Jog into Spring 5K Recap

I realize this recap is coming pretty late, but I've been prioritizing other areas of life right now. We're closing on our house in less than two weeks (you have no idea how excited I am for this!), and I think once Michael and I are in a place that feels like "ours," rather than his with my stuff scattered everywhere in boxes, I'll have a much greater sense of normalcy and can get into a routine. (Plus I'll be able to sleep whenever I want for however long I want!)

Anyway, even though this is several weeks late, I would be remiss not recapping this race since (spoiler alert) I set a new 5K PR there! My purpose is signing up for this race was to actually race a short distance and evaluate where my fitness stands after some extended base-building through the spring. I'll be the first to admit my training was nowhere perfect, what with job-hunting and my move, but I did my best to stick with it and was hoping to run somewhere in the neighborhood of my PR, even if I didn't beat it.

The race was only about 15 minutes from my apartment and didn't start until 9 AM, so I left a little before 8 to give my time to pick up my packet and do a warm-up. I've hesitated doing a warm-up for short races for a long time, since I felt like that was only for "fast" runners, but I've come to realize that is totally silly, since a warm-up will help pretty much anyone run relatively faster.

Packet pick-up only took a minute or two, then I grabbed my phone from my car and put on one of my favorite 8Tracks playlists ("Epic Motivation") for a mile warm-up. The race started at the Independence Civic Center, which is next to a few baseball diamonds and a fishing pond; surrounding this area was a sidewalk almost perfectly .25 miles around. I did four laps, picking up the pace on the second and fourth lap. That pace was still far slower than what my PR pace would be, so I hoped adrenaline would carry me through the actual race.

I finished my warm-up with about five minutes until the gun, and they actually sent us on our way a minute or two early. I haven't raced a 5K in probably about a year, so I paid careful attention to my pace the whole way to keep myself from blowing up.

Initially, I panicked when I saw my pace was around 8:45 min/mile. I'm slow - I had no business running that fast! (When I ran my previous PR, I had no idea that I would PR and only saw how fast I was going about halfway through, so I didn't psych myself out.) I was tempted to pull up right away, but I took a step back to evaluate how I actually felt - it was obviously hard, but I wasn't dying.

I asked myself if I felt exactly the same but my watch read 9:30 min/miles, would I slow down? The answer was a very strong no, so I knew I was simply getting in my own head. I was determined to hold that pace. I think everyone was regaining their sea legs for racing season, so whenever I tried to tuck in with someone, their pace would vary dramatically. Because I'm not used to running an 8:45 pace, this made it a lot harder for me to stay on track, since my body couldn't "feel" that pace independently.

My main mistake in that first mile was chasing down people I thought were running my desired pace. I didn't really taper for this race, and my legs kept screaming when I did this. I eventually gave up that strategy, but I think it did some damage.

Mile two was definitely a mental struggle, and I ran it 15 seconds slower. I thought maybe I was close to blowing up, so I made my goal to run under a 9 min/mile, to avoid a total mental meltdown. I think this mile contained a slight uphill that really took a toll, but when it ended with a long, slight downhill, I was able to catch my breath and recommit myself to the final mile.

I tried to do some race math and realized a PR was still doable, I just had to give it my all in mile three. I focused on landmarks and catching other runners around me in turn to distract myself in that final stretch. The course was a loop, and I had seen the mile three marker on the way out, so I knew from quite a distance when it was coming up. This helped give me a tangible goal to work toward. I used my usual trick of promising myself I wouldn't have to sprint the last .1 if I didn't want to, and just plowed ahead to the marker.

Around 2.75 miles it really hit me how short a 5K is compared to a marathon. (Who knew, right?!) Even though I was in a ton of pain and out of breath, I couldn't believe I was almost done! In fact, I was even more almost done than I thought, as the course ended up being .05 short.

Time: 27:14*

(This is adjusted from 3.05 miles to 3.1 miles. I used my average pace for the race, even though my pace for the last .05 was faster than that. This estimate seems conservative enough that I feel totally comfortable using this number as my PR.)

Not me...simply just a picture of the finish line.

I mentioned this before, but I had to adjust my last 5K PR for a short course as well. It was a huge bummer to get a sub-27 time on my watch again, only for the real time to be over that. I know it's much better to have an accurate PR, otherwise I'm just lying to myself and will get frustrated when I don't beat it, but it is a bit of buzzkill. But don't get me wrong - I was thrilled to PR!

I've been using Hal Higdon's Multiple Marathons plans since Myrtle Beach, and not even following them perfectly, and I still PRed by 26 seconds! Even though I know Higdon's methods work, I always feel like a less serious runner for using them, plus it is so weird to run an easy pace and just trust that the speed will magically show up on race day. I plan to use Hal Higdon to train for Chickamauga in the fall, and this was just the reminder I needed to trust the training. (Again - who knew?!)

After walking it off a bit, I went into the pavilion where packet pick-up had been to grab some post-race food. They had pizza, and I enjoyed it at a picnic table outside. I stuck around for an extra hour or so because they were having a huge raffle, though I sadly didn't win anything.

However, first came the post-race awards. I'm used to marathons, where the ceremony happens way before I finish, so it took me awhile to figure out why they were waiting to start (because of the walkers). It felt very strange. I didn't place, but I was still really excited when I looked up the results.

I placed 6/9, however - I finished eight minutes ahead of the woman in 7th place. This isn't a put-down to the women who finished after me at all, but it was so weird to look at the results and see a significant dividing line between "fast" and "slow"...and I was on the fast side! In my head I'm always the really slow runner, and it's bizarre when I see something that definitively shows that's not the case.

Now the question is - can I have similar success this Saturday at the New Moon Half?

Weekly Training Recap: 5/3 - 5/9

I'm going to start out this training recap with some exciting house news - we are under contract on a home! Our close date right now is the beginning of June, but our lender thinks we could close much sooner. However, buying a house is a huge time-sucking vortex. We are lucky to be moving very quickly, but there still seems to be 30-60 minutes of house "stuff" to do every night, which gets very tiring.

I'm trying to stay positive, because we both love the home we're under contract for, but I will be glad when the buying process is over. It sounds so petty, but having my workout and evening schedules messed up makes me cranky! But it will be totally worth it when we're in our own place. 

My week got rearranged a bit, but I stuck with last week's plan of prioritizing, and I'm pretty happy with what I accomplished. It certainly wasn't perfect, but I'm becoming more and more okay with that.

Sunday, May 3

9 mi easy, 11:14 min/mile

I was still in the winter running mindset, where heading out mid-day in the full sun is glorious. However, when it's 80 degrees and you don't take water with you, it is actually pretty terrible. I could tell I was getting very dehydrated and that my body wasn't cooling itself effectively, so I cut it short. (After drinking 36 oz of fluids, I was still down two pounds, so it was the smart decision!)

Monday, May 4

PM - 3.7 mi hills, 10:47 min/mile

PM - NROLFW Stage 1A-2

I did four sets of last week's hill workout, instead of three. I managed to do two of them at my "updated" MP (based on last week's 5K), but I had to dial it back for the second two. They were killer, so I'm still happy with the effort I put in.

Tuesday, May 5

AM - 1000 yd swim

PM - 6 mi easy, 11:11 min/mile

I set out at a bit faster pace, but when my breathing started getting a little harder, I backed off, and enjoyed the run a lot more. I think all the preceding days of hot running and had really taken their toll.

Wednesday, May 6

rest

My intention was to lift in the morning and run after work, but I was so tired when I woke up that I opted to go back to sleep. It's a good thing I did, because we had our home inspection after work and it took three hours. We didn't get home until after 10 PM, and I was wiped!

Thursday, May 7

AM - NROLFW Stage 1B-2

PM - 4 mi easy, 11:19 min/mile

I had a little trouble dragging myself out of bed in the morning, but I felt much better after a good session at the gym. Once again, I incorporated a warm-up and noticed the difference. Since I was in house mode, I threw on HGTV and watched a couple whine about their $1MM. Guys, there just was no room for their grand piano!

Friday, May 8

1 mi WU, 4 mi @ 9:55, 1 mi CD

I waited until after dark to run because it was so hot and humid, and I still felt like death towards the end of the run. The pace was harder than I wanted it to be, but I stayed around the apartment (because it is well-lit and right by the police station), so it was a hilly course too. I'm already over summer!

Saturday, May 9

11 mi long, 10:40 min/mile

Michael and I went in to see our parents for Mother's Day this weekend, so I ran on my parents' treadmill while they were at their bowling league (and Michael went to see his parents). The goal was 16 miles, but the treadmill turned out to be wildly inaccurate, so 5.3 MPH was reading as 10:30 min/miles on my watch (which also matched my perceived effort). The plan was only to run 11:28 min/miles, so I was okay throwing in the towel a bit early. But hey - it was a new treadmill PR!

Shout-out to the LotR marathon on TNT for getting me through!

Run Miles: 39.7 mi
Swim Miles: .6 mi
Lifting Time: 39:38
Total Time: 8:20

All in all, I am happy with the week. I missed one swim (the least important type of workout) and cut out 8 miles of running as I acclimated to the heat. (Though I really wish I had found .4 more...oh, well.) While I want to have some good preparation going into Missoula, I have to remind myself it's still really about building a base for Chickamauga training.

One of the last major pending house items is getting radon mitigation installed, which can take several hours, so I might have to switch up some workouts again. (The seller's are paying for it, but we're allowed to be present and to choose the spot.)

I'm also having a mother/daughter weekend with my mom this coming weekend. I had been planning a 20 mile long run, but I think I will flip flop it with my 12 mile long run the following week. I would like to be well-recovered for my half the week after that (are you still following?!), so I will cut out an easy day if my legs need it.

How do you acclimate to the heat?
What is your treadmill PR?

Weekly Training Recap: 4/26 - 5/2

After taking a complete week off following the Blue Ridge Marathon, this week I got back into the swing of training. I'm so glad I listened to my body (for once) because I was excited about getting in my workouts again, rather than dreading them. My legs were a little more tired than normal, but nothing horrible to complain about.

This week was also exciting because we toured some homes! Knock on wood, but we're now working with our realtor to put in an offer on one we love. Our realtor said to not expect to take possession until mid-June, but our mortgage broker said if we go through a credit union, we could close in two weeks.

Luck would have it that the home we like is move-in ready, so I'm hoping with all my might things go well, and we will have our home sooner than later! I know I might have to miss a workout or two to make it happen, but I'm prepared to do that. This is way more important!

Sunday, April 26
rest

I enjoyed my last day off from training by going for a walk. It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. I think I still needed a jacket, but the dose of vitamin D was amazing.

Monday, April 27
PM - 2.9 mi hills, 11:01 min/mile
PM - NROLFW Stage 1-A

After work I headed to the gym to do some hills and weights. I tried a new hill workout, where I did sets of:

90 sec MP @ 6%
1 min recovery
1 min MP @ 7%
2 min recovery

It really kicked my butt, but I think it was a great workout to get me into shape. The effort level is supposedly the same as my 5K race pace, but it didn't beat up my body nearly the same as normal intervals do for me! I did three sets, and I plan to add more as I go.

Tuesday, April 28
AM - 900 yd swim
PM - 6 mi easy, 11 min/mile

My legs felt awesome for the first two miles, but then dead for the last four. This is normally how I feel when I start running after a marathon, so while it sucks, I know to expect it. I also figured out how to run to the nearby metro park via sidewalks!

Wednesday, April 29
AM - NROLFW Stage 1-B
PM - 3 mi easy

I stuck to my guns and actually did a 10 minute spinning warm-up before I lifted. It made a huge difference in how I felt, and I wish I had done it sooner! I was also pleased to see when I spun on a normal bike, I could keep up a decent pace.

Thursday, April 30
PM - 800 yd swim

This swim was 8x100 at a tempo pace. I worked really hard and got each 100 under 2 minutes, except for the last one (which I missed by less than second!). I'm not making excuses, but I felt really blah after I got through six of them, so I think I need more calories before a tougher swim.

Friday, May 1
rest

It was a beautiful day out, but Michael and I spent the evening at the theater to see the new Avengers movie. We treated ourselves to a popcorn dinner, and the movie was a lot of fun. Obviously disappointed that the Tom Hiddleston cameo was a lie, but you can't win them all.

Saturday, May 2
Jog into Spring 5k, 27:14

Yes, for anyone keeping score at home, that is a 5K PR! (My chip time was 26:44, but the course was .05 short, so I adjusted my time based on my average pace. I actually had to do that with my last 5K PR too....)

I hadn't raced a 5K in a long, long time, and I was really nervous in the couple days leading up to the race. I always get this irrational fear that I will forget how to run (I know, right?!), and I worry about blowing up. I won't spoil the full recap, but I'm obviously thrilled with how I did! It was a great way to kick off my Saturday.

Run Miles: 16 mi
Swim Miles: 1 mi
Lifting Time: 42:02
Total Time: 4:13

This week looks a little low in terms of mileage because I moved the long run to Sunday. Next week will be a lot higher because it will actually have two long runs. I want to stay conservative and try to run a 4:30 at Missoula, but I think I'm going to adjust my training paces to be a bit faster based on my 5K time. I tend to race below my potential anyway, so it should work out well. Our half is about a month away, so that will be a good checkpoint on where my fitness is.

I've also prioritized the workouts I will keep if house stuff gets crazy - swims will be dropped first, then lifting, then running. However, they said drafting the offer will take an hour on the phone, so I'm hoping I can just schedule everything perfectly!

Anything exciting happen to you this week?
How do you prioritize workouts?

Fitness Trends

As I've mentioned on the blog, I've recently moved to Cleveland. I haven't mentioned a lot about my new job (other than it's still accounting-related), but it is in the healthcare industry. This is a big change from my previous job in the manufacturing sector, and there's been a lot of new things to learn. I've been trying to educate myself a bit on my own time, and I came across a post about Fitness Trends of 2015 by the Bankers Healthcare Group blog. 

BHG provides solutions and financing for physician loans, including physical therapist loans, which help empower caregivers. My employer offers a lot of different incentives and programs to help us maximize our wellness, and the BHG blog has a lot of informative posts that remind me of that! I thought I would give me own take on fitness trends.

I've always wanted to be a runner. I have encountered lots of other people that want to be runners: "That's so cool you can do that, I wish I could!" is a common refrain I've heard. (And one I've said myself many times!)

But while I have distinct memories of watching other people run, and run well at that, and wishing I could emulate them - probably dating back to middle school -, I can't pinpoint a reason why I fixated so strongly on running. The closest thing I could come up with was track was a no-cut sport (thereby making it relatively accessible), but swimming was as well, and I had no interest of joining, despite my parents' urgings.

It seems a little "out there" to suggest, but I truly believe humans have some innate connection to running. It's what we evolved to do, and I think that creates a draw to the sport, even if we can't explain why. In fact, when I was trying to jog my memory about why I personally wanted to become a runner, I tried a few Google searches, and I was shocked how many top results were articles about learning to run despite hating it. I think it's safe to say people generally avoid things they hate, so there must be something deeper drawing them to running.

Before I took up running, my only real exposure to fitness (other than hearing about classmates playing high school sports) was group exercise classes offered at MSU. These ended up being a great way to develop some fitness, which made the transition to running smoother. The classes were also very low-key - though still a great work-out! My first race was a 5K at a very small event around Labor Day, which only re-enforced the idea that fitness was fun and relaxing.

However, some time after I ran four miles for the first time (which I still rank up there as one of my hardest runs to date), I saw a real future for myself in running and wanted to learn more. I read every Runners World I could get my hands on and went on research binges online, trying to absorb everything I could about my new sport. While there was a ton of variety out there, I was glad to see many fundamental remained the same across the board. And, as before, the tone of everything I read was very welcoming and helpful. I don't think I realized there was anything different - yet.

I think the turning point for me was when I was flipping around TV channels one summer and happened upon the Crossfit Games. Maybe it was because basketball season was so long ago and football season was so far away, but I got totally sucked into watching. Michael was equally engrossed, and I think even my parents eventually ended up on the couch with us. I think I had heard the Crossfit name before, I didn't know much more, so I read a little about it.

I was shocked by what I found. While there are plenty of anecdotes of welcoming boxes, there were plenty of images online about pushing yourself to the breaking point - and then continuing. After inundating myself with running articles that urged listening to and honoring your body, I was honestly pretty stunned by this new side of fitness I had uncovered. (And I don't mean to throw Crossfit under the bus completely - I'm sure many other fitness trends have similar rhetoric - this was just the first one I stumbled across.)

I'd saying calling it a day if you fall over crying is perfectly legitimate.

Even though I have been running for a few years now, I am still learning how to listen to my body's signals. (As well as how to make myself appropriately respond to them, but that's a different story!) Any new trend that values completion over health seems irresponsible and dangerous. When I tried the Hanson's Marathon Method, I suffered from overtraining from weeks, even though I expected it might happen, just because I had never felt that way before. I can't imagine how much longer I would've been a zombie if I had been drilled to push through the feeling no matter how awful it got.

Lacing up my running shoes is such a simple act, but it signals that I'm about to do something good for both my body and mind. When you get away from that basic principle, it is too easy to lose sight of that and break. I know I'll never come anywhere close to competing to be "the fittest woman," but being the happiest runner sounds even better.

Do you have fitness trends that you love or hate?
How did you get into running?

Full disclosure: As always, all opinions are my own. I did not receive any compensation for this post.

New Rules of Lifting for Women - Introduction

(Side note - I decided to skip doing a weekly recap this week since I sat on the couch the whole time! Not exactly the most interesting topic, but I do feel fully recovered from Blue Ridge now.)

One of my first exposures to regular exercise was watching my dad lift weights about six times a week at home when I was little. Sometimes I would grab the two or three pound weights and join in too. I didn't really get the purpose of what we were doing, but I thought it was pretty fun.

Flashing forward to college, I started taking group fitness classes to try to be more active. I tried some step classes that totally kicked my butt, and I really liked the instructor. She also taught some weight lifting classes, and I gave them a shot one summer. The classes, while open to everyone, ended up being only women and were really non-intimidating. It was a great introduction to weight lifting, especially for learning proper form for a lot of staple exercises.

Eventually, I felt like I would need heavier weights if I wanted to improve. (The dumbbells provided only went up to 15 pounds.) I also started getting a little turned off that our instructor always preached about how we shouldn't lift heavy because we would "bulk up like the guys in the weight room across the hall." I wasn't very educated about lifting at that point, but that seemed like fear-mongering to me.

However, I had no idea what I would do in the unstructured weight room. I really like having a specific training plan for running, so I tried to find something similar for lifting. After doing some research, I came across the New Rules of Lifting for Women book. Luckily, it was in stock at the local bookstore, so I was able to peruse it pretty thoroughly before committing to buying it. The book was laid out with exactly what exercises to do and exactly how to do them. I was sold!

The plan is broken into eight stages, though one of those is optional. I will admit I've tried following the plan before, and even made it to stage three once, but I've never gone any further. I think my downfall was not striking a balance between running and lifting, as well as not really holding myself accountable. I have also been following it recently, but there have been large breaks, what with three spring marathons, plus my move. (I also find slightly different machines for the same exercise cause me to use vastly different amounts of weight, which makes it hard to track my progress!)

I've done a lot of thinking about my training recently, and I believe I've set myself up for success (aka not getting burned out), by limiting lifting to twice a week. (NROLFW strongly recommends lifting three times a week, but does admit two is fine.) While another move is in our future (hopefully sooner rather than later!), I plan to stick with the same gym. The only remaining problem then is holding myself accountable. If only I had some public mechanism to do that....

Starting today I am committing to completing the NROLFW plan. I will still allow myself breaks when I'm tapering and recovering from races, but otherwise I will stay consistent with two sessions a week. I have been trying to finish up Stage One recently, but I'm going to begin again today. (I figure this will only benefit me in terms of strength.) I also plan to be more faithful than I have been in the past - including the recommended warm-up, for example.

Stage One consists of 16 workouts (plus two optional ones at the end, that I might just skip because of how it falls in relation to Missoula), so it will actually be quite a bit of time before I check back in on my progress. Wish me luck!

Do you have a specific weight-lifting routine?
Have you ever tried NROLFW?

Blue Ridge Marathon Recap

A long, long time ago, when I was doing marathon research sessions (pun intended) for the 50 States, I knew picking the Blue Ridge Marathon would mean a very intense race experience. Since I had only run a couple fulls at that point in time, I was pretty nervous just at the thought, but it turned out to be one of my favorite races so far!

Michael and I stayed about 10 minutes away from downtown Roanoke, and we had an easy drive in the morning of. (I heard people complaining later about some huge line of cars waiting to park, I have no idea where that was, since we didn't encounter anything like it.) Packet pick-up closed the night before at 8 PM, and with a 7 hour drive, we opted to just grab our stuff in the morning.

There was a free parking garage about a 10 minute walk from the start, and we arrived an hour before the gun. There was a moderately long line for pick-up, though it moved fairly quickly. Unfortunately, they were out of Michael's shirt size, and I snagged the last bag. (I felt bad, since other people ahead of us missed out, but the pick-up wasn't well laid out, so they missed it.)

I did get pretty annoyed because at one point, during the bag debacle, I got wedged in between a person and some boxes, and a volunteer repeatedly yelled at me to move. She was nowhere as rude as the volunteers at Indiana, but it's still so strange to be yelled at by a volunteer before a huge race, when I'm certainly doing nothing wrong. (I admit, I'm pretty sensitive in general, plus my ear infection was still very painful, so maybe I blew this out of proportion, but still.)

We did a quick exchange at the car and headed back to the start. It was about 15 minutes before the gun, and they started brow-beating people to get to the corrals. I'm not sure who the emcee was, but he was trying to urge us out of the bathroom line, saying it wasn't that important. Um, I don't know about you, but there's pretty much nothing more important before a marathon. They ended up delaying the race five minutes, so Michael and I had a good amount of time to stand in the corral until we were released.

The race started off hilly, and it stayed that way! Someone running near us mentioned the first three miles are the worst. They must have been talking about the 10K or half, because I don't think it got much better after the first 5K. It was a more heart-breaking lie than being told "you're almost there."

Pictures never adequately show hill grade...just trust me that everything was steep!

I was very excited to enter the Blue Ridge Parkway (because that meant a National Park stamp!). I had to cross a little ditch to get up to this sign, and I guess I was moving pretty quickly, because another runner tried to tell me about a better spot to pee. She seemed disappointed I was just getting a picture.

The first mountain (of three) led us to the summit of Roanoke Mountain. I thought it was very interesting that the half split at mile 3 (and then followed later sections of the marathon course), so those of us running the full made this ascent alone. Michael and I walked almost the whole thing, but the views at the top made it all worth it. I felt strange about chilling up there for a minute, but I wanted to take it all in.

It was also during this climb we saw the lead runners come flying by. I'm always impressed how fast some people are, but watching them cruise the downhills, and knowing how they must have destroyed the uphills, was really awe-inspiring on this course. (I think two of the top three men went sub-3...that just blows my mind!)

After suffering through some incredibly steep downhills, we began climbing our second mountain of the day - Mill Mountain. This is where the famed star is located. (And, let me tell you, Roanoke really gets into being the Star City. So many places incorporated the image or name.)

I believe this mountain was actually shorter than Roanoke Mountain, but it felt a lot harder. I'm sure it was just from fatigue, but it felt like we were never going to get up to the stupid star. Based on finishing times, there were obviously lots of people who must've run these sections. Hats off to them, even power walking was difficult for me!

After what felt like forever, we made it to the top!

Side note - I was reading a Roanoke magazine after the race, and apparently over the summer, each week for four weeks, people race on their bikes up to the star. I nearly fell over running it. I can't imagine pedaling up - let alone willingly doing it four weeks in a row.

Though the view is fantastic!

We descended Mill Mountain and made our way through a short section of downtown. I was surprised how painful the flats were at this point (I think it was about mile 15?). I wanted to walk so badly, but I knew I couldn't actually walk the whole course, plus nothing was truly wrong. I was just beat.

However, there was a nice little treat at the halfway point - mimosas! A candidate had set the rogue aid station up. I wish I had gotten a picture because it was really cute: there were signs in the half mile leading up to it urging us to drink more "moo-mosas," and, when we actually got there, they had a plastic cow and were serving up the promised drinks. I honestly mostly wanted one for the orange juice.

The third mountain of the day was Peakwood. While the first two were located in parks, Peakwood is actually a subdivision. And while there was a true peak, there were lots of long uphills that came afterwards.

Both Michael and I had noticed how slanted the road was in places, and this is the section where I really started to feel discomfort in my knee. Every step was painful, and I couldn't run the downhills. If I gritted my teeth, I could force it, but I was really concerned about tearing something - my knee clearly could not adequately support that much force.

Hobbling sadly down from the top of Peakwood.

It was a flashback to Knoxville, only much sooner in the race and much more painful. However, a rogue aid station around mile 20 had Advil, and I gratefully took one. It kicked in a mile or two later and made a world of difference in my comfort level. I still made Michael walk the downhills, because I didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth, so to speak, but it was nice not to feel as horrible.

The last 10K of the race took us through some city parks and subdivisions. But don't think these were that flat, however - I believe this is where they added elevation change from 2014 to remain America's Toughest Road Marathon.

We also had an interesting volunteer encounter at this point. At about mile 21, she urged us ahead, saying there were just two more bridges and then we were on the home stretch. We crossed the two bridges fairly quickly, but then came to a turn-off for the full. She made an innocent mistake of assuming we followed the half course, but it still made us a bit sad.

However, there was also a spectator a mile later, who had just completed a color run, that was yelling really motivating things for everyone. (Unfortunately, I guess my marathon brain couldn't retain memories of what they were.) She was a great bright spot in that final section.

Finally, after far more than two bridges, we were close to being done!

Horrendously painful cake.

I'm almost ashamed to admit how much walking went on in the last mile, but we knew we would make the cut-off, and my knee was pretty done with life at that point.

Time: 6:40:51

I think our faces say it all!

Despite all the walking and the pain (my knee only feels 100% better for the first time today!), I'm so glad we did this race! It was a fun new challenge (not that "regular" marathons aren't challenging...), and it felt extra rewarding to cross the finish line and get our medals.

Unfortunately, the post-race area only had bagels (though they were really, really good bagels) and chocolate milk left when we got there, plus the post-race massage teams weren't taking any more runners. We found some shady space and rested a bit before hobbling back to the car.

Mad props to all of you out there that run hills like this regularly. Because let's just say I'm really looking forward to Missoula's one lone hill!

Fitting in Races

In my recent post about creating my own training plan for the fall, I discussed how a key component of that plan would be to allow myself to sign up for shorter races. In the past, I felt like if my training plan didn't call for a tune-up race (which basically none of them did), that I couldn't race. While I love marathons, I've really been missing short distance races. (And not just because the suffering is over sooner!)

I finally bit the bullet and signed up for a couple before Missoula. I figure since that the modified version of Hal Higdon's training plan I'm following now is very similar to what I plan to do in preparation for November, I should start practicing adding in races now.

But before I get ahead of myself, I'm really excited to share our fall marathon! Because of the mess at Newport, we have decided to run the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon instead. The race was already on my list for Georgia, but this year the medal will feature Ohio, plus flight availability allows us to do this as a weekend trip, without using up more precious vacation time. (Plus Spirit had flights for $86 per person round-trip...we hopped on that train as fast as we could!). We will be flying out Friday night after work and returning Sunday morning.

But I digress. The real purpose of this post is to discuss the two shorter races I just signed up for. Michael and I had been talking about doing a half some time, but I also wanted to do a 5K as well, so I did the logical thing and signed up for one of each. 

The first of the two will be the Jog into Spring 5K on May 2nd. I love races tied to holidays and seasons (even if the theme is in name only...it still makes me feel festive!), and this one is only about 15 minutes away. As a bonus, it doesn't start until 9 AM, so I can even sleep in to a pretty reasonable hour too.

My weekend originally called for a swim Thursday, an easy 6 miles Friday, and another 12 miles easy Saturday, with Sunday as a complete rest day. I plan to leave the swim on Thursday (since it is a no-impact workout), turn Friday into a rest day, race the 5K Saturday, and do my easy 12 on Sunday. I don't really like to do long runs on Sunday, but I know I need to be open to adjustments to make racing work. 

Right now I plan to truly race the 5K. I'm interested to see where my speed is at right now. I think the last time I raced a shorter distance was a 10K in October! I find my short distance times don't correlate very well to my marathon times, but I would still like to have an idea of where I stand two months out from Missoula, where I'd ideally like to PR.

The second race I signed up for is the New Moon Half Marathon on May 30th. This is an interesting race in that it starts at 6 PM. There's surprisingly few half marathons in Cleveland in the spring (at least that I could find), and the only options are pretty far away, which would make for a very early morning race day. We already have plenty of these for marathons, so I was hoping to find a half at a more reasonable time. Since I prefer to run after work, I think this will actually be an ideal race start time for me!

The original schedule for that weekend was a swim Thursday, a 6 mile run with 4 miles at MP Friday, and a 16 mile long run Saturday, with Sunday as a day of complete rest. I've only done one road half (in 2013), and I know I can automatically PR at my easy pace, but I really want to see how much I've improved - so I want to set myself up for success.

I plan to swim on Thursday - just like with the 5K - rest on Friday, race the half on Saturday, and still keep Sunday as a recovery day. I'll assess my goal when the race draws a little closer and after I run the 5K, but I'm hoping I can break 2:10, which would be a 15-ish minute PR for me. I'm really interested to see what it feels like to race 13 miles again, since at my MP I feel pretty fresh at that distance. Hopefully being used to running twice that distance will make the race easier mentally, but we will see.

Just like with my training plan post, I'd love to hear your feedback on rearranging my training plan to accommodate races. I obviously don't plan to pull this stunt every weekend, but I think adding in short races will put a lot more fun back into my running. The tweaks I've described above seem reasonable to me - but this is all still new to me, so I'm interested in others' thoughts. 

(And feel free to send me some money if you want to help fuel my race addiction!)