Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

Cinco de Mayo Mini Marathon

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Location:

Snoqualmie,WA,

Member Since:

Jan 31, 2008

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Boston Qualifier

Running Accomplishments:

Marathon PR: 4:17 at Portland Marathon, Oct. 2007

5K PR 24:37 2009

10K PR 52:58 2010

Have run 22 marathons to date.

No injuries, ever.   :)

Short-Term Running Goals:

Qualify for Boston (4:05 for my age/gender) - or, perhaps, to use my desire for a BQ as a way to get in the hated speed work so I don't just get slower and slower over the years.  This goal is "under (re)construction" right now, until I figure out whether it is truly what I want. :) 


Long-Term Running Goals:

To continue learning about myself and about running, and to enjoy being a fit, happy runner for life.   To always know why I am running and the best way to get the most (both mentally and physically) out of my runs.  To keep a sense of humor and remain optimistic about myself as a runner.  To enjoy running more and more with every passing year. 

Personal:

Baby boomer generation.  Jogged a little in my 20's and 30's.  Started running seriously in 2002.  Low-carb runner since January 2010. 

I love long runs and cold, cloudy weather.  I don't believe in "junk miles."  I am an optimist.  I adore dark chocolate, fog, my family, and knitting -- not necessarily in that order.  

"As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are."  -- Joan Benoit Samuelson 


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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Brooks ST3 Lifetime Miles: 891.35
Vibram Five Fingers KSO Lifetime Miles: 23.77
Brooks ST3 II Lifetime Miles: 965.17
Lunaracers II Lifetime Miles: 198.23
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Lifetime Miles: 104.14
Asics Piranha Lifetime Miles: 536.83
RunAmocs (Softstar) Lifetime Miles: 16.23
Piranha II Lifetime Miles: 219.53
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
28.2814.100.000.6042.98
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 2.46Asics Piranha Miles: 40.52
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.460.000.000.002.46

44F, clear. Recovery run, with lots of walking. 

Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 2.46
Comments(1)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
7.640.000.000.007.64

55F,  mostly clear, very windy (20+ mph). Easy run.  20 min. strength.

Legs feel better than I thought they would.  A little stiff though.  

Asics Piranha Miles: 7.64
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
6.201.000.000.007.20

48F, partly cloudy, calm.  G-A run w/ unplanned MP mile to finish.  20 min strength.

A mile from home I saw Sean Sundwall's sister, a very nice, very fast runner from our club, who kindly slowed down (off her "easy" 8:00) pace, to run with me for a while.  She knows my next marathon course very well, and talked about various questions I had, as well as her recent Boston experience.  I glanced at my Garmin as we were heading up relatively steep hill (me, trying to conceal my gasping for air) and the pace was 9:02.   I wanted to do a hard workout tomorrow, so I hope I didn't overdo it.  

Legs feel fine today. The Piranhas are becoming my favorite shoe, though I haven't tried going long in them.  

Asics Piranha Miles: 7.20
Comments(6)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
9.900.000.000.6010.50

43F, occasional light sprinkles.  G-A w/ hill repeats: 1 min hard on ~8-10% grade, 2 min recovery coming down.  Finished run on TM.

Pretty lousy performance on the hill repeats.  I tried a hill that was really too steep (more like 20% grade I think) on the first rep - a real mistake. Moved over to an adjacent hill for the remaining reps.  Better hill but not a better me.  Splits: 11:32 (on the too-steep), 10:03, 9:39, 9:14, 9:45, 9:50. 

On the bright side, I was moving well and enjoying the general aerobic part of the run.  

Asics Piranha Miles: 10.50
Comments(5)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.000.000.000.000.00

I feel like I'm on a roller-coaster.  Even though the weather has been only a little wet, the show arena where my daughter's horse show was to be held is too soggy and the show has been postponed yet again.  

That means I am free to run the half-marathon on Saturday.  I decided in the middle of the night to take 2 days off in hopes that my legs will be fresh on Saturday.  Now I have to wrap my brain around it, go back and look at the course maps, etc.  Meanwhile, our friend's funeral is today.  I'm just trying to take one moment at a time. 

Comments(9)
Race: Cinco de Mayo Mini Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:56:46, Place in age division: 3
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
2.0813.100.000.0015.18

Finish time (chip) 1:56:46. Thirty seconds off my PR.  

Splits: 8:45, 8:49, 8:51, 8:51, 8:50, 8:52, 8:42, 8:42, 9:02, 9:04, 9:06, 9:07, 8:44, last .1 @ 8:09. 


2.08 warm up with strides


Prelude….  No, I didn't abandon my daughter on the day of her first horse show. The show was postponed yet again.  Upside: I get to do my half-m. Downside: so not ready mentally, and no proper taper - just a couple of panicky days off. 


Weather: mid 40s and raining.  Course: mostly flat with a few small ups and downs, never seemed more than 1-3% grade.  Beautiful, forested, rural course.  Road surface a little rough sometimes.  Nice finish on springy high school track. 


I imagine getting my head around this race was similar to turning one of those big tanker ships in the ocean.  I woke up thinking, "not ready, not ready."   During the warm up, I had come around to "well, it won't kill me."  I saw many friends at the starting area and began to remember that I do, indeed, actually know how to run and have done a bit of running lately.  By the start time, I felt like I just might like to do this race.


The first mile was mentally confusing as I kept getting caught up in the frenzy.  "8:00? No. Slow down. Not that slow! Faster. No! Slower! ...." 


Once we got through town and the field thinned out I was able to settle in and make the final decision on what pace would be right for me today:  try to keep it under 9:00.  


After meandering through some roads I know well, we split off into new territory for couple miles of out and back.  Here, I saw many familiar faces coming my way and enjoyed cheering them on.  Knowing people on race day is probably the thing about my running club that I enjoy the most.  


At the turn around, my legs started to complain and I had to work harder to go -- well, slower.  About this time I started to realize that I was chafing badly too.  Just all kinds of spots under my clothing.  The truth is, I am too much of an optimist and I did not believe it would really rain.  I have to put body glide all over if it rains, which I failed to do.  Punishment = the shower I will take after I finish typing this.  OUCH. 


I think my favorite moment in the race was around the time I saw the mile 12 marker. I had been having a hard time and felt like I was "laboring" at the pace.  I remembered something just then that I read last night in Your Performing Edge by Joanne Dahlkoetter.  She was talking about relaxation.  This is a concept that always had made my eyes roll.  "Right. Relax.  Why don't I just lie down a spell while I'm at it?"   But Dahlkoetter's explanation was the first that ever made sense to me.  Relaxation makes the opposing muscle groups "give" so that the contracting muscle group can contract farther.  All at once, I was surging forward, and easily passed a couple who had been right in front of me for at least 3 miles.  Still hard work, but just a lot more bang for the buck.  


As I entered the track for the last 300 meters, I saw my friends on the side cheering.  That was a great moment too.  The track is of a fantastic quality and I flew around it - albeit somewhat painfully.  Great happiness.   Finishers received a very cool running hat with the race logo on the front.  The AG placement got me a medal with my placement printed on the back, and the applause of my friends, which meant so much to me.  


As I mentioned on my blog the other day, this past week has been a real roller coaster of emotions.  I am still mourning the loss of a very dear friend, and had to forcefully turn that off a couple of times this morning.  But life goes on, and to run and race is a wonderful way to celebrate being alive.  We walk the line between carrying on, and feeling left behind.  "Every day above ground is a good day," said a man I know of who became a quadriplegic, severe burn victim after an horrific motorcycle accident.  I want to change my blog title to that quote, but I'm afraid it's too morbid.  Besides, my playful title is more like what life is made of.  


Rants & raves…  

Rants:  only 4 gym bathrooms for all the women in a field of about a thousand runners;  some confusion about which lane to run in after the turnaround;  crowded spot to run through as we entered the track at the finish. 

Raves: excellent race organization; mariachi bands on the course; awesome volunteers standing in the rain, breathtakingly beautiful course; the faces of friends all around me.  

Asics Piranha Miles: 15.18
Comments(18)
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
28.2814.100.000.6042.98
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 Miles: 2.46Asics Piranha Miles: 40.52
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