Day of Rest and the March RW!!!!

I've put in quite a few miles over the past 3 days-- 25.5 to be exact-- and with another marathon this weekend I'm taking a day of rest to relax and refresh. Well I must have timed it perfectly because guess what came in the mail today??? *Ps. If you haven't figured it out from the picture or the title we need to work on your perception skills.* Anyways-- Yes! The NEW Runner's World is here today!! Woohoo.

I'm really excited because I've recently started using RW as a tool to keep my running more exciting. I've started clipping out various workouts and putting them into categories: Long runs, Speedwork, Treadmill, Tempo Runs, Upper body weights, Lower body weights, etc. I'm trying to compile enough in each category so I can randomly select whenever I have the set category up for the day. Hopefully it will bring a little more excitement to my runs!

Rest While Perpetually-Marathoning:
Sometime people wonder about my training schedule-- especially when I have an upcoming marathon. Well I don't do the typical taper thing-- at least not to the degree that most people do. If I did I would be at a perpetual taper, especially a month like this when I have 3 marathons.

When it's a marathon week, I try to get in a day of speedwork early in the week to get my turnover going. I also try to get a middle-long distance (~8 to 12 miles) early (Mon/Tues) are the usual days for that. I'll put in a shortened "taper" at the end of the week by only running 3-4 miles twice on thur/fri with a little bit of light lifting, abs, and stretching.

A normal week would look similar, but my middle-long would be closer to Wed, so I put more time between my speed work and a longer distance. I would also do 2 more days of ~6-8 miles and include more weight training. I'll also try to put in a long run on Saturday, but usually only around 10-17 at most. The good part about doing so many marathons is that the last marathon acts as the long training run for the next marathon. Noooo more boring 20+ milers to complete without a medal or even a tshirt! Yay!

So, that's my 2 cents for the day.

Happy Running and enjoy your RW!

You've made your BQ time, now what are you going to do?...

Run 26 more marathons-- duh! Starting with this weekend!!! I'll be making my first trip to Little Rock, Arkansas for the Little Rock Marathon. More about that later this week with my Race RUNdown-- in the meantime I've been trying to figure out what I've changed with my running to drop my time 6 minutes and hit a pace I've been actively trying for in (some of) my marathons. Now that I've hit 3:35, I'm aiming to break 3:30 sometime over the next year!! That's not going to be easy with running another 26 marathons in ~13 months, but we will just have to see. So, what have I changed over the past few months? A few things... but I'll list what I found the most pertinent first:

1) Rest (say it ain't so!). Yeah, yeah, I know you're thinking "I told you so" but it's hard to get in rest breaks with so many marathons out there that need to be run!! I took about 5 weeks off between my last 2009 race and my first (double) in 2010. I felt really really good for the first race-- aside from the freezing cold-- and I wondered how I would have done if I only had 1 marathon that weekend. Well I would find out...

My first February marathon was cancelled (yep, Myrtle Beach), allowing me another 5 week break between my January double and my Albany (BQ) marathon. By the time I got to Albany I felt very rested and I found I ran into the wall much later.

2) Speedwork and the Mill O' Death-- I shared some of my speedwork workouts over the past few months. I've been attempting to force myself to become more comfortable with the treadmill and I found, focusing on shorter distances made it easier. I also found it was easier to keep up a solid pace for speedwork while on a treadmill. I've done both ladders (400m, 800m, 1200m, 1mile, 1200m... etc) as well as Mile Repeats.

Extra: I took a note from Kara Goucher's workouts and added a little extra speed to the end of some of my workouts. If I'm finishing a run, I'll pick it up for the last quarter mile to mile. Also, when I run my repeats, I'll break the last mile into 2, half-miles and drop the pace down an extra 30-45 seconds. This has helped my foot-turnover speed significantly and I've found I'm MUCH more able to breath comfortably at faster paces than I was before.

3) Increased Mileage- It's tough to balance tapering, post-marathon rest, and high mileage. With the downtime I had I was able to increase my mileage. It helped that I set some high mileage goals for myself this year. The high milage has helped me feel much more comfortable, longer into my marathon. I've put in about 280 miles this year and hope to up that in March slowly so I won't hurt myself.

4) New Kicks! As you've been reading, I've been dabbling with some "barefoot running"- first trying out the Vibrams and eventually settling on the Nike Free 5.0's for my marathons. Not only do they give you a quicker, lighter, stride, but they help a TON with foot turnover. I absolutely love the Free's for running long and I'm looking forward to trying out the vibrams in a longer marathon soon.

5) Pumpin' Iron! When I got hurt in January, I started back with lifting and stability exercises to build up some of the smaller muscles. I try to do most of my lifting while standing on an upside down bosu ball. Any sort of extra balance requirements in an exercise, will lead to better results. I've also tried doing some 1-legged squats to get my ankles stronger.

I've been reading "Advanced Marathoning" since hearing about it on another Bloggers site. I'm hoping to adapt some of their ideas and schedules to my own hectic marathon schedule. I want to increase my mileage and add in some substantial goals to my daily running. In the meantime, it is time to gear up for another marathon! Woohoo. My NEW Halfway There Marathon! :)

HMRRC Winter Marathon... Race Ratings (#24)

Tagline: "Lowest Entry Fee for a FAST course"
Ratings...
2010 HMRRC Winter Marathon ~ February 21, 2010
Albany, NY ~ SUNY Albany Campus
Registration Fee: $15 early ($25 late). $5 Discount for HMRRC members
Runners: 90 in the marathon (Plus relay teams)
Available Races: Marathon and 3-Person Marathon Relay
Average Finish Time: 3:53:11
BQ %: 36.7% (Second best BQ% race-- the 3rd is the HMRRC Fall Marathon)
Weather: "Cloudy, 34 degrees, 55 percent humidity, Wind: 13 mph WNW"

Overall Race Rating (weighted): 4.2/5.0

Average Calculated Rating: 4.0/5.0

~ Great race with the lowest entry fee! This is definitely a race with some serious runners looking for a BQ time. Don't go for a scenic course, but if you're looking for a fast course with great support this is it.

Race Director: Let's place race director...
~ The only thing this race really lacked was an additional port-a-john (there may have been one there, but I didn't see it) and a medal! If I'm running 26.2 miles I wants a medal (even if that means paying $5 more. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this race and hope to run it again and try for another PR.

Event Organization: 4.0/5.0 (now broken into 2 parts, see below as well) As far as "event organization" we'll go ahead and include things like Host hotel, website use, ease of travel to the event and to the actual race, etc.
Distance from Airport to Expo/Race: 7 Miles (10 min)
Rental Car Required: Yes
~ Mail in app's only! If you're like me and have only snail-mailed twice in your life this isn't ideal (don't worry, MB sent it in for me). You can also sign up on race day so no worries. This is a very simple race with a simple race site but they give you all the necessary information including weather, travel, and detailed course information. They provide all the historical results in one place. The race is very close to the airport along with hotels if you need one.

Race Organization: 4.2/5.0

~ The race is held at SUNY Albany (state univerysity) so you have space indoors to stay warm, stretch, use the resti, etc. They also have bagels and drinks before the race if you're hungry. This is a looped course (most loops about 5.7 miles) so the start/stop/loop turn around, there is a port-a-john, drinks, cheering section and relay hand-off spot. There was another water stop about halfway through the loop with gatorade and water, so you had water about every 3 miles. I don't believe there was another port-a-john stop besides the one at the loop end. The race also did not have GU provided, but for the entry fee I didn't really expect it. Also, with the course being looped you could leave all your GU needs at the turn around or with friends.
~Post Race Food: (new sub catagory) Food before AND after. Post race food had a little of everything-- pizza, cookies, snacks, soup, drinks, anything you need. And they definitely had enough even though many of the relay teams were done long before I was.

Course: 4.6/5.0

~MarathonGuide Rating

~ I was a big fan of this course. I like to call this "upstate NY flat"-- if you're from there you would probably call the course flat, but most others would call it rolling hlls. There were no major uphills, but if  was a constant rolling hill. I'm a fan of these easy graded hills because they help change up the muscles that get worked out. I really enjoy looped courses. I like knowing what to expect, especially if you're going after a fast time. I also like being able to break a course up by shorter distances at a time. You're definitely not going to get a whole lot of sight-seeing in Albany in the winter (run their fall marathon for that).

Spectators: 4.2/5.0
~ This is a college campus and a Sunday-- aka nobody is out that early! This is a smaller race but the course is pretty clear if you have spectators out in cars (aka my pit crew chief). The turn-around point for the course is also the hand-off for the relay so there are lots of people there cheering you on.

Pace Group: /5.0
~ DNA

Runner/Corrals: 4.5/5.0

~ No corrals (duh) but this was a very interesting group of runners for such a small race. It seemed like there were a LOT of people out there for BQ time. In a race that small my time would normally get me in the top 3 women, but I was all the way down in 7th! 31 of the 90 runners made a BQ time! Everybody was very friendly and it was neat to be able to see the really fast runners as you past by the turn-around.

Expo: /5.0
~ DNA

Swag: 2.4/5.0
~T-Shirts: They ended up giving out crew neck, simple, sweatshirts for the first time at this race. They were comfy and unexpected for the price you're paying. I liked them :) 2.9
~Medals: No Medals :( -.5
~ Goodie Bag: None

Results...
Stephanie~ Marathon
Time: 3:35:41
Place: Overall 27/90 ~ Gender 7/20 ~ No Age Group

Relay Team 3F 120-
Time: 3:53:30
Place: 3Females, 120 years and below (combined age): 3/7

BOSTON BOSTON BOSTONNNNNNNN!!!!

I ran the HMRRC winter marathon yesterday and guess what? (like you have to guess after reading the title)... I MADE BQ TIME!!!! 3:35:41!

I couldn't be more excited, especially after some of the races I've had lately. First I ran a double in Jan and hurt my ankle. Then I had the Myrtle Beach Marathon cancelled last week, taking away NY (this week) as my official halfway there marathon. Well yesterday made up for all of that! I ran my first BQ time. This takes a LOAD of stress off me since A) This is a huge goal in general and B) I have always planned on running Boston as my 50th state in 2011. That meant I HAD to make it asap-- talk about putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.

I ran with tons of support from my pit crew chief, MB, and Jenn who was running on my relay team-- oh yeah, the first 9 miles of the marathon also counted as the first leg of a relay. Our relay team came in 3rd in our division with a 3:53:30. Good job MB & Jenn! Friends and family were at the finish and I ran in crying my eyes out along with MB (happy crying of course).

More to come on my post-race throughts and the post race "Almost Halfway There Party!" Sneak preview: I made a second accomplishment for the day-- consumed the most martinis I have ever had in my entire life!

SC FAIL and NY ALMOST half-way there!

South Carolina = FAIL!
Last weekend I was unable to complete my South Carolina  marathon as the race was cancelled due to "bad weather." (see picture below of the oh so ominous weather conditions).

I'm happy that this happened in early 2009 as I still have a chance to run the race again next year (if I choose to take my chances) before my goal time to complete the 50 states. Running 2 to 3 marathons a month, you're likely to miss one either by your own faul (missed planes, injury, sickness) or by the fault of the race (cancelled, time issues, etc.). I'm hoping this is my 1 miss and I'll be good going forward (knock on wood!)

I'm a little UNhappy because this weekend is supposed to be my 25th state and we'll be having a "Halfway There" post-race party. Nowwww it will be my (Almost) Halfway There party.

New York Almost Halfway There!
I'll be making my way home for my 24th state--- New York!!!! I'm originally from the Albany area and the race is in Albany. This marathon is TINY with no medals or post race party, so we'll be making our own little post-race action! (more to come in my race RUNdown) If you're running the marathon or relay and would like to join let me know and I'll send you the flier!

I'm definitely excited to go home and have some serious spectators from my hometown and family! I have a good feeling that after this past weekend, Albany is going to be a great race, because....

"I’m from the empire state that’s

[Chorus]

In New York,

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,

There’s nothing you can’t do,

Now you’re in New York..."

1 More thing! Suzy (who will also be participating in the Albany marathon on a relay) tagged me yesterday with this SuNsHiNe AwArD!

I guess it's my turn to tag 12 buddies that bring me sunshine with their blogs and leave them a comment, so here goes...

1) Marlene - My fav Canadian for always being so positive and happy-- and esp. for posting the Olympic medal count on her running blog!! GO USA! And go Canada for their first home gold medals!

2) Mel - For not going crazy while keeping track of a few hundred runners making their way to 1000 miles in 2010!

3) Heather - For sticking with her run this saturday following the cancellation of the Myrtle Beach half marathon.

4) Jill, Rick, Libby, Ewa, Emily, Shut Up and Run    for their kind words and support immediately following my Sat morning wake up call to NO snow and a cancelled marathon! I was bummed, but it was nice to have bloggie friends that were so encouraging! 
5) Marcia - For a great blog to follow and always being so encouraging!
6) B.O.B and Morgan - Yeah, I know I call them out all the time for hilarious run-blogging! They're going to start thinking I'm some sort of crazy run/blog stalker soon! Oh well-- still hilarious-- go read up!

Marathon Spirit Shines at the Cancelled Myrtle Beach Marathon!

I thought flying into MB was going to be the more difficult part of this trip. Our flight was cancelled, but somehow we managed to get rebooked on a once "full" flight leaving at 10:30pm. Once we got on the plane and shut the doors the pilot announced that there would be a long wait for a spot to get de-iced. 2.5 hours later we finally took off!!! What's worse? As soon as we got on the plane, myself and several dozen other marathoners get an email saying... the marathon has been cancelled due to "unsafe" weather conditions.

Marathon Spirit!

They took down the mile signs and water stop. They opened the roads up to the cars and told the spectators the race was off. But what did you find this morninig? ... HUNDREDS of half, full, and relay team marathon runners all around the marathon course-- some still running the FULL marathon! The city could call the race off, but they can't stop us from doing our sport!!! There were cars following runners with water, cups, and GU. There were spectators coming out and yelling "good for you!" to the runners!









The "Unsafe conditions":

Right! When I went out to run at 9am the roads and sidewalks were COMPLETELY clear or snow or ice. But 10am it was WARM outside and I had ot shed layers. To the right you can see my "I'm so scared of the HORRIBLE weather conditions" face as I stand on a dry sidewalk and clear road. Hmmm. The city of Myrtle Beach and I need to have a chat!!!

I caught up with some of the marathon runners actually running the marathon on their own. Some started at the 7:00am start and some just started from their hotels on the loop-- they came here to run 26.2 miles and they were going to run 26.2 miles. One woman I ran with was crankin and when I finally looked at my watch I realized I had run over 1.5 extra miles out. Oops. So ~11 miles later I'm back and ready to enjoy Myrtle Beach!

Myrtle Beach Marathon~ Race RUNdown (SC#24)

We're seen some serious drama here at Steph's 50 Marathon Challenge since my January Frozen Double Marathon Weekend. I nearly froze to death in both races, fell in the second marathon banging my knee, and then purposely ran with an extremely overpronated right foot because that was the only position my knee felt good in. Well that turned into tendentious on the tendon that runs under your foot and keeps you from overpronating (yeah, ok). Since then, I've felt better-- but I went for a 17-miler this past weekend in the snow and ice and I think FROZE my achilles on the same foot. It's been a little crazy, but I'm hoping for that "bad practice makes a great performance" kind of situation... or at least not getting hurt and finishing able to run my 25th-state marathon next week!!!!



Inspiration Points...
1. Warmth!!! I will finally be running in warmer weather-- high 40's with SUN! I've been hurting myself in the cold, so I'm hoping the warmth keeps my muscles loose and warm!
2. Kyle will be joinging me since it's Valentines Day Weekend :) He's been to 2 marathons and is an exceptional marathon spectator! We'll be taking a vacation day and be making a trip out of Myrtle Beach!!
3. NEW SHOES!!! If you've been reading along, I've had quite the little jaunt with new sneakers, throwing myself into "barefoot running." I won't be going all out and using the vibrams, but I will be using the next step up-- Nike Free 5.0's!
4. FINALLY excited. It's so hard to be excited for a marathon when you're full of nerves about being/getting hurt. I'm feeling better and hoping to keep up a positive attitude about the race! OOH maybe I should read "Born to Run" again-- that gets my blood pumpin!

SC Race RUNdown...
Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon ~ Saturday Feb 13, 2010 (#24)
Myrtle Beach, SC
Registration Fees: $70 early ($90 late, $110)--SOLD OUT before Feb!!!
Year Running: 10+
2010 Expected Field: 2,750 was max and it's been sold out. There will be another 3.8K in the half!
2009 Field: 1825 Finishers
... Females: 684 ... Age Group: 61
2008 Avg. Finish Time: 4:25:54
Weather:

Well I WAS excited about warm weather but now it looks like it's going to be a litttttle chilly. NOT as bad as the last 2. WHY can't we have Sundays weather on Saturday??? It would be PERFECT! Let's all pray to the weather gods and hope that it warms up in the am and we get rain showers instead or no showers at all! At least I know it won't be hot and sunny :)

Course:

MarathonGuide Rating:

Garmin Distance: I try and look at what people measure the course as. I've seen about a +.16 to +.25 extra mileage for this race. That's a big gap compared to what I've seen in the past!

FLAT! I'm not a pancake flat runner, but maybe this will be good considering all the achilles problems I've been having! The course looks to wrap around the hotels, small neighborhoods and the OCEAN!!! Yay.

This is one comment I found on MarathonGuide:

"As flat as you could want, and not congested at all; there's no excuse for not hitting a PB here" -- wow, no pressure there!

Race 411: This is definitely an EVENT-- not just a marathon. They've been sending an endless number of emails for pre and post race events. There are fireworks the night after as well as 2 different post race parties- one for adults only!

~ Gone Green! As of 2009 this is a "green" marathon.

~ Swag has been kicked up a notch! Due to prior year complaints, there was a resounding response from the race directors with great new swag. Can't wait to see what they have in store for 2010.

~ Port-O-Pots ~ every 2 miles! yesssss

~ Spectators, I've heard, are far and few between but I can't imagine you need them when you're running on the BEACH!!!!!

~ Chip Issues??? Say it ain't so!!! Last year there were some timing chip issues. People had finished and their splits counted, but they had DNFs when they had finished. Yikes-- no thanks! I will kill somebody if that happens. If you read their news articles before the race this is what they had to say...

"The Myrtle Beach Marathon and RMS Sports are proud to announce the use of a new timing system. We will be using the Chronotrack system, which promises 99.8% accuracy." - MB Marathon Site. Maybe they should have stuck with the OLD timing system.

Race Plan: I have a 3 step plan for this race...

1) DON'T Get hurt... or further hurt!

2) Enjoy the race and the weekend

3) Go for time! This is my first of 5 in 7 weeks, so I'll be too tired to push it toward the end. If I can make a good time here without getting hurt, I'll go for it!

Give-a-ways:
Athlete's Spa Pack!