Fall 2017 and plans for 2018: Running

My awesome Team Athena

For the first time, I dedicated myself to doing enough USATF Masters LDR races on the Grand Prix circuit to count my final points in the age group rankings.  Last year I competed in two races, but one needs three races for your points to count in the series rankings.  (Your top five races count for points.) This year I upped my races to four. Although a good amount of travel (plane) is required for most of the races, the experiences are worth it.  Being surrounded by fellow motivated masters runners is inspiring.

I started off the season with the road mile in Flint, MI, a race that I previously blogged about.  You can read that here.  The rest of my fall racing season focused on the two USATF cross country races and the road 5K. 

I put in a solid training block over the summer and early fall, getting my weekly mileage up into the 60's per week, two days of resistance band training, and several days of swimming.  The next race was the road 5K October 1 in Syracuse, NY.  The course is flat and fast with only a minor hill at the start and 400 meters from the finish.  I felt TERRIBLE and ran well slower than my goal of sub-19:00, although I did continue to compete to the finish line out-kicking two ladies in my age group.  I finished 10th overall and 5th in my age group in 19:10.

Next up was the first cross country race (October 15) in Boston at the famed Franklin Park. As a Groton School senior, I ran my first cross country race (5K) there 25 years earlier!  I felt very strong in the race and competed well finishing 7th overall and 5th in my age group.  I followed Coach Tom's race plan and ran within myself until the Bear Cage Hill (something that destroyed me when I was 17 years old), then went for broke to the finish.  Everyone seemed to run a bit slow on the course, which is not fast but also not slow.  I did manage to run faster than I did back in 1992!  Two of the best things about the weekend: 1) rooming with the amazing Trish Bulter and 2) seeing Tim Cox for the first time in decades!

Between miles 1 and 2

Running with the fastest Grandma I know, Trish Butler

Tim Cox has not changed a bit

My final USATF race was the 6K cross country race in Lexington, KY (December 9).  Now that course was HARD! Particularly a large hill heading into the finish (women go up it twice, men three times.)  The morning was bitterly cold and windy, with everyone racing in more coverage/layers than is typical.  I used the same strategy as the race in Boston, holding back until after we moved up the hill the first time (at about 1.75 miles out of 3.75). I then ran downhill as hard as I could reasonably go and held on.  It was encouraging in the later stages to be passing people on such a challenging course.  This was the most competitive race of the season, and I was pleased with a 15th overall and 8th age group placing.  My placings over the season were enough for me to finish 2nd overall in the USATF LDR Grand Prix for the 40-44 age group!  One treat: my husband Michael was able to come to this race (he was also at the mile in August), and we got to catch up with some friends from Lexington. 

First loop...near an Olympian!!!

Starting my charge...and trying to get away from the speedy Tania Fischer

Out with friends Darshak and John! We clean up sometimes.

So, what is next? I took some time off after the XC race and then started on a two-year plan...I believe that I have not yet run to my potential in the marathon. I have a sabbatical coming up in Spring 2019.  I am going to focus on the marathon for the next two years, taking advantage of the sabbatical (when I am not writing my book!).  I may not run faster than my current PR of 2:57, but I can try.  If I don't give it a go, I will never know.

Currently I am working on bringing my tempo pace down so that I can hold 6:10-6:15 pace for 4-6 miles. That seems to be my sweet spot. We are working on speed through the winter since I have access to an indoor track facility and I will do a half marathon in March.  After that half, I will build my mileage up from the 50-60 per week that I am currently doing (on 6 days) to 70ish and race Grandmas Marathon in June.  One addition to my training that I have made is one heavy lifting (for me) day to complement the resistance band work.  If nothing else, the muscles look good!

Happy tempo,

Venting and a (legal) product testimonial

Recently I have made several social media posts about the frustration that masters athletes, including myself, have with the rise of doping amongst older athletes. While legal in some respects, many prescribed anti-aging tools, such as testosterone and human growth hormone, are considered illegal by USATF/WADA and other athletic governing bodies because of their performance enhancing capabilities. I suspect that some who use these products and compete justify the use since it is 1) prescribed by a doctor or 2) the Rx is "just leveling the playing field" for them. And getting a TUE for competition...you know what you are doing is wrong and you are using the system to get around it.

Our health and abilities depreciate as we age (the health economist had to enter at some point), and pure athletes (for lack of a better term) must adjust training regimens. Currently I am running quite well for me and believe that I have several PRs left in me ranging from the 1500 meters to marathon. To get to those PRs, however, I must respect my age and body and modify my training accordingly. I cannot run over 100 miles a week as I did when I was in my 20s and 30s since it takes longer for me to recover at age 42. I can't hammer every run. (You are right to be suspicious of 40+ year old athletes posting ridiculous training regimens on Strava. If it sounds "incredible" it is probably not credible.)

This season, which is focused on road and cross country races 5K and 6K in distance, I am consistently running over 50 miles a week and will approach 60 a few times in the next 4-6 weeks. To replace the aerobic work from the decreased running mileage, I swim several times a week. Not only does swimming provide excellent aerobic (and anaerobic when I do speed sessions) benefits, but the water and its weight provides a massaging effect which helps with recovery. 

Additionally, as an older athlete my recovery days must truly be recovery days. I take one day off completely from running. Some of my easy run days are at a 9:00 minute per mile pace or slower (something the younger me would have been ashamed of, but now I embrace with pride.) The little things are also increasingly important as we age: deep tissue massage, stretching, strength training, icing, diet, etc.

Per the diet, I do take some legal (in all respects) supplements, many produced by my long-time sponsor Hammer Nutrition. (NOTE: This is a testimonial. I am not a trained physician or nutritionist so do not take my testimonial as such.) One that I starting taking in the last year to help with recovery is Essential Mg, which is a magnesium supplement. Magnesium, an electrolyte, aids in many things including metabolism, muscle contraction, blood sugar regulation, and blood pressure normalization. I get plenty of magnesium through cashews and other foods, but the supplement brings me up a level as I hit my heavy training volumes. I take Hammer's Essential Mg each evening (one serving is 200 mg of magnesium) before bed. Without scientific evidence, and relying solely on anecdotal evidence, I have fewer sugar crashes on training runs, feel more energetic when I wake up in the morning, and am training on an overall high level for a 40+ year old female. Magnesium is not the only thing potentially causing this (see the "little things" above and my weekly training), but I believe it is a contributor. Like all of Hammer's products, Essential Mg is easy on the stomach. If you are looking for more information on the product, check out their web page.

Before signing off, to make sure that you are not accidentally taking a product that is banned by your athletic governing body, use the Global DRO site to check any Rx or supplement. (HINT: Magnesium is not a banned substance by WADA but HGH is!)

Mg is all good

HGH is not good at all

Hammer on,

First few weeks

Briggs Field, MIT

I have been fully back to training after marathon/cellulitis for two weeks and am trying to be patient and adapt to training and the weather. So far so good.

Not surprisingly I am building back strength and endurance on land and in the pool and trying to incorporate running on soft surfaces as much as possible.

Last week was what I image to be a typical one for the next month or so (although the mileage will increase over that period.) I was in Boston Sunday-Tuesday presenting a paper at the International Health Economic Association Meeting, so I got to run in some new places.

Monday was 6 x 3:00 at tempo interval pace with 2:00 jogs between. My hotel was near MIT so I used Briggs Field, their intramural grass field (real grass, not artificial turf) which spanned 2 x 3 soccer fields. Perfect! Given that I will race 2-4 cross country races this fall, practicing running on surfaces that are not smooth like a road or track is important. My paces per mile were 6:10-6:20 for each 3:00 segment which I was pleased with. On the track or road that would have been 6:00-6:10 pace for a tempo effort.

I used fields 1-9 which all connect even with the track!

Due to travel I did not do the second workout until Saturday. I had a 20:00 tempo run. I have a love/hate relationship with tempo. I hate the pain but love the results. It was a typical humid morning in Virginia and I was OK with the 6:36/mile average pace (through three miles in 6:38, 6:36, 6:34) especially since I descended slightly and did it alone. Looking back at training from this time last year (which is not always a wise thing to do as we age) I am well ahead of what I was averaging back then.

Sunday was a longish (not long for a marathon runner) 1:20 run on the hills of Fincastle which went well even on the tired legs.

What I was most excited about was my swim session! I got a new batch of workouts from Coach Brett. One of the workouts I did was a total of 5,000 yds. with a main set of:

17 x 100 kick on 1:30 for 1-5, 1:25 for 6-10, 1:20 for 11-14, and 1:15 for 15-17.
17 x 100 free with fins and paddles do the same way except on 1:35, 1:30, 1:25, and 1:20

I did it! I love swimming and working with Brett who is so positive and encouraging. Plus it builds me into a better runner. Win-win-win.

In the next post I will write about the conference in Boston and our paper.

Run & swim,

Starting over

My blog fell into disuse! 10 months passed before I could blink. No excuses. I'm just going to get it back on track (and a face lift before too long!)

This post will focus on the running part of the Running Economist. I will save the exciting projects that I am working on and have had published recently for another post.

The good news: my fitness post knee surgery and last year's battle with vocal chord dysfunction progressed throughout the year. I got into 3:02-3:05ish marathon shape for the Wrightsville Beach Marathon (March 2017) put on by my coach Tom Clifford, but the weather did not cooperate. Most people, including me, were slowed by the heat and humidity and I ran just under 3:08 (and won the female masters division.)

Coach Clifford suggested that I recoup and try a second round at Grandma's Marathon in June. I recovered from Wrightsville Beach faster than any marathon before and had a great training cycle going into Grandma's getting into 2:58-3:02ish shape. And then....I got stuck by a thorn a week before the race.

A thorn! Yes. I made it through 20+ mile runs, countless tempo and interval sessions, 3-4 x week swim workouts, but was felled by a thorn. I have no idea how the thorn found my finger. I do not have roses. But it did and with it brought a nasty case of cellulitis. A few days before the race my entire arm was swollen and the lymph nodes in my neck were inflamed. I went to the hospital in Duluth Thursday (yes, I went to the race hopeful it would just go away!) and was put on antibiotics. I do not run well while on antibiotics, but that was better than letting the infection get worse than it already was.

I went through the motions and toed the line Saturday morning having made a deal with myself: Execute your race plan, but if your body tells you that the infection is bigger than your heart, DROP OUT. No running race is worth dying for.

A few miles in I felt weak and not my peppy self. I focused on staying positive and hoped that my body would loosen up. It was not to be. By 6 miles I needed a walk break. I took three more before I got to the drop out zone with buses to the finish at 13.75 miles. Dropping out was the best decision for me. Had I pushed through I could have spread the infection and worse. I felt OK about it knowing this and that I gave it a go. There were no "what ifs".

Tears were shed on the bus back and on the phone with Coach Clifford. I was so darn frustrated. Following his suggestion, I took a few hours to get the hurt out, and then focused on the positive and the future.

So what is the future?

Several USATF Masters races and a full cross country season. I am excited! My tentative plan is:

August 19 - FAB 5K (Roanoke) (half grass, half pavement)
August 25 - USATF Masters Road Mile National Championship (Flint, MI)
August 26 - Crim 10 Miler (Flint, MI) (...yes the next day. But I am there anyway, so why not)
September 9 - Knights Crossing (Roanoke) (XC)
October 6 - Royal Invitational (Charlotte) (XC)
October 15 - USATF Masters 5K XC National Championships (Boston)
October 28 - Runway 5K (Charlotte) (road and a MAYBE)
November 4 - USATF 5K National Championships (road and a MAYBE)
November 23 - Wrightsville Beach Turkey Trot (road)
December 9 - USATF Masters 6K XC National Championships (Lexington, KY)

I took time after Grandma's to heal (similar to recovery for a completed marathon) and started intervals and pool work two weeks ago. After a few days of feeling sluggish (the last of the antibiotics and infection?), I am back to feeling strong. With my awesome training buddy Sarah, I hit a 20:00 tempo faster than I have in at least two years despite the humidity (farty shoes by mile one) and did a broken 500 yard test set in the pool faster than I did to start last swim season. My strength from six months of marathon training is still there. Whew!

My goal is to stay positive, push my limits, and embrace the training for the rest of the year. I will make more training posts this season not because anyone is interested, but because putting it out there holds me accountable. I can be my own worst enemy in the mind game arena, so hopefully writing and posting my thoughts will keep me on the positive track when things get challenging.

I am on Strava (as Alice Kassens), so follow me!

Welcome back to the grind,

Fall plans, training update, and race report

After experiencing a disappointing spring track season due to strange breathing issues (which we now think was vocal chord dysfunction after undergoing eight tests and consults to rule out more serious causes) I took the second half of June off from running and swam minimally. Starting in July, Coach Tom put me on a 10 week base-building plan after a few weeks of getting my running legs back and Coach Brett got my swimming rolling.

During those 10 weeks I built my running mileage up to 70 miles a week, did up to sixty minutes of Mill Mountain repeats a week (with my partner in crime Sarah), and swam four days a week consistently. I enjoy long hill repeats (for example 4 sets of 10:00 up Mill Mountain, jog down recovery) because of the focus on form and positive self-talk rather than splits, which is particularly helpful when just coming back into form in the heat/humidity of summer.

Three weeks ago we moved from base training to speed adaptation. Rather than having 2-3 workouts a week consisting of hills (Tuesday), aerobic threshold (Thursday), and a long run-workout (AT in middle of long run), I have 2-3 workouts a week consisting of tempo/speed mix (Tuesday), tempo (Thursday), and long run-workout (AT in middle of long run.) The purpose of this phase is to reintroduce my legs to running fast while still building strength. For example, this past Tuesday I hit the track for 3 sets of 2,000 meters at tempo effort (6:25-6:30), 1:00 jog, 1 x 300 meters at mile pace (58-59) (4:00 jogs between sets.)

I the past I have raced too soon and let the poor results get in my head. This season Coach Tom told me that I could not even pick out a race until he said so. I listened and actually enjoyed embracing the grind of training. He gave me the OK to pick a race a few weeks ago and I selected the Virginia 10 Miler 4 Mile event. The course is brutal and I have never done it (I have done the 10 Mile race several times), so there was no pressure.

Virginia 10 Miler 4 Mile Race

September 24, 2016 was a warm day for the 10 Miler competitors, but not an issue for those of us in the shorter event. I ran the first downhill mile and a half very controlled (first mile 6:07), focused on form and grinding up the hills from 1.5 to 3.5 (mile 2: 6:26, mile 3: 6:32), and giving it my all into the finish (mile 4: 6:17.) I was pleased with my strength and form and how I kicked any negative thoughts out of my head when they popped up. I won the female masters and overall race in just over 25:30 (6:25/mile average; the course was 4.03 miles) which was exciting. The biggest surprise was the $250 prize for the win (I didn't even look at prizes before the race!) 

At the top of the last big climb

 I am pleased with my early season fitness and firmly believe in my training plan. (I ignore those who mock my slow miles on recovery days.) 

The rest of my season looks like this:

October 7 - Royal Invitational 5K (Charlotte, NC; cross country)

November 6 - USATF Masters Cross Country Championships (Tallahassee, FL; 5K)

November 24 - Wrightsville Beach Turkey Trot (Wilmington, NC; road 5K)

December 2 - Homer Bast Invitational (5k, indoor track, Roanoke College)

December 10 - USATF Club Cross Country Championships (Tallahassee, FL; 6K)

Additionally I am swimming in two swim meets (October 22-23 in Charlotte and November 20 in Greensboro.)

 Good luck in your season and I will leave you with a few MAlice pictures from the 4 Miler,

Fall season recap, winter/spring goals

The fall season is over and I am happy to report that things continued in the positive direction and that MAlice was showing up at races again. My key races this fall were the USATF Masters 12K National Championships and the Wrightsville Beach 5k Turkey Trot.

I did several races along the way including the Great Race 10K in Pittsburgh (1st Master (only because the first over 40 woman was one of the overall winners:)), the Vinton Fall Festival 5K (2nd female, 1st master, 19:19), and the Runway 5k in Charlotte (3rd female, 1st master, 18:52). Other than the Vinton Fall Festival where I felt flat, the races went very well. At the Runway 5K I got to "catch up" with my William and Mary team mate Laurie on the cool down. She is as sweet as ever and it felt like old times chatting away and sharing laughs. (She just ran a blistering 1:13.48 at the Jax Half Marathon last weekend as she prepares for the third Olympic Marathon Trials in February.)

Laurie Knowles and me after the 5K

At the USATF Masters National Championships in Alexandria, VA I finished 6th overall and 5th in my age group between two masters rock stars: Alisa Harvey and Cassandra Hinkiel. This was my first Masters National Championship and the atmosphere was electric. I negative splitted the race going through the mile in 6:32, 5K in 19:56, 8K 31:45, 10K in 39:47, and finishing in 47:31 (6:23/mile pace). Needless to say I was all smiles for days. I competed, I pushed when it hurt, and used positive self-talk in the tough miles. You can see the Masters results here.

Last 400 meters in the 12K (Photo: Clay Shaw)

My workouts and confidence remained strong heading into the final race of the season: the Wrightsville Beach Turkey Trot 5k. A fun race on Thanksgiving morning, fast course, lots of Without Limits friends, and a great calorie burner heading into holiday eating. I will admit to being nervous prior the race given several fast ladies were toeing the line. That lasted until the gun went off. Then I competed. I ran with the pack although I got out kicked at the end to finish second on gun time (18:43) although first with chip time (18:40...that's the time (not the place) that I am taking!) That is the fastest road 5K that I have run in at least 4 years, so I was very happy.

My plan for the winter and spring is to work on strength and endurance (both in running and swimming) through the Quintiles Half Marathon in March (with some indoor mile-5K races) and then go for some outdoor track PRs in the 1500-5K. My resolution is to consistently strength train 2-3 times per week, an important element to success in both running and swimming, but one that I frequently neglect more than I should. Masters studette Sonja Friend-Uhl gave me some great training tips and reading that I will incorporate to keep this 41-year-young body moving fast!

Speaking of 41...Erin Hogston joined me for 41 x 400 meters on December 24 (my 41st birthday)!

What are your plans for the winter and spring?

What is so special about 180 steps per minute?

For the past few weeks two of my runs during the week have one goal: 180 steps per minute. I set my Garmin to display the cadence screen and focus on nothing else. Why the 180 spm?

Jack Daniels studied  Olympic athletes during the 1984 games and found that regardless of distance (800 meters and up) runners took at least 180 steps per minute. Stride frequency is one piece of the speed equation (along with stride length), so increasing stride frequency, ceteris paribus, leads to faster running times.

Before Coach Tom Clifford asked me to focus on 180 spm a few weeks ago, I was taking 170-175 steps per minute (at least since I started keeping track of such things six weeks ago). 5-10 steps per minute does not sound like a lot, but consider this:

The average stride length for female marathoners in the 1984 Olympic Games was 58 inches. If a similar woman takes 170 steps per minute, her speed is 58 inches/step * 170 steps/minute = 9860 inches/minute, which converts to a 6:25 mile pace. If another woman, with the same stride length, takes 180 steps per minute her pace is 6:04 per mile...eleven seconds per mile faster!

Speed can also increase with greater stride length. There is a trade off: the longer the stride, the longer it takes to turn your legs over. Daniels believes that shorter steps are preferred to longer ones because the feet stay underneath the runner, reducing the risk of injury and encourages landing on the balls of the feet rather than the heels. When you hit the pavement with heels first, you are likely putting on the breaks with every stride and just making things harder on yourself (less efficient). Check out the wear pattern on your trainers or take a form check when passing a window on your next run to see where you land.

I plan to keep focusing on my stride frequency as I prepare for the fall racing season. As a "baseline", below are some paces from three speed and tempo sessions from the past month. I will check in again in a later post when I have more data points.

Get those legs spinning,

Second week of workouts and a swim meet

Training continues to move along in the right direction. This past week included a down week for both running and swimming mileage/yardage-wise given the VA Commonwealth Games LCM meet June 20th.

The soupy weather persists, but I suppose it is great preparation for running in Wilmington, NC next week. On tuesday RVE teammates Sarah and Patrick joined me bright and early on the PHHS track. Sarah and I did 8 x 400 with 3:00 rest holding the best average we could, while Patrick floated with us for 400 and roared past doing 800s on our 3:00 rest interval. He is tapering for his 50K this week.

The 400s terrified me given I have not done speed in 6 weeks. Originally Coach Tom said to go 78-80, but I said no way. Given the weather he changed it to holding my best effort for sprint repeats. We started very controlled (88) and then steadily knocked them down: 88, 85, 86, 83, 79, 78, 78, 77 for an 81-82 average. I am pleased with the workout! We are going to repeat it in about a month, but shortening the rest to 2:00. The goal is to hold the same average with less rest.

I swam in my first LCM swim meet on Saturday in Christiansburg VA (Christiansburg Aquatic Center). The facility is nice and is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies' Swim and Dive Teams. Five of us from the Gator Masters Team swam and it was great fun to be at a meet with buddies. It removed the stress of competing completely. The meet was very small and short...so not much time between events. My order of events: 50, 200, 400, 100 meters.

Christiansburg Aquatic Center
Photo: www.hokiesports.com

I swam the 50 well (36.45 which converts to a 32.1 50 yard time (and is my fastest "old lady" time). Next, Marcia, Carolyn, and I were side-by-side-by-side in lanes for the 200. I went out way too fast (1:27 first 100) and died for a 3:06.17. YUCK. The 400 followed soon thereafter and I experienced my first race goggle issue. After the first turn they rolled down my face. I ripped them off and swam the second 50 with them in my hand (DRAG). Once I got to the wall I tossed them up, obviously forgoing my flip turn and then finished the remaining 300 the best I could. I felt decent for the rest of the race which is nice since I am terrified of the "longer" distances. My time was terrible (6:52.45) but I am proud that I didn't panic and stuck it out. 10-15 minutes later came the 100 which was not fast (1:24.61), but a great workout on the heels of the 200 and 400. I then counted laps for Carolyn and Kate as they crushed the 1500. They (and Marcia) looked so smooth as they knocked out the 30 lengths. I hope to be able to swim that far in a race one day!

Sunday morning brought a combined tempo run and long run. Sarah and I met at PHHS and ran around 5 miles at 7:45 pace for a warmup then used the track for 4 x 5:00 at tempo pace (~6:30) with 1:00 recoveries. Given I raced the day before I felt tired. I made it through the first 5:00 albeit off pace (a very slow first 200). The next two I only did 800 meters (3:17, 3:14). The last repeat I held on to Sarah (who was gliding through the workout despite running 20 miles the day before!) for a 6:20 paced effort. We finished with 26:00 of trail running. I will take it!

Afterwards I swam 1,000 meters at the BAC before a deep tissue massage to get the junk out of my arms and legs. The pool felt so refreshing after slinging sweat with Sarah all over the track earlier that morning.

Given the swim meet, I tapered a bit in both running and swimming.

Weekly total:
Swimming - ~15,000 yards including a meet (on 6 days)
Running - 34.5 miles including two workouts (on 6 days)

Goals for next week:
Swimming - 18,000 yards including an open water swim (Wilmington)
Running - 50 miles


Happy trails,

Getting back into it and Scott-freaking-Jurek

After a great long run with my buddy Sarah the first Sunday in May I suddenly started having pain in my left patella tendon (other leg from the surgery last summer). It was odd. It did not hurt on run, but right after saying goodbye to Sarah and heading into the coffee shop it hurt noticeably. Scared and frustrated I took several days off from running and waited until I got to Alaska to attempt a run (who can pass up a run in Ketchikan!?!) For weeks it was off and on as were my emotions.

I finally started doing some eccentric strengthening work and wearing a patellar knee strap (they come in PINK) in addition to icing the area three to four times a day. MAGIC! A month later I was back to a regular running schedule and after an additional two weeks I did my first speed session. Given Virginia will be a soupy mess until October, the plan is to build up my endurance and strength and hit some fall races. Hope springs eternal!

Partially to keep me motivated through the tough summer and partially to keep me realistic (its ok to run 9:00 pace on an recovery run when you climb 400 feet...right?)  I started using Strava and added its widget to this blog. You can follow my SLOW progress back to fitness. I am trying to be patient and have fun which is difficult after a year of setbacks.

The week of June 1-7, my first consistent week running-wise, I ran 37 miles and swam 18,150 yards including one long course practice. This past week (June 8-14) included one tempo run and 17,000 yards in the pool. I was anxious about the tempo run. Happy that I could start speed but nervous to see what pace I could handle. Coach Clifford gave me a 20:00 tempo which I did on the track. Because of my anxiety I ran it is as more of a progressive tempo, starting conservatively and finishing strong. My mile spits were 6:48 (3:29, 3:19), 6:32 (3:17, 3:15), 6:23 (3:13, 3:10). I only had a touch more to go to get to 20:00; I was a just short of 5K for the 20:00 effort. I am very happy with this start. I believe it suggests my tempo pace is around 6:30-6:35. The weather was pleasant, so on a soupy day the pace will slower for the same effort. Hopefully that pace will get under 6:20 by September. When my tempo pace is sub-6:20 my race times really begin to POP.

After my tempo run I raced home to change and hit the Appalachian Trail for a Scott Jurek sighting. He is currently trying to set the Appalachian Trail Speed Record. I live near the 220 crossing, so I waited about 800 meters in towards the Tinker Cliffs hoping to catch him on his last push before 220. The "Jurker" made his appearance a little after 1:00 PM, cruising by at a nice pace with about 5 guests in tow. I applauded his efforts and took a few pictures as he flew by. I then headed out to get lunch and saw him taking a break/getting in some fuel at the Valley Cleaners (parking lot used by AT day hikers). I ran up and asked if I could get a picture with him and he graciously agreed. He appears to be as kind and gracious as all reports suggest.

Scenes from the AT on "Jurek Day"

Here an article by the Roanoke Times on Jurek with some sweet pics from McAfee's Knob (where he started his run the day I saw him). If you didn't know how beautiful Southweat VA is, take a look!

Enjoy the soupy running and be happy that you can RUN!

Race Reports: MB Half Marathon and Sunbelt Meet

It has been a challenge over the last few weeks to fit training and racing into a hectic work schedule, but I made it work without having to sacrifice any major workout session. I competed twice since my last post, once on dry land and once in the pool.

This past weekend I competed in my first road race since turning 40 and the first half marathon since my meniscectomy. The Myrtle Beach Half Marathon falls nicely on the calendar to serve as a fitness indicator race before the Quintiles Marathon (although starting next year it will be two weeks later, and much too close to Quintiles).

Race number

Given I have only hit 60+ miles per week twice, I was not sure how my body would respond, especially after mile 8. The race plan was to start at marathon pace and pick it up after mile 6 or 7. My running buddy Erin was also doing the race, following the same plan. We hooked on to the leading woman in the marathon and her friend around mile 2 and cruised along between 6:40 and 6:45 pace through mile 7. This was a touch faster than we had planned, but it seemed better to run with people, even if it meant pushing it a bit.

I was happy staying with our pack, but Erin made a move at mile 7 (like we were supposed to), so I had to go. We quickly dropped the pace by 10-15 seconds (how Erin was able to do this after being sick all week, I will never know!) We chased teammate Kyle for a few miles and then hung on. At mile 9 I wondered if I had bitten off more than I could chew as my quads began to scream, but I was able to maintain close to 6:30/mile pace for the remainder of the race.

Driving home to the finish

The finish shoot is sooooo long

I finished the race as the 7th woman and 1st master in 1:26:41 (6:37/mile). My splits were as follows:

6:52
6:40
6:39
6:45
6:43
6:42
6:43
6:29
6:27
6:30
6:28
6:38
6:29
:32

Without Limits team members @MB

I am thrilled with my performance. I felt strong and was able to negative split the race. Swimming is certainly helping build my strength and endurance without running high mileage. My knee felt great both during and after the race. Coach Tom scheduled a 20 mile long run the day after the race, which also went well despite the ridiculous wind/cold. All good signs for the marathon. I think a sub-3:05 would be a great performance based upon this half marathon. Not bad for being out of running for three months!

Sweet track I spent 4 of my Sunday 20 mile run

A few weeks ago I swam in my biggest swim meet this year. It was the 41st Annual Sunbelt Swim Meet in Charlotte, NC. Coach Brett has been cutting my yardage back due to work travel and the increase in the running miles as I near the full marathon. My hope was to not slow down in the 50/100/200 yard events and to try out the 500 yard.

The meet went well as I swam personal bests in all four events (the 500 was slow, but it was my first ever...so PR!)

After the marathon is over, I plan to put more focus on the swim and shorter running events through the summer. Perhaps an aquathon or two this summer! I hope to be ready to go after a marathon PR in the fall.

Enjoy the snow,

Training update: On the road to fitness

I am in my 5th month of a training cycle that is very new to me. My partial meniscectomy was in early August and I was allowed to start running mid-September. Given meniscus tears are common among runners, I thought I would update you on how my training post-procedure is going. If you are recovering from a similar procedure, feel free to contact me for more details.

As previous posts have noted, I have gradually increased my running mileage over the past few months. I still hope to be ready to run the Quintiles Marathon March 22 and my workouts are cautiously geared towards that goal. My highest mileage week thus far has been 54 miles; I have had four weeks over 40 miles. For those of you that know my past training, this is about half of where I would be at this point in marathon training. I have "replaced" that running with swimming and have been consistently swimming 20,000-24,000 yards per week since early September. Since I have been competing in a few meets, the swimming has been interval training, with repeats ranging from 25 to 1,000 yards. Just like running, there is a purpose for each session.

So how is this working out? Very well so far. While I am not setting any personal records yet, below are two recent running workouts that made me very happy:

December 30th (Wilmington, NC):
6 x mile with 1:30 rest @ 7:00 (odd on track, even on concrete loop), the first mile broken into 4x400 at pace
I did this workout with the Without Limits group in Wilmington and we were told that we could open it up a bit the last two, but to be mindful of form. We went  1:39-:43 on the first 400s, then 6:48, 6:42, 7:00 (Tom ordered a 7:00), 6:38, 6:10. I felt strong, powerful, and in control of this workout. It is a feeling that I have missed the last few years.

January 4 (Boston, MA):
My second long-run/workout combo of the training cycle. I was in Boston for the ASSA/AEA Annual Meetings and ran on the path following the Charles. A 30:00 warm-up was to be followed by 2 x 10:00 @ 7:00 (4:00 recovery), 2 x 7:00 @ 6:40 (3:00 recovery, 3 x 4:00 fast (2:00 recovery). I ran 6:53-6:56 pace for the 10:00, 6:35 pace for the 7:00 and 6:17-6:24 pace for the fasts. Again, not record breaking, but a breakthrough for me. The run totaled 15 miles.

Thus far, swimming is successfully replacing running in building my strength and endurance. As my mileage and intensity increase in running I need to be mindful of training "smart". While it is exciting to immediately follow a 3,500 yard sprint pool session with a 13 mile run, I cannot do this frequently without over training. I do not know how Ironman athletes do what they do. I have had several poor swim sessions since my mileage has gone over 50 miles, and I believe it is due to poorly timed swim/run sessions. I need to carefully plan each session and eat accordingly.

In sum, I am enjoying this training experiment of one and am getting good results. I will keep you updated as we move towards the marathon. Hopefully I will be ready to toe the line. If not, that is OK too. The most important thing is to be fit, have fun, and do everything that I can to ensure that I can do this for a long time.

See you on the road to fitness,

I'm baaack! Race Report: Wrightsville Beach Turkey Trot

If you know me or read this blog you know that I had a partial meniscectomy in August. This was my first major layoff from running since I started over 20 years ago; counting the injury and recovery, I did not run for three months. Some good things came out of the down time (including rekindling a new love...competitive swimming), but I am glad that it is over.

On Thanksgiving I took the next step in my return to running. I ran a race! I have been back running since mid-September and have done a few tempo runs (around 6:40 pace average) and several hill workouts. My goal for the Wrightsville Beach Turkey Trot 5K were threefold:

1) Start controlled and finish strong
2) Be mentally tough when it starts to hurt (I have been focusing on that with swimming)
3) Enjoy being able to race again

Admittedly, I also had a time goal (sub-20:00) even though Coach Tom Clifford discouraged me from having one.

Thankfully I can report that I did all three (four).

It was a beautiful morning and 2,000 runners came out to participate. I went out in 6:30 pace per mile for the first 800 and picked it up each 800. I was surprised at how my body responded to each drive and it was exciting to finally have control of my body/legs/pace again.

Of course it hurt as races do towards the end, but I was pleased with how I responded mentally and physically. Swimming has clearly helped me in both departments.

I ended up taking the women's title in 18:56. I have not been that thankful after a race in a very long time.

Many people told me that time away from running would end up being a good thing. They were right. I did not enjoy the time, but they were right. The body is an amazing machine and with some hard work it can return better than before after a set-back.

The next four months will be an experiment in combining swimming and running while preparing for a 26.2 mile PR. Less running mileage than before, but I have become a believer that less can be more, especially when some of the pounding is replaced by non-impact aerobic training like swimming.

Be thankful,