Guess What Comes After a Peak?

That's right, a valley. 

Monday morning, straight off the high of my good run, Paige woke up with a fever.  And that translates into no gym for me.  I took it as a sign from God that I should let my body rest for a day before getting back to the grind.

Sick Paige and I sat in my bed enjoying having our feet up and watched a movie.  Then Paige started yet another coughing fit... coughed so much that she threw up all over my bed.  Fun times.  Motherhood is never boring.  So my sheets went straight into the wash... and since I have a favorite set of sheets, I was going to wait for them to be clean before re-making the bed.  (You'll understand all this detail in a minute.)

Monday night, just after dinner, I got the sheets from the dryer.  Now, I have a hardwood floor.  So while carrying my large pile of king size sheets, I accidentally stepped on them.  Moving person on top of sheets on top of slick hardwood floor... are you getting where I'm going with this?  Immediately the sheets slipped, and I went down hard.  I fell pretty hard onto my right hip.  Ouch!  There was a little aching in my foot, but my hip was throbbing.

Tuesday, I wake up and though my hip seems to be bruised, it doesn't seem to function any differently.  In other words, it's just fine.  However, I started getting odd feelings in my foot - aching during extended walking and occassional shooting pain when the foot turns a certain way.  Hmmmmm... I wonder if it twisted when it slipped on the sheet.

Tuesday night, I got on the treadmill hoping the ache was relatively minor and didn't affect my running.  Walked 0.5 miles and felt ok... started running and didn't even make it 0.5 mile.  Every single time I pushed off, it ached.  Now, not the kind of ache that makes you scream injury... but the kind of ache that says "I wonder if running is going to make this worse and then I won't be able to run for a lot longer?"  So I stopped.  Wednesday, still noticeable pain... occassionally noticed a change in my gait to compensate.  Oh dear, this is not good.

Wednesday... call the Doctor, because I am not in a place to just wait and see with this one.  I have training to do.  I need to know if running through the pain will make it worse, or how long I should stay off it.  I want the answer now so I can deal with it much quicker than if I irritate it by pushing through a run.  The Doctor had a cancellation and can see me today (Thursday).  I will have a tough time making it to the special showing of "My Run" tonight, but it was today or not until next week.  I'll take it.  I want answers.

So pray for me... I go to the Doctor at 5pm tonight.  I was starting to feel optimistic until I went grocery shopping and 30 minutes in the store had me limping.  What is irritating is that basic walking around the house and doing things does not hurt at all... and I feel fine, and then all of a sudden I'll do something and yee-oww. 

Go figure after 2 years of fairly consistent running 25-45 miles a week with no injuries except for minor shin splints in the first couple months of increasing mileage that my first issue would come from being a total and complete clutz!!! 

Why *I* PR'd

Setting a personal record (PR) is very, well, personal.  And no matter how much you plan and prepare, there is still a great portion that relies on the Dealer putting the right cards in your hand that day.  After Sunday's PR, there were things racing through my mind that I think got me there.  This list does not mean *you* should do these things or that they will make *you* reach your goals.  Take from it what you may, but keep in mind that everyone is different...

- Reason 1:  Perfect conditions.  It was cloudy and 55 degrees with minor wind.  Considering it's been 80 and sunny, this was a big relief, and a huge help.  Ideal running weather.

- Reason 2:  It was the right course.  I saw the profile and studied the inclines.  It was a pretty flat course.  An average 0.5% incline for the first 7.5 miles and then flat or downhill for the rest.

- Reason 3:  I was focused.  I wanted the PR.  I had made a conscious decision that I was going to get it, and I didn't give myself an "out".  I had already accepted that at some point I was probably going to hurt, and that I'd push through that... and it'd be all over in a couple hours.  (FYI, I encountered a lot less pain than I anticipated.)

- Reason 4:  Nutrition.  I was hydrated.  I up'd my carbs a little starting 3 days before but did not overdo it.  In fact, I didn't really up my overall calories at all, I just made more conscious choices.  And despite having experimented with a few other breakfast choices, I went back to the ol' Clif Bar which is what I ate pre-race when I set my PR in October 2010.  Sure a bagel and peanut butter sounds better, but I haven't had a great half since switching breakfasts... so I went back.

- Reason 5:  The body was functioning properly.  I got up with plenty of time to clear the intestines.  And everything was working well.  No nervous stomach, and I took my mandatory two potty breaks prior to the race so I wouldn't have to pee mid-race.  (For those newer runners, you may think this is TMI, but I promise, bodily functions become standard conversation to runners... you gotta do what you gotta do.)

- Reason 6:  I'm 8-10 lbs lighter.  Try running with a 10 lb handweight.  I bet it slows you down.  Same concept.  I've lost the weight, so I expected that it would gain me a little (even a few seconds per mile adds up over 13.1 miles).  (Side benefit is that, inherently, in order to lose a little, I cleaned up my nutrition so I was better fueled.)

- Reason 7:  Course motivation.  Lots of cheering along the course.  Particularly Jenn and then Jason.  I saw them each at least twice along the course.  Also the bands were uber-motivating.  Really enjoyed them.  They were all playing as we passed, and they all had motivating words as well.  Not to mention I was just motivated by being in a slightly faster crowd of runners.  They were all continuing to truck along, so I was going to stay with them.

- Reason 8:  I brought my own water.  I only stopped at one station (the second one) and got a Cytomax.  It didn't make my stomach feel good, though the feeling passed quickly.  So I decided not to stop at any more water stops (and I will say that most the water stops were pretty congested due to the sheer number of runners).  Other than the 5 seconds I walked for that one stop, I never walked again.  I figured the more I kept moving, the less catching up I had to do.  Every water stop, we headed to the middle of the road and plowed through.  I bet it saved us as much as 2 minutes overall.

- Reason 9:  The miles.  I'm in marathon training mode.  As I said in Coach's Corner, nothing speeds you up like endurance.  My last 3 long run Saturdays were 14, 16, and 18 miles with two longer mid-week runs of at least 8 miles.  I have a lot more miles on my legs than a typical half-marathon training plan.  Yes, my body can handle not tapering before a half, but I did take the two days right before the race off.  Even though I knew I'd be pushing my pace, I have to say that I was actually looking forward to only having to run 13.1 this weekend.  Never thought that I'd hear myself say that.  Yes, I realize 13.1 is still a long ways and a lot on the legs, but it seemed like a break from 18!

- Reason 10:  Robin.  She believes in my capability more than I do.  She is an excellent pacer.  She is a motivator.  And best of all, she loves to talk while we run (duh, you all know I'm a running blabber mouth, well, until the last 1.5 miles).  She knows how to keep a steady pace and how to put me just ahead of my goals, but listens when I have legitimate concerns.


I'm looking forward to pacing my awesome friend, Emily, to her PR on April 10th at Big D half marathon.  From here on out, the only focus for me (despite having two more halves scheduled) is the June 5th Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon.

Coach's Corner

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

Question of the week:  How can I get faster?

Answer:  The magic question that we all want the answer to, right?  I bet every coach has a different answer.  And I'll admit minimal experience in this category. 

However, in my opinion, nothing makes you faster than endurance.  If you are consistently running 3 miles a day and racing 5ks, if you up one of your runs to 4, then 5, then maybe even 6 miles, you will likely become speedier when racing only 3.  For longer distances, this might just be increasing the number of miles per week, but only IF your body can handle it without injury.  Almost all of my gained speed has come via endurance and flat out getting the miles in (yes, I'm not super speedy, but in the course of 15 months, I've gone from 11:50 min/mile to 9:52 min/mile for a half marathon).  Let me add in, though, that you will see the greatest speed improvements in your first 18 months and then the improvements will slow. 

Other ways to get faster is speedwork.  There are lots of different methods of speedwork, but for beginners, I would say the three easiest to add to your routine (only once a week) would be hills, pace runs, or fartleks.  Hills is exactly what it sounds like... run up a hill, walk or jog down the hill, and repeat.  Pace runs are runs done at the goal pace for the goal event.  In other words, if you want to run a half marathon at 10 min/mile, you might do a mid-week run with a 1 mile slow warm-up, 4 miles at 10 min/mile, and then a 1 mile slow cooldown.  This is just a random example, and may or may not apply to you.  Fartleks are a favorite for beginners.  They are unstructured interval workouts.  You do a nice easy warm-up, then intervals with recovery.  These intervals may be "sprint to the next mailbox" or "run hard until I get to the end of the block", etc.  In between these, you do a slow recovery jog, then go again.  As always, your mileage and the number of repeats will vary.  There are of course other ways to do speedwork and, I'm sure, many varying opinions on the matter.

For beginners, though, I think the focus should be on building the mileage... if you have extra weeks to add in some race-specific speedwork, then that's just a bonus!

Tip of the week:  On the opposite end from the question of the week... if you are having trouble increasing the length of your long run, slow down!  Many of us have some pre-conceived notion of how fast we should be going in order to be considered "running".  Whether you are running 14 min/mile or 6 min/mile, you are running.  Don't be afraid of pulling back and slowing down to get in that extra distance.  And you might be surprised... once you know you can do it, mentally, you'll be prepared to go that distance more and more often and you'll naturally be able to start upping your pace.  So slow down and break through that mental barrier!!!


Motivational Quote of the Week:

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

T.S. Eliot

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

(Runners and coaches, please feel free to offer more input and/or feedback on these Coach's Corner posts.)

Rock n Roll Dallas Race Recap

Saturday night I got everything laid out and ready to go...  I broke a couple of rules... new shirt (thanks to the uber-quick service of Andrea at Running Chics) and new skirt. 

I had PR on the brain.  I have never been so focused on a PR.  I mean, I got a little crazy last night...  I relaxed with a little Foot Therapy, and I did a one mile walk (slowly) on the treadmill while visualizing the PR of the next day.  Yeah, I never do that kind of stuff.  I was weirdly focused.

Up at 5am and drove to the finish line (yes, finish).  We got on the good ol' school bus for a trip to the starting line.  Note... I'm 5'11" and 99% of my height is between my hip and my knee... so this is what happened:

My knees were beyond squished.  I had to raise them high.  Seriously, the space between the seats was about 4 inches short of fitting my legs.  And the trip felt a little like Survivor... being dropped off miles from your car, and you have to find your way back.

But finally to the start.  A photo with the group...

Let me introduce you from left to right... On the left we have Monica.  Monica is a friend of mine that I have been helping to coach.  Today was her first half marathon!!!  Next is Elaine, of course, my race buddy.  Love cheering her on.  Next is another Monika!  Monika used to be a co-worker, and finally headed to my side of town for a race.  With her is "Flat Tom".  Tom is a friend of hers deployed to Iraq that was supposed to run the race.  She carried his face on a stick the entire race.  Then me, of course.  And on the right, the amazing and fabulous Robin who, once again, agreed to pace me... buuuuuut only if I agreed to go hard and try to PR.

The start in downtown Dallas...

Robin is all smiles before she begins torturing me...

(For the record, Robin hates having her photo taken, but I love this photo because when she smiles, it's infectious!)

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders were at the start, so we had to get Flat Tom's picture!

It has been in the 80s here, but the morning of the race it dropped to 50 degrees.  Which meant I was a little cold waiting for the start, but hello - could there be a more perfect race temperature?  I think not.

And we were off.  The plan... to run 10:15ish at the start and then 10s the rest of the way.  The goal... 2:14:59.  Actually a 2:15:29 would have made me happy (my PR from Oct 2010 was 2:15:30).  The "probably not possible, but would really rock" goal was 2:11.  I knew that wasn't likely, because even if I hit 10 min/mile, unless the course was the perfect length, I wouldn't hit 2:11.  Anyhow... back to the story.

I call Robin a "passive" pacer.  She doesn't vocally try to get you to go faster... she just barely runs at your front corner so you feel like you are constantly chasing her... and if you say "slow down", she pretends as if she didn't know how fast she was going.  Yeah, I have her sneaky number.  (Seriously, she's the best pacer ever...)  The main quality that Robin possesses is that in all seriousness, she believes in what I'm capable of more than I do.  She knows when to push and when to let me pull back a little.

Anyhow... with the typical excitement, we went out of the gate a smidge above the plan...

mile 1  9:56

mile 2  10:03

mile 3  10:01

What happened to that 10:15 plan?  But I felt good, so I just kept trucking along.  The course was a gradual uphill the first 7.5 miles and gradual downhill the rest.  Sure, there were slight ups and downs in between... in the grand scheme of things the course was pretty flat.

mile 4  9:58

This was the only point I walked... for literally, less than 5 seconds, to get a swig of Cytomax from the second aid station.  I didn't like it, and since I was carrying my handheld, I never stopped again.

Not long after this I saw Karen (Jason's wife) stopped for a potty break and not 0.25 miles later I saw Jason wearing his El Fuego's (yeah, you didn't think I'd miss those, did you???) cheering us on.  Thanks you so much Jason!!! 

mile 5  10:02

My fabulous friend, Jenn (who was supposed to run this race but has been injured) was waiting to cheer us on and grab some photos.  Excuse the crazy looks.  As you know, this was an all out effort for me... so I couldn't match Robin's relaxed cheerfulness!

mile 6  10:16

We were pretty consistent, and honestly, not sure how mile 6 got 16 seconds off.  Can't recall anything in there that was unusual.  Our pacing was a little messy since a lot of underpasses and between buildings killed our satellite reception.

mile 7  9:59

I remember at mile 7.5 struggling just a little on the last small hill and wondering if I could really keep this up.  Mind you, this entire time, I'm telling Robin that I do NOT want to go sub-10s until after mile 10.  If I feel good after mile 10, THEN we can push harder.  And at this point, I was starting to doubt how I'd feel.  BUT I was ridiculously focused on that PR, and I was mentally prepared to push through pain if I had to.

mile 8  9:55

mile 9  9:47

Um, where did that "no sub-10 until mile 10" rule go?  At this point, we were over the last hump and I was feeling pretty decent, so I stopped studying my Garmin and let Robin lead me.  She'd occassionally ask "do you know our pace?"  (She knew, she was looking at her Garmin.) And I would repeat "I don't want to know, because if I see it, I'll want to slow down."  I knew I was sub-10.

Let's sidebar for a bit... my half marathon PR was 2:15:30.  That's a pace of 10:21 min/mile, and it was under perfect conditions and a real struggle.  I have tried 4 times to see what I could do up against that PR and still couldn't break 2:18.  Now all of a sudden, I'm on mile 9 and going sub-10s...

mile 10  9:42

Somewhere around here, I saw Jason again.  I gave him the thumbs up that I was on pace, and he gave me the cheers I needed.  And then...

I'm feeling good and this lady starts to pull her car out of her driveway right into the middle of the race course.  WHAT???  I yelled at her and said "You can't do that."  She said something like "but I can't get out of my driveway."  To which I responded in a completely understanding way with "I don't care."  People started yelling "car car" and signalling for people to move.  I refused (I wanted my PR and she was not going to make me expend one ounce of extra energy).  I ran right in front of that car until a guy finally signalled her to turn down the next street.  (Seriously... she was considering driving FURTHER down the course cause that's not where she wanted to turn.)

mile 11  9:30

Starting at 11.5 is where the final struggle started.  The last 1.5, I couldn't even understand what Robin was saying to me.  She was still happy and telling stories, and I was busy struggling to breathe.  So I would just nod my head as if I understood what she said when really, I was convincing myself not to pass out considering I was now running the last miles of a half marathon at below my 10k PR pace (and I almost threw up after setting that 10k PR).

mile 12  9:34

This is where Robin told me this was my chance to beat her across the finish line... but if I was going to cross first, I had to earn it.  I raised my eyebrows questioning what I had left.  And she just told me as long as I sped up a little and didn't slow, I earned it.  (Thank you Robin, for making me earn it.)

mile 13 9:23

last 0.14  8:12 pace

Remember my goals?  2:14:59 was a great day, 2:11 would be an absolutely amazing day... and I crossed in 2:09:17 (chip time).  Seriously?  Who was this girl?  Where has she been?  I was ridiculously emotional at the finish line and hyperventilating.  I struggled to catch my breath, but finally did.  Shew. 

After getting out of my stuper, we started a slow walk back to find Monica.  Based on her long runs, I had set a goal for her of 13 min/miles.  Robin and I started walking back.  We found Robin's husband hanging around the Longhorn band with her two girls.  Both of our families are huge UT fans, so I took a photo of Robin's girls with the band.

Then we continued walking the course backwards until we found Jenn around mile 12.8.  We stopped and watch for a bit with her... I saw Elaine looking strong... and then Libby looking great. 

Right as I decided to walk a little further along the course, Robin spotted Monica.  I was not expecting her yet... wow... she was still trucking along.  So we turned and started running with her (I should've had my Garmin on tracking the extra run).  It was hard to run outside the fence and through the crowds, but we kept up and cheered her on.  She finished in 2:44:57.  WOW!!!  First half marathon and with a long run pace of about 13:30-13:45 min/mile, she just totally blew it out of the water with 12:35 min/mile pace.  I got emotional all over again and was so happy for her (you should've seen her husband beaming with pride). 

 Monica, Robin, and Me

 Monica and Me

A great day for all! 

 

I know this is the longest race report ever, but I wanted to mention that I absolutely loved this course.  And while the ribbon was kind of dinky, the medal was pretty cool.  And thanks to Aimee (who I FINALLY got to meet after finishing right near each other for several races but never actually crossing paths) for figuring out it is supposed to be the Ferris Wheel at the State Fair where the race ended.  I was clueless. 

I thought the signage at both the start and the finish was lacking.  We had trouble finding bag check both times.  There was plenty of water and snacks at the finish (and the aid stations on the course all looked well stocked and staffed, though I didn't use them).  There were plenty of potties both at the start (never had to wait in a line... when does that happen?) and on the course.

I loved having the bands along the course... they seemed to come at just the right time (although I'm convinced Robin picked up the pace everytime we passed one).  And I thought it was uber-cool to have the UT Longhorn band at the last quarter mile.

All-in-all I think it was a well-done race, and I will be running it again next year since I registered at the expo for $65 (I do think the full price $100 fee is a bit steep).  And you can bet it'll be in my sites as a PR course again next year.

Week 7 Marathon Training Plan

Half marathon re-cap coming soon, I promise.  The Garmin site has been up and down the last 2 days, and I really wanted to include my splits in the post.

Week 6 Recap:
Monday - 3 - Completed - Plus 1 hour of bodyworks class.
Tuesday - 8 - Completed - Plus 0.25 walking warm up/cool down.
Wednesday - 4 - Completed - Plus 0.5 walking warm up/cool down.
Thursday - 9 - Completed - Plus 0.5 walking warm up/cool down.

Friday - Off - Completed and enjoyed!
Saturday - Off - Walked 1 slow mile because my legs were restless.
Sunday - 13.1 (Rock n Roll Dallas) - Um, yeah, completed... report coming...

Feeling good.  Maintained my weight loss from the last week.  Still injury-free. 

Worries for next week - the 20-miler... gotta figure out when and where and what will happen with my kidlets.  Hmmmm... time to plan!!!

Week 7 Schedule:

Monday - 3
Tuesday - 8
Wednesday - 5
Thursday - 9
Friday - Off
Saturday - 20
Sunday - Off

Half #11 Coming Tomorrow

First, I am the worst blogger... I went to a huge expo, then had some blogger buddies over to my house for snacks on Friday, and guess what?  I took absolutely ZERO photos.  Did I forget my crazy photo-happy hands?  Not sure what the deal was, but I had fun at both.  At the expo, I remembered why I like to go on Friday... my feet were tired, and I put too many crazy bar samples in my mouth.  Not a recipe for a good pre-race day.

So today was all about taking it easy.  I did have one event to go to... a 2-year-old birthday party.  Not the ideal place for a pre-race meal.  BUT the mom of that 2-year-old happens to be one of my running buddies (although currently injured).  I pleasantly surprised when she made PASTA to serve at the party.  Hello?  Seriously?  She knew I had this race on Sunday, and I don't think she could've lined up a better meal. 

My kids have now been happily delivered to grandpa, and I am minutes away from heading to my bed and keeping my feet up because tomorrow is a race day.  But I had to come post so that tomorrow when I feel like quitting, I will know that you all are waiting for my report.  And despite this being my eleventh half... I can almost guarantee that there will be at least one moment tomorrow where stopping crosses my mind as an option.  Tomorrow, I'm going for the elusive PR.  For me, that's difficult.  My PR was set of a very flat course in nearly perfect weather conditions on a course that was exactly 13.1 miles (how many halves measure out that closely?).  I have had 4 half marathons between then and now and cannot seem to catch that 2:15.  I am determined tomorrow to push to the point of pain and then push through it.  I have my speedy pacer lined up to help motivate me, and she has a nice steady pace planned for me with a slightly slower first 2-3 miles.  I want that PR.

Cupcake Marathon Recap!

Friend and fellow blogger, Jason, came up with the most brilliant idea... a virtual Cupcake Marathon.  You had 2 weeks to get in your mileage (did not have to be all at once), and you could pick the half marathon or full marathon distance.  Not one to back down from a challenge, and always one to take on a race (and uh, especially one that has cupcakes for prizes) I was all in.  I chose the full marathon distance, and in line with my already planned training, I chose to complete the marathon in two runs... 8.2 miles on Thursday and 18 miles on Saturday. 

On Tuesday of last week, I woke up with an awful headcold.  Being the stubborn person I am, I just kept to my running plan.  I discovered that running did not make me feel better, but it didn't make me feel worse either.  So I loaded up on the water and got some tissues, and did the miles.  Thursday was the planned part 1 of 2 for the Cupcake Marathon.  It was done on the lovely gym treadmill.  I still wasn't feeling well, but sweat through all 8.2 miles in 90 minutes.  So I kept to my typical, consistent training pace of 11 minutes/mile.

I am in a veggie co-op, and it was my turn to shop for the group on Saturday.  So I got up at 4:45 am to get to the Dallas Farmer's market.  By time I shopped for the veggies and got home and sorted with my veggie partner, it was about 7:30am.  So I changed into running clothes and was out the door by 7:45am to head to the lake. 

This run served as a reminder that you need to prep for a long run just like you would for a race.  I take better care of myself in prepping for 13.1 miles than I did in prepping for this 18 mile run.  I didn't get in enough carbs, I didn't lower my fat, and I was borderline dehydrated (helped by the fact that I had been sick all week).  Regardless, I was going to get my miles in!

I ran the first lap with my friend, Emily.  She needed to get in 9 miles for her upcoming half marathon.  It's about 9 miles around the lake, so she was going to make the first loop with me and then head home.  I knew it would be a long hard day coming off an illness and considering the warm weather and wind, yet again.  I was perfectly happy going a little easy the first loop, so that's what we did. 

As usual, I stopped after loop 1 to go to my van and gulp some Gatorade.  Yummy.  As I was gulping, I see a gold van pull up... Hmmmm, I know that van.  I peeked around the corner and saw Robin!  I couldn't believe it.  What are the chances that Robin would show up right then while I was stopped between loops?  Of course, we headed out together (Robin is amazing to always be willing to slow down for me).  We headed out a little hard.  I had been running slower, so I felt good, but the reality is that I still had 9 miles already on my legs.  After about 3 miles, I started to really feel the difference in pace.  After about 5 miles (14 miles total), I started to really hurt (and my sinuses were still really hurting me).  I asked Robin to go on, and I decided to take a walk break.  I hated to have to do it, but it turned out to be a good decision.  After about 1/2 mile of walking, I went back to running.  And wow, I still had it left in my legs.  I had no issue pushing out the last 3.5 miles, and actually ended up running them faster than I had ran the previous miles.  No clue where that came from, but it was done... 18 miles.

And the Cupcake Marathon is complete!!!  I wasn't really going for time, but the total was 5 hrs and 8 min.  Can I consider that a 4 minute PR?  OK, maybe it doesn't count. 

Now, Jason?  Show me the CUPCAKES!!!

Coach's Corner

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

First, and most importantly... one of my runners will be running her first half marathon this Sunday at the Rock 'n Roll Dallas Half Marathon.  She has been really dedicated.  She did a ton of training completely solo while trying to work around her husband's crazy work schedule and finding a way to get her 3 kids taken care.  She put in the miles.  I am so incredibly proud of the work she has put in, and I'm thrilled that I will get to be there when she finishes on Sunday.  So please, send your well wishes for Monica to have a great 13.1 run on Sunday!

Question of the week: What should I carry during the race?
Answer:  Just to cover all the bases… first, plan for the time between arriving and race start.  If you eat at 5am and the race starts at 8am, you will be hungry and thirsty before you even start.  So plan for that.  Bring along a small energy bar or banana and a bottle of water.  For during a race, just remember, the most important thing to have is yourself!  Sure, there are things that are nice to have with you, but ultimately, it’s you and the road (or trail).  But things I think you should carry while running a race are – an ID (or at the very least, fill in the emergency info on the back of your bib), any nutrition you might need during the race (GU, chomps, gummy bears, whatever), water and/or sports drink (I don’t carry water if the temperature is somewhat cool, and I have history with the race and know how often the water stops are), and I also like to carry chapstick (or similar), sometimes tissues, and usually my phone (in case I need to find someone post-race… I do not use a phone during the race… distractions can be dangerous).   (A race checklist can be found on my blog here.)


Tip of the week: Race Hydration!

Since I mentioned it above, I thought I would expand here. There are two things that have to happen in order for me NOT to carry water – the weather has to be somewhat cool AND I have to have history with the race and know how the water stops are. I can share a couple of stories about races with water stops planned that didn’t exist and another race in the 100 degree Texas summer where they ran out of water by mile 3. In the case of water, my motto is better safe than sorry. For me, personally, I tend to carry water in a Nathan handheld. 

I usually take whatever sports drink is offered on the course at every other stop. Others are very sensitive to some sports drinks and prefer others, so they carry them along. There are tons of different hydration belts. Some people love them, others find them bulky and clunky. You have to find what works for you. And how much you can handle carrying and by what method. There are also camelbacks. You might not be able to carry all the liquid you need, but you should be able to carry enough to quench your thirst between stops or if there’s an issue.

Camelbak

iFitness Hydration Belt

Fuelbelt

Motivational Quote of the Week:

In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that.

Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

 

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

(Runners and coaches, please feel free to offer more input and/or feedback on these Coach's Corner posts.)

Week 6 Marathon Training Plan AND Running Chics Winner

My mother has been in town, thus I haven't been on the computer... and thus, once again, I have fallen behind with my blog.  I posted more while I was on vacation.  But I'm getting back into the swing of things.  Mom heads out on Wednesday morning, I have a bloggy get-together on Friday night, and then the big Rock n Roll Dallas on Sunday.  Woo-hoo.  (E-mail me if you want to come to the pre-RnR bloggy get together Friday night.)

Week 5 Recap:

Monday - 3 - Completed - I actually went 5.  I was in a grumpy mood and needed to run it off.  But I kept it at 4 miles at a very easy pace, and then walked 1.  No bodyworks this Monday because it was the start of Spring Break, and I can't take all 3 kiddos to the gym.


Tuesday - 8 - Completed - I was starting to feel really sick, but I ran anyway (maybe this is why I was grumpy Monday).  Major sinus head cold.  Anyhow, the running didn't make it feel worse, so I turned on a Netflix movie and got in my miles.

Wednesday - 4 - Completed - Ran 4, Walked 1.  Still under the weather a bit.

Thursday - 8 - Completed - Actually ran 8.2 (as part of the Cupcake Marathon... report coming!)

Friday - Off  - Completed and Enjoyed

Saturday - 18 - Completed - Finished off the Cupcake Marathon.  Not my finest run, but I got through it, and still 2 1/2 months out from the marathon.

Sunday - Off - Completed (Was surprisingly not sore after the 18-miler.)


Week 6 Schedule:

Monday - 3
Tuesday - 8
Wednesday - 4
Thursday - 9
Friday - Off
Saturday - Off
Sunday - 13.1 (Rock n Roll Dallas)

As for the weight loss goal... it's going amazingly well.  I'm already down 8 lbs with only 2 more to go for my June 5 goal.  But 12 more to go for my ultimate goal.  The key, for me, has been tracking calories.  And, for the record, I hate tracking calories.  Always said I'd never do it... but shockingly, it works!

The winner of the Running Chics giveaway according to random.org is ALLISON of Just Tri and Finish.  Congrats Allison!!!  Can't wait to see what you pick out!!!  Will it be running?  Or cycling?  Or swimming?  For those that didn't win, please check out Running Chics online.  They really do have exceptional customer service and unique products!  I really need one of their performance shirts.

Dash Down Greenville Plus Thirteen

This past Saturday, I had signed up to run the Dash Down Greenville.  I was super excited to get to this 5k and pace a friend that I had been coaching, Holly, for her first 5k.  Plus, by my estimation, we'd be able to keep about the same pace that my friend, Emily, would need for her PR (and by pure coincidence Holly and Emily also know one another via other means).  Also running with us, was Emily's brother, Caleb, who was also on his way to his first 5k.  I love to see the running family growing!!!

(Thank you Jill for suggesting my Princess shirt with my lime tattoo skirt.  LOVED the combo.)

We saw some great outfits at the starting line, but my favorite were these guys:

Their shirts were hilarious... especially the guy on the end whose shirt says "Running Sucks."  I'm sure they thought I was nuts when I asked to take a photo with them for my blog.

Not long after that, we smooshed our way up through the crowd a bit.  As with many fun runs, runner etiquette was kind of out the door.  I saw strollers lined up toward the front of the extremely crowded starting area.  I was determined to start in front of them, even if I was slower.  It was way too crowded to deal with tripping over large strollers.  And again with the people in jeans.  Cotton, I can understand... but jeans just sounds like a bad chafe waiting to happen. 

Anyhow, the temp was perfect and finally the gun sounded.  We were off!  It took us about half a mile to navigate the crowd and find our pace because I didn't want anyone wasting their energy on weaving in and out of crowds.  But we found that pace and hit it just right (the goal was 11:00 min/mile).  First mile 10:55.  Second mile had a decent incline in it and Emily's brother started to pull away.  We let him go and kept it steady up the hill and clocked mile 2 at 11:00.  This is about where I also got to see the lovely Karen (Jason's wife), as she passed me.  A nice boost to see a friendly face.

Right as we started mile 3, I could see the look on Holly's face started to signal discomfort.  I probably talked too much, but I told her she had to stick with me one more mile.  I remember telling her that in 10 minutes, it would all be over.  I could tell the tone had changed because no one would respond when I talked anymore... hmmmm... but they stuck with it.  Then we hit a final incline about 0.3 from the finish.  Emily took about 3 walking steps, and I turned to her and said "not now... almost there... your PR is less than 4 minutes away."   Not only did she start running again, she took off... and I followed, trying to help Holly along to finish out her first 5k.  Mile 3 clocked in at 10:38!!!  Amazing.  Seriously, beaming with pride for Emily and Holly.  And immediately we could see the finish line, and they both pulled out a final kick and cruised through the finish line for a 33:31 and 33:34 finish!  10:50 average pace.  A 40 second PR for Emily and a respectable first 5k for Holly!  (Caleb ended up finishing about 40 seconds ahead of us.)

I wish I had more pictures, but I did what everyone does after a 5k, and headed straight to the lake for 13 miles to finish out my planned 16 mile day.  I got to the lake and Robin was waiting there for me (I know, I have rockin' friends) to run the remaining 13 with me.  The run started nice... we kept a steady 11 min pace.  And then... it started to get hot... and the wind started to get really bad like last weekend.  30mph gusts on the lake is no fun.  Already by 6, I was feeling whipped.  Around 7 or 8, I saw this burst of energy coming the other direction shouting my name.  It was Jason with a huge high five.  It was really odd seeing both him and his wife in the same day at different places.  But anyway, it was just the burst of motivation I needed.  Just past mile 9, I took a quick stop at my car to chug some gatorade.  Then we carried on... we kept trying to discuss at what mileage we would turn around and I'm certain our heads were in a fog.  I'm a math girl, and all of a sudden the calculations weren't making any sense.

By 11 miles, I felt nauseous and dizzy and altogether awful.  By 12 miles, we turned around to head back.  By 12.5, Robin felt nauseous and dizzy and suggested we start walking (mind you, Robin can run circles around me, and she never asks to walk, so I knew she felt bad).  I was stubborn though and insisted that somehow my body would make it to the planned 13.  When we hit that 13, though, Robin was bending over and I was not walking a straight line.  I don't know what it was about that day.  We then walked the remaining 1.7 miles to the car.  Not sure what was up that day, but it wasn't our day to feel good... but we still got the miles!  Total for the day was 17.8 miles.

Coach's Corner

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

I didn't forget, I'm just feeling a bit under the weather (no worries, I still got in my 8 miles!).  AND my mom is in town for a visit!  I still have lots to update on my blog (I owe you another race report), and I'll do my best to get that in this week.


Question of the week: The week prior to a race, do you continue to train like normal?
Answer: (*Note: This answer assumes you actually want to *race* the distance, and not pace it as a training run.) In the case of a 5k or 10k, likely yes, you’d keep your training fairly normal. If it’s a new distance to you, you might want to consider keeping the intensity and mileage very low for up to 3 days prior. Also remember that even though a 5k might be a shorter distance for some, on race day it’ll still be considered high intensity, so you need to make sure the day prior isn’t also a high intensity day. For a half marathon, usually 7-10 days is considered an appropriate taper. While you will want to pull back your mileage, you will only pull back to about 2-3 weeks prior (i.e. if you ran your 8 mile long run 3 weeks prior, then that might be an appropriate distance to run the week before your half marathon). And for a marathon, the taper can be anywhere from 14-20 days. Again, it can all be very individual.

For those with multiple races on your schedule, you have to consider which race is your *A* race prior to deciding whether or not to taper. For instance, I am currently in marathon-training for a June 5 marathon. Even though I have a half-marathon in two weeks, I will still be running 18 miles this weekend. My focus is on the marathon. It might mean that I can’t run my absolute best at the half marathon (although I still intend to try), but I am keeping my distances in line with my ultimate race goal.


Tip of the week: NSAIDs!

NSAIDs = Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (i.e. Advil, Motrin, Aleve, etc)

This came up within the last week, and I just wanted to go ahead and address it.  But I’m not going to re-invent the wheel so I will just point you to *this article* that covers the bases.

With that said, I do NOT recommend ever taking NSAIDs prior to a run. If you’re in enough pain that you insist on needing them, you would probably be better taking the day off.


Motivational Quote of the Week:

Good things come slow - especially in distance running.

Bill Dellinger, Oregon Coach

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

(Runners and coaches, please feel free to offer more input and/or feedback on these Coach's Corner posts.)

Running Chics Review and Giveaway

If you've never visited Running Chics before, you should.  Their online selection of apparel is fun, fresh, and athlete-friendly.  Despite being a runner, my first interaction with Running Chics was when I decided to purchase a "Tennis Chics" shirt for my daughter Lily.  Lily only had summer tennis clothes and when the weather got a bit chillier, I wanted her to have something fun to wear.

Isn't this shirt adorable?  Lily loves wearing it with leggings.  But the best part about getting this shirt?  The customer service at Running Chics was amazing.  First of all, if you checked the site, you'd notice that there are no kid sizes in the tennis chics logo.  I asked Andrea, co-owner of Running Chics, if she could make one, she jumped right on it.  She sent me selections of possible shirts, and we worked from there.  Bam!  Huge points for how flexible and easy to work with they are.  Then the kicker, the shirt came in from the printer.  It was a pink shirt and the white logo didn't show up well.  Immediately Andrea and the Running Chics team jumped right on it to replace the shirt with something that worked better.  Seriously,  if you have a positive customer service experience somewhere, you want to shout from the rooftops.  It's getting more and more rare for companies to really put the customer first, but Running Chics does.  I know, I've gotten off-topic a little, but it's definitely an important aspect.

A few months later, Running Chics introduced their new Spring Items.  Super fun and cute items.  I was sent this awesome shirt to review:

First of all, I'm kind of borderline on sizes.  I wear a medium in some things and a large in others.  This is a medium, and I probably should have gotten a large.  The shirt is uber-soft and comfortable.  The "Running Chics" design is adorable, but subtle.  It makes for a very fashionable shirt to put on with a pair of jeans.  I did find the shirt to be thin, and would probably be more comfortable with a tank or other shirt layered underneath it.

I love that Running Chics also carries Performance Wear.    That adorable hoodie is probably the next item on my wishlist.  Really cute.  Not a runner?  They also carry swimming, cycling, cheering, and tennis chics.  (I know a few people who will probably have that cycling chic shirt on their wishlist!)

All in all... fun products.  Good quality.  Excellent customer service.

Would you like to own a t-shirt from Running Chics?  Andrea has offered a shirt to one lucky reader.

To enter: (Separate comments for EACH entry please.)
Mandatory - You must be a follower of my blog. - Leave me a comment.
+1 - Become a fan of the Running Chics facebook page and tell them I sent you.  - Leave me a comment.
+1 - Go to the Running Chics website and tell me what you like.
+1 - Spread the word on your blog, facebook, and/or twitter.  - Leave me a comment.
Bonus +1 - Ask me a question that I can answer in a future blog post.

Giveaway winner will be chosen on March 21st at 10am central.

*Note:  The Tennis Chic shirt was purchased by me.  The Running Chic shirt was supplied to me for the purposes of a review.  No other compensation was given.  I was not obligated to write a positive review.  The opinions expressed are my own.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Report

I know you were wondering if I would let a month pass before actually writing up a race report.  It's been just over 2 weeks... honestly, I spent an hour just narrowing down the 150+ photos to 25, and even that many is probably too many for the post! 

Anyhow, for once, other than lots of fun pictures, I don't have a huge detailed report of the race.  This race wasn't about me, it was about getting Ronda to her first half marathon finish. 

After 5 days walking around Disney, I decided to crash at Ronda's hotel the night before so we could take the shuttle together to the race (I wasn't at a host hotel AND it made it easier to not have to try to find each other in that huge crowd).  The alarm went off at 2-stinkin-am.  And RR insisted we have sparkly eyes... mine turned out looking like a bad case of pink-eye.

We were on the shuttle bus around 3:15am.  And to the race site by about 4am.  On a quick trip to the porta-potty, we ran into Lucy!  Lucy was running her first half marathon after losing over 200 lbs.  Wow!

Not long after that, we headed toward the starting corrals (which was an incredibly long walk).  We were in our corral (B) and just hanging out bored by 5am.  I was people-watching to see if I recognized any bloggers.  We met Giraffy briefly since she had to give something to RR.  And then I spotted Katye.  (RR did not get the Snow White memo.)

Katye stayed up with us through the start (even though I know those legs of hers would be leaving us in the dust).  Our corral started at 5:53am.  We were off.  Did I mention it was hot and very humid.  The first 2 miles just felt miserable.  It was a slight uphill, but the humidity was draining for some reason, and neither of us felt particularly good.  By mile 4, we decided to change our game plan of staying at a certain pace and just enjoy every moment... and that's exactly what we did.  We spent 15-20 minutes of our half marathon waiting in line or taking photos with characters.  Our first stop:

I insisted on this stop:

Then we started to have fun with the photos and got a little wacky!

Gotta make a Toy Story stop!

And Aladdin:

and then totally craziness ensued as we stole Belle's men... she looks like she could care less!

I have to include this next one because, well, Tico was doing something with his hand... not sure what... but it just isn't right.  Poccahantas would not approve.  Bad Tico!

Next was the most ridiculous moment.  I wanted to sit on the rock with Prince Eric because the Little Mermaid is Paige's favorite.  But he wouldn't shush it.  He pointed at my GU and asked if it was candy.  No, Eric, it isn't.  Then he wanted to know what it tasted like.  The whole time I was thinking "HUSH IT".  I didn't want to be in the middle of a sentence when the photo snapped.  Duh, Prince Eric.

Now you might interpret this next photo as a nice picture of the crowd of running princesses... but the truth is that this was Ronda's way of taking a break after the big hill.  I kept telling her I had a "no puking" rule and she had been light-headed for about a mile.

Some more characters after the hill...

By this point, I was pulling out my tricks with Ronda... from my "no puking rule" to reminding her that her mommy was at the finish to quoting her favorite - Prefontaine.  Not only was this her first half, but the day before she left, she was in the snow in Oregon and now we were in the heat and humidity.  That can really zap you fast.  I could completely understand how she was feeling, but I also knew the only cure was the finish line!!! For the last mile, it was slow and steady!

The end is just around the corner!!!

Loved seeing all the medals hanging there at the finish.  It looked so cool.

All done!  Congrats Ronda, you're a half-marathoner!!!  Most fun I've had in a race, EVER.  Seriously.  So glad we decided to just enjoy it.  I will definitely remember this one for a long, long time.  It was amazing!  You should put a Disney race on your to-do list at least once in your racing career.

I felt so good after the relaxing pace with the stops, that I went straight back to the hotel, took a quick 10 minute rinse, and walked right back out the door to take the kids to Magic Kingdom!

Week 5 Marathon Training Plan

First of all, no I didn't fall off the face of the planet... I'm here, and I have a lot of posts to catch up on.

Week 4 Recap:

Monday - 3 - Completed - Walked 1, Bodyworks class for an hour, then ran 3 (last mile at an 8:51 pace which is 5k pace and very difficult for me).

Tuesday - 7 - Completed, but late - Two very sick girls woke up in my house Tuesday.  So between doctor visits and fevered baby cuddling... the run didn't happen, so I moved it to Wednesday.  First thing Wednesday morning I ran 7 and walked 1.

Wednesday - 4 - Completed, but late - Since Tuesday's workout moved to Wednesday, this moved to Thursday.  I got in my 4 miles Thursday morning.

Thursday - 8 - Missed - Since Wednesday shifted to Thursday, this would shift to Friday, BUT the long run is the most important run of the week, and I didn't want to jeopardize my long run by doing an 8-miler the day before.  I know some people can, but 8 with 16 the next day is not in my reportoire!

Friday - Off - Completed

Saturday - 16 - Completed - Wow... sweet misery.  The day started off with a 5k, where I was pacing a couple of friends.  Then I went straight to the lake to finish the long run.  I contemplated doing the full 16 at the lake instead of just the 13 I had remaining after the 5k, but my body was clearly having an off day.  More details in a future post!  But it was done.  Total for the day 16.1 miles running, 1.7 miles walking.

Sunday - Off - Completed


Week 5 Schedule:
Monday - 3
Tuesday - 8
Wednesday - 3
Thursday - 8
Friday - Off
Saturday - 18
Sunday - Off
 
As has been the theme lately, this week will be challenged by the fact that it's spring break and I have all the kidlets home AND my mom is flying in early tomorrow morning for a visit!

Dreadmill Entertainment

When I run outside, I go music-free.  I enjoy the silence, unless of course I can indulge in some adult conversation.  At the gym, on the treadmill, despite there being TVs, I rarely watch, I usually just go and maybe do some people watching.  Again, I will definitely forego the silence if there's some adult conversation to be had.  But at home, when I'm stuck in my little room on my hamster wheel, for some reason I have a lot more trouble getting in the zone.  I usually put in a movie while I run. 

Yesterday, since both girls were stuck home sick, I hit the home treadmill.  I put in a movie to watch, looked at the plan, and went for it.  I was really pleased when I saw this:

Oh yeah, nothing better than seeing the credits of a movie roll before you finish your run.  It was a victorious feeling.  Like I conquered the home treadmill, which is admittedly, the hardest place for me to run mentally (and not because of the treadmill factor, because I actually am really attached to the gym treadmill).  Something about the house and distractions and zero accountability (you don't want to be the chick at the gym who hops off after 10 minutes).  But unbelievably yesterday, both sick girls left me alone for a full 8 miles.  No stops to take a 2 year old to potty, no stops because someone was hungry, no doorbells ringing, etc.

Today I had a shorter run planned... 4 miles, and again I decided to run at home.  Paige was home but Lily went to school, so when Paige is alone, she's a lot less likely to stay put... so today, my treadmill entertainment was this:

Oh yeah... listen to that for 45 minutes while trying to control your breathing.  But it did help that Paige was right next to me.  Because she was right there, she was less likely to run in and ask me to "come here" for some catastrophe.  So I made it through a couple days stuck home and maintained motivation!  Shew!!!

So what do *you* do to keep yourself going while you run?  Do you enjoy silence?  Are you an iPod fan?  Or do you watch NCIS every night (like TMB)?

Avoiding the ABCs is Futile

I saw the ABCs and thought "nah"... then I saw more ABCs... and now, pretty much, you live in loser-ville if you haven't published your ABCs (yes, that means if you're in the 0.000001% that hasn't, you should go do it now).  So here are mine:

(A) Age: 35 (And I never lie about it... I hope that someday people say "no way, really?")
(B) Bed Size: King (my husband didn't want a bed that big, but nothing is better than having all my kids jump in bed with me on a lazy morning - even though that is really rare!)
(C) Chore You Hate: Anything in the bathroom... ick (and cleaning chemicals make me gag).  And I hate folding laundry.
(D) Dogs?: No. 
(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Hugs from my kidlets.
(F) Favorite Color: Red, maybe pink... (for most of my life it was purple... so much that in college there were people who didn't know my name and referred to me as "that purple girl".)
(G) Gold or Silver?:  Silver. 
(H) Height: 5'11"
(I) Instruments You Play: Played the saxophone in middle and high school.
(J) Job Title: Mommy, Coach, Jewelry Designer
(K) Kids: Patrick (8), Lily (6), and Paige (2)
(L) Live: Garland, TX (just outside of Dallas)
(M) Mom's Name: Linda
(N) Nicknames: Legsley, Legs, L-cubed, LL-Cool J
(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? 3 babies! 
(P) Pet Peeve:  Lateness and selfishness.
(Q) Quote from a Movie:   "I'm blind." - Weekend at Bernie's.  "Bare essentials." - Dumb and Dumber.  Anything from Office Space.
(R) Right or Left Handed? Right.
(S) Siblings: Older brother (Tri4Success)
(T) Time You Wake Up? 6:30.  But it'll be earlier in the summer when I need to beat the heat with my runs.
(U) Underwear: Yes. 
(V) Vegetable You Dislike: Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms.  (This list used to be really long.)
(W) What Makes You Run Late: It's rare, but it's usually either an unexpected child mishap or traffic!
(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: Both wrists and my knee.
(Y) Yummy Food You Make: Chicken enchiladas, Mascarpone pie, and a lot of other things... I love to cook!!!
(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Giraffe!

Coach's Corner

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

I hope you didn't think I forgot.  Feeling like a last-minute Nelly these days.  Both my girls are sick.  Since they share a room, I wasn't really surprised at the two-for-one.  But what did surprise me is that they both tested positive... for DIFFERENT illnesses.  Lily has the flu.  Paige has strep.  Good news is, they can go ahead and treat Lily for strep too since she'll likely get it.  Bad news is, they can't treat for flu if she doesn't have it, so as soon as Paige gets better from strep, she might be coming down with the flu.  Praying that doesn't happen.  And I have ordered Patrick to stay away, and have instituted a "no breathing, sneezing, or coughing on mommy" rule.  Stay healthy out there folks! 

But I know that some of us haven't been healthy... or have had life issues that are out of our control... or pains, injuries, etc... or maybe travel.  Just remember that training plans are fluid. They are not set in stone and missing a run or even a week of runs is not going to ruin things for you. Each day is a new day to start again… so get back to it as soon as you can, even if it’s only for a couple miles.

Question of the week: What's a reasonable expectation when trying to determine your race day pace? Assume a person is looking to set a PR, what margin over the previous best run would be considered a reasonable goal?

Answer: Once again, the answer to this question can be very individual. If it’s your first time racing, and you are truly just looking to complete the race, I suggest you stick to your long run training pace. This will allow you to enjoy the run and finish feeling good (hopefully!). However, if you’re looking to truly race to the best of your potential, I suggest you set aside a time to become friends with the McMillan calculator. Learn it, love it, use it!  BUT, in order to use the calculator, you do have to have a baseline race time. I’d love to just say for you to race at a certain minute/mile less than your training pace, but that’s really a dangerous statement to make in general. I will say that for a 5k, that it’s a reasonable distance to get an initial baseline. Pushing all out for 25-45 minutes is usually more manageable than over a much longer distance. As for establishing new PRs, if there hasn’t been much time lapse, going for even 10 seconds per mile faster can be a huge accomplishment, but everyone is different. Over a year’s time, some might drop 20-30 second per mile while others may be able to pull even 2 or more minutes/mile off their time. There is, unfortunately, a genetic factor at play in your running potential. The improvement curve is greatest over the first 18 months and then tapers off quite dramatically. So basically, I spent all that time not answering the question, because unfortunately, it’s just too individual. But, I will share with you my times so you can see the difference…

My typical training pace is 11 min/mile.
My best half marathon pace is 10:21 min/mile.
My best 15k pace is 10:04 min/mile.
My best 10k pace is 9:37 min/mile.
My best 5k pace is 8:41 min/mile. (FYI, my 5k pace doesn’t fall in line with the typical change between paces for different distances, because my pain threshold for 27 minutes is a lot higher than my pain threshold at longer distances.)

Notice anything, though? I do not train at my race pace, except perhaps when I do speedwork (which you generally only do once a week after you have a good mileage base established). It’s ok to set goals for yourself at faster paces. Be reasonable. Get through one race first, doing your best possible run, and go from there. (*Note: Please do not take my example times as times you think you should achieve if you train at the same pace. Running is very individual. Your competition is only yourself. I only put the times out there to give you an idea of how paces may vary between training vs. racing and between distances.)

Tip of the week: Picking a race.
-Are you going for a PR (personal record)? You might want to avoid races that have the word “Trot” or “Fun” in the title. Often those races will have larger crowds with more inexperienced racers. This means you may get stuck weaving in and out of crowds for awhile which expends a lot of energy. However, these races are great, no pressure races for first-timers… or just for a fun experience near the holidays.
-Size – Do you prefer small crowds or large? Races come in all different sizes. From 50 participants to 50,000 participants. Think about what you prefer. A lot of participants may be intimidating. It also may cause you to start in a later wave, which you’d need to plan for. But larger events often have better crowd support, and you are never alone on the course. If you like the excitement of the crowd and other runners, maybe a medium to larger race is for you (my favorite races seems to be around 2500 participants).
-Course support – Are there plenty of water stops? Water? Gatorade/Powerade? Porta-potties? Medical aid stations?
-Course Route – Does the course go through a boring abandoned desert or through a fun, hip part of town? Is it on the street or on a trail? Is it wide or a really narrow path (which might cause you some gridlock if you’re going for a PR)?
-Elevation – Check the elevation changes over the course. If you don’t like hills, you probably want to make sure you are choosing a somewhat flat course. If you’re looking for a challenge, you might desire a hilly course.
-Swag – Do you like the t-shirt and medal? You might want to check what the race offers. While I love my bling, I also run several races that are zero frills – no shirt, no goodie bag … just a timing chip, a bib, some water, and a banana at the finish.
-Cost – Always important. How much? And what value are you getting for your dollar? The more it costs, the more I expect from the aid stations and race support, as well as the swag!

Motivational Quote of the Week:

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."

PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

Note: I am a newly certified RRCA Running Coach. Everything posted in "Coach's Corner" is my opinion. I am not a doctor or a dietician. As with anything on the internet, take everything with a grain of salt!

(Runners and coaches, please feel free to offer more input and/or feedback on these Coach's Corner posts.)