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no speed work, no problem

September 16, 2012 by Kristy 18 Comments

Balls to the wall.

I decided that would be my mantra late last week. Since the Philly RnR was not my goal HM this Fall (the Philly HM is), why not go balls to the wall and put it all out there? The worst that could happen is I blow up during mile 10 and have a miserable race. I’m so conservative sometimes, I just wanted to run like a lunatic and ignore my gut telling me to slow down.

So that’s exactly what I did. I wanted a 1:45 finish time (8:00 average pace) so I went – balls to the wall – out at 8:00 pace at mile 1.

Splits:

Official time: 1:45:12

That’s a 2-minute PR from last November!

At mile 10 I realized I could make 1:45 if I sped up a bit. I could not get over how good I felt. I haven’t done speed work since May – could this really be from ultra training? Absolutely.

A runner’s speed is limited by their aerobic capacity. But after 10 marathons over 8 years, I didn’t think I could further improve my endurance (significantly improve, at least). Endurance was always my strong suit while speed was my Achilles heel.

That’s a small reason why I wanted to train for an ultra. If my aerobic capacity could be improved, ultra training would do it. And if my aerobic capacity improved, I may be able to run faster – despite doing no speed work.

So my ultra training turned into a little side experiment for me – with excellent results! The weather was also a factor in my performance today as was my no expectations mentality.

But on to better things…

Today my niece (she’s only 17!) and my sister-in-law became half marathoners!

Congrats girls – I am so proud of you! Enjoy the post-race high…you earned it!

Fear

September 9, 2012 by Kristy 14 Comments

The last time I ran under 9:00 pace was May.

Next weekend I’m running the Philly RnR Half and I don’t want to go into the race blindly and not know where I stand with my speed.

This past Spring (and many years before it) I was solely focused on speed. Then I switched gears entirely to train for a 50K. Going from fast running to slow running was easy, although I must admit my pride took a hit (and let’s keep in mind “fast” is a relative term here). But going from slow running back to fast running is frightening. I knew I had to make a date with fear this week to assess my speed – and I was scared to death.

I often read about ultra runners PRing in marathons done as training runs. These PRs are somewhat unexpected, as they focus little (or none) on speed work during ultra training. But the sheer volume of their training and the adaptions that come with LSD running enable these PRs. Also, since these marathons are merely a preparation for their ultra, they go into the race with little expectation. It’s just another training run to them so there is no pressure.

I am hoping I can reap the benefits of a summer spent slogging through mile after mile next Sunday. Do I think I’m in PR shape? No, but I hope to come close.

My half marathon PR is nothing to write home about – 1:47 at last year’s Philly HM. Given where I was speed-wise last Fall it should be closer to 1:45 or below.

OK, back to my date with fear (which kept getting delayed this week because of the humidity). The workout was 8 miles with 6 miles “fast”. I wanted to run between 8:00-8:20 pace and assess how this felt. Not entirely scientific (I should have worn my HR monitor) but good enough.

The 6 “fast” miles: 8:14, 8:20, 8:19, 8:08, 8:13, 8:03.

I’m happy I was able to run the last 3 faster than the first 3. Do I think I could keep this up for another 6+ miles? Probably not. My turnover felt awkward but that’s to be expected after a summer of slow running.

I got over the fear, I ripped off the Band-Aid…speed work is making a come back. I’m going to see how things go at RnR…no pressure, just enjoy the race.

I still have the Philly HM in November and that will be my goal race.

I may be on to something…

September 3, 2012 by Kristy 11 Comments

Happy Labor Day! Hopefully you are outside soaking in the last day of summer and not stuck inside because of the rain. It’s pretty miserable in Philly today.

I recently read 2 interesting articles backing up 2 of my non-traditional training habits: (1) not eating before long runs and (2) running long runs at or near marathon pace. I blogged about this awhile ago so I’ll spare you the details on why I do what I do.

The first article was mentioned on Miss Zippy’s blog and it advocates fasting 3 hours or more for runs lasting more than 60-90 minutes. For many of us AM runners, that means getting up around 4AM to fuel (or earlier). The author says don’t sacrifice sleep in order to get your pre-run meal in, as long as you begin fueling shortly after you begin running AND you adequately refueled for recovery after your last run.

I have done training runs up to 26 miles without eating before. I don’t get hungry, my stomach is happy, and my performance is better. I always begin fueling with Shot Bloks after 4 miles and drink chocolate milk afterwards for recovery. It’s the whole cycle of not eating before, fueling soon after, and fueling for recovery that makes it work. When I do eat on race day, it’s always 3 hours before start time.

The second article was in the September issue of Running Times. Renato Canova, coach to the elites, advocates high-volume goal-paced training. While this obviously isn’t a ground breaking idea, Canova maintains that traditional tempo runs are too short (and, thus, have no connection to the marathon) and the long run for the marathon is too slow.

While I agree and certainly do my long runs near marathon pace, I also think there is a place for LSD runs, especially for beginners. I would say 25% of my marathon training runs are done at LSD pace.

Mandatory Rest Week

August 28, 2012 by Kristy 14 Comments

8 days, no running
I always take a week off from running after a marathon. I highly recommend it. It’s obviously a much needed mental and physical break but an added perk is you begin to crave and miss running again. That generally happens around Day 5 for me and I force myself to hold on for 2 more days.

This time around 7 days turned into 8 because I stayed up late Sunday night to watch the True Blood season finale. This season was a little strange, no? Thank god for Eric and Alcide or I may have stopped watching.

Looking ahead…
Today I eased back into running with 6 miles. I felt great, aside from the humidity. I may do a 5K soon (what?!) to see where I am speed-wise. My last speed workout was Broad Street back in May. I do have 2 HMs this Fall – Philly RnR in September and Philly HM in November. I’m toying with the idea of doing the Runner’s World HM in October. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet though. Bottom line – if I want to PR in any of these HMs, I need to get back on board with speed work. Sigh.

Final thoughts on the 50K and ultra running in general
Official results were finally posted and I came in 14 out of 25 overall and 3rd out of 6 females.

I think it’s always good to wait a few days after a race to assess how you really feel about it. That way, you know you’re not making rash conclusions and your judgment isn’t clouded. So what did I think?

It’s such a different experience than the marathon but I liked it. Really liked it. As long as there is no grass running.

I train by myself so the whole running-in-the-woods-by-yourself-with-no-spectators was OK by me. I’m used to it. It was like a very long training run.

I love that walking is completely acceptable as is eating actual food.

I love the low-key atmosphere. Think of how much mental energy you expend before lining up for a big race. The logistics of getting there, parking, bag check, waiting in line for the porta potties, and getting to your corral…it’s exhausting. And don’t get me started on the expos. For the 50K I waited in my car until 7:50 and walked about 50 feet to to start line.

The girl that finished 2nd came in at 5:15. I didn’t show up until 5:54. Where else can you have that much lag time between runners? Side note on the girl that finished 2nd: I did some stalking and found out she has a blog. She’s a 3:15 marathoner and a cancer survivor. She’s only 36. WOW.

I definitely can’t wait for my next ultra (already planning on a 50-miler!). But it won’t be this year. I want to relax a bit and just run HMs for a few months…and give my legs a break.

If you watch True Blood, what did you think of this season?

Do you like big races? I do Broad Street (a logistical nightmare) and Philly RnR every year. It’s tradition…I have to do them even though every year I say never again…

inal ultra thoughts 2nd place girl

Turkey Swamp 50K Recap

August 20, 2012 by Kristy 27 Comments

Remember how I said a 50K isn’t a real ultramarathon and I felt silly calling it that? Well, forget that, I’m an ultramarathoner!

Let’s start at the beginning and I promise to get to the good stuff quickly.

The weather was perfect. At the start temps were in the high 50s! Talk about luck being on my side. 50s in August?!

The course…oh my god, the course. I ran 12.5 x 2.5 mile loops, with the first loop being 3 miles. That’s already over 31 miles. And the 2.5 mile loop wasn’t so much 2.5 miles. I knew going into this race that there was a strong possibility of running over 31 miles. Turns out all the 50Kers ran about 32.4 miles.

The course consisted of…

1. a dirt road – no issues there

2. trail running through the woods – I was OK with this too; everything was well marked so my fears of getting lost were put to rest. The trail had some tree stumps in areas which required some fancy footwork. Bonus – I didn’t fall once!

3. grass running – about 50% of the loop was grass running (a la Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, although I wasn’t nearly having that much fun). The grass was long, the ground was uneven, and it was slow going…like running in sand. I detested this part of the loop.

After each loop you had to cross over the timing mat in order to count your loops. More on this later…

After the first loop I knew it was going to take me awhile to finish.

loop 2 or 3, heading towards the timing mat

The race for the most part was uneventful. Loop after loop passed and I felt alright. My legs were more tired than normal because of all the extra effort on the grass portions. There was just so. much. grass.

Around Mile 24 or 25 (?) I asked Matt (my awesome 1-man support team) to find out from the race timers how many loops I had left. Doing the math from my Garmin, I figured 2 full loops and then the 1/2 loop to the finish line.

I already knew the course measured long. The guy that won the 50K told me (as he lapped me again) that I should “be prepared” to run at least 32 miles.

So imagine my surprise when I find out that I only have 1.5 loops left (after mentally preparing for 2.5 loops). OK, well I guess my Garmin is measuring short? While everyone else’s Garmin is measuring long?

Me: “Really?! Are you sure? Oh my god, that is the best news I ever heard!!!”
Matt: “Yes, that’s what the race timers told me” (not sure of his exact words but it went something like that).

I cannot tell you how happy I was. I bid adieu to the grass and finished my last full loop with a huge smile on my face.

As I neared the timing mat (about to start my 1/2 loop to the finish) Matt’s face didn’t look so happy. Turns out the race timers were counting wrong and everyone got the awful news that they had to run 1 more FULL loop.

I wish I could say I handled this well. I was pissed. F-bombs flew. How could they mess up? Mentally it was a HUGE blow. 1 more FULL loop + the 1/2 loop to the finish. F$%k!

I was exhausted and I was starting to get hungry. I walked for a bit to regain some composure and forged onward for some more grass running.

Somewhere out in the grass field my Garmin clocked 31 miles in 5:38.

I crossed the finish line in 5:54, running 32.4 miles, 10:57 average pace (Garmin stats). I’m slightly annoyed that 5:54 will be associated with a 50K even though it wasn’t a 50K. But that’s how these races go and I need to get used to it.

so happy to finally stop running

After I crossed the finish line the race official shoved a small trophy in my hand and says “you were 3rd female, congratulations”. What?! It was hard to tell where everyone was but I thought I was bringing up the rear of the 50K for sure. There were some speedy men and women out there.

Full disclosure: the field was very small (see pic below) and I counted 7 women total, including myself. Official results haven’t been posted yet but I do know 1 woman dropped down to the marathon distance (there were 3 other races besides the 50K). So 3rd place out of 6 isn’t so impressive but I’ll take it!

the 50K was a lonely race

ultramarathoner

with my 1-man support crew – thanks Matt!

This race was definitely my toughest – tougher than Boston in the heat. I completely underestimated how much trail (and grass) running slows you down. I definitely need a lot more experience running “real” trails before my next trail race… which isn’t anytime soon. For now, I am going to savor my mandatory rest week and enjoy the post-race high!

Live Greater

August 13, 2012 by Kristy 15 Comments

It’s race week!

My 50K is Sunday and I’m more excited for this than anything…

payback for a hot Boston Marathon

My legs feel fresh and my mental state is sound with only minor fits of taper crazies.

My list of items to pack is made and I’ve been prepping Matt about what he’ll need to do for 5+ hours. He’s a lucky guy.

I’m excited at the prospect of running further than I ever have before. I feel silly calling it an “ultra” even though it technically is. In my mind (and from what I’ve heard) real “ultras” are 50-milers and beyond.

I’m not discounting the toughness of those last 5 miles (more like 5+ miles, since the course historically measures long). No matter how many marathons I run, I’m constantly humbled by how far 26.2 miles really is.

I have some new inspiration though, something to repeat when the going gets tough…”live greater”.

I have mentioned numerous times how much I love my college, St. Joseph’s University. Love may not even be a strong enough word. Obsessed?

Anyway, SJU launched their “live greater” campaign – during the Olympics no less – and the commercials are brilliant.

I love the title — “When Good Enough Simply Isn’t”

I have never been more proud to be a SJU alum.

To an outsider the commercial may seem cheesy and a little Brady Bunch-esque but it’s an accurate representation of my 4 years there.

So now I have the prefect mantra to help propel me during those last 5 miles.

See you on the other side, folks!