MUD ENERGY Fuel review ~ Long Run Envy

Eighteen weeks is a long time to be training for anything.

At least it is for me.

Looking at the workout schedule for the 50k ultramarathon I plan to do in September, it was obvious something was missing for the next 4 weeks: 

the long runs. 

So, without over-thinking anything, when friends invited me to run about 18 miles with them on a new section of trail (the day before my schedule started) I said yes! 

This gave me a reason to test out a new brand of running fuel I came across via Twitter

I Registered!

I am so grateful today for a few things...

• 

  Photo by Matthew, age 4

  Winter sunshine in Small Town, Oregon
• Each day is another chance to start fresh, to drop the yoke of yesterday, to throw the past into the sea! I need a fresh start today.
• I have been praying that God would show me how to love others, especially my family. My kids have some mysterious illness that left them with a rash. That was not the answer to prayer that I was looking for! Anyhow, I trust God is working this out to His good purpose. I am thankful to have a GOOD God, and that no illness lasts forever. 

Running stuff
I registered for  the Eugene Marathon ! There are so many reasons that I am looking forward to this race (More on that soon!).

After doing some base-building and easy running for several weeks, the intensity is starting to pick up. I am using Jack Daniels marathon plan A fairly closely, but without sticking tight to the long run time cap of 2 1/2 hours. Ending week 9 of 24, my goals right now are:

• to make the hard paces feel easier by doing interval work once a week- but not enough volume or speed to get hurt. (Following my VDOT training paces- if I can hit them!)
• make the slower, easy, long runs feel truly "easy" while adding mileage.
• alternate my weeks with some more challenging long runs: some T pace built-in, some marathon pace (coming up).
• keep testing fuels out in training and refueling immediately after a run. I am also cutting out all the night time snacks that have fiber, but drinking a cup of warm milk or hot chocolate before bed. Last week was gel week. This week is Powerade week. Powerade is cheap and probably has artificial colors (I have not read the label), but I can buy it here in the middle of nowhere. That's a bonus. I think I will try some powdered electrolyte drink mix soon, but leave it more concentrated. (Hydration is not really my main concern). The gels I have used (both Gu and Powerbar gel) work pretty well, since I can actually get more carbohydrates in during a workout through those than with a premix drink.

Save some ca$h!
If you are interested in racing the Eugene Marathon and live in (or near) these cities: Eugene, Bend, Tualatin, Ashland, Salem, or Seattle , you can receive a 10$ discount by signing up in person, January 14th. Click HERE to find out more!

***
Best wishes to all those racing or spectating the Olympic trials in Houston this weekend!

10K PR , 40:XX while *almost* Norwegian, a prize! SCANDIA RUN 2011 Race Report

 

Sometimes you just have to play the part!

Saturday was a test-race/training race at the Scandinavian Festival in Junction City.  

Sidenote: I don't like the idea of a training race, because if I am training hard, I don't expect I will race as well as if I am rested. (and I don't like to waste money and fear coming away feeling defeated).  But the idea is starting to grow on me---for the shorter distances.

I've been trying to follow my 10K training plan (see here) but got all wore out after many hard weeks and 14 consecutive days.  So, I played sick this week. 

That makes it a rested training race, right? 

Or maybe a regular race with a short taper?

Anyhow...I wasn't sure what to expect. But you never can be sure in a race.

Here's the course map: (I think it's been around since the 70's...I did the run.)

 

Course background/details

The Scandia Run 10K had a few hundred people this year...

In the 70's and 80's it had a few thousand participants, but it was also a night race where the runners headed directly to the Scandinavian Festival beer garden after the race. I am pretty sure that led to some problems;  now it's at 8 am and has a smaller crowd.

 

Even though the race is small, it is a fast course. Prize money was offered for the top three male and female finishers- $75, $50 and $25.   (I didn't win any cash- nothing new!)

Hydration/Fuel/Prep

Thursday and Friday before the race, I tanked up on Nuun (electrolyte drink) and water. I really think this helped a lot. For breakfast I had a homemade banana-blueberry oatmeal cookie, coffee with milk and sugar, and more Nuun (cola flavored) on the way there.

I arrived by 7:20 and broke my first racing rule: NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY. I put on a pair of new Brooks Launches from the box, went and registered. Then I ran about 2 miles slow for warm up and 2 or 3 fast accelerations. I set my watch to "pace alerts" to beep if I slowed under a 6:40 mile. 

It was cool for August, no rain just overcast. Perfect summer race weather.

Right before the race start I ate a pack of Gu (orange flavored), but didn't wash it down with anything since I had no time to go to the port-a-pots again.

This time I went to the front. It almost feels normal at small races to do this..almost. 

I took my place behind the top men, and some ladies I had spotted from other races took a position on the line to the left of them. 

I spotted my dad and did something else I have never done since having 3 kids... I took of my shirt, threw it at him, and ran a race in just my skirt and jog bra. Modesty was out the window for the day. Sporting stretch marks and all, I was going to be comfortable this year.

An older lady with 0% body fat joked with me, "I think we should have made a team," referring to the only group (men) that was obviously running as one (neon green shirts). The team competition is a new element this year.

There were no chips or timing mats, just a line and a big sign to stand under. I am not sure if the course is still certified, but it used to be- and hasn't changed from previous years.

The race
The course is flat and goes through residential area and farmland. What I like best about it is that you can see other runners at several points on the course. Also, water is at one point, but you can hit it 3 different times. I came prepared with a straw after learning my lesson here last year!

Mile 1/ 6:16

When the gun fired, everyone took off.  There was a little positioning, but all done easily with plenty of road to move through.

Mile 2 /6:17

There was a little jostling for positions in this mile, as some men passed me. Then another female and I began taking turns leading each other. She was young- 20something. She stayed mostly in front of me for the next 2 miles.

I had a guy who was slowing down a bit in front of me, so I cut in the left to pass.

He commented, "Couldn't wait for the corner, eh? Had to pass?" This with several other people around.

I thought  he was serious- he sounded like it. I didn't know what to say, and just replied, "I'm not a professional. Sorry!" 

He told me he was joking...but I am still not sure. He sped up right at the corner, anyways :)

Mile 3 /6:27 

I admit that I am a spitting runner on occasions, and today was one of those days. Had to clear out to breathe, and I do hope I kept if off the guy that was on my right! * hack hack* sorry!

I noticed my Garmin read 19:30 something at 3.1 miles. Probably looking at my watch too much!

Younger female CHEERED as her MOM ran past us in the opposite direction with the leaders.

Mile4 /6:28
We hit a hair pin turn just before the marker- and I was thinking....How soon should I try to increase my pace? I thought it was too soon. Now I think I might have waited too long...or just wasn't aware I would slow a bit for mile 5. I reeled in the younger female I had been running with and tried to put some distance between us.

Mile 5 /6:35 do recall the alerts beeping quite a bit more for this mile.

Mile 6 /6:24
I was just trying to bring it in as fast as I could maintain. There is a corner to turn for the last loooong straight stretch.  A gray haired dude passed me. Go, old guy, go! funny...He didn't look like a runner.

Last .29 / 6:29 pace
I thought this took forever...and the finish line clock was not visible until I was almost there. Still, I huffed to catch old guy and enter the chute at 40:21. It is so weird not to have someone clip a chip...

Post race
After the race I was handed a token for a free sundae at Dairy Queen...and headed to the refreshment table which had as much orange juice, lemonade or chocolate milk you could drink. (Dairy Mart was a sponsor). I got a bottle of water and headed out for a 4 mile cool down run (and some time to reflect on the race and pray), before I found a few other runners.

First, I met up with the daughter of the mother/daughter duo. She was very kind and congratulated me for pulling ahead of her. We chatted about whether we were happy with our results for a while and I met her mom who placed 2nd!
    

Talking with Jill (44) and her daughter.

I also visited with another woman who I have seen before at the EWEB half marathon. (She was wearing yellow adidas - the Boston model - and I had to ask about them!) I look forward to racing with her again. She lives in Salem and we talked a bit about racing shoes, and her next marathon, NYC. I love races when you come away meeting new people!
 

My parents found me (THANKS FOR COMING!!) and we hung out at the awards ceremony, where I received my prize for 2nd in my age group- a FIVE dollar gift certificate to DARI MART(...the PNW equivalent of a drive through 7-11)! That might buy a couple of gallons of milk :)

A few more thoughts
God has been very good to me. I am very pleased with this finish time. Looking ahead at the next 4 weeks, I know there is a chance I might hit that sub 40 goal, but it's also very possible that I won't. The Prefontaine course is very hilly and not a place to go to PR. Still, I will do my best! After that race I will make a reduction in training, as there are BIG things (people) that will be needing my attention. I have committed to home schooling my first grader this year, and that will take at least as much effort as I have put into my training.
So... One adventure comes to an end, and another begins.

EWEB half Race Report & Kamikazi Running Lesson: Take 1

Spoiler alert:
I have to admit it is my habit to skip right to the finish time when reading race reports...but I always go back and read the details, because I love a good story!

Overall winners:
MALE
1/462 John Ngigi 31 M 1/32  Glide OR 1:13:19 1:13:20 5:36
2 Timothy Pillow  19 M 1/13  Eugene OR 1:15:23 1:15:23 5:46
3 Leo Alapont 34 M 2/32  Eugene OR 1:16:22 1:16:23 5:50

FEMALE
1 (9 overall) Clare Taylor 40  1/28  Marcola OR 1:22:04 1:22:06 6:16
2 (17 overall)  Stephanie Snyder 41  2/28  Salem OR 1:24:48 1:24:49 6:29
3 (27 overall) Tonya Lutz 33  1/48  Salem OR 1:27:33 1:27:34 6:42

My FEMALE AGE GROUP:
1 *Me*   1:31:XX 7:xx  
2 Gretchen Parker  1:41:31 7:45
3 Heather Leonard  1:48:48 8:19

Race apparel included gloves, paceband and shortie "geetah" straw.

It was pretty chilly when I rolled into Eugene at 8 am. The race was to start at 9 and that meant I had an hour to get ready. That could be an all-time record for race preparedness for me! I came wearing tights and long sleeves over a lycra tank. I also wore gloves and my trusty Brooks running hat, and kept on a down jacket until race time.

We were slated for cold rain, with a "real feel" of something in the mid 30's. We would be blessed with a break in all precipitation until almost noon, giving us cool weather with some clouds and even a few sun rays.
I met up with Kim, Laurie and FruitFly- a few other blogger runners. Such nice ladies!! And we all chatted, took photos with Kim's friend Ken, and then I went to get my packet. Total chaos.

Blogger meetup!!! It was so fun to meet Laurie and Kim!

And FruitFly...but where was she? In the line to get packets, where I should have been.

The packet pickup was a mess, even for those pre-registered.

Warning! They could work out some kinks there.

We were supposed to be silly here, or so I thought...
For some reason I was the only one. :] 

After the pre-race stuff was settled, I took my place in line for the porta-potties and while I waited I read an inspirational letter. My friend Cathy (an non-running musician) penned it. It helped me bring things into focus. I knew I was still sick, but had trained well. I would do my best, see how things went and adjust as necessary. Above all else, I would try to conduct myself with honor (not always natural to me!!) during and after the race.

When the gun fired, I quickly realized I had put myself in the wrong place for the start. I jockeyed around a few people and found a good position. I passed many people in the first mile and found myself comfortable running right behind a shorter woman in a black skirt and crazy knee socks. She must have twice the cadence I do! She was consistent and strong. We passed the first mile marker at around 7:10. A little fast- but close to my original 7:15 goal.

I am not sure what happened between miles 1-2. It felt fast, but good, and Crazy Socks and I passed many people. Things thinned out. I removed my long sleeve shirt and tied it to my waist.

I passed Crazy Socks and a few others just before mile 2 and when I checked my watch it had been a 6:29 mile! Maybe we really went that fast, but I heard someone behind me ask, "Was that in the right place?" I shouted back "I don't have a Garmin, but that last mile was 6:29 by my watch." I think that crazy socks and I were chatting with each other.

The third mile was finished in 7:29- so maybe the markers got back on track here -or we slowed down- but I decided to take my first gel on the way to mile 4. I washed down some water with my straw from a cup that I was handed, and put the straw back under my watch band. For the next mile or so, there were few runners to be seen.

Near mile 6, I felt my right quad start to burn a little.  I also heard footsteps and realized that someone was right behind me. It was crazy socks! She passed me near mile 7 and I tried to catch her. She kept an even pace and I tried and tried to catch back up with her. At this point I felt like I was starting to flag, so I took another gel and kept my eye open for the next water stop.

Near mile 8 or 9  there was a turn-around point and we watched as the lead women passed with some faster men, (my guess is that the lead men had already crossed the river). I got a nod from a few men and a gal too. Then it was over the last footbridge and back upriver. I noticed that I gained the most ground on Crazy Socks when we were going up bridges or hills, but just not enough.

One of my goals in this race was to try to run the tangents (making the course as short as possible, while staying on the course). I feel very successful in this effort! It was clear as I watched other runners that this is not what everyone focuses on. I passed another man near mile 10. Then I almost caught Crazy Socks when she stopped for water.

I had taken my last of 2 gels and had some water earlier, and felt no need. I couldn't believe I was staying right at or above the 1:32 pace I had optimistically written for a "lucky stars" scenario on the pace band --right next to the 1:34 paces I had projected, based on the McMillan Calculator, given my recent 5K. *(more on that later..)

Still, I wanted to catch Crazy Socks, whatever pace she was running, but she had paced herself well and I was running way faster than I thought capable. I just kept thinking..."How long can I hold this out?" as she got further and further ahead of me. And that's when it happened.

Somehow, in my intense focus and attempt to shear the course, I ran right into a garbage can! Not just a garbage can, a park garbage can with a wooden enclosure. A stationary object. It did not yield and I took maybe 4 or 6 very unbalanced steps and almost went skidding on my stomach! Some walker saw it and had a good laugh. I, on the other hand, was not amused. In fact a 4 letter word escaped my mouth. Then I remembered my goal- to be honorable. I let it go.

Surely Crazy Socks gained some ground during that debacle. I tried to regain the fastest possible pace with only a couple of short miles left. I knew I was right on for 1:32 and hoped to hold it. Past the rose gardens I was passed by a guy who had beefy legs.

He said to me "Dig deep!".

I said "Yeah, you too." ? But I was thinking, "I am digging as deep as I can buddy!" And, "If you have that much left in your legs, why didn't you use it earlier?" And..."Can I have some of your quad strength? I could really use it!"

A short while later, I could see the Alton Baker Park footbridge and knew we were getting close. I was very focused on the tangents- maybe too focused. There was a woman walking on the left side in my direction, and a man running also on her side. I thought to myself, "I can get right between them." to get my tangent...I got nearer and the guy stepped sideways.

We both apologized, but I kept running to go between him and the woman. He was indecisive and I was running right for my tangent! He moved the other way, and blam-O! We hit. A second later I was on my way again. I have no idea what he thinks right now, but I kind of feel a little bad.  I probably should have just gone around him. :/

Lesson learned: Run the tangents, but watch out for moving and stationary objects.

A few minutes later I could hear the finish line announcers and I rounded the last corner. It felt AWESOME to hear my name called out and also hear that the finishers for the half marathon coming in are running about a 7 minute pace!

I crossed the line in 1:31:XX, received my mug and had my chip taken off. Once off the mat I thanked God for my race and met with my parents. Then I saw Crazy Socks, congratulated her- Kristi- and introduced myself.

With my arms strategically placed to make it look like I am wearing a unitard/singlet, with shirt wrapped around waist!

Note: perhaps contrasting color for top next time might be a better choice. ha.

A little while later I found Laurie (who PRd) and Kim (who ran better than she had expected) and we went to see the results. They were kind enough to go to the awards ceremony with me and take photos (THANK YOU , ladies!)

Getting the AG medal. (I wore pigtails. I think they might make me faster.) 

All the medals look the same- without engraving. Still, they are cool!

And this photo is a good example of how BIG my feet are...

Not likely to blow over in a wind storm! He he.

All Cheese! Thanks for taking the photos, girls :)

It was a pretty good day! I went to mom and dad's where my dad had scheduled an athletic massage as my late birthday present. First time with a professional massage- I am sold!!

* Now...about the pace band. Someone said something about me sandbagging :) ...and I just have to say, that in my best case scenario I had expected a 1:34, but being that I was sick and it got worse for Thursday/Friday, I had no idea what to expect. Even meeting my old PR seemed like it might be far-fetched. You just never know! Always, always do your best. Sometimes things go your way, even if there might be a few things in the way.