Run the Bluegrass

Race Day. Keeneland Race Track. Waiting to begin my 21st half marathon, my numb feet toed the line in Wave 4 of 7. When imagining this day, 13° windchills in Lexington, KY at the end of March was not part of the picture. I wouldn't feel my toes and forefeet until well after Mile 2. 

"America's Prettiest Half Marathon" is not an exaggeration. This course earned the title fair and square. The entire route rolls along undulating hills outlined with black or white fences delineating private horse pastures. Looking to the right or left, layers of green earth unfolded to the horizon. Some of the deeper folds were dotted with trees and it occurred, "I'm in Kentucky! Those be called hollers!"☺ Sights along the course included grand mansions, horses, cows, chickens, herding dogs and shadows on the land of vultures circling above. Sounds along the course included roosters cockadoodle-dooling, a noticeable absence of urban sounds and at Mile 7, the tight rock-rap music of the live band Elephant Room. 

It would also be fair to call this course "The Hilliest Road Race In The Non-Mountainous Areas of The United States." Too wordy? Literally, if we weren't running up, we were running down. There were no flats. My FitBit counted 120 floors, which equals 1,200 ft. of climbing - the equivalent of running vertical for .25 miles. By contrast, our hardest and hilliest road race prior to this had 44 floors. On multiple occasions before the race, I ran a 12-mile route that had 70 floors. I believe that prepared me well, as did the 80/20 training, but more on that in a second...you probably want to know our performance results.

I preface the race results noting that I went into this race with no real expectation except to run strong. I did not have a time goal, though based on my training runs, I assumed I would finish around 2:30. I did not have strict expectations on how to execute the run either, such as my past edicts of "no walking!" Additionally, for the first time in half marathon history, I was racing without a Camelbak and gave myself permission to stop at aid stations for water as needed (normally I never stop since I carry my own, but over the winter I ran without water, got used to it and I liked not having the extra weight on my back). Giving myself these freedoms removed the usual pressures and anxiety I have before a race and led to a fun, strong and rewarding performance. 

Results
Joe Finish Time = 1:40:07 (7:38 pace)
Male 45-49 Place = 11/156 Top 7%
Gender Place = 128/1155 Top 11%
Overall = 155/3082 Top 5%

Joy Finish Time = 2:22:20 (10:52 pace)
Female 40-44 Place = 118/311 Top 37%
Gender Place = 836/1927 Top 43%
Overall = 1707/3082 Top 55%

I was thrilled with my results! I finished 8 minutes faster than I assumed I would. This was a badass course and yet I was in the top third of my age group and did better than more than half of my female peers. I accomplished this despite stopping at ALL 6 aid stations for water (the cold dry air had me parched) and despite walking up a lot of hills (done to keep my heart rate under control to prevent early fatigue).

80/20 Training Thoughts
It's clear to me now that low heart rate training works. The science behind it made sense to my intellectual mind, which is why I took a leap of faith and ran like a tortoise for 4 months. My emotional mind could not comprehend how running slow could help me run well in a race. I knew it could help me recover from over-training, but beyond that? I was dubious (though Rosanna kept saying she just knew it would pay off). 

On race day you do not worry about your heart rate, you just run. I was solid in myself and did not start too fast, knowing that the speedsters passing me by now, would be walking in the final miles later, as I cruised by. I ran what felt comfortable. I looked around and took in the views, telling myself how pretty it was; how lucky I was. 

Since I had no pressure on myself to hit a certain time/pace, I looked at my watch infrequently. When I did look, I was often surprised to see I was running between a 9:15-10:00 pace - a far cry from my training long run pace of 11:40-12:30. If my mind started doing the math, whispering in my ear, "If you keep this up you could finish in x amount of time", I quickly quelled it, and reminded myself to stay in the moment, not to worry about the outcome. 

In training, I'd worried that I'd gasp for air if running faster in a race with a higher heart rate (HR) since my body had grown accustomed to moving slow with a HR of 145 or less. Not the case. My breathing never felt taxed despite running this race with an average HR of 160. 

In most races, I'm acutely aware of the miles. I live for the next mile marker. This time, I actually lost track once and was pleasantly surprised to find I'd hit mile 8, when I thought I was on 7. I wasn't desperate to see mile markers because I wasn't suffering physically or mentally. My slow training taught my body to use fat for fuel, so I needed none on the course. Because my body was using fat in conjunction with glycogen (converted carbs in your muscles), I wasn't pushing my body into the bonking zone. Mentally, my slow training taught me to settle in for the long haul. Running 12-15 miles in the final 6 weeks of training, left me outside slogging along for 2-3 hours. I learned how to hunker down and stay the course. These lessons, all from 80/20 running, were learned over the past 4 months and then realized in this race. 

After the race, I had high energy and wasn't sore or stiff. The next day, my body felt loose and limber. We spent a couple hours climbing (and zip lining) the ropes course at the Mega Caverns, then went for a 3 mile hike and still I felt good. 

The take away point of the 80/20 training is that my body was fresh to run faster on an uber challenging course because my nervous system was not taxed from months of medium intensity running (running too fast a lot of the time while not running fast enough some of the time). My recovery is fast because of this principal as well. I will no longer train exclusively by low heart rate, but I do intend to make sure my long runs and recovery runs are S L O W, and I'm going to be diligent about resting properly in the following 2 weeks before gearing up for our next half marathon - the Wisconsin Cheezy on May 2nd. 

Donning our 2# Medals!

15 Miles

I've been running for 8 years. In that time, I've covered more than 8,000 miles, completing 20 half marathons and 40 races of lesser distances. It is not uncommon for people to ask me when I'm going to try a full marathon, and my answer is always, unwaveringly the same, "Never. I have no desire to run that far." I usually go on to say that 13.1 miles (a half marathon) feels like plenty each time I cross the finish line, that there is no way I can even imagine doubling that distance for a full marathon. I stand by that statement. 

Most half marathon training plans have long runs that max out between 10-12 miles. There is no plan out there (that I'm aware of) that actually has you run the race distance, let alone further than the race distance. This is because it is not physiologically necessary to do so... unless you're doing the 80/20 aerobic building plan, which calls for a 14 mile run 2 weeks before your scheduled half marathon. 

Since I've had a lot of 12 mile runs in this training plan, I did not feel daunted by running 14. In fact, I was excited to run further than I've ever run before. Yesterday was a gorgeous day for a run - temps balmy in the 40's, bright blue skies, windy (but not chilling), bare ground exposed after a week of snow melt. Well rested, steel oats in my belly, I ventured out to ALL corners of Waukesha. The first 3-4 miles of my run were terrible. My legs felt like dead weight, I was hyperaware of my breathing and constantly checking my heart rate (HR) to insure I was in the correct parameters. During this period of struggle, the strangest thing happened - I latched onto the idea of adding an extra mile to make my run 15 miles. Say whaaaaaat? 

Yep. A barrage of thoughts occurred at once. They went something like this: I remembered a non-pressing goal uttered some years ago about trying to run 15 miles someday. I thought about how that vague goal wasn't compelling enough to motivate me to run 15 miles on my own accord. I acknowledged that the chances of having another training plan dictating a 14 mile long run were nil. I identified the perfect weather as a rare occurrence and I imagined the sense of accomplishment I'd feel having run a solid 15 miles. The convergence of these thoughts gripped me, the miles started getting better (because my legs finally started working) and the run took on new momentum. I was on a mission. 

When I say my run took me all over Waukesha, I do not exaggerate. I traveled from our house on the SE side to the furthest portions of NW Waukesha. covering 90 freakin' floors in the process! This route, almost exclusively along attractive residential streets, took me through my Carroll University neighborhood, along the Fox River, beyond Waukesha Memorial Hospital, onto the Glacial Drumlin Trail and into the area I've termed the Glacial Cone neighborhood (see picture below). The "Glacial Cone" neighborhood is on the Western edge of the city, with fingers extended towards the Retzer Nature Center and beyond to the Southern Kettle Moraine Unit and Lapham Peak. The glacial cone is a large, tall, treeless cone that towers over the neighborhood. Streets stem away from the base of the cone, like spokes on a wheel, with names such as Cone View Court, Crestwood Drive, etc. This neighborhood is full of woodsy patches and a large grassy mall (think of a much smaller version of the mall in Washington DC). It was in this space that I encountered Joe and told him my plan to extend my run to 15 miles (he didn't bite - after a long work week, 14 was all he cared to do). 

The "Glacial Cone" Neighborhood - see the cone? the mall?

When I hit the 12 mile mark, I checked my time. I was running 15 seconds per mile faster than I had 2 weeks ago on the same route! Now all I had left was 3 miles and I could bask in the glory of pushing myself for 15 miles. Those final 3 miles slowed a bit and it became more difficult to keep my HR low, but I never considered stopping at 14 (even though I was only 4 blocks from home). Walking in the door, nearly 3 hours after I set out, Garmin reflecting 15.00 mi (with an average HR of 147), Joe gave me a high five and I got started on the second half of my day☺

Another Year Older

My 44^th year (technically, my 45^th if you follow the Chinese way of calculating age) has started in a flawless fashion. I took my actual birthday off from work and slept in ‘til 6a.m. Entering the kitchen I found a silver gift bag on the counter with a card from Joe directing me to open one gift every 4 hours until he came home. The first goody I grabbed was Foreigner's greatest hits CD - something I'd mentioned wanting a while back. With the sun rising and a limited amount of time before my 9a.m. pedicure, I suited up for what was hopefully my last run in frigid weather (-12°), because there is no better way to kick off another year of health and fitness then to immerse yourself in the elements, doing what you do to take care of yourself, right? Run done, it was off to Emma Faye for the warming waters and masterful foot massage that only Emma can deliver. I went with a hopeful spring design. Foreigner rockin' my car, I drove empty roads to a leisurely lite-n-healthy lunch at Cafe Manna with my mom and niece. Next came spring shopping at Kohl's with my 30%, birthday and miscellaneous coupons (5 tops and a pair of earrings for $49) and then home to open another gift - Eminem's latest CD. Eminem thumping on the surround sound, I paged through a plethora of texts, emails and Facebook birthday wishes and then it was time to open another gift ... a book I told Joe about, a companion of sorts to the Into the Wild story, this one written by the sister of Chris McCandless.

Eventually, I found my way to a sunny patch on the couch and chilled with Netflix (Bates Motel) until Joe arrived with Volcano Tofu and more gifts. Pictured above is a beautiful wrist cuff in the spirit of a new tattoo I have planned for early April. The $100 token you see is a gift certificate for The Waukesha Tattoo Company to put towards that tattoo. Other gifts included more Stuffits for my running shoes (needed because I now have more shoes than Stuffits) and hanging jewelry organizers - an ever observant and thoughtful gift idea formed by my numerous requests of Joe to untangle my necklaces (though they sit in boxes, they mysteriously get twisted up). We closed the night with a Breaking Bad marathon. It was a perfect day.

The weekend continued to smile upon me. Saturday was in the 30's - sunny, bright blue skies, snow melt trickling - making for a very comfortable 10-mile long run. Along my route I came across hundreds of ducks on the Fox River, which made me oh so happy, and I finished my run 10 seconds per mile faster (while at the same HR) then I did 5 weeks ago.

Joe continued the birthday celebration making my traditional birthday meal - homemade pizza and homemade brownies with vanilla ice cream. In the midst of that, my niece, an avid Goodwill shopper, texts me this picture of a brand new Title 9 dress, normally $79, being sold for $15 ... do I want it? Fuck yeah! I have one of these dresses in a different color/pattern and love it - it's an airy, flattering fit, perfect for spring and summer occasions. 

The day concluded with more Breaking Bad, followed by a long solid sleep.Waking an hour later than usual because it's Daylight Savings Time, Sunday's gift comes in the form of more daylight, the best harbinger of spring in Wisconsin. The day has had enough time for duties (prepping for the week), rest (Breaking Bad!) and a much needed car wash. 

It's been a great birthday weekend. I have such a good life!

Sayonara February!

For those that don’t know, February is my most hated month. It seems to drag on forever, and this year, the coldest February in 79 years with an average high of 14°, felt even longer. The cold extends beyond the outdoors – work is cold, unless I’m huddled against my desk heater, home is cold unless I’m in motion and the gym, especially the locker room, is cold unless I’m running hard. Despite the cold, we kept all of our long runs outdoors, logging 12 miles most weekends in preparation for our late March race. When my 80/20 training plan started in mid-December, March was too far in the future to even contemplate. 

Now it’s March 2^nd, and my stomach roils a bit when I think the countdown has begun – 26 days until we’re in Lexington, KY at the Run The Bluegrass Half Marathon. The shirts and medals have been released. This is a fairly new phenomenon in the racing world – the early preview of your race swag. Just a few years ago, you didn’t know what the t-shirt would be until you picked up your packet, and the medal was a surprise revealed at the finish line. Now, more races are showing you the medal and shirt in advance – some even let you vote on what colors/designs they should use. Pictured below is the honking medal we will receive, weighing in at ½ pound!

Last week, Week 11/15 of my 80/20 Plan, started yielding results, as evidenced by me running faster paces at the same heart rate. For example, my long run Saturday over a hilly 75-floor glacial route was completed 30 seconds per mile faster than it was 3 weeks ago, with both runs averaging a HR of 145. This doesn’t mean I’ve become a speed demon. I’m still running a lot slower than I did last year at this time, but this does show that my aerobic conditioning is finally taking hold. This progress is the pick me up I desperately needed following weeks of doubts. In fact, I am contemplating whether I should extend this HR training beyond the race. Some proponents of this low heart rate training method (namely Phil Maffetone) advise it be done for 3-6 months for maximum benefit. I’m 3 months in and just starting to see improvements…do I gut it out for another 3 to see where this goes? (Note: it may have taken this long for results to occur because I may have been more “overtrained” then first suspected) OR after the race do I go back to my previous training methods? (will that lead to increased risk for overtraining again?) OR do I get a running coach?

 

I’ve been chewing on the idea of getting a running coach for months. It might be nice to have someone tell me what to do and tailor a plan to my strengths and weaknesses for optimal performance. Last year I had some amazing races and paces, but was unaware of the damage I was causing my neuromuscular system with the constant heavy training loads. The cruelty of overtraining syndrome is that you often peak and give some of your best performances before you crash, and how are you to know at those times of glory that you are actually on the verge of crashing? I’ve researched running coaches in the area and have found this  guy who seems accomplished and knowledgeable. He will be at an upcoming April running expo…I may have to chat him up and let the vibe of the discussion guide my decision! http://www.thunderdomerunning.com/