhill to be mixed in more with the flat and slight uphill just for variety sake. And, definitely more downhill in the later miles as opposed to the beginning.
I have switched over to Skratch for my hydration/nutrition, and it seemed to work fairly well in my first marathon using it. Even though I also took salt tablets during this race (starting at mile 6 once I realized how much I was heating up), I was still covered in salt at the end, so obviously I needed more.
This is the second marathon in a row where I have been blinded by the sun. From now on, it is going to be visor AND sunglasses at the start.
Still need to work on mental toughness.
Physically, the only issue I really had during the race was with my right hip. It flared up during the last few miles of my last 20 miler, and I had my massage therapist work on it a couple of times before the race. I'm sure the highly cambered road in some spots exacerbated any problems that I had with it coming into the race.

So, what's next? St. George in October (another downhill race starting at 5,000+ feet) then Philly in November....which means another summer of training in the Austin heat and humidity with my running buddies!

Wellness + Women + Costa Rica = Adventure!

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 04:32:00 +0000

Last year, my amazing massage therapist, Ann, mentioned that she was in the process of organizing a women's wellness retreat in Costa Rica in the near future, so I told her to keep me posted. After spending several weeks there last June, she contacted me while we were in Australia at the time with the details. Was I interested? Of course!

Fast forward to Monday morning when I awoke to this email from the airline:
Your flight on Jan. 28 from Houston to San Jose has been canceled due to severe weather conditions in our route network.

Thank you, Winter Storm Juno in the Northwest, for disrupting my travel plans to Central America two days later.

After 2.5 hours on hold with the airline trying to get my options sorted out and many frantic emails with my travel companions later, I was rebooked on a different flight with a connection in Honduras that was still, thankfully, scheduled to go out on Wednesday as planned.

As usual, my work schedule was hectic as I tried to wrap things up in the days leading up to my absence from the office for a week. I didn't really have a chance to exhale from that until Tuesday afternoon before it was finally time to turn my attention to the fact that I was leaving the country in the morning.

And, it was an early morning at that. K dropped me off at the airport shortly before 6am, as we wondered what it was going to be like for us to be apart for this long. As much as I was looking forward to the trip, I also knew that I was going to miss him and sharing this adventure together. At the same time though, as someone who spends much of my professional and personal life doing for others, it is good for me to have the opportunity to do something that is just for me (well, other than running).

So, I met up with one of my travel companions for the short flight to IAH where we picked up another member of our group who had arrived there on an earlier flight. Then, it was off to Honduras! Tegucigalpa to be exact. I don't even know how you pronounce that! As we were landing, one of the passengers next to me inquired whether I had ever flown into that airport before. Um, no. She warned me that we were in for a rough ride, and sure enough, she was right. Apparently, Toncontín International Airport is considered one of the (if not the) most dangerous airports in the world due to the mountainous terrain that the pilots have to negotiate through on approach and the ridiculously short runway. All of the passengers clapped on our flight when the pilot safely brought the plane down.

After a short layover, we were on our way to San Jose, Costa Rica! We arrived without any problems (with all bags in tow), hit up the airport ATM for local currency, and went outside to find the guy holding up the sign with our names was there as promised. We had a short wait while the actual driver from our hotel came to pick us up and drove us up the mountain to our hotel for the night, Hotel Buena Vista. We quickly checked in and dropped off our bags so that we could explore the hotel area.

We took a short walk through the hotel's "coffee trail" to see the spectacular views of the city below and surrounding volcanoes, as well as the lush vegetation, beautiful flowers, and fruit and coffee trees. We started to settle into the relaxed vibe of our upcoming adventure, as we sat outside and simply admired the scenery.

"Coffee Trail" behind the hotel

Coffee Beans

I loved the brightness of the orange on this tree and the moon starting to make an appearance overhead

Then, it was time for an early dinner and bed soon thereafter. Adventure awaits us tomorrow as we make our way to the Osa Peninsula!

Marathon training reset!

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sun, 18 Jan 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Wow, my last training post was back in November before we went on vacation for Thanksgiving. Not surprisingly, I have had a few disruptions in my training over the holidays (which I had expected) and I will have a few more coming up as well. I knew going into this round of marathon training that I wouldn't have the same level of consistency that I had for MCM last year due to our travel plans. With that in mind, I had made plans to run the half-marathons in Dallas last month and Houston this weekend to help ensure that I didn't completely let go of my running after MCM a couple of months ago. I also committed to training with the Sole Survivors for November and December, even though I knew I would be recovering from MCM initially and then miss several of the group workouts around the holidays. So, all that being said, I commented to Angela at last week's workout that I haven't really gotten my mind wrapped around the fact that I am in fact training for a marathon right now. Now that I have these intermediate races behind me with Dallas and Houston (which I was only using as easy long runs anyway), it's time to focus on the big picture again - Colorado on May 3. I recently put together my long-run schedule for my race in May, adjusting it for known travel plans at this point. It feels more real now that I have it in black-and-white on my calendar for each week. Time to do the work!

Here's a few of the more interesting running-related events since my last post:

Meeting Olympian, Kara Goucher, at Rogue on 12/04/14

Running the half-marathon in Dallas on 12/14/14 (2:07)

Running a (free) 4k fun run with the locals in Berlin on New Year's Day

Half-marathon in Houston on 01/18/15 (2:01)

Pra-ha

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 02:18:00 +0000

Sunday, December 28 was our travel day from Budapest to Prague. It was a long journey via train – approximately 7 hours. We could have tried to break up the travel time better between cities by changing the order of how we did things. But, we knew the Christmas markets in Vienna closed on December 23, so we had to start our journey there. We are getting better at managing long train rides through Europe though (K went to pick up fresh bread and meats for us to snack on before we left the hotel this morning). And, usually the scenery is fairly spectacular so that makes things go by easily. We traveled through Slovakia on our way to the Czech Republic, and there was a lot of snow on the ground throughout the trip along with vast expanses of flat land. The landscape seemed to get more interesting as we entered the Czech Republic, but it also started to get dark so I couldn’t see as much. Upon arriving in Prague in the early evening, we walked to our hotel near the train station, and naturally, passed a Christmas market along the way. We opted for a low-key evening of getting settled into our hotel, having a surprisingly good dinner at the hotel restaurant (food note – K and I have both had goulash now, but not in Hungary where it is apparently more of a watery-stew; I had it in Vienna and he had it tonight, and we both enjoyed it), and putting our plan together for our time here. Like K said, even Le Tour has rest days!

On Monday, December 29 we woke up to snow in Prague. While it was pretty to look at it, it was somewhat treacherous to walk on the slippery cobblestones. So, we opted not to stray too far today. We are staying in New Town near Wenceslas Square, so that’s where we started our day. We stopped to say hello to the St. Wenceslas Statue in front of the National Museum then made our way down the Square through a Christmas market.

Surprisingly, we haven’t visited too many museums thus far on this trip. Even without the cold, the Mucha Museum was on my list of must-dos for Prague, but the cold weather (temps in the teens) made it an easy decision to start with. I honestly hadn’t been aware of Mucha’s work until we started researching this part of the trip, but I took an instant liking to it. He is the founder of the Art Nouveau movement and made a name for himself as a poster artist and illustrator. I love the colors of his work, his amazing detail of the human form, and, of course, the flowers. The museum included a great video that detailed his career.

Feeling inspired by his work, we went off in search of a couple of other Art Nouveau style buildings, notably the Municipal House. We debated taking a tour of the interior, which is apparently impressive, seeing a concert later, or simply having a meal in the restaurant there. But, ultimately, we decided to move on because we still had things to see.

We passed under the Powder Tower next door, which is the only surviving piece of the wall that was built to defend the city in the 1400s, and entered the Old Town. We quickly found ourselves in the Old Town Square, which naturally featured a lovely Christmas market.

After unintentionally grabbing perhaps the most expensive lunch one can have from a market stall, we needed to warm up so we decided to head up the Old Town Hall Tower. After a lengthy wait, we made our way up to the top and were taken aback with the beauty of the panoramic views of the city. Now, we have climbed up plenty of towers and high panoramic viewpoints throughout Europe, and the views from here just might have been the best (certainly rivaling the views of Florence from The Duomo). I’m sure the snow on the rooftops and Christmas atmosphere below added to the already spectacular views of the city with its numerous spires.

After rushing back down from the top to see the show on the Astronomical Clock at the top of the hour, we spent a little time exploring the market in the square before heading back into the Town Hall building to warm up while waiting for our guided tour. The tour of the building was informative, and we got to get up close and personal with the statues of the 12 apostles that parade by to outsiders on the hour.

Not wanting to brave the cold for too long, we simply headed across the square to the Gallery of Art Prague, which featured exhibitions of Dali, Mucha, and Warhol. I enjoyed the works by all three, even Dali who I usually don’t care much for. This was definitely more of an art gallery than a museum, as it didn’t necessarily feature a lot of the original works – primarily prints. But, I enjoyed it nonetheless, and it was a good use of our early evening time indoors.

Then, it was time for dinner and planning for the next day’s adventures!

We had a lot on our agenda for Tuesday, December 30. We started out by taking the metro/tram up to Prague Castle, which sits atop a hill overlooking the city and Vltava River.

This nearly turned into a planning fail though because, upon arriving, we had to wait in a long line for tickets to St. Vitus Cathedral (and other attractions) in the Castle complex and the Cathedral had limited hours (which would screw up our afternoon schedule if we didn't get into the Church in the morning as we had planned). But, it all managed to work out, thankfully. We started our tour with a visit to the Cathedral, which was quite grand and featured a beautiful stained-glass window by Mucha, as well as the Royal Mausoleum, tomb of St. Wenceslas, and other beautiful artwork.

Then, we dashed over to join the crowds at the top gate for the changing of the guard at noon.

We were chilled to the bone by now and went into the nearby gift shop to warm up before visiting a few other Castle sights, including the Old Royal Palace, Basilica of St. George, and Golden Lane. But, honestly, I was pretty cranky because I was cold and hungry, so I was ready to move on to food and warmth by now. After exiting the complex, we stopped for a yummy lunch at the nearby Lobkowicz Palace Cafe (thanks Rick Steves for the recommendation!). We were then treated to beautiful views of the city as we descended from the Castle Quarter.

We made our way on foot over to the Jewish Quarter, stopping for a photo op of the Charles Bridge (which connects the Old Town to the Little Quarter and Prague Castle and features statues along the way).

Unfortunately, we didn't have as much time as we would have liked to really take an in-depth look of all of the sights in the Jewish Quarter (most of the buildings closed at 4 or 4:30pm at this time of year). But, we made a quick run through of what we could, including the Old Jewish Cemetery, Pinkas Synagogue, Ceremonial Hall, and Klaus Synagogue. It was extremely moving to visit the Pinkas Synagogue, which is a memorial to the victims of the Nazis and has walls covered with handwritten names of the Czech Jews who died at Auschwitz and other camps. Upon exiting the building, we entered the cemetery, which was the only burial ground for Jews in Prague for centuries. As such, the tombs were built on top of each other due to limited space and the tombstones became crooked as the land resettled over time. It was an amazing sight.

We then went back to our hotel to rest and get dinner (at a great Italian restaurant across the street from our hotel) before a late evening show of Swan Lake at the Hybernia Theater. There was no orchestra used for this performance, so the music was done from a recording which was a bit disappointing. We enjoyed the dancers though, and it was a nice way to wrap up our trip to Prague.

Overall, we both really liked the city, which certainly looked more magical with the snow and holiday lights. I am sure we'll be back in warmer temperatures!

Buda-pes(h)t

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 23:00:00 +0000

Thursday, December 25 was our transition day from Vienna to Budapest. We arrived in Budapest around noon after a 3-hour train ride. As soon as we emerged from the metro onto the street, we saw a (closed) Christmas market. We walked to our hotel “right around the corner” from the Hungarian State Opera House, dropped our bags, and got on with the business of finding a restaurant open for lunch on Christmas. We ended up at a Thai place nearby then went back to our hotel for a “short” nap that, of course, lasted longer than intended.

Quick geography lesson – Budapest actually consists of two towns that are separated by the Danube River. The Buda side is to the west of the river and the Pest side is to the east of the river. Our hotel was on the Pest side.

We celebrated Christmas with a chamber concert that evening at Danube Palace. The concert featured a symphony orchestra playing classical Hungarian and European music in a beautiful setting.

Then, we took a chilly stroll along the Danube River. We got to see the Chain Bridge and Buda Castle lit up.

We walked toward Parliament and saw a moving Holocaust Monument along the promenade that consisted of 50 pairs of bronze shoes commemorating the Jews that were shot by the Arrow Cross letting their bodies fall into the river.

As we walked back to our hotel, we ended up in front of St. Istvan’s Basilica with another (closed) Christmas market in front of it. Not to worry though – we’ll be back!

On Friday, December 26, we started our day with a visit to the Great Synagogue, the second largest in the world (the largest is in New York). Even though I don’t know much about the Jewish religion or history, this was a trip highlight for me. We toured the outer areas first, which featured the Memorial Garden and Tree of Life sculpture. The willow makes an upside-down menorah, and the metal leaves are etched with the name of a Holocaust victim.

Then, we received an informational tour about the interior of the Synagogue before visiting the Jewish museum.

Our next few activities were foiled by closures due to the holiday schedule, so we didn’t get to go inside the Great Market Hall or visit the House of Terror as planned.

Trying to make the best of our afternoon, we ended up walking along Budapest’s main boulevard, Andrassy Ut, toward Heroes’ Square and City Park. The square is dominated by the Millennium Monument and flanked by museums on the sides. Behind the square is a nice park akin to Central Park except this one featured the Vajdahunyad Castle, Szechenyi Baths, zoo, and circus.

Our evening outing was a trip to the Opera to see “La Boheme.” I scored us super cheap seats at the last minute – so what if we ended up having to stand to see anything? We were seated in the upper box above the orchestra pit right next to the stage. The building was beautiful, and we were told the acoustics are among the best in Europe.

Due to the unexpected closures yesterday, we had a lot on our agenda for Saturday, December 27. We got an early start and headed over to Castle Hill on the Buda side. We got there just in time before the tour buses arrived and had the area to ourselves for a few minutes. We spent some time in the Matthias Church, and I walked away with a souvenir numbered tile from the roof prior to its restoration. How cool is that? Then, we made our way over to the Royal Palace enjoying the views along the way. We even managed to time it just right to see the changing of the guard (for something…we’re not sure what).

Then, we started our journey out of the city center to Memento Park. This was one of my must-dos for the trip, and it did not disappoint. The park consists of all the great communist era statues that dominated Hungary before the fall of the communist regime. The Hungarians, who by and large were no fans of the occupying Soviets and their “friendship” with Hungary, first secretly, then openly, ridiculed many of them.

Entry to Park - Greeted by Lenin on the left and Marx and Engels on the right

Lenin hailing a cab

Stalin's boots - all that remain from an 8-meter tall statue after crowds destroyed it during the revolution

(Side note: K had to take over writing most of the rest of this post, including the last sentence in the previous paragraph, because I was getting motion sickness while writing on the train to Prague. I’m sure you’ll notice the difference in tone and detail.)

We had a bit of a self-inflicted (K-inflicted) travel snafu on the way back from Memento Park as K wanted to stay on the bus longer intending to return to the city center from a different metro station. After some detours and frustration we were able to find the station and get back to the House of Terror with enough time for a full experience. This museum was in the former headquarters of the secret police and had a dark and soulless feel to it. It told the story, through information sheets, videos, recordings, and some (but not a lot) of memorabilia, of Hungary’s occupation by two dictatorships – the Nazi-affiliated Arrow Cross and the Soviet Union – and the methods used to gain power and control and oppress the populace. Many of the rooms were thematically decorated to cover the various aspects of life and how different groups were treated, and several had kitschy displays including creepy old phones that could be dialed for more recordings. The most striking part of the museum was the basement, which was accessed via a slow elevator that was blacked out for the descent except for a video describing a hanging procedure. The basement contained actual prison cells with a list of known prisoners in each, a display of some torture devices, a memorial with the names of those killed by the regime, a room with triumphant scenes and videos after the fall of communism, a video showing Pope John Paul II at a memorial ceremony to the victims, and a hallway filled with the “Victimizers”, those responsible for the crimes, with name, photo, and dates of birth and death if applicable. Many of these have escaped justice and are unaccounted for.

After the chilling experience of the House of Terror, we went out for one more nearby excursion to St. Istvan’s (Stephen’s) Basilica and the Christmas market there that we had seen closed previously. The nighttime cold had set in and so we opted for some hot drinks and noshed on some local food specialties (langos – a pizza-like flatbread; a whole grain cone filled with mini-sausages, cheese and mustard; and a hand-rolled chimney-cone dessert bread rolled in cinnamon). This market was decked out with a blue Christmas tree, a small ice rink big enough only for a few children, and a video projector that displayed animations onto the church accompanied by favorite American holiday tunes at certain points of the hour. Notable about this market were a large selection of handmade pottery and a festive, lively atmosphere.

For our final evening in Budapest, we opted for the organ concert at St. Stephen’s Basilica. It surprised us that we ended up doing three cultural evening activities here since that is not something we typically partake in either at home or abroad, but all were easy, cheap, and enjoyable. Being here in the winter also meant limited daylight hours and opening times for other attractions, so these events filled out our time nicely. And, well, classical musical culture is kind of a big deal in this region thanks to Mozart, etc. The concert this night also served as our visit to the inside of St. Stephen’s so we were efficient in that regard. The church was quite large and grand, decorated in a golden-age style with most surfaces covered in wall paintings and pattern designs. There were also several stone statues of important figures and the usual collection of chapels and altars to the sides, with one containing the “Holy Right Hand” of St. Istvan, but that part of the church was closed off during the concert. The organ filled the large volume of the church quite well for a dramatic feel and some pieces were also accompanied by a flute or vocal solo. Of the two, I appreciated the flute more, but it was all very good. Kurt’s favorite of the three activities was the chamber concert with the opera not far behind, but they were all unique and good value. As we left the Church, it began to lightly snow which added to the atmosphere. Only a couple of days late for a true white Christmas though!

Wien…A “Fine” City

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 21:16:00 +0000

We had a great holiday trip to Europe last year, notably to Rome for Christmas, Amsterdam for NYE, and Istanbul in between. I knew it was going to be hard to top that trip, but I figured visiting the Christmas markets in Eastern Europe could be a great holiday experience. So, Vienna was our first stop.

We arrived in Vienna in the late afternoon on Monday, December 22. After making our way to our hotel near Stephansplatz in the city center, our first priority was getting food (which trumped the shower at that point – it’s always a toss up between those two priorities when we come off an international flight). We walked over to the square and discovered our first Christmas market (of many to come!) in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Lots of folks were milling around enjoying their gluhwein (mulled wine) and other hot drinks. We discovered throughout our market tour that each market had its own set of mugs that drinks were served in with a refundable deposit required. We weren’t quite ready to indulge in that yet, but we found quite possibly the best bratwurst from one of the market stands that I have had! This was a great start to our time in Vienna!

With the holidays, many places that we wanted to visit had closures or abbreviated hours, so we had to plan our time strategically. Most of the Christmas markets closed on Tuesday, December 23, so that was one of our main priorities for this day. We started our day though with a visit to the Hofburg Palace, the home of the Habsburgs emperors (except in the summer at least). We visited the Imperial Porcelain and Silver Collection, Sisi Museum, and Imperial Apartments. We had a great (free) audioguide that actually made this fairly interesting (to me – Kurt usually loves this kind of stuff regardless). There is actually a lot more to see and do in the Hofburg complex, such as the Spanish Riding School, which features the famous Lipizzaner stallions, and the Treasury, which features the Crown Jewels. But, we were trying to accomplish a lot in our limited time in Vienna, so that was all that we really had time for today.

The inner courtyard of the Palace complex

After stumbling across another Christmas market that we would have to come back to later, we made our way over to the Vienna State Opera House for a guided tour. We got to view the auditorium, the intermission rooms, and the backstage area. We had considered going to an opera while we are visiting, but the only showing was for Rigoletto, which we saw earlier this year at the Sydney Opera House.

Next it was time for a sweet treat at Café Sacher, located behind the Opera House and home of the “Original” Sacher-Torte. While it was yummy and a traditional Viennese experience, I don’t really think it was worth the wait to get in.

Darkness settles in at this time of year between 4-5pm, so we were ready to take in the full Christmas market experience with lights lit up everywhere. We visited several markets, all with a different vibe. First up was the market at Karlsplatz, which had a fun atmosphere (just check out the picture of the unique carousel!) and lots of amazing crafts. Next it was time for the regal experience of the Christmas Village at Belvedere Palace. It was a beautiful setting, especially all lit up at night! After that lengthy journey out of the Ringstrasse (central ring road) area, we made our way over to the Pink Christmas market at Naschmarkt. This one took some doing to find (again out away from the center to the end of the market) and ended up being a small market sponsored by the gay community. Here we each had sausage for dinner and our first taste of mulled wine (it took some getting used to initially). Then, we made a quick stop at Winter – Museumsquartier, which was a small group of modern silver drinking tents set among the interior courtyard of the museums that seemed to be popular with the hipsters. We rushed over to the Old Viennese Christmas Market just before it closed – there were carolers singing as we arrived. We had enough time to get over to Wiener Adventzauber for a photo op in front of City Hall, but saved visiting the market for the next day.

On Wednesday, December 24, we started our Christmas Eve experience in Vienna with a trip to St. Stephen’s Cathedral. After exploring the inside, we decided to take the hike up the 343 steps around a spiral staircase to the South Tower for “panoramic” views of the city. We emerged from the staircase and entered into a small guardhouse about halfway up the tower. Our views of the city were limited through small barred windows, which was not exactly what I expected. Then, we made an impromptu stop at nearby St. Peter’s Church to check out the interior.

Next up was a visit to Berggasse 19, home to Sigmund Freud (before he was forced to leave Austria by the Nazis)! We had visited the Sigmund Freud Museum in London a few years ago, so I have already seen “the couch.” But, this was still a nice opportunity for me to see his office where he established his practice. Unfortunately, the museum didn’t offer a visit to his apartments next door, but it was still an overall good experience.

This mirror hung here in his office and was a gift from his daughter, Anna

We stumbled across this park named after Freud as we were leaving

With our main sightseeing done, we were ready to enjoy Christmas Eve in Vienna. We visited the Christmas markets at Maria Theresien-Platz (where I didn’t see what all the fuss is about with cronuts) and back at Rathausplatz. I had been eyeing all of the wine mugs from each market and finally found the one I wanted to keep, a red heart-shaped version featuring City Hall. After making my purchase, we popped into City Hall for a Christmas Carol event then headed back to St. Stephen’s Cathedral for a service that featured music by Mozart. The Church was packed, but we managed to make our way in and position ourselves in a good spot. Kurt headed back out later that evening for Midnight Mass at St. Stephen’s and it was truly a packed house for that as well.

And, with that, our time in Vienna was done. While everything here was “fine” and completely met expectations, nothing really blew me away (except maybe that brat our first night!). Obviously there’s still more to do here, including visiting the museums. But, I don’t necessarily see the hype about the city (especially when it’s not the season for Christmas markets).

CO Training Week 3

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 13:33:00 +0000

Saturday, November 15: 12.25 miles (road)

Angela and I started with the masses from Rogue at 6am. Wow - that was way too overstimulating for me at that hour of the morning. Too many people, too loud. But, once we got on our way, we settled into our rhythm and everything was fine.

The plan for today was to run most of the first half of the Austin Marathon course - and, the Austin marathoners were supposed to run it as a paced workout. But, we were running "easy," which actually turned out to be MGP or faster because of the cold weather. It is such a relief to see our paces dropping from the slow trudge in the summer heat and humidity to faster with less effort in the cool/cold weather.

Why anyone would want to run/race that course is beyond me! The first few miles UP Congress are a challenge for sure, and the return into town on S. First didn't really seem like as much of a downhill to make up for that. But, everybody doesn't hate hills the way that I do, I guess.

Maybe because we were running a faster pace or maybe because the early hills took their toll, but for whatever reason I just wasn't really "feeling it" this morning. Angela offered that we could cut it short around 12 miles for the day, so I said sure. I had originally planned to do 13 today, so I was okay with the overall mileage.

Sunday, November 16: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3 mile recovery run.

Monday, November 17: 8 miles (treadmill)

Even though this week is a scheduled recovery week, I didn't drop down on my medium long run mileage because next week will turn into a week of no running for me while we are on vacation. So, that will be my recovery week.

Tuesday, November 18: OFF

I really contemplated trying to get my usual Thursday run done today because we will be traveling that day, but I just had too much other stuff to do in the evening to get ready for our trip and I got home late from work.

Wednesday, November 19: 6 miles (road)

Tonight was one of those nights where I really contemplated skipping the group workout. We are leaving on vacation tomorrow, and we still have a ton of stuff to do. It was also questionable whether I'd be able to get everything wrapped up at work in time to make it. But, somehow I did. So, I remembered how committed I had been to my MCM training when I didn't skip workouts (unless I was sick or out of town), even when I had work stress, other conflicts, or simply wasn't feeling it, and I changed clothes and made it Rogue on time. Want to run a marathon? Got to do the work!

As always, I was glad afterwards that I got the work done, even if it was a fairly easy workout of Straights and Curves. We're still doing these types of workouts around a neighborhood block rather than a track. So, we did 1.5 mile warm-up then 2 x 6 400's with a 1.5 mile cool-down back to Rogue. The weather was just right for the run, with temps rising into the 50's after our cold snap for the past week.

And, with that run, I am off to the Galapagos tomorrow. See you in Week 5!

Thursday, November 20: OFF

Friday, November 21: OFF

Week 3 Total: 29 miles

CO Training Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:32:00 +0000

Saturday, November 8: 10 miles (road)

Angela is out of town this weekend, so I was on my own for this morning's run. I decided to start before the masses started at 6am because I wanted to get there early enough to get a parking spot in the lot at Rogue. So, I headed off around 5:40am or so following shortly behind another group that was also getting an early start. But, I quickly passed them and found myself alone - just me, my map, and headlamp. I saw a couple of other girls ahead as we approached the water stop a little over 2 miles in. I loved this route when we first did it during summer training because it is basically 4 short loops (about 2 miles or so) radiating out from the central water stop on Exposition. So, after I finished my first loop, then I saw more people rotating through the water stop, although I was still a loop ahead of everyone. The weather was fantastic, and I surprised myself with a faster pace in the cooler temperatures. This is the weather I wanted for my marathon two weeks ago!

Sunday, November 9: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3 mile recovery run.

Monday, November 10: 8 miles (treadmill)

My left hip is clearly not happy. I was able to get through my run today, but my hip felt super sore and achy afterwards and interfered with my sleep when I moved at night.

Tuesday, November 11: OFF

Wednesday, November 12: 6 miles (road)

Since Bobby changed our workout last week due to the rain, we ended up doing the original planned workout from last week tonight - vintage Marshes! What Rogue doesn't love this one? I started early again, although I know that Bobby wasn't happy about that. This was the first true cold weather run that we have had, so it was time to break out the gloves. I felt fairly strong and enjoyed the workout.

Thursday, November 13: 5 miles (treadmill)

Friday, November 14: OFF

Week 2 Total: 32 miles

CO Training Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 19:59:00 +0000

Saturday, November 1: 6 miles (treadmill)

Angela and I had originally planned to get back to our usual Saturday morning long runs with Rogue, but she wasn't feeling up to it today. After working really long hours the past couple of days, I decided to go ahead and get the extra sleep my body needed and run later on my own since I would be solo anyway if I ran in the morning. This was my first run since the marathon last Sunday, and it was good to know that everything still worked. My left hip was still getting my attention a little bit, but nothing that I was overly concerned about.

Sunday, November 2: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3-mile recovery run.

Monday, November 3: OFF

Tuesday, November 4: 8 miles (treadmill)

I switched my medium long run from yesterday to today because of scheduling issues. My left hip was definitely more angry during today's run (and afterwards), so I am happy that I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow morning.

Wednesday, November 5: 5 miles (road)

I had my post-race massage this morning, and I told Ann that my hip really needed some work. I told her that tonight's workout was a hill workout, so she cautioned me to take it easy if the hip was still hurting.

Our group workout was scheduled to be the Marshes. But, Bobby changed it at the last minute due to the rainy conditions. Not wanting anybody to slip and get hurt with all of the up/downhill that the Marshes entail, he sent us out for the LAB-Enfield-Exposition loop. With the time change occurring last weekend, it will be dark going forward when we start our evening workouts with the Sole Survivors at 6pm. I convinced Angela to start early with me tonight, so we headed out on our own about half an hour early. Other than dealing with the cooler, wet conditions (which you won't hear me gripe about because I would have welcomed this kind of weather when I was struggling with the summer heat) and the busy traffic on those particular roads (and nearly getting hit by a turning car), we had a pretty good run. My hip actually seemed to feel better as we ran. I ran without my Garmin because it was acting up, so I ran without concern for time/pace.

Thursday, November 6: 5 miles (treadmill)

Friday, November 7: OFF

Week 1 Total: 27 miles

(vs. 17 miles for week 1 of MCM training)

I am going to be adjusting the scheduled mileage to my particular needs for the next couple of months. While this is the beginning of the next round of marathon training for my May race, I also need to maintain a base level of fitness to run the half-marathons in Dallas next month and Houston in January (with two extended international trips thrown in during this period that will disrupt my training).

MCM Race Day!

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sun, 02 Nov 2014 23:18:00 +0000

39th Marine Corps Marathon

10/26/14

After a night of disrupted sleep (thank you, K), my alarm went off at 4am just like it has for so many long runs on Saturday mornings with Angela during our training. Today was finally Marathon Day though! I was out the door in time to get to the metro station near our hotel promptly at 5am when the station started its early service for the race. But, I had to wait 20-30 minutes for the first train to arrive since mine was the last station before the race drop-off point. One of my biggest concerns was overcrowding on the trains based on what I had heard from others who previously ran the race. But, my early bird ways alleviated that issue, and I didn't have any problems with transport to the race. The marathoners exited at Pentagon Station and then we had to make our way over to the Runners Village nearby. I quickly made my way through the metal detectors and found my way over to one of several tents to relax and wait for Angela. Things were pretty relaxed and, surprisingly, there weren't a lot of people around yet.

The temperature was in the mid 50's in the pre-dawn hours, and the strong winds made it feel slightly cooler. I opted to go ahead and wear my throwaway warm-up clothes before the race, although I probably would have been okay without them. Angela and I chatted for a bit once we met up, then I suggested that we go ahead and make our way over to the staging area for the start since it was a bit of a walk from where we were hanging out. The race started on Route 110 in Arlington, VA between the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery.

Leaving Runners Village to head over to the start

The sun started to come up, and we both made trips to the well-placed port-o-potties by the actual start area. Other than that, there wasn't much to do except wait. Angela surprised me with her calmness, especially considering this was her first marathon. So, we were pretty zen at that point about what we were about to embark upon for the next 4 hours or so. I was unhappy about the likely weather conditions, but it's not like I could do anything about it. It was what it was.

The opening ceremonies started about 30 minutes before the marathon start of 7:55am and included several skydivers arriving in the start area, including a Medal of Honor recipient carrying the American flag to the start, a flyover by two military helicopters, and a brief speech by actor Sean Astin who was also running the race.

Lined up at the race start along Route 110

We crossed the start line about 7 minutes after the gun time. As with all big races, it was crowded at the start (and, honestly, never really cleared out with more space along the route). Angela was a few steps behind me, which was stressing me out a little bit. She felt that I was going faster than she wanted to go, although I swear I was sticking to the plan of 10-minute pace for the early miles. I briefly stopped to take some water from my bottle at mile 2 and then she ended up ahead of me. I got back in front and kept turning my head to make sure she was behind me. At some point in the next mile, I lost her. I made a hard decision to just keep going at that point because I was afraid that if I stopped, then I wouldn't find her in the crowd or she'd end up passing me without me seeing it. It definitely wasn't the plan for us to separate this early, and I felt nervous at the thought of running the next 23-24 miles without her, but I knew we both had to run our own races. And, well, there was some downhill coming in the next mile that I knew I would want to let loose and take advantage of.

For better or worse, that got things turning over on a quick pace and I just rode it for the next 6 miles or so. I felt great, although I knew I was running a "stupid" race by doing so when one of my main goals for the day was to run smart. At one point while I was rolling along, a guy asked me what kind of pace I was planning to run. My reply, "Whatever feels good." Sub 9-minutes felt good, so I took it.

Another indication that things were not going smartly was that I was nowhere near done with my water bottle (which had Tailwind + water) when I was scheduled to swap bottles with K at mile 6. I saw him as I approached mile 6, but he didn't see me until I was passing him. I decided not to stop because I was cruising along at a good clip at that point and had barely drank 1/4 of my water bottle at that point (the plan was to drink 1 bottle/hour). Unbeknownst to me, he made his way to the other side of the road since I was on an out-and-back section, and he appeared again around mile 9. I wasn't expecting him until mile 12, so I was on the inside of the road not in a good place to swap bottles. Again, I chose not to stop even after seeing him because I still hadn't finished bottle 1 (at almost 1.5 hours in). I knew that this was going to come back to hurt me because I knew how warm the temperature was expected to get over the course of the run.

I started to have a weird stomach cramp around mile 10-11. I stopped briefly to try to work it out somehow. We entered the loop around the Tidal Basin during this stretch, and I was in need of a pick me up from K (and a new water bottle) at our pre-planned meeting point around mile 12. But, mile 12 came and went with no sign of K. At that point, I knew I was on my own with hydration/nutrition for the next hour or more. So, I had to stop at the aid station around the halfway point to refill my bottle with water and start drinking Gatorade. I hit the halfway point at 2:02, even with a few walking breaks thrown in after mile 10.

I don't remember much after the halfway point other than I was already struggling with the headwinds (15-20mph) and sun with temperatures rising to the low 70's by the end of the race. I was starting to overdrink fluids and struggled with placing of the aid stations 2+ miles apart - my bottle was empty, my mouth was dry, and I was WARM. Not a good combo for me, and I started to get in a bad mental place.

But, the miles still kept clicking by, although there was definitely walking involved at several points. I *finally* saw K waiting for me at our next meeting point just before mile 19. This time he saw me coming and was ready to swap the bottles. But, I just told him that I needed him to jump in and run with me for a bit because I needed a mental boost and some encouragement. We ran together for a short ways until the 19 mile marker, despite his concern that he was going to get tossed off the course by a Marine. I made it to mile 19 at around 3 hours, then I had him walk with me for a bit while I talked with him about how I was feeling. I told him that I was probably going to implode and have a rough road ahead to the finish. But, then I took off again and tried to "rally" (as I was thinking of reading my first marathon coach's race report from Kona the day before).

From there it was a struggle though. The remainder of the course was extremely boring and the route was very exposed to the sun. I went through several bad patches, but kept trying to pull myself out of them with various mantras going through my head. Nothing really physically hurt per se, although my left hip had my attention to some extent since before the halfway point. More than anything, I was just having to mentally tough it out through the warm, windy conditions and uninspired scenery. I had been keeping an eye out for Angela on an out-and-back stretch through Crystal City after mile 21, but I never saw her.

As we approached the mile 26 mile marker, I finally got a glimpse of the finish line at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial ABOVE me. I had heard that the finish was uphill, and it was definitely going to be a push to get there. Not a lover of hills, especially at the end of a marathon, I stopped and walked for a few steps (which K witnessed from his vantage point nearby). Then, I got it together and pushed onward to the finish, slapping hands with the Marines that lined the course at that point. I finished with a smile on my face. 4:23:34 chip time; 4:30:49 gun time (on the linked video).

Then, it was time for my favorite moment of the day - getting my medal placed around my neck by a Marine. And, yes, I may have lined up for this particular cute Marine to do the honors.

I called K, who was waiting for me just outside the finish area. Then, I hung around to try to see Angela, who unbeknownst to me at that point had crossed the finish line just a minute after me. We ended up meeting for a celebratory moment at a nearby hotel.

Then, we went our separate ways with plans to meet later for dinner. K and I had planned to take the metro back to our hotel, but we were shocked to see the lines all the way outside of the metro station on ground level. Um, no thank you. So, we hoofed it back to our hotel, about 1.5 miles from the finish through Georgetown along some of the race route that I had traversed several hours earlier. But, I had no sense of awareness that I had run through there...more on that in a minute.

About to cross the Key Bridge into Georgetown for the 2nd time of the day

We made a pit stop to pick up some goodies at Georgetown Cupcake on our way back to the hotel - YUM!

We got burgers for a late lunch then got cleaned up and took naps before heading to Bethesda, MD to meet Angela and her family for dinner.

2 happy marathon girls + George

And, with that, marathon day was a wrap.

From the MCM FB page after the race

Results

Overall, I feel okay about my race. But, I am also disappointed because I am confident that I could have had a better race under different weather conditions - temperatures in the 40's and 50's would have been preferred without the strong headwinds. I also didn't stick to my plan in terms of hydration/nutrition and pace, so I definitely wouldn't say that I met my goal of running a smart race. At the same time though, K reminded me that this was really my first true marathon back after the ankle injury. I made it through the training and ran a decent race, so hopefully I will only improve from here.

One thing about the race itself...for this race to be nicknamed the "Marathon of Monuments," I sure didn't see them. I ran those 26.2 miles with my head and visor down trying to shield the sun and my eyes forward on the ground ahead of me trying to find a clear path through the crowd to run through. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing to expect to see such a scenic course, and it didn't really turn out that way for me. K enjoyed the race from a spectator's perspective, but this is not a race that goes on my must do list.

What's next for me then? Well, I have a few half-marathons on the schedule for the upcoming months. And, the next marathon is already on the books - The Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins, CO on May 3, 2015. Downhill, please! I already know that my training will be more disrupted over the next few months though with multiple trips planned. So, the training consistency likely won't be there until February or so, but at least I am not starting from scratch at this point with fitness. I think I will keep up with the weekly blog posts about my training for that race because I think it has helped with my accountability.

Thanks for following along on this journey!

Pre-race thoughts...

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 19:50:00 +0000


From MCM FB page this morning

We had a late night arrival into DC last night, but I was happy that everything went smoothly and we didn't have any flight issues. We woke up earlier than either of us would have preferred so that we could get packet pick-up/Expo stuff done in the morning to allow me time to relax the rest of the day (while K watches football).

And, I'm glad that we did! We took the metro out to the DC Armory, and I was surprised at how long the line already was to get into the building. It was significantly worse though as we were leaving. If it took us 30 minutes, then those people were looking at an hour plus wait to get in.

This is finally happening!

As I reflect on the last 6 months of training, a few things stand out to me...

I remember talking to Bobby on Day 1 of the training season about my uncertainty about how my ankle would hold up to the hills, speed, and terrain of a formal training program with Rogue for the first time since I broke it in 2010. It was a bit of a rough adjustment in the first 1-2 weeks, but I have been pleasantly surprised at the lack of issues with my ankle since then. I actually think my ankle is in better condition now than it was before I started training. Maybe the scar tissue has finally broken up or the hardware shifted into a more natural position...I don't know. But, I do know the constant swelling has essentially gone away, and my range of motion appears improved. I know that I won't ever love hills, but at least I have the motion in the ankle to climb them again.

I have been surprisingly consistent with getting my training runs completed, despite the heat, hills, and work and other life demands. This is probably the most consistent I have been in terms of sticking to the training program for a race other than when I trained for my first marathon and 50k races. I have more long training runs in my legs than I did for my first marathon - including that epic 22-miler last month. This leaves me feeling hopeful about my potential for tomorrow...but I also do not want to put unnecessary pressure on myself to perform. The goal that I initially had at the beginning of the training program was simply to make it to the starting line healthy. Mission accomplished. Now, that goal has evolved into running a smart and strong race - whatever that may translate to on my Garmin. Do I have a time that I'd like to hit? Of course. But, I also don't really have a realistic sense of how I can run in conditions other than the oppressive heat and humidity that I have been training in all summer. I'm just hoping that I can manage my hydration intake appropriately in the cooler weather, so that I can avoid the sloshing that has been my nemesis during so many long runs this summer.

I'm really happy that I get to run my goal race tomorrow with my training buddy and new friend! Angela was the first person that I talked to at our first Sole Survivor workout way back in May. What a pleasant surprise to find out that we were training for the same race at the same general pace! I'm excited to be a part of her first marathon tomorrow. The first one is always special.

I've been on weather alert for the past couple of weeks. The forecast is warmer and windier than I would prefer, but I have to just let that go and get my mind right. I need to use my philosophy from NYC last year and run with gratitude tomorrow. That means even more for this race given all that the Marines do for this race and our country.

So, trust in your training, Frank. One foot in front of another for 26.2 miles to get here:

Official marking of MCM finish line (from MCM FB page)

I got this.

MCM Training Week 25

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sat, 25 Oct 2014 18:51:00 +0000

Saturday, October 18: 9 miles (road)

Angela and I started our last long run before the race next weekend at 6am. 6am! While it was nice not to have pasta for dinner last night and have to go to bed on the early side, I have to admit that the departure from our norm of the past few months just had me feeling "off." The run itself was fairly unremarkable other than the fact that it didn't take too long and it was still ridiculously humid at this point in October. Since the training schedule indicated that we were supposed to run 90-100 minutes, I had assumed that we'd run 10 miles. Angela had other ideas though, and what difference is a mile more or less going to make at this point anyway? So, 9 it was in my race-day shoes.

Sunday, October 19: OFF

Monday, October 20: 5 miles (treadmill)

Tuesday, October 21: OFF

Wednesday, October 22: 5 miles (road)

I had my pre-race massage this afternoon. I asked Ann to focus on my left hip and the usual right calf/soleus. Nothing out of the ordinary, but those areas needed some attention before the race.

Our last workout with the Sole Survivors before our race! Finally, it's our turn!

We ran a 2.25 mile warm-up over to LAB then did a 1-mile out-and-back section of that road at MGP. Other folks were running 10k pace, and I think we did a good job of sticking to our pace and not getting caught up with others running a faster pace around us. Now, let's see if we can do that on race day!

Thursday, October 23: 3 miles (treadmill)

With this run, that's all she wrote for this fall marathon training season!

Friday: October 24: OFF

DC, here we come!

Week 25 Total: 22 miles

MCM Training Week 24

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 17:58:00 +0000

Saturday, October 11 - 15 miles (road)

When I checked the weather forecast yesterday morning, it was pretty clear that we were likely going to get rained on during our run this morning. Angela and I checked in with each other and considered running last night instead or maybe even tomorrow, but ultimately kept the plan as is. Our routine has gotten us this far, so why change it now?

Angela did have some time constraints she was dealing with this morning, so we met and started our run a few minutes before 5am. Thankfully, Caroline was there to open the building for us early birds, then we were off. We had to make a short detour for a bathroom stop for Angela within the first mile or so. As we got ourselves back on course, we felt a sudden change in weather - the cold front had arrived. Hallelujah! What a drastic change it was though - we went from mid 70's to low 60's just like that. And, it was a welcome change! Now, we were playing the game of how many miles can we get done before the rain arrives.

We ran this route back in Week 14 except we were going to cut it a little shorter today. Slight uphill on the way out and slight downhill on the way back - from my perception at least. And, with the cooler weather, I felt fairly good and strong other than really needing a bathroom stop about an hour into the run. Unfortunately, I didn't get one until closer to mile 11. And, within the next 5-10 minutes after my pit stop, the rain that had been threatening finally arrived. At that point, I was still running fairly well and didn't really mind the rain too much (the visor probably helped). I even added a slight detour as I got closer to Rogue to add on a tad more mileage to make sure I got the full 15 that I needed.

Fast forward several hours and we had our end-of-the-season party at Bobby's house tonight. It was a night of gratitude and community - a reminder of why I love Rogue.

Bobby and his MCM girls

Sunday, October 12 - OFF

From the MCM FB page this morning:

"Months of dedicated training. Battling to push yourself to ever greater distances with sights set on one thing-the Marine Corps War Memorial. Cue the butterflies...Two weeks from right now you will charge the District, Beat the Bridge and Take the Iwo. Bring on M-Day!"

Monday, October 13 - OFF

Switched medium long run to tomorrow due to schedule conflicts.

Tuesday, October 14 - 6 miles (treadmill)

Easy 6-mile run. Felt great! Could have run more. Isn't that what tapering should feel like?

Wednesday, October 15 - 5.5 miles (road)

Tonight was a bit discombobulated to say the least.

When I picked up the map for the workout, I realized we were heading out on a different warm-up route to a new workout location than we have been to before this training season. Angela and I were, to some extent, blindly following the lone girl in front of us when she doubled back upon realizing we were off course about a half mile in. We backtracked to the likely intersection that we missed, and we were surprised that we didn't see others from our group (except for the lone girl who had been following Angela and I). It took us a few minutes to regroup, but then we managed to get it together and found our way on the Johnson Creek Trail up to Enfield. It ended up being about a 2-mile warm-up, and Bobby had held off starting the workout until we arrived.

The plan was that 10/26 marathoners were supposed to run 6x800m at 10k pace with 3min walking/jogging recovery. Bobby had initially told us that the loop was a 400m loop so we were supposed to run it twice at pace before recovery. But, shortly after we started out, I didn't have a good feeling that we were following the correct route because it seemed that we were running farther out than a 400. Well, it turned out that we were on the right route, but it was actually an 800m loop. So, when we came back through after the first set, Bobby immediately sent us out on another loop for what basically turned into a mile at pace.

Then, we regrouped and I ran the workout as intended for 2 more 800's with recovery in between (3:49 and 3:55 for the 800's, respectively). But, Angela ran the 2-800's together again for another mile repeat. Silly. So, she was waiting for me when I got back from my 4th 800 and said that she wasn't going to do anymore because it was too dark to really see the road terrain in some places. I definitely agreed because who needs to turn an ankle or something this close to the race over something like that? I know that we run for hours in the dark on Saturday mornings lately, but I have my headlamp to light the road. So, we went ahead and headed back to Rogue, although on a different way than we came because we all agreed that it was too dark to take the trail back with the tunnels along the way.

I felt somewhat guilty about not getting in the last two 800's, but I had to reassure myself that it wouldn't have really had a physiological benefit for my race anyway. So, the risk was greater than the reward.

Thursday, October 16 - 4.5 miles (treadmill)

Easy run to start breaking in my race-day shoes.

Taper madness is starting to set in!

Friday, October 17 - OFF

Week 24 Total: 31 miles

MCM Training Week 23

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 13:06:00 +0000

Saturday, October 4: 18 miles (road)

After spending much of yesterday on the couch doped up on all the meds I could get my hands on (and starting another round of antibiotics), I wasn't sure what to expect from today's run - especially since I was running solo with Angela out of town this weekend. K tried to convince me to start at the official group start time for safety reasons - he wasn't keen on me running on my own in the dark for 2+ hours, including a jaunt on the East Side. But, I stuck to my routine and started around 5am. For the record, I followed a couple of girls who I see a lot on long runs for a few blocks, but then decided I wanted to run a slightly faster pace. Shortly after I passed them, I could hear footsteps coming from behind, and I soon had a rabbit to follow for the first few miles until I lost her while I stopped at the mile 4 water stop. Then, it was just me and my headlamp. Man, it takes a lot of mental energy to figure out where to go when it's dark! Angela usually navigates for us, so I generally just follow her. I didn't get lost though, but I was pretty happy to reach the turnaround point since it would be light soon, I had a general sense of how to retrace my steps, and there were more runners heading back who had run less distance.

The schedule called for 18-20 miles today, and I remained uncertain about how far I was going to go until it was time to make the call of when to turn around. The weather was cooler, so that was in my favor. But, I could definitely feel the general lack of energy from being sick. So, I called it at 18 today, with a slight negative split for the run (even with walking a couple of the hills on the way back in). Not terrible for being sick, I guess.

And, with that run, my fitness is in a lock box until race day. Recovery week is coming up followed by two weeks of taper. Almost there!

Sunday, October 5: 3 miles (treadmill)

I still felt pretty lethargic and sick today, but I managed to get my easy 3-mile recovery run done.

Race Day is 3 weeks from today!

It was pretty exciting to see how well most of our training group ran today in Twin Cities - lots of PR's all around. It gives me hope that my training will pay off in DC (if the weather is favorable)!

Monday, October 6: OFF

Loved seeing this FB status on the MCM page this weekend:
"Congrats to all the runners who arrived in Taper Town this past weekend. Next stop, Marathonville! Happy M-20!"

I had a massage this morning - super tight right calf and soleus, the usual culprit. She also noticed some tightness in my left hamstring, which she was somewhat happy to see since it means that muscle is actually being activated when I run.

I switched my medium long run today to tomorrow because I am still not feeling 100% and due to schedule conflicts.

Tuesday, October 7:4 miles (treadmill)

Since it is recovery week, the medium long run for yesterday was scheduled to be 4-7 miles. I had planned to run 6 miles, but cut it short and did the minimum instead. I had the tingling/numbness in my right foot while I was running because of my tight calf. Need to work on rolling it out.

Wednesday, October 8: 3 miles (road)

I was glad that I only did the shorter amount of mileage for last night's run when I later saw how long tonight's workout was going to be. 7+ miles during recovery week, really? And, if you hadn't noticed, it's still hot and humid with temperatures in the 90's.

We were supposed to do a ladder workout at 5k pace, but Bobby changed the workout at the last minute so that his fall and spring marathoners would all just do the same workout instead. So, we got off easy. Instead of the 7+ mile workout scheduled, we did a 1.5 mile warm-up/cool-down and short (like 250 feet) hill strides at hard effort. I was grateful to be done on the earlier side tonight because life outside of running needs some attention, too.

Thursday, October 9: 5 miles (treadmill)

Easy 5-mile run (the max amount for today to make-up for doing the shorter mileage earlier this week).

Friday, October 10: OFF

Week 23 Total: 33 miles

MCM Training Week 22

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 19:50:00 +0000

Saturday, September 27: 20 miles (road)

It's going to be October in a few days, and the official start of Fall was earlier this week. Is it too much to ask to be done with these warm, humid mornings already?!? After our great 22-miler two weeks ago, I got served up some humble pie during this morning's run.

Angela and I headed out a little after 5am as usual. A lot of our training group is in taper mode for their race next weekend, so there were only a few familiar faces starting at that hour. It was super humid when we started, and I didn't take it as a good sign that I was already drenching myself with water at the first water stop 2 miles in. It didn't get better from there either. Same old drill - soaked socks/shoes after about an hour, drinking a lot of fluids which led to a full belly. I was not in a good place mentally for much of the run because I was frustrated that it was taking so much effort to run. I told Angela about halfway through that I was in a negative head space, and she tried to pull me out of it. But, it didn't really work because the damage had already been done at that point. I let her go at about mile 15 while I stopped for a bathroom break hoping that would help. I hit a water stop a few minutes later and essentially just consumed the fluids that I had just gotten rid of, so it didn't really help that much in the end. I had a sharp pain on my right side deep in the stomach muscle that I had to baby for the next mile or so. But, then I was able to work through it and finish up the last couple of miles fairly strong.

I asked K this afternoon to check the weather in DC to give me piece of mind that the weather should indeed be cooler for race day than what I have been plodding through these past few months. With another month to go, he assured me that it should be. So, I will remain hopeful...especially with the weather forecast for next weekend looking to bring temps back down here into the 60's (or maybe even 50's?) so that I can get in one more confidence-building long run before taper.

Sunday, September 28: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3 mile recovery run.

Race week is 4 weeks from today!

Monday, September 29: 8 miles (treadmill)

This should be the last medium long run that is over an hour, as recovery week is next week followed by taper! Moving forward after MCM I would like to get these medium long runs more consistently in the 10-mile range, but I struggle with getting this done from a time perspective on a work day.

Tuesday, September 30: OFF

Wednesday, October 1: 5.5 miles (road)

It's October today - where are the Fall temperatures?! It was so warm and humid again tonight. I told K that it felt like I was running with a wet diaper on toward the end of the workout because my shorts were absolutely soaked through from sweat. It wasn't a pleasant feeling.

We did this workout in Week 19, so we knew the drill. The focus is on maintaining MGP (which, honestly, I haven't really settled on for race day because it seems to vary so much in the weather conditions that we've been running in here).

We did two sets of the following:
"800m at MGP
400m EASY
800m at MGP
400m HARD
800m at MGP"

I used my time estimate from a few weeks ago for the 800's of 4:53-5:07. I noticed that I had a really hard time backing down to MGP for the final 800 following the fast 400 toward the end of my first set. So, I made a focused effort on that for the second set, and I did better. I didn't really time each segment of this workout, but I averaged around 9:30/mile pace for the first set and 9:50/mile pace for the second set.

Today was a perfect example of not really wanting to run initially, but being happy I did and feeling better afterwards. My stress level from work has been pretty high lately, and I also seem to be teetering on the line of getting sick with my usual allergy/sinus infection crap. I know that Angela counts on me to be at the workouts, so I showed up and did the work. And, what do you know, I relieved some of my stress in the process (even if only for a little while).

The majority of our training group did an abbreviated workout tonight before heading off to their respective marathons this weekend. It was bittersweet to watch them finish up and head back while Angela and I trudged on for another set. But, we're almost to our own start/finish lines. Our time will be here soon enough.

Thursday, October 2: 5.5 miles (treadmill)

Very similar to yesterday, I felt worn down physically and stressed from work, so I wasn't very motivated to get my run done. Notice that I broke it down into a .5 mile though just to get it done and even out from last night's mileage.

Friday, October 3: OFF

Week 22 Total: 42 miles

MCM Training Week 21

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sat, 27 Sep 2014 00:09:00 +0000

Saturday, September 20: OFF

Today's long run for recovery week is scheduled to be 10-12 miles. In order to get some practice in a race simulation mode, I found a half-marathon that I am going to run tomorrow instead. So, I switched tomorrow's off day for the final day of recovery week with today.

Sunday, September 21: 13.1 miles (road)

The Texas Road Romp Half Marathon in Waco, Texas

It was hot, hilly, and I suffered. The End.

So, an ad for this race popped up in my FB news feed last month, and I thought it would be a good race prep run for me. I never intended on "racing" it, but wanted to get out of it the practice of doing a long run on a race course with mile markers, aid stations, etc. The course was described as "mostly flat with a few small hills." Since the race was at the end of September, I was also hoping for cooler weather. Well, neither of those things actually turned out to be true.

We drove up to Waco on Saturday afternoon and had some extra time after picking up our packets nearby, so K convinced me to drive the race course. The map of the course had looked pretty confusing, and he was concerned about inadvertently going off course (ya know because he wouldn't have throngs of people ahead of him to follow like us middle of the packers). We were both glad that we previewed the course though because the course was definitely hillier than either of us were expecting. Expecting a flattish course and then running into some of those hills during the race would have destroyed me mentally, so I was able to adjust my expectations and reaffirm that my plan was to run easy, especially since this is my long run for recovery week.

The race didn't start until 8am, which was already a red flag for me. Remember, I start my long runs at 5am and usually finish between 8-9am. The temps at the start were in the mid 70's and probably close to 80 when I finished. The first few miles of the course went through Cameron Park, which had quite a bit of tree cover (but the trade-off was that this part of the course had more hills). Then, we entered a brief neighborhood section (with more hills) as a transition to McLennan Community College (hills here, too). Unfortunately, as we exited the campus at around mile 8, we hit a flat stretch along the side of a busy road which was very exposed to the sun for the next few miles. Since we drove the course in advance, I knew that this stretch was going to be tough because it was going to be warm and boring. And, sure enough, this is the stretch that broke me.

I started out running 9-ish minute miles for the first couple of miles, which was faster than I would normally run for an easy long run so I am going to have to be careful about going out too fast at MCM. But, I knew the first couple of miles were flat and the hills were coming. I ran a few of the first hills, but then just walked the uphill and cruised the downhill so I think the pace probably evened out. I walked the water stops and took water (then Gatorade at the later stops) at each stop and also dumped the remainder of the water over myself to try to cool down.

I finished 10k in about an hour then 9 miles in about 1:30. But, at that point, I was cooked from the heat and had the boring, exposed stretch of road ahead of me. Mentally, I just shut down and was done. I was also having tummy issues because of the excess fluid that I had consumed because of the heat, which didn't really help matters since I had needed to go to the bathroom pretty much since mile 1. I was also frustrated because I thought the course was long, and I heard from others that their GPS was also off by about .3-.5 mile. I walked a lot in the last 4 miles and just wanted to be done. I was so miserable because of the warm weather. The race finished on the Waco Suspension Bridge, which was very uneven in terms of surface so it was difficult to run the last .1 to just finish the thing in 2:15. My first words to K when I saw him at the finish were "That was awful!" But, he won the race by 11 minutes, so apparently it was only awful for me.

Race week is 5 weeks from today!

Monday, September 22: 8 miles (treadmill)

I considered switching my medium long run until tomorrow because of the race yesterday, but I had more time today so I went ahead and got it done. I felt somewhat sore during the day, but I was actually surprised by how good I felt while I was running.

Tuesday, September 23: OFF

Wednesday, September 24: 9 miles (road)

Angela sent me a text last night after getting the email details from Bobby about tonight's workout questioning whether the workout was really going to be this long. Oh, yes, ma'am. I remembered it from Week 16 when we finished super late in the evening. With that in mind, I convinced her to start the workout on our own shortly after 6pm since we were already at Rogue before Bobby assembled the group at 6:30pm and set off closer to 6:45pm. Turns out we made a great decision to do so because Bobby actually wasn't there tonight.

We had a 2.25 mile warmup over to the Pemberton neighborhood then we did several 1.5 mile loops focused on maintaining a "hardER" pace but not "hard." I knew what to expect since we had done this workout before (Angela had missed it though), and I remembered struggling with the effort in the heat. So, I was thankful for the cooler temperature in the low 80's and for Angela to pace with.

We had to run 2 loops at a steady pace without stopping. We went through the first loop in a little over 14 minutes, which was a minute slower than when I previously did the workout (then bombed out in the 2nd loop). But, this time we picked up the pace in our second loop, and our total for the 3 miles was 27:19 (9:05 overall pace), which turned out to be 40 seconds faster than in the prior workout (despite starting slower tonight). Hmm, maybe there's a lesson in there, mel!

After several minutes of stopping to recover, we went out again for another loop and clocked it at 12:57 (8:38 overall pace) for the 1.5 miles. Start slow, finish strong.

Then, it was back the 2.25 miles to Rogue as it was getting dark. So, so glad that we started when we did!

Thursday, September 25: 6 miles (treadmill)

Easy run on the treadmill to finish off the week.

Friday, September 26: OFF

Week 21 Total: 36 miles

MCM Training Week 20

noreply@blogger.com (dr mel) — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 00:06:00 +0000

Saturday, September 13: 22 miles (road)

Oh, Crestview, you treated me well today! Today was one of those runs that I want to bottle up and hold in my memory for race day. I cannot even begin to express how hopeful I was about having a good long run with the first true fall temps of the season this morning. And, it did not disappoint!

Angela and I set off a few minutes after our usual 5am start time. The temperature throughout the run stayed in the lower 60's. I wore a short-sleeve shirt for the first time all training season and that felt just right (although my core was cold because I was so wet). Much of the run was in drizzling, cold rain into a headwind, but it was a welcome change from all of the hot and humid runs that we have endured over the past few months. The route was also "fairly flat," although it was definitely gradual uphill on the way out, which meant gradual downhill on the way back...my favorite.

We were undecided until mile 9 or so whether we were going to run 20 or 22 today. While we both needed a good confidence-boosting 20-miler under our legs (and in our heads), we also wanted to take advantage of the cooler weather and flatter course to push for 22. We both felt amazingly good, so we went for it. And, might I add that I have always maxed out at 20 when training for previous marathons, so this was new territory for both of us. And, I'm so glad that we did it because I couldn't have asked for a better run!

I never really had a bad patch (although we did need to make a bathroom stop about halfway in) - either physically or mentally. I felt really strong in both aspects the entire way. We were supposed to run 20 miles today with the last 10 at MGP. But, MGP is generally close to our easy pace anyway, so we weren't overly focused on that. I did, however, negative split the heck out of this run! With strong legs, a positive attitude, and of course the cooler weather and downhill, I just let the faster pace come when it did and ran with it. The last 5 miles were sub-9 minute miles, with miles 20 and 21 clocking in around 8:09 and 8:07, respectively. Who knew I could do that?!?! This truly was unlike any run that I have had before.

We both finished up with smiles on our faces, strong miles in our legs, and the confidence to take on our race next month! Today was the last long run for a lot of folks in our training group who are racing Twin Cities in 3 weeks. I kind of wish that we were kicking off our taper too with this strong run as our last long run before race day. But, we're not done quite yet.

Sunday, September 14: 3 miles (treadmill)

Easy 3-mile recovery run. Even though the temps were still relatively cooler today, I opted to do my recovery run on the treadmill instead of the road because I didn't want to run too fast after yesterday's run and truly use it for recovery instead.

Race Day is 6 weeks from today!

Monday, September 15: OFF

Recovery weeks starts today!

Because of my work schedule, I switched my medium long run today with my usual off day tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 16: 5 miles (treadmill) - New shoes

I had a massage this morning and didn't get quite the clean bill of health that I had been getting in the past few visits. Ann felt several adhesions in my right adductor, which are likely remnants from all of the issues that I had recently been having. Right calf was tight, but not as bad as it has been in the past.

Ran easy 5 miles on the treadmill in late afternoon. Felt good.

Wednesday, September 17: 6 miles (road)

Tonight's quality workout was 400's at a fast pace around the neighborhood block that we've been using in lieu of the track this season. As we were doing our 1.5 mile warm-up over to the O'Henry area, I commented to Angela that the hills seemed much harder than usual, and she agreed. The weather was super humid this evening, but I also think that my body was ready for the recovery week after the back to back 20 mile long runs that we've done.

In terms of pace for the 400's, Bobby just said to run "fast - whatever that means to you and your body tonight." Well, based on the difficulty I had with the warm-up, I wasn't sure how fast my fast was going to be. But, all was not lost. We did 2 sets of 3 400's with 400 recovery = 3 miles total. My splits for the fast 400's were: Set 1 = 1:52, 1:49, 1:55; Set 2 = 1:52, 1:48; 1:50. This is comparable to the times I ran for 400's at a hard effort during a different type of workout two weeks ago (1:48-1:56).

Thursday, September 18: OFF

Switched my off day tomorrow with today.

Friday, September 19: 4 miles (treadmill)

Easy 4 miles on the treadmill. Had some tingling/numbness in my right foot while running, which is usually an indication that my calf is tight.

K and I are doing a half-marathon on Sunday, so I am not running tomorrow morning. It's so nice to have a Friday evening where we don't have to eat pasta and then I have to go to bed super early to run in the morning!

Week 20 Total: 40 miles