The Hardest Six Miles I Have Ever Run

I just finished week five of the Jeff Galloway Finish It Marathon Training Plan. My long run was six miles. I can honestly say that they were the hardest six miles I have ever run in my life. I started off at quarter after six in the morning. It was already 80 degrees with 91% humidity. The heat index brought the temperature up even higher. I scarfed down half of a banana knowing I’d need fuel but not wanting to waste time eating a full breakfast and waiting for it to digest. I stepped out of the front door and it felt like I was in a sauna. Ugh. I had a full fuel belt: two flasks of nuun up front and two flasks of water in the back. I set my garmin and started my timer. My legs were slow, the heat and humidity kept pushing me down making me slower. The miles slowly ticked away and I took a gel at mile three. I don’t normally take gels with me on six miles, but figured with the lack of breakfast combined with the weather, I should bring one. I’m glad I did. At each walk break (4 min run, 30 second walk) I would take a sip of nuun. After the second mile I started sipping water and splashing it on my face. After three miles I started pouring water on my neck and my head. By mile five my fuel belt was sucked dry. The only thing that got me home was knowing I had only one mile left.

Lessons learned for a successful run in August in New Orleans:

1. I need to find something I can eat (before my long runs) and then run immediately. Half a banana works. I wonder if I should try adding some Greek yogurt as well? Training for my half marathons, I would eat a bowl of oatmeal. Unfortunately, oatmeal is too hot and I don’t want to get up that early to eat and then wait for digestion.
2. I need to leave the house at SIX am and not any later. Once that sun comes up, it gets H-O-T!
3. I need to bring more liquids. Problem solved. I ordered a Nathan Intensity 2 Liter vest. It should be here before my next long run (7.5 miles)
4. I should consider getting a Frogg Toggs Chilly Pad to keep my neck cool. I loose a lot of water by dousing my neck and head.

Rough run aside, it was pretty awesome knowing I ran six miles in weather most people don’t even leave the house in! Pretty GBA in my book. I’m looking forward to my new vest and experimenting with breakfast options that don’t give me a mid run gut ache.

It’s a great day for running y’all!

11 Miles and the Dreaded Wall

Yesterday I ran 11 miles. My goal was to run it in two hours or less. Last time I ran 11 miles (training for the ATL half) I ran it in two hours, ten minutes and twenty-nine seconds. I wanted to beat that time. I fueled properly all day Wednesday. I carbo loaded, I drank water like it was going out of style. Last time I met 11 miles, it chewed me up and spit me out. I realized after the run it was due to improper fueling the day before and during. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. I knew what I was getting into and I was going to CRUSH 11 miles.

I missed my time goal by two minutes and nine seconds. CRAP! I was solid the first nine and half miles. It was EPIC. I was strong, I hit the high at nine miles (why does that take so long??!!??). I was grooving. Then I hit 10 miles. I am not sure what it is about double digits, but every time I get there, the wheels come off. EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. I had a game plan for this run. I fueled with gels at miles three and six and had half of a honey stinger (I ran out of gels at home) at mile nine. I had two flasks of nuun. Looking back, I realize that I need MORE gels in the house. I like the idea of taking them every three miles, which is what works for my body. I need to pick up a Nathan Speed 4 to replace my Speed 2. I need to bring two flasks of nuun AND two flasks of water. Regardless of my hydration, I will still battle the notorious ten miles.

I asked a good friend of mine on FB about this double-digit issue. He’s an ultra runner, my ultimate running hero; I aspire to run like him some day. I view him as the Yoda of running. His reply was:

…that's why they call it training. 10 is your "wall" now. Think back to when you started running, when did the wheels fall off, much sooner?

Keep up the hard work and you'll learn about what your body needs to run efficiently through any wall, sans wheels. Soon enough you'll be busting out an easy ten for a recovery run. :-)

Endurance and muscle memory are earned through miles and miles. No short cuts.

The WALL. That’s what it’s all about. Facing the wall. Beating the wall. Tearing down the wall. (humming Pink Floyd). He’s right. When I started running, 10k was hard for me. Now that wall has moved to 10 miles. Practice makes perfect. I look forward to 10 miles being my “easy” recovery run, someday. That is what I love about running. Each and every day I face challenges that I can conquer, goals that can be met and crushed and then setting new goals. Running makes me determined, focused, and strong. I love it!

Today is a day of rest. Hubby has the day off and we’ll go for a short 2-3 mile hike with the boys after school. Not an extreme hike like last time, just an easy family hike. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, get out and move!

Happy running y’all!!!

Eight IS Great!

As I was waking up this morning prepping for my 6.5 run, I had a revelation. Why not run 8??!!?? I am training for the Publix Georgia Half Marathon (that I might or might not be able to run in=CRAZY). Getting my double infection and being placed on antibiotics really screwed up my training schedule. I decided to skip the 6.5 and go for the 8 that I was originally planning to run late next week even though the training schedule has it set for tomorrow. I logged on to map my run to map out an 8 mile route close to home since it is supposed to rain today. Yes, I am from Seattle. No, I don't think that I'm going to melt in the rain. BUT have you ever experienced East coast rain? It is NOT like a Seattle drizzle. It pours buckets; porcupines and penguins. You can step outside for less than two minutes and come back inside looking like you took a shower fully clothed. So, mapping a run close to home would make it easy to bail if it started pouring. Thankfully it didn't.

As I started my run, I reflected on the last time I ran 8 miles. I was prepping for my half. I was scared of 8 miles, I had never ran that far before. I kept saying all week, "Eight is great!" just to pump myself up. I don't remember much about that run. I know that when I was done, I felt fabulous, like I had conquered the world! I wish that I had started this blog at the beginning of my training so I could remember exactly what I was feeling. I do know that I ran those 8 miles in 1:36:26. I remember that they were hard, but not impossible.

Today's run was fabulous! My legs were sore; I don't normally run three days in a row. I like to have a rest day before a long run, but that's how my schedule has worked out this week. My compression socks did the trick for my calves. I tried a Power Bar Energy Gel for the first time around mile 4 (I don't have a Garmin-someday!!). I really liked it. It was much easier to get down than the Cliff Shotblocks I used for my half. I had one bottle of water and one of Nuun in my fuel belt. Perfect combo of hydration and fuel. I kicked it. Today, I ran 8.33 miles in 1:26:02. I shaved ten minutes off my time! Not to mention that I ran farther. I felt on top of the world! I love that running makes me feel that way: strong, invincible and badass! When I got home, I looked at my time, checked it against the last time. I then had to re-check my route to make sure I didn't accidentally run 7 miles instead of 8 (boy a Garmin would be nice!). I couldn't believe that I had shaved 10 minutes, but I did! And it was epic.

Happy running y'all!

First Half Recap

I ran the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving morning (11.24.11) with Jessica. We did the Galloway Plan with 4:1 splits. I totally CRUSHED the first 10K. I pretty much felt like I could run the rest of the day; it was EPIC. Once we left Piedmont Park (7 miles exactly), that’s when the wheels fell off. It was ALL.UP.HILL. Very hard and very frustrating. I started walking sooner than 4, not able to run up all of the hills, but walking up half and then all of them. How did this happen? How was I on the top of the world at 10K and just a mile later feel so empty?

Fuel fail. Hill training fail. When I got home, I found two cliff shot blocks still in my spibelt. I was planning to eat 2 blocks at miles 4, 8 and 12. I did miles 4 and 6, but forgot at the 8-10 mark. I did grab two jellybean packets. I should have grabbed more. Next time I will learn how to read the course elevation map (Atlanta Half Marathon Elevation), I will train with appropriate hills, I will change my fuel plan based on that elevation. I should have eaten my shot blocks at 3, 6, 9 & 12 while eating their jellybeans in between as needed. MORE FUEL. I will also start training on the hills. I was never able to run up a hill during training. I will make the hill on Old Canton my bitch. I will run ALL.THE.WAY.UP.IT!

I will also repeat the Galloway Half Training Plan regularly. I think that as my body gets used to running these longer distances, I will CRUSH my next half just like I crushed the first 10K of this race.

My unofficial time for my first half is 2:33:21. I was thinking it would take around 2:24:08. I placed 7072 overall, 3296 among females and 505 in the women’s age 30-34.

My goal was to finish this race and I did. Next time I will finish in less than 2:30, I’d like to finish around 2:17. Next time, I will conquer those hills. Next time I will have better race day photos. Next time I will remember that I am GBA!!!

I will finish this race recap with an email from my running hero and friend G:

First off - Congratulations again Carrie.

Yup. I have So been where you are.

Last year I remember writing my marathon race recap and thinking IT WAS THE PERFECT DAY. 2 days later I emailed my coach and was all about, "how can I do this better?"

Then I went out and did a PERFECT 10 miler using my new and improved marathon strategy as suggested by coach. I mean, perfect. Like, EPIC. At the finish line I thought to myself, THAT WAS PERFECT. Negative splits and everything... and then, a few hours into my drive home from the race I started thinking, "I went out too slow... I could have run that race 15-20 seconds faster".

It's so funny, isn't it. We train, we crush it, and then... then... we look for ways to make it better. THAT is what makes you GBA. THAT is the difference between being an athlete versus a woman who runs sometimes and does a race every now and then.

The first big race is a learning experience. Write it all down. Not only are you going to improve, the more you can get out of this year's experience means you're likely to improve exponentially.

As you write it, put special emphasis on where you nailed it, how you feel you succeeded. This is just as important as the other stuff.

And pay attention to those parts of the race where you think you could have improved. How could you have improved? What specifically makes you feel that way?

And here's the last thing I want to remind you. A half marathon is 13.1 miles. That's not HALF OF ANYTHING. That is a WHOLE RACE. A race worth celebrating and savoring. So when you start to question your awesomeness, stop the madness by reminding yourself, YOU DID THAT. And when you start to doubt the greatness of your race, smile a little to yourself and think, "yeah, I'm pretty much a 'love sick crack head'...."

Also, it will be about 2 weeks post race until your muscles will be healed and fully recovered, as long as you keep light mileage and low intensity. So while I'm not suggesting a tempo run, maybe some light running with no training plan, just running for the sake of running will remind you of how much you rocked on race day.

take care,

THAT (other) girl,

g.

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Hey G!

I hope you had a fabulous Thanksgiving! Mine was great! Two post 13.1 St. Germaine cocktails and a slice of tiramisu and I passed out on the couch!

I remember your post about THAT girl, the one who badmouths you... you! That post describes me! I haven't slipped into a post half depression, but I find myself constantly replaying the race in my head. I am finding where I "messed up". Where I "didn't go strong enough". Where I "let the hills kick my ass". I can honestly say that during the race, I gave it all I had, but I am now questioning that and wishing I had pushed harder. Do you ever struggle with this? Why can't I be proud of myself for what I accomplished? I am already planning my training method for next year so I can make those hills my bitch! Is this the antithesis to the taper?

Trying to savor the 13.1 accomplishment but letting the personal criticism get the better of me,

-c-