Paris Marathon Training

I haven’t written specifically about running lately, and with just under 11 weeks to go until the Paris Marathon, now seems like a good time.

I ran off and on in December, as much as I could considering the amount of travel I did. Strictly speaking, if I was doing a full 18-week training plan I should have begun my training in early December, but I think 18 weeks is a bit too long to be strictly training, especially since I already had a decent base, and I knew I needed to be realistic about how much running I would get in while traveling.

Throughout November and December, I consistently ran 3 to 4 times per week, topping out at 10 miles for my longest runs, and went to yoga about 3 times per week and spin about once a week on the weeks that I was in London, and also tried to keep doing various strength exercises to keep my glutes in line and at least pretend to build up a little core and upper body strength (though to be honest I’m not sure I got anywhere with that).

I am using Hal Higdon’s Marathon Training Program, mostly sticking to his Intermediate 2 Plan but making some variations when needed. I’ve usually used Hal’s plans in the past and been generally pretty happy with them. He calls for five days of running per week, and while I really like to run five or six days per week, I know that ups my risk of injury so I have been doing more like four runs/week, five if I can fit it in.

Up until this week, I was substituting a spin class at BOOM for one short run per week, but my BOOM credits ran out this week and I’m not going to buy more soon, in the interest of saving some money and having more flexibility in my schedule for running and yoga and other activities. I know that spinning is good cross-training, but I’m going to forego that and try to convince myself to do more strength work and NTC workouts at home.

It is really hard to pick a training plan and stick to it, when there are so many options out there and everyone has an opinion. Plus, when you are picking a generic plan off the Internet, you have to know that it is not tailor-made for you and that it’s unrealistic to stick to it perfectly, and yet, I feel like it is still important for me to stick to a plan because I like the structure and accountability that goes with following directions. While I have the experience of several rounds of marathon training over the past few years, I do like to have a set plan since I’m certainly no expert and I don’t want to just wing it.  I also know my risks for injuries if I adhere too strictly to a plan, so I hope I am striking the right balance this time around.

Most importantly, I need to be able to tweak my plan around some work and personal travel that I have planned for February and March.  I always run when I travel, yet there are certain situations about which I need to be realistic.  For instance, a four-day work conference that I know will include 12+ hour days with early starts, in DC in the winter? A 20-mile run simply will not happen that week, and I’d be setting myself up to fail if I even tried to schedule that.

From Hammersmith Bridge

So, I have been officially on the training plan since my first long run back of the new year, right after returning from our Christmas trip.  I met up with some TNR girls for my first group long run, and it was fantastic to get involved with other runners going through the same things I am.  I ran through Green Park and St. James Park to meet the others, then we ran along the Thames from Southbank to Tower Bridge to Westminster, and concluded with brunch.

I’ve done a bunch of other runs alone, including a nice speedy tempo on the river before yoga one Saturday morning, and other mid-week long runs to and around Hyde Park and Battersea Park, and up and down the Thames Path.

Battersea Park

Albert Bridge

This past Sunday, I met some TNR girls for the Run Through Hyde Park 10K and some pre-race miles.  I was nervous about the timing of this because I had to run from my flat to Westminster, then meet some of the group at Southbank, then pick up more along the way, and get to Hyde Park in time to get our numbers and start the race.  Tricky!  Oh and this also was meant to total to 16 miles for me, the longest I have run in over a year, and I was seriously worried about whether I could do it.

Luckily, everything went so smoothly.  I basically broke my run into three parts (solo, with the group, then the race itself) and for each running segment I felt strong.

I ended up doing 16.6 miles altogether and felt great.  It is so nice to meet new friends through running; many of the others did Paris last year and are training for London or other races this year, plus I’ve met a few running Paris this year as well.

stolen from Leah’s instagram

The race itself was great too; I was certainly not aiming for a PB but it was a nice two laps around Hyde Park with a small group of friendly runners, very easy and low-key.  Looking forward to doing another in Greenwich Park in a few weeks time!

stolen from Charlie

So, with 11 weeks to go, I am feeling good.  Nervous about doing 26.2 miles straight through.  I have definitely had some runs where I have not felt great and had to stop and stretch or walk for a bit.  I’m also worried about getting injured, but I’ve been foam rolling all the time and trying to keep up with my PT exercises, and I do think yoga helps as well.

At this point, my main goals are:

1) Get through the whole training cycle without injury and make it to the start,

2) Get through the 26.2 miles and finish happy,

3) Run the entire distance without stopping to walk,

4) Beat my PB of 4:42,

5) Achieve a time in the 4:15 – 4:30 range.

I’ll check in on those time goals as it gets closer, but that seems most realistic for now.  Here’s hoping the next 11 weeks go smoothly!

Sri Chinmoy/Run and Become 10K Race Recap

On Saturday, I decided somewhat on a whim to do a 10K race being held in Battersea Park.  I haven’t been in a race since March, and felt like it would be fun to try my first race in London.  There seem to be lots of races happening here all the time, many of which seem like low-key affairs in parks (I am excited to try out Parkrun).

A 10K race didn’t necessarily fit into my Dublin Marathon training plan, but I’ve been enjoying running so much lately and trying to get faster, so when I came across the Run and Become/Sri Chinmoy/Self-Transcendence series (not really sure what it is called??), I thought I’d give it a go, seeing that it was only 10 GBP and looked easy enough to get there.

I ran 14 miles on Friday morning as my long run of the week, so between that and my IT band acting up, I guessed that this might not be a super fast race for me, but since my last 10K was several years ago, I thought I could at least PR (er, PB as they say in the UK), and get to see what races are like here.

I foam-rolled and stretched like crazy on Friday to try and get as recovered from the 14 miles as I could, and awoke on Saturday with no knee pain.  Yay!  I slipped out early and hopped on a Barclays Cycle Hire (still getting used to not calling it bikeshare) for the ~3 mile ride to Battersea Park.  I have been cycling here at bit, but not as much as I did in DC as I am still trying to learn the roads and get used to being on the left (harder on a bike than you might think).  Also, it seems that drivers here are not as accommodating of pedestrians/cyclists as they are in the States, which is saying something.  So an early Saturday morning ride was a good way to get comfortable cycling without the threats of weekday rush hour traffic.

I loved this ride; crossing Battersea Bridge with no traffic and views of the sunrise over the city was fantastic.  There was no way I could risk getting a photo though!

The race was set up as four loops through the park.  Registering onsite and checking my bag was simple and quick.  There were only about 200 runners so it was a very low-key start which I enjoyed.

I did notice there seemed to be a lot more men than women, at least compared to the ratio I normally saw at US races, and that a number of people were wearing running club uniforms (kits), which was intimidating….seemed like a serious group of fast runners.

I was hoping to maintain a pace of about 8:00 – 8:10/mile, which was ambitious for me but I wanted to push myself.  I was able to keep that pace for the first mile, but my legs felt really heavy and of course my right knee/IT band began to twinge.  I dialed it back for the rest of the run, with all of my later miles in the 8:30 to 8:45 range.  The fact that it was such a small field kept me going because there was no way I wanted to be last.  I mainly focused on tagging runners in front of me to pass or keep up with, and try not to get passed (much).

You could say doing four loops of the same route was boring, but I actually didn’t mind it because after the first loop, I knew what was coming each time and came to expect every turn.  The course marshals were great, cheering for runners and offering encouraging words, and there were cups of water offered on every loop.

I finished in 53.57, slower than I intended but given my dead legs, I was happy with it.  And it was a PB!  My first race in London and altogether it was really well-organized.  There was water, orange squash (juice) and some kind of sports drink offered after, along with bananas and cereal bars, which was nice and unexpected.

I took this photo before the race started….was not dexterous enough to take good photos during the race.

I hung around for a bit watching the other finishers come in and chatting a tiny bit, and then hopped on a cycle home.  A little lonely to not know a single other person at the race, but that will come in time.  Altogether, a great little race and I’d be happy to do more like these again.

London Running so Far

I started off my first morning in London with a run, and I’ve run nearly every morning since.

I live close to the River Thames, and there is a lovely footpath along the river that has been perfect for runs.  I feel so lucky to get to see these views every morning.

I’ve also been using running as a way to explore my part of the city and do some sightseeing.  One of my favorite things about London so far is all the amazing open space and parks and greenery.  On my first week here, I ran across the river to Putney and up to Putney Heath and Wimbledon Heath, and was shocked at how quickly I was in a very woodsy area, complete with trails and dense foliage.

On other days, I’ve done more urban runs, exploring the city streets.  One day I went through Brompton Cemetery, which I love. 

I also had a fantastic run through Wandsworth Park one morning.  I love that the sun comes up so early here and that the weather is warm, but not too hot, and not humid.  And a few days ago I did my longest run yet, 14 miles, and went up to Hyde Park for a few loops and back.  This was fantastic; I couldn’t believe that I really live here, that this is where I can run now. And on Saturday, I ran a 10K race in Battersea Park, which I plan to recap tomorrow.

I’ve been running so much not just because I want to, but because I signed up for the Dublin Marathon at the end of October.  Super excited!  I love marathon training and can’t wait to get back to Ireland.  The last few weeks I was in the U.S. I had to take a bit of a running break because of knee/IT band issues.  Sadly, my knee started to hurt again this week….I really hope that I can get in under control so I can keep running and marathon training.  Luckily, our shipment of furniture, etc from the U.S. arrived this week, so not only do I now have my own couch and pots and pans and some extra clothes, but I have both my foam roller and yoga mat.  I was more excited to unwrap the foam roller than anything; I really hope I can get my IT band back to normal with it.

And on yoga, I’ve found a good yoga studio nearby that I’ve really enjoyed so far.  The classes there are really similar to ones I used to take in DC, so that is comforting, and the studio in a former glass factory is gorgeous.

Here’s hoping running continues to go well over the next ~3 months before the marathon!

Tomorrow I will run a marathon.

Tomorrow morning, I will be running the Marine Corps Marathon. It is all I can think about and I am a bundle of nervous energy. Also tomorrow, I will hit my 1,000th mile run this year; right now I am at 998 miles in 2013.I am so excited and nervous. I’m glad I made it this far. I am so glad I didn’t get injured on this training cycle. I have been running since July, faithfully adhering to Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 2 training plan.

I did base-building in Izmir, Istanbul, Provence, and Paris.I ran in Fort Worth, in Portland (Maine), in San Diego (20 milers on a work trip!), in Santa Fe.I spent Friday nights on the couch in compression socks, eating pasta and drinking Nuun. I woke up at 5am on Saturday mornings to drink black coffee and eat bagel thins with banana slices and honey and salt. I logged hundreds of miles on trails and city blocks around DC, drank gallons of lemon-lime Gatorade, choked down margarita-flavored shot blocks and packets of vanilla Gu. I foam rolled, I did leg lifts, I stretched. I ran 10 miles of hills before work, did pace runs in unfamiliar places early in the morning while on work trips, plotted out routes online and strategized post-run fueling. I went to bed at 9pm and saw many beautiful sunrises. I saw the world before it woke up.

I loved it all and while I’m proud to have gotten through it all and can’t wait to run this race, a part of me is sad. Sad this training cycle is over and summer is turning to winter. Nervous that I have one day to show for it all. Trying to remain calm and trust the training. To enjoy what was an amazing training cycle. 

I have a variety of goals for tomorrow. I want to to have fun, to enjoy it, to not hate myself or hate the marathon at mile 20 or 24. I want to run the whole time, to not hit the wall and have to walk. I want to break four hours, but I also want to know that is a pretty lofty goal, and that 4:05 or 4:15 will be very good, too. I want to break 4:30 for sure. I want to enjoy it and feel good. I want to remember that no one cares about my time, and to not compare myself to others. I want to not go out too fast, to pace myself easy and smooth, to feel good in the final stretch and negative split.

And if nothing else, I want to cross the finish line. No matter what, I KNOW I can do that.

Navy Air Force Half-Marathon Race Recap

Yesterday I ran my eighth half-marathon, the Navy Air Force Half Marathon, which was held here in DC. I finished under two hours, a goal I have been chasing for two years, and PRed by about 10 minutes!

The course was a very familiar one for DC races. It started and ended at the Washington monument and included an out and back along Rock Creek Parkway and a loop around Hains Point. The route was flat and went along roads I’ve run on hundreds of time, so there were no surprises.

The weather was perfect, around 58 degrees at the start. What a beautiful day. I bikeshared down to the start and had no problem docking the bike. I had plenty of time to check my bike helmet and jacket at the bag check, visit the portapotty, and warm up before the start. There were only around 2700 runners, so it was a very low-key start. I love small races.

Andy was coming to watch me later so he arrived separately and had time to walk around the monuments in the empty early morning and get some great photos.

Meanwhile, I hit my first mile around 8:50 and just kept on from there. I really, really wanted to go sub-2 and I knew I had it in me, but I didn’t think it would happen yesterday. My average training paces are usually in the 9s, with some miles here and there below 9. I knew I would have to average 9:04 to get a 1:59 finish time, and I didn’t think I had the training to pull that off. I decided to just get out there and see how I felt, and not let myself get upset if I didn’t get my sub-2.

But the first miles felt effortless. I saw the numbers on my Garmin and was surprised to be consistently under 9, but I wasn’t breathing hard and it felt fine – felt good, in fact. I went across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, and the field of runners was so small that the leaders hadn’t even started to turn back yet. I’ve never had that happen in a race.

Down Rock Creek Parkway and back, still feeling good. Beautiful morning. I sipped on my half-Gatorade/half-water from my handheld bottle and ignored the water stops. I had a plain Gu between miles 6 and 7. I didn’t listen to music for the first 10 miles or so, but kept checking in with my watch and asking myself how I felt. The numbers on my watch bounced between the low 8s and low 9s. I played games by picking out people to pass and that kept me focused and kept my speed up.

I knew I would see Andy on Ohio Drive so I kept watching for him. It was a small race with few spectators, so I spotted him before he spotted me. I was feeling so good and wanted to tell him that, but didn’t want to stop!

After that it was on to Hains Point, which is long and boring, but I’ve done it so many times that I knew I could handle it. I switched on my iPod and kept telling myself, don’t stop now, you’ve got this. I was so excited and knew I was going to get below 2, but didn’t want to lose it in the last few miles. I kept an eye on my watch, calculated the miles and pace, and kept picking people off. The last few miles were tough and I felt my body tightening up/wanted to throw up, but I refused to give up. I was so determined to finish strong.

And I did! My official finishing time was 1:56:28, for an average pace of 8:54. My Garmin had me at 13.2 miles for an average pace of 8:49. My splits were remarkably consistent, something I normally am terrible about. This is almost 10 minutes faster than the Rock N Roll Half I did six months ago!

I was over the moon. I felt on top of the world. Right after the race, some guy told me I was his pacer for the last few miles. What? Me? That has never happened.

I collected my finisher coin, found Andy, and got out of there. All weekend, I have been floating on air.

And of course, all I want to know is what does this mean for the Marine Corps Marathon? After all, that is my goal race. According to the McMillan calculator, a 1:56 half time predicts a 4:04 marathon time, or 9:20 pace. REALLY? I know I could not maintain yesterday’s pace for 26 miles; by miles 11/12, I was feeling it. Could I maintain 9:20? Could I go sub-4? I really want to, and realistically, I am probably not there this fall…but soon, I am. I know I can.

In the mean time, I am trying to believe I really pulled off this 1:56.