Back to Back: Epic Spring Marathoning

Little did I know when I began training for my very first marathon last spring, that I would be setting myself up for a major marathon spring.  A Boston Qualifying (BQ) had been my goal, and I nailed it with enough time to spare to land a coveted bib at the 2016 Boston Marathon.  One would think running Boston would be enough of a challenge for the spring...who is crazy enough to contemplate running three spring marathons in a row?

Me. And my boyfriend, Steve.

Crossing the 2016 Boston Marathon finish line.

Claiming my finisher's medal.

Shortly after I picked up my Boston training, registration for the 2016 TCTC Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City opened.  This is a beautiful course, as I discovered when I ran the Bayshore Half Marathon in 2014, and a Boston Qualifier.  Always the planner, I thought it could be fun to do another spring marathon after Boston.  After all, I’d already have the miles and work in for Boston...what would a few more weeks of training be after a quick recovery from Boston?  And, to top it all off...lets offer to pace another Northern Michigan marathon just four weeks after Bayshore?  It would be a great training run for the 50K ultramarathon on the calendar for July.  How hard could this possibly be?

Hard.  So very hard.  Boston was quite possibly the hardest race I’ve ever done.  Unless you’ve run the course, I don’t think it is possible to truly be prepared for what it has in store.  Compound that with the blistering heat and 100% sunny skies that April 18th offered up for race weather, and I was happy just to finish.  (Listen to my 2016 Boston Marathon Recap with Michigan Runner Girl here.)  Boston shook my confidence in my ability to run marathon distances badly.  I questioned my training.  I questioned my paces that I ran throughout my 16 weeks of training.  Recovery was longer than I anticipated and I felt the pressure to jump back into training to maintain whatever endurance I had for Bayshore, which was my goal race.  

Simultaneously Training While Recovering

After Boston, I was left seriously reconsidering any desire to run another marathon.  My gut reaction was “hell no!” but then that also meant ultra running was out for me.  I didn’t want to give up on that dream, so I gave myself a bit of time to lapse into marathon amnesia.  It took a good two weeks of gentle running with minimal mileage before my legs felt snappy again and my training paces didn’t feel they took extensive effort.  I felt pressure from myself to get back into training so that I had a shot at a new PR at Bayshore.  But rushing the recovery process wasn’t going to help me perform any better.  I had six weeks to both recover and train/maintain.  

Flat Courtney

Leading up to Bayshore, I listened to my body a bit more.  My boyfriend Steve and I recreated the last three weeks of our Boston training plan with a few minor adjustments.  (We use the Hanson Method but used Jack Daniel’s training paces.)  We knew quality workouts were key but the long, slower miles were also critical.  We also threw in a race/tempo training run two weeks prior to the marathon.  

Pre-Race...already warm & muggy

Racing Proactively

During my taper for Bayshore, I took my runs as easy as I possibly could, allowing myself the grace of a few extra rest days rather than stress about missing a run.  The forecast for Bayshore was looking ominous:  humid, scattered thunderstorms, warm.  I did not want another experience like Boston.  Reeling in the impulses to check the weather every hour in  the days leading up to marathon number three, I focused on what I could control:  my race strategy and how I could combat the heat and humidity.  

Negative splits and a new PR were my goals on race day.  I would go out conservatively, aiming for 7:50/mi pace and hold back until I got past the turnaround.  Then I would reevaluate how I was feeling and try to drop my pace down to 7:45/mi.  At Mile 20, I would throw in whatever I had left.  I promised myself I would stick to my plan; going out any faster would spell disaster and my primary goal was to do ‘better than Boston.  

I also searched for ways to keep my core temperature as cool as possible for as long as possible.  We were camping, so access to a freezer for my water bottle was out of the question.  But I used ice and the coldest water I could find to use in my water bottle to start.

A dollar store sponge was my only wild card on race day  I stuck the sponge down the back of my Oiselle singlet, with just a bit poking up for easy access.  My crazy idea was to pour water on it in order to cool down my neck, therefore my body.  I also held off on this method of cooling as long as I could, waiting until about mile 10 to begin double fisting it at water stations in order to  pour water on my sponge.  This truly was a lifesaver!  It was easy enough to grab it and wring water out of it before the next aid station to ready it for another dousing of cold water.  My only issue was that by mile 20, my feet were squishy from the water that had trickled down into my shoes.. Still totally worth it.  I only suffered a minor blister on one toe.  

Mentally Maintaining

Having run the half marathon at Bayshore a few years ago, I knew that I would be crossing the half marathoners coming down the Old Mission Peninsula as I was heading up it.  Several friends were running the half marathon, so searching for friendly faces and my Oiselle teammates kept from focusing too much inwardly.  This was the most relaxed I have ever felt running a race...I didn’t feel the pressure I felt at Boston to ‘perform’ well...to race and achieve a very specific time goal.  That gave me the mental freedom to relax and truly enjoy the breathtaking course.  

GHRC Marathoners ready for the start.

Hitting the Goal, Not the Wall

I am so incredibly proud of myself for sticking with my race plan and executing it, holding myself pace to a reasonable pace.  Usually, I go out too fast and burn out/hit the wall.  (At Boston, I fell face first into the wall and did so very early on into the race.)  While I don’t think I achieved an actual negative split, my pace was very consistent and steady overall.  I didn’t feel the need to slow down at all until Mile 23, taking the briefest of walk breaks, more for mental regrouping than anything.  Steve was by my side from mile 14 to the very end, crossing the finish line with me, even as I kicked into high gear as soon as my feet hit the high school track for a strong finish.  We even have the same finishing time.

Bayshore is now my new personal best at a 3:26:52 (chip time).  I also came in fourth in the 30-34 age

group and was the 29th woman to cross the finish line.  

Fellow Oiselle flockmate, Val...sporting our singlets

Sweet 16: Marathon Training

The process of marathon training is not one for the faint of heart or lacking motivation.  This task requires a lengthy commitment and dedication that will challenge and test any runner.  I knew this when I began training for my first marathon on the heels of my 25K in May.  My 18 week marathon training plan was going to push me to mileage and extended paces I had never attempted before.  

The Sweet 16 Route

Running six days a week, with two quality workouts, I wrapped up my eleventh week this morning, and I must say, it was a very different my most of my training runs.  Not only did I run the first of three 16 mile runs, but I raced my first back to back races ever in the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival run (I did the 5K and 10K).

Leading up to this long run, I have been combating loneliness on most of my runs.  There aren’t many local runners who want to join me on my quality workouts (speed and tempo runs) at my pace...and I don’t blame them.  Sweating it out for eight or more miles as the mercury climbs and the humidity thickens is not what I’d call fun.  But the work must be done, and I must do it.  So far I have varied my routes as much as I can within the limits of childcare arrangements and taken to listening to the backlog of podcasts on my iPhone.  I have longed for company on my long, easy runs.  

As an attempt to lure other runners to join me for a stretch of what is one of my longest runs in my training plan, I decided to change up my route and run around Muskegon Lake.  I checked the distance, following the Lakeshore Bike path, beginning at one side of the channel around to the other side.  The distance was the 16 miles that was penciled into my training log.  Next step...find some others willing to get up and brave the warm morning.  I threw the invite out to my run groups, hoping that my easy pace of 8:30ish would be tempting for a few.  

Starting Point: Steven & I at the Muskegon Lighthouse and South Pier Head.

Only my boyfriend Steve joined me for the entire distance (he is in the earlier weeks of a marathon training plan), but we picked up a several other local runners for varying distances along the way.  Their smiles, hellos, and conversations helped the miles fly by in quick little chunks.  Catching up with Alana, Heidi, Colin, and Shawn was a bonus to the sunny, long miles around Muskegon Lake.  With them also came offers of ice water (yes please!), sunscreen, body glide, gels, and words of encouragement.  (Side note:  Heidi, Colin, and Shawn all ran the Kalamazoo Marathon this past spring.)  

Heidi, me, and Alana during the first six miles.

Colin and Shawn joined me at the half way point in North Muskegon

Finished!  We made it around to the other side!

As Steve and I approached Muskegon State Park, we were greeted by a breathtaking view of Lake Michigan.  “Hello my friend,” Steve said as we made our way over the last of the backwood dune hills and into the state park.  Until this run, I had never been in this part of the park before.  I was stunned by the beauty of the dunescape that surrounded us:  gently rolling dunes blanketed with marram grass, patches of milkweed and other native flowers dotting the roadside, a calm and majestic water as far as the eye could see.  Carlo and Sofia awaited us at the end of our sweet 16 miles with water and smiles.  

I couldn’t be happier about how my highest mileage week yet ended:  a wonderful long, slow run.  

Steve, me, Jack, Sofia, and Carlo before we headed home!

Running...Running My Life

Life has a funny way of getting in the way...of running.  Sick kid, graduate work, parent-teacher conferences, out of town travel…’rolling with it’ was the only way to maintain my sanity over the last few weeks.  At first, it seemed like a burdensome task...rolling with it.  I didn’t want to roll with anything...I wanted to run!

My mileage peaked at an all time high of 42 miles three weeks ago, accompanied by an achy left knee and twinges in my right shin.  I intentionally eased up on my mileage the following week to a much more manageable 28 miles, rationalizing that there was no reason to be logging marathon mileage before I even begin training for that milestone.  After a brief recovery week, my plan was to keep weekly mileage between 30 and 36 miles a week, except for the week I taper for the Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K.  

While away on a work conference, I reconnected with a colleague from my middle school teaching days.  She is one of the track coaches in my district and I was offering to run with the distance group a few times, maybe evening doing some speed drills.  “I don’t know how you do it.  How do you run, juggle work and family and graduate classes?  Where do you find the time?” she asked, shaking her head.  I began to think perhaps life wasn't getting in the way of my running.  Perhaps I was getting my own way...of my crazy, hectic life. I took this as one of many recent signs to slow down and reevaluate.  

In that crazy, hectic life, I am faced with the daunting task of finding time for all my runs.  During this weekly Sunday night ritual, I am analyzing my training plan, our family calendar, and my lesson planner and writing it down in my training journal.  While this is not a exactly stressful, being the Type A personality I am, feel obligated to complete each and every workout.  Missing a run make me feel like a slacker...even if it was for a highly legitimate reason such as work obligations or a sick child. Inevitably, I consult all of my planning tools, searching for a time to ‘make up’ that run.  

A peek at my Believe training journal

What I should have been doing was cutting myself (and my training) some much needed slack. Why was I so worried about making up a run?  Missing a workout or even two at this point in my training is not a dealbreaker for reaching my goals.  If anything, I am dancing along the delicate line of overtraining...something that I sincerely want to avoid again.  I am not going to lose any of my fitness by missing a run.  As long as I adjust my training to focus on the quality of my key workouts, the overall quantity of mileage doesn’t need to be a stressor at this point.  (“Stop being such a worrier, Courtney!”) I am more than trained for my first big races this spring.  If anything, I need to focus on staying healthy and not training harder.  

What did I do to celebrate this little epiphany?  I went for a run...a fun, slow shakeout run where I allowed myself to enjoy the sunshine, melting snow, and time to have fun at the beach...in March!  I even spent time taking some running selfies on the remaining ice along Lake Michigan.  

After that run I am resolving to become less of a worrier about my training...and more of a warrior. After all, there is a lot of life to live.

Cross Training Chronicles: A Skate Skiing Adventure

Cross training is one of my focus goals for 2015, but I am not ready to throw in the towel and become a gym rat just yet...or perhaps ever.  So when my Italian friends, Carlo and Sofia, offered to give me lessons in skate skiing a few weeks ago, I couldn’t turn them down.  (Really... I couldn’t.  They were on my doorstep, ready to go!)

So on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon, we drove to the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex, just a short drive north and nestled in the backwood dunes next to Lake Michigan..  The Winter Sport Complex, part of Muskegon State Park in North Muskegon, boasts some of the best cross country ski trails and snowshoe trails in the area, as well as acres of ice rinks and a quarter mile ice skating trail through the woods.  The groomed and lighted trails of the MWSC are meticulously maintained when the snow conditions allow.  Skiers of all levels can enjoy the well-marked ski trails, ranging from a fairly flat 2.5K loop to the more advanced Lost Lake 5K loop.  

Gearing up behind the Lodge.

Now, I have been a Nordic (or classic) style skier most of my adult life.  I still have the pair of skis my parents gave me when I was in high school.  Skate skiing is a different beast altogether.  The skis are longer and much more narrow, the poles are taller too.  Since my equipment was not right for skate skiing, I rented the proper skis and pole from the lodge for $20.00 on top of the $7.00 fee for the trail pass.  Then my lessons began....

I struggled at first...I was clumsy and awkward; much like a duck on skis.  Carlo and Sofia were terribly patient with me, talking me through the technique, one step at a time.  First I learned how to move forward, making skating movements with my feet, without the use of my poles.  Trying to reverse the muscle memories my body draws from after many years of Nordic skiing was no easy task.  The runner in me struggled with being slow and graceless, falling up hills and down flat trails.  Once my instructors felt I had minimal mastery of one aspect of skate skiing, another element was thrown in: poles; pole placement; body movement; rhythm.  After about an hour, Carlo, Sofia, and I made our way back to the lodge and I was feeling slightly more confident in my skate skiing ability…I hadn’t fallen down in the last 15 minutes.  

After a brief reprieve, my trio headed out again, lapping around the 2.5K loop twice.  Starting back up was difficult, having lost my concentration on my form and technique.  I found my rhythm again, reminding myself to slow down...this wasn’t a race or about hitting my weekly mileage.  This experience was about learning something new and enjoying time with my friends...about giving my body a break from my runner’s mindset.  Once I realized that I just needed to relax, skate skiing suddenly became MUCH easier and more natural.  

By the end of 10Ks of sunny trails, I was tired, sore, and incredibly happy.  While I search for some used skate skiing equipment of my own, I will still have to fall back on my Nordic skis.  But, I can’t wait to go back out and continue to embrace the Michigan winter and a new way to cross train.

Carlo, being an avid photographer, captured my trials, errors, stumbles, and falls with his camera.  Here is a brief compilation of my progression from complete novice to basic:

 What else have I been up to these past few weeks?  Guest blogging for Michigan Runner Girl about Run Muskegon's upcoming inaugural Shamrock Shuffle 5K!  Check it out here! 

Carlo, me, and Sofia on the trails.

My Oiselle Katron Vest & Go Joggings tights were perfect for skiing!

Tick Tock Tick: Time to Get to Fixing

Time...a measure of duration and intervals...an ordering of events, past, present, and future…  As a runner, the value of this abstract measure is priceless.  Speedwork, training, tempos, personal records, pace, time goals, finding the space in my hectic life to dedicate to a long or short run...the list goes on and on.  But ‘time’ by itself is only the measure I allow it to be and I’ve been letting it get away from me.

As Lauren Fleshman said, “Time fixes nothing. Time is a facilitator but you still have to do the fixing; Dig into the difficult conversations; Look hard at yourself in the mirror and ask if you’re doing everything you can do to get healthy. If you aren’t currently living the life you want, there is no other way to get there. Time won’t make it happen. So you can either adjust the goal, or give yourself a swift kick in the ass. Those are your only two options unless you enjoy the feeling of eternal tug of war.” (see more on her latest blog post here.)  

It seemed as if Lauren Fleshman had been hanging out in my brain these last few weeks...because this was basically what I have been telling myself!  

2014 was a year of many ups and downs, as well as a heck of a lot of growth.  The weeks following Christmas and New Years are typically times of reflection and contemplation.  I don’t make resolutions...that just doesn’t work for me.  I prefer to look back at my actions and reactions, seeing what worked and what didn’t, then readjust for the future.  (Ironically, most of my reflections occur while I’m running.)

In 2014, I had set two major goals for myself: 1) run four half marathons and 2) run 1000 miles.  And I did both.  I trained hard and raced even harder, sometimes pushing too hard and ending up with mild injuries.  Overall, my training worked for me: running three to four times a week with a mix of long runs, tempo runs, and speed work.  My speed, pace, and running form improved from the beginning of the year, and I set new personal records for my 5K, 10K, and half marathon times.   

My race schedule...not so much.  Three half marathons and a 25K in eleven weeks left me ready for a break from long distances.  Add in a hefty handful of 5Ks and a few 10Ks, and my weekends were consumed with running all summer long.  Autumn came out of nowhere, leading me back to my classroom with no sign of my racing or hectic schedule letting up (and squeezing in one more half marathon the weekend of my brother’s wedding).  Stresses and pressures accumulated and weighed me down, pushing me off balance.  I reacted by pushing back...and pushing myself even harder.  So I have ended 2014 with a nasty case of shin splints and the realization that I need to get down to ‘fixing.’

 

Fixing My Race Schedule:

Celebrating all 1000 miles of 2014

I am promising myself to limit the number of ‘big races’ I do this year.  I have my sights set on two races: the Fifth Third River Bank Run 25K and my first marathon.  There are time goals I have in mind for both of these races...realistic but lofty.  I am still going to race local 5Ks and 10Ks, only being more selective about them.  If I’m feeling good, perhaps I will snag a last minute bib in a few half marathons as training runs.  As much as I love racing, I don’t want to overload my weekends with races like I did last year...it wasn’t fair for me to monopolize so much of the summer weekends with races.

Training Smarter, Not Harder:

Cross training is a weak point in my training.  Until recently, Pilates had been my only form of cross training (other than shoveling all last winter!).  My mission is to incorporate more stretching, strength training, and cycling into my training along with my Pilates.  A lovely fellow Oiselle runner gave me a Believe training journal and a pair of wings.  What I love the most about my training journal is that it has reflection and accountability built into it.  

As far as running, I am incredibly fortunate several veteran runners are helping me with my training schedule for my marathon.  I also have found a few running partners whose pace and running philosophy match mine.  My support system, the web of my running family, is extending, reweaving, and coming back stronger than ever.  

Time to Get to Fixing!

Now...time is needed.  Not to sit and wait.  Not to allow others to do the work for me.  Not simply wish my dreams and goals come true.  Now is the time for action.  Time for ME to get to ‘fixing’ and make this happen for me.  

And I can’t wait to get started...