Cherry Blossom 10-miler

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

December 31, 2011 by Kristy 12 Comments

I debated about whether to write a 2011 recap post. Last night I decided not to but then today I had this nagging feeling like I should. 2011 was a good year so I should do it justice!

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time you probably already know what I’m most proud of in 2011 – qualifying for Boston at the Lehigh Valley Marathon on 9/11/11.

3 weeks later, I found out that I would be running Boston in 2012.

There were other PRs too. Cherry Blossom 10-miler (1:19), a hot and humid 5K (23:22 – I need to revisit this!), and a not-what-I-wanted-but-a-PR-nonetheless at the Philly Half Marathon (1:47).

I can’t forget our travels in 2011 either. San Francisco in February. Ireland in May.

Other good stuff: I started a blog and “officially” started my own little coaching business.

Instead of resolutions, I prefer to make goals. I want to document them here on the blog so, one year from now, I can see my progress (or lack of). In no particular order, here’s what I’d like to accomplish in 2012:

1. Run a sub-3:40 at Boston and BQ again (more on this later).

2. Study and pass the CSCS exam.

3. Revamp the blog and switch to self-hosting.

4. Grow my coaching business.

I think that is enough! I also don’t like to be unrealistic!

Happy New Year!

Tell me something you would like to accomplish in 2012 (it can be anything)…

November Race Goals

November 3, 2011 by Kristy 13 Comments

I have 2 races scheduled so far in November: a 12K on 11/12 and the Philly HM on 11/20. I’m mulling over running this Turkey Trot for fun on Thanksgiving Day. And I’m scoping out a low-key 5K in early December. Low-key = not many fast runners, so I have a chance to place in my AG. I have no shame.

Back to the 12K and HM. The only reliable, recent race time I have is my 1:19 finish at the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler in April. Since the 12K is a little under 10 miles (7.45) and the HM a little over, this should be a good predictor. And…bonus, I know my speed has improved since April 🙂

My goal for the 12K is to start just under 8:00 pace and drop it down from there. I know I’ll be hating life early on from oxygen deprivation. I don’t want to be too balls-to-the-wall about my pace in the beginning cause I’ll just end up crashing. It’s an interesting distance, 7.45 miles. It’ll be a PR regardless of time since the 12K distance is new to me.

For the HM, I want a sub-1:45. I won’t be happy with anything in the 1:45 range. Plain and simple!

I’m itching to race again but also dreading these races at the same time. The way I see it, there are essentially 2 types of race day pain: the marathon pain (my-legs-hurt-I-can’t-go-another-step-please-make-this-stop) and oxygen deprivation/lung pain. Personally, I’ll take marathon pain any day. I hate when my lungs are screaming and I’m in that “no talk” zone. Case and point why I would rather run 20 miles over a 5K.

Any November races? I know many of you are doing the Philly HM or Marathon! I hope to see you there!

Which race day pain do you prefer: marathon pain or oxygen deprivation/lung pain?

Taper Time + Week 14 Recap

April 11, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

4/11/11

7 miles easy

1:06

9:26 avg pace

I’m officially tapering…the hard work is done; now it’s time to rest and prepare for the big race. I’m aiming to keep my overall mileage in the low 30s this week and the mid-20s next week, since my training cycle stressed low mileage. Unfortunately, I still have 2 speed workouts to do 🙁

This Sunday I’ll be running the Penn Relays Distance Classic 20K (about 12.4 miles). I won’t be racing it though. I’m using it as a goal marathon pace run, which is exactly what my training plan calls for anyway. I love when it all comes together!

Week 14 Recap of NJ Marathon training:
MON: rest
TUE: 8 tempo
WED: 7 easy
THU: rest
FRI: 6 easy
SAT: 22 looong
SUN: rest

43 miles for the week with no speed work. My legs were more sore than I thought they would be after the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler. I’m glad I took another easy day so I could get in a good 22-miler! Missing too? Yoga. I was leery of taking a class this week since I tweaked something in last Friday’s class. Usually I leave yoga feeling better but not that time. I was worried it would affect my race last week, but I was OK.

I’m going to show all of you just how weird I am…every time I say “taper time” I think of MC Hammer’s song “U Can’t Touch This”. You know…”stop, hammer time” kinda sounds like “stop, taper time?” Riiiight? Well if you never thought of it before, I bet you will now!

We saw this sign in Australia (if you look closely it says hammer time). I thought it was hysterical...and how appropriate?!

Run The Long Road is on Facebook! Click here to “like me”…please!

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler Race Report

April 4, 2011 by Kristy 16 Comments

Matt and I made it back to Philly safe and sound, albeit a little sore from yesterday’s race. We had a great weekend in DC and realized how much we miss living there. Thankfully, we get to visit quite often!

I loved this race and would definitely do it again. Fast and flat course, much like Philly’s Broad Street Run. Well organized with the exception of numerous locked porta potties pre-race. Apparently no one had the key either so race officials had to literally hammer the locks off. Nice. The weather ended up being perfect too; just a little cold at the start.

The only goal I made known to the blog world was to PR (beat my 1:23 time). I was pretty sure I could do this. On the way down to DC, I told Matt that I wanted to break 1:20. Lofty? Yes. I knew exactly what that entailed – maintaining a sub-8:00 pace for 10 miles. I wasn’t sure if I could do that…but I needed to try.

My strategy was to start out slow (always the best way to go) and then pick up the pace to just below 8:00 and keep it there. We had to check in our bags pretty early so we were left hanging in the cold for almost a 1/2 hour. My body was literally trembling and my muscles were getting stiff. I knew I needed to take the first mile easy to allow my body to warm up.

Mile 1 (8:14): right on target. This is exactly what I wanted to do. We started by running down a small hill and I heard someone say that we get to come back up the hill at the end of the race. I was hoping he was wrong and they had somehow changed to course.

Mile 2 (7:51): a little fast but my breathing was nice and controlled. By this time I had completely warmed up.

Mile 3 (7:43): this is where I committed to running a sub-1:20. I felt good and I wanted to give it a shot. I figured if I crashed and burned at Mile 6 I would probably still PR. I just had to try.

Miles 4 and 5 (both ~ 7:49): I missed the mile marker for Mile 4. Saying that I was glued to my Garmin would be an understatement. I must have glanced at it every 10 seconds.

Miles 6 (7:49) and 7 (7:50): a beautiful section of the course. We entered East Potomac Park and were running between rows of cherry blossoms along the river.

Miles 8 (7:49) and 9 (7:48): I start to get tired and I have to really push to maintain pace. I kept thinking back to my last marathon and how I felt like slowing down at Mile 23 but didn’t allow myself to give in. There was no way I was going to work my butt off for 23 miles and then slow down for the last 3?! That just didn’t make sense. I used the same thinking here – you came this far, do NOT give up.

Mile 10 (7:42): Remember the slight hill I mentioned during Mile 1? Well it reappeared during the last 1/4 mile. Fun. I plowed up it and then saw the finish line. I can’t believe I ran the last mile in 7:42!!!! I wanted that sub-1:20!!!

Official results:
1:19:12 (7:56 pace)
age group: 135/1857 (woo hoo!)

This is so helpful mentally with a marathon less than 4 weeks away 🙂

Matt’s results: 1:42:57 (10:18 pace). Matt doesn’t train at all. Literally rolls out of bed and pulls 10:00 min/miles outta nowhere!

Now for the fun stuff – pictures! I was a good blogger and made sure I snapped a few along the way…

DSCN0193 — Foam roller doubles as a tripod. Can you spot the White Chocolate Wonderful in the background?!

Washington-20110403-00029 — Sun rising over the Washington Monument

Washington-20110403-00032 — Post-race...so pretty!

I have to provide some background for the next picture. Matt has these gloves from a race he did a few years ago. They say “one more mile” on them. Every time he puts them on he says to me, “You know me…just one more mile. That’s my mantra”. If you know Matt, this is hysterical. Remember, he doesn’t train. One more mile is torture to him. After I took this picture, I almost peed myself.

I hope I didn’t bore you to tears! Thank you for your kind comments on my PR. They meant a lot to me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them!

A New 10 Mile PR!

April 3, 2011 by Kristy 15 Comments

4/3/11

Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Race

1:19:13 (unofficial Garmin time) –> a 4-minute PR!!!

7:55 avg pace

I’m very pleased! A full race report to come tomorrow, along with official results. Off to lunch with Matt and Hawk and then dinner with Camille and Reggie tonight (and a few beers)!

Hawk Does D.C.

April 2, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

Greetings from D.C.! Matt and I are happy to be back. We lived here for 3 years after college for grad school. We have so many good memories of this place and met so many great people (Matt and I lovingly refer to them as the “DC peeps”; we are still friends with all of them to this day).

We hit up the expo which was very crowded and uneventful, except for the weather. One minute sun…

The next minute crazy wind and hail. Yeah, waiting in line outside was fun.

Then we took Mr. Hawk for a long walk into Georgetown.

Since I’m all about honesty on Run The Long Road, I must make a confession. I broke down and ate a cupcake. I even photographed my evidence! If you missed my post a few days ago, I gave up sweets until after the marathon. I made it about a week. Maybe I should just focus on giving up DQ Blizzards until after the marathon?! In my defense, we barely ate lunch and my blood sugar was dropping to dangerously low levels.

DSCN0191 — Vanilla bean cupcake - it was delicious!

Off to dinner…and then to bed. Got a very early wake-up call tomorrow.