Saturday’s race

Saturday was the first of three 5k’s. I was hoping to run a bit faster than my previous 22:05 pr, but, alas, this did not happen. The race turned out to be mostly on trail with rocks, leaves, twigs, small hills that felt steeper simply because of the terrain. It was by no means the type of trails you’d find in a typical trail race with those monster hills, but it was enough to really slow me down. In addition, parts were so poorly marked that I hesitated, thinking I should be going one way when in fact the race was the other way. I think there was at least one runner who ran the wrong way and had to circle back. It was a really small race, so at these points in the woods where it was unclear which way to go, there wasn’t really anyone around to truly lead the way. Luckily, there was one lone runner I could see in the distance ahead of me, so I was pretty sure I was going the right way.

I finished in 22:59, a whole minute slower than I was hoping. Given the terrain, I’ll let it go. I did win first female overall, however, nabbing a $100 gift certificate to a beautiful historic restaurant in the area, The Marshalton Inn. My mom was able to host an impromptu movie night for the kids Saturday night so that my husband and I could go out to the restaurant. It was fantastic. The ceilings were a bit low, wide plank wood floors, open fireplaces, old period chairs, floors and stairs that were a bit warped from the age of the building, giving it true period charm. The bar was all woodsy and had this historic feel to it like we were back in the 17 or 1800s. The inn was originally built in the 1700s and outside they had a bunch of firepits that you could just sit around if you wanted to before or after dinner.

Marshalton Inn Bar where we had a drink before going into the formal dining area.

There was another building on the property that was the tavern. It was an old building where the stable used to be and they converted it into a bar/casual tavern. We didn’t go in to the tavern, but we sat outside by a firepit after our dinner in the inn and listened to the live music that was being played from in the Tavern. We could see the band playing through the large glass windows with everyone sitting around watching them play. It was a mild night, kind of misty. The area was very dark, with no street lights around. There were woods all around and windy roads. We’d like to go back sometime so we can actually see what it looks like around there. We were imagining it was very beautiful.

My next race is on Thanksgiving day. I was going to do a different one on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, but after being surprised by a tough course this time, I’m going for the promised “fast and flat course” that’s in the Turkey Trot 5k’s description. I want my pr!!

The first 5k of three approaches

I’m nearing the first 5K in the three I’ll be running as part of this training cycle. I’ve had some really great runs. Two Saturdays ago I ran with the local running group through the hills of Valley Forge National Park. The leaves were in full Autumn color and there was a low mist that blanketed the grass that spread between the hills. We ran past horse farms, through a covered bridge, and on back country roads. It was perhaps one of my all time favorite runs. I also had the rare privilege of running with Keith Straw, aka, the runner in the Pink Tutu. You can read about him in this article. He only ran briefly with us because he was going to run a marathon the next day. And then another in another week, and another, and so on.

I didn’t have my camera, but here are some pictures of the park we ran through. I wish I could show you what it looked like when we ran. The combination of the fall leaves with the low mist throughout the park was truly stunning.

We ended up running a hilly 13 miles at around a  8:35 average pace. Pretty good I think. Last week I ran my standard flat trail, 14 miles at an 8:03 minute pace. I think I’m getting faster. My normal runs that are in between my harder runs now hover from 8:25 to a 8:50 pace. Before my legs were always tired so those runs were always over a 9:00 pace. What’s fun and cool about this whole process is that my legs are not getting tired like they used to. Last week I ran 51 miles, the week before 50 miles, and my legs feel normal. If I had been trying to do that mileage at the beginning of the year I would have never made it. I would have crashed and burned and probably injured myself.

Yes, I’m training for some 5ks, which is what I told everyone at the group run. Not very impressive sounding when said amongst a bunch of marathoners. But in reality, I’m simply using this cycle as an excuse to become a better runner in the long term. (As a side note, in defense of anyone else who’s also training for a 5k, 5ks can be really hard, whether you’re trying to run them as fast as possible or if you’re a new runner trying to run your first race.)

My real goal, though, is consistent high (relative to me) mileage over the next few years. I want to see where that brings me and how fast I can get at all distances. Most importantly, I want to see if I can accomplish my goal without getting injured. In one year, I’d love to be running 60-mile weeks. This year, I simply want to be able to run consistent 50-mile weeks (on average, so some weeks higher, some weeks lower).

In the short term, my first 5k of three is this Saturday. According to the training plan, I’m not supposed to go all out in this race, but I’m supposed to just get into the racing mindset. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. I think if I can manage simply not to go out too fast and try to pace myself so I can go faster the second mile, then I’ll have succeeded. Otherwise, I’m excited to see what I’ll do. My PR is 22:05 on a very flat course. Will I break 22:00 on Saturday?

Running, mileage, and getting faster

I’ve been averaging in the mid to upper 40s for my mileage for the past couple of months. Last week I ran 50 miles. I guess I’ve been averaging in the 40s since training for Boston in the Spring, peaking in the low to mid-50s. I’m being careful not to be too aggressive because one of my primary goals is to not get injured.

I’m starting to find that this mileage is feeling relatively easy, so I’m getting the itch to train for another marathon (despite my mantra during the last mile of my last marathon that I would never again run another marathon! I was in so much pain that final mile!) I know that’s a huge time commitment, especially since when I do train for another marathon I want to go up into the 60-miles-per-week range or more, so we’ll see when that marathon will be: Late Spring 2014 or Fall 2014. Decisions, decisions.

For the past couple of months I’ve been following a schedule from the Hansons Coaching Services website that culminates in three 5ks. There’s a time I really want and I hope I’ll get it. I’ve told myself that I won’t allow myself to train for another marathon until I can run a 21:30 5k. Is that realistic? My current 5k pr is 22:05. My real goal is to run a 3:30 marathon. I’ve seen in those race time equivalent calculators that a 21:30 5k time can translate into a 3:30 marathon if you train properly for it. So if I can train to increase my speed to reach 21:30, then afterwards I can train to increase my endurance with my new-found speed. I think the half marathon is the better time predictor, but I can test that time during a marathon training cycle.

Is this obsession with race times healthy? I don’t care if it is or not. It’s a lot of fun for me to obsess about this stuff. And it feels really great when I feel myself getting faster and fitter. One day I’ll plateau, but for now this middle-aged mom of four is just getting started.