Looking Ahead to the 2012 Season

I was at a triathlete party last weekend, and it seemed that I was the only one who had not planned their race schedule for 2012. Time to start planning!

I have three goals for the 2012 race season:

(1) I want to run a half-marathon in less than 2 hours. My current PR is 2:07, a 9:42 pace, achieved at probably my strongest point in marathon training. I’d need to improve that pace by 32 seconds a mile—not an insignificant feat, but a doable challenge over an entire year.

(2) I want to PR my second marathon. Since my first marathon was Boston, whatever one I choose to do next is necessarily going to be an easier course, so I think this is a very doable goal. The harder part is figuring out how the marathon fits into my race schedule in a way that will not result in overtraining or injury.

(3) I want to earn guaranteed entry to the 2013 New York Marathon through New York Road Runners’ 9+1 program. This requires participating in 9 NYRR scored races (which can be short, 5K or 10K races) and volunteering at one race.

My plan, then, is use a few spring half-marathons to inch my time closer to the 2-hour mark, pick a fall marathon, and then a half-marathon as part of that training where I can meet my goal. My biggest challenge in this schedule is going to be that the PMC, a 190-mile charity bike ride on August 4-5, eats up all of July from a training perspective, and I’ll need to make sure I get a bit of rest from that before beginning the intense part of marathon training. Marine Corps Marathon (end of October) and Philadelphia Marathon (middle November) make a lot of sense, since I wouldn’t have to start 18+ mile runs until September. I have a slight preference for Marine Corps since my brother-in-law was a Marine, so that is my first choice if I can get in.

As far as half-marathons go, I am looking for suggestions from the endurance sports community. I registered for the NYC half lottery (March 18), but since that is not guaranteed, I am looking at alternate options. 13.1 is running its first race in New York on March 24, but “inaugural” could very well mean “we still have kinks to work out”. The Brooklyn Half in May helps toward all three goals.  I liked the experience of traveling to try a new half (even if I didn’t like the Vegas half itself), so I’m looking for ideas for a September running trip. The 5 and 10Ks should be easy to add in without much planning, and if I do the two half-marathons, I only need 7.

Then there is the matter of triathlons. I liked Pat Griskas Olympic (June 16) but I am hoping to be in Boston that weekend for the arrival of my new niece or nephew (congrats, Gail and Michael!). Rev3 Quassy Olympic (June 2) is a possibility as well, though I worry about being able to get through a 1-mile swim that early in the open water season. Alternately, I could do Great South Bay Sprint (June 3) and perhaps throw in Patriot Sprint when I am in Boston on the 16^th. I don’t race in July because of PMC training, so the question becomes whether an August triathlon can fit into the marathon training plan—and if so, which one? Cranberry (outside Boston) is one of my favorite races and site of my best ever bike leg—but, when added to the PMC, that’s a lot of schlepping of my bike back and forth to Boston next summer. The real question is whether to do a sprint or Olympic. I’d like to get in one Olympic on the 2012 season, but it would wipe me out from running for a few days when I need to be ramping up marathon training.

So, my dear readers, what do you think? Any recommendations for September halves or other NYC-area triathlons? Anyone want to join me on any of these adventures?

Race Report: Viva Las Vegas

When I heard about the Vegas Rock and Roll half-marathon, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to combine my two favorite hobbies, endurance sports and poker. On paper, the race looked perfect: it was not until 5:30pm, so I could gamble on Saturday night and not worry about having to go to bed early; the race course was flat as a pancake; and it took you down the strip at night when it was all lit up. After a strong race during the Newton half, Vegas seemed like a great opportunity to make a run at my half-marathon PR (2:07). Unfortunately, the race proved much more challenging that I had planned.

Over 45,000 runners showed up for the race, including thousands of walkers. While there was a separation between the half-marathon and the full marathon, there was no wave system for the half-marathon.  Runners had been assigned to corrals, but no one controlled the crowd to put runners in the proper corral. As a result, many walkers and slower runners started near the front of the race. I started off motivated for a PR, and pushed hard to get through the crowd on the first two miles—and started adding extra distance to each mile from all the weaving.

Right before Mile 3, I got a horrible cramp and had to slow down. It got better, but the crowd did not, and I continued to feel stressed about the lack of space in which to run. Nutrition and hydration was also a problem. Though the temperature was in the 50s, the desert air was still very dry. I drank a steady stream of water and Gatorade starting Saturday morning up until race time on Sunday, and I still felt dehydrated around the middle of the race. Switching time zones also meant that I wasn’t hungry when I should have been and therefore ate less than usual. Not being at home made it more difficult to control diet in a way to maximize energy—for example, I had to beg a waitress at lunch on Sunday for a basket of bread because there was just nothing that was all carbs on the menu. And sharing a hotel room with three other people was not exactly conducive to a good night’s sleep before the race.

At about Mile 5, I gave up on the PR. I had been so wrapped up in worrying about my time that I was not having fun and appreciating the experience. So I slowed it down and tried to relax and enjoy the lights of Vegas at night. It took a lot more work than usual to push myself through each mile, but I just kept going and slowly but surely they passed by. At Mile 9, we began to approach the main part of the Strip again, and seeing it all lit up at night was rather awesome. My cheering squad was at Mile 11, so that motivated me for two more miles (thanks Sarah, Greg, Sophy, and Soneth!).

The last two miles felt like I was running uphill even though it was flat. The stress of the crowd, the pain from more cramps, and the dwindling energy made me very emotional. Keith, my steadfast running buddy, encouraged me to think of my post-race meal as motivation. But it didn’t help. I hit the last mile and just started counting down the minutes. The approach to the finish was so crowded that I could not have sprinted even if I had wanted to. But finally, I was done.

While it was not my best race experience, I learned a lot. First of all, I learned that when signing up for a new race, I need to do more research on race size and set-up beforehand. And I can’t sign up for races that are three weeks apart from each other—that’s not enough time for a full recovery. I do think that I built up some mental fortitude by dealing with the crushed expectations and pushing through. Hopefully that will help me continue to improve.

Many thanks to Keith for sticking with me throughout the 13.1 and keeping me from losing it in the crowd!   

Runnin' Down the Perfect Playlist

As the weather gets colder and more workouts move inside, having a good workout sound track becomes even more crucial. I am a person who always needs noise, whether it is in the office or on the running path, so I have spent a great deal of time thinking about the art of the perfect playlist. And at the request of my friend Laura Miyakawa, here are some of the guiding principles I have developed.

First, a caveat: while music can help motivate you in a workout, wearing ear buds can be a safety risk at times. I never, ever wear my ipod when I bike outside. Since moving to New York City, I have stopped using them in some of my outdoor runs as well, particularly when running with a group or on a city street. I love music when swimming laps, but if the pool is crowded, the AudioH2O device stays in the lockerroom. Sometimes being alone with my thoughts for an hour is not all that bad.

With that in mind, here’s some advice on how to create a motivating audio experience.

1) Pick songs with tempos that match the workout you are doing. For running, most of the songs should have a steady, slightly fast beat, with a few faster songs to motivate you to push it every so often. For an indoor cycling workout, I look for songs that have fast choruses for sprints and use some slightly slower songs for climbs. For swimming, since I am incapable of sprinting in a pool anyways, I go more with just songs that make me happy. Some examples of my favorites:

·    Running: Anything by Rihanna (her songs have great beats); the Biggest Loser soundtracks, most Katy Perry songs, Tom Petty’s Runnin’ Down the Dream, We Weren’t Born to Follow or You Give Love a Bad name by Bon Jovi.

·    Cycling: Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance is the perfect interval song. Stronger by Kanye West is a great hill song, as is the new song Princess of China by Coldplay with Rihanna. Many U2 songs work here as well—Beautiful Day, Mysterious Ways, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for.

·     Swimming: I often shuffle the soundtrack from a show or movie that makes me happy, such as Glee. An 80s playlist is fun in the pool as well.

2) For a race, add a few songs that make you laugh or smile. These are songs that remind me of particular people or sings that I love—songs that I connect with emotionally and give me strength to push through. For me, these include: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey (my life motto), Centerfield by John Fogerty (love thinking about a brand new baseball game about to start), the Ohio State Fight Song (Go Buckeyes!!), Kanye West’s New Workout Plan (inside joke with a good friend), Love Bites by QED (reminds me of college roommates who are still my best friends). I started putting Motley Crue (Kickstart my Heart or Dr. Feelgood) for a friend in our indoor cycling class last year, and it has stayed on the playlist as a reminder of the important role that the Boston Performance Coaching crew has played in my life (same with Total Eclipse of the Heart, though that was on the list to annoy someone, not please).

3) Add a few new songs for each long-distance race. You’ll get excited when the song comes on because you are not used to hearing it and that will help you get through the distance. For Newton half, I used Stereo Hearts (the GymClassHeroes version) (awesome lyrics), All of the Lights (Dustin Pedroia’s at-bat music), and Lady Gaga’s Edge of Glory (glory is a motivating word when you are on hills).

4). Pick a few songs that just motivate you. I like girl power songs, like Beyonce’s Single Ladies, or songs about just seizing the moment, like Eminem’s Lose Yourself. Katy Perry’s Firework is also great for this purpose, because it has a really uplifting beat and lyrics that make you feel like you’re awesome. My half-marathon PR is thanks to this song coming on at Mile 12 and me deciding to “Firework” the mile.

This weekend, I will be running my first Rock and Roll half marathon (in Las Vegas), so I won’t need a playlist. I’m looking forward hearing what the bands have to offer and taking in all the sounds and sights of the strip at night. But I don’t know how I’ll get through it without some “Livin just to find emotion hiding somewhere in the niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.”

Newton Half Race Plan: Bring Home the Bacon!

It has been suggested to me that one way to improve my performance during a race is to have a “race plan”—a strategy for how to warm up, what your pace should be at various points in the race, and what your nutrition and fluid intake should be like. Since I have only two paces (running and walking) and already know I will stop at every possible water stop, my plan for the Newton Half Marathon this weekend is simple: to burn enough calories to accommodate the bacon I will eat at our post-race brunch.

You see, I love bacon. I love its smell, its crispy texture, and the greasy feel it leaves in your mouth. I normally try to eat healthy, but part of why I work out is so that I can enjoy food and not worry too much about the calories. So when I race or even just complete a long workout, I like to reward myself with something delicious. During marathon training, on one particular long run, I spent an entire mile fantasizing with a friend about what we would eat after we finished the marathon (I wanted a steak but had to settle for matzah thanks to the Jewish holiday calendar). After another long run, I ordered chocolate cake at dinner and announced to my friends that if they wanted any dessert, they better order their own, because I wasn’t sharing. Luckily, for this weekend, the fabulous Laura Van Orden Rudberg has promised to have my bacon hot and crispy ready and waiting for me when I finish the race.

I will, however, need to think carefully about my nutrition over the next few days in order to make it to the point where I get to eat bacon. Because I am fairly new to endurance sports, my metabolism is not very efficient, and I frequently run out of fuel before the end of a race. So I’ve been trying to plan my food for the weekend carefully. Friday night, I am meeting some of my PMC friends for dinner, which will be perfect, because if you can count on anyone to help you take in a lot of calories, it’s distance cyclists (in fact, one of my favorite parts about the PMC is housing nachos at the hotel on Saturday after riding 110 miles). I’ll probably have a little red wine as well since it’s good for your heart. Saturday will be all about the simple carbs: bagels, pasta, bread, crackers—and maybe a bit of cheese to balance it out and build bone strength. I learned the hard way that downing cupcakes is not the best idea the day before a race, as the sugar gets burned up too quickly, but I may pick up one to eat after the race.

My standard pre-race meal is a bagel with cream cheese and banana, then a Gu 15 minutes into the race and additional ones at :50 and 1:40. I’m thinking Chocolate Outrage for the first Gu, since that is caffeinated, Strawberry-Banana for the second, and Mint Chocolate for the final one. I find it important to vary my Gu flavors so I don’t get too sick of them. I’ve also packed my Fluid powder to make a post-race recovery drink—I think a scoop of that will taste great in my mimosa.

So that is my race plan: carbs, water, pop in some tunes, put on a smile, and dream about bacon for 13.1 miles.

I’m in a New York City Marathon State of Mind

I have always thought that New York was too big and diverse to unify around anything, but over the past few weeks, I have been surprised at how the marathon—and support for the marathon—is everywhere.  My view may be a bit skewed because my universe is centered around athletics, but with ads and banners all over the city, it really does seem like everyone is getting excited for the marathon. Watching the city and its athletes prepare for the marathon has made me feel connected to my new city and to my new athletic friends.

This photo will be my motivation in either 2012 or 2013.

Thursday night, my triathlon group ran to the finish line of the New York City marathon for our Thursday night hill workout. I say “to” the finish line because unlike in Boston, when the finish goes up for New York, it is walled off from spectators and one cannot actually cross it unless one runs the marathon. Going through the corridor created by the bleachers and staring at the orange ING sign, I had a funny feeling. I wanted to be here as a racer. I had this feeling once before in my life—in 2010, when I was walking through Back Bay of Boston on the evening of the marathon and went across the finish line, I was overcome with this feeling of “I want to be here.” It is a feeling of drive, of wanting to push your mind and your body to the limits. On Thursday night, all I wanted to do was run the New York City marathon.

Seeing the finish line reminded me of all the things I love about distance running.  I love the adrenaline, getting caught up in the excitement of the event, and using that excitement to push your body through the exhaustion to accomplish what you never thought you would be able to do.  Asics has been running an ad related to the marathon featuring a smiling runner and the slogan “First you feel like dying. Then you feel reborn.” I cut it out of the marathon program and hung it on my wall because nothing has ever described why I run better than that slogan. When you push your body like that, you really do feel reborn at the end.

My run also made me excited for everyone who is going to run New York City tomorrow, who will tomorrow accomplish something that for the rest of their lives will remain one of the most amazing things they ever did. I signed up to volunteer because I wanted to help make their day perfect, and I can’t wait to cheer the runners on from the Mile 18 water stop. But also, I can’t wait until the next time I feel reborn.  

Pushing Through Marathon PTSD

I knew when I signed up for a marathon that it would hurt. I knew that I would get to mile 20 and cry when I thought about running for another hour. I knew that I would wake up the next day with stiff legs and no energy. I knew it would be weeks before I wanted to run again. But I did not anticipate that six months later, I would still be struggling to feel good as a runner again.

Throughout the summer, I struggled with what I refer to as marathon post-traumatic stress disorder.  After just a few minutes of running, my brain and body would flash back to the pain of the last 6 miles of the marathon. My legs weighed 50 pounds, and my sides cramped, and hips hurt, even when I wasn't running. Worse, at least for my morale, I lacked the mental fortitude to push through it and would just walk half the run.  Due to a combination of these mental struggles, a chaotic work schedule, and deciding to upright myself to another city, my training—which over the winter was extremely structured—became very haphazard.

As a result of this, for the first time since I started running, I began to move backwards, not forwards. I went from 10-minute miles on distance runs back to 11-minute ones. I lost the ability to sprint that I had worked all last summer to gain. Running became a frustration for me instead of an escape from the other frustrations of my life.

I had hoped that when I moved to New York that I would get back into the swing of things and be able to prepare for my November half marathon, but this has not been the case. Figuring out the work/athletics/life balance in my new work and social atmospheres has been much more challenging than I anticipated. I can’t seem to settle into a sleep routine, which has made getting up in the morning to train too painful on some days. I prefer to train with a group, and it has taken me time to figure out which group worked for me and what workouts I could attend. I’ve started to slightly re-gain the ability to push through on distance runs, but I am still slower than I used to be and still pushing through some pains caused by a winter of intense training. And now I am 10 days before race day having done only three long runs and far fewer short ones than I would like.

I have been getting through my workouts lately by reminding myself that it is supposed to be fun. If I skip a run and instead go to a gym class with a friend, that is okay, because it is supposed to be fun. If I cut a workout down to 45 minutes because I am stressed about completing a work assignment, that is okay, because it is not fun when I am on the treadmill stressing about getting my work done. I am trying to accept that my race will just be slow (and perhaps some walking will be involved). As a perfectionist, this is not easy to accept. But I am trying.