No Limits- Week One

I am going to try and update each week. We will see...

Monday- 6 miles at 8:36 pace, pretty quick but felt strong
Tuesday-Trackwork, 12x400's, did as fast as I could. Ranged from 1:37-1:42, Tough but didn't die! total 6.95 at 8:30 pace
Wednesday- 6 miles at 9:20 pace, legs were tired, 3.4 miles with my youth running group,
Thursday- Tempo run, 1 mile warmup at 8:59, then 7:50, 7:33, 7:28, 7:31, 7:37, 8:59, 7:22 @8:00pace, really tough but I am glad I could do it
Friday- 5miles at 10:13 pace, legs tired
Saturday- 8 miles at 9:10 pace, legs tired, definitely a big jump in miles and pace. Will enjoy my rest tomorrow.
Total Miles- 42 miles
Good start! We will see where this takes me. I wasn't as good with my eating, so I am up a couple of pounds. Will do better this week. I will also be starting strength training again Monday. :)

No Limits

Well, I guess I am just inspired by my good friend Annie who ran a marathon and crushed her PR by 13 minutes, running a 3:21 marathon at Revel Canyon City. She has set some pretty big goals and is willing to put the time in. I have decided that I am fighting back the diagnosis by continuing to work hard on my exercise and eating healthy. I am going to train for a half marathon and I am not going to have any time goals. No limits!!  I am just going to work hard, be consistent and see where it takes me. I did my first day of trackwork today and it was tough, but I was happy with the results for Day 1. I ran with 2 fast friends and stay just behind them. I did 12x400 and my splits were between 6:36 pace and 7:07 pace. Let's see where we go from there. The half marathon we are training for is February 5th. I will be doing 2 days of speedwork and just running for fun the other days. I will still be focusing on my eating, but I have other goals in my home that are more important to me than any of the running goals, so this is what I am putting in! I also want to try to sleep more. :-) I am following Hanson's Marathon Training plan again ending with the 30k in March. I want to see what I can do, but keep things in balance. I am nervous for my tempo run days but I can't wait to see what I can do!!

Prediabetes

Wow. I am not really sure how I feel about this. I have been meeting with a naturopath who wants to help me figure out my PCOS. Ultimately the way I process sugar and deal with insulin will help me in all aspects of my health, including my marathon success. We had a bunch of blood tests run and most of them came out normal and healthy, but my A1C number (which measures glucose that is attached to hemoglobin) was in the prediabetes range. I have always known that I process sugar differently than most people, but now I have the numbers to prove it. At least it shows that I really do need to figure out my diet, it is not just in my head. So, what now? I have been on an elimination plan to figure out if I am allergic to anything. Right now, I am not supposed to eat corn, sugar, soy, gluten, peanuts, dairy, or eggs. I have been doing this for about a month and I have a couple weeks left. I have definitely not been perfect, but I have done the best I can.  I have also been following a 15 minute strength training workout and running pretty regularly. I have actually lost 7lbs and I officially weigh less than I have since 2006. I feel pretty good, but I don't know what this means long term. I guess I just need to trust the naturopath and take it one step at a time.  I will keep you posted. But, it is crazy to think that even with how much I exercise and pay attention to my food, I can still be in the prediabetic range.

My new experiment

Hello out there!

So, it is time to figure out my body- woo hoo!! I have fought my weight and my eating for my whole life. I am determined to find the best way for me to eat and exercise and now is the perfect time. I met with a Naturopath last night and we just talked about some of my health history. He asked if I had heard of Maffetone and I had, but I didn't realize this method wasn't just about running slow, but also about food. So, I am going to take at least 3 months to focus on low heart rate training and also eating healthy. I want to teach my body to burn more fat and figure out the nutrition I need in distance. I am going to keep good notes. The best part is that I shouldn't be tired on this plan- yeah! And, I love seeing myself get faster with less effort. Wish me luck!

Day 1- September 25th
Jeff was sweet enough to run slow with me. You figure out your max heart rate by doing 180-age. He says you can add 5 beats if you have been training for 2 years with no injuries and seen progress. I went ahead and added 5 beats. It was still tough to keep it down, but I wasn't as slow as I thought I would be.

Mile 1- warmup- 10:17 with hr ave of 135. I was at first trying to stay under 143
Mile. 5- 10:34 pace
Test
Mile 1- 10:03 with hr ave 148
Mile 2- 10:40 with hr ave 149
Mile 3- 10:45 with hr ave 150
Cooldown- 11:43 with hr ave 146, 12:07 pace with hr ave 145,

Total 6 miles at 10:48 pace, hr ave 145 and max 157.

I am starting a 2 week test for food and basically it is no carbs. We will see how it goes. It is not a starvation diet. I am just excited to cut it all out and see what happens. :-) I want to learn what works for my body.


I love that I won't be tired! Yeah!!

4th of July Sauvie Island- training and result

Wow! I didn't realize that I didn't post at all in those 8 weeks. I am just going to do a quick update. I worked my butt off for 8 weeks! I followed Jen's plan to the letter. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. The tempo runs were long and fast (usually around low 8's pace for 8-10 miles), the track work was as fast as I could run (realized I am faster than I think!) and the long run pace runs were lonely and I couldn't always do them as well as I would like. I also added in spinning and strength. It was an experiment and I gave it my all. I felt stronger and fitter than I have ever felt. My last pace run of 19 miles was amazing and I really felt I could do it. I was trying to figure out my nutrition so I stopped gatorade and went to more natural drinks- I can't remember the name right now. :-) I tried different things but ultimately didn't figure out what worked. The day of the race was July 4th and it was the hottest July 4th since 1997, in the 90's. I decided to still go for my goal. I started out at an 8:20 pace and kept it for about 15 miles. Then my body just shut down. I finished as strong as I could and ended with a 3:58. Still a sub-4 but of course was disappointed.

I figured out my age change for Boston happens in September 2016 so I think I will wait until then to try to BQ. I need to figure out my nutrition. It has been a great learning experience but my body needs a break. I am going to get in the best shape I can. I am trying to figure out nutrition.

Wish me luck!

Eugene Results and next marathon

Well, I guess I never wrote a race report so that means I didn't BQ. :-)

However, I had a great experience and I learned a lot about myself. I will try to recap as best as I can. First off, I went down to the race with 2 great friends, Marnie and Dawn. They were running the half marathon (Dawn's first- yeah!) and were going to cheer me in to my finish. We stayed at a hotel in Eugene that had a shuttle to the start line. It was wonderful. They also gave us a late checkout, which was great. When we got to the packet pickup, we discovered that I was Bib #1! That was pretty fun and made me think it was a good sign the stars were going to align that day. Cherl, my good virtual running partner was bib #2. Too funny! I remember when we signed up we were worried we weren't going to sign up in time, so apparently we were the first ones! We went out to eat at Olive Garden, my fave. We went to bed somewhat early and got up for the race.

The weather was perfect- a little cool, which makes me happy! I was ready to go! Took some pics with Cherl and the girls and it was time to start. I had changed my plan the day before the race to start a little faster than 8:20's so when my first mile said 8:15 I was good with that. It hung right around there and I was feeling great. One of my early miles was 8:07 but I still thought it was okay. About mile 6 or 7 I heard one of Cherl's friends tell her she was averaging 8:05's but I didn't think we were going that fast- at least not according to my watch. So, I just kept my pace. Around mile 11 I was starting to feel tired so decided to slow back into the 8:20's. By mile 16, I was feeling way more tired than I should. Cherl had passed me and looked strong. I tried to follow her lead but just could not do it. I knew I would be seeing Jen at mile 20 so I tried to keep the pace in the 8:30's if I could. It was starting to get ugly. I decided to walk through water station around mile 17 to see if I could get a second wind and start all over but it made it worse. When I saw Jen at mile 19, I was so happy. I asked her to help me slowly get my pace back. We did an 8:40 one mile but just could not keep it there. I had to walk a few times but I tried to hang in. By this point I knew I wouldn't BQ but I was really hoping to PR. The mile marker at 24 was misplaced so it was a really long mile but then mile 25 was super short. By now I was just doing the best I could. Jen was awesome and was talking me through it. I know I would have walked a lot more if she wasn't there. Right before the end I got a horrible cramp in my calf and my leg collapsed on me. So weird. I ended up being able to finish and it went away. I crossed the line in 3:51: something. Not a PR but my second fastest time in 10 years and my fastest time since 2008! I was not as devastated as I thought I would be because I felt I finished strong and didn't fall apart.  Marnie and Dawn were there to hug me and support me and the first thing I asked was if Cherl qualified. When they said she did, I was so happy for her and I instantly thought I had to try again!! :-) 

Here are my thoughts:

1. Started too fast. 

2. Need to figure out nutrition. 

3. No injury, let's keep going!

Splits

8:16

8:12

8:15

8:09

8:06

8:12

8:04

8:08

8:16

8:14

8:19

8:21

8:29

8:33

8:41

8:46

8:45

9:25

9:05

8:49

8:56

10:15

10:44

9:32

10:06

8:57

.2 9:27

Looking at my splits, they really aren't that bad and I was able to come to terms with it. The course was beautiful, weather was great, just wasn't my race. 

My friend Jen told me she wanted to change some things in my training. She said she knew what I needed to get to Boston. I chose to sign up for Sauvie Island Marathon July 4th. It was my PR half marathon from 2006-2010(a 1:49) and is super super flat. It was 9 weeks away and I took the first week off. I went to the chiropractor and he said everything was good to go! So, Jen has been giving me a schedule every week. It has been tough, but less miles. She added in weights and spin. It has been challenging but I have worked really hard. She had me do my long runs at pace every single Saturday. 17.5, 16, 18, 18, 19, 17.5, 11.5, All of these runs have been by myself and they have not always been pretty. It seems that nutrition is my nemesis. When I run a faster pace, I burn through my carbs super fast and get light headed.  I am glad that I figured this out. The good news is, I feel stronger and fitter than ever and I think I know what to do about nutrition. The bad news is, it will be a hot day. I don't want to let this get me down. I am confident I am strong enough to run the pace, even in the heat. 

So, here is my plan:

1. Start in the 8:20's for real! No 8:05's until the end. :-) My last few long runs have had my last miles as sub 8. I would love to finish like this!

2. Start taking in nutrition early and often.

3. Fluids early and often.

4. Stay mentally strong. 

5. Be happy with whatever my body gives me. 

I originally thought it was the half marathon loop twice, but there is an out and back portion. I made Jeff drive it with me and it is beautiful. It is a little rolly, but nothing like the hills in my own neighborhood, so I think I will like it. I might have some friends joining in for parts of it, which would be awesome. 

Either way, I am proud of the training I have done. Not just in the last 8 weeks, but in the last year and a half. Whatever happens, I am pretty sure I will not be training for a marathon for a little bit. I want to give my body a break. I have really been loving spin and I want to get into biking more. I am excited to see what happens Saturday. I really do feel I am capable of a 3:38 marathon. I want to prove this!

The night before the marathon...

I always try to get some thoughts down to help me process my training and think about my goals. I feel mostly excitement for this race! My pain level is almost zero and I feel ready to run my race. I keep thinking about the 30k and how well it went and I am going for the same experience! Even wearing the same clothes I wore! My friend and coach Jen brought me back some magnets that she hung onto during Boston! I have a rock from a good friend that says Strength that I will also carry in my back pocket. No matter what happens I know I have done everything I could up until this point. I missed very few workouts, only due to sickness or injury. I have had a solid 2 years of training and especially this last year. The last 4 months of tempo runs with Jen have brought out some more speed and she has also taught be mental tricks that I will grab onto during the race! Keeping the spreadsheet with Cherl has kept me motivated and she will be running the race as well. I feel like it is both of our turn to qualify!!

Here are my goals:

1. Everything comes together and I qualify with a sub 3:40 marathon. I am really going for a 3:38 to give me a little bit of cushion for the rolling entries to Boston. I absolutely feel capable of that time. I expect to see a 1:49 half marathon. At the 20 mile mark, Jen will join me and at the very least I plan on keeping that pace. In a perfect world I would even speed up a little. I will be starting the race at 8:20 pace and intend to keep it the whole way. I know I can do this!!!

2. If I have to slow down at some point for whatever reason, I plan to still PR. That would be anything less than 3:48:52. That PR is 7 years old! I am ready to crush it!!!

3. If something unexpected happens, I plan on finishing strong and smiling, no matter the time.

In all reality, it is Boston or Bust. I have trained for this and I know I can do it. I feel stronger than I ever have felt. I know it is in me. I know it will be hard but I can do it!

I will report back!

2015 Boston Marathon

Today was the 2015 Boston Marathon and it was awesome! So inspiring to see all those people lined up to run. The Women's Finish was so close at the end and it was so fun to watch an American Female and Male make a run at their races! It made me want to be there!! I was going to say next year but I am really hoping to not put a deadline on it. I am giving it all I have in 12 days, but I may still have more to learn. This has been a self-taught process and I have loved it!! I have had a lot of heartbreak over the marathon, but the process has been amazing.

Just as an update, I have been dealing with nagging pain pretty much since my last post. I was not able to run my last 20 miler and have just been trying to ice, medicate, rest and listen to my body! I have had some great runs and I am confident that I can still have a great race.

One Month from today!

I am feeling a bit anxious, so I thought it might be good to review how my training is going. The marathon is exactly one month from today. That is good and bad. :-) I am realizing how important these couple of weeks are. Adaptations seem to take a little while so the last 2 weeks are less about making gains and more about resting up for the race. That makes these 2 1/2 weeks especially important. Here is what has been happening!

March 7th was Champoeg. This race gives me the confidence I need to know that I can run a 3:40 marathon if I keep training hard.  When I put my race times in a predictor for the marathon, they usually come close to a 3:40, but this race is the first time it has put me at a faster marathon. 3:36:16. Woo hoo!!! I know I have it in me. I just have to race smart and stay injury free. (Also the weather has to cooperate and not be too warm. Keep your fingers crossed for me!)

I jumped right back into training. I am mostly following the Hanson's plan, but I added in a weekly fast run with my mentor, Jen and I believe that has been the key to my increase in speed. They are tough workouts, but they are worth it! I am grateful Jen is willing to push me to see me succeed. The other difference is I am running longer long runs than Hanson's. They top out at 16 milers, but I feel like my body needs and enjoys longer than that. So, I have run a 17 miler, the 30k (18.6) and then I had a 61 mile week which included a 21 miler and a 54 mile week. Last week we were at the beach and I was a little sick so I took a day off. It put me a little behind but I ended up with a good week except the mileage was low at 30 miles. I did my 20 miler on Monday and it was 20.7 miles. So, I still feel a day behind. :-)

Yesterday's speedwork was on the treadmill and it was even faster than usual. We started with a mile warmup and then did 7:53, 7:47, 7:35, 7:35. 7:08, 7:00 (.65 miles), cooldown of .35 miles. I did the whole workout in 56 minutes for exactly and 8 minute pace. I know that this will help.

I am trying to do a lot of mental work. I know that it is not going to be easy. I really, really, really want to qualify for Boston. I know it is possible but I also know it will take everything I have!!! 30 days. Crazy!!!

It is my time!! I know it!! And I know that Cherl can do it as well. Would be awesome to do it together!

Champoeg 30k- 3 PR's in one race!

Well, I am not even sure if I am going to remember everything from Saturday, but I am going to try. Everything just seemed to come together for this race. We didn't really get a warmup so that made me a little nervous but I didn't plan on starting too fast. There were 4 of us starting together- Jen (my awesome Wednesday running buddy! She is super fast but had been sick so wasn't sure of her plan.), Travis (he is running PNW and has the same BQ time of 3:40), and Annie, who was just there for a run. She planned on staying with us. I told them my plan of 8:20's, 8:10's, 8's. My biggest thing is not starting out too fast. Our first mile of 8:12 was a little faster than planned, but not crazy fast. Next mile was 8:24 so that was good and then we just got movin'! My heart rate was doing great and I felt amazing so I decided to just go with it. If my heart rate started getting too high I would drop back.

First 10k- 50:10  Well, that was my goal for the 2nd 10K. I wasn't sure how to feel about this lap. I was feeling good, so again just decided to pay attention to heart rate and go with it. I felt like I had tapered better this week so I was hoping my legs wouldn't get tired.

2nd 10k- I was in a rhythm and feeling good and actually ran this one faster! Did this lap in 49:29 and I was still feeling pretty good. My heart rate was still in the 180's.

3rd 10k- I knew I was planning on giving it all I had on the last lap, but it is still hard to mentally know that it is going to stink for 50minutes! The good news was that I knew I could still PR even if I slowed down a little. I realized that I could "PR" in the half distance and get my 1:45 half if I sped up just a little so I did that and pushed lap when I hit 13.1 miles. It said 1:45:20- definitely a PR and definitely a confidence booster for my marathon! Especially knowing I did it in the middle of a 30k. So, now it was time to focus on the last 5.5 miles of my race. I slowed down a tad bit but my heart rate was already edging toward 190. That is my zone of no return. I kind of wanted to wait until the last 5k to be in that range. I had an 8:15 in there. I took it slow on the hill up before the turnaround and then tried to start flying. Unfortunately, my legs decided they were tired. I could definitely tell I was at the end of the race. Still had 3.1 miles. Ran an 8:24 and started getting nervous I was going to lose my PR. About 1.5 miles from the end I decided there was no way I was losing my PR. I pushed through the pain to average sub 8 for the last 2 miles and finished in 2:30:08, that is over a 2 minute PR! Woo hoo!! It was hard and I was super emotional at the end but I am so proud of my race and my time. I really do think it is the best race I have ever run. I started faster than planned but I really wanted to see what I could do!

Things I learned-
1. I am faster than I thought! Yeah!
2. Speedwork does work.
3. I am mentally stronger than I thought and can push through some pain.
4. The 190's really are my edge. I want my marathon to stay below 190 as long as possible. I used to think until the last 10k. Now I would like to do it until the last 5k if possible! :-)
5. Boston really is a possibility!

Champoeg 30k Race goals

Well, it is the night before the race, so here I am again. I start to get nervous so looking at my training and thinking about my goals helps me relax. I am strange. I should be in bed. So, the 30k is my favorite distance- at least that is what I tell people. I hope I am right. Here is my history with the race:

2005- ran the 10k- thought people who ran the 30k (the 10k loop 3 times) were crazy!
2006- ran the 30k as one of those crazy people. Ran a 2:50, 9 minute pace, had a hard time getting my heart rate down after it was over. Little bit scary.
2007-pregnant :-)
2008- ran a 2:41, fun to see my time come down, pretty happy with this
2009- ran a 2:32, still getting faster. I believe this is an 8:11 pace.
2010-getting over a sickness
2011-not in shape for it.
2012- recovering from a miscarriage
2013-had a baby :-)
2014-training for Yakima- goal was to run 8:23 pace for the whole thing, ran a 1:37, 8:25 pace
2015- Tomorrow!

Training has been going strong since the Half Marathon. I have run over 200 miles and many of that at faster than Boston pace. My Wednesday runs have been great tempo runs that have pushed me. I have done Monday track work on the treadmill and I have not missed any workouts. My weight is in the 120's and I am feeling stronger than I have ever felt! I am hoping it is my time to PR.

Goals.

A. Perfect race- First 10- 8:20 pace in 52 minutes, second 10k, 8:10 pace in under 51 minutes, last 10k in under 50 minutes. Hopefully this will get me a PR. :-)
B. Faster than last year. :-)
C. Finish strong.

My heart rate has been doing so well. I hope it continues to do so!!

Should have good friend Annie running with me so that should keep me going.

We will see how tomorrow goes. The good news is that I will get a 20k PR since this is the first time I am being timed for that distance. :-) Time for bed.

January Mileage and teaser race report

142.5 miles, plus some swimming and spin :-)

My time was 1:47:23- a 25 second PR. That may not sound like much, I was so happy to finally get a PR. It has been a long time coming. I plan on getting a PR in every distance and this was a great start!

Cherl kicked but and got a 1:41. :-)

Half Marathon Thoughts

I always like to get my thoughts down before a race. Cherl and I emailed back and forth with some of our plans and ideas.

Here is my half marathon dilemma. I just don't think I know how to pace one. :-)  My body seems to need a warmup and if I get my heart rate up too high too soon I am toast. When I was in Long Beach, the miles just seemed to click by, but I ran the first 3 miles pretty slowly. I don't think I have time to run that slow and still PR. I am not sure what pace will be slow enough to keep me from getting my heart rate up but fast enough to get me in the zone to PR. I guess this is what it is all about- trial and error. :-)

My PR is from 2010 and I was in peak condition from training for St George. It was a downhill half marathon in Provo so it was fast, but there was also some elevation issues. The half I raced last year was right at the beginning of training and it was tough but I was happy with it. 1:52 This year in September I was hoping to PR but I hadn't been training as well as I would like and it was a little warmer. (started at 50 but got into the 60's fairly quickly.) My heart rate hit 190 by mile 5 and 200 by mile 10.

The "race" at the beach it just stayed in the low 180's the whole race. I think that is my sweet spot. I need to keep it low to start and then slowly speed up.

Here are the stats.

My PR is a 1:47:43 which is about an 8:13 pace (I think)
My 1:50:18 from Oregon Marathon is about 8:27 pace
1:49 would be an 8:23 pace (Boston pace and I should be able to do this!)
My goal of 1:45 is an 8:02 pace.

I think my plan is going to be to start at 8:30's. Get to 8:20's fairly quickly and stay there for a couple of miles. At the half way mark if I am feeling good, I will bring it down to 8:10's and at the 10 mile mark I will try to increase it to 8's. We will see how this goes.

1. Perfect goal- 1:45
2. PR
3. 1:49 something

My injury has been feeling good for the most part. I had a tough pace run last Friday but I did it! Then I ran `12 miles on Saturday at a pretty slow pace but I got in 48 miles! This week I took it easy on Monday and then ran 9.5 miles with 2 different groups on Tuesday. My ankley was bugging me a little so I iced it and went back to bed and laid on the couch most of the day. I felt much better by Wednesday.  I had my friend Jen take me for a crazy fast run again on Wed and I didn't feel great, but I definitely pushed myself and ran some sub-8's! I think the 7:30 mile really got my heart rate up and I had a hard time recovering. I definitely need to stay away from that range. I did not spin or run fast or long the rest of the week. Did a 4.2 miler yesterday and 3.2 miles today so I should be ready tomorrow! I hope I can run smart and I hope my ankle feels good.

I am meeting up with Cherl and I can't wait to see her and see how we both do. She is an awesome half marathon runner so she is going to kill her PR. :-)

I am back!

Well, here I am! I took my mileage easy last week and on Friday I went for a run by myself and I felt good so I did some faster miles to gauge my fitness. It wasn't quite Boston pace but I ran quite a few miles in the mid 8's! I ran slow again on Saturday and took Sunday off. On Monday we were at the beach, so we ran with a faster friend and averaged in the 8's again- ending with a 7:37. Yesterday, I ran with 2 different groups of friends for some nice, enjoyable miles. My ankle seems to be pretty well healed so I decided I was ready for some tempo work.

My friend Jen (the spin instructor Boston Bound friend) agreed to come pace me. I will admit I was nervous. It was nice to have someone else calling the shots. It was a little cold and she took me up Sunset Hill. The goal was to be mostly sub-8 but she was going to vary my paces for going uphill. Here are the splits: 8:46, 8:49, 7:55, 7:59, 8:06, 7:50, 7:46, 9:31, total 7 miles at 8:18 pace. We were run 7:30-7:40 during the fast parts and staying around 8:05 during the slower parts. It was a tough workout but I survived! I need to learn what my body can do and quit limiting myself.

I have my half marathon in 10 days! I really, really, really want to PR but I don't know if I am 100% yet. I am going to keep getting my miles in and we will see!! I am definitely feeling more confident for PNW.

Sidelined

Well, apparently all those treadmill runs did not do well for my ligaments. I  have posterior tibial tendinitis (what I had last year!) and so I am easing back into running. I had amazing runs on vacation and felt great! When I got back to Oregon and ran outside, I started the Hanson's training plan with the 12x400 on the track. The next day I ran 9 miles with 2 different groups and later that day my tendon just felt like it was on fire. It got worse and worse and I could barely walk. I iced it off and on for the next few days and just went for swims. I thought maybe my running days were over. Once we realized it was the treadmill runs, I started to feel optimistic. I know I recovered 100% last year and I can do it again! It is so early in training. I don't like to miss any runs though, and I am a little waterlogged. I have been seeing a chiropractor. He gave me the go ahead to run on Monday. I went for a slow 5 miles and I could feel it and it was sore, but not painful. I took yesterday off and went for a beautiful bike ride. Today I ran 4 miles with the group. It still felt pretty off. I am going to keep icing and laying off it. I am hoping to run slow tomorrow and the following 2 days.  I am hoping to get right back on track. Not sure if my half marathon will happen in 2 weeks. I hope it does! I want to PR! I am just taking care of myself right now!