Grasslands Marathon

When I got home from Grasslands yesterday I told Evan that it was a super hard race and I never felt good, but I had so much fun and it was just what I needed. He looked down and just shook his head.

His reaction made me think so much about why it was just what I needed. What about it made me feel so whole, so once again satisfied with the mundaneness of day to day life? I totally understand why he doesn't get it. I've never cared that he wasn't a runner, he supports me 100% and listens to my endless runner babble. But I feel like I needed a way to explain why running a marathon in a sand pit after I've been sick for a week and a half in 85 degree weather is my idea of a good time.

I feel so alive when I run. Every pore and every cell in my body is working in harmony to accomplish the same goal. I can feel every part of my body. At some point everything hurts. That hurt just travels to different areas and you have to know that it won't last. I feel even more alive when I run trails. I loved the sand because it made it hard, I loved last year's mud, I love creek crossings, I love the cows, I loved the gates, I just love being outside. Nothing is really pretty about Grasslands. Everything is dead, there's nothing stereotypically pretty about it. And yet, it's wonderful. I loved the scenery and the tiny patches of purple flowers that you would come upon. I loved the cows blocking the trail and having to stop to open the gates and shut them again so the cows wouldn't get out.

I've spent the last week and a half with the worst cold I've had in years. Because this past week was spring break I spent it on the couch bored out of my mind and feeling sorry for myself. I got so antsy and so miserable. I didn't have the energy to run or lift weights but I wasn't so bad that I just slept all day. I was very worried about running a trail marathon under these conditions. Finally, Friday I started feeling good. Took some Tylenol Cold and Sinus and allergy medicine and spent the day out of the house. I didn't know what Saturday's marathon would bring me but I was feeling better about it.

The first 45 minutes were pure hell. My heart rate was off the charts, I could barely get my legs to function and mucus was pouring out of my head faster than I was running. And then...I felt great. I could breathe, my heart rate got back to normal and my legs ran the next 3 miles like they finally remembered how to run. It was awesome. I knew then that I would finish and my cold was now a distant memory.

Unfortunately, those 3 miles were the only miles my legs actually ran well. After that until the end it was a total slog-fest. Yes, it was so sandy. Running on a beach that has never been touched by the ocean, sandy. Sand everywhere. Snot everywhere. But the main thing is I just didn't feel strong. My legs weren't my legs.

The best part was I knew it didn't matter. I didn't have a time goal, this wasn't an A race for me, I was just out there to have fun running. And I did. I had a great time, this runner's high will last me for weeks. Having done so many long runs this year and Palo Duro 50k and TransRockies 3 day, I knew that I could keep going. It was excruciatingly slow, but I knew I could just keep going. So I just settled in and enjoyed the day under the circumstances that I was given.

Jemez 50k Training Plans

The next big race on my schedule is Jemez 50k (actually 33.2 miles) in Los Alamos, New Mexico.  All I've heard about this race is what a beast it is.  I believe the elevation is around 7,500 ft to 10,480 at the peak of Caballo Mountain.  

After Grasslands my training will be centered on Jemez.  I think I'm going to run Oklahoma Memorial Marathon as a long training run and also do TexasMan Sprint Triathlon in May to make sure that I get in some cross-training in the next 8 weeks.  I'm really looking forward to getting back to my track workouts and hill/tempo training.  I'll go back to alternating long runs with faster mid-range runs on the weekends and add in some bike miles.  I think getting back on the bike will really help my climbing in New Mexico.  I've also been really focused on squats, deadlifts, and lunges in the weight room with the goal being to strengthen my climbing muscles. I'm really excited.  I'm not quite as worried about the climbing as I am the altitude.  Last time I was in New Mexico I had awful altitude headaches.  We'll get there just in time for the dinner on Friday and the race is Saturday.  They say either get there a week early or the night before.  I'm pretty sure I need a week...but that's impossible.  It should be an adventure!

It's been a long time...

It has been so long since I've written about my running.  I spent all of November - January intensely focused on trying to qualify for Boston at the Houston Marathon.  For as well as my training went, it turned out not to be my day and I ended up DNFing with ITB issues.  I've gone through a bit of a transition phase since then.  To recap: 

I loved training for Houston.  I love high mileage weeks and I loved getting faster each week.  A few highlights of that training:  

*PRing a 5k in December.  I ran a 21:32 with Troy pacing me.  It was a perfect weather day and I felt great.

*January 1st I ran 9 miles at the club and my mantra was "You're faster than you think you are." Again...perfectly cold weather and I ran those 9 miles in 1:08.  

*One of my last track workouts before Houston was 5 x 1 mile.  Alan ran them all with me and my slowest was 7:00.  My fastest was 6:54.  This still amazes me. 

*My last long training run was 22 miles on January 8.  I ran 13 miles @ 8:30 pace and just felt exhausted.  It had been a tough week of workouts and I felt depleted.  After those 13 miles I ran RAW's Bold In The Cold 15k race with Troy pacing me.  We hung on to a 8:15 pace.  That pace actually felt better than my 8:30's until the last 3 miles.  Then it was all I could do to stay with him.  I cried after this workout.  I was so proud to have done it and my confidence was so high that I could BQ in Houston.

Some of the toughest workouts:

*20 miler on Christmas morning.  It was so incredibly windy.  My last 4 miles were into the wind and I would run as hard as I could, stop, turn my back to the wind and just breathe.  I had to do that like 4 times.  It was such a mental challenge to keep driving into that wind.  

*One of my Thursday tempo runs I was just beat before I even showed up.  I never felt good both Tuesday and Thursday (my quality workouts).  If I felt good Tuesday at the track, I would be dead for Thursday tempo.  This one particular Thursday was the worst.  There is no question I would have quit earlier had Kevin and Brad not been there.  I just hung on to them for dear life.

*Ft Worth Running Club's Half Marathon in November.  This was awful.  I could not move my legs.  At all.  This race was a turning point for me though.  I immediately kicked my training up a higher level after this race.

Since Houston, I've rehabbed my ITB and am feeling pretty good.  I ran Texas Independence Relay with team HOORAW!! and turned out my fastest 10k ever.  I loved running for a team, there was never any question about slowing down or quitting.  However, I'm mentally beat up from training so hard and not getting the results I train for.  The last two years I trained really hard for a 70.3 Triathlon only to have it totally suck and then obviously Houston sucked.  The two big things that have gone well are TransRockies and Palo Duro.

I am not burned out on training and I'm not burned out on trying to get faster.  I love running. I'm just burned out on bad races.  I'm burned out on leaving so much in the weatherman's hands.  The one thing that all my bad races have in common is bad weather.  Because of that I have signed up for some trail races this spring.  I don't feel pressure on the trails like I do the road and I love the longer, slower distances.  If the weather sucks, who cares?  It's the trails!  However, once El Scorcho in July is over I plan to get back on the road.  I want to race 5k's, 10k's and 13.1's.  I want to get stronger at holding my fast pace for shorter races.  Then hopefully, I'll be ready to try and BQ again.  I'm convinced I can be a 3:30 marathoner.  I just need some more experience and confidence.  It seems this year I'm going to be a runner only.  I'm sure I'll be back to triathlons though in no time. : )

Races that I'm already signed up for in 2011:

3/19 Grasslands Full Marathon

4/2 Backwoods Scavenger Hunt with Mitchell

5/21 Jemez 50k

6/17 - 6/19 Chattanooga Stage Race

7/16 El Scorcho 50k