Peak Weeks and Goal Times

Now that the marathon is less than a month away, I find myself in the hardest part of training: the peak weeks. The ones that require every ounce of my supplemental energy. The ones that put the household chores and social life on hold. The ones that either leave me bursting with energy and confidence or dragging my knuckles with fatigue. Normally, the distinction is obvious. Now that I've got two back to back 65-70 mile weeks under my belt, I still can't figure out which one it is.

The last half a dozen marathon plans have had the same structure: long run, 3 easy runs, one run faster than MP, one run at MP. Each time, I've bumped up the mileage a bit. I've always enjoyed higher volume rather than higher intensity in my training plans, so it seems natural I'd gravitate to plans that have more bulk than speed. The first two or three seasons, I struggled to break 50 mi/wk. Last spring, it was 60 mi/wk. This time around, that peak seems to hover around 70mi/wk. Due to this increasing workload, it is virtually impossible to detect progress in speed. Add in my asthma struggles for the last two months and it's easy to understand why I have absolutely no idea where I stand. If I had to guess, I'm assuming I have similar fitness to last spring, even though most of my race results don't show it. 

Blueberry Breakfast Bar. Appropriate for posts about eat-sleep-run weeks.

I'm hoping that the final two weeks before the taper will shed some insight on where my goals should be. For now, here's a look at last week's training:

Sunday: Rest!

Monday: Run 11 mi, MRP, 1:26,16, 7:51/mi.
This run felt better than any single run in a long time. I had a sports massage earlier in the day, maybe that helped?

Tuesday: Run 10 mi, easy. Not timed.
Beautiful day for an iPod run. Got lost in my thoughts, caught up with my favorite running route kitty, and saw some guy out trimming his shrubs with his ass hanging out from his pants. I’m not just talking about a little bit of crack, I’m talking about his entire butt. How the heck do his pants stay up in that position? Funny thing is this isn’t the first time I'd seen him like this. I hope he wears sunscreen!!!

Wednesday: Run 20 mi, 2:57:41, 8:53/mi.

The best way to complete a rainy long run:
1. Run 20 miles in the pouring rain at 50F. 3 hours of drenched. Clothes weighed 6 lbs by themselves. That’s like half a gallon of water. My feet pruned up and that wrinkled skin blistered pretty easily. We’ll assess the damage tomorrow. I’m sure it’s fine.
2. Dozens of adorable newborn beef cattle prance around the fields and cheer us on. Baby goats galore too. I love springtime in farm country.
3. Matt loans me his spare shirt about halfway through because mine is soaked and freezing. It fit like a dress and flapped in the breeze, but it was warm and felt like running in a fuzzy blanket. He’s my hero :)
4. Time run perfectly with darkness. Perfect incentive to finish before you can no longer see the road.
5. Order taco pizza from the car on the drive home.
6. Pick up pizza just as place is closing, rush home to shower so pizza doesn’t get cold
7. Picnic on floor because we can count laying on the floor as stretching.
8. Cozy up in footie pajamas and bathrobes and dine happily on our lovely taco pizza.

Thursday: Run 10 mi, easy. Not timed.
It was the PURRRRRR-FECT run!!!
New kitty cat PR to report:
Total number in a single outing: 42 (previous: 32).
That’s 4.2 kitties purr mile.
(I don't know what YOU do on easy runs, but this appears to be our new favorite thing. Matt calls it the "kitty census".)

Friday: Run 8.25 mi. 5x1 mile, goal 7:00.

Imagine yourself swimming against the current in water running down a drain. The current becomes more intense as you near the bottom. No matter how many times you swim around the corner, you’re fighting against that force.

That’s kinda what my track workout felt like today. Headwind the whole way. Wind swirled around the bowl the field sits in and it was tough. I did the best I could and am happy that I toughed it out even though I REALLY wanted to quit. Not too far off pace considering I’ve run 125 miles in the last 12 days. My legs are definitely feeling worn out. One more run this week and I’ll cut down (slightly) to recover.

As for that first mile being in two parts, I had an equipment malfunction halfway through it. My iPod shuffle clip fell off my shorts and the really long ear bud cord left it dangling between my legs. I paused my Garmin to get situated again and then pondered what to do. Run half miles or finish it off and continue with the miles as planned? I opted for the latter, only because five mile repeats sounded a lot less daunting than TEN half miles.

Saturday: Run 10.75 mi, 1:45:02, 9:45/mi.

Another interesting story: Matt and I chatted along as we meandered through quiet city streets. Suddenly from behind came a man full-out sprinting. He caught up to us just as we reached an intersection, and then cut us off. He disappeared around the corner. When he finally came into view as we crossed the street, we saw him doubled over, huffing and puffing, applauding to himself and saying “Oh yeah. YES!”  I guess we were racing?

TOTAL MILES: 70

Notes: Okay, now I finally feel like I'm training for a marathon! That uncomfortable, yet satisfying fatigue has crept into my legs and has parked itself there. I find that I can be a little lazy about stretching and rehab things when I'm running fewer miles, but this week I made sure I was a good girl. Miles felt good. I'm still having a little trouble with confidence, but I know that the success of a training cycle doesn't always indicate how a race will go, especially a marathon. Still working hard and mostly hitting my paces.

Lilacs are my favorite!

Lungs are still behaving. Allergies have flared up a little bit again with recent flowers blooming. I'm trying to control it by staying inside as much as possible to avoid all the flowering bushes and trees. As long as I keep an eye on my symptoms, I think I'll be okay.

Next week will have lighter mileage to recover and then a half marathon on the weekend. May try to run a course PR, we shall see.

How do you tell if you're on track for hitting your marathon goal? Do you base your plan off several weeks of training paces or race times?

Adjustments and Confidence

Running with exercise-induced asthma is like underwater swimming while breathing only through a very narrow straw. Occasionally the straw is momentarily pinched closed, threatening to hold it shut. My lungs and surrounding muscles overexert themselves to get a full breath. It is exhausting and terrifying. Since most of my mild attacks happen while I'm using my rescue inhaler, I hold little hope for it saving me in the event of a more severe attack. While struggling through training for the past six weeks, I've learned how to make adjustments that work for me.

Once I decided to revise my training plan, I decided to first tweak it by reducing my weekly mileage, pulling all but the quality (read: hard) workouts. I kept my track workout, marathon pace run, and long runs intact and took rest days instead of easy miles. It didn't work. My body was as angry as ever.  Recovery took much longer with this approach and I absolutely hated running. I felt guilty for hating running. Obviously another change was in order. Mileage: 27.

The next week, I tried the reverse approach: pull all the hard stuff and run straight easy miles. This is where I've always found my happy head space: slow and easy miles. My lungs seemed to agree. The week culminated in a hilly trail race that I ran hard. Not a peep from my asthma. Mileage: 52.75

The following week, last week, I felt recovered enough to resume scheduled training. My energy and desire for running had returned.

Here's what the week looked like:

Sunday: Walk 3 mi.
Marked the Avenue of the Giants Marathon course with race director Cindy. Totally earned my free entry!! :)

Monday: Run 10 mi. 1:27:49, 8:46/mi. Strength: legs.

Tuesday: Run 8 mi. 8x800m. Goal: 3:25-3:30.

The schedule had mile repeats, but I wanted to ease back into speed work. I spent the first half of the workout afraid to push myself. I didn't want my asthma to get worse and undo the progress I'd made. After a few repeats, I talked myself into pushing it. Track work is supposed to be hard. Do not be afraid, you've got this.

Wednesday: Run 12 mi. 1:38:08. 8:11/mi. Goal: 3mi warmup, 8@ 8:00, 1 cooldown.

Matt and I ran this on the Drury Parkway in Prairie Creek Redwoods park.

The wind blowing through the trees created curtains of yellow pollen dust. My ears and eyes didn't enjoy that. I had to wipe the dust from my eyes a few times through this run. I struggled on the first half, not realizing that it was almost entirely uphill. Made the return trip pretty fast and fun.

Thursday: Run 20 mi. 4:45:21, 14:16/mi. 7,085 ft. gain
Ran from the cabin to Devil's Punchbowl in the Siskiyou Mountains. It was a rainy day and made the boulder hopping especially slick. A pretty fun day until that last 2,000 ft. climb back to the cabin at the end. I walked most of that last part.

Slow but satisfying day, definitely made the right choice moving this week's long run to the trails.

Friday: Run 7 mi, 1:21:13, 11:36/mi.
Trail run in Jedidiah Smith Redwoods park on the way home. The Hiouchi Trail is always a fun, easy adventure.

Then we hit the DQ and Azalea Park. My sinuses didn't appreciate the stroll through the park, but it was gorgeous. Wall to wall flowers.

Saturday: Run 9 mi easy. 1:20:55, 8:59/mi.

Y.Kim, SRRC photo.

Y. Kim, SRRC photo. This runner is Chris. She's kind of awesome and running Big Sur this weekend.

 

I volunteered at the club's Master's Race and got thoroughly soaked. Running in the rain > volunteering in the rain. Then I went for a run.

Got in 5K with Paul and then did the rest on my own. All the puddles were streaked with yellow. Take that pollen.

Mileage: 66.

Notes: As more days go by without asthma incident, the better I feel about pushing myself. The heavy legs are, of course, returning, but that's due to mileage rather than insufficient oxygen to my blood. Awesomeness.

Pierson Cabin

As many of our Fairbanks friends used to say, "It's not so much that you love living here, it's just it ruins you for living anywhere else." I didn't realize how true their words were until I finally left. At first, Matt and I had a knee-jerk reaction to living in California. What's with all these rules? Living in our rural corner of the state, it was like having all the perks of country living, yet all the taxes and rules and junk that comes with living in the most populated state in the country.  It has taken a while, but we've been able to find similarly deserted wilderness adventures here in our local area. We were even able to find a cabin in the middle of nowhere to escape to for a few days. Off season is half price, who can say no to that?

Atop Bear Basin Butte and adjacent to a retired fire lookout tower sat our oasis, the Pierson Cabin. When the weather isn't perfect, it is a warm and cozy place to relax out of the elements. When the weather is perfect, the panoramic views are breathtaking. For this particular visit, we got a little bit of both.

When we arrived at the cabin on Wednesday evening, the sun was just beginning to lower in the sky, casting soft light on the nearby mountains. The sun sank below the horizon and we retreated inside for the night. 

Soon, a gigantic moon appeared in the sky and flashed a bright light in the cabin window.  I stepped outside to photograph a great inky sky filled with dazzling little stars and one enormous moon.

Although it isn't as exciting as shooting the aurora, I enjoyed that familiar stillness in the air. Twenty miles from the coast, we could hear the ocean waves breaking on shore and the lights from both Crescent City and Gasquet miles and miles away.  It is peaceful up here, especially at night.

By Thursday morning, the views had disappeared and our little mountaintop was up in a cloud. We went for our long run on the nearby trails and then got cozy with a wood stove fire and our book. By Friday, we were headed back home again, but not before making a detour for some Dairy Queen.

The best trips are the simplest ones.

Arcata Forest 5.5 Mile Race

It was a crisp, damp morning. Even though the sun had been up for a few hours, fog still clung to the coastline. Perfect racing weather. Last year, Matt took over as race director and moved the race date from October to April. Many of the club veterans scoffed at his date change and said it would become a grueling mud fest. Of course, it's always wet in April, they'd say. Add that to the fact that it never really dries out under the redwood canopy and I'd tend to agree. Of course, ever since he changed the date, it has been nothing but dry trails. Many in the club insist it's because he's the weatherman, he can actually make Mother Nature behave herself.

I ran a few warmup miles with Caroline before the race and to my surprise, people were still pouring in. As with most of the other club races, participant numbers continue to swell. Next year, Matt might have to apply for the "large event" permit for his race. Total finishers doubled from last year's numbers. I'm sure they heard how awesome my finish line cookies were last year and had to try some for themselves.

Then the race began. I took off quickly in order to avoid being trampled by the young kids that always go out hard and then walk within the first quarter mile. The first mile of the race is probably the worst. Rising over 400 ft. without a break, it is always a bit of a shock. My Lucky Charms breakfast threatened to come up. My legs felt like lead. In other words, it felt like it does every other time I run this race.

Several runners passed me, including Lanore, who ran a 50 mile race the weekend before. She said she tried to sneak out of her house without her husband seeing her in her running clothes. She told him the night before that she wasn't going to race. Oh sweetie, you're a little nuts. I knew you couldn't stay away.

Mile 2, taken on our run on Thursday.

The course climbed along a wide fire road and eventually the field thinned out. Each steep climb was met with a gentle descent down a narrow singletrack trail. Even though I felt like the next beat of my thumping heart might make my entire body explode, I enjoyed the run. I think. Maybe? It's all kind of a blur now, to tell you the truth.

A heavenly flat spot near mile 3.

Nearing mile four, we reached the second of two aid stations. My racing buddy, Bob, was handing out cups of water. "You should be out here enjoying the torture with us!" I told him. He laughed an evil laugh, "Oh don't worry, I am."

Right after the water stop, two giant hills appeared. They have always been impossible for me to run. Just walking, hands pushing on my knees to keep my legs moving, edged me to that red line. Alarm bells go off in my head and I try best to ignore them. My legs are such whiners. I promise them that this is the last uphill (it isn't).

Until now I've been gaining on Mike, running along in his blaze orange shirt. Through the trees he sticks out prominently. I can see him despite every twist and turn in the trail. We attacked the last hill. Even though I felt like I was running in place, he didn't pull away. He's struggling too. As I finally crest the hill, I pushed as hard as I could and take the lead. From here, it really is all downhill.

Downhill just before mile 5.

I sailed down the steep fire road, my legs running so quickly I could barely control them. My lungs and heart recovered quickly and I felt like I was flying. I picked up the pace as much as I could, trying to catch up to Jen, whom I've never raced against before. It was difficult to see her up ahead in a grey shirt, coincidentally the same one I was wearing. Every one of my surges was answered with one of hers. She wasn't going to let me pass her.

Matt didn't race but this is in the last half mile, taken on our run of the course on Thurs.

We arrived back at the park on a short gravel climb to the finish line. I closed the gap slightly, but not enough to catch her. Even though this year's racing has been slower than last, I was happy with this race. My body worked hard, but no signs of my asthma appeared. That alone is a win because if anything is going to set it off, it would be this race.

51:26
9:21/mi.
1,025 ft. gain.

After scarfing down a couple of cookies and helping Matt with the finish line, we swept the course of markers and cones, running the entire 5.5 hilly miles all over again. I enjoyed adding flags to my shorts. One person walking the trails asked if I was a hula dancer. Banana slugs helped clean up the course by eating up our flour trail markings. All in all, both Matt and I couldn’t have asked for a better day! :)

All photos without the blog watermark are Y. Kim, SRRC photo credit.

A Yurt Getaway

We awaken to sunlight pouring through the ceiling window of the yurt. Matt turns up the heater and heads outside to boil water for breakfast. We dine leisurely on peanut granola or homemade pastries and some fruit salad as we discuss the day's activities.

Yurts such as these are often present in the state and county campgrounds of Oregon.

They cost just a little more than a tent site and include beds, various other furniture, and a heater. Add in a radio to drown out the sounds of Interstate 5, we have our own little hideaway. 

Lunches are mostly picnic style. Often times, we have more lavish picnic lunches than we do when we eat at home. Picnics rock and they don't make me feel heavy and sluggish the way eating out a lot does. Unless we stop for Dairy Queen, which we did almost a dozen times of the course of our time away, we like to make our own foods. It's cheaper and with a little research, we can find some pretty killer views.

After day trips to Crater Lake, Medford, and our long run through the valley, we holed up each night with a cup of tea, Jiffy Pop, and Scrabble. Weekends like this, even though relatively simple, are my favorites. Instead of fancy vacations filled with lavish dinners and expensive hotels, these suit Matt's and my personalities the best. We're both easy to please. Give us somewhere comfy and quiet to unwind and we're happy.

After the popcorn is gone and our minds are tired from building Scrabble words, we retreat to our sleeping bags and grab our book. Ever since we began dating, a special thing we do sometimes is read to each other. We enjoyed the entire Harry Potter series together in college; I've found that Matt's favorite, Dick Francis, is actually fun; and Matt giggles along with me as we read Sophie Kinsella books. Currently, we're reading "Wedding Night". It's a completely ridiculous story, but that's the fun of it.

What are your weekend getaways like? Do you splurge or do you do things simply?

Keeping the Intensity??

Recovery. I think I could have titled nearly all my running posts lately, but last week, I made drastic cut to my planned mileage, eliminating nearly all my easy miles (about 30 of them) in the hopes that it would let my asthma finally settle down a little bit so it didn't feel like I was grinding my body against a cheese grater.

Sunday: Rest
Ah, good start. A+ on the recovering part.

Monday: Run 16 mi. 2:19:36. 8:44/mi.

Easy pace and a lovely playful day in the Rogue River Valley. Running in new places always feels like more of an adventure than my everyday routes at home.

Tuesday: Snowshoe 80 minutes.

Beautiful snowy day at Crater Lake. My allergies were non-existent. Breathing fresh, frosty air is my favorite thing. If I'm not exerting myself much, asthma symptoms don't appear at all.

Wednesday: Run 5 mi. 47:20, 9:28/mi.

Lovely recovery run. I couldn't get in the car to go home without one more morning run through the valley. Here's a few photos from our lunch spot on the way home. This is my favorite place on Hwy 199......and that's saying a lot because there are THREE Dairy Queens on the way:

This is Lake Selmac. Isn't she pretty?!

Thursday: Run 6 mi: 3x1mi. (Goal: sub-7:00)

This workout felt awful from the very beginning. My legs were heavy, I had a lot of the usual respiratory issues. It was planned to be four repeats, but I didn't have it in me to grind out one more.

Friday and Saturday: Rest!
Didn't feel like running and wanted to rest for Sunday's mile and hour timed races.

TOTAL MILES: 27

Notes: I admit, I'm still figuring out how to adjust my workouts when my allergies and EIA are really bad. This week, I think I made the wrong choice. The hard workouts aggravate my body more than the easy ones and it took forever to recover from them. Next week, we'll try the reverse: pulling out a lot of the hard workouts and sticking with easy miles. My body enjoys the volume and daily running to clear out the gunk, so the fast stuff will have to wait a little longer.