Cancellations and Crazy Plans

With races canceled or postponed, I've been failing to run or train.  But I need to run, it's my outlet, my sanity.

I decided to be a little crazy and registered for the BURCs Virtual Marathon. I was trained up for around 15 or so miles before I stopped, so I guess you could I've tapered.

With the way the city has semi-closed down, I've been trying to sort out the logistics. I don't want to go for a long run around town and need a bathroom, since no places will be open and I doubt the city is putting out portojohns at the parks.

Then I thought, would it be ridiculous, fun and possibly entertaining to others if I run the entire marathon in the ~0.2 mile loop in my parking lot. Around 131 loops.  I could tweet and fb Live updates. I expect to walk the last 6-10 miles. Plus this gives me easy access to a safe bathroom and my food.  I have 36 hours to finish the race, so I could even take a nap.

Maybe this is the thing I need to re-energize. Mt Washington is still a go and I need to start training for that.

Boston training starts again May 21st.

I have until April 20th.  I'm looking at the weather and hoping for a nicer day.

Week 9 of Training Already!!!

Boston training continues and I've been fairly consistent. Taji 100 helps with that, as I really need all the miles I can get.

Training Chart.  Green = miles completed; Blue =  more miles than planned; Red = Did not do; Yellow = Less miles than planned; Pink = Cross Training

This week I crossed the 50 mile mark before the 14th, which puts me in a great place to finish early.

Screen capture of my Taji 100 total miles of 57.97. 

Plus I've earned a few achievements.

Screen capture of my Taji 100 achievement badges. 

Today I'll walk a mile or two, but otherwise rest. Tomorrow I'll run 10 miles between treadmill and indoor track.

Taji 100 - 2020 - Week 1

Taji 100 has begun.  The mission to walk, run, elliptical 100 miles in the month of February.

I have a few personal goals this year as well.
1) To walk at least 1 mile every day of the challenge
2) To complete the challenge by Feb 24th.

Week 1

Saturday: Ran 10 mile long run for my marathon training. Had planned on 12 but left the house late and had to make bathroom stop at the 3 mile mark. Hit a wall around 6 miles and was getting super annoyed at all the crosswalks with lights. On a happy note, that completes Amherst St/101A in Nashua for my Run All the Roads in Nashua. I need to do some more focus in fueling while running. My basal metabolism has increased and I spent most of this run hungry expect for the mile and a half trying to find a bathroom and the 15 mins after I ate a gu. The Clif bloks didn't do anything to take the edge off the hunger.

Sunday: Ran Freeze Your Buns 5k, which my watch says is just short of a 5k, so I missed out on the badge. Good race, didn't push myself but my legs were tired and my son hasn't been running, so his legs were not up for pushing it. He alternated between he doesn't want to be last and he doesn't mind being last when I pointed out that if he kept walking he'd be last.

Monday: This is a rest day according to my training plan. That didn't stop me from getting miles. I walked 0.75 miles with my husband during our afternoon shift. After work I went to Fleet Feet to participate in Winter Warriors and walked another 3.1 with one of my favorite running friends.

Tuesday: An actual training day. Plan was for 3 on the schedule. Snuck out for an hour at work for a 3.5 mile loop of hills.

Wednesday: Mid week long run day for marathon training.  Plan was for 6 and I ran 6.11 miles. I forgot to stop my garmin when I got to the chiropractor for my weekly adjustment, which messed up the avg mile pace.  First mile was 12:36 and last mile was 10:24, so I'm thinking I may be taking it too easy on myself when I run.

Thursday: Snow, and slush and muck on the roads convinced me a lunchtime run on the track at the Y was a much better plan than waiting for it to freeze into a sheet of ice to run on during Winter Warriors. Bumped into another Strider, running on the treadmill. She reminded me that this weather is one of the challenges of training for Boston and a few indoor runs are not a bad idea to be comfortable running in the heat because who knows what the weather will be the day of the marathon.

This blog post is incomplete, but I'm posting it anyway. Next post will have some updates in pictures. I'm pretty sure Friday was two half mile walks due to mismanagement of free time and desire to hibernate.

January Wrap Up

Marathon training continues.

Over the month I have run a few 5ks, Freeze Your Buns, Snowflake Shuffle and Fudgesicle.

Here is the training update. I've had some struggles with the Wednesday run getting longer, but I'm working to find solutions to that. I realized this week as I was running that in a month it will be warmer than it is colder. There is something about the 30 degree temperature line. Above that temp is far easier to run, than below. In four weeks we'll be over 30 more than we'll be under it.

Green = complete, yellow = less than desired miles, blue = more than planned miles
red= skipped, pink = cross training

Cross training has started to take a hit, and I need to get back to that. Find some routine of body weight strength I can do. My pace is slowly improving, I am able to run further without walk breaks, and when I'm having a heavy legs struggle run, I'm running at my fast pace for last fall. The consistency is helping, along with the strength work I started in November.

The biggest challenge has honestly been finding time, which was the challenge last time as well. Saturday I ran from home to the Westwood branch of the Nashua YMCA and meet up with my family there. Sunday morning I ran Freeze Your Buns to complete the needed miles.

I'm starting to plan out my 2020 race schedule. The two big anchor races at the moment are Boston Marathon and Mt Washington. Eastern States is a secondary now that Boston is confirmed. Other races will be all the mountains leading up to Mt Washington, and I might just do one more after to get Goat status again. I'm hoping to complete the New Hampshire Grand Prix and possibly the USATF All Terrain Runner series. My fall running schedule will need some fluidity to accommodate my youngest running cross country.

Now onto February and striving towards completing Taji 100!

January Updates

“Stop gambling with British Bookies” my Dad’s response to I’ve lost 10 pounds since November.

Plan spreadsheet. Green = run completed; Yellow = less than planned miles
Red = Skipped; Pink = cross training; Blue = More than planned miles

Week 5 of Boston Marathon/Eastern States training and I’ve been struggling. I walked on Monday when I should have rested and it really messed up my training week. My head has been in a funk and I’ve felt physically sluggish. Yesterday I finally checked my cycle and put it all together. PMS can be cruel.

The 10lbs is a problem, I can’t really lose anymore, that was the issue I had last time so I’m trying to incorporate more 200 calorie healthy snacks and not skip breakfast. 

Garmin screen shot of the 5
activites this week.

I’ve been beating myself up about not making my miles, until I realized I needed 11 mid-week miles and I got them. Some I walked, some I ran slow, but I got them all. Tomorrow is a rest day to prep for 10 miles on Saturday in 10 degree weather before the snow. 

A few other wins this week, I've been able to run after eating, or more accurately not in a complete fasting state. Yesterday I ate a huge lunch at around 2pm. Realizing I had some free time in the afternoon and a desire to not running 23 mph winds, I went to the Y and ran 3 miles on a treadmill around 4 pm. In the past for a meal of that size, I would wait 3+ hours before running. It slowed me down a bit but I didn't feel sick which is good. Eating and being able to move after is one of the things I need to train if I want to run an ultra. 

Last weekend I managed to complete another road, on my Run Nashua challenge. I haven't been focused much on this the last year or two and I don't want creative routes to get in the way of proper training. If it doesn't become a scheduling nightmare, I may try to run one or two of my 3 mile runs a month in a new area.

Most recent map of roads run. New roads are in the upper left corner.

Week 6 starts in on the challenge of mid-week longer runs. This was my challenge last time. I'll dedicate some time with my husband to help brain storm so answers that hopefully don't include wake up at 4:30am.

2020 Training has begun

I registered for Eastern States as soon as registration opened. I love my low bib numbers, and this time I might get number 1, as it was a few minutes past midnight. 

Last weekend my son wrapped up his cross country season by running in the USATF Nationals in Wisconsin! I'm super proud of him and this was the first season. He ran a 7:50 pace, which is not his fastest, but the ground was not a nice running surface. He enjoyed running and has committed to joining me for many 5ks this year to prep for next season. If you are southern NH local and have kids that love to run, consider checking out Gate City PAL Striders in the fall. This is the first sport in which we never had to ask him twice to get ready for practice, never had to listen to him negotiate to skip 'just this one'. His entire team was supportive of each other, I never saw the connection with his baseball teammates that I saw with cross country teammates. 

Back to my upcoming season. I'm committed to Eastern States 20 Miler. I'll register Mt. Washington once I can with my Mountain Goat status. I started strength training with EnduraFit a few months ago as I want to be a stronger and faster runner. I didn't train running or otherwise in 2019, I just ran many races and for most of the mountains I came in the last 10 or DFL. I'd like to do better this year. NH Grand Prix has a conflict with Mt. Washington, so while I'll run most of those races, 2021 will have to be my Granite Runner year. I'm going to run a half and 10k with my best friend. I'm going to run another full marathon. I haven't picked one yet, but Providence is the most likely candidate as it lines up nicely Eastern States. I entered the NYC Marathon lotto. but I'm not optimistic, with the Brittany Runs A Marathon Movie out, I suspect they will have a record high number of entries this year. By the way, if you haven't seen that movie, find time this winter to do so.  

Green - miles completed; Yellow - Less than planned Miles; Pink - cross training; Red- skipped

Week One Training

Tuesday

Goal 3 miles

Actual: 3 miles, outside running laps around my building and garage in the snow. I should have worn my Yax but thankfully I did not slip.

Wednesday

Goal: 3 miles

Actual: 1.5 miles. Once again laps around my building and garage, but it was a comedy of errors to start. I left my gps garmin at the office, so I used my step tracker garmin, which is very generous with miles. I'm fairly certain I did not run a 9:45 pace. I cut the run early due to the need for a bathroom and never got back out, but the ground was worse than when it was snowing. I followed it up with an hour session with Chris(trainer). Considering I did clockwork planks and the alphabet on the bosu ball, I'm going to not be upset that I missed my mile mark. 

Thursday

Goal: 3 miles

Actual: 3 miles. Due to single digit temps and windchill, I opted out of Winter Warriors and headed to the Nashua Y instead. My son joined me to keep up his running. He didn't need to run all 3 miles, but I wanted him to do at least 1. I ran the entire 3 miles. I've never done that before. I've always taken a moment to walk. The last 3 laps, Jack joined me on the track again and when I told him what I was about to accomplish, he cheered me on while running along side me. Just the way I cheered him on when he was running. I used my gps watch on indoor mode, to count laps. 3 miles is 27 laps on that track. 

Friday

Body weight strength training and extended foam rolling.

Saturday

Goal: 6 miles

Actual: 6 miles on a treadmill.  Another first, ran for 56 mins at 12 min pace without a walk break. Ran until the treadmill shut off and needed to be restarted. Discovered after I was done that it would warm up  over the weekend to better running temps. Went to Star Wars after.

Sunday

Goal: Cross training

Actual: While sipping my morning coffee, I thought about the week and decided that I'd take Sunday as a rest day. I had body work strength on Monday planned.  This is my first week back to serious training and rest is important for success.

Gate City Marathon

On May 20th I finished my first marathon, Gate City in Nashua, NH. I started training for it in January.

If you would like to read the history leading up to it, here are the posts about my training.

Marathon Plans and Progress
Training: The Dull Part, Oh Wait a Half!
Week 9: Quick Update with Pictures
Marathon Training Progress: Mistakes were Made
Marathon Taper
Marathon Spectating
Less than a Week Until Marathon

Onto the Marathon!

Saturday

I volunteered to help hand out race swag packs, runner number bibs, and chat with other the runners. Then I set out my outfit for the next day, and like a kid at Christmas tried to get some sleep.

Sunday

The 5am alarm went off too soon for my tastes. I did not want to get up, but I was also wide awake. Since I had everything set out, getting dressed after showering was easy. I ate my pre-race snack of dry oats, almond butter and chocolate chips and drank a few glasses of water. My husband dropped me off at downtown around 6:15 am, just in time for the Gate City Striders(GCS) picture.

After that I found one of my BRF (Best Running Friend), she gets an abbreviation as she will be back again in this story. She was working the check in desk, gave her a hug and then headed off to the 2020 Vision Quest tent. The next 40 mins were a bit of a blur between people, bathroom break and making final decisions on what to carry. I realized pretty quickly I was not in need of my jacket, it wasn't cold at all.

Stepping into the corral I headed to the back since I'm slow, though I decided to not hit the very back this time. I found another running friend and we chatted while we waited. A few words, the anthem was sang and we were off headed north on Main St. My friend is a bit faster and so we separated quickly to run our own races.

The Gate City Marathon is 5 Loops in Nashua. Loop 1 is repeated for Loop 3. You can review the course here if you are curious. Last year I ran loop 3 for The 2020 Vision Quest Relay Team, and I had done a few group runs that used much of loop 2. Loop 4 goes through Mine Falls, which I run often, but not of the trails I generally use. Loop 5 covers my common route into downtown while running, along with the roads I drive to get to south Nashua for my Meals on Wheels route.

Loop 1

I felt great at the start, I was ready, I had my plan and I knew I needed to keep my pace slower than I felt I could run. The last few times I'd run I was running 2-3 minutes a mile(mm) faster than I did in my previous training and I knew if I did that in the beginning I'd burn out before the end. I'd set my watch to the run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute intervals and made sure I followed that plan.
As the pack of runners moved up the hill everyone started to filter to their position, and thin out. Most of the runners around me were running the half marathon. Around Hills Ferry I realized I was trading intervals with a runner from the Greater Lowell Road Runners, we kept switching back and forth which of us was in front, I think she was running 1:1 intervals. Somewhere on this loop I got ahead of her, but I'm not sure when I realized we were not trading places on the course. Around Greely Park I saw my friend I started with about 50 yards ahead, but in a race, 50 yards is an amazing amount of distance and he quickly disappeared. By the time I got to the second water stop I was beginning to question my decision to not carry water in the heat, but I was still doing well. As I headed to the transition area, I was feeling really good and  knew the next time I ran that road I'd be over half done.  1 loop done!

As I was running I started composing a fantastic article about running and chiropractic care. I had all these ideas, that I have since lost many of. I'm hoping as I get back out and run soon, they return to me.

Said hello to a few people, smiled and pictures were taken, then off I went to run loop 2.

Loop 2

The heat was starting to get to me, though the running was still going well. I trained for distance and knew anything under 10 miles is generally just an issue of time to run, not ability. I was pacing myself well. I did begin to realize that wait for a water stop was going to ruin me. 2 miles between stops is perfectly fine, but as a slower runner this meant 24-35 mins between access to water. I saw a fellow Skirt Sports Ambassador for a quick picture. I knew I was doing very well for time, and lucky that because I was going to need those minutes on the second half of the course. At the second water stop I had to pause they didn't have a cup with water ready, only cups with gatorade. I was taking electrolyte pills so I didn't need that. I was more annoyed than I should have been that I had to wait for them to dump a cup and fill it with water and ask for more than 1 pump from the water jug. I waited and drank the slightly gatorade tasting water. I could still see runners in front of and behind me, but they were half marathoners, so I knew they were about to disappear and I'd be alone.

Some where along this route I remembered I promised myself I would get a 26.2 tattoo if I ever ran a marathon. That was back when a 10k was a BIG deal, so I spent sometime thinking about locations and designs, before realizing I am not an artist and should just start looking at fonts.

At transition I begged a fellow GCS member at the elite table for a bottle of water. She had one and this may be the big reason I finished the race. As a note the GCS had a special table for all the GCS runners, and we got treated like elites for this race. I was able to store some fuel there. This may be the first and last time I'm considered an elite runner.

Oh I forgot to mention every time a runner went through the transition area they got a cold wet sponge. Can I just tell you how lovely those sponges were? They were the most amazing gift to receive.

Loop 3

Early on in loop 3 the half marathoners split off. At that point I was more or less alone on the course, aside from passing the wonderful people who had volunteered to be on the course directing runners. I've been there it can be exciting as the bulk of the runners go by, but after that it gets boring. On this loop I crossed the halfway point and had a moment were I realized, if I was running the half marathon I would be done and with a PR no less, but no I had to go for a full marathon, so onwards I ran sipping from my lovely, lovely water bottle.

I stopped in Greely park to use the porto potty. I figured if I had an empty bladder it would be easier to drink more water. My precious water bottle was empty by the second water stop and I asked them to throw it away, this was a mistake, I should have re-filled it.

Sometime on the route near canal st, I saw a pair of runners for a short time before they disappeared ahead of me. This is also when the struggle bus started to hit hard, I was at mile 16 or so. I knew I could do 20, I trusted my training. I took longer walk breaks, I said very bad words to my garmin watch everytime it told me to run, but I kept moving forward. Finishing no longer seemed a definite at this point.

I hit transition, more sponges, saw my BRF and told her I was struggling. She gave me a hug, told me if I needed she would run the last loop with me, smacked me on the butt and sent me down the shoot to loop 4.

Loop 4

This loop headed into Mine Falls. I was hopeful that some shade would be available. I did not realize how far I would run before I entered the trails or how far apart the water stops would get as started to slow down. Early on in the route I was able to get a hug from a friend and some encouragement. I said hello to every dog I met, and I kept moving forward, much more walking than running at this point. Sometime around mile 20 I put my face in my hands and started to cry, I just couldn't do it, was it really worth it. I sent several messages to BRF. I talked to the clouds and asked them where was the rain I was promised. Thunderstorms would have been great, if I was lucky they'd call the race and my DNF wouldn't be my fault.

I did my best to smile for the cameras, even if I felt miserable. I can't wait for the pictures to become available.

This loop felt as if it went on forever. I made a mistake on the rail trail and moved on to the road, so I had to back track a few feet to get back on course.

This loop also had the most new roads for my Run Nashua goal.

As I saw city hall I knew I was close to having company.

Loop 5

As I entered the area I saw friends and most importantly I saw my husband. He wisely let the boys hang out with Grandma and Grandpa. A quick kiss and then I joined up with my BRF to finish this insanity that I started. She handed me a bottle of water and we were off onto the last loop.

I know we walked most of the loop and she told me I was going to run over that finish line. I remember needing to take many breaks to stretch. I'm very glad I saved all those minutes in the beginning because I was going to need them if I wanted my time goal.

My BRF told me knock knock jokes, offered to sing, listened to me whine and kept pushing me forward. She also carried the water bottle because I kept handing it back to her. She kept me on the inside so I didn't fall into traffic.

She informed me that she couldn't believe I was making her run (ok, we walked) Fifield, and I promised she could make me run Browning as pay back. We joked that I could have picked a cooler day to run a marathon and I commented on how this was very much like my first half marathon. She promised me cold wet towels at the end, I ran for the towels. (Side note: They ran out of towels before I finished.)

As we turned onto Main I knew two things, I was going to finish, and I was not going to make my under 6 hour goal. As we got closer we saw the friend I started with now on traffic duty, then I saw family friends walking to downtown, they stopped to video and cheer. Then as I crossed a street very close to the end, all the cars started honking. I was back to running and the finish line was in sight.

I had done it, I finished with a smile! My husband was there, along with my in laws and many of my friends to congratulate me. This story has come to a quick and sudden ending, but that's how my marathon was.  It was long, involved, and then it ended.  So here I sit, staring at the wall of text that was my marathon adventure, and I feel like there should be more here.  Well, they warned me that there would be post marathon blues.  They weren't wrong.

Marathon Spectating

I'm putting this together in the hope that there are spectators for my marathon, but please do not feel obligated. This just seemed like an easy way to organize all the information and save everyone from last minute questions.

Date: Sunday May 20th, race start is 7am, my likely finish is 12:30-1:30pm
Location: Downtown Nashua is where the bulk of the marathon festivities are. Check out this page for a map of the course and more importantly parking for downtown.

Shirt I got for volunteering in 2015.

If you live in Nashua, the race covers most of the city, if you check out the course, you may find that there is an easy spectating spot right from your home. If you are not sure when to go outside, just figure out what mile marker you are at and then multiply it by 6 or 7. Though I'll like show up if you multiply by 12 or 13. You can make signs to wave, ring cowbells or just say things like "You're doing great" or "you got this", unless you are on mile marker 26.2, do not yell "Almost there". Example if you live near Lake Street(mile 6-7+), you'll want to be out there around 7:30am to see the fast runners and around 8:15am for me(though you might be there waiting.)

Another blogger wrote a great article on spectating a race, if you want a more involved How To. Gate City is still looking for volunteers, which is a great way to spectate and help at the same time. The year I volunteered I got a cool safety orange tech shirt to keep, I would suspect they'll do that again.

Photo Credit: Fellow She Runs This Town Member 

If you chose to hang along the course chances are I'll be able to high five you or maybe stop for a hug.  It will depend on the zone I am in while running. I'm running to finish, not really to make a time goal.

If you want to interact with me, you have two options, run the race(half, full or relay) with me, or the most likely option, be at the finish line when I finish. I am anticipating finishing between 12:30 and 1:30 pm. The specific time will likely depend on how badly I implode on the course that day. There are many possible factors that I can't predict until the day of and even during. I'll have a Road ID live tracker going and my husband will share that on various social media.

The good news is, Downtown Nashua has a large variety of restaurants and coffee shops to relax in while you wait for me to finish. The bars might even be open by noon as well.



Post race, we don't have any plans. I honestly have no idea what I will physically be up for. Once I've gone through my initial recovery routine it is possible I will want to stand by a grill and just eat a never ending supply of steak. I may also want to take a nap in a hot tub. What I know for certain is I will not be willing to ride in a car for more than 10 minutes.

If you can't be at the race, but you want to show your support there are two causes that stand out for me. I honestly can't pick between them, so I will leave to you, the reader, the decision of which you want to contribute towards.

1) I'm running as part of the 2020 Vision Quest team. This also means the shirt to wear during the race decision has been made. Tax deductible(if that is still a thing, I'm not a an accountant) donations can be made on the 2020 Vision Quest page. If you could add in the message "Johanna's First Marathon" that would be awesome. I won't see any of those donations, but I know someone will tell me if that message shows up.

2) Tessa is a very good friend, and sadly has spent most of the last several years fighting to live with complications of a rare disease. She was there when I ran my first 5k in Georgia. She came out and helped Alex entertain two bored toddlers. When Jack was born, she made it to the hospital before we did and then took care of Hal, while I gave birth. Hal was confused, tired and she found cups to stack and play(since we didn't think to pack toys, because the sun wasn't up yet), then when that didn't work, she carried him around "looking" for Mom. Tessa is one of Jack's favorite people. Tessa is currently raising money to travel to Germany for operations that she can't have in the US. With her diseases, there are only a few doctors in this country that will even treat her. If you go to the GoFundMe page you can read all about her struggles.

Marathon Taper

Here I am one week into my "tone it down and taper" for the Gate City Marathon. I never understood all the jokes warning a marathon runner about taper, and how crazy they can be. I mean I tapered for my half but that wasn't a big deal.

Wow. This time around it's nuts. I'm completed food paranoid between my allergies and food poisoning. I saw a tick and freaked out about home much a round of antibiotics would wreck me this close to a race. I had sushi and then panicked for 24 hours that it might have been a mistake. I'm lucky my husband loves me and knows this is temporary.

Journal Log: Nashua Soup Kitchen 10k plus Miles

I ran the Nashua Soup Kitchen 10k, here is a mostly cleaned up copy of what I wrote in my paper run journal. I didn't journal clothing, as I did over the winter to figure out winter gear but this is how I collect my thoughts after a run to try and figure out what went well and what can be improved.


4/8 11:20am          16.08; 3:38:16; 13:34            INV2
Soup Kitchen 10K + Miles     36 degrees 7mph   164

Ran to Rivier University to start on miles and hung out with friends before start. 1.89 miles. Ran 10k. Gave jacket to Alex and boys. Finished Race, met up with boys at playground 9 miles done. Ran 2 laps around school with boys. Said Good bye and kept running.  Hard to keep going, felt very lonely. Which was odd since there were people around me all day, but finishing these miles was my goal and something I needed to do. Around mile 13 I headed home. Did 3 laps of my condo development to finish up.  Feet hurt, legs hurt.

Fuel
Before: Oatmeal/almond butter/choc chips
Sipped water (did this morn than noted in this list)
1 electrolyte pill before race start
1 clif blok during race
1/2 bottle of maple water and 1 banana post race
-GAS PAINS-
1 electrolyte pill after race
Water all through out
GU at 11 miles
1 electrolyte pill at 14 miles
water
1/2 clif blok at 14.5 miles

Post
Protein shake 25-30 grams
smart water 1 liter
tub soak (Epson salts)
artichoke
3 sausages
2nd smart water

Good Run but hard. Head space rough, music good. Did not eat enough, should have fueled during 10k more than a single clif blok.

Marathon Skirt Poll

Disclaimer: I am an ambassador for Skirt Sports.

Pick the Skirt! Comment on the blog with the name of the skirt I should wear.

I can't decide between two styles of Skirt Sports skirts for my first marathon.

I'll be running the Gate City Marathon on May 20th. Historically it has been hot on that day.

The print has already been decided, I love BUBBLY! I'm not sure on shirt right now, I'm hoping that we do another batch of 2020 Vision Quest shirts like we did last year. (Hint! Hint! I'm in the picture at the bottom of the post I linked to.).

Here are the choices (pictures are taken from the Skirt Sports website)!

Gym Girl Ultra - I already have one. Mine is a few years old and if you follow me on instragram, I've been wearing it a bunch recently with tights over the shorties. The newer model has grippers to help keep the shorties in place and I hear rumor it has bigger pockets.

Image from Skirt Sports Website.

My GGU and blue socks

Go Longer Skirt - I don't have one yet, but I like everything I have worn from this company.  It is around 3 inches longer than the Gym Girl Ultra.

Image from Skirt Sports Website

Other parts of my outfit will be knee high compression socks in pink, light blue or black with blue stripes, unless I get a new pair before the race.

Help? Vote in the comments.

Marathon Training Update: Mistakes Were Made

I'll let you judge for yourself.

Green = Completed Run

Blue = Completed Run plus at least 1 mile

Yellow= Ran but less than planned miles

Red = Did not run

Hal Higdon training plan in excel for easy tracking.

This is week 12 of my marathon training. I'm looking at it as crunch time. The last weekend in April is the 20 mile long run and after that my runs taper to lower millage. While I've been doing OK with at least getting in a long run on the weekends, I'm missing the mileage mark and I'm starting to get nervous. I have not broken through the 14 mile barrier, let alone 15. Running 15 miles is physically hard, but soon it is going to be mentally hard as well.

What Happened?

I hit the "struggle bus" hard after the Hampton Half. My ability to self motivate out the door to run has fallen apart. I may have figured out why.

I've been losing weight with training, which is to be expected, but I'm not really one to celebrate weight loss. With the weight loss comes lack of reserves, and possible longer recovery times. I haven't been doing a good job of long run recovery for food or hydration. I stopped most of my strength training aside from occasional planks and squats.

Then I made a huge mistake the last weekend of March. After I ran 10 hard miles on busy roads with rolling hills, I barely ate any food. Irrational fears can make a mess of life. I have an irrational fear of vomiting. Bad enough that I honestly hesitated about having children because I knew pregnancy was a risk factor, labor was a risk factor and then there was children. Back to the long run, as I'm lying on the floor with my legs up a wall draining, I asked my older son, where is my younger son. He responds oh so casually, oh he threw up. The best we can guess he ate way too many pancakes at breakfast. But I didn't know that then, I could only guess. The other option was tummy bug. My irrational fear response to a tummy bug(which I do not recommend to anyone) is to fast for 48+ hours during the incubation period. The irrational thought that if my system is at rest and empty, I won't throw up. It has worked well in my life except the one time I didn't wait long enough.

Do you see what went wrong? I ran 10 miles, and then I immediately started fasting for two and half days. Fasting meant I ate less than 500 calories a day. This problem made worse because how do you tell the difference between sour tummy from stress, food sensitives, being empty or viral? Needless to say I have no energy to run. I did start eating normally again on Wednesday and Thursday but opted to continue resting before I attempted a long run on Saturday.

Autumn, a friends guide dog(off duty) decided I needed snuggles.

I did succeed 13.5 miles on Sunday, but I pushed the speed to much in the beginning and strained a few muscles. I'm sure those muscles would be uninjured if I had properly taken care of myself the weekend before. Thankfully it's not bad just means running may be a bit painful as I heal, but it did give me the kick in the butt to start working on my strength training again.

This weeks goals is to accomplish each planned run and break the 15 mile barrier on Sunday with my long run. To help with the long run, I've signed up to run the Nashua Soup Kitchen 10k and then after continue running with many of my local friends.

Thoughts? Insights? Support? All would be appreciated.

Week 9 Starts, Quick Update in Pictures!

My husband kindly hung my map up on the wall and I've been coloring it in nearly weekly. I suspect once the weather improves I'll start exploring even more. Sunday I found a road of new houses that isn't even on this map.

Marathon Training update in spreadsheet format.

Green = Done!
Blue = Done + 1 pr more miles;
Yellow = Less than planned miles
Red = Did not do

Last weeks training was hard for me. I was riding the struggle bus, then we had horrible weather and I simply did not want to leave the house. I did do a 50 minute Tae bo video in my living room followed by Minecraft yoga with my sons. Thank you Cosmic Kids! 

I've missed my strength training classes for the last 2 weeks, because of "reasons", which generally fluctuate between snow days, vacation days, and children with mild fevers. I've continued to do some stuff at home but no where near the same intensity as at the gym. 

Hampton Half Review

TLDR: I beat my last(first) half marathon time by 39 minutes! It was windy but that didn't bother me. I splashed my way through puddles, got hit by a wave and had a fantastic time. My husband was amazing and supportive at the race.

I got a new PR at the Hampton Half. I was 39 minutes faster than my previous half marathon! The weather and the race itself was an adventure.

On Friday before the race, the north east was hit with a Nor'easter. While it wasn't cold enough for snow the coastal flooding was impressive and destructive. Every few hours there would be a new update on the flooding at Hampton Beach, the very roads I was planning to run on Sunday. Loco explained the conditions quite well is this post event write-up.

Mission Accomplished: Taji 100

I don't remember at this point if I learned about the Taji 100 Virtual race from another Skirt Sports ambassador, or from a fellow runner in my local She Runs this Town group. Either way I looked Taji 100, up and was fascinated by it. I loved the challenge of running and/or walking 100 miles in February. 25 miles a week. Plus Taji 100's partner charity is Team Red White and Blue which helps veterans connect with their communities, and I can get behind that.

Unfortunately I'd already spent my budgeted money on races for the winter/spring, so when I discovered that they had an option to register for free, and just track your running miles, the event went from not possible this year, to "I can run it for fun". I considered just registering in hopes that next year they would email me and remind me about the race. That left the question, do I want to commit to running 100 miles in February?

First run in February.

I pulled out my marathon plan, and totaled the miles I had planned to run in February. I had 75 planned miles for my marathon training. Wow, 25 miles difference?  This suddenly seemed feasible! I'd only need to figure out how to add an additional 25 miles. "Only." If I walked one additional mile a day while I was at work, I could make this happen. There was an indoor track I could run while my son was in dance class, I could walk a mile or so then as well. The extra miles seemed doable, so I signed up and then waited a week or so for February to start.

Snowstorm!

Then February started. I didn't walk a single mile at work. When I was there either I was too busy or the weather was not accommodating. I only walked during two of the four dance classes, as my son missed one class due to illness, and I was too exhausted to walk a different week. Time was not on my side it seemed.

Let me break the month down by numbers.

I logged 26 Activities. Only Running or Walking counted. Miles calculated by my watch's step counter do not count.
I was active 21 hours, 36 minutes and 26 seconds.
It was below freezing for 8 of my recorded runs, according to my run journal. I have no idea how cold it was for the indoor track activities.
It snowed for at least 2 of my runs.

My intention was 75 miles run and 25 miles walked.  In the end I ran 93.4 miles and walked 6.75 miles. Most of the miles felt like they were in the last two weeks when the weather improved. I tried to add a mile or more to a planned run if I was feeling good.

Surprise Spring! 

My full log is on my profile along with a donation link.

In the end this was harder than I expected and  honestly I wasn't all that certain I'd succeed when the month was over. The last week I was looking at my log and counting down, nervous I just wouldn't have the time or energy without risking injury. Recognizing I needed a kick in the butt, Amber told me if I succeeded, she would get me a shirt to commemorate the 100 miles in a month.

Now I am left with a sense of accomplishment, a lot closer to my 500 miles in 2018 goal and a really cool shirt on the way,  Thank you Amber!

I look forward to registering next year for this virtual race. If anything, it was a way to stay active during the winter.

Training: The Dull Part, Oh Wait a Half!

The excitement of starting to train has worn off, and I am most of the way through week 6 of training for the Gate City Marathon. 

I updated my spreadsheet of training to show you that I haven't missed a run, but there have  been days where I just wanted to sit in the recliner with my dog Moxie and drink tea. The two things that have helped get me out and running is joining the Taji 100 mission and my running friends. Last night I was able to go to Fleet Feet's winter warriors run when I am certain if I had gone home after work I would not have run. It was cold, it was snowing, it was yucky! 

Yellow:less than goal miles; Green:Goal miles; Blue 1 or more than goal miles.
This is Hal Higdon Novice 1 plan, I highly recommend you go to his website to get all the details. 

I'm glad that I am running the Hampton Half Marathon in less than 10 days, because my training has hit the boring stuff. I haven't made any gains since my half marathon training last spring, plus it's cold out. Current weather for my half marathon is forecast to be 34-45 degrees, 10 mph wind, and a 20% chance of rain. As long as it doesn't get worse than that, I have a good chance of getting a half marathon PR, with a time under 3 hours. And, honestly my first half marathon time was 3 hours and 24 minutes, which gives me a bit of space to work with.

The next issue is what do I wear for the race. My original plan was to try for a Princess Leia on Hoth costume, but I didn't get around to knitting the braided headband that I would need. I'm watching the weather closely, as it will be the final determination on my outfit. Likely my outfit will be similar to last night, with my pink long sleeve shirt and white vest. I'll get to use the snaps on my vintage Skirt Sports race skirt to hold my bib. As a note, I'm a Skirt Sports Ambassador, use my code LISL521 to save 15% off a regular priced item. 

Unlike last time, I feel like I have a much better idea on race nutrition. While I feel I'm still in the testing stages of food, I feel like I've moved into human clinical trials rather than lab tests and discussions of theory.

My nutrition plan for the race is: dry oatmeal with almond butter and choc chips before the race, likely for breakfast. Since the race starts at 10am, I'll drink some coffee in the morning as well, just to move things along so my digestive tract doesn't bother me during the race.

I'll carry concentrated Tailwind in my water bottles, or at least in 1 bottle and 2-3 packets of Gu. A friend hooked me up with a packet of S'mores, my favorite, and I suspect the other flavors I have I'll like as well. My guess is I'll use 2 of them during the race at around 1:15 and 2:30. I'll make sure I pack some post race snacks since it's unlikely I can eat anything at the finish line.

Aside from all that,  I need to plan out a 7 mile route to explore more roads in Nashua, figure out how I'm going to Run/Walk 26 miles between now and Wednesday 2/28 to complete the Taji 100 mission and do a much better job at hydration. 

Marathon Plans and Progress

Now that I did a breakdown of what went wrong for my half marathon, and how would avoid those same pitfalls for the next big race. I thought I’d share where I am at.

I registered for the Gate City Marathon in October.

Step 1 Choose Program: Hal Higdon Novice 1 training program. 

Step 2: Put Program into excel to know date of each week. This gets me a start date.

Step 3: Pick a half marathon to run. I'm running The Hampton Half(a week before planned, but there are not many options when you live in New England).

Step 4: Add to spreadsheet and important events happening. Oh look a wedding the same weekend as the 20 mile run. 

Step 5: Add schedule to planner with 5 tiny flags per week.

Step 6: Review Crosstraining options (hate Bike, Rowing OK, oh look strength training classes)

Step 7: Wait

Step 8: try to run 1-3 times a week even if it’s only a mile just to get used to it. Make note of clothing needed for various weather

Step 9: Start a cross training class to get through the first week of EVERYTHING HURTS

Step 10: Begin Training

I’ve already completed the first 3 weeks of training and I’m halfway through my 4^th week. Saturday I’ll meet some local runners and run 9 miles.

I’ll admit to not following the program perfectly. I came up short on miles the first week, then I stopped using a treadmill and embraced the cold. My goal is to get the miles, not to worry about getting them on the perfect days.  This week I ran Tuesday and Wednesday, I rested yesterday. I’ll run tonight with local runners.