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.

time is flying by

It is the end of another recovery week so of course I feel like capturing a bit of what I have been up to..

I actually went up to Snoqualmie Pass and went snowshoeing with some team mates. I had so much fun being back in the snow that I really did not want to go home and just wanted to keep playing in the snow...

Lots and lots of swim, bike, run training but I actually feel like my biggest gains have been in strength training. I have been very consistently going to the gym twice a week with Kyle and pilates once a week so I am so happy that I finally feel like my legs are getting back to where they were when I skied all winter. I am now back up to being able to do the 3 sets of 12 of single leg press with 2 (well 1 on each side) 45lb plates.

I have a new addiction - I can't get enough O.N.E. Coconut Water especially the new one's with "a splash of juice". I blame Jill who always raves about how great the stuff is for her. I pretty much live on the stuff after training. (this is just to get me through the weekend).

After a week of recovery I had so much fun getting out on a good hilly ride with Cathleen and Greg at our team bike ride and run in the SUN.
It started out pretty chilly but after climbing a long hill I felt good the rest of the ride. It was good I actually felt strong and rested on the ride and then it was great fun to run with Cathleen who really pushed me to pick up the pace off the bike.
Which I immediately fallowed up with a good 12 min soak in the lake - even managed to talk Joe into joining me for part of it.
My training levels have picked up to the levels that I feel like it is time to start taking ice baths again.. So what better way to start the next build with than a chilly soak in 46°F water. My legs feel so much better tonight and will thank me tomorrow night when I have to run intervals...

After starting the next buid phase with a 4k swim at masters I got the ok from Kainoa for my pre Ironman CDA race plans - big no on Mercer Island half marathon but a YES to the 10k. Mostly because I have got hurt on that course last summer and it is better not to risk it. I got a yes for the Wenatchee Half Marathon in April. Since the Carnation TT series is not happening this year due to construction she is going to see if she can hopefully find something else.. I will also do the Issaquah Sprint Tri just for fun since it will be the 1st time in 3 years that we will be in town for it. Since I don't have a half Ironman race on the schedule I will have to do it on my own (well hopefully with help from some great friends but not in an official race) around the end of April. I will also be doing 2 3 days training camps so that I can get to know the course.

Alright time to get to work. Only about 124 days to go and probably about 60+ ice baths :)

getting into the swing of things

I am in the middle of a much needed recovery week so what better time to go over what I learned from the last 3 weeks of building. Though I say learned but it is more of the things I need to remember as the hours training keep increasing.

It took me 2 weeks to really figure out that I have to eat enough all day and all week. I noticed it the most the 2nd week of the build - I felt tired all week and then I only ate 3 gels and 2 bottle of gatorade for a 3:30 bike ride and I did not eat before the fallowing run off the bike. Needless to say I completely hit the wall during the run. I know from all the training last year that I need a bottle of Gatorade an hour and at least 1 gu or something every :45 - :30 min depending on effort and temp. Part of my issue has been keeping enough gu around for the weekends so I finally just ordered a couple 24 packs of my favorite plain gu and a 6 pack of roctain online. They also sent me a couple Blackberry gels and Banana to try...
With my supplies refilled the fallowing weekend I had the same brick workout but actually ate more during the ride especially. I felt so much better during the ride and most importantly I was able to stay strong on the run off the bike.

The second part of the nutrition puzzle is making sure I eat enough the rest of the day when I am not training to both pre-fuel and recover from training better. I stocked up on strawberry recoverite, chocolate milk, O.N.E. coconut water, healthy snacks and even made my Mom's Lentil soup on Sunday night so I could eat it for lunch all week. Mostly I have just been trying to make sure and eat way more food. I noticed last week that I felt more recovered from the long weekend by mid-week.

Other than dealing with nutrition I have been really working on making friends with my bike trainer at least for my midweek rides. Luckily we have a HUGE projector tv to almost surround myself with ironman broadcasts from tivo and Kainoa has been giving me good interval workouts to keep me distracted. It seems to be helping - bike training seems to be going the best out of everything. I feel stronger every week so I just keep telling myself "I love the trainer".... at least until it is light outside in the evenings then I will let forget all about it ;)

Last but not least training is way easier and more fun with friends - I have been very very lucky to have some wonderful people to train with the last couple weeks. From the group at masters swim who help wake me up at 6a to everyone who has been willing to ride outside for all or most of my long rides and the fun team runs (with treats afterwards) every other weekend. Huge thank you to especially Kyle, Sam, Laurie K. , Joe, Cathleen and so many more - having such great friends really makes training fun and I am looking forward to the next 5-6 months :)

Bring on 2010

2009 was a good year filled with a few races and a lot of great training but I feel ready to start focusing on 2010 and the training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June. Sure I have been training but it is a bit more relaxed and nothing to long yet. Kainoa has been sure to let me know that starting in Jan I don't get to be as relaxed about my training... Not totally sure what that means but to be honest I can't wait. I am looking forward to double training days, long rides, runs, lots of Gu and recovery drinks and even the swims. I feel happy with where my fitness is right now and feel like after the last couple of years I will be able to not just get through the training but be able to push myself a bit more. Not to mention after a year of not having any major focus I am looking forward to having a challenge/Ironman to work towards again.

Since I'm a planner type of person I have been thinking a lot about what else I want to do this coming year both in preparation for IM CDA and after. But to be honest I have not really decided on any races. I do know that I will do two training camps in Coeur d'Alene, the 1st with a friend Michael at the end of April and then a 2nd camp with Pauole Sport team at the end of May. I really like the idea of spending plenty of time getting to know the course and taking advantage of being only about a 4 hour drive away.

As far as races I want to find a relatively flat half marathon between Feb and April.. I would prefer local but Kainoa doesn't want me to run the Mercer Island half because the road is so canted and I got hurt running the course this summer. Sam is trying to talk me into the Country Music Half Marathon but it is just a week before one of the training camps I am doing and not sure I want to travel that far. I also just looked at the Wenatchee Half Marathon which is a week earlier in April so that might be a good option. But I am still looking and open to any suggestions.

I also want to run a couple small 5k, 10k, or maybe even a sprint tri just for fun and for mental training more than anything to get used to race nerves ect. But that will probably be it before CDA - no official half ironman distance race but I talked to Kainoa and she is not worried.. I will just do one in training (maybe I can talk Kyle into pushing/pacing me).

After IM CDA I plan on pretty much taking July off - maybe do Seafair Sprint again since it is a team race but not much more than that. I would like to do a half Ironman in August or even better in September and then a marathon in the fall/winter. Though I have also been toying around with the idea of some long trail running but it all depends on how my legs hold up with the running - lately I keep having issues so we will just see.

Now I just have to figure out what we are doing for New Years Eve tomorrow night...

12K's of Christmas Holiday Run

I had decided to do 12K's of Christmas Holiday Run a couple of months ago when my Mom started asking what runs she could do to stay motivated.. I knew it was hilly but that was about all I knew. So my Mom & I signed up for the 12k and Kyle and Sam signed up for the 5k to race against each other for bragging rights...

The race did not start till 9:30a so I got to sleep in till 7a and we met up at my Mom's office around 8:30a so that there was plenty of time to warm up and use the restroom ect.

Kyle, Sam and I headed out on a warm up run along the water front. I could tell my legs did not feel fast and even more annoying my shoes felt slippery on the wet pavement (worst thing ever on a hilly course). I immediately got to hot with my gloves on and then realized I was wearing way to much - I did not need a vest and wished I had wore shorts instead of capris. Of course as soon as we finished the warm up run it started raining and got a bit colder so I decided to put my vest back on... It was pleasantly surprised I saw a bunch of people from the team and other friends all of which I did not know would be there.

I lined up and Col & Bman found me then Cathleen. Almost as soon as the race started I could tell my legs were not interested in racing and they all ran away from me up the hill. Within the first 5 min or so I was over heating and could not take a deep breath at all. Sooo I slowed down and tried to take a deep breath but I really struggled. Saying that I looked at my garmin and I had run a 7:59 mile - just a little faster than I had wanted esp with a hill.

Needless to say I was SO happy when I saw Jerry around the 2nd mile so I tossed my vest and wished I could have tossed my capris as well.
The rest of the 12k's I mainly focused on just getting done. My legs and lungs did not feel right. I struggled even on the downhills to pick up my leg speed - which was not helped by the slippery shoes. My pace slowed on the long uphill climb and I just tried to manage it. I started pouring water on my head to help with over heating and at the one water station I grabbed 2 cups of water and dumped them on my head. I think the volunteers were a bit shocked but I was so hot.

I remember looking at my garmin again at the 6k mark and it said :31 and realized that Kyle & Sam were long done and I was so jealous. I tried my best to push the pace a bit on the last 3k back to the finish but it was just not happening. As i came into the finish I heard Kyle and Sam cheering and gave them the disappointed face... but I was so happy to just be done so I could try and breath.

The final stats
gun time: 1:03:39
chip time: 1:03:28
pace: 8:31
overall place: 324 out of 1180
division place: 21 out of 146
gender place: 127 out of 744

splits per mile
1 07:59
2 7:49
3 9:15
4 9:08
5 8:09
6 8:37
7 8:34
last .47 3:55

Avg Heart Rate 181 bpm
Max Heart Rate 189 bpm (mile 3 & finish)

Elevation profile



After I finished I found out that Sam beat Kyle in the 5k by about :40 seconds. Saying that they were both crazy fast. Sam came in 7th overall and Kyle was 10th overall. My guess is that this will not be the last time they race each other... lol

A little while later we watched my Mom finish the 12k's - she finished in 1:20:11 - faster than she expected :) I am so proud of her for sticking with the running thing. I know she is more excited about Belly Dancing but I love that she runs.

Overall I am fine with my time but very disappointed with how my body felt on the run - yes I understand it is a race and a hilly one at that but still my legs should not have felt heavy and so slow. I am hoping that I get some answers about the breathing issues on Wed when I go see a doctor (made the appointment last month). I will also be looking at what I am eating and when ect.

It still was a great way to celebrate the holidays with friends and family :)