Windermere Marathon: What went right, what went wrong

Windermere was supposed to be my big goal race for the year. Even though I had doubted the intensity of my training plan I stuck through the 18 weeks. I was nervous going into race week because I felt like my training hadn’t gone as well as it had for Eugene. I never missed a workout, but had some frustrations and struggles which lead to a couple of DNF workouts.

I felt ready to race and was confident as I could be considering the circumstances. I had to formulate my own race strategy the day before because Matt wasn’t there, was busy, etc. By Saturday afternoon I felt confident enough to start out at an 8:00 min pace and then gradually get faster. Based on my previous long runs, I felt that this was a very realistic plan. At Eugene I started out at 7:45 pace, but I was in better shape. Given that, I felt that an 8:00 min pace to begin with was spot on. After eventually speaking to Matt later that night he told me to not sell myself short and that he thought I had a good race in me and that come race day I would surprise myself (trust me I surprised myself! just not in a positive way!).

The course for Windermere was changed for this year- instead of it being a true point to point race from Post Falls, ID to downtown Spokane, we had to run 7 miles around the city of Liberty Lake before heading towards the Centennial Trail. The first couple of miles I felt great and was telling myself to slow down. Just after the first mile we had nice downhill that I felt like I really had to pull on the brakes. My pace had dipped into the low 7:40 range which I knew was way too fast. I got passed by a lot of people on the downhill, but I wasn’t worried. My legs felt good. Just after mile 5 we had to run down a gravel road and then we had nice straight stretch that was close to a mile long. I stopped and grabbed water and took my first set of honey stinger chews. The straight stretch was tough because there was good headwind, but I still maintained my goal pace. I didn’t let the headwind bother me mentally which was huge for me!

As soon as we got to the trailhead I saw Mr. Healthy Diva for the first time. He handed me my Nuun and said I looked good and he would see me at the next aid station. I was still feeling physically and mentally in the right place. Somewhere between miles 9 & 10 everything fell apart. Both feet started to ache to the point where I was almost hobbling. I saw MHD again at the next aid station with my Nuun and some honey stinger chews. I told him I was done and I wanted him to take me home. He gave me a friendly push back out on the course and told me to keep running and he would see me at the next aid station which was at mile 14. I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around running 16 more miles with my feet feeling the way that they were. All of my positive energy was quickly fading as I was getting passed by a lot of people. I would run a ¼ of a mile to a ½ mile and then I would have to walk for 10-15 seconds because of my feet. I repeated this until I get to mile 14. I was envisioning what was left of the course and it seemed so far to run. I knew that I could handle the next 12 miles of the race, but it seemed daunting. Again MHD told me to keep running and he would see me in a couple of miles. Easy for him to say!

The last portion of the race is all on part of trail that runs along the road so MHD stopped at various points and told me to get my as* moving cheered for me and gave me my Nuun and honey stingers. I could not have survived Windermere without his support. Even though I was mad that he wouldn’t let me quit at mile 10.

I repeated my run/walk method for the rest of the race. Once I hit mile 10 I knew I would finish. Once I hit mile 8.5 I told myself I was almost to a Bloomsday distance (12K) and that I was going to finish even if I had to crawl across the finish line. Thankfully, I didn’t have to crawl across the finish line! Seeing the word FINISH was one of the most beautiful things I have seen!

My time is embarrassing to me (I realize that some people would be thrilled with my time) because it wasn’t indicative to my fitness level. Most of my long runs between 15-24 miles were at an average pace of 7:35-7:50. My weekly threshold workouts were tough- maintaining a 6:50-7:05 pace for 20 minutes at a time with the workout lasting well over 80-90 minutes. I ran a sub 22 minute 5K a day after I ran 24 miles for crying out loud.

I should not have run a 3:54 marathon at Windermere.

Do I think I was over trained? YES.

What I think went wrong:

I relied too heavily on my TM. My TM became my safety net after compartment syndrome. It was a controlled environment. It is typical of me to use it frequently during the early AM workouts or when the weather in the winter is bad, but I was using it more than that. I even did my long runs on it when training for Windermere.

My training plan was just too much too soon. The intensity of the workouts coming off of compartment syndrome were just plain tough.

My noggin was not in the right place. Due to my training struggles my mental game was put through the ringer.

I set to high of expectations on myself for Windermere. I wanted a PR badly. This might not have been realistic given how much running I missed between May and October this last year.

My feet. My poor freaking feet. I will know more about what is going on with them on Tuesday. I should have made an appointment with Dr. Anderson weeks ago.

What I think went right:

First and foremost I avoided a fasciotomoy. That deserves some type of recognition here.

My race day hydration was good. I didn’t experience any weird swelling or stomach issues. Thanks to my Nuun and honey stingers and MHD acting as water boy. Thank you MHD.

I got plenty of sleep all three nights before the race. I can’t say that I wasn’t well rested. I slept at least 8-9 hours from Thursday-Saturday.

I stuck to my training plan for the entire 18 weeks (minus a couple of DNF runs).

Farmgirlfit added another dimension to my cardio fitness that I think played a huge role in my strength and running improvement over the course of my Windermere training.

I finished my 6^th marathon. That also deserves some type of recognition.

--Tasha

Post marathon ramblings

Before I right a recap on what went wrong (and right) at Windermere I just want to thank ALL of YOU for your kind words, encouragement and inspiration. To say that I am disappointed about what happened is an understatement. My time was not indicative to my fitness level. I should have run a much faster time, but talking about that is for another post. For now I need to learn to love the run again.

Without going into too much detail, I honestly wish I would have trusted my gut instinct months ago when I was struggling with my training plan. The plan that Matt put in place for me didn’t feel realistic for where my fitness level was. I struggled every single run and it was not fun. What I should have done was switch training plans months ago and go back to what worked for me and that was the philosophy of “Run Less, Run Faster”. Since Sunday, I have decided to not continue working with Matt as my coach. No hard feelings, I just don’t think that his philosophy of training was right for me. This decision didn’t just come about because of what happened at Windermere. It was something I have been thinking about for months now. I think that feelings were mutual on both sides.

I need to figure out why my feet hurt so bad. I get 3-4, sometimes even 6 miles into a run and each foot starts aching and throbbing. I wonder if I am not meant to be a midfoot runner? This week my goal is to do some more research and try to get to the bottom of what is causing the pain. I have tried 4 different pairs of shoes, tons of different socks and nothing seems to help.

So, now what?

I don’t think I have another marathon in me. At least for a couple of years. Maybe, just maybe, the marathon isn’t my distance. My happy place seems to be the half marathon so I am going to focus on that. I am running the Helvetia Half Marathon on June 8^th which is one of my favorite races.  It was the race where I had my running “ah ha” moment a couple of years ago.

I intend on throwing myself into Farmgirlfit for the summer. I want to go 3-4 days a week and continue to build on my strength.  

I do have some races on my schedule that are coming up over the next couple of months. No real goals in mind, but ideally I would like a half marathon PR sometime this year.

To end on a happy note, Nuun is offering a 20% discount

from now until June 7^th.  (click here)

--Tasha

Random thoughts part two

I stopped using my dailymile account last week and I don’t miss it. I thought maybe I would so I am glad that I don’t. I decided to just journal my workouts. I like how it will let me easily keep track of what weight I am lifting at Farmgirlfit.

Twitter is driving me nuts. I don’t even know why I have it anymore. I have a couple of huge Twitter pet peeves, but I am not going to rant about those today. Twitter could potentially be deleted from my life in the near future. Of course Twitter could just be a victim of my current “taper tantrums”.

I am having serious Farmgirlfit withdrawals right now. I am also petrified of getting my rear kicked when I go back. I am trying to decide what I am most afraid of: marathon aches and pains OR Farmgirlfit aches and pains. I think I am most afraid of Farmgirlfit.

I am not much of a game person (I have zero games downloaded on my cell phone), however, I am freaking obsessed with this study game called “Candy Crusher”. Literally obsessed with it. I am finally on level 56. Mr. Healthy Diva is stuck on level 20-something. HA!

I have been trying to decide what my post race eats will be. Is that bizarre? I can’t decide! Cheeseburger/french fries, pizza, cupcakes, ice cream….the list goes on. After the Eugene Marathon I inhaled a large BBQ Chicken Pizza and a beer.

I signed up to run an ultra relay this summer. After Windermere I think I will need to get my rear in gear and pull some doubles to get prepared. An ultra really sounded like fun months ago, but now I am like whoa. An ultra relay is the real sh*t. I will be running 14 miles more in 24 hours than I have ever ran in a relay before.

I officially have a scar on my leg from when I fell of my bike. It looks like a bear attacked my calf muscle. It might be a good topic of conversation when wearing summer clothing. How do you admit to someone that you fell off your bike because you forgot that you were still clipped in?

Last year when I was training for Eugene all I could think about was food when I was running. This year all I can think about is how many more miles I have left. Is this a sign that I shouldn’t continue to run marathons?

I had probably one of the best weekends I have had in a long time. The weather was fantastic, the girls played outside all day and we became great friends with our new neighbors. I have a feeling that this summer might be an epic one!

I finally found out that I got the Honey Stinger sponsorship for this year. I applied for it back in January and I found out on Friday that I got accepted. I am really excited about this. Love their products! The protein bars and energy chews are fantastic tasting.

I am already plotting my summer training/race schedule. I hope to be able to squeeze in Farmgirlfit at least 3 days a week. The next year (depending on how Sunday goes) will probably be the year of chasing a half marathon PR.

I mentioned last week that I dropped my Brooks singlet off to get screen printed on Tuesday. I told them I needed it be this Friday the 17th. It was done the following day. I think that it turned out great! The only bummer is that I found out AFTER that I got the Honey Stinger sponsorship so their logo is missing...Boo.

Questions for you:

What is random in your life right now?

Do you have a twitter account? Do you like it? Love it? Hate it?

What do you think about when you are running?

--Tasha

Week 17: Um so I have to run a marathon in 7 days...

Thanks for all of your great suggestions and comments to my track dilemma the other night. I have decided that IF this situation happens again, I will contact animal control. Let’s hope I don’t have to do that.

Reality set in this week when I realized I was on the last page of my 6 page training plan....

Monday:

This day was what I would consider to be my last hard workout before Windermere.

2 {20 min E pace + 20 min T pace}

I completed this same workout the week before and it was tough. This week I also had to deal with 85 degrees. By the time I was done I just felt weak and sick to my tummy. I was so hot. My head was throbbing. I managed to suck on some ice cubes which helped. I also stuck my head under the cold water from the kitchen sink. I know, super classy.

Tuesday:

My last Farmgirlfit workout until after Windermere. It was a butt kicker too!

Bears are super tough to do. I did level 3 with 55#s. The first 15 I knocked out really quick. The next 10 were somewhat quick and then it all went downhill from there. My arms were shaking!

Mr. Healthy Diva took me to Fro Yo for a treat. The only stipulation was that I had to go to Home Depot with him. He didn't have to twist my arm too bad. Fro Yo is pretty tough for me to pass up. What was my winning concoction? Cake batter yogurt, coconut, cherries, strawberries, cheesecake bites & some whip cream. It was amazing!

Wednesday:

1 mi E warm up + 6 x 400 meters w/ 200 meter recovery jogs + 1 mi E cool down

We all know what went down at the track, but besides the doggy drama I had a great workout. My target pace was a 6:00- 6:15 pace and mine were all spot on or touch under:

#1	1:28	#4	1:31
#2	1:30	#5	1:29
#3	1:29	#6	1:28

Thursday:

When I got off from work at 4:00 pm it was 90 degrees. Seriously, this weather is out of control for May. At about 5:30 the weather still hadn’t changed and I really just wanted to get my run over with. How bad could an easy 5 miles be? It wasn’t too bad for the first two miles and then everything went downhill from there. I choose to run in my neighborhood which is pretty hilly. After a couple of massive hills I was dying. Thankfully I did make the wise decision to pack some Cherry Limeade Nuun with me.  I struggled through the last 3 miles. I am sure it wasn’t pretty looking. Mr. Healthy Diva actually asked if I was okay when I got home. I must have looked really bad!

Friday:

OFF.
I did indulge in an afternoon treat on my way home from work. The new caramel ribbon crunch frappuccino at Starbucks is amazing. I totally went all out on this treat. The whip cream is not typical of me.

Saturday:

10 miles MP...in 85 degrees. Finished slightly slower than MP and then did 15 minutes of core work.

Sunday:
OFF. 

Questions for you:
How was your week?
Did you do anything fun over the weekend?
Is the weather crazy hot where you live right now to?

--Tasha

Should I have said something?

Last night I had a track workout. Nothing long- just 6 x 400s with a warm up and cool down. It was 88 degrees when I got off from work at 4:00 pm so I opted to just head home and hang out for a while until it cooled off a little. It really never cooled off per say so I decided to head over to the track at 6:30 pm. By then it was only 83 and I knew that the track would be clear of the high school/Jr. High practice.

I arrived just as the Jr. High kids were leaving so I did my 1 mile warm up through the neighborhood. I got back to back to my car and grabbed my foam roller, water and Nuun and headed to the track to stretch out. I brought my foam roller hoping that I could roll out my super tight quads. As I was finishing my stretching a girl was walking/jogging around the track in lane 1 with HER DOG. She had HER DOG on the track. Just as I stood up the dog (who was on a super long extender leash) got all tangled up around my right leg. You can only imagine what I wanted to say. Instead I politely asked her to move to the outside lanes since it is track etiquette you leave the inside lanes for people actually doing a workout, running fast, etc. She gave me the total stink eye and said that she was using the track too and that she shouldn’t have to move. Keep in mind I still never said anything about her having a damn dog on the track. I just replied that I was doing an interval workout and that the inside lanes were for faster people and that I would really appreciate it if she could just move a couple of lanes over. I was incredibly polite even when I didn’t want to be. She responded with “whatever” and kept walking in lane 1 with her dog taking up 3 lanes because of the extender leash. I stood in lane 1 just watching her until I saw her turn around and glance at me and then move over. There were about 10 other people running or walking around the track too and they were using lanes 2-4 and keeping lane 1 open. One of the couples commented on how rude they thought the “dog girl” was and that she needed to learn some track etiquette. Once I saw her move over I started my first 400 repeat. EVERY TIME I ran by her, her damn dog almost tripped me. I am not even joking. To say that I was livid pissed off is a HUGE understatement.

When I completed my workout it was all I could do to not say something. I wanted to lash out at her so bad, but since I use that track all of the time I wanted to be as polite as possible. Who knows when we might be there at the same time? I wanted to ask her if she was freaking blind since there are multiple signs about “NO DOGS ALLOWED” and additional signs asking walkers/joggers to utilize the outside lanes. I am not trying to be a track snob and I understand that she was also there to workout. I felt like my request asking her to move was polite and justified.

On happy note from the track, one couple clapped and cheered for me every time I ran by. Never had that happen before, but it was really sweet of them.

Questions for you:

What would you have done? Would you have asked her to move a couple of lanes over too or would you have run around her and her dog on every lap? Would you have said something to her about her dog and how they aren’t allowed on the track?

--Tasha

Random Thoughts

I have only had a couple of mini freak outs, but nothing serious this week. My race is 11 days which really is hard to believe. I am getting a little concerned about the weather. It has been abnormally warm in Spokane. Over the weekend it was in the 80s, Monday it was 85 and yesterday it was 87. Not typical weather for this time of year. 

On Sunday I watched the elites finish at Bloomsday. Talk about impressive and inspirational. It was something great to see two weeks out from Windermere. 

My last long (ish) training run was Monday. 10.73 miles of being a hot sweaty mess. It was 85 degrees and I felt like I was going to pass out. As soon as I got done I stuck my head under the kitchen sink faucet and sucked on ice cubes. I felt awful.

I think I only have 7 running workouts left. The hardest will be this Saturday, but the rest are fairly easy.

My training plan was 6 pages long because it started on November 11th. I am now on my LAST page. YIKES.

Last night was my last Farmgirlfit class until after Windermere. It was a tough one too, I actually debated NOT going. 50 BEARS using 55 #s for time. It hurt. 

What is a BEAR?!

Now imagine doing 50 of those suckers!

After the BEARS fun we had 3 x 10 box squats. My quads were shaking. Today I am sore. Lovely. 

I felt like after FGF I earned a treat so Mr. Healthy Diva said if I would go to Home Depot with him he would take me to Fro Yo. DEAL. My fro yo was awesome: cake batter, cherries, strawberries, coconut & cream cheese bites. 

I dropped my Brooks singlet off at the screen printer yesterday to have printed for Windermere. I hope what I had envisioned turns out. It should be ready next Friday. Nothing like cutting it close!!!

I tagged this video for Mr. Healthy Diva on facebook the other day. I know that he watched it, but I hope that just remembers to be gentle with me in the coming week. 

Questions for you:

How is your week going?

What is your favorite frozen yogurt combo?

Ever done a BEAR?

--Tasha

Week 16: Thisclose

I had another solid week of training. Now that I am training a bit less I am in that awkward phase of trying to keep myself occupied. I have used this spare time spending far too much time on social media, BUT I have also been productive. Tia and Maisy have been getting extra long walks every night and I got back on the reading wagon and have been reading more books to occupy my marathon brain. I am currently on my 2nd book since May 1st.

Monday:

2 x {20 min E pace + 20 min T pace}

Covered a good distance of 10.67 miles. Followed up with 15 minutes of core and stretching + foam rolling.

Just when I thought I could call it a day, I got drug to the gym. I used the opportunity for some excellent people watching while I rode the stationery bike for 5.45 miles. Seriously, have you ever taken the opportunity to people watch at the gym???? WOW. That is all I have to say.

Tuesday:

I didn’t run before FGF because I really wanted to give my legs a break, however, running was involved in our workout. Nothing like having the warm up include 8 x 200 meter sprints!  I didn’t run them all out. They are on a sidewalk that is full of holes that makes sprinting a bit dicey. My last one was the fastest at 53 seconds. Still about 15-20 seconds faster than everyone else.

166 reps for the first 4 rounds

39 pull ups for max effort

Wednesday:

1 mile E pace {3 x 800 I pace + 800 recovery} 1 mile E pace

E pace- 8:00- 8:15

I pace- 6:00- 6:15

8:05

2:52

800 recovery

2:51

800 recovery

2:50

800 recovery

7:54

I was pleased at how easy the 800 repeats felt. I never ran the 800 in college, but I think my 800 PR in high school was in the 2:40 range.  

After seeing my splits from this workout, of course I was curious to see what my previous 800 repeat times were. Matt said that I wasn’t allowed to compare times until 2 weeks out from race day, but I figured 18 days out was close enough.  I didn’t list the recovery time because I didn’t have it noted for each workout. However, my recovery jog was faster on Wednesday then it was in my previous 800 repeat workouts.

9/28/2011	12/23/2011	3/30/2012	4/13/2012	5/1/2013
3:06	2:57	2:47	2:58	2:52
3:05	2:54	3:06	2:58	2:51
3:01	2:56	3:01	2:52	2:50
2:59	2:52	2:58
2:59

Followed up with 15 minutes of core and an extra time with my foam roller.

Thursday:

My shoulders felt really sore from Tuesday’s Farmgirlfit workout so I wasn’t sure what I would be able to handle. This class was a benchmark class so it was important to do as best as we possibly could (that really is the object for every class, but a benchmark class is super important to gauge your progress).

1000 meter row for time:

3:57

7x1 clean + jerk to max:

85#s

Clean + jerk is a lift a really struggle with. After I tried 90#s four times and was thisclose to getting it I finally threw in the towel. Afterwards, Jenni, came and helped me and gave me some tips/tricks for next time. My problem was I wasn’t getting under the bar enough and was trying to jerk AND lift the bar over my head. What I should be doing is really getting under the bar so you aren’t really lifting it much.

I still had 7 miles to run after class. I left my stupid garmin at home, but wanted to get in a few easy miles right after class. I ended up running down towards Gonzaga with a friend from class. Afterwards I went home and ran another 5.5 miles to get in my 7. It was really hard running after FGF. I don’t recommend it. I really struggled!

Friday:

OFF. I contemplated busting out my 15 mile LR before work, but my legs felt really heavy the night before so I just decided to take it easy. I didn’t have to be at work until 8 am (instead of 7:30) so I slept in until 6:30 and snuggled with my two favorite girls.  

Saturday:

15 mile LR. Started later than I wanted because my body requested more sleep. Slept in until 10 am! It was wonderful. Was supposed to run at MP, but I started out too slow and missed the mark. Each mile was faster and my last mile was a 7:22. I will say that it was a fairly solid run.

Sunday:

Active recovery day! I decided to take an extra day of rest and not really do anything active. I went and cheered on all of the Bloomies running Bloomsday, went for a drive with Mr. Healthy Diva, read my book, napped, and snuggled my girls. It was the perfect day!

How was your week?

--Tasha