Thursday, January 17, 2013

Winter Series #3

Sunday was the Winter Series #3 Race put on by the Hudson Mohawk Road Runners Club.   It was run on the same course as the Hangover Half (Winter Series #2) where I came down with the stomach bug on New Year's Day.  There were 3 distances offered this week: 3 miles, 10K and 25K.  I was planning to run the 25K and Joe and my uncle were going to run the 10K.  My friend Jenny was running the 25K too.

On the morning of the race I changed my mind and decided to run the 10K.  Late Saturday night and early Sunday morning I started to dread the idea of running the 25K.  I kept remembering how lousy I felt on the course last time and I actually didn't want to go at all.  I think part of this was due to the fact that Mia had finally given up her binky the day before and we had kind of a rough night with her (smooth sailing since though!).  I was also feeling guilty that I was going to be so much time running that morning.  Usually I look forward to running but this what not one of those days.

I realized that right now I am not on an official training plan.  My Lake Placid training doesn't start for a few more weeks so why am I pushing myself to run a distance I just didn't want to that day.  Right now I should be focusing on getting ready for my training and not pushing myself in a way that makes me dread running. 

In the end I ran the 10K pushing Mia and had a great run (Joe would have pushed her for the 10K while I did the 15K but I wanted to be with her instead in case she had binky issues). I felt strong the whole time and enjoyed myself.  Sometimes I have the best runs pushing her because I don't pay attention to my pace since I assume I will be slower, I end up just running by how I feel and end up keeping a pretty decent pace. I also ran into lots of running friends, include Darlene, who got some pics before and after the race.

It was a good reminder to me to focus on my goals rather than trying to do everything just to do it.  I don't think I would have gotten any value out of the 25K on that particular day because I just wasn't into it.  Most likely I would have gotten myself frustrated and instead I walked away from the 10K feeling good about running and excited to start my official training soon.

Tonight I am off to do hill repeats with Jenny and some friends from ARE, another running club we belong too.  We have been doing this workout the last few Thursday nights and I feel like it's making me stronger.  I'm signed up for Winter Series #4 on Sunday, this time I am doing the 15K and most likely pushing Mia again since Joe will be working.  I also signed up for the Running of the Green 4 mile race in March and am hoping to break 30 minutes.  Lot's of fun running stuff to look forward too!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Look What Came in the Mail!



My running friend Sheila recently suggested Hanson Marathon Method to me so I took advantage of an Amazon gift card and ordered it. and it came today! I can't wait to start reading it.

I love reading about running.  In fact I just had to start pairing down my collection of running of books.  For the most part, I read on my Kindle but I still have hard copies of a lot of books I read before I had my Kindle.  I finally realized that there was no sense in hanging on to most of them.  I enjoyed reading them but now they just sit on my bookshelf, so I've been trying to pass them along to other running friends.  I am hanging on to a few like Advanced Marathoning that have training plans and other information that I use regularly.

I just finished reading Scott Jurek's book, Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness, based on a recommendation from my friend, The Happy Runner.  What a great book!Jurek is so inspiring.  While I don't think I could ever go completely vegan like he has, reading about his experiences with nutrition definitely has me thinking more about my diet and how I can improve it.

What other running books should I check out?

Sunday, January 6, 2013

2013 Goal

I've been hesitating about putting my 2013 goal out there because it's pretty ambitious for me.  Last year I chose a goal that I knew was tough but felt confident I achieve if I worked hard and I did.  This year I making my goal even more challenging but I'm not as confident that I will get it.  I think that's ok though, last year hitting my goal was awesome but the journey of getting to it and putting in the work was just as rewarding if not more.

This year I watched a few of my friends train for Boston and as they were training I thought I would never be able to achieve that, at least not for years until my time increased to at least over 4 hours.  After hitting my sub 4 hour goal I started wondering what else I was capable of and considered running an ultra and some other goals but I kept coming back to Boston.  My time is 3:35.  I turn 34 this year and then next year when I turn 35 it will go up to 3:40.  I thought about putting the goal off until next year when I gained 5 minutes but after talking with a very speedy friend who has qualified for Boston a few times at 3:35 and 3:40, I was convinced I should go for it now. 

I honestly don't know if I will get there this year but I figure the worst thing that could happen is I get closer to it and I get stronger by trying for it.  I don't want to regret not trying. 

I'm still working out my plan to get there but I have a rough plan in mind already.  I am going to spend the first part of the year working on my base and getting stronger overall.  I want to add speed-workouts and cross-train more.  I know I keep saying this but I think I have to commit to some cross-training if I am going to get to Boston.

My uncle, Joe and I have planned to run the Lake Placid Marathon in June (my uncle bribed Joe and I to run with him).  This is a pretty hilly marathon and it's definitely not a course for BQing but I think it's a good course for me to practice my mental toughness and to evaluate how I have improved up to that point.  We love Lake Placid and have done the half several times so we will have no matter what.

I am also considering running Pittsburgh in May.  Again, not expecting to achieve my goal there but I have always wanted to run it since I have family there.  This would be another race to evaluate how I am doing.

After Lake Placid, I will give myself some time to recover and then ramp up my training to prepare for the Hudson Mohawk Marathon in the fall.  This will be where I go for it.  It's local, it's a fast course, and I've run it several times so I think it's the perfect race for me to try to BQ.

I may also sign up for Philly in November but there will be no goals attached to that one.  It will be all about having fun.  I'm hoping I can convince Joe to run it too.

So there you go...it's out there, it's real...YIKES!

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

New Year DNF

Happy New Year!

My favorite way to kick off the New Year for the last several years has been participating in the Winter Series New Year's Day races.  Our local running club offers a 3.5 mile race and a half dubbed the Hangover Half.  I've done the 3.5 a few times, I cheered Joe on the year Mia was born as he ran the Half as his first half, and last year I ran the half.   It's a tough half because the course is boring, just loops of our State Office Campus and University.   Plus the whole course is like a giant wind tunnel.

Last year was definitely tough but I felt great having finished and I finally broke 2 hours in the half.  This year I really had no goals going in, just that I wanted to finish under 2 hours.  I woke up feeling not great but didn't think much of it, I just thought that I was tired from the holiday week and eating too much junk throughout the week.  I thought a good run might help.

At the start I ran into a bunch of my Strong Running Mama friends.  Felice, Bridget and Tami were all doing the 3.5 miler and we talked about how tough the half was last year.  My friend Jenny and I decided to try to stick together for the half since we both had the same goal.

Right from the start I had trouble keeping up with Jenny but kept her in my sights as motivation to keep going.  About 2 or 3 miles in my stomach started feeling queasy but I just kept going and as I did it just kept getting worse.  I thought I might have to stop and get sick on the side of the road but tried to hold it back.  By the time we got to the 6 mile turnaround I knew I was done.  I made a mad dash for the bathrooms and got sick.  It seems the stomach bug that has been plaguing a lot of my friends and family over the holiday week had finally got me. 

I spent yesterday getting sick and sleeping.  Today I feel a lot better but not quite myself.  I am just hoping Joe and Mia stay healthy now.

I know I did the right thing by stopping when I did but I am still bummed about not finishing.