The Mental Side of Racing

I've been thinking a lot about things I need to work on, mostly focusing on the physical side.  Then, the other day while reading a book that has nothing to do with running, I started thinking about the mental aspect.  The mind is so powerful over our bodies, remembering that I can sit and watch my heart rate and it'll be pretty low.  But, if I really concentrate about relaxing I can make it dive.  Nothing has changed, except my state of mind.

Coach always reminds me to keep it positive before my marathons.  Think good thoughts and stay confident.  It's not as easy as it sounds.  It is really difficult to not over think every single aspect of your training, to think about the one tempo run that you blew up on instead of remembering all the other ones you nailed or to think about the sore throat that is lingering and the sore insert any important running related body part here.  I think I do a pretty decent job, going into marathons (I can NOT say that about shorter races, oh no!).  I'm always pretty relaxed, almost resigned to my fitness (for better or for worse).  I'm not at all cocky, I'm terrified of the great humbling that can be awarded from the marathon if we don't respect it.  I think it may serve me well to be a bit more "up" about my race the day or even hours before but I just find myself very, very mellow.  It's not my main concern, though.

I do think that the whole during the race is an area I could really make some serious improvements with.  My emotions go all over the place, was thinking about this today while emailing a friend.  I'd like to be able to train myself to really find a way to stay 100% or even 95% positive.  I'm ready for the rough patches now, I know they are going to come at the most unexpected times, but I'd love to be able to just toss them aside and move on within seconds instead of minutes.

So, what do you guys have for me?  Over the past few days, I've looked at a ton of books on Amazon about "Brain Training" and "Mental Running", that kind of stuff.  There are so very many choices out there!  I'd like to get some recommendations if you all have any.  I need to continue my insane book problem that has reared its ugly head now that I'm not running as much.  I've seriously been out of control with the buying and reading of books this past month.  Crazy!

Boston, Eugene. Eugene, Boston.

Ack, I can't figure out which race to do.  I'm totally on the fence for my spring race.  I wish someone with magical powers could tell me that Boston is going to be 45 degrees, overcast with a tailwind!  That would really help out.  I really want to check out Oregon, though, too.  I have no idea.

Eugene:

• Flatter course
• Way better chance for awesome weather
• I would not have to start behind 3000 other runners
• I'd probably be right up there in the standings
• Get to check out Oregon
• Finishes on Hayward Field, that's pretty damn cool
• I'd be mixing things up for spring and going somewhere different

Boston

• Fast crowd to pull me along
• A ton of my friends local and from afar will be there
• I actually love the course even though it's challenging
• The energy at this race it so awesome
• I might be able to still race the 1/2 at Ogden a few weeks later
• Well, it's BOSTON

Stuff

Yeah, I think that's all I got. Just more random stuff.

First off, a picture from St. George. This is somewhere around the 1/2 point. As you can see, this is not the most crowded, fan-filled race. It was very peaceful running through the mountains, though! I like this photo, I figured it was time to update my blog picture with this and remove the one from my first marathon a couple of years ago.

Second, tennis. Tennis did me wrong. I love tennis, I really do. I'm not that good at it, but it's a fun sport and our neighbors have a tennis court that was have full access to, so it's super convenient. But, my legs are not used to the lateral movement and I hurt my ankle something bad yesterday. Crap. Oh, well, at least I'm not close to any goal races right now but I was ready to start up running regularly again. I'm going to wait this out a few days and hope it gets better, if not, I'll make an appointment with an ortho. That's not an easy task down here, this is not a place real sports doctors live, it seems. I have not had any luck with a doctor understanding what it is that I do with my running.

Third, weather. What the hell? It's getting crazy hot again. Maybe it's a good thing I can't run for a little while. Come on fall, those 2 days were soooooo nice. I even had the a/c off for 48 hours! Woot.

Fourth, next race. I'm really leaning towards Boston, yet again. I'm so lame, I should mix things up. But, dammit, Boston is just so very cool. It's unlike anything I've ever done. I wouldn't want every race to be so chaotic, but it's neat to do that once a year! I'm still looking into other options, though, I just haven't been moved by anything yet.

Fifth, new car? We need to replace the H3. We want something not too fancy, but solid. We are leaning towards a new VW Jetta Sportwagon Clean Diesel TDI or the new Subaru Outback. We are also thinking maybe just getting a cheaper used SUV for Home Depot/Dog/Beach/Race trips. We hardly ever drive, but we need two cars. Choices, choices, choices.

Split Pea Soup

Okay, so it's not cold here...yet. But, I LOVE soups and stews and I've missed eating them over the summer. Whole Food's bulk bins are heaven for me, I can go to town there! On Tuesday, I saw the split peas and had to, absolutely, make a split pea soup. Yummy.

This makes a huge batch, enough to freeze plenty of extra! So simple, so inexpensive, so good.

1 onion, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1.5 cups of dried split peas

1/2 cups of barley

1 potato, diced

10 cups water, more if needed

bay leaf

fresh parsley and thyme

salt and pepper (I love the taste of white pepper in my soups)

(I also added dulse for extra nutrition and salty flavor, I think it looked really pretty in there)

I guess you could easily add everything into a crock pot on low and let it sit all day to make it even easier, I did it in a dutch oven on the stove. This came out thick, rich tasting and nicely filling.

Saute onion in a bit of EVOO until soft, add garlic stir for a minute. Add in rinsed peas, barley and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for an hour or so. Add in carrots, celery, potato and herbs. Allow to cook for another hour or two, stirring occasionally adding water if needed.

I did cook up some Fakin Bacon tempeh for Matt in case he wanted the smokey flavor, he didn't care either way, the man ate THREE massive bowls! I read online about smoked salt that is supposed to add a nice smokey flavor to foods. I need to look into that and see what it's all about.

Rest, Recovery and Random Thoughts

This is tough, really tough. I hate resting. I'm a hyper person. I like pushing myself. I like having a goal. I feel lazy if I'm not doing something physical. I don't sleep well and I'm not even all that hungry when I'm not in a state of constant movement. But, I need to take it easy for a few weeks, I know I do. I actually took a NAP on Saturday, I fell asleep during the day, me! I've only napped while healthy a handful of times in my life! It was crazy! The funny part was, waking up from my nap (stumbling around, still in awe that I was so tired) I find a message from my coach about how he really wants me to back off for a while. That resting is just as important as training right now if I want to keep improving. Darn-it, good timing, I know he's right, I do and I'm glad I have someone else pushing me towards keeping things easy for a while, but it still isn't going to be easy for me.

I'm going to crack, I know I will but I'll try to good. I feel great today, I want to run a bunch of miles, I really do. So far, I've only run twice since my race. I ran a 3 and 2 seriously slow. I have a couple of dings in my legs from St. George and I felt them, so I backed off...I was good! It's been record highs here the past week and the same is supposed to hold true for this week, so that helps. What's up with the weather this year? It's been terrible. We better get a kick ass winter, all us runners have earned it.

So, I know I need to rest for a while, that it'll help me in my attempt to build myself up stronger for my next race. What else do we have control over? A big thing with me, and something I think a ton of runners/athletes ignore, is nutrition. It's huge. I think it's just as important as those tempo runs and intervals. Fueling the machine. I have always been a healthy eater. I feel great when I eat clean, fresh food. I hate the taste of processed food, the chemicals, and fillers. But, there is always room for improvement. A friend of mine lent me a GREAT book. Thrive, The Vegan Nutrition Guide. It was really interesting. I adored how he approached eating. I've been making some of his recipes and I really enjoy them. I'd love to be able to get leaner, to increase my weight to strength ratio. It'll be interesting to see if I can. Before I would really hungry while running the high miles and felt like I was always snacking on something. It seems that if I can dial in my nutrients a bit better, maybe I'll be able to gain more muscle, recover faster and drop some unneeded body fat while having an increase in energy.

What else is there? Core work, I guess. I did a lot of ab work this go around, I think it helped. I also think there is some additional stuff I can do to get stronger. Plyometrics scare me but I know they will help, too. I'm just so very, very uncoordinated I worry all trip, fall down and hit my head (it wouldn't be the first time).

Any other ideas out there?

Additional Post Race Thoughts

It's fun to write as much as I can think of after races, I tend to look back on these posts a lot before races I have coming up.

Some stuff I did wrong:
1. I never found a group to run with the entire race. I know how much it helps, it was a big mistake not finding one, there were plenty of people out there running right around my pace.
2. I think I should have eaten a bit more during the race. In the lower humidity, my sweat was evaporating, I took that as I wasn't sweating.
3. I need to man up and start doing my speedwork with others. It's time for me to get over my intense fear of the track. I know it'll help (but I also know it'll be humiliating).
4. After I go up an incline, I need to get right back up to speed and then some on the way down. I tend to hang out at my much slower climbing pace until I feel recovered. I should recover on the way down running faster. I know this, I do, I just forget while I'm racing.
5. Tangents, get better about thinking them through. Really. It's just wasted energy running further than I need to. Dumb.

Some stuff that I think I did right:
1. I worked hard in training.
2. I tapered super hard this time. I felt right on the edge of being overtrained 3 weeks out and the last 10 days before the race I took super easy and listened to my body. I always erred on the side of caution. Normally I try to push just a bit harder than I think I should.

3. I really rested the day before the race. I sat in bed in the hotel and watched TV. I didn't do much at all.

4. I believed in myself more at the start of this race than at others. I feel fitter than I ever have even though I feel like there is a ton of additional fitness in me to gain still.
5. I worked hard in training. I really did. Harder than I've worked before. It payed off.

St. George Marathon Race Report, 2009

It's been a bit of a crazy year training. CIM in December of '08 was the last marathon that I raced. I ran a 3:12:24 (PR) there, but came away from it with a torn calf that took quite a while to rehab. So, my original plan of targeting Boston for my next goal race was replaced with aiming towards Grandma's in June. I ended up running Boston as a pure training run, which was a total blast, but nothing more than long run pace finishing in 3:24. I felt pretty strong going into Grandma's, but the biggest thing that can hurt me while racing is heat and it was HOT. I ran a few miles, realized that it was going to end up being pointless to try to push myself in the weather and I chose to save my legs for another day at mile 11. That was a terribly tough decision at the time, but the smartest thing I've ever done in my racing, no doubt!

So, I spent a week or two pretty bummed out and set out find an earlier fall race to aim for. I can honestly say that I worked harder this training cycle than I ever have. My paces were quicker, my quality was harder and I was exhausted before I started my taper, I was also very close to being overtrained--I was walking a fine line. I didn't nail every workout, but I hung in there pretty well, for me:-). Basically every single run over the past 6 months has been on the treadmill. Scary, yup, but also the only way I'd be able to hit my paces. Living in South Florida and training for a marathon over the summer forces that. I always worry that my paces on the 'mill won't translate outside, but they always do. But, I will say, I'm so excited for winter to arrive down here and to button up my friend, the 'mill, for several months! I, of course, enjoy running outside so much more, but I do what I need to do to maintain my fitness. I managed a trip to northern MN, a few weeks before the race to get in some solid workouts in normal weather. That helped to set my mind at ease, as those workouts went very smoothly.

After the ups and downs of the past spring and summer, St. George was the new goal. I felt great going in, I just worried the weather was going to try to get me once again. Luckily, we had just about perfect conditions. Sunday, the day after the race, was CRAZY windy...it would have been a 30-40 mph headwind if it showed up a day earlier. Thank you, Mother Nature, a lot!

It was super dark at the start, so I was unable to see my watch for the first four miles or so. This actually worked to my advantage, I think, since I'm a terrible hill runner and the first half of the course is hilly. I need to just slow down, a lot, and focus on my effort up the hills. Training on the flat of Florida doesn't prepare me for uphills, I'm very aware of that. I may have been (probably was!) way too conservative, on those ups, but I felt totally under control the entire race. I've never felt so strong during a marathon, I felt amazing! Right around mile 22, my calves started to twitch, around 24 they were cramping, but not badly enough to make me stop. I couldn't speed up, since that would set them off, but I was able to keep trucking, carefully-very carefully. I felt fairly out of it the last mile, and really was starting to fall apart. The last 200 meters or so, I just focused on the 2nd timing mat. My only goal was to make it there. I'm not sure the cause of the cramping and serious mental fog right at the end. My best guess is just the hills on my calves and maybe not enough calories for my mind. I think the lower humidity made me feel like I didn't need to eat/drink as much simply because I wasn't drenched in sweat. Next time, I'll toss in another gel.

My splits are seriously all over the place, not watching my watch!

1. 6:33
2. 7:04
3. 6:36
4. 6:34
5. 6:51
6. 6:27
7. 6:29
8. 8:03---Jen vs. the volcano! Veyo.
9. 7:40
10. 7:23
11. 8:04---really must have lost focus here! Yikes. It was a pure uphill mile, not too steep, though.
12. 7:35
13. 7:10
14. 7:12
15. 6:42
16. 6:32---saw Matt this mile and was feeling so good!
17. 6:51
18. 6:52
19. 7:38---slight uphill, I really slowed! Yikes.
20. 7:04
21. 6:40
22. 7:16---the first time I felt not great, need to pull it together!
23. 6:59
24. 6:58
25. 7:17
26. 7:23---really out of it, zero kick to bring it in.

Chip time: 3:06:04 and a shiny new PR.

I ran a slight negative split, around 30 seconds. I was hoping to run about a 90-120 second negative split but couldn't quite pound out the last two miles like I hoped.

I'm really pleased with how this race played out! I've never felt so good during a race and terrible right after! My legs are pretty beat up. I feel like I still have a ton of fitness to gain and a heck of a lot to learn about racing marathons, that's for sure!

Dances with Wolves

I'm up in Northeastern Minnesota right now, spending some time with my parents.  It's been an awesome trip!  The weather up here is perfect, totally perfect!  The first few days were pretty chilly, with lows in the 30's and highs in the 50's.  The past few days had highs near 80 and it was a bit humid, but it's just nothing compared to South Florida right now.  Running here is a pleasure compared to back home, it's almost sad.  I often wonder how much better of a runner I would be if I had normal conditions to train in.  I feel significantly better after a harder run here than at any point in Florida, it makes the entire process so much fun!  I've logged a couple of nice weeks, 70's and 80's for mileage up here so far.  My first week was hurt by a terrible cold, but that is just about gone now.  I don't think I've ever coughed so much in my life!  

My long run last weekend was a pleasant 22 miler near my parents house, just doing 4 out and backs on a very hilly gravel road right off their house.  The out and backs, and running without music, was a bit much.  There is a long and fairly steep hill making up the first mile of that route and my legs weren't amused going up it the 4th time.  They have been a bit confused with all these hilly runs, but I think that they have adapted nicely.  This should help with the climbs at STG.

I ran a smaller 5k on Saturday.  That was pretty fun!  I felt funny there.  It's the first race I've done without chip timing, talk about being spoiled.  The numbers were also printed on brightly colored construction paper.  The slower runners' numbers had disintegrated in the warmer weather!  I didn't have much of a plan for the race.  I wasn't too sure how a hilly 5k would treat me and I coughed the entire drive over and during my warm up.  I thought about trying to go out around 6/6:10 pace and hang with folks at that speed and see where I ended up.  I had another 22 miler to hit on Sunday so I didn't want to totally kill myself.  Well, so much for plans.  The race started and about 6 or 7 of us took the lead and nobody was running too hard.  I ended up at the front of the race and even slowed to see if anyone would take over (it was windy) and nobody did.  So, there it was and it was weird.  My pace hovered around 6:25/6:30 which is where I've been running my tempos at so it was very comfortable and I felt I could match a surge pretty easily if anyone came up from behind.  I knew I had a decent lead at the turn around and hit the 2nd to last hill harder hoping it would discourage any of the guys from trying to catch up.  I guess it worked, I took the last hill easy and was able to see back on the last turn towards the finish and was able to just run easy to finish out the race.  How fun to win a race outright!  I will probably never be able to do that again.  Neat :)

Sunday I decided to head down HWY 5 for my long run, so I could do a simple out and back.  I like those, that's how I always run and mentally it's my favorite way to tackle a long run.  The first half of the run was pretty uneventful.  There are a ton on loooooong hills on this road, but they were fun and a nice change.  I didn't have any quality mixed in this LR, I was to just kept it slower than 7:45 pace.  That's pretty easy for me in these conditions, even though it was warmer on Sunday.  So, I get to mile 11 and cross the road to head on back.  About 1/2 mile north I get a creepy feeling and start to look around me a tad.  I'm normally totally zoned out when I run, it's almost scary.  I look up and see this:

Eek.  Yikes.  Okay, now what?  I hit the brakes and he's  just staring at me.  A cold stare.  I try to stand tall and think about what to do now.  He's about 15 meters from me, that's close!  And, he just doesn't seem the least bit upset about me being in his hunting territory--he's just looking at me.  I don't have much on me, so I grab my iPhone figuring I could throw that on him and maybe squirt some Gatorade into his eyes?????  Finally, it seemed forever but was probably just a minute, a truck drives over the ridge and Mr. Wolf sees him and trots back into the woods.  The guy pulls over and asks if I'm okay.  He is nice enough to toss his truck into reverse and drive between me and the wolf for about a 1/4 of a mile and then he waited a bit longer before driving off.  I ran those next couple of miles faster, that's for sure, looking over my shoulder every couple of seconds.  I also spent the remainder of the run worried that the wolf and his pack are tracking me, creepy feeling!  Running up here, in the Northwoods, has been filled with awesome wildlife.  I've seen more deer than I can count and was almost run over by one!  A huge bald eagle flew really close to me today, on my 2nd run.  There are loons, partridge and other neat birds everywhere.  But, then there are some of the scarier things out there like the timber wolf, moose and bears.  I haven't seen any moose or bears and I hope to not see any more wolves while running!  In the car is fine, though.

So, I hope that is the most exciting story I have for running on this trip!  I just have another week here, I'm so sad.  I do miss my husband and my puppies very, very much (I counting the minutes to cuddle with my Suunta monster puppy all night again!!!!) but I don't miss Florida at all.  The more time I spend away, the more I realize how much I dislike it there.  We will get moved at some point, I can't wait!

Nobody is Blogging & I Tried a Tri!

We are all way too busy getting ready for our fall races!  Stuff is coming up so soon, it's crazy.  6 1/2 weeks until STG.  OMG.  I think it's time for me to start my normal pre-race mental panic.  I love it, I always do it, I can't help it.  I worry that all those runs on the treadmill aren't going to translate well outside.  I worry that all those outside runs in the crazy heat and humidity actually led to untraining me, instead of training me.  I worry I'll fall apart on the downhills even though I've been training hard for them, maybe it won't be enough.  I worry that the climb up Veyo is going to be really, really tough in the altitude.  I worry that I'm going to go crazy and run myself into the ground when I get up to MN, since it'll be awesome running weather!  I mostly worry it's going to be super hot at STG (that can happen), but there is nothing I can do about that one.  It should be cool at the start, at least.  I think the downhill end will offset any heat and work out okay!  But, I don't worry too much about my worries since this is my normal amount of worries.  I'm apparently completely nuts :)

I was getting burned out on marathon training this summer, simply because it's summer in South Florida.  I cracked and signed up for a sprint tri with no training for the silly thing.  I think I've been in the lap pool 5 or 6 times and the ocean once and I rode my bike outside for an impressive 10, 16 and then 8 miler!  Plus, I was coming off a high mileage week before, well over 80 miles.  Yippee!  See, completely nuts!  I really needed something fun to look forward to and I haven't raced in forever.  It worked!  It was so much fun, not a lot of effort (mostly out of fear of going too fast in the swim and bike) and feel great about the entire experience.  The last tri I did, I had a terrible swim.  I got really roughed up right off the bat and just fell into panic/survival mode and it was horrible.  This was very different!  I started way on the outside and just got one kick to the face that stalled out my swim for a bit.  It took me a while to relax after that, but I pulled it back together and finished in the top half of my AG.  My transitions were okay, right around the top 1/3 to 1/2 of AG with no major mishaps.  The run was great, 1st in my AG and 4th F running super easy because of the footing and heat.  The run tossed me up into 4th in my AG out of something like 29 ladies...cool.  I know I could shave off 2 minutes or so from my swim and a solid 5-8 minutes off my bike with a little of training and some more confidence and could push the run much harder if I new I was up towards the top finishers!  But, I wouldn't change anything about how this played out, it was perfect and I'm not tired or sore.  An all out 5k race takes much more out of me.  This was just a total blast, even though I felt a bit overwhelmed by being out of it for so long.  I was pretty certain I was going to do something silly like loose my bike rack, forget to put on my helmet or something else just stupid.  Transitions are too funny, they are controlled mental chaos, the faster you try to go, the slower you end up.

If I'm trapped down here again next summer, I'll try to focus on tri training just to mix things up in this weather.  I think I could be pretty good at it, but I need to focus a little bit and see how it plays out.  My biggest obstacle to overcome is dealing with biking in the traffic down here.  I swear, once a week I hear on the news about a cyclist that has been hit by a driver.  That scares me, I don't trust the drivers down here one bit.  I give my friends Bill and John major credit, training for IM AZ in this weather!  I'm impressed, but also find them totally crazy, too!

So, that's about it.  Train on, my friends!

Endurance Monster

I'm flipping through Running Times and they have an article about different types of runners.  I see "Endurance Monster" and it cracks me up plus it is who I am.  I love running long and slow!  I could do it all day as long as I could keep hydrated and fed.  It's what I'm built for.  My half marathon pace and my marathon pace is basically the same when I'm at peak fitness training for a marathon.  I'm just very comfortable running at a particular effort level, when I speed up I'm just really out of sorts mentally and physically.  Most people I know are speed freaks.  They have a 5k pr way stronger than their marathon PR.  Their 1/2 pace is much quicker than that for a full and they love (this just confuses me) speed work and going to the track.  That just madness!  I see a 22 mile training run at a respectable pace and it doesn't phase me in the least, I see intervals and I start to worry--really worry!  Oh well, I like being an Endurance Monster.  It's fun being a monster!  Roar!

The summer down here is stupid hot and humid, so I've been hitting the pool a few times a week and popping on the bike in attempts to cool down.  Both activities are way easier in this weather.  The pool rocks, I actually leave feeling cooler than when I started.  I think just being in the water helps to cool out the core!  The bike is fun and while still warm, at least you create a nice headwind out there.  I'm tossing around the idea, thanks Bill (:rolleyes:) of popping in a sprint tri in a couple of weeks just for the heck of it and to mix things up!  It should be fun.  My swim will be silly slow and my bike speed will probably be an embarrassment for my beautiful bike but at least that should set me up to pass a few hundred people during the run!  I have 8 weeks until St. George, so if I do the tri and I'm heading to MN the week after that, the race will be here before I know it!  Woot!

On a sad note, the running community lost a really valuable member last week.  Voodoo Joe touched and inspired many people and left us way too early at only 37!  He was kind, gentle, funny as hell and a really solid person.  He left the world a better place by just being who he was!

To all my friends who think running is all there is to keep one healthy, let this be a wake-up call.  We all need to take care of ourselves!  Eat better, seriously people, think about the fuel you use to power the monster!  Sleep better, it matters more than watching that TV show or having an extra beer.  Sleep rocks and it's important.  If something is wrong, go to the doctor and get it checked out.  We are all going to live and longer and better life for being athletes, but that's only part of the equation.   I don't want to lose anyone else too early!  I love all my friends dearly and would like for them to stick around for a long time!  Lifestyle choices can make or break your life, take them seriously.  We don't have control over genetics but we can do a lot to keep ourselves living a great life full of quality for a long time!

BTW, I had a decent running month.  Not my biggest mileage wise by a good deal, but solid with a lot of quality.  285 miles in 32 runs with one double.  Doubles start up and mileage bumps up next week...yippee!