Finishing time: 3:30:09

This race was, in a nutshell, weird for me. I went into it feeling like I could either run a 3:20 or a 3:45 - and not at all sure where in that range I would fall. After a frustrating training cycle, with disappointing long runs, I really didn't know what to expect. That, combined with two disappointing races (Jackson Half + the Ridge Run), I was half expecting to have another terrible experience with all of my muscles burning enough to make me quit. With the exception of a little mishap at mile 14 (read on), and a consequent slowing of my pace, I was feeling awesome! I think I SHOULD have run a 3:24!

The Course

The course was BEAUTIFUL! The race is coined the "Most Beautiful Urban Marathon" - and it certainly is amazing! You start at the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis, run through the streets of downtown and the up into beautiful neighborhoods. In Minneapolis you wind around several lakes, past some incredible houses, all the while surrounded by greenery and trees beginning to turn yellow, orange, and red. Really, it was perfect! Once you cross the bridge into St. Paul you run along the river, then turn up the hill towards/past Macalester College, down to the capital in St. Paul. The first half is semi-flat, with a few decent hills, then the second half introduces some pretty daunting hills (at least for me!). The whole course was lined with fans, hilarious signs, bands, blaring music, etc. It was certainly entertaining!

The weather, for the entire weekend, was forecasted as being especially rainy and cold. It was pretty wet Friday and Saturday, but Sunday we woke to clear, sunny skies! It was still a bit chilly, but overall it was perfect. I started the race with arm warmers and gloves, planning on ditching both. I ditched the gloves around mile 6, and almost ditched the arm warmers at mile 18, but then the clouds started to roll in and I was glad to keep them on. At mile 25 it began to sprinkle ever so slightly, not picking up until I was done and gone! Perfect racing weather, if you ask me!

We arrived in Minnesota on Thursday night, and spent the weekend with friends in St. Paul. For the most part, we took it pretty easy. We did a short run Friday to preview most of the hill between miles 21 and 23, then did a bunch of (easy) site-seeing. We went to the expo on Friday - which was huge and full of goodies to buy - in order to leave Saturday free to rest and not worry.

Unfortunately, I spent a lot of Saturday with a terrible belly-ache. I half attribute it to the juicy lucy and fried cheese curds, all of which were delicious, we ate Friday night... I'm not sure if I really can put the blame there, but I was REALLY uncomfortable. It mostly subsided by Saturday evening, when we went to another friends' house for a pasta dinner.

After a semi-restful night of sleep, I woke up Sunday feeling pretty good. I ate some oatmeal, drank some tea, got ready, and headed to the start. In the hour leading up to the start I sipped on gatorade and at a few shot-blocks (a change - usually I just eat a gel 10 minutes before the start). After a short jog to warm up, I found my spot in corral 1 and waited for the gun! I was incredibly nervous, and honestly felt like I was in the wrong spot: did I even train for this? Yes, yes I did. Calm down!

Video from mile 25:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jHFFpQs3no

I positioned myself between the 3:25 and the 3:35 pacers, aiming to start with the 3:30-hopefuls at an 8-minute pace. My Garmin wasn't super happy running through the city, and was thrown off by bridges, etc. so I couldn't really rely on it for the first mile. I thought I was going easy, but Garmin says I did a 7:29. I took miles 2 and 3 easy, as well, and my chip says I did the first 5k (3.1 miles) averaging 8:05 - slower than I'd planned, but totally ok with me.

Miles 4-10 felt easy to me, but I was averaging 7:38 - which I felt guilty about. I slowed it down a little bit at mile 10, aiming for 7:50-7:55 pace. I was feeling awesome! I was pretty sure I could keep averaging around 7:45 pace, and wasn't feeling fatigued at all when I hit the half-marathon mark. At this point my Garmin already said I had run an extra .2 miles (apparently not cutting the tangents as well as I thought...), so while the chip time says I did a 1:42:43 half-marathon, my Garmin said I hit 13.1 closer to 1:41! Sweet!

Then at mile 14, all of a sudden, I knew I had to stop. I knew I was about to throw up, and that there was no stopping it. I pulled off the course onto the grass, threw up a bit, walked for 10 feet, pulled off and threw up some more, then got right back on the course and started running. Of course this happened while friends of Derek were standing right across the street to cheer - good timing! Luckily, the only thing that came up was a lot of gatorade - did I drink too much before the race? Wouldn't I have just had to stop for the bathroom? I still don't know WHY it happened (and it's not the first time), but I'm pretty sure it's not from over-exertion. I wasn't struggling at all, physically, I just HAD to get it out of my stomach.

At that point, I was pretty worried. I was running again, but had wasted 90 seconds and was nervous that I'd start to feel weak and have to drop out. I consciously slowed down and told myself not to worry about pace: just run as fast as feels smart, and don't look at your watch. I ended up averaging 8:12 until mile 21, not as fast as I'd planned, but good enough given the circumstances. I, thankfully, didn't feel that much weaker. There was definitely a difference, but I was afraid my pace would drop significantly out of my control. I ate less than planned, as it was nauseating to try and eat gels, but enough to keep some fuel in my body. I'd planned to eat a gel at 4, 8, 12, 17, and 22. I ended up eating at 4, 8, 14.5 (after the "situation"), 19, and 24 - the last three being hard to get down, taken in very small doses, and probably only actually eating ¾ of each gel.

The hills, all along the course and specifically after mile 20, were really hard for me. I slowed significantly on the big climb between miles 21 and 23, averaging 8:23 for miles 21-24. One foot in front of the other! After the big hill, it mostly flattens out (there are a few more little inclines), and I tried to pick up the pace - mostly unsuccessfully.

When I hit mile 25, and actually looked at the clock, I knew I'd have to run REALLY fast to PR. I turned it up as much as I could, and actually averaged 6:47 for the last half mile (which was the most significant downhill, so it was easier), but didn't quite shave those 17 seconds I needed for a PR! Dangit!

I'm on the fence between being disappointed and being content with my performance. I would have really liked to PR, and am confident I would have easily run a sub 3:25 had my mile-14 situation not occurred - but mile 14 DID occur, and there's nothing I can do to change that! Even if my pace had dropped exactly the same, eliminating the 90-second stop would have given me a minute+ PR - and I'm 100% sure my pace would have been faster the rest of the time. I'm pretty frustrated by that.

The silver lining is that I still qualified for Boston 2015 - which was the entire point of doing this race, anyways. It would have been nice to be sub 3:30 so I could register earlier than most people, and be almost-guaranteed to get accepted, but hopefully I'll be safe with this time anyways. The cut-off for Boston 2014 ended up being around 1 minute 40 seconds under BQ time - so my 3:30:09 still gives me a few minutes wiggle room. Fingers crossed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sCydCOQrd8&feature=youtu.be

Part of me really wants to sign up for another race just to get that huge PR I'm sure my legs are capable of, but the other part of me feels really done with running. I wasn't all that excited going into this race, and am frankly not sure that I enjoy running enough to keep doing marathons. I'll do Boston, for the experience, but that might be it! Maybe that will change in a few months, and I'll find a race I'm excited to train for - but don't hold your breath.

As usual, Derek was an amazing super-fan husband! He spent the week before the race pumping me up, talking race-details, encouraging me, and believing in me WAY more than I believed in myself. He got up early (which is no small task for him) to drive me to the start, then met me at miles 2, 7, 17, 22, 25, and the finish - all with a smile, encouraging words, gels, gatorade, and anything I could possibly need. I'm incredibly grateful for his support, along with the rest of our family, before, during, and after the race!

If you want more details, here are some numbers, video, and pictures!

The post Race Report: Twin Cities Marathon is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

[For information on how to track me during the race, read the very bottom of this post!]

I've been dilly-dallying on writing any posts about Twin Cities next week, mostly because I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it. I've felt a bit behind the ball in my training, the ENTIRE TIME, and therefore come into race week completely unsure of what to expect. On one hand, I could have a fabulous race, PR by a few minutes, and feel awesome about it. On the other hand, I could have a repeat of Jackson and feel like my muscles are going to explode three miles in. I'm hoping for the first scenario.

Overall, I shouldn't complain too much about my training. My normal runs have been fine, my speedwork has been exceptionally fast and easy (well, maybe not "easy" but certainly manageable), but my long runs have all been VERY slow. Like, at least a minute slower PER MILE than I would like. I'm not sure what that's about, but it's been worrying me since last time I had so so so many fast-finish long runs. I didn't have a single one this round, because I just couldn't pick up the pace!

All of these factors leave me feeling physically unsure of how I'll do, but mentally really wobbly. I was really confident before Napa, because I'd proven to myself that I could RUN, and keep running, and do it FAST. I haven't really proven that to myself this time, and find myself seriously doubting my capabilities this time around.

That said, I'm going into the race as if I AM prepared to PR, and my race-plan will reflect that. Of course, I'll have to assess how I'm feeling as I begin running - perhaps slowing down, or maybe speeding up (!) depending on which pair of legs show up on Sunday. Let's hope the fast ones decide to make an appearance!

My taper (ha!) has been going ok. I've been admittedly lazy, more on the "resting" than the "running" side of things. We spent the weekend in Jackson, WY for a wedding and I was just too darn exhausted to do my 8-miler this weekend. Two nights of dancing left my legs tired and sore, though! (Does that mean I'm getting old and not dancing enough? Let's not go there.)

This week I have a few 4-milers, one last quick speed workout (2x1600), and I'll do an easy shake-out run Saturday with a few quick bursts to get my legs moving. The weather here has been pretty relentlessly windy and rainy, which makes it really unappealing to go outside - even if just for a 5 minute walk to the gym. Excuses, excuses.

I've been reading a lot of other blogger accounts of the TC Marathon from previous years - they all make it sounds scary hilly. Ugh. You can see from the course profile that it isn't THAT hilly, but there are a few hills (notably, miles 21-23) I'll definitely need to be prepared for. The sudden dip at mile 19 is actually not there - that's silly Google maps going down to the river instead of over the bridge (where I'll actually be).

Race Plan

I'm tentatively planning on a 7:45 pace. I might make that 7:50, and really only need a 7:58 to PR, but I like the sound of 7:45 so we'll stick with that for now.

• Miles 1-2: Start slow, 8:00 pace.
• Miles 3-13: Speed up and average 7:45 pace.
• Mile 14: Taz says this could be a slow one - try to keep it below 7:55.
• Miles 15-20: Let 'er rip! If I'm feeling good, I'll perhaps speed up a tad (7:40 pace), otherwise try to hold steady.
• Miles 21-23: Try not to die. If I slow down to 8-minute-miles for these (especially 22&23) I'll be fine with that. This is the most significant hill, and I don't want to totally bonk.
• Miles 24-26.2:SPRINT. Not literally. These are downhill, and hopefully I'll feel fresh enough to make up the time lost on the hill in the previous miles. I plan to give these last 3.2 miles everything I have!

I remember crossing the line at Napa and not feeling that awful - this might sound strange, but I'd like to feel a bit worse when I cross the TC finish. By that I mean that I'd like to feel like I really gave it everything I had, and couldn't have possibly gone any faster. Those last three miles of gradual downhill should give me a good opportunity to open up and fly towards the finish, legs permitting.

Seeing as this is much bigger marathon than Napa, I think I'll have to rely more on aid stations for hydration than on Derek (like I did last time). We will still map out various spots for him to meet me, but I don't anticipate it being as easy to rendezvous as it was in California. That's probably fine - I can drink from the aid stations - but it was so nice to have a personal bottle handed to me every few miles! Oh well, I'll get over it.

The weather is supposed to be perfect - no rain on Sunday, high in the mid 60s and low in the mid 40s... I think it will be a beautiful fall day for some running! I'm really excited to see the Twin Cities, and Derek is super excited to show me all of his favorite things out there. Hopefully I'll have good news to report before noon (central time) on Sunday!

How to Stalk Me

If you're interested in stalking me on Sunday, you can definitely do so! THIS LINK should take you to the Mtrack portal for the Twin Cities Marathon (it won't work until this weekend). Either enter my name (Mary LOUDERMILK), or my bib number (3146), and you should be able to see me progress along the course. If I'm past the halfway mark by 1:42 (chip time), you know I'm probably feeling pretty good... and have just set a half-marathon PR for myself. Ha!

If you want to receive text message updates, go to this link and follow the directions. You'll have to search for me, sign up, and follow the directions. I'm not sure how often if will update you, but I presume every couple of miles (they have a lot of check points during the race).

The post ONE WEEK Until the Twin Cities Marathon is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

If you remember my plan, I was supposed to work hard up until today(ish), then take half of a rest week (including this coming weekend). I did REALLY well, until last Wednesday, then totally fell off the wagon. Life got in the way and I ended up taking Wednesday off, then not doing my long run. Oopsies. Instead of getting incredibly down about it (ok, I got somewhat disappointed with myself), I decided I'd just switch weeks. So, my "rest week" is done, and this week I'm working hard.

This week, so far, has been going really well! I did 10 quick miles on Monday (progressing to 7:30 pace, averaging 8:10), as I've clearly established in this training cycle that I have a good base and need to work on speed. Today I did YASSOS! I haven't done them in a long time, and while some people aren't believers, I'm a dedicated believer: I was 100% spot on for Napa based on my yasso workouts.

What is a yasso? Yasso 800s are a workout Bart Yasso is credited for as a predictor of marathon time. The theory is that if you want to run a four-hour marathon, you should be able to do 10x800 meters, with 400 meters between each, in four minutes. That means the 800 meters takes you four minutes, and the 400 meters "rest" takes you four minutes. If you can keep it up through all ten, you *should* be able to do a 4 hour marathon! Of course, you need to have your other training (long runs, etc.) backing you up.

For Napa I did my yassos at a 3:30 pace (overshooting for my 3:34 goal), and ended up finishing just seven seconds faster than 3:30... pretty darn close, if you ask me! This time, I'm still waffling on my goals, but I figure aiming for 3:20 will give me a good buffer to PR (9 minutes? Yeah, I should be able to get somewhere between 3:20 and 3:29...). I set out to do my Yassos at 3:20 pace today, unsure after my hard 10 on Monday and a tough day of yoga yesterday - but aced it! I was happy to finish successfully (although with very tired legs!). My mental confidence could use a boost right now, since my physical preparation hasn't been quite as extensive as it was for Napa.

Leading up to Napa I was SURE I could meet my goal (mostly sure), because I'd been doing 16 and 18-mile runs for MONTHS leading up to the race. For Twin Cities, I'm just barely getting my mileage up there. I did my 16-miler three weeks ago, then an 18-miler, and this weekend will be a 20-miler. Next weekend might also be a 20-miler, but might be a shorter/faster 16ish. We'll see.

From here on out, I am focusing more on speed. Most runs, even easy runs, will include a few miles at race pace. I need to get used to running sub-8-minute miles. It still feels like a stretch right now to string more than a few together. I'm moving more into figuring out race planning - tentatively aiming for 7:45 pace. That sounds ridiculously fast to me, but I keep remembering it's only 15 seconds (per mile) faster than last time... OK that still sounds like a lot. YIKES.

My last two long runs have been doable, but slow. Strangely enough, I haven't been tired after them (like, at all), which I think indicates I need to be going FASTER. For some reason my legs just don't want to, but they feel like they could keep going all day. Hence the focus on speed now - hopefully my long runs this and next weekends will be faster (even finishing at race pace).

That's all for now! I'll put together a post about the course next week - the HILLS are intimidating me!

The post Four Weeks Until The Twin Cities Marathon is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

With Twin Cities 6 weeks away, I'm feeling a bit behind the ball. At this point in training for Napa I had already done multiple 16 and 18-mile runs, fast finish runs, and plenty of speedwork. I've basically been doing none of that this summer. Luckily, I think the quasi-training I did for the Ridge Run finally put me back in a comfortable aerobic zone: I just need to work on speed to actually PR at Twin Cities.

[Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post! Check out this photo of the Twin Cities finish! Awesome!]

In a (not so) funny little training quirk, I finally snapped back the week after the Ridge Run. Why couldn't that have happened a week earlier!? Ugh. I think the long effort, followed by a good rest week, pushed me back up to where I need to be to actually train seriously. How can I tell? Well, sorry to be gross, but my veins are huge: this is my indicator of fitness. Yes, weird, I know. But when I'm in shape, I can tell by my veins in my legs and arms! They're here (gross), so apparently so are my running legs.

In my post about training for marathon #2 I highlighted five things I'd be doing more of in preparation for Twin Cities:

1. More days running each week
2. More cross training
3. More strength and core work
4. More injury prevention
5. Try something new like Tennis Lessons or swimming to prevent too much repetition
6. Better recovery

For the most part, I'm doing quite well on these. I'm running just as much as I did last training cycle, but not skipping days, and have added two days of cycling (cross training!) each week for more aerobic work. I'm doing a lot more yoga than I did all winter, so strength and core are definitely better (I could/should do some more focused core work, though). I consider yoga to be somewhat of an injury prevention technique, but what I MEANT by that was to be rolling out more. I haven't been doing that at all; however, I didn't actually NEED to do it before Napa until I'd been really training for 4 months already. With 6 weeks, I might not actually get to that point! Recovery is also on the up - I actually won a huge container of Recoverite, which I used to think was silly, but I've been drinking it after hard runs and I think it's probably a good thing. Better than not eating anything (but cheez-its) to replenish the muscles.

The following is my (pseudo) training plan for the next six weeks. Mile repeats might be replaced by Yassos, and track workout and tempo runs might be switched sometimes, but I do try to get a good combination of both. I've been thinking about doing long runs on Fridays so I can actually enjoy a good bike ride on Sundays, but we'll see how that goes. If I do long runs Saturdays I can do two speed workouts (tues/thurs) in a week, which I think is pretty beneficial at this point.

You can see the second half of week 4 (as the weeks count DOWN to race day) is easy: I don't have time to do a full 3:1 work:rest week situation, so I'm abbreviating my rest to four days, then another hard week and a half before really tapering. Hopefully that's enough of a taper, and enough hard work. We'll see how that plays out...

My biggest challenge at this point is the weather: I am TERRIBLE at running in the heat. I don't wake up early, so I have to wait until the evening, which is problematic if I'm doing anything social, or get lazy. I'm feeling enough pressure that laziness hasn't really been a problem, so I don't mind doing my runs in the evening, but with the sun setting earlier and earlier I can't fit in my LONG runs in the evenings. Last weekend I did my first long run (16 miles) and didn't get out the door until 10 am: big mistake. I was SO HOT the entire time, and even running with my hydration pack (NERD!), I was not comfortable at all. I drank nearly the entire thing, and would have been much better off running at 6 am to beat the heat. Lesson learned. Next weekend, I'll be an early riser (I hope).

I'm trying to keep high hopes for the race, but also feeling like I'm too far behind to realistically PR (especially not by 5 minutes). I'm curious to see how this week and next go - I'm still feeling slow, but like I could ramp it up pretty quick. Stay tuned!

The post 6 Weeks until the Twin Cities Marathon is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

It was RIDICULOUSLY HARD.

Luckily, I went into this race with little expectations for myself personally. I KNEW I was bad (am bad) at uphills, and this course has a lot of uphill. Well, I was right! The day in a nutshell is: I was passed by everyone on the ups, and passed most of them on the flats and downs, but not by enough to really matter. Meh.

Derek and I drove up to Fairy Lake, where the race starts, last night to camp. The road up there is awful, and we knew our morning would be much more relaxed if we just slept at the start. It was great to spend a night in the woods, and not have to get up until almost six am, opposed to four! This race is divided into five (or six?) waves, starting five minutes apart from each other. Based on my marathon time, they seeded me in the second wave - predicting a 4:45 finish according to their calculations [which, thankfully, I have heard are totally inaccurate. I was a bit discouraged to know I was so much slower than my "predicted" time!]. I definitely should NOT have been in the second wave, as I'm pretty such the entire third wave and possibly much of the fourth passed me in the first three miles. Oh well!

The first 2.3 miles go up to the peak of Sacajawea, at 9,650 ft (Fairly Lake is below 7,000 ft). Literally, from the get-go, my legs were BURNING. I just can't handle uphills! I thought I was going to vomit the entire 2.3 miles up to the peak. I got to the top in 53 minutes [for comparison, the winner did this in NINETEEN MINUTES! How is that even possible!?], and had planned on eating at 40 minutes, but had felt too sick to do so. I made myself stop for a minute and eat a few blocks at the peak, before heading down. This was the most frustrating part - it's the sketchiest bit of trail (REALLY steep, slippery, slidey, scree fields), and it was impossible to pass for a bit. I was going MUCH slower than I wanted to be, in a big pack of 20 or so people. We finally reached a point where I thought "Now or never!" since the ground was temporarily a bit slab of rock (kind of). I stepped out of line and bolted around the pack, to a variety of cheers and "Look at her go!" calls. Ha! If only they knew they'd catch me pretty darn soon...

The next few miles are the nicest (after getting off of Sac), flattest, and fastest. I actually logged a 9-minute mile! There are about 3 miles of gentle trail, but part of it climbs a fair bit, going towards Ross Pass. Derek was there to cheer me on at Ross Pass, barely! He had to drive down the sketchy road from the beginning, up another sketchy road, then mountain bike up a VERY steep trail to see me. What a guy! I threw him my arm warmers and gloves at that point (which I'd been very happy to have going up Sac).

After Ross Pass is the steepest part of the run - going back up to the ridge. I think it's something like 1,400 feet of elevation gain in about a mile. OUCH. I trucked along, very slowly, still trying to make myself eat when I could. Going up was always too hard, so I usually had to eat on the downhills... which was also not ideal.

The next 8 miles, until Baldy, were just plain hard. Despite the course "leveling out" a bit (um, it actually doesn't at all, it's just more "rolling"), I still struggled a lot. I was totally fine on flats and downhills, passing people right and left, but as soon as there was the slightest incline, my pace dropped dramatically. It's actually quite frustrating. It's like I have a max-speed for going uphill, and it feels RIDICULOUSLY hard no matter how much I try! Being passed by 70-year-old women (go, girl!) is a little bit discouraging. No joke, I finished 8 minutes behind a 70-year-old woman. Granted, she probably weighs half of what I do (my ultimate excuse for being slow on hills), but still... I should be better at this!

Baldy is the last major milestone, and marks the beginning of the end of the course. It's about 4.5 miles from the finish, but also represents the end of any major uphills. There are still a fit little hills, but for the most part it's just straight down. Anyways - the 4 miles BEFORE Baldy were absolutely the worst for me. I think I was really close to bonking, almost losing it, and really had to give myself a talking-to "Mary: YOU HAVE TO EAT. I know you don't want to, but you HAVE TO" to get myself to choke down some blocks. Blech. I was not in the mood to eat at ALL, but when you're out busting your buns for 6 hours, you really have to. I basically gave up in those few miles. I was pretty miserable, knew I was not going very fast, ready to throw myself of the edge of the mountain (ok not really), and mentally just needed to get to Baldy to put in any effort. My slowest mile was during this period, and took me almost 30 minutes.

Luckily, I made it to Baldy! My friend Kim was there with super encouraging words (and water! and pickles! which I actually ate!), and I took a minute to actually sit down and rest. I've been up Baldy before, so I knew what to expect from that point on. I knew I could rock the downhills, and that I was REALLY close. 4.5 miles might not seem that close, but when it's (mostly) downhill, it was really encouraging.

I passed more people in the final descent than I imagined possible - many that had passed me on a climb HOURS earlier. My legs were definitely tired, but downhill is my strongpoint. I just kept going, quick feet, all the way down. Frankly, I just wanted to be DONE. At the finish, one of the guys who had passed me hours earlier, said "I was surprised to see you pass me, and you made me look like I was STANDING STILL with how fast you were going!" Well, I suppose I know what I'm good at.

I ended up finishing in 5:54, a far cry from what I thought I *might* do, but totally acceptable in my mind. I could have trained a lot harder, but honestly I think it was mostly just about the experience. I've done the Ridge Run, and never want to do it again! Most people seem to do it over and over, trying to PR, and I honestly have no desire to even think about that. I've learned that runs with a lot of climbing are REALLY not what I'm built for. At all. Why suffer through that? I can rock a flat or downhill race, and that makes me MUCH happier. No need to suffer.

I've spent the last three months trying to find the right trail shoes, unsuccessfully. I tried a few different brands, then decided to go with what I knew worked for the road: Newtons. I ordered a pair of their trail shoes, and after 20 miles I broke them, and knew they just weren't working for my feet. Luckily the people at Newton are AWESOME and sent me a pair of their Gravity shoes. They're essentially the same as my road shoes, only with rubber on the sole of the heel (my road shoes don't have any rubber on the heel, as they're not supposed to touch the ground!). I ended up running in my new Newton's, and was really happy with them. Even though they're not trail shoes, they worked perfectly for me!

While I was physically pretty miserable most of the time, I was really glad to discover that the runners were all incredibly nice! There was a lot of camaraderie, encouraging cheering among runners, and polite stepping-out-of-the-way to let people pass. Since I did a lot of leap-frogging (being passed on the ups, and passing on the downs), it was nice to have people who were courteous and fun to see again. We'd joke that we'd see each other on the next hill!

The weather was mostly great - perfectly cool most of the day, 5 minutes of barely sprinkling rain, and then pretty darn hot at the finish. The last few miles the bottoms of my feet were BURINING from friction, and increased temperature in general. By the time I crossed the finish line I was in serious need of shade. It was HOT.

One nifty thing we tried out for this race was using my phone to track me! We downloaded the app Life360, and my Mom and Derek both joined my "group" so they could see where I was at various points along the way! The ridge has service for most of the run, so they could see me moving along the ridge, and would have known if I'd stopped at any point for a significant chunk of time. I did send two texts during the race (weird), during the dark points before Baldy. One to Derek said "I'm dying." and one to Mom simply saying, "Dying." I'm not dramatic at all, am I? Ha. They both replied with encouraging words! How could I text during a race, you might ask? Well, at that point I was alone and going 2 miles per hour... so it was pretty easy to send a quick dramatic death warning.

Luckily, Derek proved (once again!) to be a wonderful soigneur. He brought me a cold Izze, cold/wet washcloth, flippy-floppies, and a smoothie. Perfect! We hung out at the end for a bit, waiting for friends to finish, then came home for a long nap (which I couldn't actually fall asleep for), and then headed to the post-race pizza party. After not being able to eat all day, I was glad to finally chow down on some pizza!

The post Bridger Ridge Run: Race Report is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

As soon as I crossed the finish line at the Napa Valley Marathon, I knew I could run my next marathon faster. As weird as it sounds, the race had felt strangely easy - only requiring mental focus and a bit of digging in the last two miles. Doesn't that mean I should be able to run faster? I certainly think so. After taking two months COMPLETELY off (poor decision), and another two of lazy semi-activity (another poor decision), I'm jumping quickly back into marathon training in combination with training for the Ridge Run.

While I'm excited to do the Ridge Run, I don't feel a lot of pressure for it. It's an incredibly technical and vertical race, meaning I'm going to be slow no matter what. Seeing as it's my first time running it, I don't have a real time goal - I'll be happy to finish. The marathon, on the other hand, carries a lot of (self-imposed) pressure. I'm running it mostly to qualify for Boston 2015, so I have to get below 3:34:59; however, I know I'm the kind of person that will be disappointed if I don't PR. Seeing as I felt I could have run Napa faster, I don't see any reason I can't shave a few minutes off of my time. In fact, I think I'll set my official Twin Cities Marathon goal right now: I want to finish faster than 3:25. Taking five minutes off of my time seems lofty to me, but I also think I really can do it.

If I want to PR (I do!!), I'm going to need to step up my training to be smarter. Here are five things I'll be doing in preparation for Marathon #2: Five Tips for Better Training.

1. More days running each week. I don't necessarily mean more volume, but during my last training cycle I was only running four days each week (and honestly skipping some, so probably doing more like 3 most weeks). Those runs were really long - usually between 8 and 11 miles - and I think wore me out a bit towards the end of training. This time, I'm going to run five days per week, spreading the mileage out a bit more. I don't think my mid-week training runs need to be over 8 or 9 miles during the peak of my training.
2. More cross training. I focused almost exclusively on running before Napa. I rode my bike a few times, did a tiny bit of yoga, and skate skied (more than anything else) - but once the marathon was within sight (6-8 weeks away), I pretty much abandoned all cross training and just ran. I think this hurt me in the long run, and upped the chance of injury. This time, I plan to ride my bike twice each week, at least. The low-impact nature of cycling will be a great way for me to strengthen my legs and get an aerobic workout without putting my body through so much pounding.
3. Strength and Core. I literally did none of this last time. No core, no strength, nothing. I took such a long break from yoga, too, that I was too weak to do it without getting sore. I tried to start again in the middle of training, but my runs were impacted by my tired yoga muscles, so I stopped. This time, I'm already starting out ahead. I've been doing more core work, yoga, and general strength training (lunges, squats, plyometrics, etc.) in the last month, and should be able to continue doing so throughout training. I know if I keep doing it, I won't be devastatingly sore and impact my runs like last time. Hopefully having a stronger core will be helpful for a faster and sustainable pace.
4. Injury Prevention. I wasn't injured after training for Napa, but I did have some seriously tight IT bands that were uncomfortable at times. Rolling out on the foam roller is pretty much the last thing I ever want to do, but I know it is not only beneficial for my running, but it will get easier with continued use. I plan to roll out regularly (at least three times per week), so that once I am deep into the training routine, I won't all of a sudden be tight and need help. As silly as it sounds, I couldn't roll out when I was training for Napa (in the last few weeks when I was really feeling like I needed to) because it made my arms too tired! I had zero upper body strength, and rolling out used my arms enough to make them sore, tired, and heavy when I ran. I felt like a total idiot, but I didn't know a way around it. This time, rolling out regularly, my arms will be used to it and not feel like it's a workout.
5. Recovery. I wasn't terrible at this last time, but I know I could improve. I don't like to eat after my long runs, and I know I should - it'll help me recover faster. Eating in general could be improved - more thought to what I'm eating before and after runs, as well as making sure I'm fueling myself properly the entire week. Sometimes I forget and subsist on cookies and cheese. Delicious, but not balanced. I'm a decent sleeper, but can definitely pay attention to getting as much as I need. Stretching and rolling out fall under this category too - so being more vigilant there will definitely benefit my recovery.

One of the most helpful things I did in training for Napa was to obsess over the course and my race plan, and to visualize how I'd execute it. This is not for everyone, some people don't care or don't need to, but I know it works for me. I like to know every last detail about the course, have a very established plan for how I'll approach it, and then I like to visualize actually doing it. I ran the Napa course SO many times in my head before ever setting foot in Napa, I felt how fresh my legs would feel at mile 22, how the pace would feel easy, and how I'd finish those last few miles on pace, even if it was hard I visualized it being totally doable. It was! I'm now a pretty big believer in visualizing, especially since I have very rigid goals.

As far as actual training goes, I think the most helpful workouts I did last time were my fast-finish long runs and the Yasso 800s. Both of these workouts have my legs moving quickly - something I think helped me keep a good pace on race day - but also make me run fast when I'm tired. Not only were they great physically, but my confidence went through the roof when I successfully finished them. The mental game really shouldn't be overlooked, so these two workouts are my staples.

I kicked off training with a tempo run Tuesday - my first in at least 5 months. I went into it with very low expectations, and came out of it pleasantly surprised. Granted, it was shorter than it should be at this point (3 miles at tempo instead of 5), but much faster than I had planned. I'll take that as a sign that I'm in better shape than I think, and to forge ahead with training! I'll get into serious marathon updates after the Ridge Run (and the WEDDING!), since the next 4.5 weeks will be a hodgepodge of Ridge Training, travel, and wedding stuff. After that, we'll have 7 weeks of training before the marathon, and I'll keep you updated on everything! Hopefully we keep all 10 (well, 9.5 now) toenails this time!

The post Marathon #2: Five Tips for Better Training is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

Right now, my focus is the Bridger Ridge Run. AKA "America's Most Rugged Trail Run." AKA perhaps the death of me. Check out this sweet old school video (can I say that about 2003?) to get an idea of what it's like:

Bridger Ridge Run 2003 from Bridger Ridge Run on Vimeo.

If you want to check out more info on the ridge run, here is the official Bridger Ridge Run page, and here is a blog all about the run.

The ridge run is a lottery to get in, so I entered in June figuring I'd regret it if I didn't, and perhaps wouldn't even get in. Well, I got in. I have to do it now! It's about 20 miles (there are various places to lengthen it, should you get lost), with 6,800 ft of climbing and 9,500 feet of descending. Ouch. On top of all that, it's a really technical run! I'm seriously considering wearing bike gloves to protect my palms from the rocks - at some places you need to climb up over big boulders (nothing needing a rope).

I had never done any of the course until this weekend, when I decided I really need to get training. I only have 5 weeks, and I know I'm still grossly out of shape! Saturday we started at Fairy Lake, where the race starts, and did the course to about the halfway point (Bridger). At Bridger (which is our local ski area), we descended the ridge and hiked down to our shuttle car. All in all, it was probably a 12 mile day. Doing that hike (we didn't push it, so didn't run very much) made me realize this race is going to be 1) incredibly hard, 2) very technical, 3) not something I feel the need to be competitive about. I'll still go as hard as I can, but just finishing this beast will be a feat in and of itself.

Sunday, since I'm a crazy person, we hiked up from the other side of the course. This means starting at the "M" trailhead and going up the ridge backwards. We went up to Baldy (4 or 4.5 miles), then turned around and ran down. It was exhausting, but definitely good for me. I need to do a lot of downhill running (STEEP) to get my quads used to it. Uphills will be slow no matter what, but I can keep going if need be. Once your quads are shot from going downhill, it's really hard to keep going.

I also need to practice downhill running to gain confidence (and skill) for the loose trail. I'm really confident in my technical downhill running skills (I leave Derek in the dust all the time, ha!), but once the trail is loose and slippery (as it is for a lot of the ridge) I get timid and down want to fall. Considering my wedding is the following weekend, I should probably take precautions to not bust open an eyebrow or break and arm. These things happen regularly in the Ridge Run (yikes).

My training is pretty loose at the moment: hike up steep hills as much as possible, then run down them. I'm doing more yoga, abs, lunges, etc. to build up some strength. I've been riding my bike a bit, and I think cycling legs translate better to mountain running than to flat road running. The one thing I really haven't been doing is running miles on the road. I'm never really "on the road" anyways, but usually on more rolling trails than steep mountain trails when I run in town. I need to incorporate more miles around town just to get my legs used to the long miles (especially with said marathon coming up shortly after the ridge run).

Balancing marathon training and ridge run training seemed a bit daunting at first, but I honestly think the strength I'll get from mountain running will be a big benefit going into the last 8 weeks of marathon training. As long as I'm still getting good mid-distance runs (6-8 miles) twice during the week, and perhaps making one of those runs a speed/tempo workout, I think I'll be all set for the marathon.

I'm going for a lofty PR in the marathon (more on that later), but for the ridge run? I think I just want to finish. I initially thought I'd like to break 5 hours (based on my marathon time and the organizers formula to determine finishing time), but I know I'm slower on uphills than your average runner, and I'm just not in as good of shape as I was in March. Perhaps I'll hone in on a goal as we get closer, but I think this is the kind of race that, at least the first time, you just run to finish. If I ever do it again, I'll have a baseline to set goals from.

Have any of you run the Ridge Run before? Any tips? How do you feel about mountain vs. road races?

The post Bridger Ridge Run Training is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

To say this race was not my best would be an understatement. Not only did I come into it underprepared and unmotivated, but it also seemed to coincide with my body not wanting to work it's best in the given situation. In March, I was lucky enough for my marathon to have everything perfectly in place - I was well fed, well rested, digesting properly, stretched/rolled, and generally feeling great. This time, not so much.

I'm sure every runner, and any athlete for that matter, has had a race where things just didn't line up. This was my race. We drove from Bozeman to Jackson through Yellowstone National Park and Teton National Park on Friday, stopping along the way to see sights and goof around. I didn't think I was overdoing it, but the extra time on my feet probably didn't help. I should mention that I did my typical pre-race run of 2x3 minutes at race pace(ish) Friday morning; however, this was probably a terrible idea. I haven't been doing any speedwork (at all), so even this little effort really tired me out. It certainly didn't help that my digestive system was NOT happy all day Friday.

We got to Jackson in time to have dinner, go to a comedy show, and make it into bed by 11:30. Luckily, the race was at 9 so I didn't need to get up at 4 am. Unfortunately, I hadn't slept that much (5 or 6 hours) the night before, which is (in my opinion) the most important night for sleep before a race. I slept decently until 6:30, when I got up to eat my pre-race breakfast. That's when I knew things were really off.

I got out of bed at 6:30 and immediately though "WHOA my legs are BURNING!" Like, more than ever. That's not a good sign. I scarfed down some breakfast, went back to bed for an hour, then got up and ready to run down to the start. I thought the start was about a half a mile from Kelsey's house, where we were staying; however, it was actually more like 1.5 or more. Oops. That made for a longer-than-intended warm up, probably too quick as I was nervous I'd miss the start.

Looking at the results from last year, if I could perform the same way I did for my 10 mile TT in January, I would have finished in second place. I was psyched about that, but knew I was a long way from the shape I was in 6 months ago. Still, I wanted to try. Derek and I have talked a lot about how comfortable I was during the marathon in March. I wasn't, until the last mile or maybe two, uncomfortable at all. Aren't you supposed to push yourself during a race, to the point of discomfort? I think so. It's something I haven't quite figured out yet: I'd rather not be uncomfortable, and have thus far been pleased with my results anyways.

My plan was to start at an 8-minute pace, then slowly get faster as I felt I could. My first few miles were all 7:40-7:55, which was probably too fast. I knew, though, that it wasn't just pace throwing me off. I could feel my legs burning at mile 2, and by mile 4 (when Derek came to meet me with gatorade and a gel) I was seriously contemplating quitting. Here's Derek trying to convince me to keep going, and shortly after this picture I stopped running for a good 30 seconds while he convinced me to keep going.

Feeling like quitting at mile 4 is NOT a good sign in 13.1 mile race. I thought about slowing my pace, but knew that my legs were so far off of normal (THE BURNING!) it'd be ridiculous to slow that much. I pushed the next two miles as much as I could, but honestly was fighting back tears and serious disappointment, so I called it quits at mile 6. I was just flat out not having fun. And really, what is the point of running if you aren't enjoying it?

I made my way over to Kelsey and Derek, explaining that it just wasn't going to happen that day. Derek tried to convince me to keep going, that I could do it and just "wasn't warmed up" (after 6 miles? + almost 2 of warming up? I don't think so). I knew I wasn't just being a weanie, so I stuck by my decision to not push myself to tears for the next 7 miles. It just would not have been enjoyable.

Luckily, my friends Heidi and Orion were also running. Really, Heidi was the reason I signed up in the first place. It was her first EVER running race, and I was honestly really excited about that! I decided to wait for them at mile 6 and then hop in and finish with them. I figured finishing was better than not finishing, but cheering Heidi on and experiencing someone else's first race would be WAY more fun. Look at them - CLEARLY enjoying life, not wanting to die with each step. I had a lot more fun running with them! Finishing with them turned my failed race into a successful training run (and I'm not at all sore! Woohoo!).

I don't consider myself a quitter. Even if that is running through YOUR head, it isn't running through mine. I made a very conscious decision to stop chasing a certain pace (or place), and I'm really glad I did. The variety of factors leading to my dead legs and resistant body that morning were probably mostly my own fault, but it doesn't change the fact that my legs were NOT ready to run. I've never had legs burn that much (upon waking!). Honestly, my legs feel better today (Sunday) than they did yesterday. Oops.

What did I learn? First, running 2-3x per week is not really "training" nor is it going to get you in shape very fast. Duh. Second, I need to do speedwork regularly. I really am a firm believer! Third, I need to take better care of myself before a race. Even in Napa, with the excursions and activities the days prior to the marathon, I was rested, stretched, hydrated, well-fed, etc. I can't say the same about this last week.

The rest of the weekend was fabulous! One of my good friends from growing up, Kelsey, moved to Jackson a few months ago from Portland. It's great having her (and a place to stay!) only 4 hours away! The more we go to Jackson, the more I like it. There are so many things to do, trails to hike, lakes to swim in (or paddleboard on), restaurants to try - I could spend a lot of time (and money!) in Jackson.

I have been trying to sort out my feelings about this race, and having a pretty difficult time gaining any clarity. I'm mostly just disappointed, and somewhat embarrassed. And bothered that this time will go on my athlinks profile and ruin my average! I wish there was an option to star/exclude/explain poor performances, but I suppose you could do that with any race slower than your best. That doesn't exactly seem honest. So, even though I know my time included 30 minutes of standing, and 7 miles of cheer-running, it's my time and I'm sticking with it!

I plan to forget about this race ASAP (although not the lessons learned), so let's look to the future! I was selected for the 2013 Bridger Ridge Run, which is 20 miles up and along the Bridger Mountains here in Bozeman. It's rocky, steep (up and down), people get lost regularly, and just generally a HARD hard run. I'm excited about it, but know I have a LOT OF WORK to do! I plan to run up any steep hill I can find for the next two months. Perhaps the best thing about this run is that I don't have a PR, or a time to beat, or really any sort of basis for my time. I'd like to break 5 hours, and their predictor says I should be able to; however, mountainous trail races are an entirely different beast and I'll just be happy to feel great running, and finish. After that, perhaps a fall marathon, but I'm honestly not feeling that psyched about it right now. I'll keep you updated!

The post Race Report: Jackson Hole Half Marathon is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

I wrote the following paragraph two weeks ago, after one week of running:

Seriously, this last week has been really demoralizing: running is much harder than I remember. I'm having a really hard time believing that I ran 7:59 pace for over 26 miles, just two months ago. I can barely run THREE miles at a 9:00 pace right now! {And this is really depressing to admit}.

There's a lot more where that came from! I wrote an entire post about how awful I was feeling on my runs, how depressing it is to not perform as you know you (once) could, etc. Probably a good thing not to publish - it was whiney. I had [many] failed workouts, skipped workouts, slow workouts, and just plain HARD runs. I'd come back and Derek would ask how it went, to which I'd always reply, "AWFUL." And I meant it. I really felt awful. That training plan I laid out? Totally thrown out the window.

Onto the good stuff: I'M BACK! I hope. I finally had a successful run yesterday, surpassing all of my expectations and hopefully signifying a return of my fitness. After a week of running without my GPS watch {gasp!}, I went out for a 10-miler with the watch, having made the decision not to look at it for pace, and only look at it for mileage. I set out at what felt like a "long run" pace (slowish), and didn't check my pace until I hit 5 miles. Surprisingly, I was maintaining a 9-min pace - on a route where I sometimes struggled to do that during marathon training. Hmm. Curious.

At that point, the rest of my run was slightly downhill, so I decided to let myself push it a bit - still not obsessing over pace, but looking at each mile split as G beeped at me. 7:58, 7:45, 7:32, 7:28, 7:18. Not a bad finish to the run! Faster than I'd expected to finish a run like that! My average for the run was 8:20, and that alone boosted my confidence like WHOA. I think I'm past the hard part, and can start running with the watch again.

While the first three weeks were really hard and demoralizing, I've now learned that you really can just push through and make a comeback! I realize I made it harder on myself by only running hilly trails, but I think that has helped me gain my strength back faster than I would running flat roads. It also makes it easier to push myself when I am running flatter routes - NOTHING is as bad as running up the backside of Pete's Hill. Nothing. I've also been doing more cross-training, as promised. Cycling 2x (one long, one shorter) per week, and doing a bit of yoga. Gotta get strong!

What I've learned is that signing up for a race is not necessarily a motivator for me - there are plenty of workouts I've skipped in the last few weeks. The motivator, as I've always suspected, is seeing the numbers get better and better. I didn't NEED to push it on the way back yesterday, but I loved seeing the mile times get smaller and smaller, knowing I still had enough to keep pushing. THAT is what makes me want to keep going. Knowing that last week I ran the same route 30 seconds slower. That my mile-repeats are getting faster. Running without the watch was helpful simply to keep me from being discouraged by poor numbers, but now that I assume I'll see them getting better, the watch is essential for my motivation. Bring on the numbers!

I'm confident I can get back into shape for the Missoula Half (July 14, I think), and PR pretty substantially, but for the Jackson Half I'm still not entirely convinced. I may need to just run for the sake of running. I AM AWFUL AT THIS. I'm definitely the kind of person that would rather quit than fail (oops), and not PRing would feel a bit like a fail to me. Thinking about it logically, I feel like there is no way NOT to PR: I only need to run 9 seconds faster (per mile) than I did for the ENTIRE MARATHON. That should be ridiculously easy, right? Yeah, I feel like it should be. Hopefully I can keep running like I did yesterday!

The post Getting in Shape is HARD is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!

I knew I could take some time to relax and recover, but I really have no excuse for the last month of inactivity (and many lbs of cushy addition). I thought I'd head down the cycling road, and started to, then realized I really don't enjoy doing hard workouts on the bike. I enjoy riding casually, even if it's hard and hilly and takes all day, but I don't want to go out and do threshold repeats. EVER. Running, I can push myself and still enjoy it. I can do tempo runs (ugh) and track workouts (less of an ugh) and feel good about it. Not so on the bike. After some serious deliberation, I decided: why do something I'm not enjoying? So, biking is now my fun/casual activity, running is my "I'm doing a focused workout" activity.

After my first half-marathon last September, Derek and I both wanted to test the theory that signing up for a race would actually motivate me to train. I signed up for Napa pretty darn early (early October, I think?), and we quickly learned that I was SUPER motivated with a goal to work towards! Finally! We had found my motivation! Too bad it left me in February... and has yet to return. Now, we're putting this theory to the test again. After feeling successul in Napa, and like I could have probably run even faster, I'm in the mood to really push myself and see how much better I can get.

To get me on the right track, I signed up for the Jackson Hole Half Marathon, June 8, 2013.

Wait... isn't that in like, just over 6 weeks? Isn't that not a lot of time to train? Right you are! I also happen to be lying incapacitated in my bed this week (hopefully not after today!), so my training is yet to actually begin. Hmph. Being sick these last few days has made me realize I should run when I can - I really wanted to run yesterday! <-- for the first time IN MONTHS. I'm assuming that my fitness is still in there (um, me) somewhere, just a bit buried. These first few weeks may be hard, I anticipate they will be, but hopefully I'll spring back pretty easily and be able to do my paced workouts effectively. So, here's my 6-week training plan, with some explanations down below.

• EASY runs are going to start off around 8:45 pace, probably getting a little bit faster each week, not surpassing the 8:30 mark.
• TRACK workouts (e.g. 3x1600) are mile repeats to be done on the track (if it ever stops snowing). These times might be a little slow (assuming my fitness returns), but I'm giving myself a buffer just in case.
• TEMPO runs are going to be my biggest challenge. I don't expect to hit my tempo pace in the first two weeks, but I do expect to make rapid improvement and get there quickly. Hopefully.
• LONG runs, honestly look like a walk in the park! After finishing many, many 18-milers, many more 16-milers, and a 20-miler, for marathon training, 14 miles or less sounds GREAT. Not to say they won't still be hard these first few weeks, but I'm not too terribly worried.

All things considered, this is not a very intensive plan. I know I'm rusty, and I'm giving myself the wiggle-room to ease back in. Not only does that make me psychologically more comfortable, it's probably a good injury-prevention measure. In addition to running, I learned from marathon training that I need to cross-train. I need to be doing core work, especially, and plan to spend time on the bike for an alternative aerobic activity that will also help strengthen my legs. I may not be racing my bike, but I sure plan on riding it!

Overall, I just needed a catalyst to get me moving again. Hopefully this will be it, and hopefully it will stick. I'm haven't really set a goal for Jackson yet, as I'm not sure where my fitness level really is, but I think I should be able to break 1:40 at a minimum, if not 1:39! If I break 1:43 I've PRed, and I don't think that'll be a problem, despite the 3-mile climb at the end of the race. I'm tentatively planning on doing the Missoula Half in July, also, for which I'll ramp up the training and try to break 1:37.

I guess it's time to plug in the ol' Garmin again, and get you all ready for some nerdy running data! It's gonna happen!

The post Running Update: Time for Another Race is from The Kitchen Paper. Click over to see it on The Kitchen Paper!