Race Report: Miracle Miles 15 2011

On September 24, I ran my 2nd 15K in 1:42:48. That is a 7 minute PR from my first 15K in 2009 (1:49:50 @ 11:48). Technically I ran a 15K in 2010 in 1:44:49 @ 11:16, but that was really a 10K and 5K on the same day with 30 min break, so I'm not really counting that. If I were, I still beat that time by 2 minutes.

Official Results

• clock: 1:44:39
• chip: 1:42:48
• pace: 11:01.7 (based on 9.3, but I ran 9.43)
• ag: 86 / 169
• overall: 1053 / 1698
• gender: 493 / 956
• Runmeter: 9.43 miles in 1:42:56 @ 10:55, Map/Splits: http://j.mp/q7zsFk.

Pre-race: I met my group at Lake Eola at 6:30 am, which meant we got to sleep in! :) We ran an easy 2 miles to the start at 1:1 intervals, and got there shortly after 7 am as the 5k was starting. We had just enough time to stretch, take a group photo and line up at the start.

Race: We started pretty far back, which is fine by me to avoid starting out too fast. Most of us started together at 2:1 intervals with the intention of switching to 3:1 intervals somewhere near mile 4 or 5, but it was so hot and humid that we decided to stick with 2:1 for the whole race.

The course was great, with plenty of support, but could have used more shade and less hills :) The race started at 7:30 am, which is really too late for this time of year. We were on pace for a 1:40 finish, but started to fade at the end as the sun really started beating down on us. Jass pushed us to finish strong and I was happy to cross the finish line in under 1:45 with a 7 minute PR.

Post race: after refueling with some oranges, bananas, and ice pops, we walked the 2 miles back and a few of us hung out at Panera for a bit plotting running a coast to coast relay. Good times! Even though this race is always challenging because of the heat, I love the course and distance, so I'll be back!

Marathon 2 Training - Week 16

Seems I overdid it a bit on cross training last week, so this week I was a bit burnt out and chose extra rest instead in preparation for running 23 miles on Saturday. I still managed a bit of yoga, walking, and cycling, so I'm good with that. The 23 miles went great as you've already read from my previous entry, and this week I plan to take it a bit easy also to recover properly from that hard effort and be ready to rock the Miracle Miles 15K on Saturday. I'm treating this race as a marathon dress-rehearsal, but even my marathon race pace should net me a 15K PR since the only other time I raced this distance was at the same race 2 years ago, unless we count the Founder's Day distance dare last year but I think I can pull off something close to 1:40. We shall see.


Week Summary: ran 32.5 miles; walked 10 miles; biked 5.5 miles; 25m yoga (x1); 0 core/strength

• Mon - walked 3.8 miles
• Tue - walked 2 miles; ran 4.5 miles
• Wed - walked 1 mile
• Thu - ran 5 miles (ladder); walked 3.5 miles
• Fri - REST! Slept-in util 7 am! :)
• Sat - 23 miles! 25m yoga; walked 5.5 miles
• Sun - 1 hour massage

Goals for this Week: 

• run 20+ miles
• Miracle Miles 15K
• walk 10 miles
• bike x1
• yoga x1
• core/strength x1

Marathon 2 Training - 23 miles!

I was up at 2:45 this morning, decked out in all pink -- including my super hero running skirt and pink glow-in-the dark bracelet, and looking forward to tackling 23 miles at 3:30 am. The air was cool, and I knew it'd be a great morning.

We started with a group of 10, pretty big considering the early start, which helped the time fly as I had lots of people to talk to. The first 10 miles were nice and easy at 1:1 intervals; I felt great after that loop. We circled back to the school at 6 am to pick up 5 more runners and drop off 2, so now there were 13 of us, and we switched intervals to ran the next 10 miles at 2:1. I started to feel sore and tired somewhere after mile 16, but pressed on. I was still running strong and picking up the pace a bit as we went along, so I know it was more mental fatigue than physical. We returned to the school twice, and after 20 miles switched intervals once again. We finished the last 3 using 2:30/1 intervals and I was still able to pick the pace a bit more.

Despite having to return to the start several times, keeping the stops as short as possible really helped with my motivation and not let my legs get tight. I was sore, tired and mentally done when the 23 miles where done but I still felt strong and like I could have run 3.2 more if I had to. I fueled like clockwork, eating a gel and endurolyte pill every hour, and it worked great. I also re-applied body glide after 10 miles, and nothing is chafe this time. Yay!

After the 23 miles, we walked a lap around the track to cool off, then I did 25 minutes of yoga as soon as I got home. It really hurt at first because I was very sore, but I felt great when I finished and really glad I took the time to do it. After a shower, I put on my compression leg sleeves and compression capris with ice packs, and quickly started feeling back to normal. I've been doing laundry and napping between loads, but I think there is another nap in my very near future :) 

Fun stats about this run:

Total: 23.03 miles, time w/breaks 5:34:03, active time 4:54:06, average pace 12:46.

During the last marathon training cycle, I ran 23 miles in 5:15:34 @ 13:46 min/mile pace in the freezing cold. Today I ran it exactly 1 min per mile faster, in high humidity, and still felt great. Having cooler weather was a blessing.

1st 10 miles, 1/1 @ 13:14 avg pace
2nd 10 miles, 2/1 @ 12:29 avg pace
last 3 miles, 2:30/1 @ 11:55 avg pace

first half = 13:13 avg pace
second half = 12:16 avg pace

first mile = 13:51 avg pace
last mile = 12:00 avg pace

map and full splits: http://j.mp/r7L32z.

Next weekend is the Miracle Miles 15K, and I'm really excited to see what I can do. Bring it! =) 

Marathon 2 Training - Week 15

Great easy week. It was a low millage week, but I made the most of it with some quality workouts and lots of cross training. It felt great to fit in all that yoga and core/strength workouts, but I think I was a little burned out of it by Sunday because I did absolutely nothing, not even yoga or walking or my bonus run (I had already met my goal of running 20 miles so didn't feel the need to push it).

I have a tempo run tomorrow and speed work on Thursday, but I may keep those a bit short to conserve energy for Saturday when I'll tackle 23 miles; I'm so ready! I finally registered for the Miracle Miles 15K in 2 weeks, and I'm really excited about that. Life is good :)

Week Summary: ran 21 miles; walked 12 miles; biked 7 miles; 1.5h yoga (x5); 40m core/strength (x3)

• Mon - walked 1.3 miles; 19m core; 20m yoga
• Tue - walked 4.3 miles; ran 5.2 miles (tempo); 23.5m yoga (2); 10m kick
• Wed - 24m yoga; walked 1 mile; 11m core/strength
• Thu - ran 6.1 miles (track/mile repeats); walked 3.5 miles; 25m yoga
• Fri - walked 1.7 miles
• Sat - ran 9.5 miles; biked 6.75 miles
• Sun - REST :) 

Goals for this Week: 

• run 30 miles
• 23 mile long run
• walk 13 miles
• bike x1
• yoga x3
• core/strength x2

Race Report: Puzzle Run 10K

I ran my 6th 10K race last Saturday, on my birthday, and had a blast. It was my first race since May, and I was really itching to see what I could do. My goal was 1:05, or at least PR. I didn't make goal #1, but I did PR by 30 seconds, so I'll take it. Considering how much warmer, humid, and hilly this race was than my previous PR in Winter Park last March, I'm surprised I managed to PR at all (though I would have been a little disappointed if I hadn't). Part of me still wonders if I could have push harder to get under 1:05, but I feel like I ran a great race; I'm keeping my eye on the prize for my November marathon, so I probably held back a little.

Official Results:

• Chip time: 1:06:20
• Pace: 10:40
• AG: 6 / 11
• Gender: 55 / 91
• Overall: 118 / 170

Pre-Race:  We arrived at the race site pretty early, and there was a chill in the air, so we sat in the car for a few minutes then went for a warm up run. I ended up running 1.5 miles and finishing about 15 minutes before the race. I was already drenched in sweat. It was cool, but still humid. I found my Galloway group, and we headed to the start line. 

Course: The race was in Oakland, next to Clermont -- yup, that means hills, but my training more than prepared me for it because they didn't seem that daunting. The course was very scenic, mostly shaded, and well supported with water, gatorade, and gels. For such a small race, less than 400 people, this was impressive. They also had a 5K, so the 10K course was 2 loops. I really did not mind this too much because I could take in the gorgeous scenery during the first loop, then turn it into high gear during the second loop. Of course this meant we had to suffer the hills twice, but at least we knew what to expect the 2nd time around and could plan for them. 

The Race: I started with my group, but since everyone had different strategies and goals, we spread out over the first mile but Heather and I stayed together the whole time. It was nice to push myself and still run with someone. I was on pace for a 1:05 finish through mile 4, but faded at the end, yet still a PR by 30s.  I ran with 3/1 intervals, instead of my intended 2/1, and as you can see from my splits below I started a bit too fast which is probably why I faded during the last 2 miles. I wonder if running 2/1 intervals would have made a difference, but I'll never know. 

Target / Actual
11:09 - 10:47
10:53 - 10:44
10:37 - 10:25
10:21 - 10:26
10:05 - 11:02
9:49 - 10:59

The best part of the race was when blog reader Clare recognized me during the run as she was doing the 5K. I felt like such a celebrity :)

Post-Race: I was spent and in a dizzy stupor grabbed a water bottle and race medal, which was a neat puzzle necklace (pictured above). It's my favorite because I can actually wear it everyday. Soon we had all crossed the finish line, regrouped for a photo, then  refueled while we waited for the awards since Jason placed 2nd in his age group in the 5K, then it was off to birthday festivities. First my parents for lunch and baby time, then dinner at Cafe 118 (delish! Highly recommend it), then a foldie bike ride for ice cream. It was a full day of fun and I was utterly exhausted when it was over. The true measure of success :) Until next year!

Marathon 2 Training - Week 14

This was a pretty good week, despite feeling a little off for a few days. I'm pleased I got back on my bike , and it may have been just the little push I needed to get back on track. Yesterday was a really busy and exhausting day celebrating my 33rd birthday, and it actually included a ton of exercise. I'll post a full race report for the 10K later, but with a slight PR it was a great way to start my birthday. For now, here's a quick recap of the week. 

Week Summary: ran 20 miles; walked 6 miles; biked 24 miles; 15m yoga; 15m core

• Mon - walked 3.25 miles; 15m core
• Tue - walked 2.5 miles; ran 5 miles 
• Wed - REST (not feeling well)
• Thu - ran 4.5 miles (track)
• Fri - biked 17 miles; 15m yoga
• Sat - ran 7.5 miles (including 10K PR); biked 6.8 miles
• Sun - ran 2.7 miles

Goals for this Week: run 20 miles; walk 10 miles; bike; yoga x 3; core x 2

• Mon - yoga, core (maybe cardio kick)
• Tue - run, walk
• Wed - core, walk
• Thu - run, walk
• Fri - yoga, walk
• Sat - run, bike, yoga
• Sun - yoga, bike, (maybe core or cardio kick)

August 2011 Recap

August was a good month of training. I came close to running 100 miles, but 94 is awesome. I even managed to do a bit of cross training, so I'm please with that. I'm going to make specific goals for September in hopes of being more consistent with yoga and core/strength, so we'll see how that goes. Had a great, and somewhat easy, track workout this morning, and now I'm really looking forward to my 10K race on Saturday. My last 10K was at the end of March, and my last race was in May, so I'm long overdue :) Let's hope we have some nice weather.


August Stats & Goal Progress (near 67% is good)

• run = 94 miles (13x); 504 / 700 (72%) 
• longest run - 20 miles
• walk = 28 miles; 243 / 400 (61%) 
• run + walk = 122; 747 / 1100 (68%)
• total = 121 miles; 31 hours; 1495 / 3100 miles (48%); 272 / 365 hrs (75%) 
• core/strength = 3 fitdeck sessions + 1 cardio kick; 60 minutes
• yoga =  7 sessions; 158 minutes

Goals for September

• run 95+ miles
• walk 35 miles
• bike, no specific goal, just get back on my bike
• 12 yoga sessions (3/wk)
• 8 core/strength sessions (2/wk)

Upcoming Events:

• 09.03.11 - Puzzle Run 10K
• 09.17.11 - 23 Miles
• 09.24.11 - Miracle Miles 15K