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I Love Yoga and Week 7 Recap

February 20, 2011 by Kristy 6 Comments

This morning I went to the wonderful Candace’s vinyasa class at RYAH. I feel amazing; like I never ran 20 miles yesterday. I did lots of stretching and tiger tailing post-run and chugged some chocolate milk within a half hour of finishing. I think the combination of those things plus yoga are responsible for me feeling so good.

Anyhow, here’s how week 7 of NJ Marathon training shaped up:

MON: rest (flew back from SF)
TUE: 5 miles speed
WED: 7 miles tempo
THU: rest
FRI: 6 miles easy
SAT: 20 miles
SUN: 75 min yoga and 3 miles easy (just to put me at 41 miles for the week!)

41 miles this week. Finally. Seems like it took me forever to get to 40 miles. I’m generally happy with the FIRST training plan because I only do quality runs and my legs are fresher overall compared to previous training cycles. I just can’t shake the low mileage thing. I need to get over this. I’m happy with where I am and should focus on that. I feel stronger and faster than I did last training cycle. I need to believe in the training, believe in the training…

20 Miles – Take 2

February 19, 2011 by Kristy 5 Comments

2/19/11

20 miles

3:05

9:15 avg pace (damn you wind)

Lesson learned: don’t run 20 miles when there is a wind advisory. When I checked weather.com last night, it said 25 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph. Hmmm. I really wanted to get this done on Saturday and not push the run to Sunday so I figured it would be a training in mental toughness. Oh it was. I threw all hopes of maintaining a consistent pace out the window and just tried to run along with and against the wind. At certain points I must have looked like the biggest jackass because the gusts were so severe my running slowed to a crawl (I seriously thought I was going to levitate).

running in the wind — That was me...minus the palm trees

(source)

Two things made this run bearable: (1) it’s not that cold so the wind wasn’t that biting, straight-to-your-bones feeling and (2) my neighbor, “Maximus“, joined me for the first 8 miles!

I won’t bore you with splits. To be honest, I’m exhausted and don’t feel like retrieving them. Let’s just say that eastbound was great (wind at my back) and westbound was a nightmare.

I’m looking forward to hanging in tonight with Matt and Hawk and watching Friday Night Lights. A beer or two may be consumed. And lots of carbs.

Have a great weekend everyone!

PS: Wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Anne who just completed her first race this morning, the Frostbite 5 Miler. She did awesome, despite all the wind. Apparently power lines were down and they had to re-route the course. She ran a great race…I’m very proud of her!

Friday Favorites

February 18, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

2/18/11

6 miles easy

56:09

9:21 avg pace

I should have kept my pace in the 9:30 to 9:45 range since I have a 20-miler tomorrow. But I couldn’t contain my excitement – it’s warm out! Feels like I brought some San Fran weather back home with me!

It’s time for Friday Favorites! I want to preface my favorite things by saying these are the first 3 things that came to mind. So that explains the randomness…

Friday Night Lights
Matt and I just started watching this through Netflix. So, so good. We are almost finished with Season 1 and I can’t get enough. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it since I’m not a fan of football but it’s so well written and the characters are great.

Flip Flops and Uggs
For me, these are all the shoes I need. Oh, and my 20 pairs of running shoes. I have some weird feet. They don’t look weird but they don’t fit into shoes well. Shoe shopping is not fun for me. I can go into DSW and try on tons of shoes and walk out with nothing. So I stick to my flips in the summer and my Uggs in the winter. You should see me in heels…I feel like a kid playing dress-up.

Green Beans
I told you my favorite things were random. I love me some green beans. Probably my favorite veggie. No butter or olive oil necessary, just some salt. Side note: since I sweat like a guy when I run (oh so hot), I salt everything. Today I had green beans and brown rice for lunch. I would have taken a picture (a la food blogger) but I devoured it.

TGIF! I’m seeing Black Swan tonight with my friend Michelle. From what I hear, it’s pretty messed up which is perfect for me and Michelle. She shares my like of sick and twisted things.

Morning Run Love

February 17, 2011 by Kristy 3 Comments

2/16/11 (Wednesday)

7 miles tempo

1:00

8:34 avg pace

1 mile warm-up

4 miles at 8:12 pace

2 miles at 8:41 pace

I did this run on the treadmill (sigh) a little after 5:00AM. I was sitting at my desk by 7:45 (with a slightly wet, sweaty ponytail). Now that’s a good start to the morning.

I love to run in the mornings. I’m definitely a morning person…my eyes start to close somewhere around 9:30 every night. I totally can’t hang. I especially love outside AM runs because I get to watch the sun rise. It’s so nice and peaceful.

Some reasons why I run in the morning (and why you should too!):

1. Get It Done: Nothing like crossing something off your list first thing in the morning! Run/bike/swim/yoga/cross-train before the day starts to get crazy and life interferes with your workout. Pushing it off until after work usually never works because excuses start to pop-up (I’m tired, hungry, have errands to run, etc.).

2. Speaking of tired/hungry: I loathe running after work. Somehow sitting all day (I have a desk job) leaves me feeling so drained. I have zero energy and I’m often hungry. If I run in the morning I’m well rested, refreshed, and not hungry. I have this theory that your body doesn’t know its hungry until at least an hour after waking up. I get my run in before my body recognizes hunger and my stomach begins to growl.

3. More free time at night: With your run out of the way, your nights are free for dinner, happy hour, a yoga class, or errands. Or just lounging and watching The Jersey Shore.

4. Peacefulness: I find the trails are often less crowded and it’s a lot more peaceful in the morning (no bikers whizzing by and yelling “on your left”).

Working out in the morning does take some planning. I lay out my running clothes the night before and have everything I need for work ready to go.

Just try switching your workout to the AM once or twice this week. I guarantee your day will be better because of it 🙂

New Boston Qualifying Standards

February 16, 2011 by Kristy 2 Comments

So much for celebrating my jump to the next age category in Boston (read about that here)! Today the B.A.A. announced new registration guidelines for 2012 and new qualifying standards for 2013.

Thanks to Cindi for posting this info on her blog!

Jeez, looks like I need that 3:40 after all…unless I qualify for the 2012 race and then cross my fingers that I can register with their new “rolling admission”! I got my work cut out for me!

2012 Boston Marathon

For the 2012 Boston Marathon, registration will extend for two weeks, beginning on Monday, September 12, 2011 and continuing until Friday, September 23, 2011. The qualifying times for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not change from recent past years since the standards had been previously announced and have been in effect since last September. However, the new registration process addresses the increased demand among qualified runners to participate in the Boston Marathon and will accommodate those who are the fastest qualifiers first.

Registration will occur on a “rolling admission” schedule until the maximum field size is reached, beginning with the fastest qualifiers. On the first day of registration for the 2012 Boston Marathon, those who are eligible for entry by having met the qualifying standards for their age and gender group by 20 minutes or more will be able to enter on the first day of registration (September 12). On the third day (September 14), registration will open for those who have met their qualifying standards by 10 minutes or more. On the fifth day (September 16), registration will open for those who have met their qualifying standards by five minutes or more. During this first week of registration, applicants will be notified as they are accepted and their qualifying performance verified.

If the field size is not reached after the first week and additional space remains, then registration will open to all qualifiers at the beginning of Week Two (September 19) and those who have met the qualifying standards by any amount of time will be able to apply for entry. The application process will remain open for the entire week, closing on September 23. At the conclusion of Week Two, those who are the fastest among the pool of applicants in their age and gender will be accepted. Accepted athletes will be notified on September 28.

If space remains available after this two week process, registration will remain open to any qualifier on a first come, first served basis until the maximum field size is reached.

The field size for the 2012 Boston Marathon will not represent a significant increase from the most recent years.

Registration Process for the 2012 Boston Marathon

Date	registration opens for runners with times…
September 12, 2011	20 min., 00sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
September 14, 2011	10 min., 00 sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
September 16, 2011	5 min., 00 sec. or more below their qualifying time (based on age/gender)
Second Week
September 19, 2011	All Qualified Runners
September 23, 2011	Registration closes for qualified applicants
September 28, 2011 (appx)	Qualifiers from entry during second week of registration are notified of their acceptance.

If the field is not filled at the conclusion of the two weeks, then registration will remain open and qualifiers will be accepted on a first come, first served basis until the maximum field size is reached.

2013 Boston Marathon

For the 2013 Boston Marathon, in addition to the new “rolling admission” process for registration which will be in effect for the 2012 Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. will adjust the qualifying times by lowering them by five minutes from the times which have been in effect in recent past years. The adjusted qualifying times will go into effect on September 24, 2011, and are as follows:

2013 Qualifying Times (effective September 24, 2011)

Age Group	Men	Women
18-34	3hrs 05min 00sec	3hrs 35min 00sec
35-39	3hrs 10min 00sec	3hrs 40min 00sec
40-44	3hrs 15min 00sec	3hrs 45min 00sec
45-49	3hrs 25min 00sec	3hrs 55min 00sec
50-54	3hrs 30min 00sec	4hrs 00min 00sec
55-59	3hrs 40min 00sec	4hrs 10min 00sec
60-64	3hrs 55min 00sec	4hrs 25min 00sec
65-69	4hrs 10min 00sec	4hrs 40min 00sec
70-74	4hrs 25min 00sec	4hrs 55min 00sec
75-79	4hrs 40min 00sec	5hrs 10min 00sec
80 and over	4hrs 55min 00sec	5hrs 25min 00sec
*Unlike previous years, an additional 59 seconds will NOT be accepted for each age group time standard

GMP Talk (again)

February 15, 2011 by Kristy 2 Comments

2/15/11

5 miles speed work

2×1200 and 3×800 at 7:24 pace. Done.

A few days ago I posted about not running enough miles at goal marathon pace (GMP). Surprisingly, I have some more to say about that 🙂

Your GMP should be realistic based on current race times (not the half marathon you PR’d in 5 years ago). You want to sustain this pace over 26.2 miles so it should be a cakewalk. I say cakewalk because everything gets harder during the last 10K of a marathon. I’m not talking about hitting the wall, just the normal aches and pains that come along with running 26.2. You want your GMP to feel easy so that you are able to hit that pace later on in the race. It is so, so easy to let your pace slip during those last few miles.

If your GMP is too fast for your current fitness level, you’ll start too fast, deplete your glycogen stores (more on that here), and hit the wall hard around Mile 20 (if not sooner). At RRCA coaches training we learned that by going out too fast early on in the marathon you make up for it by running 2 to 3 min per mile slower during the last 10K. Ouch! That’s like beginning the race running a 9:00 pace and finishing with a 11:00 or 12:00 pace! Banking time for a marathon never works.

Once you figure out your GMP, you should incorporate GMP runs throughout your training plan. You can do tempo runs at GMP or add some GMP miles to your long runs. You should be on autopilot with your GMP – knowing how your stride feels, knowing how your breathing feels – so on race day you can just get into the groove and enjoy the race!