Super September

September 2022 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 353.5

• August 29-Sep. 4: 101.2
• Sep. 5-11: 102.3
• Sep. 12-18:  85.5
• Sep. 19-25:  70.5
• Sep. 25-Oct. 2: 67.4

#sowellfueledseptember

Races:

• Sep. 11: Plaza 10k in 38:16 (gun time) for 3rd overall female, first masters female, and a new Missouri state road racing record for age 41. I was definitely not fresh for this one (a few days off of a 24 mile workout and in a 102 mile week), but what better way than to train for a marathon than to race a 10k when your legs are tired, right? I wasn't thrilled with my time, but I was really proud of myself for holding my own with a lot of fast 20-something women in the field.

Workouts:

• Sep. 3: Long run workout of 4 easy, 5 in 6:39, 6:42, 6:34, 6:36, 6:35, 0.5 jog, 4 in 6:30, 6:39, 6:30, 6:39, 0.5 jog, 2 in 6:36, 6:15, 5 easy for 21 miles total. This was okay. I would have liked to have run faster (shocker!), but in a dew point of 70* and on a hilly course, I think I did alright. My flat course/good weather goal paces for the 3 segments were 6:30, 6:20, 6:10, and my actual averages were 6:37, 6:32, 6:25, so although I wasn't there, I did get faster each one and I finished strong. The course had 790 ft of elevation gain so it wasn't atrocious but it sure wasn't flat. After this workout I kept thinking about how running an early fall marathon requires a lot of faith, because summer paces are never truly representative of fitness!
• Sep. 7: Long run workout of 10 at 7:30ish, 10 at 6:30ish, 4 easy.  I ended up with 24 miles at 7:08 pace for the whole shebang, and my MP miles were: 6:39, 6:32, 6:25, 6:23, 6:26, 6:28, 6:22, 6:46, 6:40, 6:13 (6:29 average). I have never done this workout before and was really hoping it would go well since it was The Big One for this cycle! I was happy with it, especially because I had just run a long run workout a few days before on Sep. 3. This ideally would have been done on Sep. 10 but since I was racing on Sep. 11 this was how things ended up. It was 68*/dew point 68* for this run, I started at 5 a.m. on a Wednesday, and the course had 804 ft elevation gain. I drifted on my MP during miles 18-19, which felt a bit like the end of a marathon, but I was able to kick it in during the final mile of pace work. David ran the first 8 miles with me, then Casey did the next 13, so I only had 3 easy miles alone at the end. While I hope I can run a marathon faster than 6:29 pace at some point in good weather, I would be very happy with 6:29 pace next month.
• Sep. 14:  Wave tempo of 2 x (3 x 0.5 at MP/0.5 at 5k pace) with 3:00 jog between sets (11.4 miles total). My splits were: 3:09, 2:52, 3:11, 2:54, 3:08, 2:53 | 3:06, 2:52, 3:13, 2:55, 3:14, 2:48 - so averaged right around 6:20 for the MP and 5:45 for the 5k pace.  The MP segments felt smooth and relatively easy, and the 5k pace segments were hard but I felt strong. I did a wave tempo last month where the MP sections felt really hard and the sub-6:00 sections felt passing-out hard, so this was a nice upgrade. Casey and Spencer ran this one with me and everyone had a fantastic workout.
• Sep. 17: 18 mile workout of 4 easy, 4 at MP, 0.5 easy, 3 at MP, 0.5 easy, 2 at MP, easy to 18. I ran this on hills to prepare for the long climb from mile 20-23 at Twin Cities, and it was definitely good for me. The 4 and 3 mile sections were net uphill. I was aiming for 6:30 effort on the 4, and my grade-adjusted paces (GAPs) were 6:30, 6:33, 6:31, 6:30; I was aiming for 6:20 effort on the 3, and my GAPs were 6:16, 6:29, 6:23 (definitely the fastest I've ever run that particular stretch of road). I used Spencer's premium Strava for my GAPs, but he didn't do the same 2 mile course as me so I don't know what those GAPs were, but my actual splits were 6:30, 6:23, which were not great because I think those miles of the route were easier, but it was what I had left in my legs.
• Sep. 21: 15:00 at MP (6:32), 2 x 0.5 at threshold (6:10 on incline, 5:47 on decline), 15:00 at MP (6:16) with 3:00 jogs between each. My running buddy Casey did this with me and we both said we thought it was a short workout, then realized it was almost 6 miles of quality (12 miles total)...clearly we are used to marathon workouts. On the first MP segment my breathing was relaxed but my legs were protesting and I did not feel like I was going to have a good day, then the threshold part felt better and the second MP segment was a lot better. A good reminder that a given pace can get better as the run goes on!
• Sep. 24: 5 easy, 4 at MP (6:29, 6:31, 6:28, 6:29), 5 easy for my last long run workout. I did well being a metronome at 6:30, but as almost always in training MP felt much harder than I'd like it to.
• Sep. 28: 20:00 a little faster than MP in 6:22, 6:18, 6:09 (5:49 for the final 0.2) for my race week workout. I felt tapered - this is the one workout of the season where MP didn't feel much harder than I'd like.
• Strides: September 6, 10, 13, 20, 27.
• Doubles: September 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 15, 22.
• Strength training: I lightened up my strength work at the end of the month, but consistency did it twice a week for the first 3 weeks. I also did a separate ~10 minute core workout 2-3 times a week, which I've been doing for years but usually don't note.
• Favorite workout: The September 14 wave tempo felt really great.

#sadseptember or #splishsplashseptember

#sweatyseptember

#superseptember

It is #stillseptember

Long Runs:

• Sep. 2: 21 miles with a workout, described above.
• Sep. 7: 24 miles (7:08) with a workout, described above - on a Wednesday before work!
• Sep. 17:  18.1 miles with a workout, described above.
• Sep. 24: 14 miles (7:20), with a workout, described above.
• Favorite long run: The Big One, the 24.

#soakingwetseptember (100% humidity)

#somuchrunningseptember (24 miles)

Running Highlights:

• I set a new rolling 7 day mileage PR from September 1-7. I had two really long runs during these 7 days, so it felt like cheating, but I'll take PRs when I can get 'em!

bRUNch

Running Lowlights:

• The Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon cancelled their October 2 race on September 9. You can read the explanation here, but that put a hitch in my marathon plans! The Twin Cities Marathon, which also takes place on October 2, was kind enough to accept me into their pro field without much notice. It isn't a course I'd have normally chosen, but I was super thankful to find another option on the date that I've been targeting for months - even though the reasons I was excited about Milwaukee don't translate.

How my dad told me he was coming to my marathon

Life Highlights:

• Jon and I celebrated our wedding anniversary on September 17, then...
• Albani turned 15 on September 18!

First acrylic nails - something I've never
done but the only thing she wanted for
her 15th birthday

She isn't the biggest fan of photos

Books:

• The Younger Wife by Sally Hepworth
• A Star is Bored by Byron Lane
• The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore
• The Measure by Nikki Erlick
• Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
• The Love of My Life by Rose Walsh
• Nothing More To Tell by Karen M. McManus
• The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France by Tyler Hamilton and Daniel Coyle
• Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library by Amanda Oliver

Theme for the month:

• This changed every day!

Nugget helps with post-run rolling