RnR Mardi Gras Part 1 and WS Week 10!

Rock'n'Roll Mardi Gras  ~ Pre-Race!
This past weekend was pretty packed so I'm going to break the "post-race thoughts" into 2 or 3 parts. Today we'll be looking at Marathon Eve! 


Expo
Traveling with me this weekend was MB (as per usual), Christine (first time half-marathoner) and Kim (one of the original MM Divas) and we tried to take a little bit of everything in of New Orleans. We all flew in late morning on Saturday, checked into the hotel and went right to the expo. As with most of the RnR Expos, this was a big Brooks carrier and had a ton of Mardi Gras Marathon clothing to buy. The expo was also packed with some of the other usual suspects- Power Balance, One more Mile, Etc. 

Our new friend "GU Jeff" (just got with it) was talking to (what I thought was ) just some runner while I was in the midst of a shopping spree. GU Jeff called me over and I distractedly wandered over until I saw who he was talking to... Scott Jurek! At this time (I'm told) I practically rushed the poor guy with my mouth gaped open and my eyes popping out. I even turned around to Christine and Kim and said "OMG That's Scott Jurek"... yeah, while he was standing right next to me. 


I attempted to speak but after a few failed attempts the ONE thing I managed to get out was that I wanted to run with his pace group (he was pacing the 3:30 group) but I was training for an ultra and was SUPPOSED to be going slow the next day. When he asked what race I was running I wanted to kick myself when I had to say "Western States" to a guy that's won that race 7 years in a row. After I died of embarrassment we took a picture... and then he backed away slowly.

Scott Jurek and I at the expo

Bourbon St & Maniac Dinner

After the expo we got changed and then headed out to enjoy... BOURBON STREET! None of us had been to New Orleans before so we went down Bourbon St to get a taste on our way to dinner. It was very hard not to get one of the "really big beers" or join in with the general debauchery afoot. Luckily MB was with me to say no to the beer... and the boys that were approaching us. 

We got our beads and our taste of bourbon street and headed over to the French Market, which is also a hot spot in the area known as the "French Quarters" of New Orleans. Then we headed over to meet up with some friends and maniacs for dinner. 

Maniacs at our Pre-Race dinner!

After dinner we headed over to do a historical ghost tour! If you're in an older city, these are a really fun and entertaining way to get to know a little about the city you're in. They're usually an hour or 2 and the guides are pretty knowledgeably on the area if you have questions. We didn't see any ghosts but the buildings we got to walk around were all really neat and definitely had a touch a "Spook" about them. 

By the time we got back to the hotel it was past 10pm and definitely time for bed. We needed our rest so we could get up early and get ready for the Mardi Gras Marathon!


To Be Continued...


WS100 Training ~ Week 10
Oh how the times they're a changing. So remember a few weeks ago when I was having a really hard time with fatigue and hunger while adapting to the higher mileage and more intense training plan? Well apparently I'm getting along pretty successfully in beating my body into submission. This week felt GREAT. I got through all my training runs well and my long runs felt like I had 10 or 20 more miles in me! As you'll find out in tomorrows post (the continuation of the one above) I ran a LOT harder than I planned but I felt great and never felt like I was pushing it. Then when I ran my 10+ hill of hill repeats on Monday I felt great and zipped right through them!


I realized  that during Mardi Gras I never once hit a wall and I think these extra miles are really helping. Then I started thinking about the elite runners. They may only RACE 2-3 marathons a year but their mileage goes WAY  past mine on a weekly bases and their long runs far surpass the marathon distance on the weekends. If it helps them, why wouldn't it help me? Just because they're built for speed, doesn't mean their bodies are made any differently than us slower runners. If they can adapt, so can I and I think I'm starting to get used to these crazy miles. Not only that, I'm felling a LOT more confident about WS100 and about ultras in general. I'm looking at a few 50-mile trail runs for early this spring-- possibly even a 50-mile stretch of the WS Trail! Eeek. We'll see about that. 


Notes/Thoughts: Coming off of a good week I'm hoping to put in one more "up" week before a drop down. I may have to do 2 depending on my schedule and a few proposals I've had come my way. I've gone through my full schedule and added a fem miles here and there to push my training a little further. Let's hope I can keep up! 

Happy Running,

~*Stephanie*~

"Fast Girls Have Great Times!" -Marathon Sign

Zoom Yah! Yah! Post-Race Thoughts (#46) and WS Training Week 5!

Zoom! Yah! Yah!
Yesterday was the Zoom! Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon held in Northfield, MN and my 46th marathon state. The race itself was absolutely fantastic. Coach Dick and his whole family and crew were amazing, organizing such a fantastic race! 


Marathon Eve
The race is held at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. Outside of the weather being completely intolerable to live in (I thought my toes fell off as soon as I got outside the airport) this campus is amazing. The architecture is gorgeous... I felt like I was in some sort of ice palace with old stone buildings surrounded by snow. The field house that held the track had a FULL climbing wall available for students and an overall pretty up to date gym facility. I was pretty impressed. 


Northfield, itself, it pretty amazing too. The "downtown" is a couple of blocks of shops that have a very old saloon feel. It's such a cute little town with very friendly people. We stayed at the Archer Inn that has a tavern attached with live music at night. 


The day before the race the organizers made the "course" (track) available for marathoners to test out for free for a few hours. It was great to get a chance to check out how the distance feels and get a feel for how it's all run. After the race we all met up for the packet pick-up then a FULL dinner at the St. Olaf College dining hall which is by FAR the MOST amazing college food I've ever tasted. It was hard not to dive into the bad pre-race foods even though they looked so good. 


The limited time for packet pick-up and dinner was fantastic because it gave the 40+ marathoners and family/friends a chance to meet and greet which gave such a family feel to the whole race. That's not surprising since the race itself is run by a family. Coach Dick runs the race and his wife, Chris, is the coach of the XC team at St. Olaf who assist as the lap counters for the race. Their Daughter, Megan, was one of the runners and another daughter was spectating and cheering with her husband brand new baby. Dick had all of us stand up and did a little introduction and gave us directions then it was off to bed. 

Marathon Day
Shortly before the race we were introduced to our XC/Track member who would be counting our laps for us during the race then we were off. All of the counters had signs made with our names and they also gave us little name tags to pin to our backs so we could cheer each other on through the whole race. It also allowed for the spectators to cheer us on through the morning. 


The race itself was exceptionally organized and the "change directions every 30 minutes went off really well.We couldn't have headphones so we could listen for oncoming runners, but they pipped in music that played through the whole field house. 


The lap counters, race organizers, spectators, and even other runners made for the BEST spectators I've ever seen at a race. People are yelling your name throughout the ENTIRE race. And as you finish, the lap counters cheer your name for the entire last lap. 


The Race
The race was going pretty well for me... felt pretty good and was going faster than I wanted to be (whats new, right?) and then we had a little emergency. A friend and fellow marathon maniac passed out and began to vomit and have what seemed like a seizure. All of the other maniacs stopped to try and help (not that we could do much) but fortunately there was actually a Dr running the race who stopped and helped SO much... thank you Dr. Bob! I stayed with them as long as I could then 2 other wonderful maniacs who were traveling with him went to the hospital and kept us updated. 


By the time I began running again I had been passed by a few girls and honestly my heart just wasn't in it. I was very worried and just wanted to get the race over... and had 50 more laps to go! People have asked me if running in circles is bad... not until this point! With a goal in sight it's fantastic, but if your head isn't it in the laps go from passing by quick to feeling like each lap was a mile long. Unfortunately this is THE last MN marathon until Boston, so I had to finish or give up my goal of 50 in 50 by Boston... that was not going to happen! 


With about a 10-15 min break, I managed to get in around a 3:51 so I have my sub-4 and I also got 3rd place woman. The best news was hearing that my friend was stable after being air lifted to a hospital in Minneapolis and was improving! I'm not saying anymore for privacy reasons for his family but I know he is a fighter and WILL be ok! Greg is one fantastic person, runner, and friend. He also has a running blog found here. Please keep him and his family in your prayers. 


Indoor Marathons~ Lessons Learned
Since this is an arena most of us are very unfamiliar with, I thought I'd do a little section on how an indoor marathon is different from a normal marathon.... 
1) Distance! To measure the marathon distance, they use the shortest (inside) lane of the track but if you're passing people, you spend most of your time in the outer 2 lanes instead. So the race can be a lot longer than you expect. For example, this race was 150 laps total and 5.7 laps per mile on the inside lane, which is 26.32 miles (yes already well over 26.2) however... the middle lane is 5.5 laps per miles, which is 27.27 miles! If you're toward the faster half of the group, you would be running in the middle/outside lane most of the time and would be at the higher end of the 26.32 to 27.27 range! 


2) Heat and Track Hack!! No matter what they do, there are 40 bodies running and more than that spectating... it's going to get hot! On top of that, you're susceptible to track hack. If you ever ran indoor track you know what I'm talking about... that cold/dry cough you get from running indoors during the cold winter. Going hot to cold or breathing in cold A/C while getting your body temp up will do this. 


3) Drink More! You don't feel just how dry it is, like you do outside but it's actually harsher on the body than the heat, so drink more than you think you'll need! Fortunately, since you're indoors there are tables on every loop and available for drink/gu drops. 


4) Cramping! There is a little more muscle cramping on this type of course because your legs are stiff from running in the same direction (30 minutes at a time) and not changing elevation. Hills allow for some of your muscles to get rest as the other make it up on up or downhills... with a flat course, you're keeping the same muscles in the same position for 26 miles. Also, with the increased heat and dryness you're more susceptible to cramping. 


5) Music? Since there is a lot of passing, runners are unable to use headphones, but usually they pipe music in. If you're not used to hearing your own breathing, I suggest getting used to it by turning your headphones down during training runs. 


6) Eyeing the competition! In most marathons, you don't know exactly where you stand against the front runners. You may know how many people are in front of you, but no idea if you're gaining on them. In these races you know EXACTLY where you stand and it's a whole new ball game. 


7) Bathrooms! Port-a-john stops along a road are bad enough on time, but at a field house, you need to run all the way to the rest room so depending on how close the nearest resti is, you could seriously hurt your time with potty stops! 


8) Control Freak! Most indoors marathons, assign lap counters, but if you're a control freak like me then you're constantly worrying that they missed one. Like this, you are less likely to zone out... and trust me, you do NOT want to think "only 130 more laps to go!" 


WS 100 Training ~ Week 5!
*Marathons Begin!*


This was the 5th week of WS training and the first week with a full marathon. I had to alter the "long runs" this weekend as I'll have to do to manage all my marathons. My long runs were supposed to be 18 miles and 10 miles, so a total of 28. Instead, I ran 4 on Saturday and 26.2 (possibly more.... see notes above) for a total of 30.2+. I thought, since it truly wasn't 2 long runs, I should add a few extra to make up for that. 


Right now, my WS training is very important, 2nd only to FINISHING my last 5 states. So I'm trying to make a point to keep all my miles up, even if that means running the marathons a little slower, so I'm able to do more miles the day before and the day after. The was just the beginning... in a few months, I'll be expected to add miles after a marathon, then follow up the next day with another marathon!

H-Hills  WT-Weight Train  SP- SpeedWork  E-Endurance  HR-Hill Repeats

Notes/Thoughts: I'm happy that I got in a run the day before the marathon and it didn't slow me down. This is where I start to push myself as I'm expected to get right back to full blow training (speed work, hills work, weight training) the day after these marathons. I've always gotten right back to running 1 or 2 days after races, but usually they were more of maintenance runs and not training. 


Ok that's enough for tonight. I was coming down with a cold and the cold weather, traveling, and running did not help the old immune system. Gotta rest up to kick this cold so I'll be set for THIS weekends marathons... Rock'n'Roll Arizona!!!!

Happy Running!

Stephanie

"Run to Win" - Meb

Worried about getting injured? Need a boost in speed to hit a PR? Ask yourself... "Have I done my strength training today?!?"

WS Training Week 4 and Marathons Begin again!!!

WS 100 Training ~ Week 4 *Hills Hills, Hills*

Living in Cincinnati, I often hear from other runners "You have a great marathon there!" (the Flying Pig) .... "But there are a LOT of hills!!!" Fortunately (or unfortunately sometimes) I live right in the middle of the course and run on some part of it for most of my runs.  I'm under the impression that it's literally impossible for me to do enough hills to get ready for Western States-- and I'm probably right, but I'm sure gonna try! For my long run this past "weekend" (I did my long runs midweek so I could go out for NYE without worrying about hungover running) on HILLS. The first 16 I picked out the hilliest part of the marathon. The next day for my 10 I went back to my 2 mile "Hill Repeat" loop. I knew I was on the right track when running DOWNhill felt really uncomfortable!

H-Hills  WT-Weight Train  SP- SpeedWork  E-Endurance  HR-Hill Repeats

Notes/Thoughts: After my dropdown week last week, I could feel a big difference running 26 miles over the 2 days, but I think a lot of that was the amount of hills in the workout. I also followed my long runs after a very tough speed workout and a tougher weight training day, so I can see why I felt a little banged up!

NYE!

Since I travel so often for my crazy races, I DO try and make a point to have a life whenever possible. As I mentioned above, I moved my long runs to mid week so I could go out on NYE. This year I went with a few friends over to our neighbor to the West, Indianapolis for a masquerade ball! Fancy, huh? To clear a few things up... 1) yes, I drink even though I run-- it's not as impossible as many people believe. 2) There were 3 girls total in this room... perhaps we got a little overzealous on the booze! 

Trading up my sneakers for champagne on THIS trip!

Cheers to the New Year!

Coming Up...

Marathon madness starts again this weekend. "Woah" you may be saying to yourself, "Don't you only have 5 states to go for 50?" Yes, loyal blog follower, I DO only have 5 states left, but I'm doing an extra 15-20 marathons this year for a few reasons... 

1) Helping MB finish up her 50 state quest (she's about 10 behind me), 

2) Training for Western States... there is no way I'm running THAT many 20-40 mile training runs and NOT getting a medal, and 

3) SOMEbody has to judge all the marathons in the US... might as well be me!

This weekend is the Zoom Yah! Yah! Indoor marathon!!!! I know we've spoken about this a few times now-- ie. my begging them to let me in! So happy to have snagged an entry, albeit a little nervous to run a full marathon on an indoor track. Of course I don't just do things haphazardly... I made sure to do my speed work and 1 of my weekly runs on my gym's indoor track each week for about 6 weeks. Yesterday I did 7 miles and it was not easy. However, I think a lot of that is because of the pace I run when I'm tracking it-- I get caught up and run faster than I think. 

To Count or to Zone... that is the question!

The biggest issue I have with track workouts is counting! No, no, no-- not that I cannot count (I'm in finance for goodness sakes) but counting my laps makes me very aware of how many I have left and I cannot just zone out. Fortunately at Zoom yah! yah! They have a person assigned to you to count your laps. That's a LOT of trust to put in 1 college kid on a Sunday morning, but heres to hoping I got the DD from the night before and not the one that just woke up on the bathroom floor... Oh heck, I'll take the bathroom floor kid-- at least I know they're fun! :)

Upcoming Thons...

1/9 Zoom Yah! Yah! Indoor Marathon

1/16 Rock'n'Roll Arizona Marathon

1/23 Maui Oceanfront Marathon (WOOHOO)

1/29 Windburn 6 Hour Ultra

2/6 Melbourne and Beaches Music Marathon

2/13 Mardi Gras Marathon

2/23 Maple City Indoor Marathon (if Zoom yah yah goes well)

Hmmm I didn't realize how many I had signed up for.... do you SEE what happens when I give myself a 4 week break?!?!? I blame you! Oh well, wish me luck and I"ll have the Zoom Yah Yah race RUNdown coming soon!

Happy Running!

Stephanie

"Run to Win" - Meb

Worried about getting injured? Need a boost in speed to hit a PR? Ask yourself... "Have I done my strength training today?!?"

2010 Miles and WS Training Week 3

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Boxing Day to my Canadian followers! I hope you all got everything on your running wish lists. It was an especially very Merry Christmas for me as I made my yearly mileage goal of 2010 miles in 2010 on Christmas day! (Merry Christmas to me! ... now go run more!) Of those 2010 miles, about 750 were marathon/ultra races with the remaining being relentless training runs anywhere from 3 to 20 miles. I know this isn't a lot compared to you ultra runners, but it's definitely the most I've done.

This was my LAST goal remaining for this year so I've checked all my New Years goals... of course there will be new ones for 2011 posted this week.

WS 100 Training ~ Week 3 *Drop Down Week*

This is my 3rd week of Western States100 Training and it's my first "drop down week"-- meaning, this will be the least amount of miles I'm scheduled to put in until race week! My full schedule is listed in an older post (found here.) Since my 3rd week required a few less miles on my "long run" days, I was able to get a little higher intensity during the week, including longer weight training. Here is what week 3 looked like...

H-Hills   WT-Weight Train   SP- SpeedWork   E-Endurance   HR- Hill Repeats

Notes/Thoughts: This was a much more low-key week, but coming off a 14 and 10 miler Saturday and Sunday last week, the continued workouts with high intensity and little rest, lead to some great endurance building. Of course each workout is run with a goal in mind... speed, endurance, hill maintenance, etc all to help with my upcoming races and to get me ready for WS100!  

Coming Up...

This is my last weekend withOUT a race for a long while! I have marathons/ultras planned starting next weekend and going for at LEAST 6 weeks! I'll be working in the marathon with my endurance long runs on my WS100 schedule. Some weekend may be longer than scheduled, but hey, more miles will just make Western States that much easier... right? ummm right! 

Bloggy Fun! I have a number of FUN posts coming up this week, including...

-2010 Goals Recap!

-BEST Medals of 2010-- Marathon Edition

-BEST Courses of 2010-- Marathon Edition

-Best Shirts of 2010

-And finally.... Best OVERALL Marathon of 2010!

-2011 New Year, New Goals!

-Dallas White Rock and Philadelphia Marathon race Reports (sorry, sorry... I know how late these are!)

So look forward to some great posts coming up this week!

Inspiration Corner

If you haven't already read this months Runners World edition, get your hands on it ASAP! Got a long indoor,  BORING run or workout? Bring the mag along with you and read the article "The Turning Point." This article is written very well and the story is exciting, but what drew my attention most was the attitude of the highlighted runners. Each comes to a point where they have to find motivation to push themselves harder when their bodies are screaming at them. As Coach Nathan would say about running... "Nobody said it was gonna tickle"-- amen!

Just for Fun....

For WS100 I'm going to need a headlamp to run into the night... you know, unless I'm able to finish it in world record time and finish before the sun goes down (don't get your hopes up people... It ain't happening!). So for Xmas I asked for a headlamp. My Aunt Terri (also featured in my Alaskan Marathon posts) gave me the headlamp against her better judgement as she is now sure I will NEVER get married wearing things like this. Hey, married, or not, at least I won't get eaten by a bear because I'm lost in the woods! 

Me and my new toy!

Happy Running!

Stephanie

"Run to Win" - Meb

Worried about getting injured? Need a boost in speed to hit a PR? Ask yourself... "Have I done my strength training today?!?"

WS100 Training ~ Weeks 1 & 2 *Doubles Begin*

Last week I posted my Western States 100 training schedule (post here) but as we know, I'm still not done with a few other goals... 
~ Finish 50 Marathons in 50 States (aka. stay injury free)
~ First indoor marathon and GE Corporate marathon competition (run fast on flat)
~ Sub 3:20 marathon in 2011 (get fast!)


Due to the number of goals, my training is a little crazy right now. I'm plan to keep up the 100 mile schedule I posted, but a few of the runs are going to have special workouts with them to keep me injury free, fast, and ready for those huge WS hills. Every workout has a focus on one or more of the following...
~ Endurance! Double long run weekends and increased overall mileage 
~ Strength! 2-3 strength training workouts after runs
~ Hill Training! 2nd long run day completed on tough trails or on large hill repeats (HR). Cross Training completed on a stair stepper!
~ Speed! Short mileage day will be done with speed workouts. 


Week 1 & 2: 
Overall: My mileage hasn't increased drastically, but the intensity of the workouts has, especially adding some very tough strength workouts in there. The first things I've noticed is that I'm STARVING! I can't start a run hungry or I will get dizzy and not be able to finish. This morning was my 2nd week of double long runs and it took 2 hours of inhaling any food I could find before I felt semi-comfortable enough to start... and even then, I needed to bring a Gatorade to keep my calories up. 


Workouts...

Notes/Thoughts: Started indoor track workouts so I can be prepared for the Zoom Yah! Yah! Indoor marathon and to do speed and tempo runs. Besides the tougher strength training I started for my legs, overall it didn't feel too much harder than my normal workouts. 

Notes/Thoughts: 

HR- Hill Repeats. I found a 2 mile loop of long uphill and long downhill on a pretty good grade. I repeated these for 10 miles as my 2nd long run of the weekend. 

This week I definitely started feeling the intensity and length of my workouts. I added a day of yoga to help increase flexibility. The reason I really want to work on this is for my quads... at the end of ultras the downhills tend to pull on the quads and trash them. Making them a little more flexible should help to save my legs and knees. 

Not a bad start to WS100 Training. Next week is a drop down week for the long runs... which is good cause it's Christmas!!! The week after I'll bump up to 16 and 10 for my long runs... then we have a stream of marathons/ultras coming up... yes, again! More to come!!!

Happy Running!

Stephanie

"Run to Win" - Meb