havin' fun jus' runnin'

My 8 yr Marathon Anniversary this weekend...

2010-10-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

well the rain has finally stopped. The sun has come out too, and those crisp October days are finally here!!
It looks as though all of the stars are aligning for a what is on tap to be a great marathon Saturday!

I can't complain; tapering has not been bad at all this go around. I'm rested, feel no aches or pains, healthy and ready...looking for some wood to knock on...

Seriously though this fall has been good to me, 2 PR's a few wins, weather is cooling and it's almost here!

I am preparing my race both mentally and physically now. I have been putting aside all of my gear for the race; the socks I like to wear, specific underwear, my top and shorts, racing shoes, clothes for after the race.
Also, there are 3 fluid stations for the Elite runners; so I am preparing my water bottles for those. My niece and nephew colored a few pictures for me to put on one, I have a picture of them to put on one, and my other sisters son, my new nephew - they made a collage of a bunch of pics to put on another botttle! What great motivation these are going to be, I can't wait until I get to one of them and have a great reminder of their love and support from afar!

My Husband and Parents will be actually at the race cheering in person, so no need for water bottles, I will have their actual faces and voices, Ha Ha!!

When tapering, I like to reflect on all the things along on the course of training. All of those hard workouts, all of those 20+ milers. The runs in the rain, the heat, all the milkshakes! The Friends that joined me and helped me get through one more run.

This will be my 13th marathon since starting racing that distance 8 years ago, and actually this weekend is the Anniversary of running my 1st ever marathon which was Chicago...Paula Radcliffe broke the world record for the 1st time (2:17:17) and Khalid Knnoucchi won his 4th Chicago Marathon (2:05:55), Jenn Rhines was running her debut as well and finished 14th (2:41:16), this was also Ryan Shay's marathon debut (RIP)

My result: (an hour behind Paula but never let that discourage me!)

Eileen F (F24)

3:17:57

2339

240 / 38

F20-24

3:17:07

Boy, did I not know what I was doing! I finished, that was my only goal that day. But has remained my Goal every time I toe the line, to finish yet another one!

8 years later...I am also running for a finish time...I don't usually share but I will - I always have an "ultimate" goal time, but I also have the "I will still be happy if I ran this" goal time. The ultimate goal time is sub 2:46:00 (the Olympic Trials Qualifier) - the "I will still be happy if I ran" is 2:55:00. but again, I want to finish as well :)

In 8 years I have shaved off almost 27 mins but still need at least 4 mins 20 sec more! ugh!!

Well onto more thoughts and prep for the race. Very excited! :)

Good luck to all those I know that are racing this weekend as well, either marathon, half, 5k, or Ironman KONA!

Reverse...5th and 6th weeks of the dreaded workout series...

2010-09-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

week 5 (8/23-8/29) - It was dreaded!! I chose to do this workout on Thursday, but Wednesday is Karen's, where I ran 14 miles with my 3 friends. However, sometimes on these, they like to try and do a small workout of some kind. When they do I usually just keep running the pace we were and catch up to them after they are done with their pick-ups. This Thursday was a bit different, in that by 2 miles into it we were already running under 7:00/mi pace and we were just getting faster. They usually don't know that we are doing what pace, but my watch is telling me. We went on for another 2+ miles at 6:40/mi pace. At the turnaround, they said to each other, well I guess we aren't going to do our pick-ups. I notified them of what we had been doing and suggested why not do another 2 mi interval at the same 6:40/mi pace. They were up for that, I figured why not do it as well (since I have the snazzy watch), but didn't think the pace and frequency we were doing these would affect me too much on my 3x2 mi workout tomorrow. We did that 2 miles in 6:30/mi pace and I had to hold the reins back on everybody!
Thursday - it was a cool and windy evening. I headed over to the park on my warm-up with the intention of completing week 5 - 3x2 mi at Tempo pace (5:50-6:00 vs 6:20). I tried the first one (6:23/mi) and it killed me to hit that pace, it really hit in the 2nd of the 2 miles. I then thought to try the 2nd. Sometimes my 1st of intervals can be slow and the second and third are much more smooth. Well, I stopped after mile of 1 of the 2nd, it was 6:24. So I was getting discouraged and mad very fast...I thought, what could be wrong?? The other weeks I was hitting sub 6:20 pace no problem. Could my nerves be getting to me? Too hard the night before. I didn't think about it too long and decided to try an 800m (1/2 mi)...if I can hit that at tempo pace, then I will do 3 more, is what I thought. I ran a 3:07 (6:14/mi pace). I decided to call it a night, cool down and head home. I ran through many different reasons why but maybe the workout the night before really did take the thunder out of this one...plus I was very sleepy tired this week. I ended the week with a 21 mile run on a hilly course, we call the Orchard Loop. It was back to the warm heat and humidity and not a cloud in the sky, which is when you don't really want to run the Orchard Loop, as there is hardly any shade! Statred out great, but by the end I was dying! I was drinking way more water than ever, I couldn't get cool enough.

week 6 (8/30-9/5) - Could it be anymore dreadful! Goal was 5x2 mi at marathon goal pace (6:20), but after last weeks episode, I decided to do this workout on Tuesday and really shoot for 3 and see how it goes. It was still hot and humid but I waited until the sun started to go down. I did 3 and bagged it after those. 1 - 6:19/mi , 2 - 6:19/mi , and 3 - 6:23/mi. I was still very tired, and not sleeping to well. With the US 20km race on Monday (9/6) I decided to to review my weeks workouts and try and get quality distance in but alos get some quality sleep. Monday after the dauting 21 mi Orchard, I rode my bike on a flat route 20mi (avg 16 mph) versus running 8 miles. Wednesday was Karen's, Thursday I was in MA all day and took a rest day. Friday I ran my 12 mi morning route. Then we headed to Syracuse to take care of my niece and nephew. I ran 4 miles Saturday and then headed to the NYS Fair and walked around for 7 hours!
Needless to say I took Sunday off as well...my hamstrings were so sore! Plus I wanted to rest up for the US 20km race on Monday.

Cloudy and Rainy for a change...

2010-08-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Well, in with August, has finally brought us some cloudy, cool and rainy weather. For all those hot humid 90° days when we wishing for just a sprinkle during the workouts, it came in droves Sunday just in time for the 22 mile run!

My training partner and I headed west to run the flat cinder/dirt bike path along the Mohawk river (sort of). As were driving out the rain was picking up and temps were about 65°. We placed our water at about 5 miles and 8.5 miles then headed back to the start.
I have to admit; if I had been out there by myself, with the rain, I probably would have packed it in or done about half the run, but we really had no choice but to press on. It was going to be raining the entire day.
About 1 minute into the run, someone turned a faucet on! Shoes drenched and clothes could be wrung out, only 21.5 miles to go...
Every water stop, I was attacked by mosquitoes and at least 3 bit me each time. Ick! I ended up with 10 bites on my arms, hands, and shoulders.

Also a cinder surface is very ideal and easy on the legs, the next day you don't feel as though you ran so far or hard! (TIP # 3)
(TIP # 4) May not want to venture to run on this surface when rain is coming down in buckets, the cinders end up collecting in your shoes or better yet, your sock, right around your heel, and may result in an abrasion, or a bloody heel...which is what I encountered!

Our pace for the first 7 mi was 7:31/mi
The next 12.7 mi was 7:24/mi
and brought home last 2 miles in 7:02/mi - I just wanted this run to be over! Dry clothes and a warm cup of coffee...OVERALL Pace 7:24/mi 22 miles in 2:43:12
Last time I ran this route (only 20.05) was Aug 8th - by my lonesome in 7:23/mi

Last nights run "Karen's"
What looked to be another great night with some clouds and cool temps, turned into a humid 75° and a couple passing drizzle showers!
Wednesday night's is our "Karen's Run" it is the eastern portion of the cinder bike path mentioned above. We refer to it as that because we start at an ice cream/produce stand called Karen's...so when we are done with the run we have ICE CREAM (Milkshakes!)
Last night was our 10th week out there for our run that has ranged from 12-15 miles. A few of my training partners and teammates come out for this run. We did 14 miles; 7 out and 7 back. Shawn left us water at the 5 mi mark in this little village we go through. With this group we always go fast, even when one of us says "yeah I'm pretty tired tonight, maybe we could take it easy" or "I have a race this weekend, I am not going to run hard"...but as we get talking, shooting jokes out and discussing some very controversial topics at times, we end up picking up the pace and running pretty hard.
Paces: about every 2 miles we went from 7:40/mi, 7:10/mi, 6:48/mi, 7:09/mi, 6:58/mi, 6:31/mi, and as cool down finished in 7:32/mi. Really a bit of a spontaneous ladder workout or something.
Milkshakes to finish us off! Yum.
Over the 10 weeks - we have now progressed to finishing at about 8:00 ish, and the last 2 weeks it has been pretty much dark...Boo! Pretty soon we won't be heading out there for weekday runs until next summer...14 miles in 1:40:01

4th week of the dreaded workout series...

2010-08-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

Week 4 of the 3 x 2 mile workout! And it's in the books...much improved from weeks past, I may add!
I have been doing this workout each week at the same park, same route, and on Thursdays except for last week when I was traveling for work an opted for Friday (the 13th!)
It's not a flat route, it actually has a pretty long steep climb in it, about the 0.25-0.5 point. It then goes downhill about the same grade, the last mile is pretty much flat, which is the hardest part, for me at least! It's where I go from a steady 6:05-6:08 pace to 6:10-6:15. I have to focus harder and keep digging deeper to stay under the 6:20 marathon goal pace.
The warmup and cool down are from my house over to the park, and I usually carry a bottle of water to leave under a tree at the start/finish of the 2 mile loop.

Tonight I had to wait until an isolated thunderstorm passed through the area. It actually never rained at my house or in the park, but the thunder and dark clouds were a bit too close for my comfort.

Workout details
WU 2.6 mi
2 mile intervals:
1 - 6:15/mi pace
2 - 6:15/mi pace
3 - 6:16/mi pace
CD 3.3 mi
Finally some really good, close consistency, almost had all 3 the same (that's the idea with intervals)
Tip# 2
intervals have many benefits; if they are done right. The idea is to pick a pace that you can run, consistently for all of them versus running the first one at a super hard pace, but not being able to run the remaining intervals at a pace even close. (eg. of what not to do...3 x 1 mile; 1st 5:45, 2nd 6:05, 3rd 6:15; should have picked 6:01 pace to try and hit for all 3. It's great you can run 5:45, but you are trying to teach your body to run even splits in preparation for racing, which is a pace faster than your normal steady training run pace. In between each interval you are doing active rest (jogging)

At the start of my 2nd interval, I passed this lady walking her dog and then during the last 400m I came running towards her and she was yelling. I thought she was trying to tell me off or something, but when I got closer I realized what she was yelling..."How fast are you running anyway, like what pace?!" she said "you're amazing!" It was very flattering, as this was the portion of the interval where I am struggling!

So once the workout was over and realized I hit goal pace, I was so relaxed. But started thinking about next weeks episode, as it goes from marathon pace down to tempo pace, and then 2 weeks from now it goes up to 5 x 2 miles! Yikes!!
I'll cross those bridges when they come, instead I need to focus on my 2nd workout this week and my 22 miler Sunday! No Lake Placid, going to keep this one flat.

Well, my feet are tired, I need to rest and hydrate...onto tomorrow!

Harvest the Run ;)

refreshed

2010-08-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

hello again. back with a refreshed look. feels great!
last week of training went spectacular. my favorite run of the week was my unplanned 20 mile run in lake placid. the route is basically the last 10 miles of the ironman 2 loop (each 56 mile)bike course.
let me jump back in time for a moment (July 25th) - my training partner and I first ran this course on July 25th to watch our fellow running friends compete in the ironman. so we chose a route that would allow the riders to see us and for us to cheer them on. we decided to run against the riders with a better chance of spotting them. it was the last 10 miles of their course, give or take. we ran it in completely even splits; 1:15:00 out and 1:15:00 back. out was all downhill pretty much which included passing Whiteface Mountain and the High Falls Gorge, back was all uphill (which is the same direction as the riders, that's one really tough course! and they have to do the loop twice!!)
so this past sunday, on a whim, I went back to run the route again. I figured my 20 miler last weekend was on a very flat course, I wanted to get another challenging one in before the races start. also, it was raining and humid at home, and in LP it was about 74°F, and cloudy and I needed a change in scenery! my husband came to fish while I ran, so we actually parked at the previous turnaround point (10 mi out from LP). so you know what that means...you got it...all uphill for the 1st 10, but back down for the 2nd 10.
Tip #1 - on longer runs, put out fluids for yourself ahead of the run; pick various places, it will not only keep you hydrated, but motivated to go the full distance! It's the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow :) )
on our way into town, I dropped water at the new turnaround 10 mi, then 6.6 mi, and another at 3.3 miles from the start. I made sure I had my Gu's with me and then I was off. I love hills, so the 1st half was awesome. I had to keep switching shoulders of the road, due to the angle of it, as well as some major narrow spots. the road parallels the ausable river most of the way, with a gorgeous backdrop of the high peaks. the 1st 10 mi, averaged 7:28/mi, the way back averaged 6:54/mi. Total 20.9 miles 2:30:13 avg 7:11/mi (20 mi split was 2:23:xx). looking back to the 25th, I was about 7 mins faster overall this time, and I was running by myself, and didn't have hundreds of ironman competitors riding along the entire way. the peacefulness was awesome, I was in such a tranquil mood during and after, I love Lake Placid! Runs with a backdrop like this are almost like running and doing yoga at the same time!
here's the elevation plots:

aug 2010

jul 2010

Winter Yoga Series

2010-02-24T10:53:00.000-08:00

We are still on...even with the weather! See you there...

2009-12-16T12:04:00.001-08:00

Bloggr

My 1st official Metric Century Race

2009-07-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

Tour De Paws

Mancester, VT

July 19th 63 mi

4 hours 2 mins

1st Women to finish (Cheryl and I)

Windy and cool temps with the sun out!

another great Tuesday workout!

2008-08-13T06:50:00.001-07:00

This was the 3rd Tues. booster run workout...and progress is good!!!

If you remember from
Week 1 the booster run...was bad...couldn't hit pace at all, really hilly route as well as cutting it short at 6 miles versus the 8.
Week 2 - booster run, changed route to a more flat course but not a pancake, attempt to do the full 8 miles. It went really well, felt great.
Week 3 - booster run, was 10 min WU, 10 miles at steady state pace (6:17-6:42), 10 CD; about 90 minutes total. I used the same route as last week, I just started the steady state portion 5 minutes earlier. This route is so much better as it puts the steady state portion on a bike path with no traffic, so I don't have to start and stop, look to cross a road or anything.
It is my plan to either stay one more week for the booster run at this route, or move to the hilly route again now that it has been 3 weeks, and attempt to complete it there due to my end goal being a pretty hilly course!
I have two more workouts this week (Thursday and Saturday). Thursday's is a new one, not the same as the last 2 weeks progression runs (the progression run will move to Sunday). I have a choice of either a hill workout or fartlek. I am leaning towards the hill repeats as it has been some time since I have focused on hill repeats. This will build more power versus stamina.

Results!

2008-08-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

We were 39th overall in the Short Course Kayak Teams
8th in the Mixed 18-39 age group short course kayak teams (16 teams in this division)
1:32:23 (winner of age group was 1:23:37)

Splits were
5 k run - 18:28 (1 st female)
10.5 mi bike - 41:48
2 mi kayak - 32:08

Congrats Team mates, not bad for the 1st time! Especially a 1st time for a kayak race, and a bike race. The rain held off for the event, and it turned out to be a great day!

You should be proud of yourselves, we finished the challenge!!!

Hope everyone is doing well. We can start planning for next year!

A 2nd Great Ride...

2008-08-04T10:59:00.000-07:00

...in training for the Great Race!

On Sunday afternoon my dad and I went for a bike ride, no rain this time, but cloudy and a bit humid. He took me on route of his, it was 11.2 miles long. Pretty hilly as well, compared to my Saturday ride. We saw some turkey too.

See stats:

Here is the elevation map for the race:

After the ride, I went on my training run, and ran the same course we just rode; 11.2 miles in 1:20. Felt nice and relaxed especially having just got off the bike and after the 67 miler the day before.

My new watch plots all of these stats, plus the maps too.

Busy Weekend!

2008-08-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend...

Drove to my parents Friday with the doggies.

On Saturday morning at about 5:30, I went for a bike ride with my running friend. It was lightning when I got to her house, but we knew we would be riding north so we went anyway. Plus we knew we were going for a 50+ mile ride so to wait would have been too long.

As we made our way north the lightning went away and we just got rain. It poured and poured. By the time we made our way back from the lake it stopped and got warmer, no sun though, but our clothes and shoes started to dry out. We ended up making a 67 mile loop under 4 hours, it was awesome. She is going to do very well at her Century ride for Leukemia Team in Training in Sept. She is doing a triathalon this weekend.

Here's our stats:

Spare time?? Quilting....

2008-07-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Mary and Co...
Check it out...What do you think?
The magazine quilt was the inspiration, the colors of the fabrics just looked like Heather, as I remember her from the shows and stuff.
I hope you like it!

Cool Watch!

2008-07-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well my new watch sooo cool!! I set up workouts on my computer for the next 2 weeks (programed almost like macros) and they wirelessly transfer to my watch. So each day it tells me what my workout is. Yesterday it said:
Today's Workout:
Easy Run
1:00:00 of running in Easy pace zone (7:16-7:46)

You hit enter and it starts the workout. Then I started running and every time I went faster than 7:16 pace it beeped and reads Slow Down!
This is great because in the past I would just run a hard pace almost all the time. The workouts are designed to run hard on the hard days and recover and run easy on the other days. What a new concept! It's been around for a while, I just didn't like to follow it...

I also went on to a site called mapmyride, and transferred courses for Saturday right into my watch so it will tell us where to go, how far, speed etc! It's cool. Even if you don't have a watch like this, you can use the site to find riding routes near where you live, you can print out the map and go!

Almost August!

2008-07-28T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well officially today I start my new training program...Yeah! I won't spill the beans on my Goal for this yet but...if you stay tuned and it gets closer you will find out!

I am going to try and ride with a friend or 2 this weekend for a 50 miler. I would like to ride with my Dad as well, also try to get my brother-in-law out running with me too! We'll see how that goes...

Today's run is a 60 to 70 minute EASY run. No mileage goal, just easy pace, save the speed for the workouts!

Over the next few weeks I am going to be building my endurance back up, but working on some shorter speed things to help my racing performances I have scheduled.

I also got a new watch to try out today. I am pumped about that!

July Racing Update

2008-07-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

Not too bad the last month...of trying to come back around after some much needed rest!

Since back from England, I had a few races I did not want to miss running in as they are some of my favorites. These actually helped me get back into training and got my long runs in versus doing those alone.

July

Adirondack Distance Run - 10 miles - 6th in 1:08:38 (6:50/mi pace)

(I was about 7 minutes slower this year than last when I won the race. And who says I'm talented...not a natural talent, but talented at working hard!) Our Open Team won!

Utica Boilermaker - 15km - 60th in 1:03:51 (6:49/mi pace) - 1st Corporate Female 4 years in a row!

Stowe 8 Miler - 8th 51:41 (6:28/mi pace) This was my kind of course, grreat rolling hills, beautiful views. Our Team won the Open division.

Other than the Corporate Challenge in June (3.5 mi) I can't remeber the last time I had to sprint in a short race like this. 5k's for me are the equivalent to a 100 meter sprint! But I better get used to it. My focus right now is shorter races.

Silks and Satins - 5km - 18:58 - 16th overall but the first 30-34 female. There are a ton of High School girls in this race that are so fast! This is the 1st year I ran this race. Our Co-ed team was 2nd place.

New Site...

2008-07-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Well for those that were followingme on my old web page, I am no longer there. You can follow me here instead.