Jumping the Gun

It has been 15 days since I ran the NYC marathon and during this time I have been thinking a lot about what exactly went wrong.  I was positive that the Run Less Run Faster plan was going to help me reach my goal so I was pretty devastated when I came in far from it.  Also I don't want to forget to mention that during these 15 days I have been enjoying myself immensely.  My parents were just here visiting with my Grandma who has not been here since 1946!  We ate, ate, did some sight seeing and ate some more.  It was GREAT!!!

So let me break it down....  One- I chose to use the 3:40 speed work program and then use the 3:30 long distance program.  This was a mistake.  I needed to pick one time and stick with it.  Two- Even though I was using the faster 3:30 program for long distance I was running them even faster than what was given.  Mistake! Three- My arrogance! I thought I knew better than the Run Less Run Faster authors on what I could handle and what I was capable of doing therefore I became EXTREMELY burnt out.  By the time the race hit all I could think about was ugh!  Let's just get this dam race over.  I do not feel like running. Which resulted in a 4:06 marathon.

Now let me get to the point of the title to this post.  If you would like to see the effects of jumping the gun when the race starts... well here it is.  My splits.  As you can see after mile 1(which was uphill) I quickly jumped to a 7:22 pace.  Ahhh not 8:00 which was what I was aiming for. Miles 2-7 were all under 8. So by the time the 8th mile was over I was feeling way tired.  Then as you can see my splits were all over the place.  One of my weaknesses with running is keeping a consistent pace.  I am pretty terrible at it and should have focused more on that during my training.  I also felt like I was going up and down, up and down the entire race so I posted my elevation as well.  As you can see I don't climb a whole lot but it is up and down.  This added to my tiredness in the end.

What have I learned from all this....  STICK TO THE TRAINING PLAN.  

So to redeem myself and have a little fun I signed up for the GOOFY with my sister Jen!  I seriously cannot wait.  I don't even care about what time I am going for, all I want to do is run a fun race.  Enjoy the distance.  Enjoy the scenery and crowds.  Plus is will be so fun to have Jen run with me.  She is an expert when it comes to numbers and time so she will be the perfect pace partner.  Oh and I told her that she can wear her watch and I am not going to. (I may change my mind later tho. Ha!)

What have I been doing for exercise in the mean time?  Well I am back to 4 days a week.  Last week because my family was here I only got in 3 days but this week I am going for 4.

This is an example

Monday- 8

Tuesday- Xtrain

Wednesday - 6-8

Thursday - 8

Friday- Xtrain

Saturday - 10 (I will add 2 miles each Long run getting up to 18 miles two weeks before the race and then I will taper)

I plan to run up the bridge hard for strength and work up to running comfortably 7:45-8:00 miles. Right now I am around 8:20 because I am still recovering from my last race and I don't want to push it to hard.

So that's it! Long post but had a lot to explain!

Here is to Goofy or BUST!! (Ps I better not bust cuz I am seriously considering the RnR marathon in DC this March :) Who's with me?!

XX
Sarah

Oh and I just watched Forks Over Knives.  Post coming soon about my new diet plan. :)

Thank You!!

I just wanted to do a little post and say THANK YOU for all of your wonderful comments.  It really did help me feel better.  A week has gone by and I can say that I am already itching to run.  I went for a super slow 2 miles on Thursday and I am about to head out to do a slow 5.  All without my watch!!

Oh and I may or may not have signed up for another race in the not too distant future :)  I mean I couldn't really let NYCM be the finish to my hard trained running season could I?

More to come on that later!

Yep I just swiped a couple from Brightroom.  No biggy right?

Have a great weekend everyone!

XX
Sarah

NYC Marathon Recap

Well I didn't reach my hard trained goal of a 3:30-3:40 marathon.  In fact I was far from it.  Everyone has their day and yesterday unfortunately was not mine.  I finished at 4:06:37, my slowest marathon yet not counting the marathon I ran/walked one.  What happened?  I think it was a blend of different things that did not let me do my best.  Here is the breakdown....

This was me headed out at 4:30 so I could make it on the 5:45 Staten Island Ferry.  Even though I got an extra hour with daylight savings I was still tired and did not sleep well.  I think I finally feel asleep around 11 and woke up once at 3:30 and then again at 4 to get up.  After the ferry we took a nice and warm comfy bus to the village.  It was even at that point I was thinking how nice it would be to stay on the bus.  I was not looking forward to running.

Went with the black nails that made me happy whenever I looked at them!

I arrived at my village when the sun was barely coming up.  I would say around 6:15-6:30 It was chilly and I am so glad that I bought throw away clothes at good will to keep me warm.  They were also giving out hot chocolate, tea, coffee etc.  Dunkin Donuts gave out hats so everyone sitting around had on an orange and pink hat on which was pretty funny.  Then I began to wait..... and wait, during this time I kept thinking this will all be over soon.  Not very uplifting I know but to be honest from the beginning  I was dreading running this thing.

This was on the ferry ride over.

When I left at 4:30 I ate a piece of Peanut Butter toast and then at 8:50 I ate 4 graham crackers.  Hardly drank any water and did drink a big scoop of caffeine.  Mistake!   Finally made my way to the start at 9:15 and at 10:10 the gun went off!  I was feeling pretty good the first 4 miles expect I was so thirsty and my mouth was so so dry.  I knew then this was going to be a tough run.  I was staying around my 8:00 pace.  And at mile 7 a sever side ache set in and I think it was due to dehydration.  I had some friends that would be cheering me on around mile 11 so already early in the race I was thinking just make it to them and see what happens after that.

Saw my friends, that really helped but as I ran past my street I so desperately just wanted to go home. I really didn't know how I was going to make it to the finish.  At mile 12 I stopped to walk, drink water and eat my shot blocks.  I was trying to eat them every 4 miles.  It was at mile 12 that I began to feel dizzy.   From 12 on I was feeling super light headed and concentrated on not falling over.  I would run then walk, run then walk.  At mile 17 I saw snowflake sparkles, but I knew I had to finish.  I was at a 8:45 pace.  Mile 21-24 was super hard.  It was down 5th avenue but I really felt like I was running up.  It was at a slope up the entire 3 miles.  Finally into the park and just past 24, I stopped eating shot blocks at 20.  I couldn't think about eating anything else because I felt so out of it.  

After mile marker 24 a guy was giving out salt, without thinking I grabbed it and took it down not realizing that I would not have water for an entire mile.  During that mile I wanted to throw up!  I was really feeling sick at this point.  Finally mile 25 and I drank water!  I was at a 9:22 pace and my last mile was at 9:25.  

I was so happy that it was OVER!!  I really can't believe that I finished.  I really really wanted to quit.  Not to mention that it was super crowed the entire race and after you cross the finish line you are shoulder to shoulder with finishers waiting to get their medal, then through the photo line and then the blanket and finally the food bag about 200 meters later.  All I could think about was getting some water.  I was so thirsty.  The worst part was that you had to walk what felt like another mile to pick up my bag and get out of the park.  I felt like I was being herded like a cow.  It was awful!

Finally I met up with Scott and we went and got some food!!  I am not going to lie, when I saw him I broke down in tears.  All of that hard work felt worthless.  Those hard track workouts and tempo runs.  My training was brutal so I could have a great race but when my race was worse I felt like a failure.  I am not sure why things happen the way they do but in the end I am just happy that I finished.  I guess this means I will have to run another one to reach my goals.  

 

After I ate we headed home so I could just hang out with Ivan on the couch.  I am taking that entire week off and maybe two before I put my running shoes on again.  And the next time I go I am NOT taking my watch!  I have decided after this race I am going back to the days when I ran without a watch.  I felt like a better and stronger runner when I was not looking down at my pace every mile.  Those were my best runs and I want to get back to that.

PS I failed to mention that my feet started hurting around mile 9 and were throbbing the last 10 miles.  I am NOT wearing CEP socks again for a race!  The bottoms of my feet right under my pinkie toes are killing me and I lost another toe nail which means on my right foot I have two toes with no nails!  YUCK!

Cheers everyone I finished!  Here is to another and BETTER race!!

XX
Sarah

I'm Ready!

Did my last tempo run today!!  Woot!  1 mile easy, 2 mile @ 7:48 3 mile @ 7:42!  I am not sure what is more exciting, finishing training or running the marathon?  I guess I will find out when it is all over Sunday.  To celebrate I had a spinach, banana, chia seed protein shake.  It was oh so good!

And I figured out what I am going to wear!  In honor of New York style I am wearing all black.  My black Lulu tank with my black Nike compression shorts, black CEP compression socks and some arm bands that I will rip off as soon as I am hot.  Oh and a black Sparkly Soul headband.  I will have my black spi belt and I am getting my nails done tomorrow.  Not sure if I will go with black but I want to do something fun.  My shoes are not black either but that is ok :)

 

 Ivan is giving my shoes a little good luck chewing!

These are some nail ideas I am thinking about.  Not necessarily the color but what do you think?

I am going to try and meet up with HRG and Skinny Runner either before or after the race. 

Now I just need to go and pick up some throw away sweats and sweatshirt to keep me warm before the race starts.

So what do you think about the nails?  Which is your fav??

XX
Sarah

6 days to go....

Well I didn't end up running on Saturday because it was just to cold and rainy/snowy outside.  I made the excuse that I didn't want to catch a cold or ruin my new shoes.  I didn't run on Sunday either.  It was still a little slushy out and the new shoe thing was really keeping me strong from not going. :)

This what it looked like outside on Saturday.

I did however, venture out to buy my Chia Charger butter.  

Love it!  It is way good in my oatmeal and on toast.

So finally today I headed out for my last 10 miler.  Mile 1 was my warm up along with mile 2 because I was climbing up a bridge and then 3 is a little speedy because I was coming down the other side of the bridge, coasting into a 7:55 pace. I felt pretty good for the most part.  It wasn't until about mile 7.5 that I felt like I was finally into the groove of things.  I think that is what happens when I worry too much about getting into the right pace.  When I know I have more time to warm up I don't stress as much about getting into my 8s. 

My 10 miler today.

I checked the weather forcast and it says the high on Sunday will be 60 degrees which will be perfect.  It is still a little early to tell so I am not going to get my hopes up.  I am going to hit up the expo on either Thursday or Friday to get my race bib and bag.  I am debating on getting something new to wear??  I go back and forth.  It is nice to have something new but at the same time I don't really need more running clothes.  We shall see.  I plan on wearing shorts, my knee high compression socks and a tank with arm warmers that I can rip off when I get hot.

I think the thing that I am most excited about it I have only ONE MORE TRACK workout and ONE MORE TEMPO workout!!  Woot! Woot! Woot! Woot!  Yep cannot wait. 

Wednesday I will do - 6x400s at 1:35-1:39

Friday I will do - 1 mile easy and 2 miles at 8:00

Sunday 26.2 at 8:00-8:23 pace!!!!

So what do you think?  New clothes or wear something I already have?

XX
Sarah

7 more days....

It is 43 degrees right now and raining.  Later today it is going to turn into 2"-4" of snow.  I woke up at 7 AM to run my last 10 miler at an 8:00 min pace and it is now 8:23 and I have yet to leave.  The cold windy rain outside is quickly changing my mind.  Not sure if I will run today, I might just save it for tomorrow.

Me and the Pups

It is funny because usually when I taper I am itching to get out and run every chance that allows but no, not this time.  In fact I wouldn't mind skipping this run all together but I won't.

I will be honest, I was excited about this race for about a week and it quickly faded to a less enthusiastic feeling.  I have trained hard but my last 20 miler was brutal, in fact about a week ago all my runs were slowing down and were painful so I finally bought new shoes which I think is helping but has made me second guess if I can really run a 3:40 or less marathon.

I am supposed to be on the Staten Island ferry at 5:45 AM and I don't start running till 10:10 AM.  Not looking forward to that. 


But to prep I have been eating tons and tons of chia seeds.  Even made THESE chia seed cookies that are more like a granola bar.  Probably because I substituted one stick of butter for apple sauce. I have also been eating lots of oatmeal and squash.  And today I am going to buy  Chia Seed Charger almond butter that I read about on Carrots 'N' Cake.

I am trying super hard to be excited again about this race.  Praying that it doesn't snow or rain or be windy the day of.  The truth is that in the end there is always more races and I am going to try my hardest to be optimistic about this one.  I think the training wore me out and I am ready for it to be over.


So what do you think, run in the rain today or save it for tomorrow and pray it doesn't snow 4"?

Is everyone who is running NYC feel ready?

Happy Halloweekend!!

XX
Sarah

Almost there.....

Ok so, I am sure you have already noticed that we the ATTrio have been so bad about blogging!  The fall is underway and things have been busy.  This is what I have been up to along with my training.  Meet Ivan!  Scott and I bought this little Frenchie about 2 weeks ago.  He will be 11 weeks tomorrow and we love him!!  He has definitely kept me busy making sure he doesn't chew, pee or poop on anything he is not supposed to. 

While I am not training I have already began working on my new Fall 2012 collection!  You can see a little of my inspiration behind me.  I am already loving it!

Down to training with the Run Less Run Faster plan.  You guys, I only have one 20 miler left this Saturday at an 8:15 pace.  Then 3 weeks of taper.  Yep!  3 weeks people!!  I can't believe that NYC is almost here!!  I am getting anxious and nervous, the self doubt is already starting to creep in.  Yes the plan has worked like a dreadful charm.  It has been tough but definitely working! If you want to get faster I highly recommend this training plan.  I am no longer switching it up between the 3:30 and 3:40 plan, I am full on the 3:30 plan. I feel good, my legs are pain free and I can run strong.  Hoping to really stick to 8:15 pace tomorrow (not any faster) and come home strong. 

I also just got another shipment of Muscle Nog!!  Thank goodness because I love this stuff and it will be my perfect protein recovery drink for tomorrow.

I am also a Fan of INGMarathon on Facebook and they are really starting to get everyone excited!  Just downloaded the handbook.  Woot! Woot!!  Almost there!!

How is everyone?  Any big races coming up?  Did anyone run Chicago?  How was it?

XX
Sarah

Not Going to Buy Them!

After my run today I will have ran approximately 536 miles in these puppies.  I bought them back in the middle of May so I would say that I did pretty good stretching out their life span to 4 months.  I know that all the running books out there say to buy new running shoes every 400-500 miles that you put into them.  Well after much contemplation I have decided to keep running in these!  They have been through a lot with me (can't ya tell) and I have grown a little attached :)

Gross some might say, although normally I would not be so bent on keeping these.  It is usually men who grow attached to tennis shoes, not women. But the truth is, I am feeling no awkward pains and I feel like they are still going strong. Not to mention I have many OTHER kinds of shoes I would like to buy this fall and running shoes are not among them!

If you look closely by the big toe area you will see a small hole beginning.

I felt like I just bought a new pair of shoes recently and OH YEAH! I DID!  Not sure if you rememeber but I bought these flat puppies for speed work back in August.  Well the truth is so many people told me to be careful because they were close to barefoot running and I could easily get injured if I run too much in them.  SO I got paranoid and now just save them for my in house DVD workouts until my race is over.  I haven't even ran in them yet.  That's ok, I can wait.  It is just that I don't want to buy ANOTHER pair of the same shoes again.  Anyone feel me?

So tell me, how long do you go before you buy new shoes?

Do you think it is super important to get new ones or do you think I can make in through NYC with them? :)

XX
Sarah

PS I have finally started to get excited for the NYC Marathon! (I like ingmarathon on fb and they are posting way more these days)

PSS My new favorite treat I found at Target!

Counting Down!

It may be a little early to start counting down until the NYC marathon BUT it is what I have to do to get me through the rest of my track workouts!  Yes, I am tired of going to the track once a week and doing speed work.  It is true that it is helping tremendously but that doesn't mean I have changed my feelings about speed.  Only 6 more times do I have to go to the track  :)  I don't mind my tempos as much, it is the track that I dread.

This Monday I had to do 3(2 x 1200m) with 2 min RI and 4 min between sets.  The 1200s in 5:10, which I did.  I actually always came under between 5:02-5:08 but once again I did my own RI of 200m(walk/jog) and 1x 400m after 3 1200s.  I am just glad that I am done for the week.

I find if I don't get up and do my track workouts on Mondays it throws off the rest of my week.  Plus I like to have a 2 day recovery from running before my long run.  I feel a difference in how tired my legs are.

This was me at breakfast after my 20 miler last Saturday.  Can you tell I look tired and worn out. 

This was my dinner last night.  I know, a lot of broccoli but really this dinner was for me and Scott but then he had to work late and I didn't want it to go to waste.  Yes, I ate it all :) 

Grilled Teriyaki chicken breast with a slice of provolone cheese on top.
Steamed Broccoli.

I am running my tempo run tomorrow, 11 miles with 1 warm up and 10 @ 8:00-8:23 pace.  Once again I am tweaking my plan.  Now I am going to try and do my tempo runs in between the 3:30 and 3:40 training plan.  Because my speed and endurance have improved I am able to challenge myself a little more with tempos.  

So I had to share this last!  The other day while I was running errands in the city I walked past The Soft Serve Fruit Company.  Ok this is the best thing EVER!  No dairy and gluten free!  It is frozen fruit whipped into a frozen soft served treat.  I got the banana with peanut butter, chocolate chips and pretzels.  It was SO GOOD!!!  Because the frozen fruit is just fruit and not yogurt it doesn't have an artificial taste. Banana always seems to taste the most artificial to me when it is not real.  This is why this place was so good!  Everything is REAL!

 

When do you guys start counting down?  Is 6 weeks too early?

Honestly I am enjoying the training it is just the track that is so tough. 

I also want to say that I know some of you out there are doing the plan as well.  Don't give up!  It is hard but you can do it!  If you are really struggling try skipping one of the training days and start fresh the next.  Think of the bigger picture at the end.  This plan really does make you a stronger runner and gives you the determination and drive to cross the finish line with success!


XX
Sarah

And the Training Begins...

On Monday I started my NYC marathon training.  If you remember I have decided to follow the Run Less Run Faster  training plan for a 3:40 marathon.  I was originally going to shoot for the 3:30 but right now it is a little fast.  I may work up to it.

Monday's Workout
3x1600m with 200 RI @ 7:02 pace (really I was supposed to do 1 min RI but that was just not enough time for me to fully recover.  So I would walk the 200m before I started up again.

10 min warm up
1st mile @ 6:58
2nd  mile @7:00
3rd mile @ 7:15 (I could have kept my goal pace for this but thought I lost my keys and slowed down to check. At which point I could not pick it back up.  I was just tired)
10 min cool down

Overall I felt better and stronger since the last time I did these.  Which is a good sign!

Tuesday I headed back to MN to spend the week with my family as well as run the Warrior Dash.

Yesterday had lunch with Scott, my Brother and Sister.  We had salads with crispy procuitto on it.  SO good!

I swam and played with the kids but that was about the extent of it.

This mornings workout.  Bryan the speedster came and ran with me.  It was already in the mid 80s and the humidity has been the worst I have ever felt.  Today it is supposed to be up to 110-112 with the heat index.  Needless to say I was sweatin bullets.

Anyways the workout was supposed to be 2 mile warm up, 2 miles at 7:35 pace and 2 miles cool down. Because I ran with Bryan I changed it up a little because he is so fast.  While he was just strolling a long I was breathing very very hard lol!

Mile 1- 7:59
Mile 2- 7:17
Mile 3- 7:31
Mile 4-10:13 ( I had to stop and take a little breather before we started back up)
Mile 5- 8:46
Mile 6-8:18

As you can see the beginning of the run was much faster.  I was tired when I got home and so sweaty that my whole face was burning from salt.  So I did what anyone would do and decided to jump in the pool!  Ahhh so refreshing.

Tomorrow I will be going to Heather's Gym and then Friday is 13 miles @8:53 pace. Saturday will be the Warrior Dash!!  Woohoo!

Anyone else have any big races or fun races coming up?

I almost found some running flats!  Will post what I find soon.  Anyone into barefoot running without the toe flats?

How about the mudder buddy?  I think that is what it is called?

XX
Sarah

Home to some Muscle Nog!

Made home late last night.  I was exhausted!  Dance competition wore me out but I am so proud of the girls, they did such a great job!  I am sure Heather will tell you more about it next week. I was also proud of Heather and I because we ate salads for almost every meal besides breakfast.

Oh and funny story, because I always carry on my suitcase when I travel I just use whatever the hotel has for lotion.  So after I got out of the shower one day I put "lotion" on and then come to find out it looks just like the conditioner! So I conditioned my body after the shower lol!

This was taken on my cab ride home last night.  Sometimes the city just looks so beautiful.

And when I got home my delivery of 4 tubs of MUSCLE NOG had arrived!  Woohoo!  So this morning I ran...


10 miles at 1:30 flat.  First 5 were great and the last 5 sucked because one, I was tired and two, I am stupid and didn't bring water or a gel so I was parched and sweatin like a dog!  I hate to say it but I am ready for cooler running weather.  This next week it is supposed to be in the 90s everyday.  dang!

Monday I start my NYC marathon training.  Yay! and Nay! at the same time.

You guys have any fun plans for the weekend?

Do you carry-on or check your luggage?

Muscle Nog- Who wants to try it? We are thinking about doing a Giveaway soon!  What do you need??

XX
Sarah