Philly Race Report

This race report is long overdue, which I'm sure kept everyone on the edge of their seats. So...without further adieu, my Philly Marathon Race Report.

Yeah...Philly didn't go quite as planned or hoped. I'll start at the very beginning, walk through the race, and then summarize where I think I could have acted differently to improve for next time.

My sister and brother-in-law (Mark) got down to Delaware on Friday afternoon. Doc and I were so happy to see them! The next day, we took it easy and got into the expo around noonish. It was bonkers - tons of people! But, we got squared away well enough and got our stuff. Mark and I even got gel belts at good deals, which we needed for the race the next day.

After the expo, we walked through Reading Market for a bit, but it was insane, so that didn't last long. We headed home, but made a quick stop at Ikea in South Philly so my sister could get her fix.

This is where I think I went wrong #1 - dinner was pizza from Margarita's in Newark. Normally, I LOVE Margarita's, but in retrospect, I don't think the pizza sat very well. Too much fat, grease. Which, I realize, I should have known. It's not like this is my first time on this roller coaster.

We left on race morning around 5 a.m. and got to the start around 6 a.m. It was PACKED! So many people. We found a parking space relatively easy and pretty close and then started seaching out portapotties. We did our business and then it was just time to get into corrals, so perfect timing. We said our goodbyes and went to the start line.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn't wear a watch in this race. This is partly because all of my watches were broken, and partly because I wanted to see what it would be like to do the race on RPE. It was kind of moot through, because there were clocks every mile, so even if I wanted to I couldn't avoid knowing what the time was. That experiment didn't work really well, and I don't think I'll re-visit it. I'm a data geek - I like my stats and numbers.

The first five miles or so were seriously crowded. I couldn't really run 'my' pace until mile 6 or 7. I felt good and was keeping up a 8:30-40 pace, which was a little slower than I wanted, but within the margin of error. Miles 6-8ish are through downtown, when it's impossible to feel bad. There were SO many people!

Nutrition was doing good - I did a gel every five miles (thanks to my trusty new gel belt). I wasn't taking on too many fluids which was ok; I didn't want too much stuff sloshing around and with the gels so frequently I was ok for fuel. The weather was nice - it was in the mid-40's at the start and eventually got up to the lower 60's toward the end of the day.

I think the wheels started to come off once we got into the park, around mile 10. Then, I knew it was going to be a long day. I can't really explain it - it was just that yuck, my legs feel like lead feeling. I think my nutrition leading up to the race played a big role in it. It's hard when people are visiting, but I can plan better for next time. I didn't think I needed to pay that much attention to it, but now I know otherwise.

I got to the split, then the half marathoners went to the finish (lucky ducks!) and the marathoners continued out Kelly Drive for the out-and-back to finish the race. I was feeling ok on the way out, not great, but ok, but then once we made the left turn into Manayunck, I totally hit the wall (around mile 17!). It was miserable. The remaining miles were a total slog fest to get to the finish. My legs hurt, my hips hurt, everything hurt. I couldn't walk because once I stopped running it hurt to start up again!

I was in a world of hurt - more hurt than any race I've ever done. So...I did the only thing I could and just got to the finish as quickly as I could. My final time was 4:10:03, which was slower than I wanted, but still a PR (by about 2-3 minutes).


After the race, my sister and I hung out and waited for Mark to finish (yea Mark!!!). We went home and after a nice nap, had a celebratory dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

The next few days were painful. PAINFUL. I've never been this sore after a race. It was Wednesday before I could walk normally again. The Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving was out because I was just back to walking, let alone running. I took all of Thanksgiving week off and got back into the swing of things the week after.

These are my 'lessons learned' from Philly:

1. Race week nutrition is so, so, so important. It can't be done halfway and can't be done without planning. That said, it's also very difficult because you're out of your normal routine.
2. Marathons hurt. Use them sparingly.
3. There is no substitute for long runs. I thought my HIM training would get me farther than it did, but I could tell my lack of long runs was part of the reason for my totally epic bonk. The larger picture is that there's no short cut on race day, so the next time I do a marathon I need to allow time for long runs.

I'm not sure when I'll do a marathon again. I know I'm doing Poconos 70.3 next year, which is at the end of September, so I would be in the same situation again. Instead, I might try the half and try to break 1:45. I don't know if I can get myself geared up for that pain again...it seriously hurt. But, I still have a dream of qualifying for Boston, so I'll be back at it again. Just not sure when...

Philly Marathon Race Plan

I've gone back to my roots for this race. I'm actually writing a race strategy for Philly. I want to incorporate a lot of the lessons learned throughout the year and make a clear execution plan for the race, so we'll see how well I do at remembering it on race day! I'll come back after the race and do a race report against the plan below.

I did a short run yesterday and had some issues with my left calf. The same stuff I've been dealing with, but now that it was 4 days before the race I had a new level of care about it. I got a calf sleeve at Delaware Running Co. and wore it most of yesterday - it seemed to help. It was only $13, which had me worried - I'm used to paying $50 for anything compression related! I'm thinking using one of the pace teams, but my issue is that I really want to aim for 3:45, but they only offer them at 3:50 and 3:40. I may talk to them at the Expo to see what their strategy is. I can always start with the 3:50 group and then kick it if needed.

Oh...and I'm not wearing a watch for this race. Nada. If I do, I'm a slave to it and I watch it religiously, for better or worse. If I see I have time to spare, I slow down. If I see that I'm falling behind, I lose all hope. So, I'm going to eliminate the chance that I'll falsely influence my strategy. They have clocks on course (supposedly every mile, but we'll see), so I can get feedback that way. They at least have markers at the 10K, 13.1 and 20K (maybe? Something around there), so I'll get some indicators along the way. I don't know if I've fully embraced this yet, but I'm going to force myself to. I need to experiment with it and see what happens.

...watch!

3 more days!!

Overall Strategy:

· Steadily increasing RPE. Start out medium and push toward the end. MED TENT OR BUST.

· Maintain good form throughout. Use quads, glutes and lower abs, not calves and hamstrings.

· Limit fluid intake so that stuff isn’t swilling around the tummy. Main fuel is from gels every five miles. Supplement with Gatorade (no water) as needed.

Miles 1 – 7: Waterfront and Center City

Goal Time Completion: 1 hour

· Don’t go out gangbusters. RPE of 5-6

· *Gel @ mile 5 water stop.

Miles 8 – 13: Zoo/Park

Goal Time Completion: 1:50

· Stay focused. FOCUS on good run form (work the quads, glutes, strong core).

· RPE: 6-7.

· Mile 8 is uphill, by Drexel. The whole climb is only 100 feet, but the whole mile is uphill.

· Sharp uphill right after mile 9 marker, 50’ total climb (through the park?)

· *Gel @ mile 10

· Sharp downhill around mile 10.4 until mile 11

· Little climb at mile 12.5, right after Art Museum.

Mile 14 – 19.5: Out to Manayunk

Goal time Completion: 2:45

· *Gel @ right before mile 15, maybe 14.5

· RPE: 7-8

· Head up, FOCUS on good run form. Stay mentally tough and keep the big picture in mind.

· Steady up and down, nothing substantial for elevation.

Mile 19.5- Finish

Goal time Completion: 3:43

· *Double caffeine Gel @ mile 20, after turn around

· RPE: 8-10. ALL OUT. HAUL ASS. GO BROKE OR GO HOME.

· *Grab a gel at mile 22 water stop in case needed for later

· Gel @ mile 24, if needed

· Mile 25 – finish is uphill, about 50’ climb

What Will Happen in Philly?

Creek Road by UD. Who wouldn't love this for a lunchtime run??

My question for the next week and a half: What will the running Gods allow me to do in Philly? I've been thinking about this a lot and come up with a list of things I want to accomplish through this race. I'm using it as a dry-run of a real "A" race - my last before IMLP next July. While I'm doing races before IMLP next year, I don't think I"ll have the opportunity to go full throttle like I will at Philly. I'm viewing this race as a chance to execute all the lessons I've learned this year (and last year) before implementation in LP.

My race plan is made up of two components: time and execution.
Time Goals
I have three categories of time goals. My long runs have been anywhere from 8:25 - 8:45 per mile pace, so I'm somewhere in that range for training paces. In descending order, they are:

5. The wheels on this bus have fallen off: FINISH. This is in case of an epic fail, complete disaster. In this case, finishing would be considered a success. This would be an injury, tripping and doing bad stuff to myself, etc. Or...other 'natural' emergency.

4. Just another day at the races: 4:10. This will beat my Flying PIg Marathon time from 2007, the last time I did a stand-alone marathon. It's a 9:34/mile.

3. I've actually improved: 3:50-3:59, or 8:46 to 9:09/mile pace. I would LOVE to go under 4 hours for this race, and I think this is a very realistic goal, based on my long run paces and overall fitness.

2. YEA!: 3:40-3:49, or 8:23 to 8:46/mile pace. I would be OVER THE MOON if I finished in this time frame. It's a bit aggressive, but not outside the realm of expectations.

1. Give me oxygen because I'm in complete shock: sub 3:40, or under 8:23 pace per mile. The qualifying time for Boston for my age group is now 3:35, which I think is a bit too aggressive for me right now. But, not completely out of the realm of possibility.


Execution Goal
I want to push myself in this race. Like, really push myself. An Ironman tests your mental strength for survival, which I would say I have passed, since I've finished two. I have proven I can endure and survive. But, I don't think I've provided that I can thrive. I don't want to say Philly will be a success if I need the med tent...but it kind of will be. I know I can do the distance and I can be moderately successful just based on the work I've done and my God-given talent. I want to see how far I can push myself to go past my comfort point and how long I can live with being uncomfortable, and frankly, in a fair amount of pain. No pain, no glory.

It's this factor - the mental threshold factor - that I need to test. If I want to be successful in Lake Placid, this is the mountain I have to climb and conquer. It's also a lot harder for me at this point because I'm unfamiliar with it. I can run repeats until my legs fall off (literally...), but it's harder to really practice this, unless you're in a race situation. You can only gear yourself up for this type of intensity once in awhile, because it's mentally and emotionally draining. So...this is my chance! Go hard or go home.

That's the plan. Race day is Sunday, November 20 @ 7 a.m. I believe live race tracking is online at www.philadelphiamarathon.com. My bib is 6388.

Musselman HIM Race Report

The quaint town of Geneva, New York

Because I'm a little behind on my blog posts, I thought I'd summarize 2011 in race reports for my big events. So...here goes the story that is Musselman!

Background
I have always wanted to do this race, but the timing has never worked out. It happens the third weekend in July, which is the weekend before IM Lake Placid, or last year, four weeks after IM Coeur d'Alene. Since this was my year free of IM, I could finally get it into the schedule. Yea! The race was on Sunday, July 17 - Half Ironman distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).

Geneva is about 1.25 hours from Pennellville (home of Ma and Pa Woodruff), so a bit of a hometown race. The event is staged out of the park in downtown Geneva, the heart of 'wine country' in Central New York (Finger Lakes Region). The swim is around Seneca Lake, which can be a little choppy, and even in mid-summer was wetsuit legal, as it's the deepest of all the Finger Lakes. The bike course goes south down Seneca Lake to start off (for about 15 miles), then cuts over to Cayuga Lake, south down that lake, then cuts back over to Seneca Lake and back to the start. It goes past about 7-9 very tempting wineries along the course. The run is out of the park and then up and around Hobart and William Smith Colleges, winding around some neighborhoods in Geneva. Overall, the bike is not too hilly - it's more WINDY. Boy, was it windy. The run is challenging, but not horrible. There is one big hill around mile 8 that can take the wind out of your sails pretty quickly.

I came up over Memorial Day weekend and went out to Geneva to ride the bike course, but...directions are not my best suit. I managed to do the majority of it, but just along Seneca Lake. The rest was a surprise. I did get a good workout, though!

Pre-Race
My plan for my season was split into two: aerobic base for Musselman, then after focus on speed/tempo for the Syracuse/Poconos double later in September. In retrospect, I should have just gone for it with Musselman, as I have enough endurance built up over the past three years of IM racing so that it wouldn't be too much of an issue. So, I was prepared for Musselman, but my threshold and speed work was limited, so I didn't have a lot of pop. I was also probably a little tired from volume.

Seneca Lake

Swim (36m, 41s)
I actually thought I had a good swim - it was probably the highlight of my race! The beginning was a little weird because it was shallow for awhile out, so people were wading long after the start gun had gone off - what's up with that?! I started swimming ASAP, as I can freestyle swim MUCH quicker than I can wade through thigh-level water. Seneca Lake tends to be a bit choppy, which suits a strength swimmer like me. I had to get used to breathing with the waves, so after awhile I got into it. The choppiness almost distracts me from the intensity of the swim, which I think is good for me. I can put my focus into bridging the waves versus gauging my intensity factor.

The only spot that I wish I could forget was running into a dead fish. I thought I had hit someone, so I looked up and saw...a big floater. HUGE. Grody.

Transition 1: 2m, 22s
I really can't remember too much of this. The one memorable thing that stands out is that the night before I had frozen all of my drink bottles, thinking they'll thaw out on the bike and I'll have (slightly) cold beverages. Yeah...ALL my drink bottles, even the one that was supposed to go into my aerobottle to start the race. I discovered this in Transition in the AM when setting up my bike. So, I had a Perform Slushie for a bit. No harm no foul...it worked out fine, but not something I'd like to repeat. Rookie mistake - I should have been more focused than that.

Bike: 3h, 13m, 50s
Like I mentioned earlier, the bike isn't so much hilly as it is windy, because you're going up and down all the lakes. My goal going into the bike was to watch my watts and stay around 170-190 watts the entire time. In retrospect (again), that was a mistake. I doubt I will race with watts again. I really think I was too conservative and left a lot of time on the bike course. I was worried because it was hot and I wanted to save stuff for the run. As such, I wasn't aggressive, which is not my racing style. I like to be aggressive and RACE THE BIKE, not lay up. Part of this could have been my inexperience at the HIM distance (I think I have done more IMs than HIMs at that point!), so I wasn't sure how to pace, but now that I have more experience, I know how aggressive I can be.

The bike course was really great, for the most part. The first fifteen miles are pretty much all against the wind, going south down Seneca Lake. The end of it was on a bike trail, which I didn't enjoy all that much, to be honest. The path wasn't very smooth and it was pretty rough. It was hard to maintain a good speed because you were all over on the bike. The bike course was not bad and all together, was good, it was just that portion that I wasn't crazy about.

Nutrition-wise, I did ok. I went through lots of fluid and my three gels, as I thought I should. It was getting hot out and was up to the mid-80's (and sunny) toward the end, so I knew hydration would be an issue. I believe I took some E-caps, if I remember.

Transition 2: 2m, 13s
I also don't remember too much about T2, but from my times, it looks like I didn't dawdle that much. Yea me!

Run: 2h, 19m, 21s
So...this is where the meltdown began. Literally.

me on the run at Musselman

Ah...the run. Let me set the stage: 85 degrees, sunny, little shade. It was humid, but I don't remember that being the big issue. For those who know me, you know...I don't do heat well. I'm a big girl with more muscle mass than the average, so I do not do well in these conditions. They are a nut I have yet to crack.

I knew it was going to be a struggle, which is part of why I regret not being as aggressive on the bike as I should have. If blowing up on the run was inevitable, then why not go for broke on the bike to gain some time? Hindsight is 20/20.

Thankfully, the aid stations were loaded. I took all the sponges and ice I could shove down my shirt - loved it! By mile 3, I was full-on struggling. I was seriously wondering if this would be a DNF and thought I had no business being out there. Somewhere around mile 4, I found my HTFU and got into a groove. I was running aid station to aid station and walking through those, loading up on ice, coke and sponges. Lots of residents out in the streets had sprinklers out, which I took full advantage of.

That good juju lasted until the hill around mile 8.5. It's back on some private property and a gravel road. On a normal training run, it's not a big deal - it's challenging, yes, impossible, no way. But, at that point in the race, I walked. Not something I'm proud of, but I did. That hill, and the one after it, slowed me down a lot. I probably lost about 5 minutes between the two of them.

After that, I was really just ticking the mile markers off and figuring the fastest way back to the car was on course, so might as well stay on the straight and narrow! I did a walk/run thing the rest of the way, usually running for 8-9 minutes, then walking about 30-45". I tried my best to stay focused and keep my eyes up, as that helps me feel better usually.

The end: 6h, 14m, 17s
The end was the FINISH LINE, me meeting my family and my aunt, uncle and cousins who had made the trek to Geneva to see everything. I was so happy they came - it was so fun to see them! It was even better to have my cousin there to schlep all my stuff out of transition so I didn't have to carry a thing!! Thanks again, Matt!! I was so happy to be done.

I learned a lot out of this race. Even though the time was not what I was hoping for, I learned a lot of lessons that I think helped me during Syracuse/Poconos, and will help me next year. I probably learned more during this race than any others.

1. Be aggressive - B - E AGGRESSIVE! This is my new mantra during races. I need to stay aggressive and go for broke. If I get to the breaking point, I can wrangle with how mentally tough I am. I have not reached my breaking point yet, but eventually I'll find it. Until I do, I should keep pushing myself to give more, go further. I have proven that I can do it and won't break.
2. Race by RPE from now on. I will still train with watches/watts, but I'm done racing with them. They give me a false sense of security, knowing what my cushion is. I need to race scared, having a fire under me. With the watch, I lose that because I immediately know that a) I'm out of it, or b) I have a cushion I can use. I don't want to know either of those - I want to push until I can't push any more.
3. I have lots of endurance built up from years of endurance training. My limiter at this point is not endurance, so I don't need to spend hours upon hours upon hours training in Zone 2. I need to spend time at Zone 3, 4 and 5, increasing muscle strength. Then, I can put muscle strength on top of the endurance I have, and be FAST!
4. Stay focused the days before. I added stuff to my schedule the few days before that I shouldn't have - I need to keep things in line and shut down during then. On the day before the race, I need to be shut down, ready for bed, bags packed, etc. by 5 p.m. the night before. I was distracted at this race, which is why I had a Perform Slushie for my aerodrink to start off. Now, I'm turning stuff down the day before and purely focusing on race prep activities.
   

I will do this race again, once the stars align for timing. I got a ton of STUFF - water bottles, socks, nutrition (real nutrition - not just samples!), race belts and on and on and on. It was a wonderful experience from start to finish. I have nothing but good things to say about it and would recommend it to everyone. The course is a great mix of challenging sections and parts you can really fly on, and the town and facilities are top notch.

Until next time - happy training!

Back to Basics

I stopped blogging last year because life got crazy. Too much stuff, not enough time. This time, I promise to do better.

The best way to describe my 2011 season is 'OK'. I had mediocre results, but nothing to really write home about. Status quo, so least I didn't go backwards. My approach for the 2011 season was to recover from three straight years of Ironman and relax a little, so in that sense, mission accomplished. Yea!

But, the competitor in me knows that I can do more. One of my takeaways is that I need to stay aggressive when I race. At Musselman, I laid up on the bike too much and gave away too much time. I knew I would melt on the run anyway (which was an accurate prediction), so I should have just gone for it on the bike and survived the run as best possible. I was able to correct that at Syracuse 70.3 and at Poconos 70.3, where I took both bikes really aggressively and managed to have decent runs on top of it. Lesson learned: Ignore watts on race day. I think next year I'll use Race Day Wheels to get some speed and not worry about my actual wattage. Instead, I'll practice with watts (on course) to learn what I can do/can't do, and then on race day race by RPE.

Mussleman was an awesome race experience. Everyone should do this at some point.

I also had a hamstring injury right after Musselman that has stayed long past it's welcome. It turned more into a low back issue in late August and prevented me from doing some run miles. I could feel it in the two 70.3 races, but mainly on the bike (from being in aero position for so long). I had to lay up a bit toward the end of the bikes, but once I got on the run it was ok. Lesson learned: Flexibility and core training year-round. It's a non-negotiable for me.

Right now I'm training for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20, which will be my first stand-alone marathon in four years! The last one I did was Flying Pig in 2007. Actually, it will only be my third marathon (outside of IMs). I'm enjoying training for it a lot, getting back to basics. More on this later, as I have lots of thoughts about transitioning to being a pure runner again.

At Philly, I would LOVE to go under 4 hours, which I think is do-able I'm stoked that my bro-in-law is signed up for the race, as it'll be fun to have him and my sister down for the race. He can suffer through the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot in Baldwinsville with me after the marathon. No free pass just because of the race! Traditions are traditions for a reason! We can just do the 5K instead of the 10K...I'll grant that reprieve.

Yea Philly!

This weekend I'm working on planning my 2012 season out, so stay turned for an updated race list. I'm thinking of trying some new races in prep for Ironman Lake Placid (take #3!) to wake me up a bit. Official training for IMLP will probably start mid-March/April.

Enjoy this beautiful weekend!~