slow running

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!

Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon Training: Week 3

A big week for me! And NO treadmill running!

Monday: 6 mi, trail (Bagley), 136 bpm
Tuesday: 6.6 mi, trail (SHT at Spirit Mountain), 141 bpm
Wednesday: 7.3, road (MAF test), 134 bpm
Thursday: 5.4 mi, road, 130 bpm
Friday: rest (work/travel)
Saturday: 4.1 mi, road, 137 bpm
Sunday: 18 mi, trail (SHT out & back starting at Becks Road), 148 bpm
Total: 47.4 mi

This was my biggest mileage week of the year, and thus probably ever, and I set a new personal best in miles covered, at 18. I was really excited to have decent weather the entire week. It was hot on Saturday, but I ran in the evening after we returned from an overnight stay for a family event. It was late enough that I wore my headlamp and turned it on for the last mile or so, mostly for visibility to cars.

On Monday, I tried to take things nice and easy to recover from my long run the day before. Since I was running Bagley, I still got in a bit of climbing, but I didn’t feel overexerted.

Tuesday I parked at Spirit Mountain and did 5 repeats of the “stairs” on the trail just beyond. My legs were burning but each time I reached the bottom again, my heart rate had recovered to an acceptable level, so I felt good about the experience. I ended up running farther than I had planned. I ran down to the Knowlton Creek crossing and then climbed back up, but decided to continue on the main trail back toward the Magney parking lot, to see where I’d missed the turn the previous Sunday. The trail goes down along the base of the ski area and along a creek; it’s a very nice section of trail. I found where I’d missed the turn and can’t believe I missed it, it was really obvious where the trail continued. Mystery solved, I guess. I didn’t think very hard about where I was going, and realized the Magney parking lot was a lot farther away than I thought. I ended up leaving on a spur trail that I thought would lead me to the road, but I couldn’t figure out how to get there. I ended up on an access road for Spirit Mountain, and followed that back. I got to the final ski run and climbed the rest of the way to the parking lot.

Wednesday’s workout, I already discussed. Thursday I took it really easy (obviously, from the 130 bpm HR), running a familiar road loop around UMD and back home.

Sunday, I picked a pretty tough course, starting and ending just after Ely’s Peak. I didn’t climb all the way up the peak, but there’s still some very technical climbing on the trail in the area. I ran more slowly than I would have liked, but it was a training run, and I probably could have had a few more gels/snacks along the way to get an extra boost. I definitely have a lot of work to do before the race next month, though. The last few miles were very frustrating, since I would think I was picking up the pace, then I’d look at my watch and see just how slowly I was going. The final mile was pretty darn slow, but that also includes navigating the rocky sections near Ely’s Peak that required extra care due to my tired legs. My sense about this training cycle is that if I do enough climbing and make a lot of my runs challenging, I will set myself up for a good race. We’ll see how that goes. I still have several long runs left, including a 20 miler planned I think for next weekend, so there’s lots of time to improve. I hope.

MAF Test (Check-In)

Obviously I am not doing MAF training at the moment, but I wanted to see how things were going. I left off here, with paces in between 15:33-16:02. I was pretty frustrated with those test results.

This check-in won’t be truly comparable to the previous tests because it wasn’t cold when I ran, and because I didn’t have the heart rate alarm app on my watch. I did do this test on heavy legs, since I’d done a lot of climbing the day before, but I don’t consider that off-setting of the weather.

Here’s my heart rate graph for the duration of the run.
HRJune8
I really suck at keeping a consistent heart rate. Why? I see other people with the same tools I have with much more consistent heart rates. This is so jumpy.

Here are my paces and HRs
Warm up: 17:55 (120)
Mile 1: 13:48 (137)
Mile 2: 12:50 (143)
Mile 3: 13:05 (146)
Mile 4: 12:54 (143)
Mile 5: 13:02 (142)
Cool down (1.25 mi):  16:18 (123)

Without the HR monitor beeping at me, I had to keep glancing at my watch to see where my HR was. For the first mile I was obviously going too slowly, and for the 3rd mile I went too fast. My paces are much faster than they were before… or were they?

Since I was constantly looking at watch, I was able to notice something. My more relaxed, laid-back stride had me running a slower pace (duh) but not at a lower heart rate. I was able to run faster at the same heart rate when I “leaned in” to the run and turned my legs over faster with shorter strides. So I learned a little bit about how my mechanics and posture affect my running, and now I wonder if I could have also run faster in the trials I ran in the winter/spring if I’d run with a different stride/mechanics? I kept reminding myself to lean in, as I’d naturally “settle in” if I zoned out and would go back to the longer stride and lazier mechanics. I have some habits to break, it seems.

The jumpiness of my heart rate during the warm-up underscores the importance of warming up before a race. I was trying to get a nice smooth curve there and failed, sorry Dr. Maffetone. My last spike in HR was at about 1.4 miles, so it appears that I need to warm up a little longer for MAF tests, perhaps. I did do a 2-mile warmup for one of my MAF tests, the one that gave results closest to what an ideal MAF test should look like, so I guess that’s the way to go from here on out. It also indicates I would benefit from longer warm-ups before races. Something I say all the time and repeatedly fail to do. I have a 5K in a couple weeks so I will see if I can learn from my mistakes and all this data I’m gathering, and do a proper warmup, it looks like 1.5 miles might be the minimum I need.

Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon Training: Week 2

I rested on National Running Day. How ironic.

Monday: 5.5 mi, trail (SHT @ Ely’s Peak), 148 bpm
Tuesday: 5 mi, treadmill, 144 bpm
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 6 mi, trail (Magney Ski Trails), 146 bpm
Friday: 5 mi, treadmill, 147 bpm
Saturday: 7 mi, road, 139 bpm
Sunday: 15.5 mi, trail (SHT, Magney parking lot to home), 143 bpm
Total: 44.1 mi

This was a big jump up for me in mileage, but I feel like I managed it well.

Monday I ran on the Superior Hiking Trail after returning from the cabin. We arrived home with plenty of time for a late afternoon run, and my first iced latte of the season. The run went ok, but I was rained on a bit and things got slippery. I had a few near misses, and then I had a real fall with about a mile to go. I slipped on a rock, banged my knees, submerged most of my water bottle in a puddle, and was able to catch myself on my hands and slow myself down before hitting the top of my head on a rock. I didn’t hit it extremely hard, but hard enough that it hurt, even through my hat. The fall shook me up a bit, as it could have been much worse. I could have twisted an ankle or hit my head a lot harder. I ended up with a few bruises and scrapes, and a heightened fear of running over rocks. I took a slight wrong turn at the end (headed to the other lot, which was closed last year) and added a bit of distance to my run.

Tuesday the weather was terrible, so I didn’t bother running outside. Wednesday I rested. I think it was cold then, too. I don’t remember, there were so many cold days last week. Thursday’s run got its own post.

Friday it was cold and crummy YET AGAIN and I ran on the treadmill. My treadmill running has really improved. Tuesday’s pace was 14:31 and Friday’s pace was 13:59, both including warm-up and cool-down. I’m pleased to see some progress there, although it still feels like torture. People keep setting records for distances run on treadmills in 12 hours, 24 hours, whatever, and I keep shaking my head and wondering how and why.

Saturday I got out during what I thought was a break in the drizzly weather. It was not. I wore my new super-lightweight Houdini jacket and it worked fairly well at keeping me dry, although by the end it was sticking to me and I think the sleeves were saturated. I kept a 14:42 pace without monitoring it very closely and was pretty pleased with that.

Sunday (National Trails Day!) I had planned a 17 mile long run. I was going to start at the Magney parking lot (which I did), run 8.5 miles on the SHT, and then turn around and run back. I had my new hydration pack on, to give it a test drive. (Spoiler: it rocked and I could carry so much stuff!) Some amateur radio folks were set up in the parking lot doing a live broadcast of National Parks on the Air. They gave me a wave as I headed out toward Spirit Mountain.

The trail was pretty muddy from the get-go, thanks to the rain we’d had earlier in the week. It was also rather warm, which was good and bad. Good because I needed the heat training, bad because… well that’s self-evident. I dunked my hat in a stream in passing and saturated it, which felt pretty good, although the brim kept dripping. Somewhere after passing across one of the ski runs, I lost the trail and ended up on a snowmobile trail. I figured I’d pick up the Superior Hiking Trail again at some point and I did, at the Knowlton Creek crossing.

The weather started to turn, and I ended up taking shelter from a downpour under the freeway overpass near Cody St. I sat there for about 20 minutes, wondering what to do. I was dumb and didn’t put my phone in a plastic bag, and there’s no fully waterproof pocket in my vest. Fortunately it didn’t get soaked. My friend Emily gave me some weather updates and I decided to press on once the rain stopped, rather than stop and call for a ride. I felt really sluggish after the stop, so I will need to remember that when I am in aid stations: DON’T SIT DOWN. I ran into another short storm cell after passing through Highland/Getchell, and had nowhere to shelter so I just kept running and worried about my phone. The rain didn’t last long and my phone was in a pocket by my side, so it was ok, but I’m never risking that again. If I’d been fully drenched I’d be looking at a new phone purchase, I would guess.

The trail was muddy and/or waterlogged at this point, with some of the small water crossings nearly underwater. I made a decision to run home instead of turning around, knowing that the trail conditions at the beginning would be even worse than they had been when I ran through on the way out. I figured I could run around my neighborhood to bump it up to 17 miles, if I was short. I changed my mind on that again when I hit Enger Park and realized it was threatening rain again. I decided I’d just run home and the distance would be whatever it was. So, 15.5 miles. But it was 15.5 tough miles, so I don’t feel shortchanged.

I ate two protein bars and one peanut butter flavored gel during the run. I’ve never had a gel before so I wanted to see how that went down. It was fine, but I also wasn’t running at race pace. I also had one sports drink bottle and was drinking water from my vest the whole time. I felt pretty good post-run and was able to go run some errands after a quick shower and a little bit of down time. I think I might try carrying gels during races and eating solid food at the aid stations, instead of carrying solid food with me. I am positive I can’t survive on just gels, I want actual food too. I bought some more gels to try out additional flavors on my upcoming long runs. They are kind of expensive, which is annoying.

I am pretty pleased with how the training is going so far. Even with the increase in mileage, I’m not seeing an increase in my resting heart rate and I don’t feel exhausted or sore, so I am going to continue at this level and probably peak at a little over 50 miles/week. I’m feeling more and more confident that I can complete the marathon distance upright and smiling, with a bit of luck on my side. Now I just need to get more confident I can completed it in a reasonable amount of time.