TexasLindsey

7 miles at 6 pm.  It was raining.  Major cramps on theleft side of my stomach the entire run.  It was especially bad the last two miles.  Didn't stop, though.  Nope.  The mantra of the run today was "Pain is just weakness leaving your body."     This happens often when I run at night and never in the morning. 

Splits (9:14, 9:12, 9:28, 9:05, 9:07, 9:30, 9:26)

6.4 miles this morning.  Temp was in the 40's and it was windy.  I was pretty comfortable with what I wore - capris, technical tee, jacket, gloves, headband and hat.  I'm still trying to figure out what works for me in cold weather.

Splits (9:48, 9:33, 9:03, 8:53, 8:28, 8:06, 7:04 pace for last .4) 

6.4 miles at 5:30 pm.  Splits (7:41, 7:40, 8:05, 8:15, 8:05, 8:10, 7:19 pace for last .4)

I started out faster than I had planned and it's kinda funny why.  At the beginning I had to cross some traffic and get on another sidewalk.  I was paying attention to the cars so I didn't notice there was another runner on the sidewalk that I nearly ran into as I got there.  It was a tall, maybe mid-twenties guy who looked like he ran alot.  By that, I mean that he had big calf muscles, was wearing short running shorts and a runner watch. 

So he passed me going fairly fast and I thought I'd match his pace and hang back about 20 yards behind him.  He seemed to be going 7:45 pace.  I figured I would hang with him until the end of this street until I turned on another street.  But after about a half mile of this, he started wavering his pace slowing down and speeding up again.  Then he ran into a small tree branch.  He clearly wasn't paying attention to what was in front of him.  It was kinda funny.  I started thinking that maybe this wasn't his real pace... maybe he was just going this pace to ... impress me?  maybe?   Hmmm...  as I was considering this...  He had an ankle problem and moved into the grass.  It looked kinda fake.   Poor guy.  

So I continued with the 7:45 pace for 2 miles and then I considered whether to turn around and go back home continuing that same pace the whole way (4 miles total).... or slow down and do my 6.4 mile route that I had planned.  I decided to do the longer route.   

9.3 miles this morning with my group.  Splits (8:48, 8:51, 8:48, 8:55, 8:05, 7:50, 8:10, 8:13, 7:59, 7:09 pace for last .2 mile)

It was so cold!!  35 degrees.  Somehow it's supposed to warm up to 68 today...  I find it facinating that the temperature can change this much in one day. 

Anyways, back to the run...  Started out with Brenda and she wanted to stick to 8:45 pace because her race is next weekend too.  She also wanted to only do 8 miles so she turned to go back at 4 miles.  I was thinking I'd do 10 and I'd speed up after she left.  Then I ran into Laura at 4.6 miles and she was on her way back to the store doing an 8:00ish pace so I just went with her. 

I never warmed up.  My legs felt soooo heavy!!!  I wore tights and Laura said she never races in tights because she thinks they slow her down.  She says she'll wear shorts unless it's below 30 degrees.  Hmmm...  I don't know about that.  I'm relunctant to try something new on race day.   I so hope it's not this cold next weekend.  Coach said this is perfect marathon tempature but I don't think it is for me.  I think perfect for me would be in the low 60's. 

4 miles at 6 pm.  It was dark.  Splits (8:47, 8:43, 8:37, 7:50)

My first marathon is now less than a week away!  I'm in the final week!!  I can't believe it.  When I signed up for the race today, the organizer said a marathon is really a 6 mile race with a 20 warm-up. 

I'm thinking that I'm probably capable of a 3:45 marathon based on my paces for my long runs--if I don't have any injury with my IT band.  I'm not sure about 3:40... would be nice to BQ, but I'm not sure if I'm there yet.  I think I'm going to go out with 8:30 per mile being the plan.  I worried about being overly ambitious and being disappointed... I've worked so hard... and I've had this goal for 2.5 years... I'm just so scared it's going to be a let down.  I should just say that if I do it in under 4 hours, I will be happy.  That was my goal at the beginning of all this... it's only recently that I've started thinking a better time would be possible.

Wanted to run today... but my husband had to go into work at 5 am so I couldn't in the morning... and then I had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, which sucked up all the babysitting time available to me for the day. 

Feeling very guilty for not running. 

7.6 miles at 6 am.  This taper is driving me CRAZY!!

My watch wasn't charged so I don't know the pace.  It felt challenging... like as in I couldn't catch my breath... and I think it was about a 9-9:15 average pace.  This freaked me out because a 9 pace shouldn't feel challenging at this point!!!  

I spent the whole run trying to figure out why I was feeling this way... maybe I've lost aerobic fitness from running less during the taper?... maybe I'm taking too many days off during the taper?....  maybe my sports bra was too tight? It felt very tight...  maybe it's anxiety about the marathon?... and if nerves are bothering me now, how much worse are they going to be during the actual race??...  maybe I didn't eat or hydrate enough yesterday?...  I notice my lower back feels like it has a pinched nerve everytime I run lately - maybe there's something wrong that is making it difficult for me to run? -OH NO! Maybe a back problem will ruin my marathon??!!    But then again, no watch... so maybe it was faster than it felt.    

I will say this for the taper:  I'm seeing some improvement in how my legs feel.  My left achillies tendon starts out most runs feeling tight but it goes away during the run, which I think is an improvement from where it was prior to the taper.  Knees feel great, whereas before the taper they were starting to bug me.   No IT band problems (but that never popped up until I've gone at least 17 miles). 

Here's my plan for the rest of the week:  (By the way, thank you ROB MURPHY for the taper advice!!)   I'm going to run a 5-6 mile tempo tomorrow... maybe a mile warm-up followed by some sub 8:30 miles.  Friday off-day.  Saturday I'm going to run a 2 miles at goal marathon pace which I think should be 8:30.  Sunday is race day.  Weather is supposed to be perfect.  Morning in the 40's or 50's and high is in the 60's.  

5 miles at 6 am. It was windy (11 mph) and in the 50's or 60's.  First mile warm-up felt really sluggish.  Then 4 mile tempo - marathon pace.  Splits (10:29, 8:24, 8:34, 8:22, 8:01)

At one point in the run, I was thinking it was feeling difficult ...but then I realized I was going uphill against the wind at an 8:30 pace so I decided to cut myself some slack. I think yesterday's run when I was freaking out about my preparedness for the marathon, I must have been going faster than I realized... I was just in panic mode because I'm nervous.  So today I've been thinking that I just need to calm down and get my game face on.  It's amazing how much your mental state can affect your performance.  Physical fitness is only one part of this sport... another big factor is mental.  I need to really work on my confidence these next two days before the marathon... I've done all the training I can do at this point... right now there's no point to worry if it was enough ... if it wasn't enough training, the time to analyze what I should have done better is after the marathon. 

I'm still trying to figure out what to wear in cooler weather.  I wore a long sleeve tee today... not good.  I was HOT.  I'm hoping this is the temp for the marathon.  If it is, I'll wear a tank and shorts... but I'll start out with arm warmers.  I hope it's not as windy though.  One thing that did work out today is that I wore a headband over my ears... not for the cold but for the wind. 

The Fort Worth Marathon.  My first.   3:35:01. Average pace 8:12.  My average pace for the first half was 8:10 and for the second half it was 8:13.   I'm qualified for Boston!!  Only needed 3:40. 

Now that I've had time to rest a little, I'm including some more details that I am remembering. 

mile 1	7:57
mile 2	8:17
mile 3	8:18
mile 4	8:19
mile 5	8:15
mile 6	8:10
mile 7	8:05
mile 8	8:05
mile 9	8:24
mile 10	8:11
mile 11	8:02
mile 12	8:13
mile 13	8:01
mile 14	8:07
mile 15	8:04
mile 16	8:14
mile 17	8:03
mile 18	8:14
mile 19	7:56
mile 20	8:07
mile 21	8:34
mile 22	8:15
mile 23	8:10
mile 24	8:24
mile 25	8:43
mile 26	7:59
final .2	7:22

It's surreal.  I did so much better than I thought possible.  I had a "realistic" goal of 3:45 (8:34 pace) and what I considered "highly optimistic" goal of 3:40 (8:23 pace), which is my Boston qualifying time....   BUT NO....  I did it in 3:35:01 (8:12 pace).  I can't believe it. 

I felt great!  The weather was great!  My ipod kept playing the exact perfect song at the exact perfect time.  I had a half marathon PR at the half ... 1:47:something.  My plan was 8:30 a mile.  I went out faster than the plan because 8:15ish just felt like a jog!   

I thought I might pay for it later, but really I felt great the whole way.  At mile 1, I thought it felt like I'd only run about a quarter mile.  At mile 8, I would have guessed by the way I felt, I only had run 3 miles.  As I approached the half, I was thinking I couldn't believe how much energy I still had.  I've run 4 races that were over 12 miles and in all of them I was going slower than this... and in all of them I thought I was about to die at the end...  Amazing.   

Kept waiting for "the wall" and it never came.   Miles 18-21 were probably the worst miles of the race for me but mainly because they were boring... they weren't by a road and there were no spectators... also it was into the sun... but I just concentrated on how great it would be to get in the final miles.  After the race, I was surprised to see I had a 7:56 mile right in the middle of those hard miles.  OK...  I now believe in the taper!  I was really doubting before, but now I'm a believer.

I used 6 caffeine gu's during the race.  Four 25 mg, two 50 mg.  I had to take most of them without water.   There was some kind of issue with the water stops.  After mile 2 there wasn't another one until mile 11!!  The race director and spectators got people out there at water stations in the second half but I didn't know where the stations would be since they weren't there in the first half.   Luckily for me, I had arranged for my husband and Dad to meet me at mile 8, 18, 21 with Nuun.  I only did this because I thought drinking sugary gatoraide would give me stomach issues.  So good thing I planned ahead like this, because the water station issues didn't affect me...  

I really need to figure out how to drink while running.  I only stopped for 10-15 seconds to drink but stopping also cost me some momentum.  There was a girl who I passed at mile 7 and she passed me back at mile 15.  She finished in 3:33.  I can't drink and run like she could.  I think we were going close to the same pace but everytime I stopped to drink, she would get further ahead.  

The second half of the marathon was on track to be faster than the first... I was thinking that I had energy for a big kick that I was waiting until 2 miles to go to unleash... but then at mile 25, I had some kind of nerve issue in my left leg.. sharp pains streaking up along behind my knee and toward my back.  I had to stop and stretch because my leg stopped responding to me and I thought I was going to fall over ...that was the reason mile 25 was 8:43 .... I started thinking that maybe I would have to truck it in at the 8:45 pace the rest of the way....  but then I got pissed and said No Way am I slowing down for THIS... so I sped up!  ...and then Lady GaGa came on my ipod... and then this girl tried to pass me...  all of it just happened at once and it was perfect... I got so determined and at first I was running through the pain but then... the pain went away.  I totally smoked that girl who tried to pass me.   Then I hit the final .2 miles and I smoked everyone in sight.  I have never felt so powerful before in my whole life. 

I can't believe I did this well.   I'm so proud. 

Feeling pretty good after my first marathon.  My quads are still very sore.  My right leg hip flexor feels sore too.  Just feels like the day after a hard sprint workout. 

I'm thinking I'll take off today.... maybe tomorrow I'll do an easy, slow run.  I'm just going to listen to my body and take it very easy.  If I feel up to it, my running group is having an 8k and 15k race on Saturday.  I'm thinking I want to do the 8k.  Then on Thanksgiving I'm running an 8 mile race.  I hope that's not too soon after my marathon. 

I'm excited to run some shorter distances and PR.  When I started running, my goal from the start was to run a marathon.  I've never really concentrated on any other distance... I would run them from time to time but haven't really put the emphasis on them.  I think it might be fun to do that now.  Maybe I'll run another marathon in the spring. 

4.7 miles at 6:30 pm.  First run after the marathon.  Dark, windy, and cold.  My left knee bothered me a little toward the end of the run but that was it.  I'm surprised...  my legs actually feel like they're less banged up than before I began the taper.  

Splits (9:35, 9:10, 9:14, 9:16, 9:12 pace for last .7)

4 miles at 6:45 pm.  Felt pretty good today.  Rob Zombie came on my ipod and it made me want to run fast.  Splits (9:06, 8:05, 8:06, 8:00)

My running group held a 15K race today.  Average pace 7:39 a mile.  

Splits

mile 1- 7:35

mile 2- 7:40

mile 3- 7:46

mile 4- 7:57 

mile 5- 7:40 (included turn around and water stop)

mile 6- 7:28

mile 7- 7:36

mile 8- 7:42

mile 9- 7:41

Last .3 pace- 7:02

I was thinking maybe it wasn't a good idea to run a race less than a week after my first marathon, but I just couldn't pass it up.  I was feeling pretty good, so why not? 

In September I ran a 15K in 1:15:45 ish (8:05 pace) and it was the best race ever for me!  I was so proud. And today I improved on that by like 4 and a half minutes.  Wow!  I can't believe how fast I'm getting.  (I'm knocking on wood right now).   I think maybe I'm getting too cocky!  Ha, ha!  

I was the second placed girl overall.  Really cool.   There was this young girl with a giant bow in her hair who finished 1 min 30 seconds ahead of me.  When the results were posted, I found out she was 16.  I'm double her age... !  When she passed me around mile 2, I thought she'd fade before the end of it... as seems to be the case with younger runners in longer races.  I kept waiting to see her sputtering but she never did.  I wish I had gotten into running longer races when I was her age. 

I ran with Ashley the first half and then I sped up.  She finished 1 minute 30 seconds behind me.  It wasn't long ago I referred to Ashley as "the fast girl" and Laura as "the super fast girl".  I'm glad I know their real names now.   Yeah, I'm getting too cocky....   : )

My plan this morning was to run 6, but both my kids woke up at 5:45 am.  I was not defeated.  I made breakfast for everyone, I fed the baby and I changed two diapers... all in record time.  I put everyone in front of their favorite show to eat and I was out running by 6:30. 

My garmin wouldn't turn on.  Still not defeated... though this really discourages me.  I took a stopwatch instead and did my 4 mile route in 36:30 minutes.  I guess about 9 min pace. Easy~ish except on the hills, I charge the hills. 

I'm running a 5k on Thursday.  I really want to do 7:20 pace or better... so 22:45 or under.  Prior to this my PR is 23:45 but that was hot weather in September and I didn't get much sleep prior.  I've gotten much faster since then too.  

I haven't run alot of 5k's...  I don't know of any strategies -if there is such a thing in this short of a race.  I'm thinking I'll maintain a 7:20 pace until the turn around and then I'll crank up the music and start getting faster and when I only have a mile left I will do as close to a dead sprint as I can muster. 

I think before Thursday I need to go to the track to do a few 7:20 pace 400's to practice.  Also some faster than that.  

6.5 miles at 6:15 am.  I'm trying to prepare for the 5K on Thursday.  I figure tomorrow I need to rest or run easy so today was my last day to work on speed.

First 6 miles - there are 9 hills on this route (some short and steep, some long and gradual) and I tried to run them all 8:15 or better.

mile 1- 9:45

mile 2- 9:08

mile 3- 8:30

mile 4- 8:20

mile 5- 8:36

mile 6- 8:23

Then I just did some speed stuff ....   First I ran .35 miles at 7:30 pace. 

When I got to my street, I pushed the "lap" button on my garmin and I sprinted from the stop sign to my house, which is about the length of a football field... then I jogged back and did it again... and then again. 

Sprint 1 390 feet at 6:00 pace

Sprint 2 390 feet at 5:27 pace

Sprint 3 390 feet at 5:24 pace

-Note: Around mile 5, my left knee cap started bugging me.  When I started sprinting, I didn't notice it anymore. 

I was the overall female winner at the 5k this morning!!  I got a big turkey trophy.  My three year old is very impressed.  Ha, ha! 

Splits

First few seconds of race - I had trouble pressing start with my garmin for the first few seconds of the race because of my gloves...  I was going REALLY fast. 

mile 1 - 6:45

mile 2- 7:13

mile 3- 7:08

Final race clock time 21:15

I was going to be happy if I did a 7:20 pace average... deep down I thought I could do better... but I was surprised that I did THIS well.   I never even looked at my watch the whole race.  I just ran by how I felt.   

Either the race was slightly short of 3.1 miles or my Garmin's distance was off. 

I recorded exactly 3 miles on my watch.  I was delayed pressing start on the timer at the beginning of the race, however, I doubt I covered the remaining .1 mile during that time... I think I only missed 15 seconds.  If this is the case, I was running an average 7 min pace and I probably would have finished in 21:45 if the course was a full 3.1 miles.

The other possibility is that my Garmin's distance calculation was off and the race was the full 3.1 miles.  Sometimes maymyrun.com is different from what my Garmin says.   If the race clock and distance were accurate, I did 6:51 per mile. 

What should I go by in this situation?   The race clock or my garmin?

It was pretty miserable weather today.  A cold front came in and dropped the temps to 40's or 50's.  It was windy about 18 mph.  There was a slight rain.  The second half of the race was against the wind.

I was thinking I could have probably gone faster if my leg muscles were stronger.  Towards the end of the race, I was trying to get my legs to pump faster but my quads felt like they just couldn't move any faster... Aerobically, I felt fine... but my quads felt like they were out of energy.  I usually have a bigger kick at the end of a race than this.  It reminded me of what my legs used to feel like during the last set of lifting weights..  I bet I could get faster if I strengthened my muscles.  I need to add some weight/strength training.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!   Time to go pig out! 

8.4 miles at 8:30 am. 

Splits (9:09, 9:06, 8:47, 9:06, 9:10, 9:01, 8:29, 8:15, 8:07 pace for last .4)

Visiting the in-laws this weekend so I'm running in the piney woods of Conroe, Tx this morning.  It's so beautiful.  Different landscape than the Praire-like Fort Worth.  I've always enjoyed it here but never so much as I do now that I run when I'm here. 

Tomorrow morning I'm running 12 miles with The Woodlands Running Club.  I'm going to jump in the 8 minute pace group that I ran with last time.  It was challenging last time... there were lots of hills.  Thre are about 7-8 people that run the 8 minute pace... which is alot more than I'm used to running with so I think it's fun.   

12 miles this morning with The Woodlands Running Club.  I ran with a large group of people who claimed to be the 8 min pace group, however, the only mile they ran at 8:00 was the first... all the rest were in the 7's.  IT was challenging and fun.   A man and his teenage son were part of the group... The son was second place in the state of Texas High School CC championship.  I was able to find out that most of the people running in this group were 3:00-3:10 marathoners.  This was like a tempo for me... but for some of them, it was just a jog.

Splits

8:03

7:53

7:44

7:25 (H.S. kid took the lead)

7:41

7:34

7:41

7:17 (I don't know how but I got in kind of a race with another guy prior to a water stop.)

7:46

7:46

7:45

7:52  (Had to stop to wait for traffic on busy street)

6 miles at 5:45 pm.  Very cold, windy and dark.  The plan was to do an easy run today but I started out too fast because I was so cold.  I finally started warming up halfway and I decided to relax and slow down.  So normally I do negative spilts, but today I did positive. 

8:18, 8:09, 8:11, 8:27, 8:39, 9:00