Effort based speed work

Boston training started off with a bang – mile repeats.  My nemesis.  I knew this was coming.  I’ve used the FIRST training plan for my last 2 marathons and I always start with mile repeats.  I was nervous.  I was worried.  I always think that I can’t do it.  Speed work makes me feel insecure and a little nutty.

On top of my nervousness, I checked the weather last night and saw 20mph winds.  Perfect.  I woke up a 4:30 this morning  and could hear the trashcans blowing around my street.  By 7:00 I was at the track (bonus – I guess the wind scared everyone away because I had the track to myself!).

My training plan called for 3×1-mile repeats at 7:02 pace.  The good news is that I only had to do 3 of them.  The bad news is that I had to do them fast.  Currently, 7:02 pace is pretty much all-out for me…considering I have yet to bang out a 21:xx 5K time.

I decided to do things a little different and NOT look at my Garmin during the repeats.  Effort-wise I knew what a 7:02 pace entailed:  I would be in the “no talk” zone and my breathing would be labored and quick.  I don’t need a Garmin to confirm that feeling!

1st repeat:  7:10
2nd repeat:  7:08
3rd repeat:  7:11

Overall, not too bad considering the wind!  They weren’t 7:02 pace but at least they were consistent.  Even though my legs felt tired on the last repeat I kept my effort level up (judged by my labored breathing).  I can 100% guarantee that if I went by my Garmin I would have (1) ran slower and (2) would not have been as consistent.

Another perk to ditching the Garmin during speed work?  I hate when it’s still dark and I have to constantly keep checking (and lighting up) my Garmin to see if I’m on track.  It’s such a waste of energy.

Day 1 done and I’m pretty damn pleased!

Off to enjoy my last day of vacation.  I’m not so pleased about that 😦

Garmin Obsessed

From the looks of my Philly HM photos, you would think that I (1) was overjoyed at my time and (2) had the race of my life.  Both are false.  Maybe I was just so happy it was over?  I don’t know…but I have a big goofy grin on my face.

I swear I raised my arms in triumphant joy as I crossed the finish line and they didn’t capture any of that.  Instead my eyes are locked on my Garmin.

Pre-finish line:  hating life

Now comes the goofy grin…

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Did you go shopping today?  I avoid the mall today, I hate the crowds!  Matt and I were pretty productive and put up our Christmas decorations and tree.

22 Miles, Take 5 (aka Dress Rehearsal)

8/26/11
22 miles / 3:07 / 8:30 avg pace
*Since I like to be exact and precise, I need to point out that my average pace is 4 seconds below goal marathon pace!  4 seconds isn’t much but I’ll take it! 

And with that I’m DONE!  It’s taper time!

every time i say taper time, i think of MC hammer

Since I’m on an endorphin-high and thoughts are still going through my head a mile a minute, let’s stick with bullet points for today.

• My goal was to keep my splits even from the get-go.  Instead of taking a few miles to warm-up and then picking it up during the middle of the run to make up time, I aimed for 8:30 splits.  This helped tremendously.  My energy level was consistent throughout the entire run.  In fact, from mile 15 on all my splits were 8:30 or under, with the exception of my last mile (8:45 – huge hill).
• It was humid.  Not crazy humid but 93% at the start.
• I ignored my (negative) thoughts during this run.  Let me explain.  I know at a certain point my brain is going to say “you cannot maintain this pace, you are nuts, you need to slow down, you are tired”.  And most of the time I listen and obey when I still have gas in the tank.  Today I only listened to my body and my Garmin and I was fine.  I didn’t slow down and I wasn’t tired.  I definitely had gas left for 4 more miles.  Don’t get me wrong, BQing is going to be hard but I think I can do it.
• I passed a guy wearing a CamelBak on a hill.  Even though it was a guy and I passed him on a hill, I didn’t feel very bad ass AT ALL.  To me, the CamelBak wearers are ultramarathoners and he probably thinks my 22 miler is a walk in the park.  Us marathoners only carry handheld water bottles 😉
• A guy on a bike asked me what time it was.  I’m sure he saw the Garmin on my wrist a mile away and he stupidly thought that the watch could tell time.  It displays 4 things at a time but time isn’t one of them.  I told him my watch “doesn’t do time” and he probably thought I was nuts…or extremely lazy (sidenote:  I do know where the time is on my Garmin but that would involve slowing down and switching screens which I didn’t have time for today).

Almost forgot…here are some post-LR pics!

22, obviously

too tired to hold my head up straight

Have a great weekend everyone!

Question:  Is Hurricane Irene ruining your long run or race plans this weekend?  I was supposed to do a tempo run on Sunday but may have to switch it to Saturday or brave the TM on Sunday (oh the horror)!

Please keep voting throughout the weekend for RTLR for CBS Philly’s Most Valuable Blogger(click here to vote)!

Thursday Ramblings

My Garmin Does What?!
So last week I wrote about pace smoothing on my Garmin 305. I’m still a bit peeved that my (instant) pace jumps around so much, even when I have it set to the “most” smooth. So I did a little research and found that lap pace is more accurate (i.e., your average pace within that lap/mile). This wasn’t a huge shock…I have heard of this before. But the huge light bulb moment was when I realized you could customize your display! For real?! I had this watch for 2 years and I’m just realizing this now? I cannot wait to try this out on tomorrow’s LR. I customized it to have distance, time, (instant) pace, and lap pace. I do like having (instant) pace on there to ensure I don’t go out too fast, even if it is a little off.  By the way, I re-set my pace smoothing to “least”.

who knew? i didn't.

Grrrr, Brooks Adrenaline GTS
Dear Brooks, I’m a devoted wearer of your Adrenaline GTS shoe and have been so for the past 10 years.  But why oh why did you decide to use these fancy shoelaces that clearly are not functional.  I always double knot my laces and during 3 of my last 4 runs these stupid laces have come undone (this has NEVER happened with any of my prior Adrenalines).  I cannot afford to waste time during my marathon retying my shoes!!!  Yes, they are a cute purple color but they suck.  Please go back to the boring old white laces that stay knotted.

is this how i have to tie my shoes so they don't come undone?

(via)

Keep On Voting
Thank you for voting for RTLR for CBS Philly’s Most Valuable Blogger Awards! Keep those votes coming (you can vote once per day here). Many of you asked if I know what place I am in. I don’t 😦  Very little information was given and I assume I won’t know anything until September 9 when the contest ends.

Question:  Do you wear Brooks Adrenaline GTS?  Did you notice anything funny with the laces?  I’m going to have to swap out these fancy laces with an old pair for my marathon.  

What does your Garmin display look like?  Did you customize it?

Three Things Tuesday

8/16/11
11 miles tempo / 1:33 / 8:27 avg pace
*1 mile warm-up and 10 miles at MP (8:35).  Splits:  8:09, 8:07, 8:11, 8:14, 8:18 – I felt like I was running too fast so I checked my splits and slowed down for the remaining 5 miles – 8:38, 8:37, 8:29, 8:28, 8:25.  

Isn’t it supposed to be Three Things Thursday? Hmm, not sure. Oh well, go with it.

Redemption Tempo
This morning I got a second chance to do a tempo run that I attempted 2 weeks ago. It didn’t go so well the first time but I was able to get some redemption today. The trail was soft and mushy from all the rain, which made it even harder to maintain MP but that’s OK with me. I always want to prepare for the worst case scenario and then, if it’s not so bad, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Does that make me a pessimist or a realist?

GoGazella
A social network for marathon and endurance runners created by a Philly-based husband and wife team. A Facebook for runners, if you will. Check it out and if you decide to create a profile, make sure you friend me 🙂

Garmin “Pace Smoothing”
Maybe you all knew this but I found out there is a way to minimize how much your pace fluctuates on your Garmin. When I was training for NJM, I was getting annoyed at how often my pace would go from 7:30 to 10:00 to 9:00, etc.  Even though my effort was consistent, my Garmin pace wasn’t. My Garmin is only 2 years old (I have the 305). I looked up the problem and it directed me to something called “pace smoothing”.

Per the Garmin manual, pace smoothing averages your current pace over a certain amount of time to avoid errors in GPS position and speed due to varying satellite signal recognition.  When you turn on or increase pace smoothing, the pace shown on your Forerunner is steadier. It did help, although I still think there could be something wrong with my Garmin since I never had an issue until this year. But I’m too dependent on my Garmin to part with it and get it looked at!

How to “pace smooth” (at least on the 305 model):  mode –> settings –> running –> speed units –> smoothing.  I’m using “most” for the least amount of fluctuation.

Are you addicted to your Garmin?  Can you run without it?  Even better question, can you RACE without it?  No way Jose…I’m addicted!

Random Thursday

6/16/11

5 miles easy / no Garmin

• Does anyone know how to transfer your Garmin split times from the Garmin Training Center to a post?  Or, am I clueless?  I’ve tried the good ol’ cut-and-paste but that doesn’t work.  I have the Garmin 305…maybe it can’t be done with that model?  I find that hard to believe though.  Any help would be appreciated!

• So I’m halfway through Born To Run (LOVE IT!) and they just talked about barefoot running.  I’m shocked to say this but I found their arguments (they were pro-barefoot running) very compelling.  I’m a tough person to convince too; I’m both flat-footed and bow legged.  I rely on both my beloved Brooks Adrenaline GTS and orthotics to keep me injury-free (and it works…I’m one of those “mutants” that Chris McDougall refers to).  But now I can see how barefoot running would help someone battling chronic injuries.  As a coach I shouldn’t be so close-minded.  I’m not about to jump on the barefoot bandwagon (if it ain’t broke…) but I definitely want to read more about it.
• Not 1 but 2 people Googled “we love Chuck Bass” and got directed to my blog.  Awesome.

Do you or someone you know run barefoot or in VFFs?  What do you think of the whole barefoot running phenomenon?  

My Top Tips

6/15/11

8 miles easy / 1:12 / 9:00 avg pace

Last night I was scrolling through my list of blog topics (I keep a list on my BlackBerry), trying to decide what to write about.  “My Top Tips” seemed intriguing (to me, at least).  These are marathon/half marathon training tips that I swear by.  My intention is to list the less obvious stuff; maybe things you don’t hear all the time.

Know The Course
The race course, that is.  Check out the elevation profile and do some research.   Ask around, check out marathonguide.com, and find out as much as you can.  But remember, hills are subjective!  Some people think rolling hills are mountains while others think a 1-mile climb is flat.  After you gather your information, train for the worst case scenario.  I’ve gotten burned in the past (“it’s a flat course, no major hills”).  Riiiiight.  I learned my lesson last May.  Now, if I know there’s one small hill, I’ll incorporate hill work just to be on the safe side.

Delete Your Garmin History Pre-Race
Of course, you’ll charge your Garmin obsessively before the race but it’s also important to delete the history so you avoid getting that nasty warning message during a race.  Upload all of your data to your computer and then delete the history on the watch itself.  I’ve never gotten the “memory full” warning during a race but it did happen on a 20-miler once.

How Am I Going To Carry All Of That?
GUs, ShotBloks, oh my.  Add an iPod or water bottle to the mix and suddenly you’ve got a lot to carry.  There are a lot of options out there – fuel belt, SPIbelt, race ready shorts (you know you want them!) – but, as with everything, you need to find what works best for you.  Experiment on long runs and take note of any bouncing, moving around, chafing/irritation, and bruising (yup, some are brutal).  Make sure you test it on a 20 mile run too.  Some things don’t rear their ugly head until the later miles.

Foam Roller + Ice = Your New Best Friends
This is more of an obvious one.  If anything hurts, foam roll it and ice it.  And be consistent – repeat a few times a day.  This could prevent that “twinge” or “tweak” from becoming an injury.  A little time spent with your new BFs can save you lots of time later on in training.  Runner’s World has some great videos on how to use a foam roller.

Refuel After Hard Efforts
Your body will thank you the next day.  Trust me.  A hard effort is a long run, a tempo run, a speed workout, etc.  It’s important to refuel within 30 minutes post-run with a 3:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio food/drink.  Chocolate milk fits the bill and who doesn’t love an excuse to drink more chocolate milk?

What training/race day tips do you swear by?

Frustration Buster

3/15/11

8 miles speed work

I had a frustrating morning.  A doctor’s appointment that took 3 hours door-to-door and when I came home our internet was out.  Wouldn’t be a big deal except that I was working from home and pretty much need the internet to do anything.  So I went for a run.  No use waiting around for the internet and, since I was cranky (putting it mildly), a run would mellow me out.  Luckily speed work was on the agenda today.  Nothing like taking your frustrations out by running fast kinda fast.

I did 1×1200 and 5×800.  I’m making up my own speed work these days.  I look at my schedule, sigh, and then do what I want.  I kept my pace between 7:15 and 7:30.  I was slower than the 800s I did a few weeks ago but instead of being a slave to the Garmin, I used my perception to see if I was working hard or not.  I made sure my exertion was a “7 or 8” on a scale of 1 to 10.  That also means I’m huffing and puffing like crazy.  As long as I’m doing that, I consider the workout successful!

I’m hoping to catch up on The Bachelor tonight.  There was no way I was going to be able to stay awake for all the drama last night.  I already know who “won” anyway…and who the next Bachelorette will be!

 

Birthday Cake and 18 Miles

2/6/11

18 miles

Sorry peeps, I don’t have split times and an average pace for you today.  I had a Garmin malfunction, caused by me.  The wind was blowing my earphones out of my ears (good times) and around mile 3 I stopped and readjusted my iPod.  I stopped my Garmin and then never started it again.  Thankfully, I’m obsessed with watching my pace and noticed that the numbers weren’t moving about a mile later.  It could have been worse (devastating, I know).  I think my average pace was around 9:20…at least that’s what the Garmin kept saying throughout my run.  Since I ran 17 and 20 miles the last 2 weekends at Kelly Drive, I estimated where the turnaround would be for 18 miles.  Not a bad run, MUCH better than last week, only had to slow to a crawl for a few icy spots.

Onto more fun things!  Last night my family got together to celebrate the February birthdays.  We celebrate early since my snowbird parents head to the Florida Keys in mid-February.  Usually it’s my birthday (2/9), my mom (2/24), and my nieces Catherine (2/28) and Sarah (3/9) but we have an addition this year…Hawk!  Our buddy turns 1 on 2/23!   After dinner we headed back to our house for cake and ice cream.  The delicious cake from Bredenbeck’s (seriously this cake is amazing, if you need a cake in the Philly area go here!)…

"Happy Birthday Hawk and Others"

Yes, that’s what the cake said.  When I called Bredenbeck’s I warned the woman that I was going to ask for something different to be written on the cake.  Apparently they get strange requests all the time.  So this is perfectly normal.

Some more pics…

Yeah February Birthdays!

Hawk sniffs the cake to make sure it's OK

Hawk is clearly over the cake and would rather play with his toys.

“The Others” also enjoyed the cake.  In fact, we have leftovers and I think cake would be the perfect post-run fuel right about now…

PS – I’m on Twitter!  And I have no idea what I’m doing!  If you are a twitter-er (tweeter?), please follow me!

Saturday vs. Sunday

2/4/11

8 easy peasy miles

1:17

9:37 avg pace

Mother Nature is being quite the bitch lately.  I normally do my long runs on Saturday but tomorrow’s forecast looks like this:

A “wintry mix”.  All day long.  Since I don’t want a repeat of last week’s slippery run I’m moving my long run to Sunday.  Bleh.  I know I should just go with the flow and not complain since Sunday will be a nice day but I LOVE my Saturday morning long runs.  Why?

1.  I’m a creature of habit and routine.  I’ve always done long runs on Saturday.
2.  It fits my schedule.  In rarely have plans on Friday night (and if I do they are low-key) so I can get a good night’s sleep and still get up early for my run.  Pushing the run to a Sunday means I have to watch my Saturday night shenanigans (going to bed early, not drinking too much, etc.).  I’m a real party pooper.
3.  I like to get it over with.  If I wait until Sunday I think about it and dwell on it.

Sorry that I complain so much about the weather.  This winter has been brutal though.  I have never used the treadmill so much.

Let’s switch topics a little and talk about long run prep.  That’s right, preparation.  I’m never able to just get up and go, even in the summer.  Aron at Runner’s Rambles wrote about this last week.  It’s nice to see that other people also plan, plan, plan their long runs.

I begin stalking weather.com on the Tuesday prior to my long run.  Not sure why since I can’t change the weather.  I continue to stalk until I can see the hourly forecast (usually on Friday morning).  Then I plan what I’m going to wear and lay everything out.

I spy Hawk

Then I gather all the stuff that I need to take with me.  I used to carry all this stuff to the car by hand.  Then I got smart and started throwing it in a bag.

• Obvious items:  iPod, Garmin, hand-held water bottle, towel
• 2 pair of gloves:  when it’s really cold I’ll change my gloves halfway through the run.
• Shot Bloks in Black Cherry:  love ’em.  On runs over 15 miles, I eat 3 (half the pack) every 4-5 miles.
• Blue water bottle:  chocolate milk for post-run fuel!  I only fill it about halfway.  And you better believe I think about that ice cold chocolate milk waiting for me in my car during the final miles.
• Gum:  can’t run without it.
• Aquaphor:  I smother my lips in this stuff during the winter.  If I don’t they get terribly chapped.  I even use it around my eyes.  My eye area tends to be dry and the sweat just aggravates it.

You should see my marathon checklist..one day I’ll post about it.  Shockingly, it’s pretty thorough 🙂  Laugh if you want but I’ve never forgotten anything.  Prepared is my middle name!