Category: Marathon Training
Getting Back on the Wagon
| January 18, 2012 | Posted by Lauren under Marathon Training, Running |
Miles driven this past weekend: 811
Miles run: 0
Amount of things wrong with this picture: too many to count
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I have a lot of excuses to explain my lack of running over the long weekend (no time, no place, not feeling well, etc) but when it comes down to it, they’re all just excuses. And as the saying goes, if something is really important to you, you won’t make an excuse – you’ll find a way to do it.
(Source)
I have to admit that so far in 2012, I have been full of excuses. I’ve been too busy, too tired, too distracted to really kick my training up a notch. I keep putting my launch into all-out training off for another day, another week. Meanwhile the weeks pass by and we get closer and closer to Boston – the marathon I worked toward qualifying for all of last year.
For whatever reason, I’ve just had a really hard time getting back into any sort of routine after the holidays, whether it be with running, blogging, or anything else. There has been a lot on my mind, and running hasn’t quite been the stress reliever that it was in the past. Usually when I’m stressed and just go out for a run, I feel better. But when I’m stressed and need to stick to a training plan, running simply becomes one more thing that I have to do.
I know that I am in need of a major change in perspective. Instead of dreading each tough training run, I need to visualize my goal (3:10) and get excited to work toward it. Instead of seeing each run as something I have to do, I need to look at it as a challenge that I want to complete – a challenge that not only keeps life exciting, but will push me to be a better runner every single day. I know that I am capable of putting in the hard work that it takes to improve. I just need to get back in the habit of doing it.
So last night after work I dragged myself out the door for a cold and rainy 11 mile run. I can’t say that the thought of running for an hour and a half in the dark rainy night was particularly exciting, but I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. The first few miles were tough. I concentrated on getting myself into the zone of running instead of focusing on each and every mile that was passing by. My loop took me through my favorite parts of the city, and finally, as I found myself running alone down a muddy path, something clicked. I remembered what a blessing and a privilege it is that I even have the ability to train. And I remembered that ultimately, no matter what stress I’m dealing with in my life, running makes me feel better.
Training is never easy. There are always going to be days when it’s hard to get yourself out the door, or push yourself to run faster than you think you are able. There will be days when the run sucks, when it’s all you can do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. There will be days when you feel discouraged and tired, and days when you wonder why the heck you’re even putting yourself through this type of torture anyway.
But for all those really crappy days when you question your existence as a runner, there will be great days too. Days when the run feels effortless. When you go faster than you ever expected. Days when you reach new PRs or distance records. And days when you go to bed feeling so tired but so proud of all you’ve accomplished.
I need to remember that I train because I like the roller coaster ride. And ultimately, when I get on the starting line I want to know that I gave everything I had to make sure I was prepared for that one moment. Fast or slow, PR or not, I want to finish a race knowing that I gave it my all. Which means that I need to put the work in now. Days when I find it nearly impossible to get outside in the cold and the dark, that feeling at the end of the race is what I need to visualize and work toward.
Starting today, I am going to push myself back onto the training wagon. I will stop the excuses and start sticking to the plan. And I’m going to do that the only way I know how – simply, and one step at a time.
Simple Steps to Kick My Butt Into Gear
1.) Print out my training plan. Having it on my computer where I can’t see it everyday is not a very effective form of motivation.
2.) Post it online to keep me accountable. (coming soon!)
3.) Change my routine. Just like getting up, walking the dog, and going to work, running needs to become an essential part of my day again – not something I tack on at the end if I have time.
4.) Start looking ahead. I never expect myself to stick to a training plan 100%. Things come up that are outside of my control all of the time. BUT, I can do my best to minimize those things by looking ahead and planning for it. I knew well in advance that I was going to spend all of last weekend driving all over Vermont, which meant a lot of sitting and not much moving. Instead of just hoping that I’d have time/a place to run over the weekend, I could have shifted a long run up earlier in the week to make sure I got it in.
5.) Prioritize. There are a lot of moving parts in my life right now. Many of these things are very exciting, but they still are sources of stress. And while they’re all very important, they’re not the end-all be-all. I need to run not only because it keeps me fit, but also because I am a better person when I do so. I’m less grumpy, more rational, and just better to be around. Which means that running needs to be as much of a priority as everything else.
This post sort of serves as my wake up call. As my reminder that the winter may seem long, but it’s going to pass me by before I know it. I can take these simple steps to get myself back into the habit of training. Once it becomes a part of my routine, it won’t be a great big question mark at the end of every day. It’ll just be something that is as natural as breathing.
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But I still need some help – any other good tricks you use to jump start your routine and get yourself back on the training wagon?
Trusting My Internal Clock
| January 11, 2012 | Posted by Lauren under Marathon Training, Running |
I’ve talked about this before, but Garmins can be a mixed blessing. The feedback from them is great. And sometimes, when I look down and see a number that I like (whether it be pace or miles), it can make me feel on the top of the world. But other times it seems as though the watch’s sole goal is to crush my running confidence. I look down and see a pace that seems too slow for how I feel – and then suddenly, I feel even slower and completely out of shape. Or I see one that seems way too fast to maintain and then freak out. It’s a bit funny how one little watch can have so much impact on how we feel about ourselves and our running.
Running without a Garmin on Saturday was one thing that made the race so stress-free
In the spirit of being less dependent on my Garmin, last night I tried an experiment. I have been running with the watch more often these days (now that the training hiatus is over, it’s time to start getting my butt kicked by that thing again), but I still don’t want to be obsessing over the numbers on every run. I respect the watch as a helpful training tool, but there’s something to be said about trusting your body to tell you how fast/hard you are running, instead of a little digital computer on your wrist.
So last night, as I stood shivering on the corner in my shorts waiting for my watch to find satellites, I concocted an experimental workout in my head. The goal would be to keep a comfortably fast pace, without actually looking at my watch to make sure that I was doing so. I was just going to run at the pace that my body felt was quick but maintainable. I don’t know about you, but for me this can be a scary thing. Do you ever have those days when you feel like you are pushing hard and yet find out that your pace is actually really slow? I was afraid that after a sick day on Monday, my legs were going to trick me into thinking I was running fast while I was really just slogging along.
But I squashed the doubts. After the satellites had finally loaded (and after getting the most disgusted look from a woman walking by who saw me standing outside in shorts in January – do my shorts disturb you that much?!) I was off. I settled into a pace that felt quick, but still relaxed. I turned on my music and got into the zone. I had no idea how fast I was running, but it felt great.
I kept that up for about 4 miles. At that point I went around a corner and was blasted by an awful headwind. I felt my pace slipping and wasn’t sure I’d be able to hold on for the 1.5 miles home. It was time for Phase 2 of my experiment.
I finally let myself look down at my watch and realized I was running a sub-7:30 pace. Even with the headwind. Seeing that number displayed was the extra motivation I needed to keep pushing through. At that point, I shifted how I looked at the watch. Instead of a device whose data stressed me out, this was something that was making me want to run faster. I wanted to see if I could beat the times it kept displaying for me. My goal became to speed up for the last stretch and finish strong.
It wasn’t my longest run ever, or my fastest run. But when I finally finished in front of my apartment, I was so excited. Because the pace had felt relaxed and almost easy the entire time. Without seeing any numbers beeping on my watch, I had just run a pace that felt great – and that pace was quicker than I had expected.
Not only that, but after getting home and seeing my splits, I was surprised by how consistent they were.
Mile 1 – 7:31
Mile 2 – 6:41 (this number is a little suspicious. I went under a spot where I sometimes lose satellite reception, so I guess the real pace is a little slower)
Mile 3 – 7:32
Mile 4 – 7:31
Mile 5 – 7:15
Mile 5.5 – 3:24 (6:46 pace)
Sometimes when I don’t have that constant feedback staring me in the face, I assume that my splits are going to be all over the place. It’s easy to start thinking that I need my watch to keep myself on track. Who would’ve thought that my body could do something like that on it’s own?
I will still be using my Garmin for Boston training. I want to be able to keep track of my training paces, and having a watch is a good way to ensure that I am running fast on fast days and easy on easy days. But it’s time to start trusting my body more. I want to start doing more of these runs where I let my internal clock set (and keep!) the pace. I think that after so many years of running, it sort of knows what it’s doing.
Beware the Crazy Marathoner
| October 28, 2011 | Posted by Lauren under Marathon Training, Running |
I would like to have been able to title this post “How to Stay Calm the Week of Your Marathon.” Or at least “How to act like a rational adult when under pressure.” Instead, I need to confess that I’ve done neither of those things this week. Despite the hours I’ve spent trying to convince myself that this marathon is a no-pressure, “just go out there and see what you can do” situation, I’ve been hit with the pre-marathon nerves. And hit hard.
You’d think that after 5 marathons and 27 years of life, I’d be a little more collected. But nope – I’m embarrassed to admit that all it takes is a large, out of town race to reduce me to a 5 year old. I’m sure I’ve been such a joy to be around this week.
So in the spirit of “do as I say, not as I do,” here is how this week in {ontherun} land went.
Monday
Wake up and am immediately hit by the fact that in less than a week’s time, I’ll be running the 36th MCM. Heart rate soars. Go to work. Have a mild, public freak-out about my training and the taper. Almost convince myself that the sane and smart thing to do at this point in my training is to go out and run 9 miles that afternoon. You know, because everyone knows you should do one last semi-long run duringmarathon week.
Talk to Twitter and my always wise Father (yep, I still call my dad to calm me before races), and am finally brought to my senses about the stupidity of my plan.
After work, see that the shoes that I finally got around to ordering last week (oops) have been delivered. Take them out for a test run. Decide that’s a good enough test to declare the shoes marathon worthy.
Tuesday
Wear my brand new running shoes to work in an effort to break them in as quickly as possible. Notice that my quads seem to be experiencing mysterious muscle aches. And that dang knee pain hasn’t gone away. Take the day off running and ice instead.
After work, head to the store because I’ve managed to convince myself that I absolutely need a pair of green shorts for the race. Find myself slightly disappointed in the store’s small selection of shorts (I guess winter is coming or something), but settle on a pair of Nike tempos.
They’re not green and pink, but they will do.
Proceed to have a minor meltdown that night because of a bad stomachache. As if stomach pains are the first sign that everything is falling apart.
Wednesday
Wake up congested. Convince myself that I am suddenly coming down with some horrible disease whose impacts are far more serious than those of seasonal allergies. Proceed to drink enough water and nuun during the day to warrant a trip to the bathroom every half hour.
After work, go for a short, easy run to test out the new shorts. They hold up great for 4 miles – decide this must mean that they’re marathon worthy. Meet Lizzy and Beckyfor a carb-filled pizza dinner. Go to bed feeling calm.
Thursday
Wake up congested again. Apparently that rare disease I’ve just contracted hasn’t gone away over night. Take an allergy pill on the off-chance that I’m actually just suffering from seasonal allergies, and not a condition that is likely to result in severe injury or death.
Head to work. Proceed to tell everyone that I won’t be in on Friday because I’m running a marathon. To which they reply, “Again?!” Not quite the response I was going for… Manage to make it through the day feeling relatively calm.
After work, go for a really easy 3 mile run in the cold rain. It’s like a 25 minute ice bath for my legs and I love it. Until the last half mile when I suddenly feel an odd, yet painful tweak in my left quad. Stop to walk and rub it out. Try to rationalize it’s just a cold muscle…and not a pulled one.
Get home from the run and head out to complete a few last minute errands. Suddenly all the calm I had been feeling during the day melts away and everything seems to be going wrong all at once. Proceed to have the biggest meltdown yet. By this point, EC is looking for the nearest escape route – and beginning to have serious doubts about being stuck on a plane with me the next morning.
Finally talk to my parents and get an awesome MCM email from Dorothy. All is right with the world again. Set my alarm for a super early wake up call.
Friday (today)
Wake up as soon as the alarm goes off feeling groggy but excited. I’m going to DC today!! Gather up a few remaining things and my carry-on suitcase (not taking any chances this time). Head out to the car and am shocked to find it coated in layer of ice (in October!!). Despite that minor setback, everything goes smoothly. I get to the airport with EC in plenty of time, board the flight, and get myself to DC.
Now I’m hanging out with my wonderful sister, who greeted me with a huge gift bag filled with pre-marathon goodies (dark chocolate, granola, and bananas – what else could I girl want?). We’ll be heading to the expo in a little bit, and I’m surprised that I feel calmer now than I have all week. Maybe I just had to get all the freak-outs out of the way early…
Good luck to everyone running this weekend!
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There’s still time to enter my Team Sparkle Skirt Giveaway! Entries are accepted until November 1st!
What I’m Loving Now: MCM Taper Edition
| October 22, 2011 | Posted by Lauren under Marathon Training, Running |
There are only 8 more days until I’m standing on the starting line of the 36th Marine Corps Marathon; 5 until I’m on a plane heading south to VA. As the race draws closer, I’m spending less time running and more time thinking – reflecting over my training and my goals for marathon day.
Translation: the taper crazies are currently ramped up to an all time high.
I don’t know why I always think that marathons will suddenly become less intimidating. While nothing will ever be as nerve-wracking as my first, the truth remains – a marathon is a very long race. A race that you put a lot of time and energy into training for. And no matter what your training has looked like, anything can happen on race day.
In case you were wondering, heavy thoughts and a restless body aren’t exactly the greatest combination.
Luckily, this taper hasn’t been all bad. There are a few good things that have gotten me through the week, and distracted me from those heavy marathon thoughts about performance, goals, and whether these achy knees of mine are going to hold up for 3+ hours. So in the spirit of my 6th marathon, here are 6 things I’m loving:
1.) Operation Leave No Carb Behind. The gradual upping of carbohydrates in preparation of race day is in full swing. While I do happen to consider myself a bit of a pro at this already, I’ve been more conscious than usual about the types of foods I’m eating from now until the marathon. Candy corn and alcohol are out. Whole grains, healthy fats, and proteins are in.
2.) Followed closely by Operation Hydration. Particularly in the form of Bananaberry Nuun. Half a tablet of banana + half a tablet of tri-berry = my newest obsession. And the greatest flavor of nuun that has yet to be created.
Good thing I’m pretty well stocked at the moment.
3.) Long runs that are “only” 10 miles. Tomorrow morning I’ll be doing my last long run of this training cycle. It’s a strange, but wonderful thing to think I’ll be running for less than an hour and a half. And then it’s all about resting until race day.
4.) Real time race tracking
Actually, I’m not really sure I love this yet. Knowing that your times will be automatically tweeted whether you’re running well or not adds a little element of pressure, I think. But I know I like stalking tracking other people’s times on race day to see how they’re doing. So now you can stalk me too.
5.) Sparkly Soul Headbands. I somehow won Dorothy’s giveaway for one of these headbands and I’m excited to sport one during MCM next week.
A perfect accessory for my #teamwatermelon race wear…and for keeping back hair that still doesn’t quite fit into a ponytail on its own.
6.) The end of Marine Corps Marathon Training. There comes a point in every training cycle when I just get tired of the act of training. And during today’s short uneventful run, I realized – I’m at that point. I wasn’t running fast or going far, but yet I felt tired…just from simply being out there. I’m tired of having MCM in the back of every single one of my thoughts and as the end goal for every single one of my workouts. And I’m tired of this taper – of making sure I get enough rest to be ready on race day. I need this week to speed up and get me to the starting line already!
While at the same time, I’m hoping it drags out forever…
Taper Reflections
| October 17, 2011 | Posted by Lauren under Marathon Training, Running |
Last Tuesday I ran 20 miles. Then yesterday I ran 15. It was technically my first week of the taper for MCM.
While I know two double digit long runs within a week doesn’t exactly sound like your typical taper schedule, given my training over the past 4 months, it was actually pretty fitting. My mileage this time around has been all over the place. I’ve had a series of mini tapers and recovery weeks, I’ve run long runs wherever I could fit them in, and have pretty much just made things up as I went along.
I didn’t start off the training cycle planning for it to be this way. I was going to stick to a strict plan, build up mileage the traditional way, and prepare for this marathon as best as I could. But if you click on my training page, you’ll notice that plan was never created. Sure, I sat down a couple of times and roughly sketched out the progression of long runs to see what I had to do to build up to 20 miles, but then I just went about stumbling through marathon training, one week at a time.
Why would I ever do this?? Well after a few weeks of training this summer, it became pretty clear that I needed to do something different. I was having a hard time adjusting, and was struggling with my mental attitude. So partially by design and partially because of circumstance, this summer I conducted a plan-less training experiment. And I don’t mean the type of “non-plan” that meant I would sit down at the beginning of each week and outline the type of workouts I needed to fit in. I mean that beyond knowing when my races were and when I’d have to run my first 20-miler in order to fit in 2 – 3 of them, I literally had no plan.
I know what most of you are thinking already, so before you object that this is not the way you do things when training for such a big race, let me just say: I know. I don’t think this is a good idea for first time marathoners and I’m not actually advocating for others to do the same. But I’d like to think that I’ve been training long enough to know what I need to do to prepare for a marathon. By this point, I don’t really need a day by day schedule to tell me what to run. I understand the amount of miles I should put in, the speed work I should do, and the types of cross training (like lifting) that can make me a better runner. In theory, I should be fine just making things up as I go.
But what I discovered after my 16(ish) week experiment? I like having structure.
I like having the plan spelled out before me in black and white. I like looking at this week and all the weeks after that to see what I need to accomplish and what it will lead to. I like seeing how each training run builds on the one before that, and just how far I’ve come to get to that point. Structure isn’t something that I feel weighed down or stressed out by – structure actually helps me thrive.
I know I’m not alone in this. There’s a reason people spend hours researching training styles and writing up training plans; or spend money to hire an experienced coach to guide them through training. Lots of runners thrive on structure – on numbers and data and a general order.
That wasn’t me this summer, however. For whatever reason, I didn’t really want all that feedback and guidance. I wanted to do what I wanted, when I wanted. And although typing it out this way makes me sound like the spoiled runner-child, the reality is – it worked out okay. …or at least I think it did. My only real worry every week was getting in my long run, and I sort of enjoyed the break. My mileage wasn’t as high as it has been in the past (as it probably should have been) and I didn’t go through that normal progression of buiding up to a peak before cutting back gradually during the taper. But I made it. Sort of. Here I am, two weeks out from my marathon, feeling ready to race. I may not be in any shape to run a PR time, but I know I’ll be able to do finish.
So why am I rambling on about all this? Because now that I’ve made it to the taper phase, I’m kind of lost. Since my mileage was all over the place and my last 20-miler was on a Tuesday of the following week, my weekly mileage never peaked at a certain number. Which means I can’t really follow the standard formulas – reducing your peak mileage by 20% the first week, then by 40% – 50% the following week, and finally cutting back enough the week of your marathon so that leading up to the race, you only run about 1/3 of your peak mileage (source: here and here). All I can do at this point, I suppose, is focus on the basics. As with the rest of my training, I know what long runs I need to do to lead up to the marathon. And I know the other taper “rules” I should be following, like:
- Run easy – Besides one short marathon pace workout in the middle of the week and some 100 meter striders following my runs, I plan on (trying) to keep my runs slow and easy. This means no going out and averaging 7:45′s during my weekday runs even if I’m feeling awesome. The focus should be on recovery.
- Get lots of sleep – Getting 7 – 8 hours of sleep every night is not one of my strong points. So the goal for the next two weeks is to rest up.
- Prepare my mental game – I’ve struggled with my mental attitude more than anything this training cycle. It’s gotten better in the past couple of weeks, but I know it still isn’t where it needs to be if I want to tackle 26.2 at the end of the month. I have two more weeks to psyche myself up for this race.
- Hydrate – Even though yesterday’s weather was cool and not at all humid, I could tell I was dehyrdated a couple of miles into the run. When you plan on running for 2 hours, this is not a good way to start. For the next two weeks, I need to focus on being hydrated every single day.
- Ice – As much as I love my pink and green racing flats, I have to admit that my knees haven’t been the same since I tore down the side of a mountain in Oregon while wearing them. For the past month and a half, I’ve been struggling on and off with knee pain. I plan to spend extra time icing this week and next, to make sure that pain doesn’t get in the way of MCM.
- Carbo-loading – You can’t just shovel in a bunch of carbs the night before a big race and think that your glycogen stores will be topped off. It’s better to start increasing the amount of carbs gradually (as well as focusing on eating healthy fats and proteins a couple of weeks before the race). Fortunately, that’s one thing I’m pretty good at already.
I know we’ve all heard it said 1,000 times before – trust the taper. But whenever I get to this phase of marathon training, I find that it’s easier said than done. I get antsy and nervous, and all I can think about is running my stress away. This time, I’m finding that trusting the taper is even harder than ever. I know my training is what it is – I can’t change it now. All I can do is focus on getting rest, and hope that I’ve done enough.
I guess we’ll find out in 13 days…
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