The Home Stretch

11 days from now, I'll be done with Marathon #13. I feel great. My comfortable pace has significantly improved during this training cycle. The weather forecast looks perfect.

And of course I'm totally freaking out. It's ONLY 11 days away. Wasn't it just yesterday that I still had like 3 months to train?

My training is pretty much done. I can't do much more to improve my readiness, but I can certainly screw it up. I tested out a quicker pace on my last long run, a 13 miler on Sunday, and it was comfortable even at the end with race pace miles. My average heartrate for the 9:22 overall pace run was only 137. Yesterday morning I ran a few more race pace miles within our team's 6 mile tempo run, and even though I actually ran them too fast (seriously??) my heart rate stayed in the low 140's during those miles. IT WAS NOT HARD TO RUN AT ALL.

Last 2+ hour run of the cycle

Race pace tempo run

I need to keep remembering how all of this feels, that race pace is not a big deal to me, that I'm perfectly capable of dialing into that pace during my race and being okay. I really need to remember that I can run a marathon probably much faster than a 3:52 if I tried even harder. Because I can. Every single data point is telling me this.

And I need to STOP remembering that if I run my stretch goal, I will have taken an entire minute off my pace from my PR marathon. I need to STOP telling myself that people just don't do that. Because I'm perfectly capable to doing that. I made it my goal, I did the work, and the glory is right in front of me to take.

But I'm still slightly terrified at the prospect. I don't want to fall short of my goal. I want to finally be able to call myself a good marathoner.

ELEVEN DAYS!!

Turkey Trot Badassery

I decided a few weeks ago that the local 5 mile Turkey Trot would be a great race to get out my taper jitters and truly find out just how much speed I've picked up in this training cycle. It fell 17 days before my marathon, so plenty of time to race and recover before the big day.

The only other time I have raced a 5 miler was four years ago (also the Turkey Trot) and that race was at an 8:20 overall pace. A few weeks ago during a Tuesday Tempo run I ran the 5 mile tempo portion at an 8:19 pace (1 mile warm up/drills and 1 mile cooldown for 7 miles total), so I knew I had a great shot at a big PR. I decided to make my goal a sub-8 pace. The last time I raced a sub-8 pace for a short race was a 5k in February, when I ran 7:56 average.

Coming into the race, I had not done any speedwork in a week (since my Yasso 800s...which were at an average time of 3:45...yay!), and five days prior had run my 22 miler. Monday and Tuesday easy runs were my other workouts of the week. Basically, I went into this race with rested legs for the first time in a long time. Plus, it was 32 degrees out at race start. Finally (after yet another 75 degree 22 miler) I got great race weather!!

My husband ran with me and I love it when he does because he's so good at maintaining my goal pace and will run ahead of me if he thinks I'm slipping in my pace. One of my running friends, Esther, was running this race as well and she and I are very evenly matched on pace (unless you get her on trails and then she's completely untouchable!), so it would be a good battle, plus we would push each other to hit our goals. Our turkey trot is a little unique with the timing. Rather than purchase official timing, our race director chooses to take that money and give it directly to the local charities he supports, so it's an untimed event. However, he color codes the bibs so he can still figure out who finishes top 3 for the age groups. No official timing, but still age group awards, based on gun time, and a bigger cut to charity is a pretty awesome thing to do. Anyway, the age groups were actually 20 year spreads and with 800 runners, not likely to get an award but Esther and I still wanted to start up front to give ourselves the best chance as possible because you just never know!

Starting up front was definitely the right thing to do because we didn't find ourselves stuck behind anyone and weren't really being passed by too many people in that first mile. The streets were nice and wide and there was plenty of room to race. I wanted to hit that first mile in about 8:20 and then dial it back to just under 8:00 pace, and then kick it up in that last mile. I felt so good as soon as we started and was surprised to see I was actually running a 7:50 pace. Even 3/4 of the way into that first mile it wasn't a tough pace for me to hold so I decided to not really slow down. Mile 1 came in at 7:53. Greg admitted he was a little worried that I had started off too fast and would blow up, but I told him I was going to try to hold that pace for as long as possible and was confident because it felt just fine. Hard, but not so hard that I couldn't run that for another 4 miles.

I see me and Greg

There are a few little hills on the course, but nothing that would slow you down, with good downhills to make up for them. Miles 2-4 came in at 7:48, 7:47, 7:48. Very consistent pacing and I still felt pretty damn strong. I was beyond thrilled that I had been able to give myself so much banked time to hit my goal, but I still wanted to speed up in that last mile. My heartrate didn't get into the 160's until Mile 3, so I felt like I was controlling my body's response to the faster pace very well.

With about a half mile to go, and making the last two turns on the course, I pushed my pace as good as I could. The last couple minutes were painful, I can't lie. There was a lady that I was certain was in my age group staying right in front of me, so I decided to try and pass her and unfortunately for me, it was a bit too soon and I gave her enough time to pass me at the finish as her kick was stronger than mine. Didn't end up mattering because neither of us were quite fast enough for an age group award. I fully expected Esther to blow by me in that last mile, but she finished about 40 seconds behind me, a PR for her as well. Just like I expected, we pushed each other and in return we both had the races we wanted!

The course was about 200 meters short, and I finished in 37:57 at a 7:45 average. Mile 5 was at 7:31 pace! I can't call it an "official" 5 mile PR but it's definitely the longest I've maintained a sub-8:00 pace ever. Had it been a certified 5 miler I would have finished in about 38:45. I can't begin to say how thrilled this kind of time makes me feel.

I'm so glad that I decided to race this. I was in a good position to run well, to shake my demons out one last time, and to finish out the rest of my marathon taper with really good thoughts in my head. Running 7:45 average for 5 miles was not nearly as hard as I expected it could be, so to add over a minute per mile to that pace and hold it for 26.2 seems very doable to me. So far the weather in Biloxi is looking great for the marathon. I will have rested legs and I'm at my best shape ever. My confidence is as good as it's going to get and I'm very happy.

My team did so well at this race. We had close to 20 runners between the 5 miler and the 1 miler and many of us hit our best paces ever. We pushed each other to do well and had a great time together in the process. I couldn't be more proud of them all.

Hello Hell Week

I haven't fallen apart yet.

My training volume is more than I have ever done and I can't deny that I was really worried when I wrote the plan. I knew I needed higher volume to do what I want to do, but it frightened me to think of doing midweek long runs in addition to the REALLY long runs over the weekend, to sometimes run 6 days per week...and even 6 days in a row.

But I'm still alive and I'm right smack dab in the middle of hell. Last week I ran 54 miles, this week is 49 and next week is 54. Then I get to taper. November 19 can't come soon enough!

I'm definitely feeling some fatigue, but it is not negatively impacting my workouts. I'm hitting my goals and feeling pretty decent when I'm done with my runs. This past Sunday was a 21 mile run and the last 3 miles felt fantastic, albeit I had run the previous 5 at a slower than normal pace because my running buddy wasn't feeling so great (it was a really humid 72 degree morning, because of course it was since I had a 3+ hour long run scheduled and Mother Nature hates me). But those last 3 miles told me everything I need to know about where I'm at physically. I started out that run feeling the fatigue of the week's workouts and was a little worried about how painful it might get in those later miles. My quads were sore and I hate starting a long run with sore quads. My worries were for nothing, however, because the soreness never got worse and I was able to complete those last 3 miles at a faster than usual clip without my heartrate skyrocketing. Total success and it made me thrilled.

This week (so far) called for a 7 mile interval workout Tuesday (2x2 mile repeats), 10 mile easy run Wednesday, and an 8 mile track workout Thursday. Because I couldn't make the team's track workout Thursday evening and needed to run solo that morning, I decided to change up the workout to a hard tempo run: two mile warm up, following by a progressive tempo pace starting at marathon race pace and speeding up about 10 seconds per mile for five miles, ending with a one mile cooldown. Even with the warmer and more humid weather Tuesday morning and it being only two days after my 21 miler, I still hit my goal paces on my two mile repeats (averaging 8:23). I took it extra slow on Wednesday, which was hard to do because it was in the 40s and started to rain on me. But I knew I couldn't do my Thursday workout well if I ran anything other than painfully slow on Wednesday.

Was hoping to beat the rain on this run, but NOPE. 

When I started out my Thursday run I was definitely feeling the culmination of miles on my legs, but was determined to have a successful tempo run. I started off very easy to loosen up and did some drills. The second mile I eased into a quicker pace, and then when mile three started I locked into my race pace and it felt very good, like something I could run forever and be okay. Considering it's a month from my marathon, I'd say that's a very good sign. As the miles progressed I tried not to focus on how much I had left, but rather just controlled the mile I was in, checking my pace and making sure I was dialed in correctly, not going too fast but not being sluggish about it. I actually was running a few seconds per mile faster that prescribed on miles 3-5, but it still felt doable so I hung with it. When that five miles was up and I saw I had hit each one at a great pace (8:45, 8:42, 8:26, 8:10, 8:03), I was so thrilled. My eighth mile, a cooldown, actually ended up at 9:08 and didn't feel hard at all....another really good sign! Best part was that my heart rate was very controlled as well and I still stayed in Zone 3 for a majority of the run.

Then my watch told me this:

I never race 10k's and it's been about five years since my last one. My PR is 53:12 and that was actually not an all-out race. During my half marathon PR race, I actually ran just under 51 minutes for the last 10K of that race, so it's debatable what my actual PR is. I'd love to race another stand alone 10K just to see what I could do, but seeing this on my watch was a big boost. It's the fastest I've run a 10K block using this watch, and only two seconds over my "official" 10K PR. Plus, I kept my overall pace under 9 min/mile. When I say I do my hard workouts HARD, this is a great example of that. I ran super easy pace Wednesday so I could then turn around and bust out a workout like this with great success.

Silly watch

Today is a rest day. Thank God it's a rest day. I'll do some bodyweight exercises and corework, foam roll my legs and make sure the fatigue is easing and I'm ready for 24 more miles this weekend (8 easy tomorrow, then 16 with 6 of those at race pace on Sunday). Then I dive right into Hell Week next week. My peak weak will consist of six days of running and 54 miles, culminating in a 22 mile run next weekend. Then taper and a full three weeks of freaking out.

I'm fully aware that it may take several attempts to achieve my BQ goal, but I will say that I have certainly done everything I can to make this first attempt a real possibility. I put in the work, I've dialed in my nutrition, I've gotten down to a racing weight that makes me so happy, and I'm trying my hardest to get my mind right. Shalane Flanagan just won the New York City Marathon and during her press conference she mentioned that this was seven years in the making. She worked and worked and worked and knew that she needed to have patience and it would happen. And it did!

So I'd like to put in a request to Mother Nature to make it 45-50 degrees outside that day. Pretty please.

Words Matter

The older I get, the more important it becomes to surround myself with good people who believe in me and encourage me. I know my goals may be a bit unique, and not everyone personally understands my "why," but are supportive regardless because they respect me. I thank God everyday for the people He has put in my life who make me a better, more confident person, because trust me, I need all the kind and positive words I can get right now.

Thirty nine days until my "A" race, and while I feel things are coming along well, I still am having a lot of moments of anxiety and questioning myself. I've never been much of a data person with regards to my training, but in the last few months it's been incredibly valuable to be able to analyze the data from my training. All of it points to me being a Boston-qualifying-capable athlete. There's nothing to suggest, beyond my lame doubts, that it can't be done. But it will be the hardest marathon I've ever done, and I'll be in the suffer-zone for a good part of it. Nothing about a pace under 8:58 per mile for nearly four hours will be easy for me. 

While I was doing my tempo run yesterday, I was running with a friend who regularly runs 6-7 minute miles in training and has run a 3:20 marathon. He said something so simple to me during the run..."you're getting really fast." I know, it's not a big deal for someone to say something like that. But I don't think he realized that those few words boosted my confidence in that moment. I was only on mile 2 of 5 miles, trying to hit a pace I'd only held for 5 miles straight maybe two or three times in my entire running life. He doesn't know it but he helped me get even faster during that run and it was quite possibly my strongest run of this entire training cycle. Our team coach told me afterwards that my goal was entirely doable. Those people are exactly what I need!

Just a few kind words from a friends who are wildly talented and who I look up to.

Then this morning after my easy pace run, my Garmin told me I achieved a higher VO2 max, and it surprised me because I didn't expect it to go any higher. When I texted Greg about it, he responded, "You are amazing."

Be still my heart.

WORDS ARE POWERFUL. They have the ability to cut you down and make you feel insignificant. Or they can save you. The right ones can be exactly what you need to tackle the obstacles in your path. 

So, to the people who make it a point to be kind and encouraging, THANK YOU. And if you could look like Ryan Gosling while you're doing it, EVEN BETTER.