5K Training:

Week-beginning Thoughts:
This is the week I will make a plan.
This is the week I will make a plan.
This is the week I will make a plan. 

Monday

Did: rest

Tuesday

Did: 6.3mi @ 9:51/mi avg, Stroller Strides
Good run. Good Strides class. Also: I MADE MY 5K TRAINING PLAN TODAY.

Wednesday

Did: Stroller Barre, Big 5
Strides is gettin' me these days... or maybe it was wearing 4" heels last night at the SOA holiday party. Definitely needed to stretch today! 

Thursday

Did: 1mi WU, 3K Indicator (13:36), 1mi CD= 4.23mi @ 8:46/mi avg, Big 5
Spent the past ~12 hours anxious about this workout. I always get that way before any sort of run that I have any sort of pace goals for... even though I really didn't have any pace goal in mind for this one, just a "go fast" guideline. 

Really freaking proud of what I ran, though--- my fastest indicator ever. Bonus: it was about 30s faster than what I ran at 4mo postpartum after my first pregnancy. 

Definite confidence-booster going into this cycle. :D

Also pretty cool to see what my predicted times are for various distances at this fitness level:

Friday

Did: 3.07mi treadmill run @ 9:51/mi avg
Life got in the way this morning and derailed my pre-dawn run plans. Fortunately, I know how to motivate myself. The only way I'd let myself start Season 3 of Outlander was to do it while running on my treadmill. Mission = accomplished.

Also, if you haven't watched Outlander, you're MISSING OUT BIG TIME. 

Saturday

Did: 2mi hike + 7mi @ 9:21/mi avg
Woke up in the gorgeous North Georgia mountains thanks to my company's holiday retreat, and did a nice 2mi trek through the wilderness alone. #OptOutside

if I could handle tree roots, I miiiiiiiight consider doing more trail runs and signing up for an eventual ultra
('cause my running bestie just did her first and I found it super inspiring) 

...and then, when we got home, I made myself get out on the greenway and do what was on my training plan for the day: 5mi progression + 2mi cooldown. I did NOT want to run today, but I wanted to have run. To hold myself accountable, I told two of my teammates about the run before I went, knowing that they actually would Garmin-stalk me afterwards to make sure I did it. That helped.

I played mind games with myself to get through the progression miles. I let myself run the first mile at whatever my body wanted, and then started picking mini goals for the next. If I ran the first in 10, maybe I could do 9:30/9:00/8:30/8:00 for the last four?

Splits:
9:59
9:38
9:09
8:44
8:16

Not too shabby for a day when I didn't feel like running, and was solo. 

Sunday

Did: Stroller Strides, 4.02mi treadmill run @ 9:50/mi avg, Big 5, 4mi walk
I've only got one more week with my amazing Fit4Mom group before their holiday break, which precedes the end of my membership (since I go back to work full time in 2020). I opted to go to Strides today instead of my normal Sunday Runday so that I could say thank you and good-bye in-person to one of my favorite instructors, who was super welcoming on my first day. Both my kiddos enjoyed it too.

...of course, that meant I had to do my run solo later in the day. UGH. I am so over not running first thing in the morning. lol. Got it done, again, thanks only to the motivation of letting myself watch another episode of Outlander on the treadmill.

...and then, as a bonus, we took the family out on a walk to enjoy this almost-60 degree weather the week before Christmas. 

Total Weekly Mileage: 24.67mi

Week-ending Thoughts:

1. Proud to be "in training" again
2. Having to interrupt your day to run after the sun comes out sucks
3. Outlander is amazing
4. Fit4Mom is also amazing

USATF Masters Indoor National Championships 2019

Background:

I'm not an elite athlete by any means (at best, I consider myself "recreationally competitive"), but I'm fortunate enough to have a spot on Atlanta Track Club Elite as an "under 40s" member of their Masters Track and Field team. This weekend was our big annual meet, the Indoor National Championships, and it was epic. 

Friday: 400m and 3000m

I came into the meet after a week of being "down with the sickness", and was just hoping that it would resolve itself in time for me to still run. I had had zero aspirations of fast times before getting sick (since I'm marathon training right now), but all hopes of decent performance was squashed after a few days feeling miserable in bed. 

Fortunately, I woke up feeling a LOT better on Friday, and headed over to the track to cheer on my running bestie, Beth (who I'd recruited to come along as part of our team), in her first event: pentathlon. We warmed up a bit around the track, and then I did a couple extra miles outside by myself. Turns out, being essentially off for a few days is just like a taper, and my warm-up miles were sub-9, but felt just as easy as my usual-for-these-days 10:30. Heeeeeey-yo. Really need to save some of that for the evening's 3K.... 

besties

My first event of the meet was the 400m. Honestly, I don't remember how this event felt, since I'm writing this several days afterwards. I do remember feeling really proud that I was able to hit a 1:30, though, which was good enough for a ribbon and my first contribution of team points. 

The 3000m was later that evening. Due to event scheduling, we ended up downing some Moe's about an hour before the event. Not the brightest idea, but food was necessary, and it was far better to eat then and chance it than to not eat and run the 3K on empty stomachs.

hunger-crazed

The 30-44 year olds all ran together in one heat, which meant we had a lot of teammates on the track together. It was pretty cool to start off with our coach, and get some cheers each time she lapped me. 

With how I've been running, I was expecting to come in just under 20min, maaaaybe somewhere close to 18. The first five (of fifteen) laps weren't bad. I got lapped by the leaders; watching them fly by was incredible! The second five laps felt like the third lap of a typical track mile: you know you're so close to your last segment, but it's so tough to get through the penultimate one. The third five laps were super tough, and I was grateful to be done... in 14:31. :D :D :D

Saturday

Beth's coming down to Atlanta to run the Publix Atlanta Marathon with me in a few weeks, which meant I had a buddy who also needed to run insane miles during the weekend. The meet was held in Winston-Salem, a place we've spent many a chorus regional contest weekend together. Especially since neither of us sing with our respective Sweet Adelines choruses anymore, we were thrilled to get the opportunity to run our "traditional" Salem Lake route together.

There's something amazing about long runs. They're meditative, therapeutic, and just so calming. There's really nothing to do other than put one foot in front of the other, and just surrender to that comfortable rhythm for the next couple of hours. It's even better when you're running side-by-side with one of your best friends, talking about anything and everything (or even nothing, at times), on a course where you've already shared so many memories together. 

Fun Facts:

I had completely neglected to bring any long-sleeved running shirts.

It was in the high 30s.

I ran in my pajama shirt, and it was not awful. 

We finished up just in time to grab some waffles from the hotel breakfast, change clothes, and make it back to the track to declare for our next event with two minutes to spare. 

The 60m was fun. It was quite obvious that I'd get the same points/placement regardless of if I ran my best race ever or walked, so I enjoyed a half-hearted effort, and focused on not straining anything. ;) We made friends with a couple super fast ladies, and it was fun to see them at other events throughout the weekend. 

After the 60m, I went out and did a short warm-up (both to actually warm-up and to add mileage for the day). I struggled through a 10:20 mile, and figured my next event, the mile, would probably be around that same pace. There's something magical about being on the track, though, because I wound up finishing in 7:36... after running over 15mi ALREADY in the day, being on Day 2 of a track meet, being in the middle of marathon training, and having some other "extenuating circumstances". That race, out of all of the ones this weekend, is the one I'm most proud of/impressed by. 

I (smartly) ate some food after that race, and waited for the best part of the weekend to begin: the relays. This is always my favorite part of any meet, because you get to enjoy running with other people, working together, and taking ridiculous team photos with the baton. :) 

Atlanta Track Club women's relay teams

It's also super fun to see a hoard of matching singlets descend on the check-in clerk, and really feel like you're part of something amazing. :D 

We ran the 4x800m, followed shortly by the 4x200m. The officials (and some of our competitors) were a bit surprised to see us running "back to back events", though, due to the number of non-club and men's teams, they were about an hour apart.

Woo, National Champions

(it's all who shows up--- and we were the only W30 team in the 4x8)

We finished the evening off with some Outback to go, and much-needed "legs-up-the-wall" time.

Sunday

Mmmm, Sunday. After sleeping in (like a rock) until 6:30, we had a nice, lazy morning of packing, eating more waffles, hanging with our teammates, and, finally, making our way over to the track for the last day of competition.

By the time my 800m rolled around, I'd already run 2mi of warm-up, and my legs were exhausted from the past couple of days. I spent the race trying to focus on improving my arm swing, which is definitely the weakest part of my "track form". 

I fit in another 5K before my next race, just enough to make sure I didn't have to run any more after our remaining events for the day. The 200m was fun. I was in a heat with ALL sprinters, so I knew I'd have the track pretty much to myself. Despite them being significantly faster than me, we all had seen each other in previous events and had some nice camaraderie. 

the 200m winner was kind enough to take a picture of my husband and me :)

The 4x400m relay was the last event of the day. It's "only two laps" (of the 200m track), but, man, I just died with 100m to go. I had no kick to give coming into the handoff, and it seemed that most everyone felt that way. Watching our third and fourth runners, our lead and I commiserated about how that had been the hardest 400m we'd run. 

The weekend finished off beautifully. The Under 40s made a solid contribution and helped the team win the overall competition (814 total team points), taking home both the men's and women's team championship trophies. :) 

Under 40s: We're here for the points.

most of the team, celebrating our victory

 ...and then we made the long drive home. I've never been quite so grateful to be able to crash in the backseat while someone else deals with logistics, driving, and safety. :) 

Summary

400m 1:30, 4th

3000m 14:31, 2nd

60m 0:13, 5th (bumped to 4th due to international competitor)

1mi 7:36, 4th

4x800m 3:37, 1st

4x200m 0:42, 2nd

800m 3:39, 5th

200m 0:43, 4th (bumped to 3rd due to international competitor) 

4x400 1:37, 2nd

Total Points Earned for Team: 41 (5% of total)

(1) 1st, (3) 2nd, (1) 3rd, (3) 4th, and (1) 5th place finishes

Some Semblance of a Plan

Week-Beginning Thoughts:
How am I going to get any runs in with so many days of thunderstorms? Ughhhhhhhh

Monday
Planned: 2mi + bootcamp
Did: 2mi @ 9:54/mi avg, Big 5, bootcamp
Without having an accountability partner at bootcamp, I would totally have bailed today. I'm finding myself less and less interested in being gone from the house in the mornings, and more inclined to just get up and do my own thing at the house for strength training so that I can eliminate the 30min of driving and be home to wake the kiddo and have breakfast with my family. 

skipped the fence runs since we'd already run 2 before class
loved all the oblique challenges today

skipped the run on this too

I do really love the class, the instructor, and the workouts, but I really do think it's becoming like chorus was for me: one more thing to have to accommodate in my schedule, even though I love it when I'm there.


Tuesday
Planned: 1mi WU, 4mi tempo (8:30-8:50), 1mi+ CD, maybe some track meet stuff
Did: ^yep, 6.38mi @ 9:06/mi avg, Big 5
I want to train, but I hate the pressure of training. lol. I opted for what I dubbed a "half-assed tempo" workout. My actual tempo pace is more like an 8min/mi. I wasn't willing to commit to that, but also wanted more than our usual lazy 10KT pace. Took an easy first mile and then ran: 8:41, 8:37, 8:42, 8:51. 

Sidenote: doing a hard workout on a day where you can't eat from bedtime the day before until 9:30am due to a health screening is a BAD idea. OMG, I was so hangry all morning. But, good news is that all my numbers have improved from last year. Hooray, diet changes. 


Wednesday
Planned: bootcamp
Did: 3.11mi @ 9:22/mi avg on the treadmill
Slept in after a late night at the track meet, but got a 5K in on the 'mill between work and daycare pick-up. Nothing exciting here. 


Thursday
Planned: some sort of speedwork evaluation... indicator?
Did: WU, Indicator (13:38), CD = 4.78mi @ 8:42/mi avg, Big 3 (only did some of the stretches)
I was really excited by the idea of doing an indicator, until I realized that meant I would have to actually do one. I love the idea of being in-training again, but am struggling with the mental side of that. If I'm in-training, that means I actually have to exert effort, to try, etc. I haven't done that with running on any sort of regular basis since last year's failed mile training cycle. It's a weird shift to have to make again. 

The warm-up to the track involves a steeeeeeeep climb. During marathon training, it was no big deal. I even remember doing hill repeats up it at one point. Now, it's a struggle just to get up it, evident by the 10:43/mi pace. 

I chose to do the standard ATC 3K Indicator run to get a good idea of where I'm at fitness-wise for any interval goals. You could argue I don't need a 3K time to tell me that, but I like math, and numbers help me feel better connected to my training. 

A 3K is 7.5 laps on a standard track. I joked with my training partners that today's workout was 7.5 laps of misery (they had repeats or ladders), but it wasn't all that bad. During the first lap, though, I realized I had NO idea how to run an indicator. I didn't want to go out too fast and die after a mile, but I also didn't want to take it too easy. I half-remembered my old time as being around 14min, so I set a tentative goal to hit that... but didn't want to try to hit splits, because that would artificially alter my time. 

Instead, I just ran by feel, making sure to tap my watch each lap, but intentionally NOT looking at it. Here's how things shook out: 

isn't that just the prettiest little progression run you ever did see? 

solid negative splits- could not have planned that better if I'd planned it

The first 2-3 laps sucked. I hated how out of shape I felt. I wanted to stop. But I also wanted to keep going. A mile in, I congratulated myself on doing a "fast" mile and still feeling like I was fine, like I could have talked to someone if they'd been next to me... which meant I was too slow? I focused on my arms. I focused on my form. I played mind games with myself. And then I had two laps... one lap... a half lap to go. 

It felt good to be done. It felt good to have pushed myself. It felt GOOD to be on the track again. 

... and, hey, this was my fastest indicator to date: 13:38 (though, to be fair, all of the others I've done were during or just after pregnancy).

new goal times

Based on the 5K time, I'm a bit slower than I was a year ago, but not too much. These will be good splits to hit moving forward. 

Friday
Planned: easy 5.6mi to/from work volunteering thing... or 2mi+bootcamp if weather is crummy or maybe just a rest day
Did: 2.08mi @ 9:54/mi avg, Big 5, bootcamp
Slow and steady progression two mile, followed by a bootcamp workout that felt like it was designed just for me-- SO much oblique work! 

Saturday
Planned: 12mi with stroller
Did: 9.02mi @ 9:41/mi avg, immediately followed by 3.01mi on treadmill @ 9:21/mi avg, Big 5
Friday morning, there was 65%+ chance of rain or thunderstorms all evening/Saturday morning until around 3pm. I obviously couldn't run in thunderstorms, but even rain would limit my stroller miles (the max I'd do with rain would probably only be 5-6, and I'd need a guarantee of no t-storms to take my little one out). So, the girls and I opted for an early run (sans stroller) instead, which was forecast to be "only" pouring rain. 

...then we woke up.

No rain. Win.

I'm so grateful for my teammates. They got up at 3:XXam to run with me. We definitely did the whole "workout before you're awake and your body knows what's happening" thing today, though. Not much conversation, just a lot of getting through the miles, sharing random thoughts that popped into our heads. I had to be back at the house by 6am to takeover parenting duties while J when to coach, so I was grateful (again) to have a treadmill available. I literally ran right into the house, down the stairs, and hopped on the treadmill with less than a minute of "downtime" after finishing the outdoor 9. A baby monitor, water bottle, ipad, and fans helped me get through the last three miles of the 12 I'd planned for. 

...and it looks like we didn't even need to change things.
Starting at 7am with the stroller would have worked after all.

Super proud to have make this run happen despite the challenges (weather + parenting). And, hey, bonus: I ran 12 miles and was showered before my little one even woke up. 

Sunday
Planned: easy 4mi with stroller or rest
Did: 4.67mi @ 9:47/mi avg with stroller, Big 5
Had a lot of foot issues the last half of Saturday and some this morning. I've decided that it's certainly a muscle thing and that I shouldn't use a lacrosse ball on my foot, because I always have problems after doing that with this injury. Bleh. 

Did an easy mile solo before the girls arrived, just to have some one-on-one with my little one, and then enjoyed another 3.5ish with the gang.

Total Weekly Mileage: 35.08

Week-Ending Thoughts:
I'm sick of waiting for this phantom project to start and putting everything on hold. It's been a "no go" for the past three months, so I've decided to say "f-- it" and am starting the Miler Method plan again next week. I'll either get a fast mile time in six weeks, or I'll finally be working on said project. Both outcomes are acceptable, and by starting the mile plan I've put myself in a win-win situation instead of being angry/mopey/irritated waiting for the project to start. 

Also, it didn't rain on ANY of my runs this week. WTF, weather people... 

The Faster You Run, The Faster You Have to Run Next Time...

After unintentional 5K and half PRs and a much faster-than-expected mile at the tail end of 2016/first day of 2017, I've had to acknowledge that I actually am quite a bit faster than I thought. I need to seriously reconsider my 2017 goals.

I sought guidance from some of our indicator run outputs, Runners World race predictors, and FinalSurge's workout intensity calculator: 

Based on 5K PR:

This is remotely comparable to what I've been doing for 1mi and up

Based on mile PR: 

this is more like what my speedwork paces have been

And just in case there were any doubt about the fact that I'm much better at shorter distances:

athlinks.com

Anyways, all this is just to kind of take stock of where I'm at right now and figure out where to go from here. It's been a crazy ride these past few years of training and getting faster, having a baby and getting slower, and then ramping back up to be in the best shape of my life (all only to have another baby in the next few years and have to do it all over again... but we'll save that rant for another time and place). I look at some of these paces and wonder whose results I'm looking at, because they can't possibly be mine. 

Who IS that?!?

~10 years ago, this girl ran/walked a 5K around a 12min/mi pace and felt like she was dying afterwards
Note the cotton RACE SHIRT, cotton leggings, tennis shoes, and earphones with an iPad armband... hahahahah

After a decade of work, though, those ARE my times. I am a mid-7 5K runner. I am a 6-something miler. I am a marathon mama. (and it's pretty awesome)

The thing about getting faster, though, is you no longer have a feel for what you're capable of and what a "good goal" is. A year ago, I was just trying to break 25min in a 5K. The idea of a 23:xx was inconceivable... but I ran that time... twice. The first time took everything I had, but the second... didn't. So I can go faster than that, but how much faster? 

I'm working with a coach to figure out what a reasonable 5K goal for this year (#Yearofthe5K) is. The idea of aiming for 23:00 or anything faster is intimidating, but then I look at my mile repeats and think, "yeah, maybe I can do that". I know that, eventually, I'm going to hit a wall where speedy results required exponentially more effort, but I don't think I've hit that wall yet... and I can't wait to find out where it is. :) Still, it's pretty scary going into races knowing you're expected to run a "crazy fast" time. Every time I hit one goal, it just means the next one is going to be that much harder... 

Here's to another year of challenging myself, sharing the journey with my training buddies, and loving every minute.