Post Manitoba Marathon

Well, it's over. It didn't go as planned, but I guess sometimes races don't.

We woke up on Sunday to thundershowers and the weather saying that it felt like 24 degrees with the humidity. That was at 5:00 am, it just got hotter and more muggy as the morning went on. At the start line at 7:00 am I was already sweating after a short warm up. I knew this race was going to be trouble! 

As I was getting my massage last week, my very smart massage therapist/runner friend told me that if it was going to be hot, the smartest thing to do would be to slow my pace by 10-15 seconds per mile. Now, I have been training for this marathon for 6 months, I really wanted to go under 3:00 hours, do you think I'm going to change my pace now? No way Jose! 

Mike was right. I should have slowed my pace. I started off with my 6:45 miles as planned, slowing to 7:00 minute miles by half way, and finally giving up on pace completely and just focussing on finishing for the last 10 miles. Occasionally I checked my watch in the second half and at one point I was going 8:30 miles. Oops, my bad. 

It was my slowest marathon to date and there are many possible reasons why. 

- it's been a busy year with buying a house and getting married

- I was injured in January with a calf strain 

- I have been sick a few time this spring, leading to several breaks in training

- I wasn't smart on race day 

Now for the positives... 

It was definitely not my best day, but it wasn't a complete waste of time. I did end up finishing 2nd (better than expected). I had family and friends on the course supporting me. I like running the Manitoba Marathon because they treat you like rock stars. Their expo and post-race food are top notch. Kristjan was able to bike around on the course and motivate me to keep pushing and working hard. I am kind of proud of myself for letting go of my watch and expectations and just running the way I felt. Yes, it led to a poor finishing time, but it made feel like I was in charge, not my watch.

It was awesome to see the running community out in Winnipeg, even people who don't consider themselves runners toed the start line. My best friend Megan also ran the race, so it was great celebrating with her and her family afterwards. I have had so many people supporting my running journey this year, I'm just going to name a few. Kristjan, my husband and coach has been consistently  patient with me, while still not letting me get away with too much. Erick from City Park Runners, who has continued to support my dreams and my running needs with shoes and whatever else I need. The people at Powered by Chocolate Milk have continued to support me throughout this year. Mike and Kyle from Massage Athletica, helping me get through my bumpy patch with my calf in the winter. My friends for their kind words of encouragement and my family for their awesome Sunday dinners to help refuel me after my long runs. I got the chance to run alongside many great runners while have been training for this one: Megan, Kristjan, Sheldon, Gina, Alex, Tom, Paul and I am sure I'm forgetting a few.

It was not my first Manitoba Marathon event, and it certainly will not be the last one. I look forward to running in it for many years to come. 

For the next couple of weeks, I will enjoy taking some time off of running while the school year is winding down. Coming up I will be looking to do some fun trail runs and triathlons this summer to stay in shape and then I will be training for another marathon in the fall!

Getting Back on Track

Alright, here it is in writing, I am planning on running the Manitoba Full Marathon again. The last time I ran it I won in 3:04. I suspect I will have to run much faster than that if I am trying to win again.

So far training has been going fairly well, although marathon training hasn't been going quite as smoothly as previous years. In November, December and the beginning of January I was playing soccer 2-3 days a week, doing 2 treadmill workouts a week and a long run. I also was running 6-7 days a week. My workouts were doing great, I was going faster than I have gone before for tempos and interval work. Sure enough, something had to give. While playing a soccer game on January 18th, I all of a sudden felt something tweak in my right calf, I couldn't take another step. I assumed it was dehydration or something so of course I tried to play soccer on it again the next night, but it felt exactly the same way. I went for a massage the next day, and it started to feel good. I took a week off running (and soccer) to give it time to recover. A week later I ran on it and it felt fine. I ran on it easy for a week, before getting back to workouts and it felt pretty normal. Two weeks later I tried to play soccer again. NOPE. It cramped up the exact same way again. I ended up doing the same thing again, taking days off, running and then playing soccer and then it acting up again. I gave up trying to play soccer. I love playing soccer and I feel like I let my teams down, but I couldn't make it through a half of the game without it cramping up again. So that was it, I had to quit soccer for good. I figured that it wasn't worth messing up my running to play soccer.

I ran about 3 weeks, doing workouts, easy runs, long runs, averaging between 50-60 miles a week, feeling good and then the next thing came. I was in a meeting at school and I started feeling a stabbing pain in my side. I went to the doctor the next day and he said that it was probably an ulcer (again) so I started to take antacids and it started feeling better. This was extremely frustrating, I wanted to train, but my stomach was not feeling it, so I had to take another few days off.

Now I've been training for a solid 3 weeks again and am starting to feel good again. Most of my workouts have been between 6:40-6:45 pace and I have been doing some long runs with my friend Gina. I would not have made it through this rough patch without the recovery benefits of chocolate milk, Mike Booth and the awesome people at Massage Athletica, my long run buddy Gina and my husband-to-be (in 6 days!) for his patience and workout wisdom.

I have continued to listen to podcasts on my easy runs, pretty serious rap mixes on Google Play Music during workouts and this on my long runs when I'm on my own: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqPLipRthHo&list=PLpLuJZm-j6BpOiD53Fd6BMsWzUGA7u4EG

It is a great new musical that my friend Megan and I listened to for a weekend at the lake and now I am completely addicted.

Next week I am off to Jamaica for our Wedding! I am for sure bringing my runners! I can't wait!

Until next time, adventure on!

Twin Cities Marathon 2015

Wow! What an amazing race. I missed my sub 3:00 goal by 48 seconds, but I had an amazing experience running this race.
 
Kristjan and I drove down to Fargo on Friday night and stayed in hotel. I ate a sub that night for dinner and was making sure to drink lots of water. On Saturday we drove 4 hours in the morning to Minneapolis and we checked into our hotel. Next we went to the race expo, which I thought was great! Kristjan said that I made him feel like running a marathon.

After the race expo I went for shake out in the parking lot/around the block. I did some drills and a 20 minute jog. After that Kristan and I went for dinner at the hotel restaurant, it was pretty good, I predictably ordered pasta. That night I went to bed at about 9:30 after lying everything out and got my brain ready!

 
In the morning we got to the start line pretty early, downtown Minneapolis was shut down completely for the event!  I had a great pre-race warm up, there was lots of room for drills and such.  The temperature was pretty ideal that morning, it was dry and clear and about 7 degrees, throughout the race it warmed up to about 12.
 
When the gun went I was ready and I gave it everything I had! I held back for the first half, because I'm told that's what we need to do, but I think I could've gone faster overall if I had gone harder when I felt really good - but, really who knows. At the end I was dead to the world, I was thrilled with the result, taking off 3 minutes off of my previous time. My race gear passed the test, I took 4 GU packets and one pack of shot blocks. I didn't chafe or get blisters this time, I came prepared with Body Glide!
 

We immediately jumped in the car afterwards, we swung by the hotel to take a shower and then we hit the road to come home. We didn't get home too late and I actually decided to go to work the next day because it was a PD day at school. My legs actually didn't actually feel that bad after running a marathon and sitting in a car for 8 hours. It seems like every marathon I run I get less sore afterwards.
 
Props to my awesome boyfriend Kristjan for driving the whole time and cheering me on throughout the race and throughout my training! I will definitely run this race again, the race course was beautiful, the amenities were great, one could not ask for a better race!  All in all it was a very positive experience! I would recommend this race to anyone and everyone!

Back and Better Than Ever! + Time to Taper!

After being out of proper training and workouts for a week at the beginning of September, I was a little bit concerned about the marathon that was quickly approaching. To my amazement and pleasure, I actually came back from my cold stronger and quicker than ever! I have actually been going quicker in workouts than I have ever gone while training for a marathon before! Normally I struggle to get under 6:30min/mile during tempos and workouts, but to my amazement I am now going 6:10-6:25 pace. Now, I know that the amount of rest I took was good for me, but I also think there is something else that is making me speedier as well. We have been having cooler days recently, which makes it so much easier to run effortlessly. Although training in the summer was miserable at some points (running 24 miles in 27 degrees), now I am so glad that my body is acclimatized to hot weather.

The marathon is now a week away and I am getting into taper-mode! (Yay!) I used to hate tapering when I ran in university because I felt like I was losing my speed and mentally I became out of it. Now, I LOVE the taper! I get to store up my energy this week and use it all on Sunday. I am actually so excited for the race next weekend! I've posted about tapering before (before Boston), but I'm going to re-highlight the main points of tapering, more for myself than anyone else. 

1. Sleep! 8-10 hours a night! No exceptions!
2. Eat! Eat smart, don't be an idiot, eat foods you normally eat, more carbs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
3. Hydrate! Drink lots all week, mostly water, some tea and juice.
   
   
4. Take days off running! 2 or more depending how I feel, only one (short) workout this week.
5. Don't do anything differently and be careful! No biking to school this week, no soccer, be smart.
6. Make a race plan and visualize the race. 
7. Stretch and get a massage: Take care of yourself!

I will probably post again before the race. If not, my bib number is 4332 and you can follow me running online here: https://www.tcmevents.org/events/medtronic_twin_cities_marathon_weekend_-_october_2-4_2015/health__fitness_expo_and_more/spectators/ or here if you want to get updates on your phone: http://athletetracker.cloudapp.net/

Have a great week everyone! Run Happy! (and taper happy!)  

The Week I Got Sick

After my 24 mile run two weeks ago I was feeling great! I was feeling like I was on track for the marathon that was just over a month away. The week after the 24 miles I was trying to stay on top of training, but by the end of the week I was starting to feel pretty run down. By the the time Friday hit, I had a full-blown head cold. 

Being sick always gets in the way of training and it's always hard to know how much to do when you are feeling under the weather. Even after running competitively for almost 10 years I still don't know how to listen to my body all the time. This was actually the fastest I have every recovered from illness while training, so maybe I am learning! Instead of doing my long run on Sunday like normal, I took Sunday off. Monday I did 10 miles instead of the 16 I was supposed to do, but instead of pushing myself I just took it easy. Tuesday was my first full day back at school and I didn't get home until 7:30 pm and by that time I was ready to sleep. Wednesday I was beginning to feel eager to get back to running, but I knew I still didn't feel 100%. Kristjan told me to run 30 minutes (what's the point right?) actually, I felt like garbage and I honestly don't think I could've gone any longer. Thursday I ran an hour and almost felt back to normal (except for a little leftover snot). By Friday I was able to run 10 miles at my normal pace (7:45-8:00 minute miles). Saturday I did another 10 and today I ran 18 and felt great.

Although, I did miss some training during the past week, I truly feel as though I didn't lose any fitness and I don't think it's going to hurt my marathon at all! I did miss two workouts, but it was a much needed recovery week. 

Here's what Runner's World says about running when you're sick: http://www.runnersworld.com/health/should-you-run-when-youre-sick

Today was my first time not running the Winnipeg 10&10 race in 3 years. I didn't register because I was sick, but I ended up running 30k anyways and I could have probably won the 30k race with the pace I ran for my long run. This year has been pretty different. I have only ran 2 races this year (Boston and Manitoba Half). I guess this is maybe the life of a marathoner... Lots of training and not very much racing. Normally I would have run 6-7 road races by this point in the year. Honestly, I kind of like training better than racing, it's not nearly as stressful (or exciting sometimes). I do feel a little bit more pressure that I put on myself  because I am only doing 3 races this year, like I'm putting all of my eggs into one basket. But I do think I can still go faster for the marathon and I am going to give it everything I've got!

Until next time, drink your chocolate milk and run happy!

Getting Back in the Grind

The internet may think I've dropped off the face of the earth, but it's not true! Believe it or not I am still here, and I am training for another marathon. My weeks have been full this summer, I've been averaging about 80 miles of running per week. So far my longest run has been 20 miles, I have a 22 miler planned for this weekend. We got possession of our new house last Monday (Aug.17) and we moved in that day. Moving day was fun because we had lots of friends helping us and it ended up turning into a party! I'm still getting used to all of my routes in my new neighborhood. There's lots of great stuff near me! There's Scotia Street, which you can take all the way to the Forks, Kildonan Park, Chief Peguis Trail, and the Gateway trail. I'm sure there are more to discover, and I have miles to burn! If you have a favourite route in West K, please share!

Here are some of my new routes!

I don't think I have spent one weekend in town this summer. I went to my friend Alex's cottage, Folk Fest, my family's cottage for 3 weekends in a row and then my friend Sarah's cottage for her bachelorette party and then back to Alex's cottage. It has been fun to switch up the locations of my long runs. 

I have been continuing to listen to the "Undisclosed" podcast about the Adnan Syed case from "Serial". I also have been listening to the "True Murder" podcast, although it has kind of spooked me a few times while running in unfamiliar areas. I have also been listening the audiobook "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells and it's excellent! I just started a new podcast today called "Criminal". Surprisingly, Criminal is not as dark as the others. If you have any suggestions for podcasts or audiobooks, please let me know!

I've started to go back to my class to set up for the new school year, although I still have 11 days of holidays left. My new house is so much closer to my school (5km!), I think I will be riding my bike there quite a bit and running there too.

That's all for now, I will try to write more consistently and keep everyone in the loop as I'm getting ready for the marathon in October! Remember to drink your chocolate milk and run happy!

Back to Training

Hello again friends,
Since my last blog post I have been up to a lot. I took some much needed time off, it's always hard to start running again, especially when you don't have any goals. In May and June I did some shorter runs and workouts to prepare for the Manitoba Half. I ended up running 1:29:28 - goal full marathon pace :-p. It was obviously not the fastest half marathon I have ever run, but in the end I felt that it was still respectable. About a week later I decided that it was time to start training seriously again. My goal is the Twin Cities Marathon on October 4th. My training is basically the same as what I did for Boston, except I will be going a bit further on my easy days, working a bit more on my dynamic warm up and strengthening after runs.

Since I am a teacher, I have 2 full months off work in the summer. This lets me run for 2+ hours a day without it getting in the way of my personal and professional lifestyle. So far, my summer vacation has been very relaxing and my training has gone according to plan. I have been really focusing on sleeping enough, and recovering effectively. Chocolate milk continues to be an important part of my post-run routine. This summer has been hotter than usual and I am finding hydration has been extremely important. The average temperature in Winnipeg this July has been ~26c. This has taken me a bit of time to get used to. Some of my running gear has proven to be essential this summer in the heat.

Here are my summer must haves:

• Hat - not only does it block the sun, but it also has a handy sweat band so that sweat won't drip in my eyes
• Sunglasses
• Bodyglide (to avoid chafing)
• Spandex shorts  (also to avoid chafing)
• lightweight, loose fitting running shirts (Brooks)
• Gatorade 
• Cold showers and/or a lake to jump in

That's all for now! Stay cool!