Hills like whoa

Right now I would say my biggest weakness in training is hill work. Why you might ask? Well for many reasons.

1--Have you seen where I live? It's basically a pancake.
2--Have you seen where I live? Pancake-ville.

But seriously... hills are tough. Once you've adapted to them though... they are great. Hills develop strength and speed that would otherwise take a lot of time and energy to acquire... and, if run correctly, hills make you a more efficient runner.

So, living in pancake-ville poses a challenge for Boston training. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Boston's course, it's a straight shot. You start out in Hopkinton and run 26.2 miles to Boston. In the first mile you descend 130 feet. By mile 5 you've run a gradual decline of 310 feet.  I'm sure you're thinking no big deal. Right. However, if you don't run smart on that downhill you will be in a world of pain sooner than expected. And what comes down, must go up? Right? So yes, there is the notorious 'heart break hill' right around the point where most people hit "the wall." Gradually from mile 16 to mile 21 you climb. Then at mile 22 you descend again. Fun!!

Great placement people! So the other joy about training in pancake-ville is that ALL of Boston training takes place in the winter. Yes, you start in Dec/Jan and there is still snow and freezing temperatures through race day. It's South Bend, there has been snow at Easter and graduation before! Awesome. This compounds issue of hill training because you can try to run repeats on the few hills that are accessible, but once the roads and sidewalks are covered in snow and ice, they're out of commission (unless you like splitting things open, being hit by vehicles or general hospitalization).

The only alternative left: the TREADMILL. Ok, if you've never run hills on the treadmill... Try it. It sucks. I'm not being a hater on this... but let's be honest about something... what most* treadmills do is go up... and then they go flat. They don't go down! Hello! Recovery! Learning how to run the downhill! Neither of these things are possible. (*There are decline treadmills, and if I had $5k to just shell out, I would have one in my possession tomorrow. No dice.)

Today I sought out hills. This adds to the total training time. (People wonder why we can't just run anywhere sometimes). Fortunately not far from my house is a neighborhood with rolling hills. Whew! What a great run! Challenging at times (some of these inclines are decent), but also so invigorating! I love running on hills. I love the varying terrain. This is probably one of the reasons I loved Ithaca so much. Everyday was a hill day---and I subsequently was in probably the best shape of my life.

I finished my run feeling accomplished. Satisfied. And desperately needing to roll out... my butt.

One Week...

I'm getting ready to head out the door for my last long run as a 29 year old. Hmm. Not exactly where I would have been at this point: of life, training, etc.. but it's where I am today. Getting ready for a progression long run---I'm sure this would be a favorite for my team :) They love progression runs... ha! I'm pretty excited for besides the fact that the feel like is in the teens... better than single digits but I'm guessing better than slaving away on the treadmill for the third day in a row (single digits and I don't like each other).

I'm not too far off from where I'd hope to be at this point of training. However, I'm no where near where I wanted to be on my fundraising front at this point. There had been some setbacks that were uncontrollable, so now hopefully I can execute my plan and help raise some money for Girls on the Run. We are scheduled to have five sites this spring---one with possibly enough girls to do two sessions! That could mean reaching 90 girls!! It's amazing to think two short years ago we were crossing our fingers that someone would take us in. So the fundraising will begin to help ensure the quality of the program and that are growth continues--at a sustainable rate.

Personally, I wasn't someone that really set age goals when I was young. There was no need to "be married by X" or "have kids by X" or "travel to see X countries before I"m X"... so in many ways, I'm doing ok : )    I was hoping the entering my thirties I would be the healthiest and fittest I've ever been. Well... that's not exactly going to plan...although it's not totally off the mark. What continues to prevent me from achieving these goals is probably one of my biggest challenges in the years to come. Balance. Acknowledging when I need to do things for myself and saying 'no' to other things so I can feel good about myself. Along with that  is the realization that the first step of anything you do is often the hardest to take. As runners we know this... once you're out the door, you're golden. First you need to get out the door.

I'm headed out for a great run to cap off a solid week. Hopefully you won't find a frozen Jackie out on the roads...

Mental Prep

5x4 minutes at half marathon pace, what!? Kicked that workouts' butt and then some! 9 miles indoors today. What do I attribute my success for getting through this painful process (running indoors)? Well, first off yesterday was a day off... so I wanted/needed to run pretty bad. Then, last night there was a lot of self-talk going on. See I'm not a treadmill runner by trade. No siree Bob. However, the feel like is 5 degrees outside right now and it snowed all morning. I had a feeling that a workout outside would be a failure. So last night I sat down and had a little talk with myself (yes I do this and no I'm not medicated). See, while it doesn't always work the way you want it to... giving yourself a pep talk can really get you through it.

I'm going back to my mantra from Boston '07..... I CAN.  I WILL. BELIEVE. I'm throwing the doubter aside... I'm all in people... who's going to Boston with me? Somehow I'm pulling this dream race out in 88 days. BELIEVE with me. Please.

I've been trying to teach this to my team...

Maybe coming from one of the elite will help....

"I constantly remind myself that resting takes confidence. Anyone can train like a mad man but to embrace rest and to allow all the hard training to come out takes mental strength."

 --Ryan Hall, member of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Team

If I were going to give myself some credit, this is a category that I feel like I have earned my "A" in over the years. When I first graduated from college, I felt like I had to run everyday. I felt this way for many reasons: to stay in shape; to stay sane; and to continue to get faster.

It was only after several years of  trying to juggle hard training + long hours + little sleep that I realized you know, this rest stuff really does wonders for you, and it's healthier for me mentally too. Since I'm not training to make an Olympic team, there comes a point where the rest is not only beneficial for your body to make training adaptions but it also keeps running in perspective. While some may think running is my life, I do try to make sure that there is balance. I think before I was in an unhealthy place, needing to run all the time---and like any other addiction, you slowly need more and more to fulfill the craving. I knew I couldn't run more and more... so while I love running, I try to remind myself that the days without running are just as, if not more, important that the days I run. Because if I "miss" running that day, I also know that I'm still doing it because I love it.

So... if you find it 'hard' to take days off.... challenge yourself. If you go 110% everyday... you'll never really know what your 100% looks like on race day.

This week is a 'recovery' week for me... although I don't have much to recover from last week, I had an off day today. I was pretty excited about it. My legs are still feeling the effects of 5k effort in cold rain from yesterday and tomorrow promises to bring another new challenge, intervals at half-marathon effort. I'm hoping to take the 'refresher' from today to tomorrow's workout and kick it's butt. THAT's why I like rest days. It makes me feistier for what lies ahead.

Week 3

SUCKED.

I'm 'hoping' that I was sick... otherwise there just isn't much of an excuse for the poor results. I'm trying to chanel the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, who said,

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Maybe a stretch to some, but there is nothing comfortable about the last few days of training... so I'm trying to pull myself up by the boot straps and have an awesome week 4. God knows I need it...

Olympic Trials & DIII Pride

OH MAN... can you feel the excitement building!? Tomorrow is the Olympic Trials for the Marathon in Houston, Texas. I SOOO wish I was going to be there... for SO many reasons. Hopefully I can articulate them in an orderly fashion...

First let's start with this. I was at the 2008 Trials in Boston. It was amazing. Here are the insanely fast times that must be met to QUALIFY for the trials:


The Women's Standards
A-Standard (trip to the Trials is paid)
Marathon - 2:39:00 and under .... or the equivalent of a 6:03 pace for 26.2 miles
B-Standard
Marathon - 2:39:01-2:46:00 .... so the 'slowest' pace to qualify is roughly a 6:20 for 26.2 miles to qualify
Half Marathon - 1:15:00 and under
10,000M - 33:00 and under

First, put that in perspective. I would be sufficiently happy if I could run a 6:03 for a 5k! Which is an 18:47!
So it might not be in the cards for me during this lifetime, but there are some pretty freakin' awesome women that can rock it--and it is phenomenal to watch.

While in Boston for the '08 Trials there were two things that were particularly sweet. One, Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first woman to ever win the Olympic Marathon in LA (1984) was in the race.

 At age 50, she ran a 2:49 marathon that day. This woman is the real deal, just a gem. It was truly inspiring.

The second thing that made that day so incredible was being able to watch Deena Kastor come down the last stretch and win the trials. While I don't closely 'follow' the upcoming fields reguarly, I've always really enjoyed watching Deena and love to see her succeed. While this isn't the greatest picture, this is how close I was to the #1 woman that April day.


Deena 2008 Trials

After being there to experience the '08 trials, I really wished I could make it to the 2012 trials in Houston, especially after I heard who was going to be in the field. While there are numerous veterans and favorites, what I am possibly most excited about is to see one of SMC's former competitors toe the line. 2008 Case Western graduate, Esther Erb, qualified for the trials by running a 2:39. It was only her second marathon... and her first was a 2:46:15... just beyond the qualifying standard. While she may have been our competition, you can't help but love Esther. She was a joy to watch as a collegiate runner and I am filled with so much Division III pride as she heads to Houston. For more on Ester, check out this article featured in Running Times magazine: http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22337

So what is even crazier about Esther going to the trials? Well, how about that she finished just 20 seconds ahead of our very own SMC stud, Megan Gray, in the 2007 NCAA Championship XC meet!? Maybe for those that haven't had the joy of meeting/knowing Megan, it will put in perspective her athletic accomplishments as a student-athlete. She has and always will be a Hall of Famer in my book--so I hope she makes it there soon.

As for the trials, they run at 8:00/8:15 tomorrow morning but the video will be aired on NBC from 3:00-5:00 Saturday afternoon. While the field is around 150+ women, there are a few who I'm pulling for (besides Esther). I really like Desiree Davila from Michigan, who just barely finished in second at Boston this year. She is a gutsy girl, who has the fastest posted time in the field, running a 2:22. And while I know there are others that are gunning for it... I would love to see Deena make one more Olympics. She's coming off of having a baby and posted a qualifying time, but I'm sure it wasn't even close to where she could be at today. A lot of people are wondering if Magdalena will be in the top three... you'll have to tune in to find out! Regardless, it's going to be a fun race to watch---with the top dogs vying for a position on the Olympic Team. Pretty incredible...

Epic Fail

I almost should have never started the workout for today. I wasn't ready for it. Mentally I was tired, frustrated and unfocused. Instead of knowing that it probably just wasn't in the cards I went for it. My next sign was how tough the warm up was for me. I'm pretty sure my last three days were a little harder than intended and didn't help prepare me for today either. Lesson learned, again.

But now I have to deal with the fact that I bailed mid-workout. It was devastating. I'm devastated. Stepping off the treadmill, I felt broken and the thoughts flooded my mind. What am I doing? Is this goal too ambitious? How in the heavens can I do these things when I can't do a week three workout? It's not a good place to be.

I always try to keep things in perspective but sometimes it's just hard. I've had a few challenging situations that I've needed to work through as of late. The energy that they've required has left me drained and not sleeping. But there are no excuses and that's why it feels like an epic fail.

Marathoner and Olympic hopeful, Desiree Davila says, "Running is just you, the work you put in, and the clock. You can't cheat yourself. If you don't put in the miles, you can't go to the starting line thinking you're going to pull a miracle out of nowhere. You get out exactly as much as you put in."

The problem is, I couldn't agree more, and feel like I'm up a creek right now.
So I'm trying to focus on finishing up this week strong with a solid long run.
Man I wish I was anywhere but South Bend with 10" of snow headed my way...