Going With The Flow

Good racing start to the year!

I was super nervous for this race. I haven't raced since November and have only been feeling strong (back from injuries and a pitiful 4 month post-marathon recovery) for about 3-4 weeks. With that said, my fitness has come back pretty solid in the past few weeks and I have been able to get in some great workouts. I still had lots of doubts and low confidence though (within reason, I mean I was struggling to break 8:30 miles a month ago) - my A+ goal today was 17:30.

I did a 15 minute warm-up followed by 6-8 strides trying to get a feel for pace. The elite field was very intimidating - Kim Smith, Desi Davila, Stephanie Rothstein, a few Ethiopians, etc. I got some great pictures next to Kim Smith :) I'm still not sure how I got elite status with my name on my bib and everything! I knew the race was going to go out fast so my goal was to be super conservative and go for negative splits. 

As soon as the gun went off, I was immediately engulfed by the field. A lot of really fast people! However, I was very proud to look at my Garmin and see that I was going the exact pace I wanted. There was a good hill at the end of the first mile but it didn't seem to affect me. It helped that Rachelle was at mile 1 cheering for me! First mile was 5:45. The first half of mile 2 was an awesome downhill stretch followed by flat for the rest of the race. I hit the 2 mile mark with a pace of 5:41.

Here, a little 13 year old boy running decided to run with me and said "Come on - let's do this together!". Haha that just made me smile. He was about half my size too! I was feeling great so I really picked it up the last mile. We turned onto the finish line street with about a half mile to go and I ran hard. The last 1.1 was 5:21 pace and I finished in 17:23! I am slightly embarrassed to say that the 13-year old beat me, but what can you do?

It is a great feeling to know that I'm not even close to my best shape right now and was still able to run that fast. I probably could've gone out a little faster (given the much faster last mile) but I still think it was a smart move to be conservative.

After the race, I met up with JG, Dan, Hamdog, Jake, Rachelle, and (briefly) Steam8. So nice to put faces to names and talk with everyone. Several of us did a 4 mile jog around the parks. I wished them all the best of luck tomorrow and to go out CONSERVATIVE!

FYI - I was a little nervous about my hamstring which is why I'm wearing compression shorts. But I had no problems!

PM - 1.5 mile shake-out with Jake.

From BAA 5K

AM - Got up early to wish Jake good luck at the marathon. Then a couple friends and I headed to the 6.5 mile mark to watch. Man, it was hot (and only 9:30am)! The sun was beating down hard. Jake was in high spirits at this point, really working the crowd. I gave him a water bottle and a cold sponge. Then we headed to the 15.5 mile mark. I decided to run a couple miles further on the course so he could have another spot for aid. So I saw him again at mile 17.5. He told me "This is getting really TOUGH". The heat was really starting to get to him.

That was all I got to see of Jake. I wished him best and thankfully Emily Bates was at Heartbreak Hill to help him out as well!

 I ran back to the 15.5 mile mark, somehow missing a lot of the bloggers. I did see Kam and ran with him for a few minutes. I was getting really nervous about not seeing Rachelle (b/c I was planning on running with her), but she came along looking great. Soaked from head to toe from pouring so much water on herself! We ran together from 15.5 - 24.5 miles. Unfortunately, my water bottle fell apart so I wasn't able to help her with that as much as I had hoped. I tried to get Gatorade and water at the (very busy) aid stations every once in a while though. We were passing people left and right. I would say we passed probably 1000 people in 9 miles - it was awesome.

But I gotta say, those 9 miles were not easy. I felt like I was overheating after about 4 miles in the conditions so I can't even imagine what it was like for everyone racing for a full 26.2 miles. I cannot stress how much the heat factored into this race. That said, I am very proud of everyone that stuck it out and ran hard today - they all deserve a half gallon of ice cream tonight (after about 10 bottles of Gatorade!). 

Anyway, I ended up somewhere in the 15 miles today, but I feel like I ran at least 20! My friend Greg got some awesome pics of Jake so make sure you check them out on his blog (when he gets them up).

AM - 5.2 miles really slow and easy with Jake. I need an easy day after the race and the long run yesterday.

I am SO HOT. Probably because it's still almost 90 degrees again today in Boston and no air conditioning. I got pretty overheated from being out in the sun for so long yesterday - and I didn't even race! Jake and I are both sitting on the couch with ice packs on our necks, head, and chests. I'm pretty sure we would both have a core temperature over 100 degrees!

PM - After a long day of traveling and then working, my motivation level was at about 2 for a workout. I ate a couple scoops of ice cream once I got home which brought my level up to 3 - enough to get me out the door. I ran a 2.5 mile warm-up then got into my planned 4 mile tempo at marathon pace. The pace felt surprisingly comfortable so I extended the tempo out and ran it slightly faster than MP. 5.5 miles at 6:14 pace. Ended with a short cooldown for a total of 8.7 miles. Going to take it easy the next two days for the half marathon on Saturday.

I got to try out some new shoes that I got from my visit to the Saucony headquarters - Fastwitch 6. They aren't out in stores yet, but they are pretty awesome. I currently have the Fastwitch 5 (which I love) and I could tell that these have a little less support and are about an ounce lighter. I think they will be great for me in a couple months...but with my recent foot injuries I'll probably stick with the 5s for this weekend for a little extra support. The headquarters has a track runway down the middle of their work hallway and shoes everywhere - I want to work there!!

AM - 5 miles, extended horsepark loop with Jake. Then 30 minutes of yoga. My back felt like it was tied up in knots from all the traveling so it was good to stretch and loosen it up again.

AM - 4.6 miles easy with Jake. 

I thought it might be fun to get a group together for lunch after the SLC race tomorrow...let me know if you are interested! 

Comparison of an elite entry at the BAA 5k versus an elite entry at SLC Half Marathon. So if anyone running wants to be elite, just get a sticky note and write "ELITE" on it! :)

AM - Salt Lake City Half this morning. I was fortunate enough to be in the "elite math suite" until 20 minutes before the race. Then Allie, James, and I did our 1 mile warm-up to the start. I'm pretty sure I would've run 13 seconds faster if I didn't have to run an all uphill warm-up. 

My goal going into this race was 1:18-1:18:30. I couldn't decide which splits to go with, but they were only 2 seconds different per mile so I was just freaking out about nothing. Typical pre-race activity for me. Turns out I just split the difference between the two for my final time, so I was pretty spot on with what I thought I was capable of today. 

Got to the start and was happy to see that Devra and Emily B decided to jump in the races at the last minute. I ran a few strides and then we were off.  I immediately settled into goal time pace for the first mile and kept that effort for the whole race. The half marathon seems to be the only distance that I am very in-tune with what effort level I can maintain. Adam Wende jumped in to run with Emily B and me after about a mile, and he stayed around until mile 7 or so. Jake was on a bike with LuluWalls around mile 1 as well and the race crew was totally fine with them biking along the course with me. It was fun to have them for the whole race - this is probably the greatest benefit about lower-key local races. I love it!

I felt pretty strong throughout the whole race. Got pretty tired by mile 10, like usual. Then I had to trudge up the hill and try to get some sort of turnover in the last half mile. Splits were a bit all over the place, but that was to be expected because of the different inclines throughout the course. I ran 5:49, 5:59, 5:47, 5:43, 6:06, 6:11, 5:53, 6:03, 5:51, 6:05, 5:58, 6:15, 5:55 pace for the last 1.1 miles.

Overall I'm very happy with the race today. I am exactly where I was hoping to be right now in my training. I have about 8 weeks until the Half Marathon Champs so just enough time for a good buildup to bring that time down!

Ran a cooldown with Jake for 5 miles to get 19 for the day.  I have to say, I was really impressed with how well the race was organized. I was a little nervous since I have heard so many bad things about it, but the new owners did a great job. I have a feeling this race is going to get BIG in the next few years (well, assuming I get paid!!).

Great job to all the FRB group today! We had quite a showing! Jake got some great pics from the race. Here are a few -