Browsed by
Tag: training

A not-so-disappointing disappointment

A not-so-disappointing disappointment

Comments 6 comments

Life has been busy since I last wrote and included a two-week trip to Ohio, a 5k PR attempt there, the Ragnar Madison-to-Chicago 200 mile relay, potty training (!) A and finding autumn daycare for her so I can teach, and, coming up, a 15k race in Rockford, wherein I really truly hope I can best my only other 15k appearance that I had when I was about… oh, 16 weeks pregnant.

I haven’t been blogging much because, while I have still been running and have been keeping at least a thirty mile/week base, I feel at a loss for words. Right now, running is more about just pure running and not PR-chasing, despite that 5k attempt (I’ll elaborate in a second) and this upcoming weekend’s 15k. It has been refreshing to just run whenever, at whatever distance, I want, and not really mind the clock too much. I’ve also been thinking a lot about “the grand scheme of things” in life and how I spend my time–no doubt influenced by Traci’s mother’s recent passing–and how running affects me, not just in terms of performance but also in terms of… being a (better) human, I guess. That might warrant its own post.

Anyway, my 5k attempt on Memorial Day. In the month following Eugene, I had eased back into running, inching toward a 30 mpw base, entirely in the absence of speedwork. I figured I wasn’t going to lose my speed overnight, but I also didn’t want to re-introduce that high-volume, high-intensity goodness to my bodily systems so quickly post-race-of-a-lifetime, figuring that I still might have some internal “whatever” going on (scientific, I know) that necessitated taking it easy… even if I had felt fine.

Initially, in the weeks prior to the 5k, I was gung-ho about shooting for a big PR–sub 20, for the first time ever–but in the remaining days pre-race, I felt pretty certain that a sub-20 wasn’t going to be feasible: not because it’s an unreasonable goal for me, just that I can’t pull that outta thin air when I’ve got marathon fitness in me right now. However, I felt pretty certain that a regular, old-fashioned PR (20:31) would be attainable, based solely on the fact that I had set that 5k PR two weeks post-2012 marathon PR (3:34), and I figured a month after an even bigger PR in Eugene would surely mean a “significant” 5k PR was in the bag.

Funny how things work out.

I’ve had, let’s call them “interesting,” experiences with races in Ohio, with the exception of the Akron Marathon (which I highly, highly, highly recommend). Any other Ohio-based race I’ve done is idiosyncratically weird. To wit: I’ve done races there that either don’t have timing chips at all (ok, old fashioned, but ok) or even one race that gave everyone actual timing devices (the plastic tags that you affixed to your shoe and returned post-race… this was 2008) but only laid out a timing mat at the finish line, essentially making the chip worthless because your finish time would still be based on the gun/clock time. This year’s 5k didn’t have any timing devices at all, so it behooved me/any other runner wanting to get an accurate clock time to line up as close as possible to the front.

However, this 5k’s idiosyncratic factor was that it was sex-separated. In other words, when I started to race, I was surrounded by no one else but my sisters in sport, with the dudes hanging out on the sidelines, cheering, and waiting for their turn at the race (on the same course) that’d begin about 45 minutes later. I later learned that women could elect to run with the guys but that doing so would negate their possibility of securing an age-group or overall award. (And when I watched the fellas run after my race, I only spotted about 4 or 5 women in the entire men’s race. I guess most of the ladies opted to run together). I’m not quite sure what the purpose was to separate the race by sexes, but hey… whatever. I told you, Ohio is weird with its road races, in my experiences.

So my race? Well, I lined up right at the front, next to a woman I knew would be super fast (I totally sized her up… call me judgemental, but really, she had that “fast” look), and my intuition wasn’t wrong. I hung with her for about the first few strides before she took off like the RoadRunner. Out of the gate, I was third or fourth woman for about the first 800m before the lead four women separated from me and gave me no chance to catch up–my thinking was that, based on how they looked when they were running (again, sizing them up), they’d fare sub-20 easily, if not closer to low 19s/18s. I was comfortable with my fifth-place spot, and I knew that the next woman behind me was at least a few seconds away, based on where I saw her on an out-and-back around mile 1 and 1.25.

The entirety of the course wound through a residential area in Tallmadge, over some undulating, this-is-what-you-should-expect-when-you-race-in-northeast-Ohio hills (that I had forgotten about.. d’oh. Haven’t raced there since Thanksgiving!). Though the weather was perfect for racing, I was beginning to feel spent pretty early on and just tried to hang on and not go over 21 minutes; I thought I could still pull off a PR, if only by a few seconds.

Then came the hill around mile 2.25.

I wasn’t expecting this guy, even though I had looked at the course map (which really, who am I kidding? I don’t live there, how would I know from looking at an elevation-less map where significant hills are hiding?!), so when I rounded left on the corner and saw that there was a healthy incline separating me from the main road that’d get me back to the finish line, I’m pretty sure I dropped a colorful “you’ve gotta be kidding me” thought. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure I lost my PR on this hill, because once I cleared it and rode over the few undulations left between 2.5 and the finish line, I came in right at 20:40, just 9 seconds off my flat, Chicago-based PR.

Boo.

I haven’t dwelled too much on not hitting any of my goals for this 5k because I’ve changed perspectives on it. If anything, without sounding like a total ass here, that I CAN run within 9 seconds of my Chicago-based PR on a hilly Ohio course makes me feel fairly confident that I could re-run, if not reset, that Chicago 5k PR back here. My only disappointment is that I’m not planning to run another 5k this year, so this was my only chance at it. C’est la vie. I prefer the long ones, anyway 😉

At the end of the day, my 20:41 was enough to net me with a fifth place overall and an AG win, an AG which I’ll soon be leaving coming November 4, so I’ll take it while I can. I also hung around the race to pick-up my awards: a gift card for a sporting goods store in Ohio, a super sparkly headband that looks like it is laced with silver Christmas tinsel, and a gift certificate for a salon back home (that I’ve since regifted to my sister). The race swag was also pretty sweet, a lined jacket with the race logo on it that’ll be super for late fall training runs. (That’s another thing about Ohio races; though they’re weird with the timing devices, they’re usually fairly inexpensive, and the swag is often pretty good, in relation to the registration fees). After my race, I walked back to that hill that did me in so I could cheer for the guys as they ascended it, leaving me feeling like I did my good runner deed for the day 🙂

Goods from the 5k: age group awards, overall rank, AG rank
Goods from the 5k: age group awards, overall rank, AG rank

My next “real” race is this weekend’s 15k, which I’ll be doing coming fresh off running 21 miles in the Ragnar relay (separate post forthcoming). I haven’t figured out my goals yet for the 15k–only to run faster than I did 16 weeks pregnant–nor have I figured out how to pace/race it yet. My plan now?

you bet.
you bet.

What say you? What’s your spring/summer race schedule look like? Have you ever done any races that are just ‘weird,’ in comparison to what you’re used to?

Next

Next

Comments 7 comments

Alright, let’s be honest: I’m still floored (and floating) about Eugene. Words can’t adequately describe how special (aww) you all made me feel during my training and particularly on race day (and since!) with all the shout-outs, words of encouragement along the way, and general awesomeness. So thank you. Thank you very much. 🙂

I’ve been thinking a lot about my running since Eugene, for all the obvious reasons, but also because I think it’s imperative to reflect on experiences of any kind in an effort to figure out how to replicate outcomes, avoid ill consequences, or in general, just to improve.

(I’m hearing my professorial side coming out here… these are the same lines I feed tell my students to think about when they think about their writing and why they write how they do. Weird…)

I think a lot of things came together in my favor on race day, some of which I had absolutely no control over (helllllllo, perfect running weather!), but some that I did and that would behoove me to consider doing again. On the flip side, there are some things that I should consider doing differently, so I’ll break everything down accordingly… call this “Erin talking to herself” (isn’t this what this platform is for in the first place?), but definitely chime in with your vast runnerly wisdom and experiences.

Oh, and here’s some Eugene Marathon on-the-run race pics action.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What’s worth replicating:

  • training. This might be obvious to most, but to be a better runner, you have to run more (notwithstanding pre-existing conditions that might preclude you from doing a ton of mileage, that is). This cycle was the first that I had used a Pfitzinger Advanced Marathoning plan, and it was a good fit for me. I don’t think I’d want to jump up to 70 miles/week, but having mid-week “moderate distance” runs of 10-14 miles, in addition to the weekend long long runs, helped my endurance tremendously… and the speed work was a whole different animal for me this time around (and coming from someone who loves speed work, this is saying something). I’m glad I found this plan.
  • ancillary work. I quit CrossFit in February in part because of how ridiculously expensive it was but also so I could devote more of my “exercise hours” on activities that would directly, unquestionably, improve my running. I tried to maintain some degree of strength and core work by doing at-home and bodyweight-based work about 4-5 times total/week, often 2-3 times/week for strength and another 2-3 for core. Though I certainly can’t power clean or throw up (and down) some thrusters like I could a few months ago, I think I still have power and strength where it matters, and this at-home business is definitely a keeper for future training cycles.
  • fueling. At the recommendation of my new friend Dan, from the Houston Marathon, I trained with AccelGel and used it during Eugene. As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t want to drink/consume the stuff as I do water, but it’s palatable, and it agrees with my body. In time, I will probably move toward a vegan product, but since I haven’t fully committed to veganism yet, I’ll keep using it. It jibes with my “strict vegetarian/almost vegan” get-up. 🙂
  • accountability. I haven’t suffered from not doing the running that I should be doing because of a lack of motivation, but it really has been kinda cool to see other runners’ running- and training-related commentary on twitter, dailymile, and RYBQ over the past few months. An added bonus is that I get to meet other people who are the same type of crazy as me 🙂

Let’s improve:

  • pacing. I did very few of my long runs (or even shorter runs, for the matter) at my strict, projected MP. Thus, while I knew what a 7:40, 7:49, or 7:55 felt like, and knew that it was comfortable, I never really knew what a true, flat 8 felt like. I was aware of this and knew that I “kinda” knew what an 8 felt like, so I just broke the race up into parts, as most runners do, and focused on running as close to a 1:45 half as possible. I was a bit nervous to be -2 at the halfway mark, fearing that that would surely promise a crash-and-burn later in the race, and how I pulled a 6+-minute negative split is still beyond me. For my future marathon training cycles, I want to run many more runs, of varying distances, at my legit MP, for both the physiological and psychological benefits. Moreover, that I could pull a 6+ minute negative split in a marathon makes me wonder about if I did the first half too slowly… I’ll revisit this later.
  • stretching. I stretch when I think about it, which isn’t very often, except for the maybe 2 minutes immediately before I leave (hop on a foam roller) and when I return (stretch my calves on the stairs leading up to my condo… and then hop on a foam roller, maybe, once I’m in the door). Likewise, I never did any dynamic stretching before any of my long runs (except once, on a 21 with Mort, at his suggestion), even though I know it’s a wise use of my time. I plan to be more mindful of that going into this next cycle. I can spare 3 minutes.
  • sleeping. Even though I’m a SAHM these days and not needing to bust out at 6am to get to the office, I know I’m not sleeping as much as I should be, because A awakens me in the middle of the night or early morning hours, I’m staying up late finishing stuff I didn’t do during the daytime, or because I’m just wasting time online doing nothing important. I usually prioritized sleep on the days where I had a big run coming up, like a mid-week moderate distance run or some speedwork, but I could be better about it. I should consider a “no technology after ___” type of rule. How do you prioritize your sleep, particularly for my readers with kiddos?
  • strength work. I want to get stronger. Though I don’t necessarily miss CF, I do miss being as strong as I was, because I think that helped keep me healthy/injury-free and helped me as a runner. I don’t need super huge biceps or anything like that, but I do want to be more diligent about my strength work and aim for 3 times/weekly for this next cycle instead of 2.

What comes next:

  • marathon goals. I’m at a loss here, and I’m telling myself that I’m not going to really think about it until early July, when I start marathon training again officially. As you might recall, the plan was to do 3:30, maybe a 3:27, in Eugene, if the stars aligned, and then train for a 3:25 in Chicago, and just “play” in NYC. I don’t know what to do now. All three times I’ve run Chicago, I’ve run poorly–likely due to hot weather or pregnancy (or both, as was the case in ’10!)–so part of me feels like I’d be happy to just go sub-4 here for the first time. A bigger part of me thinks that’s totally unacceptable and that I should see what I can do with this 3:20 fitness I have right now… and as for NYC, if I have no idea about Chicago, I have even less of an idea about NYC. (I am leaning toward just making the big apple a “play” race though).
  • races. I have a healthy mix of racing coming up: a 5k in Ohio on Memorial Day, the Madison-Chicago Ragnar Relay in early June, and the Espirit de She 10k inaugural event in Chicago in July (this one for which I’m an ambassador… once I have more info, I’ll let you know. It looks kinda cool). I want to clock a sub-20 5k this year and whittle down more time on my 10k that I posted in January, but we’ll see. I’m cautiously optimistic I can do both, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
  • reading. I have so many running, racing, vegetarianism, and veganism books I want to read to glean what else I should be considering in my training. I think I need to tell my toddler boss I need to take a sabbatical…
  • coaching? Should I be hiring a coach or just continue to rely on my training partners for their collective and very good advice? Would it be worth the investment?

Lots going on in this post for sure, but reach out. I’d love to hear your commentary on this stuff.

What do you think about after each race you run? How do you figure out where to go “from here,” and what do you do to keep the momentum and excitement going? Do I need to stop being all reflective and professorial and just enjoy things a while longer?