FIRST training plan

Vortex of Doubt

February 22, 2012 by Kristy 25 Comments

After a particularly crappy speed session yesterday, I was doubting my ability to even run another 3:43 marathon in Boston, much less a sub-3:40. Don’t let 1 little run shake your confidence, right? I totally agree but it’s much beyond 1 run.

Since I started training for Boston, I haven’t made the huge gains in speed that I did in my last training cycle. And paces that were once easy feel a little bit more labored. My legs always feel good but my breathing is a little off.

Enter the vortex of doubt. It started creeping in around Week 2 and now has set up residence in my head (I can’t help but think of the Mucinex commercial where the mucus takes up residence in your lungs). I feel like doubt is snowballing out of control and taking me with it. Yep, that’s me.

With 5 1/2 weeks left of training before the taper, I’m making changes.

Where did my mental game go? I really worked on it last cycle but it seems to have fallen by the wayside. Ironically enough, my friend sent me this article written by Chrissie Wellington yesterday. She knows a thing or two about mental game
This is my 3rd training cycle in a row following the FIRST plan. Although I still believe it’s a great plan, my body may have adjusted and plateaued. I never really followed it to a T but in the next few weeks I’m going to diverge more from it and do my own thing (more tempo, hill repeats, and progression runs and less track work).
Rethink hitting the almighty 60 miles. I’m not sure why I’m so obsessed with hitting a certain number when I know (for marathon training) 55 miles per week is my sweet spot.
Remember to have fun. I am training for Boston!

54 days to go!

I need some new mantras. What’s your go-to mantra?

The First 20 and Boston Week 4 Recap

January 30, 2012 by Kristy 10 Comments

Saturday was the first of 5 20-milers that I’ll be doing to prep for Boston. Why so many? Well, practice makes perfect and (generally) I handle 20 miles pretty well in terms of recovery, so I can do a lot of them without compromising my other runs.

So the weather was perfect on Saturday. Seriously, it felt like Spring. Night and day compared to a week ago. I did 2 hilly loops totaling 11 miles before heading for some flat, paved trail for the remaining 9 miles. My breathing felt off the entire time. I slowed down, I sped up, and yet it was still off. I started getting hot and I guess I was sweating more than I thought. I tried drinking more but it was too late, I was already dehydrated. Boo. The last 3 miles were HARD. I wanted to stop and quit, especially at mile 19. 19 miles? 20 miles? What’s the difference? I thought about Boston and, knowing I would never quit at mile 25, I trudged onward. 2 hours and 55 minutes later (8:45 average pace), I was done.

I quickly got into my car (all I wanted to do was sit down) and chugged my chocolate milk. Then the aching and throbbing began. My legs were hurting big time. I transitioned into sitting too quickly. I usually walk around, drink my chocolate milk, and stretch a bit before driving home. Thank god it’s a short drive because I was in pain. Some stretching, a nice hot shower, lots of food, and a long walk with Hawk and my legs felt completely fine.

Boston Week 4 Recap
MON: 6 miles easy
TUE: 8 miles tempo with 4 miles @ 7:50 pace (7:44, 7:48, 7:54, 7:57). During the last interval there was a creepy raccoon wandering around and I had to stop and wait for it to move away. Ewwww.
WED: ~~barre~~ My body was screaming for a rest day so I slept in instead.
THU: 5 miles with 10 hill repeats. I did a mix of short and long hill repeats.
FRI: yoga. I left the class feeling wonderful!
SAT: 20 miles
SUN: 5 miles super easy

44 miles for the week. I was aiming for 47 but oh well, I needed rest. This week is a drop back week….all the way to 40 miles. Living on the edge!

Ever get that achy, throbbing feeling in your legs? The last time I got it was after the Pocono Marathon in May 2010 (it was so memorable because it was so painful).

Olympic Trials, Haircut, And A Long Run

January 15, 2012 by Kristy 11 Comments

Happy Sunday! I’m enjoying Day 2 of a 3-day weekend! I just got back from barre class which kicked my butt, as always. My legs were already tired from 15 miles yesterday and all the pulsing and squeezing sent them over the edge this morning.

So, the Olympic Marathon Trials?! So exciting. I cannot wait for London. I just got back from my long run in enough time to catch the Twitterfest of the finish. Meb is amazing and Shalane, Kara, and Desi are a force to be reckoned with in London.

hawk_oly — Hawk enjoyed watching the Trials as well

I wish I could say that I channeled some of that elite energy during my LR but I didn’t. 15 miles with an average pace of 9:04. I will call that a LSD run. I slept 4 hours on Friday night (random insomnia) and, beginning at mile 6, I developed a blister on my right foot (while wearing my Adrenaline 11s – yes, the ones that are supposed to feel good). I have no idea what kind of metamorphosis my right foot is undergoing but it better morph back to my old foot pronto. I’ve never had issues with blisters before. They suck and can really derail a run.

To be honest, my heart was not in this run. I was tired. It was so, so cold. The wind kept smacking me in the forehead and pissing me off. I wanted it to be OVER. I came home and I was upset. This was a slow run for me and a good 45 seconds slower than MP. Then I took out my FIRST plan and looked at what pace I was supposed to run those 15 miles (note: when it comes to long runs I generally “beat” whatever pace the FIRST plan calls for…so I never even bother to look at it pre-run). 9:08. I ran 9:04 and called it a terrible run. I stopped sulking after that.

And…I got my hair cut yesterday! I got a good 6 inches lopped off the back. It feels amazing to have less hair to deal with! It was getting to the point where my hair was in a ponytail every single day. Some pics…

haircut_1 — it may not look like a lot from the front...

Good luck to everyone running Houston today!

What did you think of the Trials?

Did you have a good long run this weekend?

Being Flexible and Boston Week 1 Recap

January 9, 2012 by Kristy 10 Comments

When I first started training for marathons and knew very little about myself as a runner (or really anything about marathon training), I would follow a set training plan. All 16 weeks planned out in black and white. This type of training is beneficial for beginners, as long as you are listening to your body and pushing when appropriate and resting when you need it. My approach to training now is drastically different then it was back then.

Every Sunday, I plan out my running schedule for the week. I’m using the FIRST plan so in a way those 16 weeks are planned out but I modify the plan so much it’s never set in stone. Things I consider:

Am I busy this week? Do I have stuff to do after work or during the weekend?
What’s the weather like (especially in the winter)? If there is even a hint of snow, I will finagle my schedule to get all my key runs in before the snow hits.
What was my total mileage last week? How much should I increase it this week or decrease if it’s a drop back week?
When will I strength train this week?
How am I feeling overall? How did my runs go last week? Did I hit all my key workouts?

All of these factors go into my planning. The only things really set in stone are my track workouts and long run mileage. Everything else I decide on the Sunday prior. Even the days I do track, tempo, and easy runs change each week (although I try and get track work done on Mondays to get it out of the way). I love the flexibility this gives me and my training has improved so much.

Boston Week 1 Recap
I’ll call week 1 a success! Aside from my failed tempo run and yoga fail (I just couldn’t get my butt there on Sunday – I have no better excuse than that), I was happy with my long run on Saturday.

MON: 3 x 1-mile repeats
TUE: 7 easy
WED: barre class
THU: rest
FRI: 6 pseudo-tempo miles
SAT: 13 (avg pace – 8:37). I totally under dressed for this run. I started running at 7:30 and it was bitterly cold (it later went up to 60 degrees!). I had a thin, long-sleeved tech shirt and cheap Target stretchy gloves. I thought my hands were going to freeze and fall off. I even stopped into a bathroom to use the hand dryer to warm them up (I hate stopping during long runs too but this was so necessary).
SUN: 6 easy

38 total miles for the week 🙂

Do you follow a set schedule or plan your runs weekly like me?

Ever think you were going to get frostbite during a run? Once my hands get cold, it’s all downhill for me. It actually gets painful and I can’t concentrate. I do use hand warmers sometimes but apparently didn’t think it was necessary on Saturday.

Boston Training and Goals

January 4, 2012 by Kristy 24 Comments

I hope everyone is surviving this week so far. Work yesterday felt so strange…what’s my password? Where’s my to do list? What happened in December? Tuesday was a blur. I did manage 7 easy miles outside in the numbing wind.

Onto my Boston training…not surprisingly I’m using the 3:40 FIRST marathon plan. It worked well for me in the past so I’m going with it. Each time I modify it even more to fit my needs.

More mileage – hopefully (maybe) I can hit 60 miles this training cycle? I hit 53 last cycle but I think I was running my easy runs too fast. If I slowed down I probably could have accommodated higher mileage. My hard days are really hard, so my 2 easy runs should be really easy. Of course, this will all depend on how I feel. Adaptive training 🙂

Strength training – barre and yoga each week. I think I figured out a schedule that works, which was an issue in the past. This means 6AM barre class on Wednesday mornings!

Hills, hills, hills – Uphills and downhills! My LRs will be done on a hilly course and I’ll probably swap out a track or tempo workout every now and then for hill repeats.

Less Garmin-obsessed running – like I mentioned Monday, my track workouts will be based on effort and my easy days (which are now really easy) will be Garmin-free.

As for goals, I want to re-qualify for Boston at Boston. That means a sub-3:40 which should be doable. Here’s how I see it…I’ve shaved 30 minutes off my marathon time from May 2010 to September 2011, so what’s an additional 4 minutes? It won’t be easy, Boston is a tough course, but it’s not impossible!

Another unrelated goal is to eek out a sub-7:00 mile. 6:59 would be acceptable.

This morning is my first time going to barre class before work. I’m getting changed at the gym and then heading straight to work. No shower. The thought of showering at the gym skeeves me out, like I’m back in college. I don’t sweat that much at barre and I will shower beforehand. Matt thinks this is gross. I can guarantee I will be no cleaner after using a communal shower! I just hope I don’t forget anything important, like my work pants. If so, wunder unders it is!

Ever shower at the gym? Is it gross? I just have flashbacks to dorm living and wearing flip flops in the shower!

Are you currently training for anything? If so, what are your goals?

Believe

September 21, 2011 by Kristy 12 Comments

Thank you for all the incredible comments on my post yesterday. I think Alyssa said it best…

I thought all BQers were naturally speedy and ran sub-4 marathons without even trying.

That’s a myth! I used to think the same thing. This is exactly why I wrote that post – to show you that an average runner can BQ!

How’d I do it? Let’s start with the physical part first.

Know what works for you
When I’m coaching someone, I often tell them that I made every mistake in the book so they don’t have to. I really think I did. Lots of trial and error. But it made me a smart runner. I know what my body can handle and what it can’t. I know which training plans will work for me and which ones won’t. I know when to back off and rest and when to kick it up a notch.

Listen to your body and keep a training log. After each training cycle and race, jot down what worked and what didn’t. Review often and look for any patterns.

Marathon-paced long runs
I love me some marathon-paced long runs! I wrote a post awhile ago explaining my reasoning for not doing long, slow distance long runs here. LSD does not work for me. I gave it a fair shot. My coaching certification is through RRCA and they heavily stress LSD long runs for everyone – beginners to elite. I 100% agree with LSD long runs for beginners who need to build an adequate endurance base. But, if you have a time goal in mind, you need to incorporate some MP miles into your long runs. For the simple reason that practice makes perfect.

Speed work (FIRST training plan)
I used the FIRST training plan for my last 2 marathons (with modifications – I added in some easy runs for more mileage). I definitely credit it with helping me BQ. Before the NJ Marathon, I went to the track here and there but I wasn’t consistent. I’ve been doing speed work consistently for the past 9 months and the results are astounding. My marathon pace dropped significantly. And I saw results quickly.

Consistency is key here. Pick a day each week and dedicate it to speed work. It’s easiest to do on a track but any flat, paved path (free of traffic) will do. And don’t think you have to run all-out…that is a misnomer. You can do intervals at 10K or half marathon pace. For my final weeks leading up to the Lehigh Valley Marathon, I kept my intervals at 10K pace because I found myself overstriding (and subsequently hurting my hamstring) when I did intervals at 5K pace.

2-week taper
This training cycle was the first time I experimented with a 2-week taper. And I will never go back to a 3-week taper again! For me, it’s more mental than anything. I had a good 22-miler 2 weeks before the LVM. The day of the race I kept thinking that all I had to do was repeat the run that I did only 2 weeks before. It boosted my confidence significantly.

Before you try a 2-week taper, think about how long it takes you to completely recover from a 20 mile run. If it takes awhile, I would err on the side of caution and stick with a 3-week taper. You don’t want to have any lingering effects of that last 20-miler come race day.

Train for the worst case scenario
I learned this the hard way during the Pocono Marathon. Know the marathon course. Look at the elevation profile. Ask people who ran the race in previous years (sidenote: take their advice with a grain of salt. A big hill to some is a little hill to others and vice versa). If there are small hills, train for big hills. It will only help you come race day.

Now for the mental part…

Break it up into small chunks
When I started to get closer to my BQ time, I looked at each marathon as a way to inch closer and closer to my ultimate goal. My goal for Steamtown was to break 4:00 hours. Then my goal for NJM was to hit 3:50…and finally BQ (3:45) at LVM. This made it much more manageable and less daunting.

Believe
Such a powerful word. Believe in yourself AND in your training. If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, you can’t.

Be present
This tactic worked well for me at LVM. Instead of thinking ahead to the later miles (i.e., the last 6.2), I forced myself to focus on the current mile and mastering it. It can get overwhelming to think of how many more miles you have and how you are going to maintain MP, blah, blah, blah. It’s a vicious cycle of self-doubt. If you find yourself going down this road, snap out of it (during the LVM I audibly said “stop”) and regain your focus.

Phew! I had lots to say. If you made it through this post, kudos…you deserve a gold star!