slow runners

A Short List of Things I Suck At

I suppose I could be positive and grammatically correct and call this “A short list of things upon which I wish to improve,” but I don’t really care to. The list of running-related things that I suck at is long, so this is of course an abridged version. I’m going to give it its own tag since I suspect I’ll be revealing more suckage in the future.

I went for a run at Hartley yesterday that was fairly disappointing, both in length (Hartley is undergoing some kind of logging operation and many of the trails are closed, so I had to improvise. I am going to have to trust that it’s a good thing, as I’m not a forester, though I am the granddaughter of one) and in overall performance. I’m coming off a rest day so I thought it would go well and it didn’t.

Here are some things I suck at, relevant to yesterday’s run.

  1. Running fast (for me, not objectively fast) on trails.
    Once again, I found myself looking at my watch and noticing I’m going at a 20+ minute pace. It’s really annoying. Why am I so bad at gauging my pace? And why is my pace so damned lazy? I did manage to focus on pace successfully yesterday, and after running the first 2 miles in 18-something, I ran the last 3.5 in 16-something. Again, fast is relative, but that is more like the pace I want to be running on trails. It might be too little, too late for Curnow, but it’s a start.
  2. Picking up my feet
    I am always tripping over things that I see. I don’t really know why. It’s annoying. I need to quit shuffling. Especially when I’m like 2 miles in. There’s just no reason.
  3. Keeping my head up
    I watch enough hockey to know that keeping one’s head up is a key part of any sport, but I find myself staring at the ground in front of me instead of focusing on good posture and scanning the ground a few feet ahead of me for hazards. How can I stare at the ground in front of me and suck at picking up my feet? It is the mystery of the dance.

That’s enough for now, I was only running for an hour and a half so I didn’t have time to make any more mistakes.

Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon Training: Week 6

A lesson in what happens when I don’t take a cutback week in time.

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 5.7 mi, road, 138 bpm
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 9.4 mi, road, 135 bpm
Friday: 7.1 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk starting @ Brighton Beach), 142 bpm
Saturday: 14.1 mi, trail (SHT starting at Highland/Getchell), 149 bpm
Sunday: 4.6 mi, road, 133 bpm
Total: 40.8 mi

Wow, I just did not care about running this past week. Both Monday and Wednesday, I took a rest day just because I couldn’t bring myself to run. I simply didn’t care. I hated myself for signing up for the race, I doubted my ability to finish it, and I just wanted to sit around and do nothing. I’m tired and my runs all feel like sleepwalks. I don’t think I had a run all week that I enjoyed.

Well, no, that’s not entirely true. I did enjoy Saturday’s run. I enjoyed having a long run that wasn’t six hours long. I learned a few things on that run, too:

  1. Long runs are much easier when not begun during the heat of the day. I have been starting my long runs at, like, 1:00. That means I’m starting out in the heat, and by the time it cools off, I’m already sapped from the heat. I am doing it on purpose, to try to acclimate, so this isn’t a total surprise. But I started my long run this past week at about 3:45 pm. I had a lot more energy and I was able to run the second half a minute faster than the first half, including a potty break during the second half. This gave me a bit of confidence for the race. It starts at 6 a.m., so I will be covering a lot of ground before the sun gets too high. Of course, some people will be finishing before that point, but I will at least have a few hours of better weather to make some progress. I’ve been torturing myself with these warm long runs without putting them in context with the bigger picture, and I finally took a step back and pieced it all together. It’s good to remember the purpose of tough workouts, and if there isn’t one, I’d better find one or find a new workout.
  2. I can run faster than I do. Ok, these are training runs, so the point isn’t to go fast, especially on long runs. But I am definitely holding back. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I mean, yes, conventional wisdom is not to race one’s training, but am I going too easy? I realize that I am not practicing running faster on trails enough. I’m always afraid I’ll blow up, get sick from the heat, get hurt, fall, etc. And then of course there are the times I think I’m moving at a decent clip, look down at my watch, and see I’m running at a 21:xx pace. Why do I have such a bad sense of pace? Or is my watch just that unreliable? I don’t know. However, in pushing the pace to try to have even “splits” for the run, I ran the final mile, which was entirely uphill, faster than I ran the first mile, which was of course entirely downhill (since I did an out and back). I’m capable of more than I think.

Those are some good lessons, ones that I needed to learn as I struggle with my confidence. I’m less than 2 weeks out from race day, ready to start cutting back (I’ll be doing 2 rest days this week and next, and my “long run” this coming weekend will not require a hydration pack), and ready to do some much-needed mental work.

My biggest fear is the weather, that it will be 90 degrees the day of the race and in the days leading up to it (I don’t have air conditioning so 90 degree days = sleepless nights because my house takes so long to cool off) and I will suffer and get sick. I can’t control the weather, so I need to focus on my cooling strategies.

My other fear is not knowing the course. I don’t really feel like the maps and written course descriptions are very detailed or clear (I’m not sure how far “a bit” is), and since the course doesn’t follow a specific trail like the SHT, it worries me. I worry about getting off course. I shouldn’t worry; this isn’t a new race, not their first rodeo, etc. I’m more concerned about my own abilities to spot course markers and make good decisions. This concern is minor relative to my worry about the weather; I’ve already run two races without knowing the courses at all, and have not had issues. If I knew without a doubt it was going to be 75 and cloudy but not rainy for the entire race, I would be confident about my ability to finish strong.

I have a tiny fear of being swept, but there isn’t an advertised hard cut-off at any of the aid stations, and I do see some official finishes that are over 10 hours, but who knows if I just haven’t read the right part of the website and there really is a cut-off, or if those last finishers had to run without aid stations, or something. I’m not super concerned about this, but it does creep into my mind occasionally.

Now here I’ve gone and worked myself into a small frenzy over a simple weekly training log post. Good thinking!

Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon Training: Week 5

Still tired. Guess I didn’t really cut back on volume, either.

Monday: 8.5 mi, road, 135 bpm
Tuesday: 6 mi, trail (Bagley), 141 bpm
Wednesday: 5.5, treadmill (intervals), 149 bpm
Thursday: rest
Friday: 4.1 mi, paved trail (1 mi warm up, 5K race), 136 bpm/183 bpm (technically on Saturday)
Saturday: 6.5, road, 135 bpm
Sunday: 16.3, trail (SHT starting @ Twin Ponds), 149 bpm
Total: 47 mi

Nope, 47 miles is not a cutback when I’ve been averaging less than that over this training cycle. Whoops.

I’m feeling very uncertain and nervous about this race. I have no doubt I can cover the distance. I’m just very worried about the heat. For my long run, I started at about 1:30 and it was maybe 80 degrees, not sure. I had a steep climb in the first couple miles that took a lot out of me. It was a very difficult run overall, and I struggled to keep cool. I actually stopped and sat for… probably 2 minutes. I never do that. Well ok I stopped and crouched down several times during the Superior 25K. But full-on sitting? Never. I rested until my heart rate dropped into the 130s.

A few times I ended up with too full a stomach from the water I was drinking. I’d still be thirsty but have to deny myself water in order to keep from getting sloshy. I do know I was underfueled, since I had 4 gels and a bottle of sports drink, but didn’t eat anything else. So yes, I made some mistakes. And yes, I know during a race I’ll have access to aid stations where I can get cold water, tasty food, ice, etc., all things that would have made a difference during the long run. The race also starts at 6 AM, so I won’t be out in the heat and full blast sun for the beginning. It’ll still most likely be hot at the end, but I won’t start out hot. Maybe I should try getting up early for my long run sometime. Ha ha ha.

All of this solidifies that even if I complete a qualifying race, I won’t be throwing my hat into the ring for Western States, which I followed over the weekend. A very strange race (on the men’s side) this year!

Race Report: Midnight Sun Midnight Run 5K 2016

Official Results:
Time: 30:02 (-4:19 from last year)
Pace: 9:40
Placing:
Overall: 226/551
Division (F30-39): 20/69 (I think. There are some people listed without ages as well as some unidentified runners on there, so I could be lower.)

Watch Results:
Time: 30:06
Pace: 9:37
Distance: 3.13 mi
Heart Rate: 183 bpm

Goals:
A: 29:59
B: 30:30

Food:
What I ate the night before for lunch: Thai peanut pasta and tabbouleh
What I ate on race morning for dinner: Small steak (bad idea) and corn
What I carried with me: nothing

Gear:
What I wore: T-shirt, shorts
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh. SO CLOSE. Just 3 seconds away from a sub-30 5K. I’m disappointed, but I will survive. I think I ran a good race, and probably wasn’t in a position to run a great race.

We left the house at about 11:20, parked at a ramp on Michigan Ave, and then jogged (well, I jogged, my husband walked) over to the race start. I did about a mile warm-up in all, as we ran a small part of the course to check it out. It was much darker than I recalled. Maybe last year the moon was brighter, I don’t know. But, I warmed up! Hooray! I would have liked to do a slightly longer warm-up but realized it was 11:45 and turned around to get back in time for the start. The start seemed to take forever to come, we stood around for 10 minutes but it felt like 20. We didn’t start exactly at midnight either, and then it took awhile for us to filter through the start area. My heart rate was kind of elevated at the start (still aerobic) due to the warm-up and some slight pre-race anxiety.

Mile 1: 9:54 (180 bpm)
I was in the hole from the beginning, but it was so hard to dodge people. There weren’t pace groups, just a single sign at the front that said 7:00 pace. I think that was just a deterrent for slow people who might want to start at the front. It was very frustrating to try to dodge and weave through people while uncertain what the ground in front of me was like. There were a few small puddles and you’d think they were filled with battery acid from the horror of some participants. They were stopping, panicking, and making sudden lateral movements, just to avoid a puddle that wasn’t more than an inch deep. People were slowing to a walk (and not an intentional run-walk walk) less than half a mile in; just take 10% off your effort and you won’t have to do that, folks! I had a lot of speeding up and slowing down during this time, and it took almost half a mile to get up to goal pace, which was now too slow to make my goal. My mouth was a little dry which bothered me.

Mile 2: 9:45 (184 bpm)
Still above goal pace, argh. I really screwed myself. This did have 2 hills, but I did ok on the hills, even sometimes accelerating on them. I regretted the steak; I didn’t feel actually nauseated in my stomach, but did have kind of a gaggy feeling in my throat. I still had some dodging and weaving around people to do, which was made more difficult by the visibility. There were lighted stretches, and then unlighted stretches with enough ambient light to see, and other stretches in shadow where the ground wasn’t visible. That made it challenging for my eyes to adapt, and I wasn’t sure of my footing at times, so I had to be a bit cautious. So that caution cost me those 3 seconds… but tripping, falling, and twisting an ankle would have cost many more seconds. Right before the turnaround, the woman in front of me slowed suddenly due to an errant glow bracelet on the ground, which she said aloud that she thought was the cone. Um, thanks for stopping short right in front of me. I found anytime I was forced to slow down due to a sudden movement from someone else, it took me a bit to find my groove again, as opposed to a gentler slowdown from approaching a slower runner

Mile 3: 9:22 (186 bpm)
This mile was mostly downhill but did have one significant (for a 5K) uphill. I knew I needed to make up time, as I’d set my watch to show average pace and could see I’d been in a hole the whole race. I did have some slight cramping in my lower GI system but I knew I could power through and it would go away, either when I finished or before. It did, and I was glad I didn’t let it scare me. I was really able to get in a groove and was running much faster, but it clearly wasn’t enough. When my watch flashed for the 3rd mile, I saw I had about 55 seconds to get to the finish, and I turned on the jets, but it wasn’t enough. I didn’t know right away, though I knew it was close. I came through the chute at a sub-8 pace. Some spectator reached across to give me a high five, but they reached out so far I had to dodge around their hand. Look, I don’t mind giving high fives at the finish, but don’t hold your hand out so far it obstructs me. Let me choose if I want to touch you or not. I blew my nose into my hand about 80 times during the race so I saved the guy a snotty high-five.

My husband finished before me by about 45 seconds, and was lying in the grass (because he doesn’t know how to race without practically dying… I could use a bit of that devil-may-care attitude) and called out to me to let me know that he was there. I acknowledged him but he was also coughing and I was like dude if you’re going to be sick get away from me. He was fine, I was just being paranoid. We got some water and cookies and picked up our race shirts, then cooled down walking along the Lakewalk a bit before returning to the car. I felt fine until we got in the car and started driving, and then I started to feel a bit queasy. It passed, but gave me a moment of panic.

I am pleased with how I raced, even if I didn’t get that sub-30 I wanted. This was not a good race to try to push myself to the max, since it was fairly crowded until maybe the last kilometer or so (after passing the last of the runners still heading out), and it was pretty dark in some spots, with some sketchy footing. I probably shouldn’t have eaten steak, but it was what was for dinner. I can analyze every aspect of this race and find a million spots where I could have just changed things a little bit and I’d have made my goal, but it really doesn’t matter. I still ran a very good race, finished strong, improved my time and placing significantly, and now I know without a doubt that a sub-30 race is within my grasp. There’s still a lot of potential left in this body and mind, and I’m not even working on speed or shorter distances right now. We’ll see if I really do try to chase down the sub-30 dream again this summer; so far I haven’t found a 5K I want to run that’s cheap, convenient, and timely.

Midnight Sun Midnight Run 5K 2016 Goals

I have to take a moment here before I discuss my race goals to just lose my cool. I joined the Upper Midwest Trail Runners this year, and as part of the benefits of membership, I’m entitled to a discount at BOTH Austin Jarrow and Duluth Running Co., the local running stores I patronize. But I totally forgot. And I’ve bought shoes, accessories, and gels this year AND HAVEN’T USED THE STUPID DISCOUNT. I’m so mad at myself. GAHHHHHHHHHHH!

It popped into my mind since I’m stopping by DRC this afternoon to pick up my race packet for tonight, and I also need to buy some more anti-chafing balm since I left the one I just bought in my car and it melted into the cap. It’s… semi-usable. Sigh.

So, tonight, Midnight Sun Midnight Run. I’m excited. I know the course, the weather should be decent, and I’m well-rested. I did a speed session on my treadmill on Wednesday (6 x 0.5 mi @ 9:41 pace), didn’t run yesterday, and took a half day today so that I could sleep in a bit. I’m going to run a few errands and then lounge around until dinner time. (And do laundry, oops, I was supposed to do that yesterday, I have no clean running socks.) As long as I can pick up my packet with no issues this afternoon, I won’t have the logistical nightmare I did last year, and plan on parking in a ramp (for free) on the other side of the freeway. That will ensure that I get a warm-up completed.

My goals are as follows:

A Standard: 29:59
B Standard: 30:30

Last year I ran this race in 34:21. My most recent 5K time is 30:51. It might be a little absurd to try to shave nearly a minute off my race from a little over a month ago, but I don’t really care. I have a litany of excuses regarding that race which I can trot out to justify my goals for this race: upset stomach, super cold weather, lack of sleep, no warm-up, overall malaise. I’m well-rested today, had an encouraging speed session, and I’m fairly certain I’m physically ready to hit that sub-30 milestone. I just need to be mentally tough. I need to run a 9:39 overall pace in order to get under 30, and I know I can.

Strategically, I don’t know what to say. I’m not going to line up at the back like I did last year. The race is really congested, but lining up at the back didn’t help avoid any of it. I think I should find a good position in the first mile, tackle the hill on the second, and just hammer it on the way to the finish. The most important thing is to keep digging in and not let up on the pace or get lazy mentally. If that means I need to keep checking my watch to see where I’m at, that’s fine. Right now it appears I need that accountability.

The other mental mistake I need to avoid is assuming I’ve got my goals in the bank. I did this in the Gobble Gallop and I probably left something out on the course. My biggest weakness as a racer is fear. I don’t push harder enough because I fear I’ll blow up or throw up or both. I’ve conservatively raced enough 5Ks; it’s time to throw down.

Summer Running Goals 2

Last year’s goals are here. I didn’t achieve too many of them.

This year, I’ve broadened my focus a bit, and it’s not just about running in state parks. Here’s what I’ve got:

  • Run a <30 5K
  • Run across the Bong Bridge
  • Become a marathoner
  • Recon every section of the Moose Mountain Marathon
  • Volunteer at an aid station
  • Traverse the entire Lakewalk in one run
  • Run from Gooseberry Falls to Split Rock

This is a nice mix of goals, I think. Last year’s goal list was focused solely on places to run, most of which required significant driving distances. There’s more variety to this year’s list, which I think will make it more achievable.

I had to get this post out quickly as my first sub-30 attempt is in just a few days. If I don’t make it then, I will have to try another race in August. That also means finding another race in August that will work. I’m already signed up for two marathons and a volunteering stint, so I basically have to show up and do what I’m supposed to and I can tick off those other goals. The rest are all about timing and planning.

Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon Training: Week 4

I am so tired. Perfect time for a cutback week in week 5.

Monday: 5.5 mi, trail (Hartley), 133 bpm
Tuesday: 8.5 mi, road, 136 bpm
Wednesday: 3.6, treadmill (intervals), 146 bpm
Thursday: 6.5 mi, trail (Hartley), 139 bpm
Friday: 4 mi, trail (Bagley), 145 bpm
Saturday: 20 mi, trail (SHT at Becks Rd to Jay Cooke & back), 156 bpm
Sunday: rest
Total: 48.1 mi

A new milestone! 20 miles!

This week I had a minor epiphany, if that’s possible. I was getting really frustrated with the slowness of my actual pace, when I thought I was running much faster. I’m running lazily. I’m sitting back and loping along instead of running in a more dynamic posture, and the result is a slower pace with the same heart rate. I’ve been working this week on being more present when running, and keeping an engaged posture and stride. I still find myself zoning out, but snap myself out of it when I check the pace and see it’s slow. This might mean I can’t start my watch and then ignore it, at least for awhile, until I stop lapsing into the lazy posture and stride by default. Seeing slow paces flash across my watch screen is a good wake-up call.

I attempted a speed workout on Wednesday. I was doing half mile intervals at 6.3 mph on the treadmill, and was halfway through my 4th interval when the treadmill quit on me. All I needed to do was re-set the power strip, but I took it as a sign I needed to stop. With my strange rest days this week was hard enough; I’d run 50 miles since my last rest day by Friday, and still had my long run on the docket. That’s a lot of volume, and my body doesn’t actually know it’s a new week; it still knew I did 2 long runs between rest days. Oops.

Saturday was HOT. I mean, for Duluth. It was in the 80s and I started my long run at about 11:30. I didn’t mind starting in the heat because I need to practice running in heat, work on my cooling strategies, and see how I handle it. The trail was fairly shady so it wasn’t as bad as what the marathoners were experiencing, full sun with no shelter or respite for much of the race, especially for slower people (like I’d have been, had I entered). I did feel fairly crummy for the first 6 or 7 miles due to the heat. I ran on the Munger Trail for awhile which helped me speed up a bit, although there were several fairly runable single-track sections on the chosen stretch of the SHT. Unfortunately there were also some miles that weren’t groomed well, and the thigh-high grass made me itch pretty badly. Around mile 9, after I’d crossed over the Thomson Dam, I hit a really frustrating section of grass that left seeds sticking to my legs and arms. The combination of the grass, heat, and salt on my skin left me rubbing my legs during any ascent, just to get the itchiness to subside.

I hit a low point mentally in the last couple of miles. People who aren’t slow can’t really understand what it feels like to say “hey, only 3 miles left!” and then realize that still means an hour. I was really frustrated, itchy, bugs were driving me crazy, there were more climbs than I was expecting (not hard climbs, but still), and time felt like it was standing still. There were also Egyptian plague-levels of toads on the trail; if they had been frogs, I’d have been repenting like mad in preparation for the rapture. I was trying to dodge small toads, and clods of mud that looked like toads, and HUGE toads that startled me. There was a lot going on. I also think I was under-fueling. I resisted eating in the last few miles until I realized there was no way I was going to make it, and started on my second protein bar. I had 4 gels, 1.5 protein bars, and a small bottle of sports drink, which was probably (definitely) not enough. Of course, during the race, I won’t let that happen.

I am glad I did that run, though. I am now pretty darned certain I can complete the marathon next month. It starts early in the morning, so I can avoid some of the heat, I’ll be carrying more gels and eating at aid stations, I’ll have a drop bag along the way, and there will be access to cool water and ice for more active cooling.

My rest day was hardly a rest day. It remained hot overnight, at least in my house (I do not have air conditioning or even cross-ventilation), and I had a terrible time falling asleep. I slept maybe 4 non-consecutive hours, before deciding we weren’t going to be leaving at 9 a.m. for a drive down to the Twin Cities, where my mom had planned a lovely day of an outdoor picnic… in 90 degree weather. No. We did end up driving down in the afternoon, with the AC on, and had a short visit. I hate to drive down just for a few hours (we were traveling longer than the visit), but I had out of town family visiting, so it was worth the environmental irresponsibility.  I’m annoyed that I didn’t get to catch up on my sleep, but I still benefited from the rest day.

Step-back week this week, as I need to give myself more rest, especially with the crappy sleep I’ve been getting. I’m hoping to have a good showing in my 5K Friday night!