The Miles in Between

You know what made my 14 mile run so great on Saturday, other than the obvious fact that it was the furthest distance I had ever run in my life? It was my last long run before VACATION! I stuck with my plan of bumping up the 14 miles by one week, so now my "long runs" for the next two weekends will be a 4-miler that I'll get in right before we get on the road Friday morning, and a 5-miler that I'll do down in Myrtle Beach.

As for how the 14 miles went... it definitely didn't feel as good as the 12-mile did. Which should have been expected I suppose, considering not every long run can be that exhilarating, but I stayed hydrated and kept my pace pretty steady until the end. I tried something a little different this time, and instead of keeping all legs of the run equal, I did 6, 5, then 3. It worked out well, saving the shortest trip for last, when you're just ready to be done.

The last mile was brutal. I always wonder, in these situations, what was so different about that last 10 minutes than the entire run leading up to that? The phrase "hitting a wall" is right on, in that you can be feeling awesome and then out of nowhere, you can't run another mile. I always try to ask myself, is it just mental? That feeling of the last mile and just wanting it to be over so badly? Am I subconsciously speeding up trying to get this thing over with? Or is it truly the physical aspect of going one mile further than your body's ever gone? It wasn't just the fatigue, in fact my legs felt fine. It was cramps all around the stomach, lungs and muscles that help you breathe. I had to pause about 3 times during the last 1.5 miles to stretch out my chest and ribcage. I was happy with my time of 2h23m. I made a point to glance at my Garmin as I hit 13.1 to see what my half-marathon time would have been--2h12m, which was 3 minutes faster than my first Mini back in 2009. Pretty good, considering this was a training run, not a race.

One day a few weeks ago my friend Sarah and I were sharing our running woes--she is currently training for her first half-marathon. We complained about the frustration of figuring out our pace, the angst of feeling like we're dying by the end of a run, the mental challenge of 13.1 or 26.2 miles when you're nowhere near that goal, etc. I (half) jokingly said, "Why do we do this to ourselves??" and she replied back with something that has stuck with me ever since: "We don't run for the first or the last miles; it's all the miles in between." How true is that? Let me tell you, when you're training for a distance race, there are a LOT of in-between miles! Everyone knows the first mile can be rough--getting in your groove, establishing your pace, working out those kinks in your legs/joints. As for the last mile, yes, it can definitely be an exciting one where you bump up that pace and have adrenaline enough to carry you past a finish line at record time. But it can also be just plain hard. And mentally draining. The one where time stands still and it feels like an eternity to run one-tenth of a mile.

But the miles in between are the ones that count--the ones where I zone out, where my endurance is building up, where I pay attention to scenery, where I feel like I can conquer the world...where I run for me.

On a Runner's High

Coming off of the heels of a great 12 mile run last weekend, I had a fantastic short run on Tuesday of this week. I decided to do an early morning run before work, since the first half of this week was so humid you could feel the wetness slap your face when you walked outside. I was just expecting a normal, easy 3-miler, and in fact I was feeling a little sleepy. But when I glanced at my Garmin and saw that I finished my first mile in only 8 minutes, I thought, I have to go for it now!! So I kept up the pace (that I hadn't even realized I was running at) and finished at 24:35...completely shattering my previous 3-mile record of 26:21. And until the end, it was so effortless! I had just made a comment to a friend last week how with all these 3 miles runs I've been getting in, I hadn't been able to beat my previous record that I set back in May--not that I was purposely trying to beat it, but after being over 2 months into the training, you would think it would naturally happen.

Running is strange like that--your best runs are when you have NO expectations and when your pace is in tune with how your body feels.

I must also add that Galloway's Magic Mile predictions are genius. Remember, the idea is that you take your fastest 1-mile time (mine is 7:35) and plug that into his race calculator to predict your times for longer distances. I've already said that his prediction of my half-marathon time was RIGHT on. Here again, he estimates that I would finish a 5K at 25:13, or a pace of 8:08, and if I would have added another .1 to that 3-mile run, that's almost exactly what it would have been! Further assurance that this guy knows what he's talking about :)

Finally, a Negative Split!

Negative split. Noun. Definition: when a runner's second half of a race is shorter than the first; a phenomenon unheard of in Mechelle's marathon training....until now!

Even though a negative split is something many runners shoot for, it's never been a goal of mine in training or races. So what if my first half of the race is faster? It's all about the finish time right? I prefer just running at the pace that feels good at that moment--so naturally in the first half of a run, you'll be able to do that before fatigue sets in. But with that said, I was getting sick and tired of my mile times drastically dropping off during the last few miles. Beyond that, I was discouraged by how dead I've been feeling as I've approached the end of my runs...heavy legs, hitting a wall. Obviously, in a marathon it would be good to have energy the whole race through, not just at the beginning!

Here's what I did differently for my 12-mile run this past Saturday that I'm sure has everything to do with helping me get a negative split, and is probably what I should have been doing all along--I woke up early and got in my long run before the day heated up. Sure, the thought of getting up earlier on a Saturday than I do during the week sounded terrible, but the cooler temperatures were worth it, and I will be doing it again for every long run. The temperature is going nowhere except straight up lately. Today it had to be at least 1,000 degrees, and it's the kind of humidity that fogs up your sunglasses the second you step outside. Not only is this unpleasant for long runs, but borderline dangerous if you're trying to build up your mileage. So, Saturday I was out the door by 7:30am, finished by 9:28, and it was THE best run I've had thus far in this program. Not only did I finish the 12 miles easily, but I FINALLY felt like I could have done a couple more. The time even flew by and it was a peaceful run as the town of Fishers was just waking up on a Saturday morning. I even caught myself listening to a few of the slower songs on my iPod that I would normally skip right past.

I really stuck to my goal of slowing down the first few miles, keeping a conservative 10 minute pace even when my body was saying speed up. It totally paid off in the end as my last 3 miles were the 3 fastest ones, with the 12th mile being an 8:50. And I STILL felt great!!

Here are some thoughts I had after the run:
1. If i was training for a half-marathon, I would be finished already!!
2. Since when does 12 miles seem like nothing to me? I've come so far with running in just a few years.
3. I'm finally running distances where I can say that I'll just have to double that amount for the marathon...instead of triple or quadruple the amount!
4. From here on out, each long run will be the farthest distance I've ever run in my life. Kind of a cool feeling that makes me anticipate each week! Goodbye old record of 13.1 :)

Beach, here I come!

One of the perks of staying in a regular fitness routine (or making fitness your job, like me!) is that your body stays swim suit-ready all year round. It's not a last minute effort to lose 10 pounds before an upcoming vacation. With that said, I don't know many people out there, even fitness professionals, that feel 100% confident to be on a beach at the drop of a hat.

Once you're beyond the fitness level of health, strength and endurance, you start fine tuning-- for example working on performance for a certain sport or skill, increasing mile pace, sculpting your body. Fitness at this level is an ebb and flow. There may be a month or so where you feel at your peak fitness in terms of how many pull-ups you can do, how low your body fat percentage is, or how your abs look, but you can't be expected to sustain those things at that level all year round.

Jillian Michaels has a great book out called "Making the Cut." It's targeted for people who want to lose the last 5-10 pounds, not major weight loss. She includes a workout and diet plan for 30 days to either kick-start a program or finish up strong. I've never done the program, but I like that even she talks about how she follows the plan when she has a photo shoot or big event coming up, to reach her peak appearance. Many of the exercises she includes are also in her "Hot Bod in a Box," so I know from doing those, that your body's tone and definition can increase in just 8 weeks.

A beach vacation is one of those times where I want to feel at my peak fitness. For me it's not so much about how I look to other people in my bathing suit--once you're married, who are you trying to impress out there anyway?! It's about the confidence and inhibition to just relax and either lie on the beach or take a walk through the waves and not worry about a thing--other than stepping on sea creatures. Plus after several few weeks of hard workouts, it's good to see the results pay off and to be able to enjoy a week away from the routine.

Luckily, this year as I gear up for 2 vacations, one in July and one over Labor Day weekend, I will be right in the middle of my marathon training, which has a natural way of keeping extra fat off. The biggest thing I do before vacations is eliminate desserts from my diet. Sweets have always been my weakness, so I probably end up eating a few less calories, but I always notice the change in my stomach--my weight usually stays the same, but because bloating is one side effect of sugar, my stomach looks and feels flatter. I also log all of my food and exercise in the weeks leading up to vacation, starting at least 4 weeks out, that way I make more of an effort to keep both in line.

18 days until my toes hit the sand. Not that I'm counting...

Training Updates

I've now completed up through Week 12 of Galloway's marathon training program (meaning I've been on the program for 8 weeks, since I started in 4 weeks late.) Week 11 was a 10.5 mile run--finally getting to the point where your training runs dictate your plans for much of the weekend. It's not just the time of the run that you have to plan for, although that is a good chunk of it. You have to think about the night before, getting enough rest, and while I don't necessarily carb-load before training runs, I do try to at least think about the dinner I have the night before. Then the day of, allotting enough time for the run itself and planning out water/gatorade breaks. Finally, allowing your body so much time to recover after a run before moving on to the next part of the weekend. I've found if I try to do anything, even so much as shower, within the first 20-30 minutes after a long run, I start to get dizzy and nauseous. Then...to make all of this more complicated, in the summer months, there is really only a small window of time to get in your run before the day gets blazing hot and humid. I've determined that people who live and run in southern states must be in way better shape than us Midwesterners.

I was really concerned about water for the 10.5 mile because it was pretty warm last weekend, and Chad was gone, so I didn't have the luxury of having him drive to meet me periodically with some Gatorade...I'm also trying to be a little bit more self-reliant on my runs, since this was my idea and all! (I've tried the water belt, and it was an epic fail.) So, I put out some Skinny Sport Water on my front porch and did 3 legs of the run, each time ending right by our apartment to grab a drink. It worked out really well, and it broke up the run mentally. The longest portion I had to do at one time was 4.5 miles, and I did a different route each time. As a side note, anything past 10 miles is where I highly recommend drinking something besides just water. After more than an hour of high intensity exercise, your body needs the electrolytes and sometimes even just the calories and carbs in a sports drink to keep going at a healthy rate. Pick your favorite...I've found them all to do the job about equally.

This weekend (Fourth of July!) was a 4 mile run with a magic mile. I don't know which I dread more: a long run or a short one with a MM. Again, it was pretty hot on Saturday even at 11am, so I didn't have high hopes of this magic mile being, well, magic. I followed Galloway's protocol of doing one short mile, magic mile, walk for 5 minutes, then 2 slow miles to finish out my required training that day. My MM was 7:35...exactly the same as my last one! And I make a point to not look at my pace on the Garmin, because the idea is to make it as fast as what you can physically handle for one mile--without getting sick. Guess I'm consistent?!

That's it for the short runs for a few weeks. This coming weekend, I'm due for a 12 mile, then 2 weeks after that would be a 14 mile...but that falls on the weekend that we leave for Myrtle Beach (FINALLY my first vacation of the year!) and that trip will span the course of 2 weekends. And while I am going to keep up with the short runs during the trip, if you think I'm doing a 14 miler in South Carolina, think again. So, I'll be doing the 12 and 14 miles on consecutive weekends before we leave.

As for other updates, we just closed on our first house! We've already begun the painting/cleaning/moving process, which I have to say has been a workout. I'm a little bit concerned about fitting in all these long runs when I'm supposed to be working on the house too, but the good news is that our new house is in Broad Ripple, right by the Monon Trail. Not only will it be a change of scenery, but also a good way to get in some distance runs without having to think hard about planning a route.

Have a great holiday!