ultra training

congrats

November 6, 2012 by Kristy 12 Comments

First things first – a huge congrats is in order for my nephew Philip! He placed 2nd in his cross country championship! That’s 1.25 miles in 9:48 (7:50 average pace). Did I mention he just turned 8?!

He also smashed 30 seconds off his old PR from this season. Philip’s strategy is simple – start out slow and then pick the other runners off one by one. Pretty impressive for an 8 year old. It takes years to master the art of pacing.

Showing off the trophy

Philip’s cheering section

In other news, winter has arrived in Philly. Time to ‘get up and go’ in the morning and not stop to ponder about how cold it is outside and how warm your bed is. At least the sun comes up at a decent hour.

I ran 57 miles last week with 16 miles on trails. I’m still in quasi-ultra training mode – only because I enjoy it so much and not because I’m planning to run another ultra soon. If the spirit moves me I may even throw in some “fast” miles. I’m really enjoying just running right now. Plain, simple, and uncomplicated running.

no speed work, no problem

September 16, 2012 by Kristy 18 Comments

Balls to the wall.

I decided that would be my mantra late last week. Since the Philly RnR was not my goal HM this Fall (the Philly HM is), why not go balls to the wall and put it all out there? The worst that could happen is I blow up during mile 10 and have a miserable race. I’m so conservative sometimes, I just wanted to run like a lunatic and ignore my gut telling me to slow down.

So that’s exactly what I did. I wanted a 1:45 finish time (8:00 average pace) so I went – balls to the wall – out at 8:00 pace at mile 1.

Splits:

Official time: 1:45:12

That’s a 2-minute PR from last November!

At mile 10 I realized I could make 1:45 if I sped up a bit. I could not get over how good I felt. I haven’t done speed work since May – could this really be from ultra training? Absolutely.

A runner’s speed is limited by their aerobic capacity. But after 10 marathons over 8 years, I didn’t think I could further improve my endurance (significantly improve, at least). Endurance was always my strong suit while speed was my Achilles heel.

That’s a small reason why I wanted to train for an ultra. If my aerobic capacity could be improved, ultra training would do it. And if my aerobic capacity improved, I may be able to run faster – despite doing no speed work.

So my ultra training turned into a little side experiment for me – with excellent results! The weather was also a factor in my performance today as was my no expectations mentality.

But on to better things…

Today my niece (she’s only 17!) and my sister-in-law became half marathoners!

Congrats girls – I am so proud of you! Enjoy the post-race high…you earned it!

Fear

September 9, 2012 by Kristy 14 Comments

The last time I ran under 9:00 pace was May.

Next weekend I’m running the Philly RnR Half and I don’t want to go into the race blindly and not know where I stand with my speed.

This past Spring (and many years before it) I was solely focused on speed. Then I switched gears entirely to train for a 50K. Going from fast running to slow running was easy, although I must admit my pride took a hit (and let’s keep in mind “fast” is a relative term here). But going from slow running back to fast running is frightening. I knew I had to make a date with fear this week to assess my speed – and I was scared to death.

I often read about ultra runners PRing in marathons done as training runs. These PRs are somewhat unexpected, as they focus little (or none) on speed work during ultra training. But the sheer volume of their training and the adaptions that come with LSD running enable these PRs. Also, since these marathons are merely a preparation for their ultra, they go into the race with little expectation. It’s just another training run to them so there is no pressure.

I am hoping I can reap the benefits of a summer spent slogging through mile after mile next Sunday. Do I think I’m in PR shape? No, but I hope to come close.

My half marathon PR is nothing to write home about – 1:47 at last year’s Philly HM. Given where I was speed-wise last Fall it should be closer to 1:45 or below.

OK, back to my date with fear (which kept getting delayed this week because of the humidity). The workout was 8 miles with 6 miles “fast”. I wanted to run between 8:00-8:20 pace and assess how this felt. Not entirely scientific (I should have worn my HR monitor) but good enough.

The 6 “fast” miles: 8:14, 8:20, 8:19, 8:08, 8:13, 8:03.

I’m happy I was able to run the last 3 faster than the first 3. Do I think I could keep this up for another 6+ miles? Probably not. My turnover felt awkward but that’s to be expected after a summer of slow running.

I got over the fear, I ripped off the Band-Aid…speed work is making a come back. I’m going to see how things go at RnR…no pressure, just enjoy the race.

I still have the Philly HM in November and that will be my goal race.

The best laid plans…

July 15, 2012 by Kristy 11 Comments

…often go awry.

That sums up running for me this past week.

MONDAY
My alarm went off at 5:00 and when I lifted my head off the pillow, it immediately snapped back down. I could not get up. Normally I have no trouble getting out of bed for a run (I’m anti-snooze button) so when this happens, there’s definitely a reason for it and I better take a rest day. So I did but cringed because it was an unplanned rest day.

TUESDAY – the heel incident
I ran 9 miles before work and felt great. I had to wear heels for an hour on Tuesday so I switched into them at the very last minute, took one step with my right foot, and audibly yelped. This is exactly why I hate heels and never wear them. I shaked it off but felt some pain below my knee, off to the right side. Damn heels.

WEDNESDAY
I was nervous about how my knee would feel on a run after the heel incident but I was fine. Another 9 miles before work. I wore my CEP compression sleeves to work (under my pants, of course). I could still feel some slight pain below my knee later in the day.

THURSDAY
I had 4 easy miles planned but woke up with some lingering knee pain. Damn heels. Knowing that Friday and Saturday would be big mileage days my gut was saying rest. Although my brain was saying it’s only 4 miles. The gut always wins. Unplanned rest day #2. Ugh.

FRIDAY
I had 24 miles planned. The rest of FRIDAY may be TMI for some so feel free to skip to SATURDAY.

I always use the bathroom before long runs, just like everyone else. In rare cases, I can’t and it always comes back to haunt me. I woke up Friday at 4AM and couldn’t use the bathroom. I don’t know why – maybe it was too early?

My stomach started to revolt at mile 5. I toughed it out for another 15 miles before I waved the white flag. I felt amazing – no heel incident pain, no nothing. I could have easily done another 4 miles.

Damn heels, damn stomach.

SATURDAY
I planned for 12 miles but ended up running 13. Again, I felt so good. My legs are finally warming up to the back-to-back long runs.

SUNDAY
Rest day (yes, another one). Matt and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary a little early and I wanted to sleep in, spend time with him, and go to brunch. I’m always running Saturday and Sunday mornings so it’s nice to get a day off once in awhile.

I can’t complain – although that’s exactly what I just did – I ran 51 miles in 4 days. Was it an unexpected drop back week? Yes, but I still got in some quality workouts. And aren’t I supposed to be relaxed about ultra training? Isn’t that what I said? Please remind me of that.

Do you wear heels? Considering I trip in running shoes, I should just stay away from heels altogether. Aside from weddings and special work occasions, I never wear them. I’m either in flats, running shoes, flip flops, or Uggs.