Just Some Things

Today, I have an unofficial Friday Five to share.

1. Running is starting to feel a little "normal" mentally lately. What I mean by that is that the honeymoon is over. I'm remembering that my relationship with running is a love/hate sort of thing, and that summer running especially is incredibly difficult and frustrating. Even while I'm absolutely thrilled to be running, it feels hard right now.

Reconsidering my choices after 4 miles over the bridge.

I'm glad the nice weather and my recovery coincided, because I don't think I could have dealt with Florida summer while being newly post-op.

2. I have a race on Saturday. It's the Sup and Run 5k I did in 2016, where I placed 3rd in my age group and managed to set a 5k PR. It's supposed to storm the day of the race, so I don't have any particular goals in mind. I know I won't be running anywhere near 26:xx this year; I'm excited to race it, but I'm also ready to take a little break from racing for the summer to focus on building stamina.

Walk breaks have helped balance my stamina, but I'd prefer not to rely on them.

I am struggling with modulating my pace lately. My first mile of every run is around 8:45, and then by the end of the second mile I'm totally tapped. When I slow down, my legs get achy and my gait feels clunky. I can build in walk breaks to help ease the issue, but I'd like to get control over my pace again. I might have to resort to some treadmill running to help retrain my legs!

3. Speaking of summer, I have eight school days left until summer break. I honestly can't believe how this year has flown by! Over break, Matt and I will be traveling to Washington state for Robby and Scott's wedding; I am beyond excited!

I mean, how cute are they?!

4. We have finally begun work on the house to fix the damage done by Hurricane Irma. Things were tangled up with insurance, but now they've been mostly untangled (or they're at least in the process of being untangled...) so we no longer have holes in our living room walls!

I learned how to install drywall...kind of.

Of course, we still have some major leaks in our roof and hurricane season has started, and it looks like it'll be ongoing for awhile.

"Indefinitely"...I am not amused.

I realized the other night that Irma has ruined me for enjoying storms. I used to love sleeping while it stormed outside, but all this week I keep waking up paranoid that the house was going to flood or we'd lose the roof. I think I have a mild form of PTSD.

5. I watched Nicole DeBoom (the founder of Skirt Sports) talk about her struggle with alcohol abuse and was reminded that "real women move" is as much about growing and moving from one mindset to another - mental fitness - as it is about physical fitness.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of racing and relaxing - my two favorite pastimes! Happy Friday!

ABK

My Happy Pace

When I posted my weekly workouts on Sunday, Montana commented asking how I had gotten to a point where I could maintain a 10-minute pace on a long run. I had to really stop and think about that. When I was training for marathons, my long runs were significantly slower than 10:xx; that's to be expected.

As you can see, a year ago my long runs were slower than they have been recently.

So how did I bring my paces back down this year?

First, and I think mostly importantly, I stopped quitting. Since I began running, my pattern would be to run consistently for a few weeks, maybe even a month, and then take a chunk of time off. Having to start over so frequently obviously set me back and stalled any progress I could be making.

My training over the past 26 weeks...There were times I rested heavily (most noticeably during the height of my calf issues), but there are no major gaps in my training.

Compare this training from March 2015 to my recent training. Major gaps like this are nowhere to be seen in 2016!

On that note, having a consistent schedule has definitely contributed to my current paces. Elizabeth and I began our workout routine about a year ago. We work out together 5-6 days a week. This means that I'm not only avoiding quitting, but I'm also getting in lots of good cross-training that I'm completely likely to skip without an accountability partner.

I've made running bridges a frequent part of my plan. Bridges are speed work in disguise and have made me a stronger, more consistent runner.

I've balanced my training. I loved training for marathons but I am not a strong enough runner to truly train the way a marathoner should. For my body, marathon training was very close to over-training. These days, my workouts and training schedules are much more balanced, allowing for better recovery. I can also push my paces and test my limits more because I'm not paranoid about getting injured before a big goal race. That's probably a factor, too: I'm racing less frequently.

Finally, I think 10-minute miles come naturally to me. When I'm feeling healthy, strong, and centered, my pace easily falls into the mid-9s for short runs and 10s for longer runs. I'm comfortable and happy at these paces most of the time; this is how my running looked before I got into marathons, and I think my body is just getting back to its equilibrium.

What is your happy pace?
What did you do (training-wise) to reach that pace?

ABK

Something I'm Not Good At

Sometimes, I wish I had named my blog something a little more specific to my running talent, or lack thereof. Names like "Average Runner" or "Mediocre Runner" cross my mind. And of course, this is in no way a dig at people who see my paces and think they're "fast", because I've written ad nauseum about how "fast" is relative.

But I'm an honest person, and I know that I'm not particularly talented when it comes to running. Not naturally, at least.

The other day, I read this article, and this line really hit home: "I’m not used to being so passionate about something I’m not good at."

It's just human nature to feel passionate about things you're good at, isn't it? And if you're passionate, you work hard and you improve! But for many of us, running isn't really one of those things. We can work and work, yet there's still a threshold we can't seem to cross.

I'm not really that good at running...but I sure do love it.
I'm used to loving things partly because I'm good at them; most of my hobbies are talents that come easily to me. Running is a challenge every single time, and that makes it a totally different kind of a passion. I don't love it because I'm good at it; I love it because it challenges me, and each run allows me to feel empowered because I'm beating the odds just by being out there.

This year is my year of speed, and I intend to find a new comfortable pace that is (hopefully) back into what I consider fast for myself, but I'm also perfectly happy to be honest about my abilities. 

Do you have a passion for something you're not particularly good at?

ABK

My Plan for BDR

Based on my paces during my 20-miler, and keeping in mind that I know how hard the last 10k of a marathon is, I've put together a tentative plan for marathon day. Usually I set A, B, and C goals only, but this time around I wanted to add a pacing plan.

Miles 0-13: 12:30-12:40 pace
Miles 14-20: 12:20-12:30 pace
Miles 20-26.2: 12:00-12:30 pace

I honestly think these paces are doable, but my biggest concern is actually being able to get faster in the last half of the race; I need to be mentally strong enough to ignore my achey legs at the end! If I successfully keep to the higher end of the spectrum for each set of miles, I'll finish in 5:17, which would be a 24-minute PR. It's not as lofty a goal as I originally set, but I think based on my training, it's realistic.

Last Wednesday, I started at a conservative pace and then ran faster as I warmed up. During the hardest part of that run (when I was running into the headwind on the second loop), I was running a 12:07 pace from miles 11 to 17, and it didn't feel too bad. At times, I dipped into the 11s, and even the 10s.

I don't know how to race a marathon, so this will be a chance for me to practice what that feels like. If I want to be successful, I have to avoid pushing too hard too early; I need to go easy and conserve energy so I don't fall apart at the end.

Anyway, I'm not aiming for a sub-5 this time around. My plan for 2016 is still to focus on speed and shorter distances, but I know a longterm goal for myself will be to break 5:00, and I know I'll be able to do it eventually. It won't be this race, and that's okay; running is a lifetime journey, and I know I'll get there in due time.

(During a long run this fall, I envisioned myself crossing the finish line in 4:59 and I got choked up just thinking about it. I'm not giving up on that goal, but realistically it's not in the cards this year.)

This year, I want to be smart and consistent. Last year, I went out way too fast. I was also dehydrated from cold medicines and had lingering asthma issues to contend with, but I'm not making excuses. I know this year I'm in better shape, but it's also going to be warmer.

(This year's 20-miler was 10 degrees warmer than last year's...so, yeah.)

So basically, I'm aiming for a PR, but I've finally learned that I won't get faster training for a marathon without a better base and stronger effort geared directly at speed. Cautiously optimistic is the name of the game this time around.
How do you decide on your race plan?
ABK

Learning to Run Slow

"Slow" is relative. I'm a slower runner than 90% (or more) of the bloggers I follow. So when I hear from the experts that you should be making sure to run "slow" regularly, I tend to roll my eyes. My "normal" is slow. When I talk about "running slow" in this post, I mean "slower than my usual pace"; there's nothing wrong with whatever pace you're at.

Case in point, I hover at 10-minute miles when I'm running, and in the mid and low 9's when I'm racing shorter distances. Maybe someday I'll be faster, but for now, that's where I am and I'm happy with it.

The women on my Ragnar team fall on all points of the speed spectrum, making me "faster" than a handful of them. Lately, we've been running together on Monday nights, and I find I'm usually at the head of the pack. At first I was torn between running my own pace and sticking with the group, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I've really missed the social side of running.

Monday's run...I forgot how painless a run can be when you're just taking it easy!

 It's so nice to have a group of women to run with!

This Monday, I held back and made sure to really run with my teammates. It was one of the best runs I've had in a long, long time. If running slow is good for me and it allows me to spend time with these awesome women, then I'm going to run slow at least once a week. If nothing else, it can be my recovery day after weekend races or long runs.

In other news, the professional race pictures came back from the Turkey Trot. They aren't half bad!

Up the bridge, the photographer didn't catch me until after I'd waved, and Matt was cut out completely.

Coming down the bridge, I actually look like I'm enjoying myself!

What's your take on running slow? Do you find it difficult to do? 
How much attention do you pay to pace anyway? As someone who rarely races with a goal time in mind, I just like to run how my body and legs are feeling! Does that make me a bad runner?

ABK