2015 Active Runner 10 for Them 10 Miler

Goal: race for the win
Result: 1:06:14 for first female and third overall

     I wasn't originally going to race this race but Randy from Active Runner asked me to come run it about a month before and knowing that it was going to be a well-organized, fun, hilly race for a good cause, I agreed. This wasn't going to be much of a social event. I wanted to get there, race, see a few peeps and get home. But then Margaret said she was racing and then a few other MCRR peeps said they were running it, so I knew that there would be a bunch of familiar faces out there. Also, Mike Ryan, who I had run with on the Buckeye Trail 20 mile training run was going to be there. On the drive there the rain was coming down hard and I was suddenly nervous. I was pretty sure I would be going for the win and no matter how small the race, I get nervous about that.
     This was the inaugural year for 10 for Them and featured just the 10 mile distance. The unique point to point course started in Strongsville at the Pat Catan stadium and ended in Brunswick on the high school track. The course was incredibly well-marked with many volunteers along the way and cones set in place to keep the runners safe from cars. Good energy too! I liked the loud music at the start and finish. The course was moderately hilly, with a net uphill to the seven mile mark and then a net downhill to the finish.
     At the bib pick-up I met up with Margaret and we did a quick two mile warmup in the driving rain. It was plain down-pouring by then and it didn't let up the entire race. I also did a few half-hearted drills underneath the grandstand. We mainly talked about how difficult it would be to achieve prs in this weather and on this course. These are the days that you don't look at the watch and just race! Good thing, because I wasn't even wearing one. And I knew I would have to race. Tracy Meder was standing on the starting line. This would be the third time I raced her. At Circle City Mile I beat her by one second and at Erie Marathon last year I was just 20 seconds ahead of her. This wasn't going to be a cakewalk.

And go! Beat the boys. Well, all but two of them. Photo Credit: The Medina Post

     I started fast, as usual, and was ahead of the lead guys for about 400 meters. I gradually slowed down and Mike and Ryan pulled ahead of me. No one else passed me for the rest of the race. I think this is the first time that has happened. The first two miles were really uneventful. I was going about 6:30 pace I would say, and feeling very comfortable. About half marathon effort. I looked behind me at about 3 miles and realized Tracy was right behind me. Alright, time to race. I told myself that if she didn't catch me by 7 miles that I would be fine after that. There were many turns and rolling hills for those first 7 miles. There were also rivers of water flowing down the roads and wide puddles that I had to either maneuver around or wade through. I tried to stay smooth, hold a good form and work hard on the hills. I still kept the effort in check though. I wanted to be able to go after it in the final miles. Tracy seemed to match every effort I put out, but she didn't close the gap. The volunteers were amazing. Honestly, I love race volunteers. They are so friendly and helpful and make the general unpleasantness of racing a bit more tolerable. I accepted a Carb Boom! from one them at about 6 miles and took it right before the 6.5 mile aid station. The soreness and aching in my legs subsided after I took it. Side-effects of racing on high mileage!

Early miles. Saturated! Photo Credit: Crystal Yohman

     I skipped the 8 mile aid station and did my best to get going a bit. There was one more small hill leading into the 9 mile marker and after I hit that, I started a far-out kick for the finish. I'm not sure of my final mile time but my guess was that it was in the 6 teens. Most of my miles were probably in the 6:40s. It was fun to run the final stretch to the finish around the track. After I finished I waited for Tracy to come in and thanked her for pushing me to a faster time. No way I would have worked that hard if she hadn't been there. Margaret was third in 1:09! I started feeling tired, hungry and freezing soon after I finished and decided to head back to the start. I thought that the awards were being held there, but I was mistaken and ended up missing the official awards. I felt bad about that! Fellow MCRR, Cameron was kind enough to let me follow him back to the Brunswick stadium to pick up my award. I hope they hold this race again next year!
Results: https://results.chronotrack.com/event/results/event/event-11308

2015 Second Sole Midnight Mile

Goal: 5:20-5:30 and race!
Result: 5:31 and fourth female

     Not going to lie, I was dreading this race. 50k training does not lend itself to a fast mile pace. And I wouldn't say that midnight is my best time to run. Best time to snore into a pillow, yes, race an all out mile? No. I was going to need several late-night coffees. But I was driving there with some fun running buddies: Evan, Ian and Dylan and I was looking forward to seeing the Boardman store for the first time. I also skipped out on the Youngstown 10 miler to go to Colorado, so I felt quite obligated to race.
     The week before, Dylan had kindly paced me in a 0.75 mile time trial on the roads. It was a typical mile effort for me. Starting at about 4:50 pace and slowing down into my mile pace by about 300 meters. I had 0.76 in 4:00 minutes for a 5:15 pace. I figured that my goal of 5:20-5:30 would be attainable. My road mile pr was from last year at the Circle City Mile (5:36).
     The road trip-type atmosphere of driving out there was pretty fun. These are cool guys to hang out with and love running just as much as I do. We got to the Second Sole Boardman location with plenty of time to spare and stored our stuff in the back room with the rest of the Second Sole employees. At 11 p.m. sharp we started our warmup. I saw that Samantha was racing and knew that she would be winning for the women. She ran a 5:01 here last year. We warmed up on the course and realized it was dark, with several sharp turns and a very uneven road surface. I went back to the store to get my singlet on, put on my Saucony Virratas and do a couple of pre-race pees and then went back out to the parking lot to do my drills and strides. Having already downed a slushy and popcorn, Evan decided to hop in the race and joined us in drills and strides and pre-race nerves. By this point I had given myself over to debilitating nerves and just wanted the god damned race to be over. Can I just run a half marathon already?
     I got to the starting line with about 10 minutes to spare and jogged a bit more. I also did five run-outs from the starting line. I saw that besides Samantha there were two Second Sole ladies there. I couldn't be sure if they were the two that went 5:15 and 5:24 the year before, but they looked very competent and I decided to try and go with them. I stood right behind them and Samantha at the starting line in the second row of people. The fastest guys were all in the first row. The race took off and the Second Sole girls (their names are Molly and Sara) took off at what seemed like a completely unreasonable pace. Never before have I felt so out of my element, uncomfortable and just plain tired than those first 400 meters. The three top ladies were fast fading from my view and there was nothing I could do about it. I was moving forward as fast as I could. I passed a bunch of too fast starting men and settled into a rythm that was kindly pumping lactic acid into my muscles. I hit the half mile with a young girl hot on my heels in 2:42, possibly 2:44 by the time I passed the clock. This wasn't quite as fast as I wanted at the half but the chick passing me on my right was occupying my mind more than the clock. No, I was not going to get outkicked AND not run the time I wanted. I stayed on her heels for about 200 meters and then she started to die hard. I went around her and took the hard right turn to the final 400 meters. For some reason I couldn't see the finish line. It was dark and the flashing lights of the police just past the finish provided a blinding backdrop. So I didn't kick all that hard, not sure when the finish line was coming up. I nearly slammed into the back of the guy that finished ahead of me, standing in the queue. I was hoping that I'd made it in under 5:30 but no such luck. Possibly with automatic timing I would have been 5:29, but it is what it is.

Scoring a pic with the owner of Second Sole, Steve Hixon! Photo credit: Boardman Athletics

     As usual, I was happy and relieved after the race. Glad to be done and ready to relax. I cooled down with Evan and Ian, who had both run good times. We waited for the awards to start and met a bunch of Second Sole employees that we had only known over the phone, asking for shoe shipments! I introduced myself to Molly and Sara and asked them what they were currently training for. They probably thought I was over-curious and crazy. I felt a bit of kinship towards them...maybe just because they are small and dark-haired? My post-race brain function is never the best. I was fourth female and first in my 30-34 age group. We started on the road back to Medina before 2 a.m. and made a food stop at Steak N Shake. I was starving and the taco salad that I chose hit the spot. I think we were the only sober customers in the place. I finally got home just after 3 a.m. The last few miles into Medina I was struggling hard but after I got home I had a difficult time settling into bed. Probably should have saved my shower for the morning but I hate going to bed sticky with sweat and salt! Planning on at least one more mile race on the roads this summer. I may be focusing exclusively on the mile for the indoor season. It makes no sense but I want that 5 teens mile. If I see a 5:19 or under this indoor season, I swear I will never run a track mile again.
Results: http://media.wix.com/ugd/aa0c98_585c79bd06b54ea98fac9554d34865e0.pdf

2015 Medina Half Marathon

Goal: A - 1:25 B - 1:27 C - 1:29
Result: 1:27:14 (2nd female, 10th overall)

     First things first, this is the funnest, most efficiently run local race that I've ever participated in. And they are only in their second official year! The race directors work year-round to keep sponsors coming in, the city and law enforcement involved and are continuing to update the course as better routes become available. Next year the course will be amazing with the addition of the Buckeye Trail section. I can't wait for that!
     I hadn't originally planned to run the 2015 version of the Medina Half Marathon, since it would take place just 13 days after the Cleveland Marathon. I was going to volunteer before and during the race as it is a Medina County Road Runners event. A few months ago, Beth, the world's best race director, asked me if I wanted to run it and honestly, I really did want to. Last year it was my goal spring race and I love being able to jog up to the square and race in such a low-key atmosphere. I ran a 1:32 mid for a lifetime half marathon pr. It was a turning point in my running, where I realized I might be capable of a 3:00 marathon in the near future. The course was different for 2015 and included plenty of hills and many sharp turns in the later miles. Despite this, I found that I enjoyed the course during an early May training run with Speedy Pete, Bob Jones and an amazingly fast masters runner, Margaret. We ran 1:35:58 on that training run and I knew that my time this year would be much faster than last year. I figured that a pr would be a bit out of reach, but I should expect something between 1:25 and 1:29.
     The night before the race it was so hot that I slept without blankets for the first time this year. We had all of our windows open, trying to get some breeze in. It did finally go down into the 60s as dawn closed in, but the air was thick. I wasn't too worried about the temps or humidity. The day before it was 85 degrees during my shakeout run and I was loving it. Bring on the heat of summer! So much better than the threatened hypothermia that I experienced on nearly every Cleveland Marathon training run.  The one little glitch to racing this was that I was due to catch the bus from Buckeye High School to the DII Regional meet in Lexington at 9 a.m. We had five kids competing on Saturday, including four distance studs who ran the races of their lives to make it to this meet. So I calculated that with the race starting at 6:45, I would hopefully be done by 8:15, have time to change at Second Sole really quick and then book it to bus. My plan worked almost perfectly and I even gave myself a few extra minutes by meeting my "B" time goal. The one thing that I did not plan was post-race snackage and I ended up being a very bad example to my track kids by scarfing down a chili-dog, a huge turtle sundae and a pepsi after the meet. When I was done with that it was all I could do to keep from going back and ordering more. It is not advisable to wait eight hours after racing a half marathon to eat. The bad choices did not end there. I ate a sushi roll, french fries and a big mac later that night. Perhaps I was a bit sodium deprived from the race and sweating through the hot meet? Not anymore. I'm pretty sure all that salt and fat is still seeping out my pores three days later.
     Anyway, back to the race. Second Sole was open and Joanie and Dylan were holding down the fort. I was able to use the bathroom there for my pre-race pee. I warmed up around the area, seeing a lot of familiar faces along the way and even did some drills in the back parking lot. A few minutes before the 6:45 start I made my way to the starting line. I knew almost everyone up there on the front line and looking behind me were more familiar faces. Last year I was afraid to stand in front of the 1:30 pace group. This year I boldly stated to Margaret that I would go out ahead of that. I wasn't wearing a watch and with the downhill first mile and my history of reckless starts, mile one was going to be fast. After the mayor started the race, I tucked in behind a group that included Patrick, Evan and Ian. I heard someone behind me shout "Let her go!" Ha! Sounded like a warning!

Ready, set, go! Wait, check the watches.

          I realized I was going a little too fast within about 400 meters and backed off the front group. I smoothed out to what felt like 6:15 pace, but was probably just under 6:00 pace. Not sure of the exact time on my first mile, but it was most likely under 6:00. I felt fine, but once the course flattened out I fell into what felt like a natural rythm and Chelsea Oswald began to creep up on me. She was never far behind and by the time we hit the hills on Reagan Parkway, she was just steps behind me. At first I was very motivated to surge and try to stay ahead of her. I told myself that I should fight for it because I was lead female and that is what lead females do. Within about a quarter of a mile I decided that the pace felt too fast and let her pull ahead. Reality was that she had been running faster than me for all but the first mile and going with her would mean approaching oxygen debt long before the end of the race. This is the price of going out fast. You do eventually get caught. I was pretty down on myself as we turned into Lake Medina and got onto the gravel path. She was steadily pulling ahead, running an even 6:20 pace and I had fallen into about a 6:45 rythm. It took me about a mile to mentally let it go and focus on staying smooth, getting enough water at the water stops and targeting the male runner ahead of me. This guy and I traded spots throughout the race and I ended up out-kicking him in the end. I felt strong up the route 18 hills, but then started struggling as we neared the 7 mile mark. I think I waited a little too long to take my Gu Roctane Cherry/Lime and muscle fatigue was setting in. My legs felt sore and heavy. There were two ladies creeping up on me, one of whom was Teresa Ferguson, a very fast masters runner who had won the Football Hall of Fame Marathon just a few weeks before in 3:05. The other lady, who eventually dropped back a bit, was a local girl who won the 1500 meter title at GLIAC this year and qualified for DII nationals. In the next few miles I disobeyed my rule of "no looking back" many times as Teresa gradually gained on me. I surged around the sharp turns and on the downhills and just tried to stay smooth on the flat and uphills. At one point, near the 10 mile mark I was so mentally drained from her chasing me that I just wanted her to get it over with. As I neared 11 miles though, my gu really kicked in and I started feeling great. From there to the finish I passed three guys and nearly caught another one. I saw so many familiar MCRR faces and they all cheered as I went by. I started to put a little space between Teresa and I and hit the 12 mile mark with a "comfortable" 15 second cushion. Bring on the downhill! I kicked it in a little too conservatively in this final mile and after I finished I felt a bit too good. Much more left in the tank. I ended up focusing more on racing Teresa and just staying ahead of her than on giving it all to the finish, but that isn't such a bad thing. When you don't wear a watch, you focus more on the people around you and simply racing them. What I need to work on is being willing to race earlier and trusting that I'll be okay later on. It was pretty cool to come up to the finish and I tried to sprint it in with good form so I would look badass in the finish line photos. Because that's what counts, you know. I looked pretty pathetic last year with my poor, limping, bare feet!

Me finishing the 2014 Medina Half in 1:32:28. Photo credit: Black and White Services LLC

     After I finished I talked to the female winner, who has an amazingly fast track resume that includes an SEC championship title and a sub 16:00 5000 meters. She is from Medina, but lives in Columbus and trains with the Columbus Running Company. Future Olympic marathon trials qualifier there, I am sure of it! Teresa and I thanked each other for pushing each other to faster times than expected on that tough course and I talked to Ian and Evan and even attempted cooling down with them until we decided that a cool-down wasn't necessary. Margaret finished fifth female and first masters and I talked with her and Bob really quick before I had to get back to Second Sole, get changed and drive up to Buckeye. I managed to wash my face in the girl's locker room there, but spent the rest of the day soaked in sweat and salt from my race. It was totally worth it! 

Finishing the 2015 Medina Half. In shoes. Photo credit: Black and White Services LLC

2015 Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon

Goal: 2:57-3:05
Actual: 11th female in 3:16:15
Splits: 10k - 41:48 Half - 1:30:06 30k - 2:15:05

     I wasn't going to write a race report on this race because I'd rather forget it. But forgetting it won't be beneficial and it was so bad that I won't be forgetting it anyway. So here it is.
     I trained for this race through February, March and April. I logged 70-100 miles a week and did weekly tempo and speed workouts with a focus on the marathon distance as well as four 20 plus mile long runs in the 7:30-7:40 pace range. I also made a trip out to Colorado, more for vacation than for training purposes. I did end up training 50 miles in five days at about 8,000 feet with running buddy extraordinaire, Mike. I told myself that if anything, I might be a bit overtrained for this. I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't want to leave anything behind in training and I enjoy the training process more than I enjoy racing anyway.  
     Though I trained for this race since February, I didn't actually register for it until the Friday afternoon before the race. As a Second Sole employee, I was able to gain entry into the race through the company, but it had to be last minute in case I couldn't run. So I knew that it would be 70 degrees and 80 percent humidity before I registered. I didn't discount the weather, but I was determined to go after my time goal. I decided not to wear my watch and go out at the pace that I needed to feel comfortable. Hopefully not too far ahead of the 3:00 pace group. I figured I would be between 6:40 and 6:50 for the first few miles. I carried a small water bottle filled with Powerbar Endurance Energy Blend Apple/Mango flavor. I call it my "baby food" and I might have quit marathoning without it.
You know when you look forward to long runs just so you can eat your energy blend, you have found your stuff. I might still stop marathoning if they discontinue this flavor because I don't care for the others. I also carried one Gu Roctane (cherry lime) for the final 10k.

Mana.

     I drove up to the race with Evan, another running buddy extraordinaire. It was his first marathon and he was nervous. I was too, but not overly so. I was feeling a little lethargic but still light on my feet from the taper. I was worried that I was up about 10 pounds from when I ran Erie. I kept telling myself that it was fine, since I was quite a bit underweight when I ran that. I'm closer to a healthy weight right now. Still easy to get in your own head with things like that.
     We found a great parking spot, found the porta potties, got our singlets on and then went over to the bag check area so Evan could meet up with his college buddies. Then we stood forever in another porta potty line by the starting line. After I finally got to get my pre-race pee in, I headed past the starting line for a short, two mile warmup. It was so, so humid. The air was heavy and it started a light rain. The rain only lasted long enough for my shoes to get soggy. After warming up I scooted into corral "A" and stood next to the 3:00 pace group. The guys seemed nice, but were already very talkative. Not good. Next time I run in a race and am near a pace group, I'm calling them out on talking and goofing around. Or maybe I just won't run near them. It was especially bad with this 3:00 pace group and I noticed it more when they passed me at mile 11. Nothing like the misery of a marathon gone wrong to increase your dislike for people who can easily run faster than you. Especially when they seem happy. I'm sure if I my race were going fine I would be less critical!
     I didn't wear a watch but did run with Evan and his buddies for nearly 10k, so I heard some splits. I knew we were running in the 6:40s, but it felt fine and I was running a little scared to try to get ahead of pace. I'm sure there are lots of rules about not doing this, no matter what the temps. Right before 10k I realized I was HOT. Hot enough that I needed the aid station cups of water thrown on my face to keep me cool. Unfortunately, there wasn't a continuous aid station the whole length of the race, so I had to wait a mile or so to dump water over my head again. My feet were also hurting and slipping around in my Saucony Type A5s. I love those shoes, but they are not stable when wet. I slowed down to a 7:00 pace here, just as I did at Erie, only that was at mile 14, not mile 7. I told myself that this pace would be fine and I could still pr even if I hit the wall at 23 again. When the 3:00 pace group passed me, I tried to drop to their pace, but it was not happening. It was a motivator that kept me dragging along in their wake until just past half marathon. I was over 3:00 pace at half, but just over. I kind of wish I'd had my watch for that. I thought I was farther off pace. Nevertheless, my legs were quite shot at this point and I took my Gu Roctane 10 miles early to stave off a 16-mile bonk. People were passing me at regular intervals during this time, but no women passed me since the lady in the 3:00 group and Beth Woodward had passed me in the first 10 miles. Beth went on to run 3:03! Crazy admiring of that lady. The 3:05 pace group passed me during the 16th mile and I waved goodbye to my pr. As I approached mile 17 I saw Evan walking up ahead. He was even weaving a bit and when I caught up to him he said he was dehydrated. He hadn't started cramping yet, so I told him to get water and powerade at the next station. I jogged with him to the next station, waited just a bit while he got stuff down and then started jogging with him to the turnaround. The liquids were not hitting his stomach well and he couldn't get up to a run at that point, so I told him I'd for sure see him at the finish and went on ahead. A couple of his buddies were behind him and I figured they would meet up at some point in the coming miles. Sure enough, one of his friends caught him and they were able to run the rest of the race together. Just after I left Evan, I saw Kristy standing with some people on the other side of the 17 mile aid station and she said she was done due to dehydration. I didn't stop for long here, as she was waving me ahead.
     Both of these episodes made me approach the rest of the race with a concentrated focus on hydrating. I knew the hardest miles were ahead and it was getting hotter and more humid. I started jogging very slowly through the aid stations, drinking up to two cups of water and a powerade and getting a cup over my head. I dropped my pace to somewhere in the 7:30-7:45 range and it took a long time for the 3:15 pace group to catch me. The 3:10 had passed me while I was walking with Evan, as well as a woman. Another woman passed me at about 22. None of this mattered to me though. I was in survival mode and just focused on getting to the finish as efficiently as possible and in as good shape as possible. I felt pretty good, not great, until 23 miles. I was on the shoreway at this point and into some baby hills. Just as suddenly as Erie, I was DONE. The race needed to be over at that moment, but I still had a massive bridge and 3.2 miles to get through somehow. The people cheering on those bridges were awesome, as were the half marathoners on the other side. I heard a lot of "girl power" shouts and "run little lady" type comments and I tried to acknowledge them as best as I could. I saw a few familiar faces on the course, including Sarah, Rachel and Margaret. After I gave up my pr I tried to concentrate on thanking the volunteers and smiling and waving to spectators. It made me feel a bit better. I walked a few times during both mile 24 and mile 25 but I don't think I did during 26. It was one foot in front of the other by that point, very slowly shuffling to the finish. As I came off the shoreway into downtown the whole atmosphere changed. There was a crowd lined up along the finish line and a guy was there telling me I had 400 yards to go. I immediately started speeding up in response to the crowds and they responded by cheering pretty loudly. It was just as good a feeling to finish here as it was at Erie and I was relieved to see a 3:16 on the clock instead of the 4:00 that I swear I thought I would end up with. After I finished I saw Shari and Kenny off to the side and went to talk to them. I started guzzling water and drinking chocolate milk and was surprised with how good I felt. My legs felt like toast, but the rest of me felt okay. I think I had focused on getting in enough liquids that my body was good, along with the nice jogging 8:00 average that I put out for the second half. I waited until Evan came in and after he had recovered a bit, it was time for the long walk back to the car. We had parked near the starting area, instead of the finish, a mistake I will never make again. Ian and Emily and a few of Evan's friends had driven up later and cheered him along the course. Fortunately, they had parked near where I was parked, so there was just a quick drive to my car to get Evan's stuff and then I was finally on my way home. I felt fine on the way home, but the reality of my crappy race quickly replaced my euphoria over actually finishing. I ran a positive split of 10 minutes more than at Erie. 6:52 for the first half vs 8:03 for the second half. That is worst case scenario as far as I'm concerned. Yes, I got through it, but it was bad. I'm sure I'll have worse races, but this is the worst so far. Even worse than my first half marathon when I was 16. I didn't even know how long a half was then, went out at 1:25 pace and faded to 1:43, with the final three being a death march. The one positive from this is that I am fully recovered one week later and ready to tackle the Medina Half in six days! I'm determined to enjoy that race and run strong, even though they are calling for similar temps and humidity.

High school kicker. Not really, just happy to be done! Photo credit: Shari Geiger

Quick observations: the course is pretty nice. The shoreway was miserable, but I had been warned about that. The aid stations were amazing. There were quite a few spectators and the finish line was well set-up. 

Results: http://results.xacte.com/?kw=riteaid

The Big 100

     I said in my last post that I was not going to build my mileage higher than 80 for the coming weeks. I lied. Actually, I didn't try to get more miles in, they just seemed to happen. I'm blaming the excellent weather. All of the sudden it is fun to run again and a 12 miler feels like nothing. After my fourth and final Cleveland 20 miler today, I have my first 100 mile week. I feel tired, but totally healthy after putting in these miles and I'm ready to keep myself in the 90-100 range for next week. On Friday I will be leaving for a mini-vaca in Colorado! When I come back I will probably run the local Run.4.Fun 5k put on by Medina City Schools, one shorter long run on the Cleveland course and then it is Cleveland Marathon time. After finding myself comfortable with higher mileage, I've also decided to scrap my 5k training plan for June and train for the Buckeye Trail 50k in July. Once again, I'm straying from my 2015 plan, which did not include a 50k, but I really want to do this, so I probably will. I was nervous about hitting this mileage all day yesterday, even wondering what I would do if I got hurt during the long run and couldn't meet the goal. I was pretty emotional for the last few miles of the run and on the final half mile stretch up to my house I was smiling at everyone out walking their dogs and driving by. I probably looked like a small, sweaty, insane woman. On to next week!

                            Adrian wanted to be in my pre-long run pic. Cutest mini-me ever.

     Here is my 100 mile week, transferred from my log:

Monday: 4 miles easy

Tuesday: a.m. - 7 miles total, one mile repeat (6:10) before escaping downpour
               p.m. - 3.5 with track girls

Wednesday: a.m. - 4x1600 (5:58, 6:08, 6:06, 6:06) 1x800 (3:00) 10 miles total
                    p.m. - 4 miles easy after track meet

Thursday: a.m. - 12 miles in 1:31
                 p.m. - 7 miles easy

Friday: a.m. - 4 miles easy. Body felt wrecked.
             p.m. - paced 3x500 at about 5:40 pace for track girls and did 5 mile marathon pace tempo at 6:49 pace. 13 miles total

Saturday: Medina Half run plus to and from square for 15 miles

Sunday: 20.5 in 2:34:37

2015 Mileage Goals

     I realized in the last few days that I've passed 1.5 years of training. One of the most important progressions that I've worked on in the last 19 months is mileage building. My absolute main focus for the long term is the full marathon distance and running good times over 26.2 takes hefty, consistent mileage. The track workouts, tempo runs and shorter distance prs are important too, but mileage is king for me. When I was googling about how high I needed to build my mileage, I found this article and liked the perspective: http://www.runningfreeonline.com/Gear/Details/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/175/Mileage-Matters
 The above article is a lot different than this interview with the legendary Coach Joe Vigil: http://www.coachr.org/gospel_according_to_joe.htm
 Very technical approach to marathon training for Deena Kastor, the American record holder in the marathon. I like crunching these types of numbers for myself but don't have access to anything other than the usual running gear and a Garmin 110. I already spend too much time analyzing my running, so that is just fine. I just started coaching high school and like his observation that he coached high school for 12 years and was just getting started in coaching at that point. 
     Starting in December of 2013 I started a slow build (10-15 percent a week) with the goal in mind to reach a consistent block of 100 mile weeks by summer of 2015. I've found that I have to stay at a certain mileage level for a number of months before I can build to the next level. Right now I'm ranging from 70-80 pretty consistently and have recently decided to stay there throughout the rest of Cleveland Marathon training. I'm running through a persistent state of tiredness on this mileage and I know pushing it to 90 or higher would have a negative effect on training. I will aim to build to 90 per week for the month of June, after recovering from Cleveland and then build to 100 for Akron Marathon training. Akron is my goal race for 2015! Below is a breakdown of mileage from March 2014 through March 2015:

March 17:       40
March 24:       41
March 31:       50
April 7:           46
April 14:         48
April 21:         33 (taper week for two 5ks: 20:03 and 20:09)
April 29:         50 (no taper for 19:45 5k)
May 5:            50
May 12:          54
May 19:          43
May 26:          40 (taper for 1:32:37 half)
June 2:            49
June 9:            49
June 16:          54
June 23:          52
June 30:          38 (taper week for 19:02 5k)
July 7:             35 (taper week for 32:36 5 mile)
July 14:           52
July 21:           55.5
July 27:           55.5
August 5:        55
August 11:      54
August 19:      64.5
August 26:      48
September 1:   45.5
September 8:   50 (including 3:07:26 marathon)
September 15: 35
September 22: 60
September 29: 55
October 6:       53 (including 1:24:42 half)
October 13:     63
October 20:     50 (including 18:44 5k and 39:00 10k)
October 27:     68
November 3:   70.3
November 10: 73
November 17: 60.9
November 24: 78
December 1:    49.5 (taper for 5:22 mile)
December 8:    70.4
December 15:  80
December 22:  74.4
December 29:  60.1
January 5:        66.2
January 12:      61
January 19:      56 (taper for 5:26 mile)
January 26:      74.7
February 2:      70.8
February 9:      77.5
February 16:    65.8 (taper for 19:01 5k)
February 23:    75.8
March 2:          66
March 9:          71
March 16:        80.5
March 23:        72.3

2015 Shamrock 15k

Goal time: no time goal but somewhere in the mid 6s and top three finish.
Result: 1:01:56, 6:39 average, 2nd female, 16th overall

     This was a race that I had heard about for the first time last year, when one of my club members, Christy, trained specifically for it by running the hilly 9 mile Hinckley course over and over again. I decided to go with this race instead of the St. Malachi 5 miler, since I wanted to work on Saturday morning and also, a 15k fits more into marathon training than a 5 miler. I did an 8 repeat yasso workout on Tuesday at about 2:50, a three mile tempo run on Friday at a 6:18 average and I put in 71 miles for the week. Definitely did not go into this tapered. In the days leading up to it, I felt heavy and tired. But I should be tired, I'm in marathon training!
  The race has a late start (noon), which is a good thing on a windy, chilly March day. I warmed up for 4 miles because I was planning on getting my long run in as well. I didn't succeed in getting warm and I felt dead tired. After doing some run outs at the starting line, I did get excited and felt a little lighter on my feet. There were quite a few running buddies running the 15k with me and I saw most of them before the race started and cheered some of them in.
     The race started to the tune of bagpipes (horrible instrument) and in true Renee road racing form, I took off like a bat out of hell despite multiple warnings from everyone that I talked to, not to do just that. Mile 1 was 5:54 and this includes a bit of a hill. After that it was crazy amounts of downhill and some flat. I went through the 5k in a ridiculous 18:56. At least I know I can run a sub 19:00 5k right? I settled down a bit in the following mile and even clicked my watch to show my current pace with a strict self-command to not run faster than 6:30 for a few miles. Mile 4 was 6:25 and couple of guys passed me. Right past mile 4 came the "the hill" that I had heard about. The grade was very steep and the road winding, so I couldn't see when it ended. I stutter stepped a few times to get up it and questioned how I was going to make my legs work for the next 5 miles. At the top of the hill was a huge cheering section and one lady shouted to me "hurry up, there's another girl on your heels!" I knew that the winning time from last year was by a lady who is very fast (low 17s 5k) and if she was in the race, I probably couldn't win it. I hadn't seen her at the starting line though. Sure enough, she caught me at about mile 4.5 and passed me moving very well and certainly not struggling to keep from walking. I made a goal to try and keep her in sight for as long as possible and also to catch the guy up ahead who was running in the middle of the open road with headphones on.
     Mile 5 was 7:33. Mile 6 was 6:54 and I was encouraged to see that I had dipped back under 7:00. I started to feel pretty good at about 7 miles, even though the hills were relentless. I felt like there was no flat from mile 4 to the finish. I was either going up a steep or gradual hill, or coming down. The last three miles were in the 6:40s and finally I passed the headphone guy. At one point he almost got hit by a car because he couldn't hear it coming up behind him and he was running in the middle of the road. There was a cool turn-around add-on for the course where I could see all the people behind me. I saw that there were three women all bunched together running in the high 6s, so about three minutes behind me. I kept trying to get water at the water stops but after months of not taking water in during workouts due to the cold, my stomach was rejecting it. I'm very glad I didn't try to take a gu.
     After coming up one final, gradual hill, I hit the 9 mile marker and started on a slight downhill to the finish. I convinced myself to hurt for just a little while longer and kicked it in at about 5:50 pace for the last 0.4. At least my Garmin had 0.4, though a 15k should only be 9.3. I talked to the female winner for a few minutes after I finished and then I went out to cheer in a couple of running buddies. Everyone seemed to be running really solid times for such a hilly 15k.

              Not looking pretty but I was happy to be done. Pic credit: Summit Athletic Running Club

     This is a fun race and I will for sure run it again. Now that I know what the course is like first-hand, I'd like to think I would race it wiser on the second go, but knowing myself, that isn't assured. This was a really solid average pace for me, even not taking the hills into consideration. I was especially encouraged that I was on the verge of bonking in mile 5 but was able to get it together and feel stronger in the last few miles. My quads are pretty beat up from the downhills and I might be too sore to do my track workout on schedule tomorrow morning, but I have to consider that the 15k was a good workout in itself.

                                             At the awards. Photo credit: Cynthia Lipinski

                                                               Running club buddies!

Results: http://www.summitathletic.com/sites/default/files/docs/results/2015%20Shamrock%2015k%20Overall%20-%20Version%201.pdf