Surviving the Repeats

It is over. For this week, anyway.

I made it through this morning’s workout due in part to:

• An observation made last night during a play session with Fezzy. As I threw his various toys about 50 feet across our house, I watched his exuberance and joy as he charged down his stuffed frog and squirrel. He happily ran as fast as he could – and while his splayed leg transition turns may need some technique work, his efforts made me smile. He played long and hard – never giving up the chase. And made me realize that maybe I needed to approach the repeats with a little less of a “training” perspective – and with more with a “hey, let’s go for it” kind of spirit.
• An email from my sister-in-law – whose twin daughters are competitive – and I mean like regional and national caliber – swimmers. From the email “Good luck with tomorrow's workout! If it makes you feel any better, the girls will already be in the pool at 6 am, which means a 5:15 am rise time, 15 minutes later than they do all week for school. They will swim and do dryland until 8:30 am.” And it did make me feel better. I remembered being their age – and sleeping late on weekends till 10 or 11 o’clock – and thought – if they can have such discipline and commitment at their young ages, the least I can do is stop whining and work on a better attitude.

So, I went to bed fairly early. When the alarm buzzed at 6:15, I stole a few extra winks, but resisted the urge to find some sort of excuse to stay in bed until bike class. During the car ride, I chuckled as the car temperature gauge dropped from 28 to 22 degrees - when I pulled into the Maramarc parking lot, a few minutes late, but before the group had headed off to start the run drills.

First was the timed mile. Honestly, it was cold. It was tough. My breathing was less than great. And I wouldn’t have minded stopping about half-way through. But I finished with a more consistent pace than some earlier attempts and with a 20 second gain after the first drill in December – an 8:20 mile time.

After a few minutes rest, it was time to start the four half miles. My first one was rather awful – a 4:30. The next three were consistent, better and within an acceptable deviation from my target pace - 4:19, 4:20 and 4:18.

My legs were a wee bit more tired than usual during the subsequent hour and a half bike. And afterwards, while heading to TRIgirl coffee, I realized, in the midst of the relief that the workout was over, that I was relishing the idea of a nap.

An idea I happily indulged a few hours later.

Snow! Snow! Snow!

Or not. Or maybe not yet.

All I know is that after last night's weather report and a few emails back and forth with Coach G, I was looking forward to a run this morning with dainty little flurries drifting by my face. I’ve read other bloggers’ recent postings about a jog through the snow – and thought it sounded so whimsical and lovely.

Instead, I had a later than planned start due to a slightly upset tummy. I did make it to the course, but must have arrived between the TRIgirl groups – because it was me and about 10 other non-TRIgirl folks, braving the elements (aka a cold, but not bitterly so, 7 o’clockish run, with about twenty snowflakes total if I counted the tiny little white droplets that I could see by squinting at the still mostly dark sky).

Less than stable stomach and all, I had a decent run, with a warm up mile at a 10:12 pace, mile two at a 9:43 pace and mile three at a 9:10 pace. I fit in one ½ mile repeat at a 4:13 pace. Considering I missed Tuesday’s run because my body needed a break and yesterday’s workout due to a work commitment that went longer than expected, I felt that I was getting back on track (no pun intended) and was close to meeting my target paces.

After the run, I went to work, still waiting for the predicted white stuff to start falling. A few hours later, the much anticipated snowflakes began to twinkle down. So much so that I thought the bad weather might interfere with the evening's wine club. So much so that during an email exchange with Coach B – I wrote that I hoped the snow would end in time for Saturday’s workout – and he told me that a trail run in the snow would be great fun. So much so that I was looking forward to getting home to see how Fezzy would react to snow.

Well, as of now, looking outside my window to a completely dry and clear evening, it seems that the weatherman was a bit off. But part of me is still hopeful that maybe it is a timing issue, and I could wake up tomorrow to a big ole blizzard!

Changes to My Race Calendar

My credit card saw some action this weekend as I registered for several races.

After some debate, I'm in for the Shamrock and Roll 8K the weekend of St. Patrick's Day. Coaches G and M had figured out a way to fit the half marathon into the full and half ironman training progams. But after some discussion - and even a little back and forth between the coaches, I'll still be doing the 8K. Right now, working on increasing the miles at a pace closer to my tempo pace is a bigger challenge than running 13 miles - so I'm aiming for a sub 10 minute/mile as my goal for the race.

TRIgirl Devil Face and I were orginally going to skip the Shamrock, until another TRIgirl offered us a place to stay (there tends to be a three night minimum at most hotels for the race - and it seemed like quite an expensive hassle to participate in an 8K). So, we concocted the idea for a local alternative - fun (emphasis on fun) St. Patty's run. We're still planning on coordinating this race - with festive beverage stops along the way - but it will probably be the weekend before or after the Shamrock.

Soon after the Shamrock (and the *hiccup* fun run), TRIgirls will be participating in teams for the Monument 10K. I guess that will be another chance to try and hit the sub 10 minute goal - but I'll see how the 8K goes before setting this objective in stone. There are about five teams of five TRIgirls each - so there will be lots of pink charging down Monument Avenue this year. We are also looking for ways to raise donations for the Massey Cancer Center as part of our committment to the race.

The last charge on my credit card for the weekend was for the Smith Mountain Lake Sprint triathlon - a recent addition to the race schedule - but a good one - as it gives us another opportunity for an open water swim.

There is one more race I may throw on the card before the work week begins - the Shady Grove Sprint - but I'm waiting to hear back from Coach G to see if it fits into our taper as it is scheduled for the weekend before Eagleman. Keeping my fingers crossed since I like this race because it is less than 10 miles from my house - and I'm curious if all the training this year will help improve my times from 2006.

Better go update all my calendars!

First Attempts at Our Running Goals

This week’s training included two runs using our new paces.

On Monday, to ring in the New Year, I attempted the first workout - running one mile at the easy pace – and then two miles at the daunting tempo speed. I tried setting up a “workout” in Garmin to warn me if I was off pace. It sort of worked, but I need to play with it some more. I focused on slowing down for the easy pace – and was pretty close to achieving my tempo target with 9:42/mile. By the end, I felt I could go a little further at that pace, but still thought the idea of running six miles was preposterous. It is a lovely dream, though – especially with the Monument 10K scheduled as our first race for the season. Let’s see – at a 9:40 pace I’d finish in just nudge under 60 minutes. To be honest, I’d be thrilled if I can get in the 62 minute range.

Yesterday I joined TRIgirls Molly who?, DL and MJW for our second run drill – two ½ mile repeats, with a 4-5 minute break using our easy pace. Since we met at 6:00 am, it was still dark when we started. The course we run is quite lovely – packed dirt gravel – easy on the joints – and there is a marker exactly at the half mile point – (Garmin consistently says .50 every time). There is one little hill I’d like to see demolished when we do the repeats, but other than that, the course is flat with nice winding turns surrounded by pretty trees.

We did an easy warm up first mile, giving a little moon howl about halfway through. Then it was time for the repeats. Feeling nervous because I hadn’t slept well the night before – and it had been a few months since last doing the repeats – I just sighed and told myself to do my best. With one last look to kick-off Garmin – we were off.

About half-way through the first one, I was ready to stop – and slowed down a bit – so I resigned myself to not hitting the time – except that I did. Not only did I hit it, but I beat it. And not only did a beat it, but I had a PR for a ½ mile with a 3:55. All four of us did great.

We finished the 5 minutes of the easy run – and as we approached the mile landmark to get ready for the second repeat, we ran into Coach G – and took a break for a few minutes to chat with her – and share our exciting results.

As tempting as it was to call it a day, we gritted our teeth for the second one. Since the first one went so well, I was ready to accept that the second one would be a mess, figuring I exerted myself too much and would be tired for the next go round. Again I started out faster and slowed down a bit about half-way through. After crossing the half mile post, I almost choked when I looked down and saw my time – 3:53 – even better than the first one and a new PR. Maybe it was the unofficial break – maybe it was running with our speed demon, TRIgirl MJW – or maybe it was the adrenalin from the excitement of the first repeat. I don’t know, but I wish I could bottle it for the future.

Happy that the worst was over, we jogged the last of the three miles. At the end, TRIgirl MJW jumped in to run with me (she’d finished quite a bit ahead of the rest of us) and – I hesitate to use the word – but it felt like – a sprint - for the last few hundred yards. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever run that fast for any distance – and so appreciate MJW’s pushes and little tips of what my body should be doing when running faster.

Now if I can only figure out how to keep my pace more consistent so I’m not slowing down halfway through the repeats…

Take it Easy – by Buttercup

Finally, it is my turn to post to Mommy’s blog.

My cardinal rule, ever since puppydom, has been to conserve energy. You see, I am a terrier, but not your typical high-strung type-A terrier. Instead, I selectively choose my exertions – for example, when squirrels or groundhogs invade the yard.

I have been trying to teach this principle to both Fezzik and Mommy.

When Mommy takes Fezzik and me for a walk, Fezzik is absolutely inefficient in his energy use. He spends way too much time circumventing around Mommy or bounding from my left to right side, trying to get my attention. I try to teach him proper strolling by ignoring his juvenile pranks, as I hold my head up high and prance about in a dignified fashion in front of Mommy. Never pulling - and only deviating from a noble stance if there is something nasty and irresistible to roll in. As I am nine years his senior, I will give him a little more time to assimilate my philosophy.

Now, Mommy should know better. Today she was supposed to do a four mile run at her easy pace of 11:30 per mile. Instead, she, TriGirl Devil Face and Molly Who? averaged a 10:30 pace for their 4 mile run.

So, I was very relieved to hear Mommy received a “talking to” after today’s run about the value of following rules, especially regarding energy conservation. Coach M emphasized the importance of practicing her easy pace so that when she starts running 15-18 miles, she will not gradually poop out, as she has been known to do during the last few miles of her half marathons.

I will be watching Mommy carefully over her next few workouts. Fezzik, on the other hand, well, I have my ways of keeping him in check.