The Nashville Ultra 50 Mile

Well, it has been a little over a week since the 50 mile, and I'm finally taking a moment to sit down and write about it.  It is almost an overwhelming task, especially when there is a little 15 month old who dismantles the entire study if I linger in it too long.  I've been recovering and I've been a little tired, but this week I'm ready to slowly and gently ease back into it.  While my body wants time to mend, my mind wants to say, "Nnnnnext!" 

First of all, I did it!  It was fun, tough, beautiful, cold, windy, and great.  It was a gorgeous fall day, and I had an amazing crew to see at each aid station starting with my mom and dad.  They went with me to Nashville Friday night and Mom took me to the start that morning.  I ran the first 16 mile loop before coming back to the start line and from there Mom and Dad were at every aid station.

 During the first 16 miles I chatted with other runners and met a lady named Patty.  She and I hung together until mile 23 or so when she turned around to complete the 50k and I kept going.  She was so fun to talk to and running with her made the first half of the race go by so quickly.

Around mile 18 I got a really bad ache in my right knee.  It was my IT band, and it worried me a little because I knew it was WAY to early to be hurting that bad.  I stretched it out a little and when I got to the next aid station I took some Ibuprofen.  I'm not totally sure how I feel about taking it - whether I should have or not, but I didn't have any more trouble with that knee, other than the usual aches and pains that come with running 50 miles, and I didn't have any tummy issues because of it either. 

After I parted ways with Patty, I got a little more focused.  I stuck one ear bud in and listened to some music, laughing a little at the crazy, eclectic mix I'd put on my ipod to entertain myself.  Some songs reminded me of my sister and I growing up so when I'd see Mom at an aid station, I'd pass along a lyric for her to tell Julie, and then Julie would pass along the rest of it back.  It helped to know Mom was posting updates on Facebook and texting with Julie - like it wasn't just me out there but I had the support and strength and courage of my friends and family (and it was SO FUN to get home and read everyone's cheers and encouragement on Facebook when it was all over).

Around mile 29 Jason showed up with Eloise and his mom, Debbie.  Jason joined me for the next 6 miles, which would take me to my turn around point.  It was this loooooong stretch of greenway that just went on and on and on.  It was windy and a short rain shower blew up while we were out there.  It was COLD, but thankfully short.  I was SO glad to have Jason with me for that endless stretch.  By the time we got back to the aid station where he'd joined me, it felt like we'd been gone an eternity.  I ate some chips, took a salt tablet at Jason's prompting and drank red Powerade.  My appetite for anything was slowly leaving, but I knew if I wanted to keep going, I had to keep eating.

Mom joined me for the next 3.5 miles and then Jason joined me for the rest of it.  It was tough.  I was tired.  It felt like the ground was coming up to meet me with hard, pounding force that was worse than a simple footfall.  Jason kept encouraging me to eat and drink, he carried my water bottle and my tiny bag of chips that I'd gotten from an aid station.  I walked on and off, running about a 10 minute pace when I was running.  Just as I knew it would be, miles 30-40 were tough mentally.  I'd run such a long way yet I still had so far to go. Jason and Mom kept my mind off of that and seeing all of them at each aid station re-energized and encouraged me. 

On the way back, just as on the way out there were 3 miles of trails.  These were mostly flat, grassy trails with a few rougher patches, but nothing bad at all.  It was here that I began to pick it up a little and to pass people.  There was a lady in a blue shirt who kept passing me and then I'd pass her, back and forth and to Jason I said, "Let's pretend she started with the 5:00 a.m. group." (This was an optional start time, but the race started at 7:00).  Jason told me I lacked "killer instinct" and I could work on it that very moment. "Do I have to work on it NOW?" I said to which he responded, "You gotta start sometime."  We took her down and I'm not sure I would have if Jason had not been with me.

There was a group of four runners with two guys and two girls who were only wearing sports bras (which made me cold just to see them).  I held them off as long as I could but they passed me in the end and I couldn't do a thing about it.  I could tell by the way they ran that they were feeling stronger than I was.  When we got off the trails, the ground came at me hard once again and I could feel each footfall all the way up my body.  My legs had had enough!

I ran the whole last mile.  I was so excited to have done it!  I met my main goal of finishing under 10 hours, coming in at 9:31 and I was the 12th female out of 38 who ran the 50 mile race.  It was an amazing experience full of strength, emotion, weariness, perseverance, family, support, love, beauty and so many other things.  It was more than just a race, but I can't explain that very well.  It is an experience to be savored long after it is over.  There was almost a grieving period the next few days as I was so sore and a little sad that the journey was over.  Post race blues, I guess.

I had a wonderful time, but I also wanted to feel stronger throughout the race.  I didn't want it to feel as hard as it felt at the end.  While I was strong and I pressed on, I wanted the end result to have been a little better.  So it left me hungry, I guess you could say, whereas I thought it would leave me fulfilled in the conquering of a goal.  But maybe that's what running, racing, training and recovering is about.

Either way, it made me grateful.  Grateful for the desire to do it (which I can't explain).  Grateful for a body that will cooperate.  Grateful for sweet family to support my craziness.  Grateful for friends who cheer me on.  Grateful to God for the whole thing.  I know all good things come from Him and to me, this is a good thing.

C.S. Lewis is quoted to have said, "If one could run without getting tired, I don't think one would often want to do anything else," and I suppose that is my explanation for wanting to do it in the first place and then wanting to do it again and again and again.

A cool picture Mom took at the start.

Eating a chip after an aid station (I did this a lot).

My new friend, Patty.

Jason joins me at mile 30.

Done!

My Return to the Marathon

So when I said my goal for the Southern Tennessee Plunge Marathon was 4:00-4:30, what I meant was I'd like a sub 4:10 first and a 4:15 second and to finish under 4:30 third.  I managed to make that last goal, and I finished the thing in 4:21:12 (chip time).  Here's why:

1.  Lack of long runs.  This would not have saved the day but it would have helped a little.  I ran this marathon on only one 18 miler and while I do not rely solely on long runs as the key to marathon training, I know they have a big place.  Maybe it would have only helped my mind to have another 18 or 20 in there, but I still think I should have made that happen.

2.  HEAT!  I turn into a first class wimp in the heat and this race was no exception ALTHOUGH, I held my wimpiness back as long as I could.  Knowing the inner battle I had out there and how I usually react in hot races, I am actually proud of myself.  There was a strength there that is not always present.

3.  Fueling.  I made the mistake of not reading about the race beforehand and I assumed they'd have Gu or something like it along the course.  I pinned 2 packets to my shorts and those were gone by mile 13.  The aid stations had water, Gatorade and orange slices only, all of which taste delicious during a hot run, but it was not enough to fuel a 4+ hour marathon.

I think all of those factors slowed me down more than I would have liked but on the bright side, I can remedy them fairly easily.  And despite getting tired and worn down toward the end, I had a great time out there.  It was my first marathon in two years, my first since pregnancy and having Eloise.  I was so excited the night before I could hardly calm down to sleep. When race day dawned, I already knew what kind of race it would be but I intended to get out there and do my best, and that goal was accomplished.

This is really a great event.  The course is hilly - nothing steep, but very rolling.  The first 13 miles are along a highway but it is very well marked off so traffic doesn't get too close.  Once runners turn off the highway it is gorgeous country roads until the end when they enter the highway again and then run through neighborhood streets back to downtown Winchester where the race began.  The neighborhood streets can get a little busy with traffic but there was plenty of police/fireman workers along the course to keep it safe for runners. 

At mile 14 I was full of the joy of the run.  There were shady spots and moments of cloud cover, and for a while I believed I could hold on to that feeling.  Not having a Gu soon took its toll though, and it wasn't until mile 20 that a friendly runner offered me his when he heard me ask about it at an aid station.  I fought the bonk until mile 24 and then I had very little fight left.  At that point I coached myself to keeping moving forward and to keep my head up (no slouching or folding in as I am prone to do when tired).  I took walk breaks often in those two miles even though I did not want to.  I was hot and my legs ached.  My Garmin had died at mile 21.93 so it was just me and the mile markers.  No clock, not mileage, no other souls around to commiserate with. 

According to my Garmin, I ran a consistent 9:20-9:30 pace until mile 19.  I slowed to a 10 minute pace for two miles and then an 11 minute pace for two miles and that is all the information I have.  I'm sure I kept slowing and I do not like to finish a marathon that way.  I like to finish strong, picking up my pace as I go, but this day was not going to be like that.

Some other runners from Huntsville who had finished before me cheered me through the finish line and that was nice.  I was so very glad to be done.  Jason and Eloise had also come and it was so good to see them.  I downed two bottles of water and then an iced mocha from a coffee company on the square.  I felt better except for a dull ache in my legs.  We waited for my mom who was also having a rough day out there and once she finished we all headed back to my parents' house for hamburgers, showers and ice cream. 

So there it is.  My first marathon in two years in the books.  It isn't really how I wanted my return to the race to be, but it wasn't all bad either.  It was great, in fact and I was filled with gratefulness to be out there, to be able to finish, and to have such a great family supporting me through my training. Lord willing there will be more marathons to come and more... cooler opportunities to improve upon this performance.

50 Mile Training

I'm in the thick of my training for the Nashville Ultra 50 Mile and so far, so good.  I completed my first post-baby 18 miler last Saturday and it went well, although I might have done a fair amount of whining for the first 11 miles.  I just could not get my head in to the run.  Overall I felt fine though, and I wasn't overly tired the rest of the day.  I was a little creaky Sunday morning but not too bad, so I did an easy 3 miler to keep things loose.

What I know about my training is that I'll be ready for the marathon October 5.  It probably won't be speedy because I haven't worked on pace at all, but I will be able to complete it just fine. What I don't know about my training is if it is enough for a 50 Mile.  I've only done one 50 mile race and it was on trails (the one I'm training for now is on the road).  I can look back and see how I trained for the first one, but I'm pretty sure I didn't often exceed 50 miles per week.  Part of me thinks the key is consistent mileage each week with some longer runs back-to-back, reaching 50-60 mile totals as I can.  I'm trying to balance that with not getting injured and a little weight training.  Enough?  I'm really not sure. 

I'm also balancing my training with being a good mom to Eloise.  I don't want to run myself into the ground and feel too tired to play and sing and read and do all the things we do each day.  I don't want to get too tired and become impatient with her if she gets fussy.  I find myself holding back in my training sometimes because of this. I've tried to very gradually increase my mileage so my body is always ready for it, and I've also tried to stay well fed so I'm not grouchy or running out of energy before its time to lounge on the couch (when Eloise goes to bed each evening, that is where I go!).

This weekend I'm going to dial down the long run just a tad, so I'm going to try to increase my daily mileage a little.  I'm aiming for a longer run of 13-15 miles Saturday, so I may try for some 8-10 milers this week.  If I need to improve an area of my training, I think my weekly runs could use a few more miles.  On Mondays and Wednesdays I usually get in a light double because those evenings I run with my UAH students.  I take walk breaks with them, but it is still time on my feet and energy spent running so I'm counting it in with my training (although I'm not shortening my morning runs with those runs in mind). 

I also plan to do a little reading online - see what else is out there on this whole 50 mile training thing.  I discuss it with Jason, and while he doesn't care for that kind of race himself, he knows a good bit about training, he knows me, and he knows my goal.

Speaking of goal, that is another big question mark.  I'd like to finish around 8:45 (10:30 pace average), but that may be too ambitious for where I am and where I can be by November.  It looks ambitious based on the results of last year's 50 mile finishes, but I have no idea who these other runners are, how they trained, or what they wanted from their 50 mile race, so around 10 hours may be a better goal for me.

So onward I run!  Maybe a little blindly or maybe I'm right on track.  If you have any thoughts, please share!  One thing I really enjoy along with all this running is talking about it!  I like hearing other runner's thoughts on the subject, what they are doing, their training theories and experiences, etc.  For a complete look at how I'm training, visit my Daily Mile profile.

Long Runs, Humidity, and a Good Movie

Three weekends ago I did my first 14 miler in AGES and it was GREAT!  Absolutely perfect!  I had done 8 fast miles the day before and I was a tad nervous, but the weather was absolutely glorious, free of humidity, tasting of fall... glorious.  My friend, Shannon ran most of it with me and I ran the rest solo.

The next weekend I was to run 16.  I was nervous again.  This would be my longest run since finding out Eloise was a teeny tiny little person in my belly.  Two years or more.  But it went well!  The lovely fall weather had left, but it wasn't bad and I finished really strong with my fastest mile of that run being my last (I was giddy over making it and ready to squeeze my baby girl... and for coffee).

This weekend I wanted to do 16 again before I bump up to 18 next weekend.  I was not so nervous since I'd already done it, and my running girls joined me for bits and pieces of it, with my friend, Julia staying with me the entire way.  Never underestimate the power of good company on a long run!  I wanted to quit around mile 14 but Julia and Jan got me through.  It was SO HOT and HUMID!  I felt it more during this run than I have in any of the others and it was tough!  One of the other girls told me next weekend should be better weather-wise and I am hopeful.  Because today was tough and next weekend is 18!

Despite the humidity and a tough finish today, my mind is in a good place with these long runs.  It has been a LONG time since I've run long and I don't know about you, but when it has been so long I start to wonder if I can still do it.  It sounds impossible!  It seems too far!  But somehow it is getting done and I love it.  I'm thrilled and relieved and I feel like I'm returning to the runner I used to be.  Nothing overly impressive, mind you, but a good place for me.

With my marathon approaching October 5, I find myself wondering what goal is reasonable to have for it.  It is being couched into my 50 mile training so I'm not going to do much tapering for it.  I think my B goal will be to finish under 4:30 and my A goal will be the low 4s (4:05ish) and my A++++ goal would be under 4... but I haven't been running like that so its a long shot. 

And let's just say, in the meantime I am LONGING for fall.

In other news, we watched a really good movie last night.  I wasn't so sure at the beginning if I would like it or not, but once it got going, I started to.  It was Silver Linings Playbook and I think it won some awards or something.  Anyway, one of my favorite parts is when they are running and she runs out at him a few times and says, "HEY!" and scares him or startles him.  Then in one scene they argue about the running route and who should be running there and who needed to find another route.  Cracked me up.  It has some language and a few scenes I could do without, but I liked the overall storyline.  Especially the running parts.

My baby is awake and I must go snuggle!  Happy Labor Day weekend, friends!

For Real

It's for real!  I am officially training for a marathon and an ultra.  And none too soon either.  My training plan is a doozie but I think I can manage it.  I have a strong base built with consistent running, so I think my body is ready to increase the mileage.  Each week I have one long run and one short, quicker run planned.  The other days are just running (usually 6 miles) with some planking, yoga and a little strength training mixed in.  I'm pretty pumped about it. 

I know I've been talking about it for a while, but I wasn't sure if I could do it and I wasn't sure how Jason would feel about it, so this weekend I wrote out the training plan to see if it was feasible (because I'm a little late to the party) and discussed it with Jason.  I also ran a great 10 miler with my running girls just to get a feel for where I was.  It felt GREAT and that was a good sign.  When I talked to Jason he was on board, so I made a few adjustments to my training plan and here we go!

I am so excited!  Maybe not at 4:30 a.m. when my alarm goes off, but give me a few minutes to wake up and I am ready.  I have begun really looking forward to my morning runs.  They are so peaceful, and I am free to let my thoughts wander as I run whatever pace I feel like running.  This morning the sky was so clear and the stars were so bright.  I saw the big dipper and the little dipper and many other constellations I can't name.  The morning air was a humid 70 degrees, but it still felt nice on my bare shoulders as I started running.  I love seeing the world wake up as the sky slowly begins to lighten and a few other walkers and joggers venture out onto our neighborhood streets.  I love finishing with a cool shower and a hot cup of coffee as I send Jason out the door for his run and wait for my little one to wake up.

There is nothing in this world like a sweet-smelling, snuggly baby first thing in the morning. Eloise is growing and changing and learning so fast, it just amazes me!  She is walking everywhere and I can tell she loves it.  Sometimes she does a lap around the living room and kitchen just because.  No real destination, she just likes it.  She's about to cut tooth number 2 and she is doing okay with that process.  She sometimes grabs at her mouth or taps her cheek, but most of the time she doesn't seem to notice.  She's really good about playing by herself and I let her watch a little Baby Einstein in the morning after breakfast and in the late afternoon while I'm making dinner.  Other than that we play, read books, take naps, make messes, clean them up, and run an errand or two.  We also visit friends' pools and go to the park for a swim when it is not too hot.

She LOVES bath time and starts laughing and kicking her feet when I turn the water on.  When she hugs me, she also pats me on the shoulder and it is the cutest thing in the world.  I have so much fun being her mama and I feel like my heart will overflow to bursting on a regular basis.  I probably kiss her 3000 times a day.

So as summer gives way to fall (eventually), I'll be TRAINING (whoop!) and loving on my growing baby girl (whoop whoop!).

My Motivational Speech to Myself

About a week after the Seaside Half-marathon, I realized I was going to have to be truly dedicated if I wanted to train for a marathon by April 27th.  My plan, since I didn't have loads of time for long runs, was to increase the weekly mileage and be somewhat gradual (somewhat not) with my long runs.  I wanted my mileage each week to reach 50 miles or more and I knew in order to do that I would have to run every day.  That would mean getting on the treadmill during Eloise's nap time.  It would mean getting outside on nice warm days with the jogging stroller.  It would mean getting up at 4:45a.m. and meeting the girls for a few miles, getting home by 6:00 a.m. so Jason could go for his run.

Commitment and dedication.  That is what it was going to mean to marathon train.  So I gave myself a motivation speech (a.k.a stern talking to) one Sunday afternoon while I was running. 

"You have to get serious about this if you don't want to be miserable April 27th. You've got to make yourself a training plan and really stick to it this time.  You just ran a half marathon so you can no longer look at yourself as a woman who just had a baby.  You must now look at yourself as a woman training for a marathon and go from there.  It is going to be hard, but you can handle hard.  You are going to be tired, sleep deprived, and you are not going to want to get on that treadmill.  But you have to.  You have to be committed.  You can do this."

So I came home and wrote out my training plan.  I kept it simple, writing the mileage I wanted in the top corner of each day on my calendar.  I took it one day at a time.  I tried not to focus on the 50 miles I wanted for the week, but only on that day's mileage.  Sunday I ran 6 slow and easy miles around my neighborhood.  Monday I got on the treadmill for 1.5 and then 3.5 as Eloise's naps allowed.  Tuesday I ran 8 while Mom babysat Eloise.  Wednesday I ran with my UAH 5k training group and I did a speed workout that Jason helped me create.  I ran 200, 200, 400 with equal rest 3 times with 1 mile warm-up and 0.2 cool down (I was hungry) for a total of 4.5 miles.  Thursday I did another 8 miles with Shannon.  Friday I forced myself to get in 5 miles at 5a.m. with my running girls.  I thought they were going to kill me.  Saturday I ran the Rocket Run 10 miler, with 2 miles warm-up and 2 miles cool down for 14 total miles, finishing a 50.5 mile week.

I did it.  I had to slow my pace so my body could withstand the 10+ mile increase for the week, but that was okay with me.

Yesterday started my second week of marathon training and I have 49 miles planned for the week, although it may end up being 50 because my speed workout on Wednesday bumps up the mileage.  Today I need 5 miles and I had planned to go with the girls this morning at 5:00, but I was up from 2:45-4:00 with Eloise.  Ha!  It is like she KNOWS when I need the sleep.  So I didn't go and, as always, I wish I had, but that is okay.  I am getting on that treadmill and getting it done.  I keep my motivational speech in my pocket and pull it out when my motivation wanes.  One day at a time...I will train for this marathon.

The First 20 of Training

I count today as the first 20 mile of my training, even though I suppose the marathon on Oct 1 should really count for that.  It is sort of funny how I have bypassed all the middle-long distances like 14-18 miles going from 12 and 16 to 26 and 20.  I'm not sure if that is the smartest thing since I think for injury prevention purposes one should ease the body into the higher mileage, but so far things are okay.  I'll also admit I've been somewhat concerned about the lack of long runs throughout this ultra training and I'm feeling like I need to pack them in now.  I have two more planned and no idea if that is enough or not.  But onward I go!

This morning was fun.  I met Katie at 4:40 a.m. and we got started.  She wanted to get in at least 12 before 6:50 and I was grateful for the company on so much of my long run.  We ran mostly in the dark with a smiley face moon grinning down on us.  It was a chilly 50 degrees and I wore shorts, a short sleeved top and gloves, which I never took off.  We talked of all sorts of things as we always do, seeing many runners and walkers along the way. I thought we'd run into the other half of our group, but we never saw them.

Katie ended up running 13.5 with me and I grabbed my ipod for the rest.  I ran 1.5 to Kroger and used the facilities before finishing my run.  I felt good until the last 2 miles and then my legs were slow and achy.  That is when I realized I'd had nothing to eat.  It was not smart and not what I intended to do, but I started with Katie like any other regular morning run, not really thinking about how this one was different, requiring fuel.  I had grabbed a banana when I ran out the door that morning, but when I grabbed my ipod and a sip of water, I'd forgotten about it. 

I used to think that if I forced my body to do the work in training with no fuel, it would be tougher and even better when I did have fuel in the actual race. (I should add here that the fuel I chose for the race, while not often used in training, was NOT something new to my system.  I don't think runners should try anything new on race day.)  I recently learned that this type of training approach did not help things at all (except maybe a little mentally).  The Sports Nutrition Instructor at UAH explained it like this:  If your car is running low on gas and you say, "I'm just going to push it further without gas because that means it will be able to go even longer next time on the gas it has," what will happen?  Your car will run out of gas and stop working.  He said it is the same with fueling your body with both liquids and nutrients (bars, Gu, whatever your choice) while training.  In fact, the fuel allows your body to do more in training, making for a more quality workout.

So this morning as I felt myself slowing down and my legs growing tired, I decided that next time I would make more of a point to eat something at least once during my long run.  This run still turned out okay, though.  I finished in 3:04:59, which is around a 9:15 average pace, and I'm pretty happy with that.  Below are the splits, if you are interested.  I always like looking at them on these longer runs (okay, and on the shorter ones too) because they show me where I'm slowing down and help me figure out how to improve.

Mile 1 - 9:03
Mile 2 - 9:15
Mile 3 - 9:18
Mile 4 - 9:30
Mile 5 - 9:33
Mile 6 - 9:32
Mile 7 - 9:28
Mile 8 - 9:20
Mile 9 - 9:13
Mile 10 - 9:31
Mile 11 - 10:11 (big hill)
Mile 12 - 9:17
Mile 13 - 9:12 (Katie was running me hard here as she needed to get back to her car)
Mile 14 - 8:44
Mile 15 - 8:26
Mile 16 - 8:41
Mile 17 - 8:58 
Mile 18 - 8:54
Mile 19 - 9:28
Mile 20 - 9:15 (Kristen honked and waved while sitting in traffic and gave me a boost to finish strong)

Overall it was a GREAT run, and it was nice to be done by 8:00 so that I have the rest of my wide-open day to get stuff done and enjoy a birthday lunch with my mom (birthday girl) and sister.