tempo run

Back On Track

October 13, 2011 by Kristy 10 Comments

10/13/11
6 miles
*3 x 1200 @ 10K pace…a mini speed session.

I was winded during Tuesday’s tempo run (3 miles at 8:00 pace). Breathing labored, wishing the run was over, and hating life. That kind of run. I kept thinking how the hell am I going to run faster than this next month (at the Philly Half)? And…how out of shape did I manage to get in 4 short weeks post-marathon?

My 4 weeks after the Lehigh Valley Marathon looked like this:
Week 1 – race a half marathon (bad idea)
Weeks 2 and 3 – take it easy because of bad idea (and by “take it easy” I did run…just 2-3 times a week and nothing over 6 miles)
Week 4 – 34 miles of easy runs

I’m not out of shape. Seeing it written out in black and white makes it more clear. You’re supposed to rest after a marathon, lay off the speed work, and just enjoy not training for a bit.

BUT…

It took me sooo long to get my speed to this point, I’m terrified of losing it. I worked so hard and I want to further build on the foundation that I have now.

So I made it back to the track today to prepare for the Philly Half. I’m staying away from the crazy speed work I once did (running until my lungs screamed). For now, 10K pace is adequate and will allow me to improve and maintain, which is all I can really ask for.

AND I’m chalking that tempo run up to a bad run day. Yep, just like a bad hair day.

Have you ever been afraid of losing fitness, endurance, speed, etc. after a race that you trained months for? I must admit, I’m a little nutso about it right now.

Three Things Tuesday

August 15, 2011 by Kristy 15 Comments

8/16/11
11 miles tempo / 1:33 / 8:27 avg pace
*1 mile warm-up and 10 miles at MP (8:35). Splits: 8:09, 8:07, 8:11, 8:14, 8:18 – I felt like I was running too fast so I checked my splits and slowed down for the remaining 5 miles – 8:38, 8:37, 8:29, 8:28, 8:25.

Isn’t it supposed to be Three Things Thursday? Hmm, not sure. Oh well, go with it.

Redemption Tempo
This morning I got a second chance to do a tempo run that I attempted 2 weeks ago. It didn’t go so well the first time but I was able to get some redemption today. The trail was soft and mushy from all the rain, which made it even harder to maintain MP but that’s OK with me. I always want to prepare for the worst case scenario and then, if it’s not so bad, I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Does that make me a pessimist or a realist?

GoGazella
A social network for marathon and endurance runners created by a Philly-based husband and wife team. A Facebook for runners, if you will. Check it out and if you decide to create a profile, make sure you friend me 🙂

Garmin “Pace Smoothing”
Maybe you all knew this but I found out there is a way to minimize how much your pace fluctuates on your Garmin. When I was training for NJM, I was getting annoyed at how often my pace would go from 7:30 to 10:00 to 9:00, etc. Even though my effort was consistent, my Garmin pace wasn’t. My Garmin is only 2 years old (I have the 305). I looked up the problem and it directed me to something called “pace smoothing”.

Per the Garmin manual, pace smoothing averages your current pace over a certain amount of time to avoid errors in GPS position and speed due to varying satellite signal recognition. When you turn on or increase pace smoothing, the pace shown on your Forerunner is steadier. It did help, although I still think there could be something wrong with my Garmin since I never had an issue until this year. But I’m too dependent on my Garmin to part with it and get it looked at!

How to “pace smooth” (at least on the 305 model): mode –> settings –> running –> speed units –> smoothing. I’m using “most” for the least amount of fluctuation.

Are you addicted to your Garmin? Can you run without it? Even better question, can you RACE without it? No way Jose…I’m addicted!

An Ugly Tempo

August 8, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

8/8/11
6 miles easy / 57:50 / 9:38 avg pace

Sunday’s tempo run was downright ugly. I was supposed to do 1 mile easy and 10 miles at MP (8:35). I’ve been doing my tempo runs each week on a trail since my marathon has 12 miles of towpath. All week I kept thinking how good of a practice tempo this would be…really mimicking race day terrain and pace.

The result? An ugly tempo. I ended up with 10 miles total – 1 mile warm-up, 6 miles at MP, and 3 miles cool-down. The only highlight was my MP miles – a complete disaster in terms of consistency – but all at or under MP: 8:09, 8:17, 8:27, 8:09, 8:32, 8:33.

How did this run go from having great potential to ugly? It makes total sense now…

It was ungodly humid…repeat ungodly humid.
I was dehydrated. Matt and I were out and about all day Saturday and I wasn’t drinking enough water. Then we went to dinner and I had a few beers 🙂 The beers tasted especially good, since I was so thirsty!
I didn’t bring any salt caps with me.
I didn’t sleep much on Saturday night. We finally watched Paranormal Activity and I was terrified. I slept with one eye opened.
So…I was tired. And mentally I just wasn’t there. I really wanted to be back in bed sleeping.

I can’t be too upset. My long run was pretty much done at MP pace on Friday. So I know I cando it. I’m dropping back a few miles this week so I can rest up for my final 2 weeks before taper time!Let’s end on a positive note. We ended up going out for Matt’s birthday on Saturday night. We went to a very causal place so we could sit outside with Hawk.

DSCN1514 — Put me down and let me get back to my ice cubes

Do you like scary movies? I like them and then regret watching them all the time. Paranormal Activity was scary but still doesn’t top The Exorcist. That is hands-down the most terrifying movie I have ever seen.

7 Links

July 26, 2011 by Kristy 9 Comments

7/26/11
8 miles tempo / 1:08 / 8:30 avg pace
*Tempo miles: 7:45, 8:00, 8:00, 7:54, 8:00. This heat is going to kill me.

Aron tagged me to participate in the 7 Links post circling blogland right now. Here goes!

My Most Beautiful Post

I generally shy away from the mushy gushy but I guess my What Is A Runner post would be the most beautiful?

My Most Popular Post

This is easy. It would definitely be my Weight Gain and Marathon Training post. It gets a few views each day. And then people proceed to check out my pictures to get a good glimpse of me!

My Most Controversial Post

Since this is a running blog, topics don’t get too heated. This wasn’t controversial on my end but my Weight Gain and Marathon Training post was mentioned as what not to do on (what I consider) a pro-anorexia blog. So disturbing. These girls were using running as a way to lose weight quickly without much eating. Needless to say, my post on gaining weight was probably horrifying to them. The blogger went so far as to say “I don’t want to be like this girl…” That girl being me and my sweet tooth!

My Most Helpful Post

I think that would be My Advice For Newbie Runners.

A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

I wouldn’t say this was super successful but I didn’t think anyone would comment when I posted about my Running Pet Peeves. Ha! The comments were hysterical. Apparently, I’m not alone!

A Post I Feel Didn’t Get The Attention It Deserved

This wasn’t a fantastic post or anything but I was a relatively new blogger and wrote a post called One Year Older, One Year Wiser back in February. I got 3 comments…from close friends!

A Post I’m Most Proud Of

It wasn’t the post I was proud of but the race results from my Memorial Day 5K (5th Overall Female & 3rd in Age Group). I hate 5Ks (I’m not fast), it was hot, I ran terribly, and – for the first time ever – I placed in a race!

Now I am supposed to tag 5 people to participate in 7 Links. Tag you’re it…

Claire at the fight and flight response
Cindi at Runnin’ From The Law
Keri at The Blue-Eyed Runner
Rachel at Run Around My Blog
Holly at Pink Runner

Lehigh Valley Marathon: Week 7 Recap

July 18, 2011 by Kristy 8 Comments

7/19/11
7 miles easy / 1:04 / 9:09 avg pace

Am I really on Week 8 already?! Time is flying by and race day will be here before I know it. I just got the butterflies/nervous feeling typing that! No matter how many marathons you run, the nerves are always there. Especially when you ~~want~~ need to BQ. No pressure though 😉

Week 7 was so-so. I wanted to keep my mileage at 50 but couldn’t due to my left quad soreness (resulting from dehydration on a long run). My quad felt fine by Tuesday but I didn’t want to push it. So no speed work for the week but I did have a good (short) long run and a good tempo run, so I can’t complain.

MON: 8 easy
TUE: 4 easy with a running club (details to come…)
WED: 8 tempo
THU: rest
FRI: 13 long
SAT: 10 easy
SUN: rest

A total of 43 miles for the week. I’m planning on 54 miles this week. It’s supposed to 100 degrees on Friday with crazy humidity. This will be a good test for Operation Hydration. I’m going to carry salt packets with me on my long run to see if they help and drink more water than I usually do all week. I’m not afraid of hydrating too much (fun fact: I check the color of my pee all the time). I know my body and if you saw how much I sweat, I think you would agree! On that gross note, I’m outta here!

Little Things I Look Forward To Each Day

July 13, 2011 by Kristy 14 Comments

7/13/11
8 miles temp0 / 1:06 / 8:15 avg pace
*6 miles at 7:50 pace

I was thinking a few days ago about all the routine things I do each day that make me smile, bring me out of a bad mood, comfort me, etc. If you sense a list coming up, you’re correct! Here’s my list of little things that I look forward to each day (most likely in order of appearance!).

1. My morning run: If you couldn’t tell from my 5:00AM wake-up calls, I’m an early bird. Running in the morning is so peaceful (and necessary in the summer). It’s the best way to start the day.

2. Venti sugar-free vanilla non-fat misto: I swing by Starbucks on the days that I go into work (I work from home 2 days a week). Delicious! I know my drink order is super high maintenance but this is way cheaper than a Skinny Vanilla Latte but tastes the same.

3. Readers’ comments: I LOVE reading your comments! I get so excited when my Gmail lights up! Keep ’em coming 🙂

4. Blog reading: I also love to read all of your blogs!

5. Walking in the door after work and seeing Hawk: How can you not love a dog that is so happy to see you every day? He practically looses his mind when I walk in the door.

6. Having dinner with Matt: I love to sit down and eat with Matt (bonus if it’s summer and we can grill and eat on the deck).

7. Taking Hawk for a walk: Bonus if Matt comes along. I enjoy going out for a walk but don’t get the chance to do it very often.

8. Watching a TV show with Matt: We don’t watch much TV so this is a real treat. Usually we watch a show on Netflix (just finished up Friday Night Lights – so so so good!).

9. Bed: Yes, I’m serious. I love to sleep and go to bed early – between 9:00 and 9:30. Yup, call me grandma. But that 5:00AM wake-up call comes pretty fast!

What are some routine things that you look forward to each day?