Arizona Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon 2012

Pre-race

Tried my best all week to get some extra sleep and a bit of recovery but it did not really happen. Legs felt tight and Kyle had a bad week with his heart so it was super stressful. We flew in on sat morning and went straight to the expo, hotel, dinner and by the time we got back it was already dark so just got things set out and ready. Would have liked to have gotten a short run in to loosen up the legs but no luck. Tried to go to bed early but that never really happens the night befor a race.

Race morning

Woke up at 5:30a. Went to put on my garmin and realised it was completly dead, so I charged it till we left and hoped it would last long enough. Ate some gu blasts and sipped on a bottle of nuun since nothing else really sounded good. Headed down to the start by 6:30a so there was plenty of time to check dry cloths, use the porta potty and warm up. On the way we realized it was actually pretty warm, no need for gloves or arm warmers.

Got everything checked, found our corals and then found a great trail right next to the start to warm up on. Ate a gu as we lined up in the corals.

After a 10 min delay the elites, then wave 1 were off. I was in wave 2. It was super crowded so just tried to run to open space at the beginning. Luckily most people seemed to have lined up correctly so I was right in with a bunch of other people running the same pace. Found the 7:45 pace as planned and tried to get into that rythem. First couple of miles felt good. The worst thing was how dry my mouth was. Grabbed water at the first water station, took a sip and poured the rest on my head which felt perfect. I kept looking for Kyle in case he had a problem early on.

Some where around mile 4 and 5 I noticed my Garmin had already shut off. No more pace. I turned my timed watch to crono and at least got mile times but that was after so I could not really adapt as quickly and started loosing time. Ate a gu at mile 5.

Around mile 6/7 my hamstrings and glutes started hurting. I became very aware that the entire course was a slight gradual climb. I really tried to ignore how tight my legs felt and tried to mix up my stride but nothing really helped. So just tried to keep my feet moving and pushing it when I could. Some time before mile 9 I saw the 1:45 pace pass me which was disheartening when I could not keep up. I kept looking for Kyle since I knew if he was going to have a bigger problem it would be around 7ish and he would have slowed down..

I knew my race plan was to try and increase intensity around mile 9 so I really tried to but don't think I was able to go any faster. I did not let it get to me and just kept going. Telling myself it would hurt no matter what so might as well try to run faster and get it done with. The legs did not really want to go with that idea... Especially once my inner thighs started to chafe and I could feel every time I moved.

Ate another gu at mile 10. Since I was not able to stay on planned pace I at least tried to push the intensity for the last 5k. I did manage to pass some people which felt good after feeling like everyone was passing me. I knew there was only a mile left when we crossed the river which seemed like forevermore the finish line.

Finished at 1:53 ish knowing it was not as fast as I have wanted but at least it was faster than my last 2 halves and really since spring of 2010. So I was happy with that and at least I am getting faster but looks like I will need some more time to get my speed back.

Official splits

5k 24:51

10k 51:00

10 mi 1:25:26

Final chip time 1:53:31

avg pace 8:40

Wenatchee Half Marathon

Last night I headed across the pass to Wenatchee to run a half marathon this morning. Kainoa wanted me to run a half marathon as part of my training and this one worked out well with my training - all last week was a recovery week so I actually got to rest up a bit and have some energy to see where I am at.. It was just going to me running but luckily Hallie and Greg decided it would be a perfect weekend to head east to the sunny weather to train and Greg ran the half with me which made it so much more fun.
Ok so the race... I got a hotel room literally a block away from the start which was awesome. When I went down to get my race packet at 6:30a it was already getting warm so I stopped second guessing and went with out arm warmers and just ran in a tank top and running skirt and I would still overheat...
I met Greg at the start at 7:30a and we did a warm up run. Hallie met up with us after she found Tika who went exploring and was luckily found quickly. She made sure to take a quick picture to show our team involvement.


My race plan was to start out around 8 min/mile pace and depending on how I felt I would try and run negatives the second half or at least the last couple miles. I had my nutrition plan that I use at most races - I took sport legs and a salt pill since it was so warm. Then I usually eat a gu at teh start and every 3 miles (mile 4, 7, & 10). I ran with my hand bottle since it is easier to actually drink out of then cups (and at this point it feels weird to run with out it). Seemed doable based on where I have been in training.

It was obvious this was a low key race when they were setting up the timing mats less than 5 min before the start. Greg and I knew better than to start on the front line so we hung back a couple rows. Once the "gun" went off it only took a couple seconds to cross the mat and we were off.
The first mile felt way to easy I just ran and did not look at my garmin... Mile two was similar even with a few small uphills. It was not till mile 3 that I realized my heart rate was already up at 189 bpm when I usually race mostly at 181 bpm and only hit that high going for the finish line. ouch! and I realized I completely messed up my race plan. I also looked at my average pace which was 7:45 at that point. My focus immediately went to get your heart rate down.
It would have been a lot easier to recover from going out to fast if the rest of the course was not constant up and down hills. So at this point I ate a gu at 3.5 instead of 4 mile mark and I was already getting really warm. It is so much dryer on the east side of the mountains that my mouth felt constantly dry even if I just drank.
I did not really know the course so I just tried to keep my heart rate around 181bpm and just stick to my nutrition plan through the rest of the race. I kept drinking from my hand bottle and tossing water on my head to try and cool off. At one of the water stations I took a cup of "sports drink". Within the next mile my stomach started to feel upset and sloshy...

At the turn around Greg was only a minute or two behind me and he looked strong so I fully expected him to pass me at any time. Sure enough around mile 9 or so he passed me. I tried to stay with him for about a mile but he ran so strong up the hills and by mile 10 I let him go. My stomach was really upset and I tried to burp or something but instead wound up throwing up. At least my stomach felt better almost immediately after and I just kept going. I even managed to eat my gu a little while after and it felt fine.
At this point I knew the last couple miles back were mostly uphill so I kind of just tried to keep Greg in sight and finish as strong as I could. I mean it is just a couple miles...
So I ran the last bit and then up and over the bridge to the finish and I was done.

The stats:
Gun time - 01:52:28
Chip time - 01:52:21
Pace - 00:08:35
Age group F2529 - 9/55
Average heartrate 184 bpm, Max 191 bpm

Garmin mile splits (13.24 miles)
1 - 7:14, 2 - 7:48, 3 - 8:00, 4 - 8:09, 5 - 8:40, 6 - 8:21, 7 - 8:15, 8 - 8:55, 9 - 8:25, 10 - 8:57, 11 - 9:08, 12 - 8:49, 13 - 9:09, .24 - 2:36

The red line is my heart rate and the green is the elevation.



Overall I am content with my effort and it was great training race to remind me to pay way more attention at the beginning of the race to actually fallow my race plan and not go out to fast. I did not ever think I could run a 7:15 m/mi right now lol. Luckily after a swim and bike ride I am much better at pacing myself ;) I also loved how low key the race was and it had a fun local feeling to it. It was perfect weather and now that I know the course I would even run it again. Sure there is not a lot of elevation change but really there is no flat - it is either up or down.

recovery week

I was soo glad to have a recovery week. My legs have felt tight and kind of achy all week. I have spent more time with my foam roller & Trigger point this week than in a long time. My legs are slowly excepting their fate of many many miles of running. Since it was a recovery week I had a recovery run on Monday & I only had to do 3 miles of tempo on Wednesday instead of 6 like last week. On Friday my legs did not feel great and I felt tired so Kainoa even let me cancel my "recovery" run. So I got lots and lots of rest and recovery which was wonderful.

Even my weekend long run was "only" 13 miles at steady aerobic pace in zones 3A-3B. Haha yeah I am not so good at just steady aerobic pace. I lost track of the day on Saturday so after a 1:40 team bike ride & Starbucks of course. I decided rather then run a mostly flat course from Leshi I wanted to run the Mercer Island half marathon course in the middle of the day. Note that our fall cool weather is gone and it was over 80 °F the last couple of days. Though Kyle did agree to ride sherpa for me so I had 2 full bottle of liquid (1 plain water, 1 gatorade) and he carried my gels so how bad could it be right.. When I started getting ready i could not find my iPod for the life of me so i told Kyle he had to talk more (I know as if that is really a problem for Sir Talk's a lot).

When I started I was mostly annoyed with a little tinge in my right calf/shin. Overall I felt pretty good and as usual I went out a bit fast. Partly because I only seem to have 2 gears - hard or easy. so i went hard and mile 1 was 7:32, 2 was 7:55, 3 was 7:43, 4 was 7:52 and at this point Kyle was like um slow down you are running way harder then you need to.. So 5 was 7:57. He was great, handed me the water bottle every half mile and my gels at mile 3, 6 & 10 all the while reminding me to breath and relax ect. He even managed to take some video of me running. I know exciting stuff lol.

The hills really got started around mile 6 so it became easier to slow my pace though not my effort (ran a 8:23).
My pace slowed but still kept my average pace well with in my goal of 8:20 m/mi. I was getting really hot and took a salt cap with my gel at mile 6 mark. I really wanted to pour my bottle of water on my head but I knew I would want to drink it more. I dug deep and got mile 7 down to 8:16. But then my stomach started to feel kind of sloshy and I was getting really really hot. There was no wind to help cool me off and less trees for shade :( Mile 8 was 8:31, 9 was 8:57.

Kyle tried to distract me by taking another video of me.

Mile 10 it really got hard. I ate a gel even though my stomach was not happy, my legs felt like cement and my time showed it - 9:23 ouch there goes 8:20 over all pace. I tried my best to get back after it and use some of the downhills but I had a hard time staying on my toes and was slapping my feet to much. I just wanted to be done and started thinking about a lovely ice bath and a slurpee of all things. Well really anything cold sounded good. Mile 11 was back to 8:15 but then 12 was 9:50 because I actually walked a few steps up a hill... At least mile 13 I stayed after it and did my best to just get it done so 9:15 was an improvement. I managed to run up the final hill to the finish line and wound up running 13.18 miles in 1:51:34 that is 8:27 m/mi average pace.

I was just glad to be DONE with it. Well actually I was pretty bummed that I fell apart the last 3 miles especially. Usually I'm pretty good at finishing strong but I just did not have it. It is weird to think that it felt like my 20 miler was easier than "just" 13 mile run this week.

After a :20 min ice bath and coke slurpee I feel better about the run. I was pretty bummed right after but oh well it is just a training run and it will just make me stronger in the end. I'm spending the rest of the night up with my compression socks on, feet up and focusing on recovery so that I can be ready for this coming week. Lets just say it is the opposite of a recovery week... I love a good challenge ;)



One last thing after completely emptying my tri bag and making a huge mess.
I found my iPod and what a shock I had it the whole time. It was in the phone pocket on the strap.. doh

Vancouver Half Marathon 2009

I went into this race with no high expectations or goals - mostly I expected it to be like a hard training day vs an all out race day. I have been doing base work ever since I had my VO2 max tested and only got in a few days of any sort of tempo or speed work. Also to be honest I really did not want to dumb to much energy since I'm not really getting a recovery afterwards. Saying that I went in with the goal of something at or around 1:50 - if I was having a good day maybe lower but was not really worried about it. My coach Kainoa specifically told me to "to run hard but not stress about your time." So I had some heart rates to kind of stay near and that sort of thing but overall a rather loose race plan.
We spent Saturday driving up to Vancouver, BC, going to expo, and trying to get hydrated. We brought our single speeds to ride around town - I can officially say I don't like riding my bike with lots of city traffic esp trying to fallow Kyle.. The highlight of the day really was getting a super yummy strawberry crepe after watching the sounders Game on wifi at a Starbucks. It was a huge shock but the Sheraton did not have wifi - what kind of hotels doesn't have wifi these days..

The biggest question was the weather - we went to bed on Saturday to pouring rain and wind but the weather report said no rain on race morning so I decided to wear my tri shorts and tri top with arm warmers incase it was cool.

Luckily when we woke up it was dry and the sun was trying to come out - Kyle and I prepped everything, went to the bathroom a million times, took some salt and sportlegs and then ran down to the start getting in a nice warm up in. I wore my jacket and a pair of capris over and by the time we got to the bag check I was roasting.

I got to quickly meet another blogger Jill Cosantino and her Mom at bag check. Jill was running the full with the goal of qualifying for Boston and her Mom ran the half - how cool is that :)

Kyle and I headed to the start, I ate the first of 4 gels. I realized I had left my ipod shuffle either at the hotel or in my gear bag - after I had spent the night before choosing music :( oh well I have run a lot of races with out no big deal. The race started and Kyle pulled quickly away. I ducked and weaved through the crowed and just went with the flow really. As planned I did not really push it to hard just tried to settle into a good rhythm. It was a lot warmer than I expected so the arm warmers were off with in almost the 1st mile and by the 2nd water station I was dumping water on my head.

The first couple of miles just cruised by although I gave up on keeping my heart rate down - maybe it was that I felt hot but I was averaging 180ish vs the planned 170 bpm range. Oh well I did not stress about it or anything. I kept drinking and ate a gel on schedule at mile 4, 7, and 10. Around mile 6 I realized I probably should have brought some salt caps with me but oh well. I felt a little bit rough around the edges but nothing to bad.

I always forget that the course is not totally flat with just one hill - there are couple of rollers through out. I just kept going. On the big up hill though Stanely park - I let my self relax and recover and just ran it nice and easy so at least my heart rate stayed in the same 180 range vs going to the 190s. Of course my pace slowed but nothing to drastic. I passed a lot of people having to walk or just killing themselves on the hill which is always interesting.

When I race I only look at the distance overall, the last mile time and my hear rate so at the top of the hill I checked my overall time and it was on pace for 1:50ish if I maintained. So I enjoyed the downhill and picked up the pace a bit but not to much and just let my legs loosen up a bit.

The last 3 miles always feel like they take forever and this year there was no steal drums on the last little hill which was a bummer - I always loved that part. At least the last mile or two there are a lot of crowds cheering people on. Kainoa had told me to try and pick up the pace the last couple of miles so I focused on increasing my cadence and that sort of thing. I saw Kyle on the side in the finish shoot cheering me on and just cruised into the finish. I didn't really have a kick even though I felt fine - guess I just didn't feel like I needed to or something.

Overall place 1064
Gun time 1:50:56
Chip time 1:50:45
Data from my garmin

Afterwards Kyle met me in the finish area and we walked through, got my medal, grabbed a space blanket, some gatorade, some oranges, got our picture taken. We saw a couple of people from the team and got updates on the people running the full marathon. As we walked into the expo area we bumped into Deirdre H and heard about the pancakes she had for breakfast - made me crave pancakes the rest of the day.

We made our way back to the hotel with a slight detour at Starbucks for a recovery snack/drink. We had planned on going back out on the course to cheer people on but once we got back to the hotel we both crashed. It was hard enough to find energy to pack up and check out by noon and tackle the drive home.

Overall I'm content with my race - it was right on track and a good training run. Really it was a good kick off to my final build for Hawaii 70.3 in less than a month.

Seattle Half Marathon 2008

Both Kyle and I decided to run the Seattle half marathon a couple of months ago even though we were doing the World Championships 70.3 only a couple weeks before. I am not sure about Kyle but I think the main reason I registered for the race is that my employer paid most of the registration fee. I know not the smartest reason by hey why not. My other motivation was to beat my time from 2 years ago when I ran it as my 1st half marathon ever and I ran a 2:01 when I wanted a 2:00. Last time I felt the course beat me and I wanted to get that ghost out of my head.
Anyway we got up early I ate a slice of pumpkin pie for breakfast along with some nuun (yes looking at this now it seems like the strangest pre race breakfast). Then we drove to the start and got there nice and early, got good parking, took our bag of dry clothes to the drop area. Then it was of to the porta potties and low and behold it was early enough to have no line. After chatting with a few friends we went off to stretch and do a short little warm up run. These are all the reasons I like getting to races nice and early...
When it was time to line up we saw another friend that we met in Clearwater who has recently joined the Pauole Sport Team. We all lined up together but both her and Kyle had faster goals that me so I just did my own thing once the race started. Since we were not very far back in no time at all I was across the start line and off and running.
The first couple of miles through downtown were uneventful other than that with in half a mile the gloves were off, then the arm warmers. Of course I dropped an arm warmer and almost got run when I went back to grab it off the ground. Luckily I survived and kept running. I was almost surprised as the miles went by and all of a sudden I was running into the tunnel completely over heating. I contemplated pouring water on myself but remembered I was not in a triathlon and it was sort of cold out.. So I just kept running though the tunnel/sauna sweating like crazy. Luckily there was a very slight breeze when I ran out of the tunnel to help keep my temperature in line.
I kept my pace very consistent and mostly just had fun with it - no stressing allowed. Monique had mentioned one of her friends would be running and she was going to meet him at mile 5ish so I looked to see if she was still around. She wound up seeing me first and joined me. She was not sure where her friend was but lucky for me she ran with me while she looked around for him. I saw my mom and Jerry cheering on the long hill on Madison (I think) and made sure to smile for the camera since I was alittle to honest in Clearwater.
Monique ran with me and chatted for the rest of the race. It was a good stuff - I did not really feel tightness in my hips till the very last little roller half a mile out from the finish. Even though she kept trying to test me and see if I wanted to run faster or could run faster... but not today which I was ok with it since I still don't feel 100% recovered from Clearwater and the rest of the very long season.
In the end I was happy with my time especially based on not really pushing it to hard and most important I had fun and stayed very positive. It was the perfect ending to my very very long season.

Kyle, my Mom and I.


Monique and I after the race.

Overall finish time 1:50:42
mile splits - 7:57, 7:47, 8:24, 8:13, 8:21, 8:12, 8:31, 9:01, 8:22, 9:19, 8:14, 8:11, 8:18, 1:46
some other funny data is that my average heart rate was 188 bpm - totally normal for me but my max was 201 bpm - always find that funny how high it can get.