|
Written by Elizabeth Randell
|
|
Saturday, 27 February 2010 |
Please post your questions or comments at our Forum.
OH. EM. GEE.
I just got an email from the Boston Marathon yesterday. I have been selected for the Elite Women’s Start (EWS)! This is news that revealed itself in bits and pieces, as I hastily read the email on my way out the door and didn’t have time to sit down and slowly take it all in until I got back later in the evening.
There are approximately 40 Open and 15 Masters women who will be in this group (my hands are shaking as I write this!). I will be starting at 9:32 with the Elite women (Salina Kosgei, Dire Tune, Lidiya Grigoryeva, and Catherine Ndereba!). I can go to the same pre-race starting venue with them (with “direct access” to the start!) and I have been warned that the Elite men will probably pass me and that I need to move over for them. Ryan Hall and Meb will run by me! I am SO not worthy of this honor!
These are people who have been competing in this sport since they were children. I am afraid I will look like a complete imposter among them! I ran six miles yesterday and felt tired and sore afterward. Am I overtraining? Will I be ready to race on April 19? I wasn’t thinking that this would be a performance; I was just hoping to run a PR!
What should I wear? Do I need nasal strips? Arm warmers? Compression socks? Should I wear a running bra and spankies?
How should I act? I have to stand at the starting line with the queens of running.
Can I talk to the fastest women in the world?
Does this EWS make me look fat?!
They probably think of the Boston Marathon the way I feel about a race I want to do really well in. Nervous, yes. Excited, yes. But not completely out of their league. Not like a fish out of water.
Deep breath…
I am racing the Grimsby Half Marathon tomorrow. I need to focus on the goals I’ve set for myself. Stay the course. No need to question or second guess.
My goals for the race are going to have to be flexible, as a winter storm came in Thursday night and is still at it. I always set two or three goals for myself: “I would be thrilled,” “very good,” and “I could live with.” For tomorrow, I’m just setting two goals. If the weather cooperates, my taper was effective, my body doesn’t suddenly seize up, and the gods are smiling, I am capable of running 1:24. But given my recent leg soreness and the weird weather, I will be very happy if I do 1:26 or better. And if it is icy or snowing, I will use the race as an expensive long run and set my sights on the Shamrock Run next week.
-
Elizabeth
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 27 February 2010 )
|
|
|
Written by Elizabeth Randell
|
|
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 |
Please post your questions or comments at our Forum.
So last night's workout, 3 x (800m, 600m, 400m, 200m) at 5k pace was unintentionally modified by my Garmin. Instead of entering .25 miles, I entered it as minutes. I wondered, but didn't really want to know why that 400 felt so fast! Needless to say, the workout was a bit shorter than expected, but that was probably for the best. I am really sore and tired this week, and in need of some serious rest! The workout felt great, though.
Tonight's workout called for 5-8 miles at easy pace. I ran four - I actually really wanted to take the night off, but they're calling for some seriously bad weather, and I dread having to do tons of mileage on the treadmill. I started off at a really slow pace, but felt better by the end of the first mile. I'm really not being as good as I should be with regard to listening to my body, so this week I'm going to pamper myself a bit.
This weekend (Sunday) is the Grimsby Half Marathon. I have some goals I'll post tomorrow - I'm not being coy, I just left my running journal upstairs and don't want to get it!
-
Elizabeth
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 February 2010 )
|
|
|
Written by Elizabeth Randell
|
|
Monday, 22 February 2010 |
Please post your questions or comments at our Forum.
Tonight's workout: 8.2 miles on the treadmill. Ugh. The dreaded 'mill. To add insult to injury, my gym has a 30-minute time limit, so if I run anything slower than a 7:30 pace, I have to restart the machine three times. Since tonight was an easy recovery run, that's just what I did. The weather was one factor that drove me in - we're getting freezing rain and it's really icy - the other was my son who wanted to work out at the gym.
With two kids and other obligations, it is often hard to even fit a workout in. I'd been a fairly decent regular at the Body Pump classes twice a week for about a month, but I'm finding it harder and harder to fit that hour long class in as my mileage increases. I've also decided to make Fridays my recovery day, which means the BP class won't fit in twice a week. I've decided I'm going to get creative and try to add bounds, leaps, dynamic lunges, and some short weight sessions to my post-race regime in an effort to get the strength training without taking up more time.
Tonight I did just that, and it really helped me loosen up. I was pretty stiff after yesterday's run, though the leg issues have gone away (hooray!). I think the hills on Sunday really helped me get through leg soreness and pain. The up and downs work all kinds of different muscles, and as long as the pain is in the usual places, I feel relatively confident running with it.
-
Elizabeth
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 23 February 2010 )
|
|
|
Written by Elizabeth Randell
|
|
Sunday, 21 February 2010 |
Please post your questions or comments at our Forum.
Today's workout was 20.10 miles at hilly Chestnut Ridge. Our overall pace was 7:57 for a total of 2:40:02 minutes of running. Conditions were awesome for the first time in weeks! It was 27 degrees, the sun was shining, and best of all the roads were down to bare pavement!
As I mentioned yesterday, I was nervous about my right leg and the roller only aggravated the soreness (so much for my hearty endorsement!). At mile ten, I was sore, tired, and ready to quit. Luckily, I was not only too far out to bail, but I was running with three other people and our conversation kept my mind off my woes. By mile 12, I finally felt more comfortable, so I'm glad I didn't quit.
At one point in the run, one member of our group declared the Olympic skeleton racers to be "crazy." Crazy indeed! Who would jump on a sled and speed 90 miles an hour head first down an icy flume?! Then we looked at each other and had to laugh. What kind of person gets up early on a Sunday morning and runs for two hours? Who would enjoy battling driving winds, sub-zero wind chills, driving snow, slippery roads, aggressive drivers, frozen appendages (not to mention frozen Gatorade?!) weekend after weekend?
How many people watch a marathon and think, "what kind of nut job races 26.2 miles for fun?" Finally, the race itself is only one day - a culmination of months (years) of training. It's the training that many of us do the race for. When it comes to a marathon, especially, 16 weeks of training and hard work can end up for naught if on race day you're sick, the weather takes a turn for the worse, or if you just have an off day.
I've talked to lots of marathon runners on those two hour training runs, and the consensus is that the training is what makes it worth it. You push yourself to lengths you never knew you could go. You leave your warm, cozy bed and join a bunch of sweaty people for the camaraderie, the joy of being done with a long run at 10am when others are just getting up, and the mental fortitude that comes of being able to push through pain, tiredness, and the elements.
So I guess I understand the skeleton racers better than I thought I did. But I think I’ll stick to sports where I control the speed!
-
Elizabeth
|
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 21 February 2010 )
|
|
|
Written by Elizabeth Randell
|
|
Saturday, 20 February 2010 |
Please post your questions or comments at our Forum.
Today's schedule called for an easy ten-miler. I was pretty sore - tomorrow marks the last week of 60-66 miles per week before a much-needed recovery week. My entire right leg from the hip to the foot is sore. This isn't uncommon during this part of the training, but it always makes me nervous, especially before a long run. Tomorrow is 20 miles at Chestnut Ridge.
My plan? I'm going to get the foam roller out. I first tried one in September, and it was love at first roll! The secret is to find the sore spot (or pressure point) and allow your leg weight to press that area into the roller. It can be incredibly painful - tears to the eyes painful - but if you can relax into the knot, you can literally feel it melt away. I also have "the stick" but it doesn't work the knots the way the roller does.
- Elizabeth
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 20 February 2010 )
|
|
|
Written by Elizabeth Randell
|
|
Saturday, 20 February 2010 |
Please post your questions or comments at our Forum.
I'm 43 years old, and a relative newcomer to the sport of running. In 2001, a colleague got me to sign up for Buffalo's Corporate Challenge . I thought it was fun, signed up for a 5K not too soon after that, won my age group, and became an immediate addict.
The following year, I signed up for the New York Marathon on a whim and got in. I trained myself with a schedule from a  book, and got to the starting line with an IT band that was so sore I didn't think I'd even be able to finish the race. Turns out, my 3:45 finish time was good enough to qualify me for Boston (though I didn't know it at the time!).
Subsequently, I have run 13 marathons, with the Toronto GoodLife Marathon in October of 2009 being my most recent. It was also my best marathon, as I finished in 2:57:36 and won the women's race. I also PR'd in every distance I raced in 2009; highlights include an 18:53 5K, a 2:08:19 30K, and a 59:36 15K.
What's the key to my improvement? I think it's consistency. Since I got the running bug, I've run 5-7 days a week every week with only a few weeks off a year after big races. I incorporate strength training and some cross-training into my routine, and I run outside in the elements unless it's really slippery. (I call those runs "character building runs.")
I live a busy life as (among other things) a mother of two teenagers, wife, teacher, and cross-country coach. Training fits into the early morning hours before work (starting at 4:50AM) or squeezed into the evenings after work between errands and activities. A very supportive husband and an ever-expanding network of running pals keep me motivated.
Right now, I'm training to run the Boston Marathon , and my goal is to go under three hours. This will be my sixth time in Boston - I know the course and respect it. Just thinking "under three hours" makes me somewhat breathless! I'll use this blog to track my training, which I started in January.
- Elizabeth
|
|
Last Updated ( Saturday, 20 February 2010 )
|
|
|
