speed work

5th Overall Female & 3rd in Age Group!

May 30, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

Today marks Day 1 of training for marathon #9 – the Leigh Valley Marathon. To be honest, I’m kinda lost without a training plan so I’m happy to jump right back into it.

I planned to do my speed work today just to get it over and done with. So I looked at my plan: 3×1600 at 7:11 pace (with a 1 min rest interval between mile repeats). Ugh. I hate mile repeats. And why bother with a 1 min rest interval? That’s such a tease!

That’s when I decided on doing a 5K. Why not? It’ll be the same as doing my prescribed speed work, minus the rest interval. And…misery loves company.

So there I was signing up on race day at the Lansdowne Memorial Day 5K Race, going against every non-spontaneous bone in my body. I haven’t raced a 5K since 2007 and I think I ran an even 24:00 back then.

Conditions: Hot and sunny

Course: Hilly

My legs felt sluggish from the get go. So I just tried to maintain a 7:30 pace, even though it was no where near the 7:11 pace I was supposed to run. Some very kind neighbors had their sprinklers on so occasionally I’d get a brief break from the heat. My goal for this race was to place in the top 3 for my age group.

Around mile 2.5 a volunteer told the girl ahead of me that she was the 4th overall female. I couldn’t believe it…I was the 5th overall female?!?! Get out! But I was running so slow?! I guess the heat was getting to everyone.

But I wasn’t in the clear yet. I had a woman hot on my tail. After mile 2.5 she pulled a little ahead of me. There was no way in hell I was going to let her take 5th overall female away from me. I let her go ahead but stayed just enough behind her so she couldn’t hear my panting. I wanted her to think I was further behind her. When I could see the finish line I made my move and sprinted right past her. It’s a good thing I did – she was 37 and in my age group!!

Official results:
23:22 (7:32 avg pace)
5/172 – overall female
3/44 – 30 to 39 age group

Upper Darby-20110530-00075 — I got a medal!

Knowing Yourself as a Runner

May 12, 2011 by Kristy 19 Comments

In the past 10 years I’ve been running, I learned the following about myself as a runner:

1. I’m not naturally speedy.
2. I have to work my ass off to get faster.
3. Endurance is my strength. In many ways, running 20 miles is easier and more pleasant than a speed workout.
4. Because of #3, I shy away from 5Ks and 10Ks.
5. I’m a morning runner; running in the evening is tough for me.
6. I run my long runs at or within 30-45 seconds of marathon pace. Long, slow distance doesn’t work for me. Practice makes perfect.
7. Although my mental game has improved, negative thoughts and self-doubt still haunt me.

It took lots of trail and error but I’ve learned so much about myself from marathon #1 to marathon #8.

Don’t compare yourself to other runners
This is pointless and will get you nowhere. Every runner has different abilities. The speedsters who make it seem so easy are genetically gifted. Trying to copy their training schedule to “be like them” will also get you nowhere. It’s important to know your strengths, weaknesses, and limitations as a runner so you can train smart for you.

Easier said then done, right? I still compare myself to other runners. Case and point: after the NJ Marathon I was bummed about my PR (yes, I was bummed about a PR) and kept reading Twitter updates of everyone’s fabulous PRs. I said to Matt, “I’m sick of reading about everyone’s PRs”. His reply, “Oh…and how about your PR?” Enough said. Thanks Matt.

Training plans are NOT one-size-fits-all
As I said above, don’t take your super fast runner friend’s training schedule and follow it to a T and expect the same results. Training plans need to be modified to fit your needs and they need to be modified while training so they continue to meet your needs.

What lessons have you learned about yourself as a runner?

Sometimes You Just Don't Want To

April 12, 2011 by Kristy 8 Comments

4/12/11

5 miles speed

That’s exactly how I felt about getting up and hitting the track this morning. I never have any trouble getting out of bed for a run but speed work is a different story. How can I loathe something so much that has absolutely, without a doubt, made me faster this training cycle? I only have 2 track sessions left before the marathon; can’t I just suck it up? Apparently not.

I was supposed to do 8x800m in 3:33. I had no intention of doing all 8 intervals. I was planning on doing 6. Well 6 turned into 5. My head wasn’t in it so my body wasn’t in it. Overall, my times weren’t terrible (with the exception of 1 interval): 3:37, 3:37, 3:38, 3:48 (oops), 3:37. I did a super speedy cool-down and was done with it.

When I came home (it was still really early), I wanted to go out and run another couple of miles. I hate the fact that I only ran 5 miles today. I think it’s awful that I feel that way too. I am tapering after all!

On the plus side, it’s really warm here and I got to wear shorts this morning!

Do you like or loathe speed work and why?

Random Wednesday

April 6, 2011 by Kristy 3 Comments

4/6/11

7 miles easy

1:06

9:33 avg pace

I’m skipping speed work this week. My legs are definitely not feeling it. Rather than force it, I’m going to do another easy run tomorrow but include some striders. Having fresh legs for my last 20 22-miler is more important than speed work this week.

My favorite parts of the day are my morning run and eating dinner with Matt. The whole job thing in the middle I could do without.

I’m already starting to bathe in hand sanitizer. Germs, stay away! Usually this neurotic behavior doesn’t begin until the taper but there are some nasty bugs going around. Last May, I got a head cold 2 weeks before my marathon. It started to go south towards my chest, which is never good news. Since I have asthma, this usually gets real ugly and drags on and on. I went to the doctor and begged and begged for an antibiotic (“I have a marathon in 2 weeks, I cannot be sick!”). He prescribed one and I was on it up until 2 days before the marathon. If felt superhuman, like no germs could catch me!

What is your favorite part of the day?

What crazy things do you do to avoid getting sick before a big race?

WOW!

March 24, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

3/24/11

7 miles easy

10:00 pace

7 miles on the boring treadmill while watching Teen Mom. It’s freezing here and doing the rain/snow thing. I kept the pace real easy since I have an 18-miler on schedule for tomorrow.

Moving on to more important stuff…welcome new readers! To say I’m overwhelmed by being yesterday’s featured cat lady would be an understatement! I’m still in the process of reading all of your comments (thank you!) and plan on responding to each and every one of them (all while stalking your blogs). To bring you up to speed, I figured I’d include some running fun facts in this post.

I’m training for my 8th marathon, the NJ Marathon, on May 1. I’m thinking of sporting a Snooki-esque bumpit and faux tan for the marathon….to, ya know, blend in. I kid, I kid…my parents live at the Jersey Shore.
You can read about my training plan here.
I’m obsessed with the Boston Marathon (trying to qualify, that is). I don’t plan on qualifying on May 1 (I hope to run a 3:50); just hoping to get one step closer.
I LOVE long runs – especially 18-20 milers.
I LOATHE speed work but do it each week.
I incorporated yoga into my training cycle this time around and it has made a huge difference in my flexibility. I didn’t realize how tight my hips and hamstrings were from running until I went to a class.

Speaking of yoga, last night I went to RYAH for a 75-min vinyasa class. Maura was the instructor; I’ve taken her Wake Up Yoga class before and really like her. Her class last night was kinda intense (holding poses for a long time) and kinda relaxing (letting us stay in child’s pose for just a wee bit longer). The only problem? The music! Didn’t help that I was right next to the speaker either. I know I tend to fixate on things while practicing yoga but this was like a techno song that never ended (but it was chanting…nonstop). During savasana all I could concentrate on was “om shanti om shanti om shanti shanti om”. Over and over. Eek! I’m still ~~singing~~ chanting it!

Is it just me or do you fixate on certain things during a yoga class? Or while running? Sometimes during races, if I’m iPodless, the sound of feet smacking the pavement gets to me after awhile!

Morning Track

March 22, 2011 by Kristy 4 Comments

3/22/11

7 miles speed

Apparently you guys like to read about the adventures of the Mains! I had a lot of blog views on Sunday (thank you!). Stay tuned, the Mains have some upcoming adventures this summer so I’ll be sure to post about them as well.

This morning I went to my local track for some speed work. Daylight savings is really screwing me up. I like to be running by 6am at the latest so I’m done and out of the parking lot before the first bus drops of students. Maybe it’s just me but I feel weird using the track when school is in session. I couldn’t start until about 6:30am today (6:00am = pitch black) so by the time I finished, all of the students were getting dropped off and the parking lot was full of buses. Fabulous. I thought I was going to get yelled at by a teacher or a safety (do they still have them?) because I wasn’t familiar with the “flow” of traffic. Not to mention it takes 16-year-olds numerous attempts to park their car (I waited patiently for this one; it was so funny too). After 5 minutes of chaos, I left unscathed and not yelled at.

My training planned called for:
1000m in 4:28 (4:29 actual). Right on.
2000m in 9:16 (9:36 actual – opps). I was trying to figure out what pace I needed to hit 9:16 and I thought I had it. Clearly I was way off. I blame early morning math and lack of oxygen.
1000m in 4:28 (4:36 actual). Damn, I thought I was going faster.
1000m in 4:28 (4:30 actual). I gave it all I got. I think the students on the school bus heard my panting.

My biggest pet peeve about the track? If you are running slower, please stick to the outer lanes. Same goes for socializing. If you are more interested in talking than running, definitely remain in the outer lanes. These 2 women kept hogging the inner lanes and yapped the whole time. Myself and 2 other people were trying to do intervals and had to keep weaving around them. So annoying!