Jumping July

July 2023 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 362.9

• June 26-July 2: 66.4
• July 3-9: 76.5
• July 10-16: 84.3
• July 17-23: 90.0
• July 24-30: 76.9

Karen's got #jumpingjuly skills

Races:

• July 4: Branson Firecracker 5000 (course measured 3.23 miles) in 20:16 for 1st masters female and 3rd overall female.
• July 16: Summer Sizzler 15k in Denver 1:07:55 for 1st overall person. This was clearly a very low-key race and I did it as a marathon effort workout, but I'll take a win when I can get it!

#jumpingjuly at elevation

Workouts:

• July 7: The Mona Fartlek which is 2 x 1:30, 4 x 1:00, 4 x 0:30, 4 x 0:15 pushes with equal duration floats. The key on this one is to not back off too much on the floats - only to about marathon pace. I don't know how accurate my Garmin was on this workout, but it said I averaged 5:45 for the ons and 6:24 for the floats - and that I came through the 5k in 18:58 which I don't buy. I'd guess I ran more like 6:00 for the ons and 6:40 for the floats, but it was about 65* and less humid, so that did help!
• July 11: 16 x 400 m with 0:30 recoveries in 1:32, 1:31, 1:29, 1:30, 1:31, 1:31, 1:30, 1:32, 1:30, 1:30, 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:30, 1:29, 1:25 (average 1:30). The 30 second recoveries were basically enough to stop running, turn around, wipe the sweat off my face, say one sentence, and go again, and oddly enough I liked that a lot. The key was not going too fast. My initial goal was 1:32-1:34 (5k pace), but I kept hitting 1:30s and went with it. I decided to push the final one and was happy with how much I was able to speed up, though I wasn't recovered from that in 30 seconds!
• July 14: 12 x 1:00 pick ups, one at the beginning-ish of each mile starting at mile 4 of a 16 mile long run. I like tiny long run workouts like this better than easy long runs! I think they keep me from slogging and generally I feel less tired from them than easy long runs, plus my overall pace ends up a lot faster.
• July 16: Summer Sizzler 15k at marathon effort (7:08), which wasn't what I'd like marathon pace to be, but I kept my heart rate right where it should have been (using a chest strap) and got in a good effort at altitude.
• July 19: 15 x 2:00 on/2:00 off in a 12.4 mile run. I was still at altitude and wanted a relatively long workout, but didn't think I had a sustained effort in me, so a fartlek was perfect. It wasn't what I'd have done at home (7:07 was my average pace for the 30:00 of work - my final push was my fastest at 6:37) but I worked.
• July 22: 10 x 0:45 hills/inclines during the final 8 miles of a 20 mile run. This run as a whole also ended up being a progression, starting around 8:30 and finishing at 7:15.
• July 25: 3 x (1.25 threshold, 0.25 jog, 0.25 hard, 0.25 jog). My threshold paces showed a nice progression at 6:36, 6:23, 6:17, and my hards were significantly faster than threshold at 5:46, 5:53, 5:48. In hot weather I often have a difficult time negative splitting and in marathon training I often have a difficult time running faster than threshold, but in this workout I did both! I think the first threshold was a little slow, the second about right, and the third too fast - but all together averaged about right at 6:25.
• July 29: 11 x 1:30 pick ups, one during each mile starting at mile 4 of a 15 mile long run. I had my watch programed for 10 pick ups, but one time I hit stop instead of lap when I started one, so I did an extra and missed that distance on my Garmin. I'm sure the missed one was my fastest, hahaha!
• Strides: July 3, 6, 10, 13, 18, 21, 24, 26, 28, and a few other days that I missed.
• Doubles: July 10, 11, 17, 21, 25, 26, 31.
• Favorite workouts: I really liked The Mona Fartlek, the 16 x 400s, and the July 25 mixed system workout!

Post-400 reps workout #jumpingjuly

Post-threshold #jumpingjuly

Long Runs:

• July 1: 14 miles (8:29) of humidity.
• July 8: 18.1 miles (8:26) of more humidity.
• July 14: 16.2 miles (7:55) with 12 x 1:00 pick ups. This one felt great, which I haven't been able to say about a long run for awhile!
• July 22: 20 miles (7:58) with 10 x 0:45 hills. I was planning to run 18, but figured if I felt good I'd finish Casey's 20 with her and I did! Just 2-3 weeks before this I couldn't have finished 20 and definitely not with a pace starting in a 7, so seeing progress feels good.
• July 29: 15 miles (7:33) for a cut-back week long run. I didn't think I needed this cut-back week, but I suppose the key is taking them before you really need them.
• Favorite long run:  July 22, because it was 20 that felt good in the summer!
• Note: Starting July 14 my long runs started coming back around. I had been really slogging them and they were not feeling good in June and early July, but hopefully I have turned a corner with 3 in a row where I felt great/like my normal long run loving self. I guess it just took me a bit to get back into the groove after my April-May time off.

Friday long run #jumpingjuly

Sweltering long run #jumpingjuly

Running Highlights:

• I'm officially in Chicago Marathon training. It's kind of a long story of how this came to fruition, but it's a little humorous because I don't at all like huge marathons or the city of Chicago. But I am very much looking forward to the trip with my running buddies Casey, Abby, and Amy! I am also planning to tack on the Bass Pro Marathon 4 weeks after, provided I feel good (hometown small marathon = more my thing).
• I am also back on my 3 week build/1 cut-back week routine. This month started and ended with cut-back weeks, with 3 higher weeks between. I plan to stay in the 90s for the rest of my big weeks before Chicago. It is possible I will do my biggest week at 100, but I'm trying not to go too crazy with mileage after my spring issue. The week of July 10 I started feeling really great and peppy again. Nothing like some harder months to make you appreciate the good ones!

This was our "David jump" pose

This one was a failure because if we'd have turned
around we'd have had beautiful trees in the background

Life Highlights:

• I flew to Denver on July 15 for for my uncle's memorial and then vacationed with my parents for a few days afterward. We spent most of our time in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park.
• I did a fun lake day on Table Rock with Amy for her birthday.
• We did a quick trip to Cherryvale, Kansas (where my in-laws live) for the 4th of July. My parents also got to attend!
• I did a day trip to Pitt to relive some college times.

Rocky Mountain National Park

12,000+ ft

Lake Irene

This marmot came very close to the walking
path & many tourists

MSU tent theatre

Books:

• Happy Place by Emily Henry
• Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries by Carrie Jackson Cheadle & Cindy Kuzma
• Marmee by Sarah Miller
• Four Weeks, Five People by Jennifer Yu
• The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
• Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter
• The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Theme for the month:

• Jumping July...running group gets very into jumping photos each January and July. July has much better lighting after 5:30 a.m. runs! Lot of jumping pics below!

My attempt at a Karen jump

I was still running when this one was taken

I got my dad to participate in Estes Park!

At 12,000+ ft

Summer Sizzler 15k

The Short:

I ran a low-key race on a Colorado trip, and it wasn't fast but I won first overall person! It was the perfect way to get in an effort while traveling and it's always fun to win a race. I am sticking with no goal races at altitude though!

Results are here

My Strava activity is here

The Long:

When I made arrangements to fly to Denver on July 15, I decided to see if there were any races there on Sunday, July 16 - and there was one, the Summer Sizzler! I have done a lot of racecations, where I build a vacation around a race, but this was my first time doing it the other way - planning a trip then inserting a race. I decided I'd run it if possible, but I didn't want to inconvenience anyone and a memorial and family time were top priority, so I didn't register until the morning of the race, after my parents assured me it worked in our schedule. I also did a long run workout on July 14, something which I don't think I've ever done two days before racing, but which made sense with not knowing for sure if I'd race and not wanting to leave my long run to July 16 in an unbeknownst location. I also woke up at 2 a.m. on July 15 and had a power-packed day, so I wasn't exactly rested for this one!

For those reasons, because I wanted to have plenty of energy to vacation post-race, and because I wasn't sure how the altitude would affect me (I've run at altitude on vacation plenty of times, but just easy efforts), I thought running the race at about marathon effort would be good. Because I expected a fairly small event, I was hoping I could win overall female with that effort - but I was also prepared to run faster if that's what it took to compete. I did a couple of miles and strides to warm up, then lined up on the starting line on a concrete running/bike path.

There were 5k, 10k, and 15k distances at the race, but the bib numbers for each race looked the same and the course was the same (5k did one tour of the out-and-back course, 10k two, and 15k three), so I wasn't sure who I was actually racing against. The starting announcer asked for shows of hands ("Who is in the 10k? Who is in the 15k?") and I tried to look around at the women towards the front of the line to see who was in my race. I noted that the men in front of me on the line were all in shorter races.

After the start, I eased out and settled into the moderately hard effort that is marathon effort. I generally race by effort (not pace), but for this one it was extra important with the variables at play (altitude mainly, but also fatigue). A woman was right with me, and I settled in just behind her, feeling like the effort was a smidge too quick for marathon pace but definitely do-able - and like I said I was willing to go faster in order to compete!

I ran right with the woman for the first 2 miles (which ended up being my fastest 2 miles), and then I could feel her slowing down. When I passed her I told her great job and asked which race she was in. She was breathing awfully hard, so I when she answered "5k" it made sense. I was disappointed I wasn't going to have her to run with for any longer - I'd been thinking the ideal situation would be that she was in the 10k so I could run with her for 2 laps but wouldn't have to push too much on my third. I moved into the female lead position for all 3 races, and made my way to the turn-around/finish.

Close to the turn-around/finish

My parents were cheering at the turn-around, and it was fun to come through before any of the 5k women. I saw a couple of men heading back out on the course ahead of me, so I knew they were in either the 10k or 15k. I ran by myself from mile 2 on, but with the 3 race distances going out and back, there were always people around. I pushed like a workout but was thankful I didn't have to push too hard! At the halfway point turn around, I noted the men in front of me and the closest women behind me. I had a pretty significant lead so I felt good about winning overall female in the 15k (though they were actually in the 10k, I'd later learn).

Next I came through the 10k turn around, which I came through before any of the women in the 10k. I didn't think I saw any men going back out from there, but there were so many people going both ways at that point and I was lapping people, so I wasn't sure. On the last lap I started thinking it would be awfully cool if I was ahead of all of the men! At the last turn around (with 1.55ish miles to go), I was pretty sure I was leading the 15k overall. I glided in and when I finished the announcer confirmed my suspicion, saying that I was not only the first 15k female finisher, but I was the first overall finisher in the 15k!

The blue pin on the ribbon says #1 overall,
the gold pin says age group winner

It's always fun to win a race, no matter how small and non-competitive, so I really enjoyed this. I ran pretty steady and my average HR was 159 (marathon effort is about 160, so I did well with that). It was a good effort and a nice way to get in a 13+ mile day on vacation! 

I really don't know how much the altitude affected me, but hopefully at least 20 seconds/mile, because my average pace was 7:08 and I'd sure like to break 3:00 in Chicago! It was in the 70s and sunny, so also pretty warm, plus the dry air had me grabbing water at the hair pin turn at every aid station (surely it's easier than Missouri humidity though!). I had a phase where I'd only race if I thought I could post a good time, but now I really enjoy doing races like this where I know I won't. This and the workout I did a few days later while in the Denver area did solidify my stance that I never want to run a goal race at altitude though!

Branson Firecracker 5000

Sometimes it may be best for me to jump into a race when I don't feel super fit, because it means I don't have high expectations. The older I get the faster I feel like I lose fitness and the slower it comes back, and I am still feeling those 5 weeks of very little running in April and May. But I've also been doing Summer of Speed training with my running buddies so a 5k seemed reasonable enough. Based on my workouts I figured I could run around 6:15 pace.

#jumpingjuly

I drove 30 minutes south to the Branson Firecracker 5000 with two of my running buddies, Paul and Sally. Paul has been running well and recently raced a mile in 5:03, so I expected a 17:30 from him. Sally recently moved to Springfield and she and I have been very close on workouts (see: one of the 25-year-olds I hang with on the track!), so I expected we'd be able to work together in the race. Sally told me she was going to key off of me since I've been pacing us well in workouts. I told her I made no guarantees about hitting a specific pace since I race by effort, but I felt confident I would not go out too fast.

There were a lot of teenagers in the race, so there was a lot of going out too fast happening by others! The race started in the middle of the Branson Landing on cobblestones, which I quickly learned the Vaporfly does not play nice with. After about 0.25 we got off of the cobblestones and into a parking lot. At that point Sally and I were together with about 10 women in front of us. They all looked like teenagers to me, so I felt pretty good about being top masters.

I settled in and looked ahead while staying in the correct effort zone. Sally tucked in right on my shoulder. Nothing too eventful happened for the first half of the race, though we learned where the course actually went (we'd try to run it for our warm up but failed). About halfway in, we really started pulling other women in. It made me push to pass, and Sally came along with me. Between about 1.5 and 2.5, we passed every woman within our sights except for one, and we were right on her tail. There were also a lot of men and boys around, so it wasn't always easy to get by people, especially when we ran on a weird little curvy trail that went behind a strip mall.

After we got off the narrow trail and onto the north Landing parking lot, I passed the woman we'd been near. I wasn't sure what place I was in at that point, but there were no more women in sight so I knew we wouldn't move up between there and the finish. With about 0.25 to go we got back on cobblestones and Sally passed me. I pushed with what I had but couldn't get her back, so she ended up finishing 2 seconds in front of me in second female, making me third. First woman was about a minute ahead of us. I knew I'd won masters but didn't know where I was at overall, and no one watching knew either - including our friend Paul who won male masters or Amy who run spectated and warmed up and cooled down with us.

1st male masters, youngster, 1st female masters

We had run a 4 mile warm up so set off on a 5 mile cool down to make it a 12+ mile day. We had a lot of stops during the cool down: shoe change, drinks, monitoring the awards time, getting awards, walking awards back to the car (that firework got heavy!), taking pictures, etc. The award for 1st masters was the same as 1st overall, which I appreciated. They gave me the masters award since it was better than 3rd overall, but in the results I'm listed as 3rd overall and taken out of masters. Although I still try to contend for overall wins (vs. masters wins), I was proud of myself to be in there with so many young 'uns in a 5k - of the top 9, everyone but me was age 17-25. Plus we all know that my 5k pace is also my 10k pace, which doesn't particularly bode well for the 5k, hah!

This race felt about like a 5k should (i.e., cardiac arrest), I ran about as expected (6:17 average), and I ran pretty even splits. I think I could have run a faster final mile without all of the turns, but of course everyone in the race had to deal with those. My pace was about what I expected and though I wish I'd have been able to pull more out in the final 0.25, I gave what I had. I also wish the course had been more accurate, but I went into the race doubting it would be correct (I was just hoping it would be short so I'd look sharper than I am, haha!).

My Strava activity is here - but Sally and I were right together until the final bit and I think her Garmin splits were more accurate at 6:21, 6:17, 6:21 (then she got me in the final 0.2 with 5:49 pace vs. my 5:56), because I don't think my mile 2 was actually much different than 1 and 3 like my watch read.

Results are here.

Representing rabbit!

We are all on the top of the podium here