How do the elites do it?

Yesterday marked the beginning of week 2 of mega mileage.  I ran 68 miles last week - a new weekly mileage PR by 8 miles.  Other than the Thanksgiving Day 10k, which I raced at 6:31 pace, all of the runs have been slow.  But slow does not necessarily mean easy.  I'm trotting it out like no other.
How do the elites do it?  70 miles per week is maybe what someone running the 5k distance at a professional level may do, and those doing the marathon may even do double that distance.  I am fully aware that the professionals have the following advantages:

• This is their full time job. 
• They have access to therapists and masseuses 
• This is their main focus per day.  
• They have sponsors who help supply them with proper nutrition
• They have access to world-class facilities

And here I am, not even at sub-elite status yet, trying to wrack up considerably high mileage, certainty high for an amateur.  It can be very exhilarating, knocking out that kind of mileage.  On the other hand, it is friggin' tiring too!  My legs definitely feel it, and while a singular 8 or 13 mile run wouldn't accrue that much soreness, doing then in back-to-back succession does the trick!  Sunday morning I ran 13.5 miles, and that was definitely a shuffle.  It's so funny how you can have speed on one day, and then just a few days later struggle to run 2 minutes slower per mile than race pace.

Aptly timed, Kara Goucher posted a video about her life as an elite marathoner: http://innovationforendurance.msn.com/videos/running/96  Way different than mine!  

Today was a single day of running: 8 miles, which I waited until the end of the day to do.  It was nice and cold, but not raining (which it had been doing all day), that I knew I wouldn't get too hot.  My legs felt a little tired, but not as much so as they had in the past few days.  I've lately been doing a lot of my runs around campus, rather than the Mall.  They are much hillier that way, and I have a lot less traffic to deal with.  Anyways, I was at mile 5, going up a very steep hill, and then there was that magic moment.  My legs "unglued" - you may know the feeling - where all of the soreness evaporated and I felt like I could go on forever.  It's moments like that when I know I am a distance runner - that it takes over 40 minutes/5 miles to warm up and feel good to go.

Anyways, I always love trying new things in regards to running, and I am enjoying the mega mileage experiment.  I don't think I'll ever run out of new things to experiment with.  I've been at this for four years now, and still am learning new things each season.  

Race with Grace 2012: Mother/Daughter Race

Happy Thanksgiving!  I got home Wednesday afternoon, and promptly threw on my shoes for my second run of the day.  6 miles in DC, 4 in Rochester.  This weather is beautiful - perfect fall running weather!  The mileage is racking up: 12 on Monday, 6 on Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday.  I signed up for the Race with Grace 10k, which is my annual Thanksgiving Race in Hilton - this is the fourth year I've done it.  And more exciting was that my mom was going to do it too!  She was sidelined with ITBS last  year, but has been running strong since her big half marathon in September, so we were good to go.
While I would be donning my racing flats, I wasn't aiming for anything big.  Particularly with the volume of running, having run 10 miles the day before on Wednesday, I was not concerned with hitting a big PR.  Still pretty stoked about my 39:50, and with this course being a little hilly, it was my goal just to beat my course record (42:15) from last year.
But I wasn't going to take myself too seriously.  A friend of mine who I worked with in Santa Cruz lives in Rochester, and we got together last night and had a couple of glasses of wine.  Was nice and relaxed - no problems falling asleep this time!

It's funny how different my race morning in DC looks compared to Rochester races.  In DC, it's just me up early - it's very quiet, and I go to my races alone.  I'm very much just in the zone.  At home, it's more of a family affair.  We have breakfast together, drive to the race together, etc.  I kissed my mom good luck, and took my spot near the start.  Last year, I was the 15th woman, and I was sure that even with tired legs, I could advance a bit.  I didn't really know how my legs would feel - they seemed a bit heavy during my shuffling warm up.  But when the air horn went off, I just took off.  The pace felt fast, and it was - the first mile was 6:09.  Whoa, back off lady, this is not a 5k.  By mile 2, the pack had thinned out a bit - I was running with a few guys.  I figured I should ease up a little, and came through the second mile in 6:20.  Still fast, but it felt like I could sustain something closer to this pace for 4.2 more miles.  This course is pretty quiet when you get going, so I was just trying to focus on my breathing and staying even.  I came through the 5k in 19:58 - was clearly slowing down, but I still felt in control.  There were more hills in this race than my PR one, and so I was trying to save a little for each of those.  At this point, I had passed a few women and had my eye on another.  It's hard to tell when someone is 50 yards ahead of you how long it could take to pass them.  It took about a mile to finally pass her, and then I wasn't sure how much of a gap I had left between us.  But the breathing and footsteps I could hear sounded like men's, so I was hoping that I had definitively passed her.  I was starting to feel tired around mile 4 - 25:50ish, and was trying to assure myself that it was just 15 minutes left.  I was torn between trying to pick it up - I could see another woman about 100 yards in front of me - or just holding steady.  Each of my mile splits had slowed by a few seconds, and I was completely okay with that.  I picked off a few more guys, and was just trying to hold steady.  That last .2 is heading into a parking lot, and then a sharp last turn.  I could see my dad waiting close to the finish, and was very happy when my time flashed up.
40:24
6th woman (out of 537), 2nd in age group
61/1133 overall
A course best by almost 2 minutes, and only 34 seconds off my PR.  Yesterday's 10 miles and 2 glasses of wine didn't really hold me back!

The winning mother/daughter team

And now it was time to wait for my mom to come in.  She finished in 56: 35 - a big PR from her 1:04 at the NY Mini 10k in 2011!  She was pleased and ran a very strong race.  We hung around afterwards (since it is local race, we know a lot of participants), and not only did I place 2nd in my age group, but we won the mother/daughter category!  That was the first time my mom ever won something.  So, it was a big morning overall, and a lot of fun.  My brother just came home in time for dinner, and then the whole family will be reunited.  A fun day, and lots to be thankful for.

Drawing back the curtain on the new plan

There is always a next great adventure.  Whether it’s a new job, moving to a new place, a new relationship, there’s always something new.  The day in and day out will change at some point, and it’s always healthy to shake the dust off of a routine and try something new. 

Soon after my Army Ten Miler, Sarah said that she had wanted to experiment with something new to my training routine.  It wasn’t going to be a part of my fall season race schedule, but in between the fall and spring seasons.  This was particularly because I’ve gone almost two years now with no ITBS problems – I had built up a lot more strength in my legs.  Last year, the Thanksgiving-New Year running was very much ad hoc – run or swim as I felt, but no speed, and no reason to get in more than 30-35 miles per week.  But now, we were going to experiment and do something that she has done between training seasons...

High mileage.  She said that I’d quickly get up to 70-75 miles per week.  I looked pretty startled, and told her the most I’d ever run was 60 mpw, and that as during marathon training.  Sarah said that it’s actually not that shocking to do a “strength segment” like this.  How can you get in that kind of volume without injuries?  You take out the speed component.  So normally, I run about 40 mpw, with 2 speed workouts thrown in a week.  There won’t be any speed, just high mileage.  Apparently, you can do one (speed or strength) but not both, at least not for a while, because that’s when injuries are most likely to occur.

So, I am diving into a very high mileage segment.  There will be lots of double days, when I’ll run in the morning and at night.  She said that the first two weeks are quite an adjustment “And you just feel like crap, but you’ll get past that.”  Ultimately, the point of doing this (other than clearly not having to worry about holiday pounds – right?) is to really build up strength during the “off season” and when I come back to the more cyclical training in the New Year, I’ll be read to switch gears and add back in the speed. 

Sure, I needed a little convincing, but really, I think it’s going to be very cool.  This is what I love to do, and a lot of times, I divide my cross training days into two workouts (swim in the morning, lift/core work at night) to simiulate that feeling.  May as well make it a reality!

Plus, there is something about going into the unknown – in this case, ramping up my mileage.  I have dreams someday of running 100 mpw training for a marathon.  The only way to get to that point is to start on a smaller scale for shorter-distance training.  

Today was day 1 of mega mileage.  8 miles in the morning, 4 miles in the afternoon for 12 miles for the day.  So excited.  Felt like a champ suiting up twice today.  I'll get up to 65 miles this week: half done in DC, half done in NY (going home for Thanksgiving!).  It's a good way to change things up, and I am looking forward to seeing how things pan out in this segment.

And now for something completely different

Sunday's 10k marked the end of my official fall racing season.  And with that came a directive from the coach that I've never had.  A brand new assignment for the week, unlike any other...

A whole lotta nothing.

Do nothing.  No running, no cross training, no gym, nothing.

Be a coach potato, catch up on sleep, have a life.

In the four years of running (and I've really just hit my steady 4 year runniversary this fall), I've never taken a week off from exercise.  Even after a marathon, or even dealing with injuries, there has always been some form of cross training or light jogging.  So, the 7 day stretch that I'm in the middle of is brand spanking new.

And I'm taking advantage of the free time.  Extra hours for the dissertation, for sure.  I would say I spend at least 10 hours of a week training, so putting that into the PhD is definitely an added bonus (and my advisor would surely agree).

Now, I will admit, there is part of me that is just itching to put on my kicks and bolt out the door.  It clears my head, it blows off steam, and hey, I just freakin' love it.  But I'm following the orders from the big boss, who has not steered me astray yet. I'm not going to cheat.  Monday will be back to normal.

Actually, it won't.  Monday is the start of something also brand-spanking new.  Definitely unchartered territory for me.  What will it be?  Only time will tell...aka next week's post.

Any guesses?

That Other Mythical Barrier: 2012 Veteran's Day 10k

While the Army Ten Miler was my goal race for the fall season, I still had one last race on the formal schedule: the Veteran's Day 10k.  I still did a few hard workouts to get ready for it, but mostly the hay was in the barn.  All of the training in preparation for ATM was going to carry over.  I had a good 4 mile tempo last weekend at 6:50 pace, and a race week workout on Tuesday to just get in some fast laps.  In compared to some of my most recent times, my 10k PR (40:55 from the Pike's Peek 10k in April) had been a little soft.  Sarah said to get ready to plan an "assault" on the 10k time, and aim for a 40:20 race.  I've done this race before, and I've run numerous other races on this course.  I had accumulated a lot of good runs and races this season, and it was time to wrap the season up with the 10k.
Saturday night, Pat and I cooked a gluten free pasta dinner together and just relaxed.  He even does foot  and back rubs!  All loosened up and ready to go.  I've tanked getting a good night's sleep the night before recently, and last night was similar.  I finally fell asleep around 2, and 6AM came all too fast!  But, I actually didn't feel too crappy waking up.  I had a little breakfast, and then ran my warm-up to the race.  The greenest way to travel, right?

Stolen from someone's instagram - it was really a gorgeous morning

It was a beautiful morning: low 40s, sunny, no wind, and lots of beautiful changing leaves on the trees of the National Mall.  I had cut things close a little bit with getting out the door (I needed to write my predicted mile splits on my hands), that all of the pre-race prep left me with just 3 minutes to the start, and I hadn't checked my jacket/pants/etc.  I followed the lead of a couple other runners and tucked them up in a tree (with fingers crossed).  I then took my place at the start.  I was in the 5th row - this is a super competitive race, and the local racing teams each had a bunch of runners competing.
We took off, and a ton of people really bolted out.  At this point, I'm just going to assume from here on out that other than a marathon or maybe a half, that it's always just going to feel fast from the get go.  I went through the first mile in 6:15, and knew I needed to just pull back ever so slightly - after all, this is not a 5k!  By mile 2 I was running closer to 6:25 pace, and while that was slightly faster than goal pace, I was going to roll with it.  That was the plan - take it out pretty hard, and not get too caught up in the splits.  I was feeling pretty strong, and while I wasn't going to pick things up, I was planning on being able to push more in the second half of the race.  What I like about the course is that the turns are pretty smooth - no turning around a cone!  You can sort of bend into them much easier.  I hit the first 5k in under 20 minutes, and was feeling good.  Could I keep this pace up for 20 more minutes?  I was in a good place, yes there were lots of people in front of me, but no one was really passing me at this point.  I was feeling a little tired (I forgot to take a GU beforehand, and I was a little bummed about that), but was just trucking along.  Mile 4 came along quickly, and at this point, I started to pick things up.  Or maybe just an effort to maintain the pace - I was determined not to blow up.  I kept checking my watch, and tried to not get too worked up about the times that there coming up - they definitely did not match the splits I had inked on my hands.  In Kathrine Switzer's Marathon Woman, she described her 2:51 marathon PR at the 1975 Boston Marathon and said "It felt like the road was rising to meet me."  Some of my best races have felt like that - that I was light and ready.  Those PRs were not easy to attain, yet in the moment, everything came together.  That's how I felt today.  I knew I had one more gear left, and started to accelerate as I hit mile 5.  There's one bridge to cross with three-quarters of a mile left, and I wanted to save a little for that, and I rolled through that, determined to just keep motoring.  And then came mile 6.  I could see the finish line, but you always have to remember that with the 10k, that .2 is almost a lap around the track - it takes time to do it.  I was pushing so hard, and I could finally start to see the clock appear with a time that was showing a time I have thought for years was unattainable, and could've started to cry as I crossed the finish line:
39:50
6:25 pace
I went sub 40 for the 10k!  The sub 20 minute 5k has a mythical nature to it, and I just broke that in March for the first time.  But to do 2 sub 20 5ks back to back seemed impossible at this point.  I could not believe it.  I did not think that within the same year of going sub 20, I'd also go sub 40.
The crazy thing about the results was:
94/1920 overall
20/1042 women
7/280 age group
This was a super competitive race!  The female winner won in 33:45.  And while yes, it is great to place really high or win an age group award, today I was going out with a time goal in mind.  And I had lots of people to key off of.  I did my cooldown with a big smile on my face - I was just stunned.

And then when I came home, pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  Yum!  The flowers in the background are from Pat (so sweet).
The first race I ever ran was the Jingle All the Way 10k in December 2008.  I ran it in 55:04 (8:52 pace), and was happy with that time.  In four years, I've chipped away over 15 minutes off of that time.  While there aren't many more minutes left in my threshold, I'll be curious to see what's left in the tank.  All I know for now, is that yesterday's race was beyond anything I could've dreamed of.
We broke out the bubbly last night - something I also did when I went sub 20.  There's something about the special milestones that just merit a little extra celebration.  They don't come along every day - those mythical barriers.  And they are just so important to hold onto during challenging moments - I know this will be my boost for a while.

Catching up on things

When over a week passes between blogs, usually there's some sort of explanation.  Not really this time, but I do have a few things to catch up on.  Key thoughts of the blog: fartlek, swim, track, hurricane
First of all, thank you all for the positive comments in the Army Ten Miler blog.  It felt like it was one of the best races of my (young) career so far, and I was on a big high for a while.  My legs were also so trashed for a few days after.  I'm used to some soreness for a couple of days after a hard race, but this was a new level.  I did have a workout to do 2 days after the race, and the warm-up for that was truly a shuffle, and I wasn't sure if the legs were going to be able to pick it up during the fartlek segment: 5 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy, 4 minutes hard, 2.5 minutes easy, 3 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, 2 minutes hard, 90 seconds easy, 1 minute harder, 30 seconds easy, 2 minutes harder, 90 seconds easy, 3 minutes harder, 2 minute easy, 4 minutes harder, 2.5 minutes easy, 5 minutes hard, 3 minutes easy, 2.5 mile cool down for a total of 11 miles.  And in case you wondered how I kept track of those numbers, I wrote them all on my hand.  I often need to do the same thing with my track workouts.  Anyways, I was able to get my legs moving during the workout, but certainly ran a mighty slow cool down too.  This is a nice speed workout to do on the roads - it takes about 45 minutes to run that middle segment - I start my watch and just go (find a trail though - you don't want to get held up with stop lights all of the time).
In my cross-training, I tend to rotate between swimming and biking.  There is no rhyme or reason behind it, but I'll generally spend about a month doing one sport, and then go back to the other.  I think both are complementary and offer different benefits.  Anyways, I had a killer swim last week.  In all of my swims, I cover 2000 yards, and it tends to range between 41-44 minutes on any given day.  There's no real change of pace - maybe the pace slows toward the end, but that's about it.  But on Friday, I swam broke 40 minutes for the 2k swim for the first time - 39:50!  I was super excited.  While speed in cross training is not really a huge factor, it is nice to see these improvements in a sport that is still relatively new to me.  And no, no thoughts of a triathlon yet.
October ended with 154 miles, which has been close to the norm for the past year.  My final big workout was on Halloween.  I even had on black and orange to match.  I've done this workout before, and it is a challenging one, designed to get you used to changing gears midway.  Now, most of my workouts involve accelerating the pace as the workout progresses, so that's not new.  
2.5 mile warm-up, 1.5 miles continuous on the track (alternating 800s 3:18, 3:08, 3:21), 2 lap jog, 1.5 miles continuous on the track (alternating 3:07, 3:30, 3:07), 2 lap jog, 2 x 800 (3:09, 3:03) with 1 lap recovery after each, 2.5 mile cool down for a total of 10.5 miles.  
It is very hard to have to kick and pick things up like that midway through an interval!  And recognizing how to shift back and forth from 6:48 to 6:19 pace is not easy.  And then those last 2 isolated 800s are just a good way to push really hard at the end (and at least mentally easy to know that is only 2 laps this time, instead of 6).  It was great to wrap things up with this hard workout.  I have 2 more smaller workouts on Saturday and Tuesday, but those are just geared toward staying sharp and fresh at this point.
The Veteran's Day 10k is a week from Sunday - my last big race of 2012.  I will do a couple of holiday races after that, but this is the last one on the official training calendar.  I am looking forward to going out and demolishing my old 10k PR.  At this point in the season, I've run a solid 5k, 5 miler, and 10 miler, but no good 10k.  Yet.  
And finally, a note on Hurricane Sandy.  We were fortunate in DC - never lost power or anything.  School was closed for 2 days, so I stayed up with BF's family in Keedysville, MD.  I feel terrible about all of the devastation in New York and New Jersey.  I'm also a bit conflicted about the fact that the NYC Marathon is still happening.  If I was doing it, I would be completely bummed if it was cancelled.  But the fact of the matter is that I'm not convinced that the energy and resources are worth going to the marathon when so much rebuilding needs to take place.  I think it's good that the NYRR is pledging to donate over $2.6 million to NY relief, and are going to use private resources to deal with transportation and other logistical issues.  But at least at the heart of it all are thousands of runners aiming to get there, toe the line, and hear "New York, New York" play as they cross the starting line of the largest marathon in the world.

Army Strong: Army Ten Miler 2012

I signed up for the Army Ten Miler in May with the plan of making it the big race for the fall.  After a rocky training month in late August/early September, things settled into a groove.  I've been really excited for this race for a while, and although I was nervous about my time goals (1:07:30/6:45 pace) and their feasibility, I was pumped about the race.
Again, a little too pumped - I was up for most of the night.  But unlike the last race, I chose not to be too worked about the lack of sleep and just roll with it.  I was happy this morning to bump into an old friend of mine, Brian, at the Pentagon - hugs and stories are always a good way to start a race morning. Much better than just navigating through everything also - friends make good company!  I got in my warm-up, although with all of the army and police blocking everything off, I trotted around in a small restricted area, and at least the shuffling around meant I wasn't going to use up any extra energy/effort then.  Also bumped into another running friend, Maggie, on the warm-up.  In a race with over 20,000 people, I always find it remarkable that you can find the people you had hoped to see!
I got into position - first wave, corral 2.  I was happy with my spot - close to the front, but within reason.  They did a very beautiful invocation, and it was good to have that moment of quiet reflection before the race started.  This was a day to get out and settle into a rhythm, and once the cannon blasted, we were off!  The weather was perfect - 50 degrees, sunny, and no wind.  The first mile was pretty straight, and while I had to jockey around a little bit, was feeling good.  Mile 1 was a little fast, but I wasn't going to be too worried about it.  Mile 2 was across the Memorial Bridge (which connects the Arlington Cemetery to DC) - something I've crossed a hundred times.  And on the other side of the bridge, just after the mile 2 marker was Sarah!  We had talked earlier in the week, and she said she was going to jump in and run a few miles with me.  The last time she did this in a race was the Marine Corps Marathon in 2009 (almost 3 years ago to the date!), and it led to a BQ.  She was going to run with me through mile 7, and if things felt good, we would push the pace after 5 miles.  She's good to have alongside: she would offer occasional words of encouragement, but I think there is something to be said about having someone beside you who is rooting for you.  So, instead of being surrounded by a pack of strangers, I was focusing on honing in on a consistent pace.  I looked at my watch a couple of times, but Sarah said "don't worry, you are doing great."  Someone even asked what pace we were running - I guess they could tell we were locked in a groove together.  Sarah said "Oh, we're aiming for 6:45s" but apparently was stretching the truth - we were running faster, but she didn't want me to worry about going fast.  We found gaps together, and it just felt so smooth.  Except for one very narrow water station, where it nearly became single file and we almost crashed into each other - at least it made for a good laugh.  I knew we were going faster than goal pace, but Sarah wasn't doing anything to slow things down, and frankly, I felt like we didn't need to.  It felt fast, but not so fast that I thought I was going to blow up or hit the wall toward the end.  We came through the 5 mile mark at about 33:23 - 6:40 pace.  I was nervous - this could either end very pretty or very ugly.
I dumped water on my head a couple of times, which helped to cool off.  I missed once and also spilled on my shoe - so cold!  But that actually dried off fast.  We hit the 10k mark in 41:22 - 6:39 pace.  It felt like we had picked things up a little, but just ever so slightly.  I felt like I had one more gear in me, but didn't want to surge too hard too early.  Sarah kept saying "looking good" or "looking strong," and while she could easily get away with saying that even if it wasn't true, I did feel strong.  I was tearing through each mile faster than I had in practice, but there was nothing on the horizon that indicated that that was problematic.  Right after mile 7, Sarah got ready to jump out - we were getting ready to leave DC.  She said I had to pass 10 more people before the end, shouted "you can do it" and then was out.

Running over the last bridge of the day

And I was prepared for that, knowing that I was going to need to push on my own the last few miles.  This was tough though - there were some hills and bridges that just were hard.  But, I still felt pretty strong, and was working my way through passing people.  And, I also saw a bunch of Wounded Warriors running - a lot of amputees who were trucking along - and it was very inspiring.  I hit the 9 mile mark at around 59 minutes, and it struck me - I was running 9 mph, not for a 5k or 10k, but for an actual hour.  It was also at that point, while I was on a highway bridge, that I knew I just had one more mile to go - this meant under 7 minutes left.  But that bridge was a bit lonely, and it wasn't until we got back close to the Pentagon that there were more people around cheering and pulling us in.  Including my boyfriend!  He was cheering me on, and giving me a great boost to finish strong - Army Strong.  I was grinning from ear to ear as I saw the big clock - showing numbers that were beyond what I expected for today.

About to cross the finish line

1:06:10
6:37 pace
52nd woman
19th in AG
672 out 21912 overall
Oh my gosh, oh my gosh.  This was over a minute faster than the 1:07:30 goal Sarah and I had in mind, and I even ran a negative split.    I caught up with Pat, and he picked me up (literally) - he was so excited too.  He knew that this race was important to me (and I was so glad he came), and it means a lot that he is sharing in my running/racing experiences.
Later on, Sarah texted me to see how it went, and she said "Awesome! You were running faster than 6:45s, but you looked so strong, I saw no reason to say anything.  Now we need to plan an assault on your 10k in 3 weeks."  There is always a new goal in mind - our work is never done!

All smiles after the race

My cooldown was so slow - as it should be.  It certainly gave no indication of what had been done earlier in the morning.  I am so sore from the waist down, but you know, it is just a reminder of the race.  These are my favorite kinds of races - when it goes beyond what I could have expected.  Had anyone ever suggested that I could run 66 minutes for 10 miles, I would have laughed in their faces.  Funny how amazing the reality can even beat out the dream.
I had a long chat with Sarah yesterday, recapping the race.  After all, it's not as if we talked a lot during it.  She was very pleased, and reminded me of a few things that I think are ultimately good lessons to keep in mind:

• A bad tune-up race doesn't mean a bad big race.  I ran that Run for the Parks 10k a few weeks ago in 41:10 - only 12 seconds faster than I covered the 10k within the Army 10 Miler.  
• Not all speed work needs to be done on a track.  In previous seasons, I've been on the track weekly for a few months.  This season, I only did 4 track workouts leading up to this race.  I even missed a fifth one - no long term harm done.
• Tempo pace is not race pace.  Last month, I averaged 6:55 pace for a 4 mile tempo, and opted to not freak out that that was 10 seconds slower than goal race pace (or in reality, 18 seconds slower).  
• And this was the big one: you cannot "win" workouts in practice and expect to "win" in races.  I love doing tough workouts and crushing the times...but I am learning more and more that does not necessarily translate to great races.  I had never done a workout where I was running consistent 6:45s.  Sure, there would be a mile repeat or 2, or a few 800s where I went faster than that pace, but never a time when I pushed that hard.  And look, on race day, even though it hadn't been done in practice (even in an abbreviated form), I was ready to run 6:37s for 10 miles.

This whole thing is a learning process.  I've been under Sarah's tutelage for almost 3 years now, and I'm still figuring a lot of this out.  

This was a dream race for me, and will go down in the 2012 annals as one of the best of the year.  

All I do is...

Win!
Run!
Write!
It's currently a mix between the three.  Last week was the monster week in my training.  Not quite as mega mileage as I had initially planned.  Was supposed to get in 49 miles.  But last Monday night, I got a crappy night's sleep, and Sarah said to bag the 10 mile track workout and substitute it with an easy 5 mile run.  44 instead of 49, but still the highest mileage I've had in a while.  It was the weekend runs that ultimately made up the bulk of the week's running: 12 on Saturday, 14 on Sunday.
Saturday's run was probably the best training run I've had in my Army Ten Miler build-up.  It was a progression run, where the pace gets faster and faster.  My mile repeats workouts on the track are fairly similar to this, but those are accompanied with a recovery lap.  No recovering on the road - just keep going and going.  The weather was beautiful - about 40 degrees and sunny.  I did my 2.5 mile warm-up on the National Mall, and then headed to the Mt. Vernon trail for the progression part.  This is a beautiful trail, and I think I am going to do all of my bigger runs on there from here on out.  I have to metro to get there, but I think when you take the $4 round-trip metro and think about it as an investment for training, that's not too bad.  Anyways, I was dressed like it was race day, and raring to go.  I was supposed to start at 7:20 pace and knock off 7-10 seconds per mile.  But not wanting to blow up/burn out, I started a little slower (which is preferable to going out too fast in this workout) - 7:35 for the first mile.  The miles clicked off nicely.  Not necessarily the most even splits: 7:35, 7:22, 7:05, 6:55, 6:50, 6:39, 6:35, but I was able to keep going faster and faster.  The weather was great, and I loved this trail too.  I didn't bring any gatorade or GU for this run - things that would've provided a little boost (even mentally) towards the end of the run.  But, this was a no-muss, no-fuss run.  I told myself that I would even feel better, stronger, faster (right?) when I have those on race day.
My legs felt pretty beat up though on Sunday's run!  On these long runs, particularly when they follow a workout day, are not about pace, but just getting the mileage in.  And 14 miles just takes a while, no matter how you slice it.
Army Ten Miler is Sunday, and I am so excited.  Weather calls for sun and high 40s at the start.  On Tuesday, I had my last tune-up track workout of a 2k, 1200, 2 x 800, 2 x 400.  It was a great workout - I felt like I had a lot of pep in my step, and in the final 400s, ran 1:28 and 1:26 - sub 6 minute pace.  Wahoo!  Obviously, 400s are different than a 10 mile run, but it was a good feeling to know I could still pull that out at the end of the day.
And it does feel like lately all I do is run or write.  I'm starting to move in a good direction with my dissertation, so I've just been working on getting some of my ideas out from my head and onto paper...or screen.  It's mainly medieval, it's a little modern running, but it's all getting documented!
I am so so so excited for Sunday.  The Army 10 Miler (ATM) has been what this whole fall season has been geared toward.  I am not running with a place goal in mind, but strictly a time goal.  The winner will ultimately run it in about 56 minutes - I am aiming for 67 minutes and change.  Things are different going into this race.  The last half dozen races I've done, I've placed in the top 10, which is pretty cool.  I know that realistically, that won't happen in this race.  I'm aiming for top 60-70, and am putting more (really, all) emphasis on hitting my time goal.  That will be the big victory if it all comes together.  Winning can certainly mean different things, depending on the day.

If I could talk to my 15 year old self...

Today is International Day of the Girl.  CNN asked famous women what they would tell their fifteen-year old self, and this ended up being my reflections during today's run around the National Mall.
*Your braces will eventually come off.  And all of the years of orthodontist visits and thousands of dollars your parents paid will be worth it.
*You will find love.  High school Valentine's Days of waiting for a carnation to appear suck, but real love awaits.  You will be kissed, and someone will think you are worth more than just a dollar flower.
*The things you hung your hopes on so much won't matter or be remembered.  I can think of numerous solo auditions and tryouts for music groups that didn't go the way I wanted them to.  In the end, it didn't do long-term damage.  I'm quite alright.
*Your life could be very different than it is now, and it is okay that not everything stays the same.  You'll move new places, meet new people, and learn that change is not always bad.
*But, some of your friends will stay the same.  I had already met 3 of my best girl friends by age 14, and they are still absolutely important to my life.
*The family, who you were mortified to be seen at the mall with, will now be the people you spend most of your time talking to on the phone. 

I was 15 years old 11 years ago.  So much drama in high school.  Life's a lot more fun now.  That's not to say it's easier, but it's definitely more fun.  But not knowing what is going to happen next is half of the adventure. 

Here's the official prompt:  "Looking back, what one piece of advice would you give to your 15-year-old self?" - any takers?

So, when's your next marathon?

I've gotten that question...oh, a couple of times a month since my last marathon - Boston 2011, almost 18 months ago.  I vowed that I would not run a marathon in 2012, and would work on my short distance racing.  The last half marathon that I trained for specifically was Philadelphia 2011 - almost a year ago.  I am maxing out my race distance at 10 miles.  That is my plan for the spring too.  I haven't run more than 14 miles since...November?  I made marathoning my running life for 2.5 years, and now I have shifted gears completely.  Yet, it's still a question I get a lot, and it's still the way people introduce me, "This is Vanessa, she runs marathons."  Not so much lately, guys.
Don't think that I've forgotten about it.  Espeicallay on weekends like last once, with both the Chicago and Twin Cities marathons - so much news coverage on both.    People have been posting on Facebook about their long runs - hitting 18-20 miles on the weekend.  And I'm doing my own training too, it's not like I've stepped away from running completely.  But it a very different mindset.  I have a real racing calendar each season.  Instead of a marathon and maybe a half as a tune-up, I have 6 or 7 race per season, which is so much fun.  It takes some of the pressure off of each individual race.  Rather than having 4 months of training rest on one perfect day, golden opportunities are spread out - the odds for success go up.  Also, a long run of 12 miles on the weekend won't put me on the couch for the afternoon like a 20 miler would.
But I think about the marathon a lot.  Especially when people run great PRs after lots of training, and I think "I could hit those times too."  But, I've made a conscious decision to stay away from it, to focus on my speed, and eventually return to it.  My PR - 3:27:00 is now a bit "soft" compare to my other race distances.  And that was why I got into the shorter stuff to begin with - those times didn't match up to my work in the marathon, and I wanted to change that.  I know that when I return to the marathon, I'll be aiming for something close to 3:10.  I don't have an immediate desire to return to it, but maybe in 2014.  That way, I could get in a solid half marathon in 2013, and then train for the marathon in 2014.  Who knows.  That's the fun part of this whole life adventure.  If you had told me 5 years ago that I would run 1 marathon, let alone 6, I would have laughed.  So, when is my next marathon?
TBD.

IDK.

G2G.

26.2 4 Life!