2013 Southern Illinois Spring Classic

This race is in Lawrenceville, Illinois and was the second year for the half marathon (they have a 5k too). It is described on their website as "mostly flat" (which I would agree with).

So my training for the two weeks leading up to the race were not ideal. I barely ran for two weeks. So I knew race day was going to be tough. So, I threw out the attempt for a PR and just decided to shoot for around 2 hours.

We drove out Friday night to pick up the packet - pretty uneventful. Then on Saturday morning we got up and went to the race. It started at 7:45 central time so that was 8:45 for me so I got to sleep in a little more than normal for a race, so that was nice since I had not slept much in two weeks. The temperature was going to range from about 35 to 45 in the two hour time frame I was going to be running. The wind was supposed to be no more than 10 mph. So, I decided on shorts, a tank top, and a long sleeve shirt for the run (it only took a couple of wardrobe changes!).

The race started pretty much on time - the half marathoners and the 5k runners all started at the same time. So off we went. Miles 1 and 2 I was running pretty fast. I decided to slow it down some because I didn't think I would be able to hold that pace for much longer. So I decided to try to keep it around 9 min/mile. Around mile 3 the 5k runners turned off to finish their race and we kept going. The "crowd" really thinned out now! I was really thirsty so at the water stop at mile 4 I walked through it to get some gatorade (ewww it's orange gatorade). Ok, back to running until the water stop at mile 6 where I had to stop and get my drink (and picked up a Gu) because they weren't being held out to grab on the go. So drank some more and off I went again. At almost mile 8 I think we turned right and started into the wind. It didn't bother me too much because we were going downhill and I was getting hot and the wind felt good. By about 8 1/2 miles we turned right again and into the wind even more! Yikes! It really got tough from here on out, the wind was only supposed to be up to 10 mph! I think it was at least that if not 15 mph at times. We were running on roads in the middle of a bunch of corn fields so there was no break at all from the wind.

Somewhere around mile 11 we turned right onto gravel! Yikes! I'm not used to running on gravel so I was worried about twisting an ankle so I moved over to the edge to get on more of the dirt and try to avoid the rocks. Fortunately this only lasted for a short while (less than a quarter mile I would guess)! The wind still had not let up and I was definitely getting tired. (this was my slowest mile)

Only two miles to go now though so I just pushed forward. Before long I could see the school (where we started and finished) and my motivation picked up some although it didn't feel like my pace did! We turned into the school and ran up a little and then onto the track. One lap around and it was the finish line. I pushed hard at the end but it felt like I was standing still!

I finished the race in 1:58:26. Not a PR but beat my 2 hour goal! At the finish line was my Mom and her friend cheering me in so that was pretty cool :)

I ended up coming in 7th out of 34 women and was 2nd in my age group! Not bad for not running much for two weeks!

Overall I think they did a really good job putting on this race. It started on time and there were plenty of water stops. Not only did they give out Gu but they also had Honey Stinger nutrition around mile 10 I think. I only had a couple of things I would change - if they had more volunteers it would be good for them to hold the cups out so people don't have to stop to get something to drink; the shirts need to be gender specific; and the age group awards should be broken down into the same intervals for both the 5k (5 year intervals) and the half marathon (10 year intervals).

Here is my garmin data - the heart rate data is useless though.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/288590633

Week 10 & 11 Training

Well these two weeks have been a little crazy. I've had some things come up that have almost stopped my training the last two weeks. So I decided to put the two weeks into one entry. So here is what I did do for training these last two weeks:

Monday - 2150 yard swim plus almost a 5 mile run which included 14 400 meter repeats (in some pretty strong wind too!)
Tuesday - 30 minutes 7 miles on the bike trainer and 5 mile easy run
Wednesday - 1000 yard swim 25:52 - getting faster :)
Thursday - Saturday nothing
Sunday - 5 mile easy run
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - 4 mile easy run
Wednesday - 1000 yard swim and 4 mile easy run
Thursday & Friday - nothing
Saturday -13.1 mile race - Southern Illinois Spring Classic (a separate race report will follow later)
Sunday - 2150 yard swim (my fastest one of this distance!)

Sometimes life things come up and you just have to make the best of the situation. I didn't get many workouts in but I am thankful to get in the ones that I did!

Week 9 Training

Wow! What a training week this has been! Not only a great training week but I also got my new bike!! And I love it! First though, the training for the week went like this:

Monday - had a Great swim! 2150 yards - that is just over 1.2 miles and the best part I did it in time to meet the swim cutoff in the race! Had a great run workout today too! 12 400 meter repeats! Here is my garmin info for the run:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/280545984

Tuesday - 6 mile run
Wednesday - 6 mile run
Thursday - rest day
Friday - 1000 yard swim
Saturday - 10 mile run at a 9:20 pace followed by my first ride on the new bike 11.94 miles in 49:33
Sunday - 5 mile run followed by 30.13 miles on the bike in 2:09:32

So after only 2 days and 3 hours on the bike I can already see an improvement. After 30 minutes on the road bike my left leg would hurt from my hip all the way own my leg. After the 3 hours this weekend no pain in my left leg! That is a really good sign! The seat on the new bike is going to take some getting used too though!

Here is a picture of my new bike :) (and yes I took the reflectors off!)

Week 8 Training

Monday - 1000 yard swim and 5 mile run - 2 miles warm up on the treadmill and 3 intervals on the indoor track paces were 7:41, 7:47, and 7:40 - super speedy for me!!
Tuesday - 5.11 mile run and 30 min on the bike
Wednesday - rest day
Thursday - 6.5 mile run
Friday - 1000 yard swim
Saturday - 15 mile run
Sunday - 750 yards swimming mostly drills and 30 minutes on the bike

Overall a good training week. However as you probably noticed the bike portion of the week was lacking! I'm still struggling with pain on the bike. So I went to the multisport store and talked to them and well- you guessed it - I bought a tri bike! I bought a Felt B16W. They didn't have my size so they had to order it but its supposed to be in on Thursday! Woohoo! I cannot wait for it to get here!! And I am getting a proper bike fit when it comes in so hopefully no more pain!

Worked hard on my swim this week and with some great instructors I think some progress is being made :) I plan on continuing with the drills so that I can be super ready for Racine!

Week 7 Training - A New Dilemma

A lower training week this week than I wanted but I guess I needed a break??

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 3 mile run and 30 minutes (7.4 miles) on the bike trainer
Wednesday - 3.5 mile run
Thursday - 5.2 miles running and 50 minutes (11.3 miles) on the bike trainer
Friday - 1500 yard swim (a good swim!!)
Saturday - 9 miles running and 1 mile walking
Sunday - Rode outdoors! 2 hrs 12 min for 31.2 miles 14.18 mph

Well, looking back at the stats for the week, I guess I thought it was a low week because my running miles were down. Well, they were down, but my swim and bike time and distance were both up. So I guess it evened out?! It's hard for me to think it's a good training week when my running miles are down. I am sure that is because running not only my favorite but also my strongest of the three activities. As a runner, I am finding it hard to train for this triathlon as a triathlete rather than as a runner doing cross training. I think that is why I have had such a hard time coming up with a training plan (which I still do not have). The training plans are teaching you to train like a triathlete and I see myself as a runner and I feel so guilty when I don't run much! I could bike and swim everyday of the week but if my running miles were down I would feel guilty!

One thing is for certain when it comes to the bike - I need to get a proper fitting for my bike! I have had the bike for some time now and have never done a bike fit. Well, awhile back the doc said I have piriformis syndrome. If you don't know what that is well, it's kind of a pain in the butt, literally! So I've aggravated that muscle and I cannot seem to get it back in check unless I steer clear of the bike. My big dilemma is that I kind of want a tri bike :) I like the Felt B16W - well I like the pictures online anyway. So I don't know whether to get some aero bars and a bike fitting for my road bike or just save up and get the tri bike. Hmmm, maybe I could win the lottery?!

Week 6 Training

Well, this week started off very crazy at work so the first couple of days there wasn't enough time left for anything else but sleep :)

So training went like this:

Monday & Tuesday were unscheduled rest days
Wednesday 4 mile run 9:20 pace
Thursday was tempo run day about 6.5 miles total with 4 miles at: 8:51; 8:54; 8:40 & 8:45
Friday scheduled rest day
Saturday 16 mile long run at 9:51 pace
Sunday 1050 yard swim - a very hard swim

Thursday's tempo run goal pace was 4 miles at 8:45. The wind was really rough that day and definitely impacted my pace. Still it was nice to get really close to the goal with that kind of wind! It is so much easier to run hard when you have people running there with you!

So what happened on Sunday? Well, I don't know. It was just not a good swim day for me. I am sure it was partially because I had not swam in 2 weeks. It is just so hard to make yourself do something that you really don't like to do at all! Honestly, if I would have had a computer with me at the Y this morning I would have cancelled my half ironman in a heartbeat. So now I am back to struggling with motivation and whether this is really the right race for me. Maybe I should reconsider and stick to some shorter races until my swim improves? Or maybe I should just survive the swim (as my friends say)? I don't know. Hopefully now that work will calm down a bit I can get back to my routine and start to feel more confident about this race again!

2013 Greater Louisville Half Marathon Race Report

2/10/13

Today was the inaugural Greater Louisville Half Marathon in Jeffersonville. For the first year, it was overall pretty well done. Here is how it went . . .

Well leading up to the race I had spent a whole week doing nothing due to illness. 7 full days of NOTHING! Yikes! I knew this would hurt my pace but I was hoping it wouldn't hurt it too much. The week before the race I ran about 15 miles. Not much. My original goal was to beat my November time of 1:55 however, that was starting to seem unrealistic.

Saturday - Well I had hoped to get in a short easy run but it just didn't happen although I have no good excuse. So I did errands (and I took a nap!) and picked up the race packet. This was pretty uneventful. Packet pickup was located at the Sheraton in Jeffersonville. When I went, I didn't have to wait at all. I got my bib #, my chip timer, my bag of advertisements, and my shirt. Sweet, it's a tech shirt. Bummer, it's unisex so it's way too big. Saturday night, I did not choose the best pre-race meal - Moby Dick fish - it's yummy but probably not the best choice!

Sunday - The clock went off at 6 am but I was already awake. I did not sleep well at all - maybe I shouldn't have taken that nap after all. I eat my normal PB&J sandwich and get dressed to go to the race. I get ready to leave and get the car out of the garage only to find out that it's raining. I had not planned on that at all. So back in the house I went to get my running hat, my old shoes, and my running jacket. Now I have no idea what to wear during the race. It's about 40 degrees which is great except for the rain. I get to the Sheraton and change my shoes to my old shoes as I don't want my new ones getting wet. I walk in to the hotel to find a bathroom and run in to several friends that I had not seen in awhile. After catching up I went back to the car and decided to change what I had planned on wearing. Well, take my advice - don't do that!! I had planned on a tank top with a long sleeve running shirt and my capri running tights. At the last minute I decided to lose the tank top, keep the long sleeve shirt and wear the jacket. I go back in to the hotel as it is almost time to start the race and immediately regret my decision to change my outfit. The running jacket is great when it's cold but it's not that cold and I am already getting warm. Oh, and it's not raining now either.

Time for the race to start so we all head outside and the race begins. My Garmin lost the signal right away because we started under some part of the hotel :( So my garmin says I am running a 6:51 pace - well that cannot be right! I don't think I can run that pace in my dreams! The garmin clicks mile 1 long before I hit the mile marker. Bummer. Looks like it will be off the entire race. I decide to just try to keep my pace around 9 minutes/mile. We run along the river which was cool and would be really great on a pretty day. I am now running with another lady and we just pass mile 5 when the guy in the lead passed us on his way back to the finish line. Well, at least I made it to mile 5 before he went by!

Another mile and a half and I am at the turn around. There was no one at the turn around watching the runners - I found this odd as what would keep someone from turning early? Oh well, halfway now. Around mile 8.5 a lady starts to pass me - well I don't want that to happen so I try to just hang with her for as long as I can (turns out I could all the way through the finish line). When we hit the next mile marker that should have been for mile 9 - it read 10! Well, either I missed a mile and am running really fast or that is just wrong. It was definitely wrong as soon there were two mile 11's! Around mile 11 the girl I was running with and I passed an elderly man who was running the race too. He said to us that if we keep running we will still be running when we are his age - he was 70! Wow! Not sure I will be running then but if I'm still around, I hope to be! Can't believe it took me 11 miles to pass him, hope he doesn't pass me back in the last couple of miles!

Mile 12 - that one was faster and I can definitely feel it - that week off is definitely being felt at this point. That's ok, one more mile and I still have someone to run with! Her goal was to get under 2 hours which was my revised goal also. So we just pushed through it together. She had her iPhone on her arm playing music so that was nice as I forgot my iPod :(

We're getting close now, we turn left and there is one more turn and then the finish line. We make that last turn and the clock says 1:59:20 something. We pick it up and finish at 1:59:35. Wow. That was tough. My legs are DEAD! But we did it and in under 2 hours :)

Overall I thought the race was pretty well done for the first year. It started only a couple of minutes late and there were plenty of water stops with both water and gatorade. The course had some nice views of the river and would be really great on a sunny day. The results were posted very quickly. I think I saw a photographer at the finish line too. My only complaints were the mile markers being off for a few miles and the shirt - I really think all races should have gender specific shirts.

What did I learn today? I shouldn't second guess my outfit at the last minute. I won't do that again as I did get too warm on the run today. I probably should not have wore my old shoes as my legs and feet are hurting - those shoes just need to be retired! And most of all - I have to try really hard to not get sick and miss another week before my next half!!! Which is already scheduled for March 23rd . . .