Blacksburg Classic 10-Miler

Grandmasters winner Trish and Masters winner

(photo by Trish's running superstar daughter Mikayla)

Subtitle: Taking an unhappy stomach for a ten mile run

Yesterday was my 6th running of the Blacksburg Classic 10-Miler, put on by RunAbout Sports, an event with a 31-year history! It's always a tough early season race but a good barometer of fitness and fun time to reconnect with local running buds!

I'd been running pretty well and feeling fit for this time of year so I was ready. I woke up Saturday with a very noisy, sloshy, burpy, upset stomach, but with a 1 pm race start figured it would have time to settle. I popped an Imodium and wasn't too worried about it.

The early clouds of the day cleared to about the most perfect sunny warm winter day you could ask for, a dramatic improvement over the bitter cold temperatures of the prior Saturday, the day the race was originally scheduled.

I felt pretty relaxed at the start where my foot pod apparently helped itself to pairing with friends Jordan's and Heather's Garmins! At the sound of the airhorn we were off and I hit my first two miles on pace (just under 7:30) and at that point just went by effort. I appreciated and heard all the cheers and encouragement along the way; I am just not so good at responding during a race! I constantly reminded myself to stay relaxed and seek a state of flow - working hard but smooth without unconsciously braking or holding back.

The Huckleberry Trail is under construction and there was a sizable section of mud and gravel we passed through on the way out and back that I did not enjoy, but other than that the path was good with wet spots, but no ice aside from what lined the sides of the path in some of the shady sections.

At the turnaround at mile seven I could see a number of women behind me, including Trish and Marcia who are both strong runners. I'd taken a gel at mile 5 and my stomach was not happy but thankfully it was not much of a distraction. I knew I had to keep pressing forward or risk being passed. I went on the wrong side of the construction fence at the 460 underpass and had to backtrack, losing some time but not feeling particularly upset about it. Classic "racer brain" move - not thinking!!

In the last mile my calves began to cramp which is unusual for me. I saw I had enough of a lead that I could back off some and hold my position. The last little climb to the finish is tough but I kept my eyes on the runners ahead and just soldiered up behind them.

The final hill, heads-down, just get the job done.
photo by Kristen Chang

finished!

After passing through the finish I thought I might really get sick. I could hardly look at the post-race food. I ate two orange slices, drank some water, and my friend and swimming lane-mate Janet gave me crystallized ginger to help.

Janet :-)

Post-race I met fellow racer John (#1390) who said he worked hard the last few miles to keep up with me, and it was then that I realized how interconnected the "train" of runners becomes out there! We are focused on keeping up with the runners ahead, and those behind are focused on keeping up with us. I had never really thought about that unspoken force that keeps each of us going!

I finished in 1:16:56 - my slowest time by quite a bit - but I can say I gave it all I had (results).

Not long after the awards (1st Master's for the 5th time; I was 1st overall in 2010), I made my way home and and spent the rest of the day and night down-and-out coping with a GI system in total revolt. I'll spare the details but it was rough. Today I feel like I was run over by a herd of stampeding buffalo but I am at least functional, and it seems I got a great "ab workout!" Not much happened in the way of post-race refueling (maybe 600 calories total since the race), but I think I will live to train another day ;-)

My giant appetite sometimes drives me crazy but I will be glad to have at least some of it back.

Always an adventure, this racing stuff!

"Are you training for anything?"

I don't know about you, but during the winter I get asked on a pretty regular basis,

"Are you training for anything?"

My answer is, "always."

I'm always training for races whether they are in days or months, but I'm also just training for life, training for me. I'm training to know myself better, to improve my skills, to work out my mental game, and to get a respite from my computer work and the day-to-day of mom life.

February training for a lot of us is not very blog-worthy. It's not glamorous. It's just heads-down training but in its own way it's rewarding to just make it work despite things like snowstorms, short hours of daylight, and cold temperatures.

I've been on the treadmill and bike trainer quite a bit. Cold is not an issue, but each year I am less willing to take a chance on black ice nor do I want the distraction of the worry.

 Some of our recent weather

This morning I finished my fourth workout in a 21 hour span from Tuesday noon to Wednesday morning and felt pretty pleased with myself for that! Due to road conditions, I did not even attempt to get to Tuesday's 6:30 am swim group, and as I looked at my daily training schedule later that morning, and saw that it included the swim, a 45-minute run with strides, and the gym, I thought there was NO way. No way. This would be one of those very rare days something would be skipped. I was justified, right? With a big case of cabin fever I had no motivation for at-home strength training or at-home swim Erg.

So I did what I thought I could. I started with the treadmill. After my warmup I did my "strides" by alternating between 5 mph and 10 mph every 30 seconds. The upside was some great neuromuscular training as there was no way I could have convinced my legs to turn over that fast without the threat of a treadmill face-plant!

Then the roads became passable and I saw a small time window to get to the gym. I very quickly changed, headed out for what turned out to be a very satisfying workout, and got back in time to drive kid 1 to cello and kid 2 to Japanese. Yay!

I was 2 for 3!

I thought maybe I could still get a swim in, but lap swim didn't start till 8:15 at the community pool and that would be too late. But then the Aquatic Center director Lynne messaged to let me know due to a group cancellation lap swim would start at 6:30 pm. It was destiny! I arrived at 6:30 and got in the most quiet, peaceful, soul-restoring 4000y swim. It was just what I needed. Thank you bad morning roads!

I was 3 for 3!

I was asleep before 10...and then up at 1:30 am to feed my ravenous hunger, and back asleep until a late-for-me 6 am.

At 7 am I was on Zwift Island for a 90 minute ride, where I was rewarded with a Queen of the Mountain Jersey and a Sprint Jersey. (My virtual bike got a wheel upgrade recently, so fun!)

QoM on my new Zipp 808s.

My lazy audience

So, 4 workouts in 21 hours.

(If you were wondering about work, I've spent most of my non-training, non-family time for many many days glued to my computer working on projects including a new athlete website. I was overdue for a break.)

This time of year more than any it can be extra challenging to get the training in. Having the accountability of Coach Jim, his structured training plan, and his feedback on how each workout is contributing to race-readiness is vital.

"Are you training for anything?"

Yes, I'm training my commitment, I'm training my time management, and I'm training my adaptability.

Winter is for building up those little caterpillars to become strong and beautiful spring butterflies :-) Just do your best and have faith in the efforts of your little caterpillar!

Winter training adaptations

After a very mild December, winter arrived loud and clear about a week ago. It's tough because I love to train outside. All you can do is adapt.

Sometimes it's fun to be out in it.
Sometimes it's smarter to stay in.
Sometimes one is snowbound.

FUN OUTSIDE

Last Sunday morning I had a long run scheduled and planned to hit the New River Trail. It's a bit of a drive from the house, so when I woke up to light snowflakes, I jumped in the car and found I was the first and only person on the trail for 11-1/2 of my 12 miles. It was magnificent to run along the New River, across bridges, and in the old railroad beds cut into mountains. It was simply amazing for my soul.

SMARTER INSIDE

Thursday morning the roads were covered with a slick "teaser" snow. The S curves of the uphill road between our neighborhood and town EATS cars with even a light dusting. I did not chance driving to my swim but instead swapped in a interval workout on the Vasa Swim Ergometer. That thing KICKS MY BUTT. I've been back on it the last few weeks and am so glad to have an at-home swim option! 

SNOWBOUND

Friday we got a nice snow wallop - about 12" in a day. We didn't leave the house for 48 hours and hubs only got out today in our 4wd truck. This meant:

• improvised at-home strength workout with a yoga mat, 10 and 25 lb dumbells: squats, pushups, lateral raises, shoulder press, lunges, bicep curls, one-legged deadlifts and 25 minutes of yoga. I was surprised to be sore from it! (the good sore)
• two treadmill workouts including one long-for-me-on-the-treadmill run of 10 miles with 2 x 15 minutes at 10 mile intensity)
• two sessions on the bike trainer and Zwift

I was so fast that it's blurry

One of these days I need to better calibrate my Garmin for use on the treadmill - it's so far off!

While I was on the long treadmill run I watched a very cute movie about a troubled teen and blind runner who run together and bring out the best in each other. I ended up really enjoying that run!

The cool thing is the training got done (and it kept me sane and happy), I enjoyed the challenge of adapting, and I even got in some sledding "cross-training." (But it was cold..brrrrr)

Grant was way faster than me.

INSIDE - RUNABOUT SPORTS AWARDS

In the photo at the top I am sporting my new Asics top from the RunAbout Sports 2015 Race Series Awards! I managed to land atop the women's 45-49 age group for the second year in a row. We had a great time coming together and seeing what we all look like showered and in "normal" clothes!!

The top five runners overall received VERY generous cash rewards and credit to RunAbout. Thank you to RunAbout Sports, Carilion, Dowell Chiropractic, and all the series sponsors.

Congratulations to my fellow award winners and to ALL those who adapt and run through all the seasons!!

Race Report: Frozen Toe 10K

photo credit: Kristen Chang

Yesterday I ran the Mountain Junkies Frozen Toe 10K on the Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail on Roanoke Mountain in Roanoke, Virginia. I was glad it was more muddy than frozen.

I was excited because it was to be a new trail race experience for me - the only other trail races I have done have been the Brush Mountain Breakdown on my home trails that I know well. I didn't know this trail at all, and I didn't even look at the elevation profile or plan. I just figured whatever it was, it was. Down, up, flat...just go!

I rode to and from the race with ultrarunner Jordan Chang and ironwoman/runner Kristen Chang (of Real Food for Fuel). (And because they are so fast and finish races long before me, I have them to thank for the finish line photos!!) 

The only advice I'd been given was from fellow local masters runner Linda who said to go out pretty quickly on the out-and-back asphalt loop or risk being caught behind slower runners on the narrow trail. Apparently everyone had that strategy and the group took off like a shot aiming for the human turnaround cone. That's a brave volunteer!

Once we hit the trail, I stuck to my place in the single-file line and we steadily made the mile and a half climb up the mountain. It did not yet feel like "racing" and I could feel myself growing a bit impatient, but I also knew this is part of the challenge of trail racing. I debated passing people but when I watched the few who did, I saw the energy it took to accelerate uphill off the beaten trail. So I opted to settle in and save my energy on the narrow trail.

Soon our efforts were rewarded with a mile back down on what, by my standards, was a plenty rocky and root-covered trail. The seasoned trail racers probably found it very tame and quite a number of girls flew past me. I won't lie - it was humbling!! They were more sure-footed and/or less risk-averse. But I wanted to keep my crutches in retirement, so I pushed myself to the edge of my downhill leg-and-brain comfort zone and just didn't really stress about it. 

This was shaping up to be very different than my Brush Mountain Breakdown race experiences where the small field meant you often had the trail to yourself. I was in a pack of runners for much of the race.

I found myself behind a male masters runner, later introduced as Kemper. He seemed to be running smart, steady, and confidently and something told me that I would be wise to fall in behind him and follow his lead on pacing. In doing so, I found myself passing a few people on the uphills, running strong and happy on the flats, and feeling like I was finally racing! My goal was to try to keep up with him (not always easy), stay focused, and remain upright.

photo credit: Kristen Chang

I did keep up with him, and finished ahead only because he dropped and retrieved a glove in the final half mile. At the finish I thanked him for helping me to a more patient yet overall faster run than I would have had otherwise. I learned a lot.

Kristen, Rachel, me

I finished as the top master's female in a time of 51:11, 8th female overall. The winning female time was 47:16 and the master's record is 49:13.

Thank you Mountain Junkies for the socks. I had forgotten that my trail shoes "eat socks" (as Kristen aptly described it). Having worn the wrong socks, the race socks saved my day!

I also appreciate the beautiful hand-engraved award that captures the essence of the Frozen Toe 10k race and the heart of the trail running community! I had a great time!!

Race highlights by Bryan Keele

Why you need to consistently log your workouts

A coach recently posted an open letter to his athletes on a Facebook group to which I belong. The part that caught my attention was as follows:

I want to work hard! I want to give you a 100% coaching experience. But I need your help to allow me to achieve this. I can’t do it alone.

I can only coach you at the level you allow me to. I want to give you 100% so help me do that. Here is a rough estimate:
Uploading data: 40%
Comments: 40%
Feedback/Questions: 20%

Only 40% of this coach's clients are taking the time to upload their workouts and provide comments, so 60% are not. These are adult clients who willingly pay money for guidance and interaction with a coach...then ignore it! I find this astonishing, yet I've heard from other coaches similar stories of clients who pay month after month and rarely communicate back in the other direction.

These are probably the same people who think it's enough to pay for a gym membership, and that you don't actually have to go!

The thing about coaching, it is SO much more than "just" receiving a training plan. Good coaching is an interactive two-way communication process. If you want your coach to be invested in and engaged in your training and racing success, you have to be invested and engaged too.

Reasons to log/upload data and comment on your workouts:

• It helps you to reflect on a workout - It gets you in the habit of thinking about how did I feel - physically and mentally? Did I note any pain or injuries? What went well? What could have been better? What questions do I have? Did I understand the purpose of the workout? What external factors might have played a part (diet, hydration, sleep, stress). What did I learn about myself? This is a vitally important part of the process and a great opportunity for self-discovery and growth!
• It puts one workout into perspective. When you are recording one of many workouts on the calendar you are reminded that no single session will make or break you.
• It provides critical feedback to the coach about how you felt. It's important that he know if you felt awesome, or tired, or overfaced, or not challenged.
• It gives your coach data needed to evaluate performance and make adjustments if needed. Coach Jim has the experience and the analytical tools on TrainingPeaks to offer me guidance based on evidence. He does behind-the-scenes analysis I don't even know about that informs his planning for me. 
• Consistent logging shows your commitment to your training. How much commitment and engagement can you expect from your coach if you are not doing your part?
• It provides an objective history of training and racing. It's all too easy to forget what we have done and are capable of!  (After not feeling too great about an FTP test the other day, my coach pulled up data to show me how it was much better than this time a year ago.) 
• It allows tracking of longer term trends and changes.
• It is important for establishing a disciplined routine. Training is not just about the session - it's preparation, training, cleanup/refueling and logging/reflection. 
• It's gratifying to look back at how many swim, bike and run miles were logged! No matter how things are going at any point in time, I can draw confidence from my consistent work ethic over many years. 

If you are not faithfully uploading/logging your workouts (with or without a coach), you are really doing yourself a tremendous disservice by failing to capture the qualitative and quantitive data!

I have used TrainingPeaks since June 2009 and have logged over 3000 sessions! It's been an invaluable platform for communication with Coach Jim. He posts my training plans there and my post-workout comments are emailed to him so he knows when I've finished a workout. It's not unusual to get a quick email back from him right afterward with follow-up analysis, comments, suggestions, and very often, words of encouragement. That two-way dialog and accountability are so important to me! I depend on Coach Jim in what is otherwise a pretty solitary training journey for me.

Whether you are using TrainingPeaks or a paper journal, I would just encourage you to make this the year you are faithful to recording your workouts! 

Be the 40% that logs their workouts, not that 60%! The race leaders are surely in that 40%.

workout log!