Chisholm Trail Marathon: I've been faster, I've been slower, but I've never been more thankful!

The short:

I love running marathons!  On March 24, I finished the Wichita Chisholm Trail Marathon in 2:57:18 (6:45 average pace), placed 3rd overall female, and extended my sub-3:00 marathon streak to 7 in a row.  And as always, I grew as a person during those 26.2 miles.  The person who finishes a marathon is never the same person who started it!

Official results are here.

Requisite clock shot!

The long:

It's been years since I've trained for a marathon without a specific time goal that my workouts are targeted at and my mind is focused on.  After I returned from 8 weeks off with an injury in October-November 2018, I had some rocky training in January and February 2019, and started to wonder if I'd ever get fit or feel strong running again.  It seems like some people bounce right back from time off, but that has not been the case for me!  I got in 3 solid workouts in March (details coming in my March recap), and a 20 miler and 23 miler; based on of those 5 runs I figured I was in shape to run about 6:45 pace for a marathon, although it sounds kind of ludicrous when I write it like that, because we all know that 5 runs does not a solid marathon make!  My main goals were to run evenly and by effort, to place as high as I could in the women's field, and to smile while doing it.

Race morning brought sunny skies and 45 degrees.  I was so pumped to run another marathon I could hardly contain myself and could barely sleep the night before the race due to excitement!  From the gun, I had to really restrain myself not to go out too fast, which is actually rare for me.  My goal for the first mile was to not run any faster than 6:50, and I hit it in exactly 6:50.  That was the only time I looked at my watch during the race.  I ran by feel and by the field of runners around me.  I used to really micro-manage my splits in races, but I think I'm more successful when I don't monitor them.

I was in 4th female from the gun.  The leader went out pretty fast (I'd guess under 6:20), and I could see two women running together between the leader and me (I'd guess 6:35 for their first mile).  It's hard not to chase when you're running for place and feel so good so early, but I knew it was a bad idea and that if any of them could maintain that pace I couldn't stick with them anyhow, and I wouldn't get the best out of myself if I tried.  No one ever won a marathon in the first 10K, but many have lost them!

After the field thinned out I found myself running with a man, Leroy, who I've done some training with when visiting my parents for holidays.  We ran side by side and caught up a little from mile 1 until almost 6.  He'd recently dealt with an injury as well, and wasn't quite sure what to expect from the race.  Around mile 6 he told me he was going to drop back a bit, and I was eyeing the two ladies in front of me, so I focused on gradually pulling them in.  Miles 2-6 were 6:47, 6:54 (incline), 6:46, 6:45, 6:41, and my 10K course split was 42:04.  There was a clock on the course at the 10K, so I saw my split but I wasn't sure what pace that was, aside from sub-7:00.

With Leroy around mile 5

I was passing quite a few half marathon runners, including the 1:30 pace group, and feeling good.  I was dying to reel in the two women in my sights, but told myself to be patient and not accelerate just to catch them so early in the race.  I decided to try to pull up on them gradually, and then fall into pace with them.  The female leader was so far ahead I didn't think catching her was realistic, so I figured those two were my biggest competition.  Miles 7-10 were 6:38, 6:48, 6:41, 6:44.  I pulled up with the ladies and a man who'd been running with them (who I had also met at the start through a mutual friend, so I knew he was Victor who was aiming for 2:58).  The women asked if I was another half runner, since a couple had just gone by them, and I told them I was in the full as I settled in with them.

I recognized one of the women as Jalayne, a friend of my friend Amber.  Amber had mentioned Jalayne to me after I ran against Jalayne in the Bill Snyder half last year, and again mentioned that Jalayne was running this marathon.  Since I'd only beat her by about 40 seconds at Bill Snyder, I knew she would be tough to beat in this race because I was nowhere nearly as fit currently.  I am generally really good at gauging what I have to give, and the pace we were at felt sustainable for 26.2, plus having a group to run with usually helps me run faster.  Miles 11-13 were 6:35 (decline), 6:53, 6:50, and my course half split was 1:28:26.  Like at the 10K, there was a course clock, so I knew my half split and figured I was on track for a high 2:56 or low 2:57, which I was happy about because as much as I tried to push it out of my mind, I wanted to keep my sub-3:00 streak alive and knew it could go either way in this one!

Julie, guy in blue I didn't know was there, Jalayne, me, Victor

I nearly died laughing at this picture because all 4 of us look like
we are in terrible pain (this was just before the half, so we weren't)

Jalayne and I officially introduced ourselves, and I met the other women in the group, Julie.  Julie and Jalayne said they had been training together like crazy for 20 weeks for a 2:55 marathon, and learning that wasn't exactly confidence-boosting when I considered that they started their training cycle when I wasn't running at all.  But, I was running within myself and hoped I could draw on my mileage and past experience to make up for my abbreviated cycle and shortage of workouts and long long runs.

I stayed with Jalayne, Julie, and Victor, and around mile 15 another man named Damien joined us.  It was great having a group to run with, especially because the last time I ran a marathon in Wichita it was essentially a time trial from the 10K to the end!  Miles 14-18 were 6:41, 6:49, 7:02 (incline), 6:42, 6:37.  I could tell that Jalayne and Damien were both feeling really good, and the three of us were pushing the pace a bit, while Julie and Victor didn't seem as perky.  Damien pushed ahead slightly just before mile 18, and I told myself to go with him, putting myself into second place female.  My family was cheering on the course around that time, and told me that the leader had about 1:30 on me and looked like she was really hurting.  Mile 19 was 6:31 and my course split at 19.1 was 2:08:50 (random, but it was a two lap course so it had been the 10K timing mat on the first lap).

Damien taking off with me trying to follow around 18

Just before mile 20 we turned west into the wind for the final 10K.  On the first lap the wind hadn't been too bad, but it picked up a lot during the race.  The only drawback of straight marathon courses is the potential for long stretches against the wind.  I tried to draft off Damien, but he was feeling really good and I couldn't hang on (I later saw on Strava that he ran his final 5 miles between 6:05-6:20 pace!).  Being out there solo after having others to run with for so long was tough, but I kept reminding myself that anything can happen at the end of the marathon and if the leader was really struggling I might be able to catch her.  I also knew that the other two women could very well come back for me.  Miles 20-22 were 6:45, 6:56, 6:47.

Around mile 22-23 I really started to feel my shortage of workouts and really long runs.  Around 18-20 I thought I'd have a lot left and really be able to throw down the final 10K, but by 22 I was having much more trouble getting my legs to keep turning over.  I think my endurance is really good from all of the easy mileage I ran, but there is certainly a reason you need both mileage and workouts!  I knew that keeping on to the finish would be no problem, but my legs sure wanted to slow down, and the headwind wasn't helping.  Spectators kept telling me that I looked stronger than the leader and to "go get her", and at mile 20 I was really working on that, but by mile 23 I was just trying to hang on. Miles 23-25 were 6:53, 6:44, 7:07, although they felt like about 9:00 pace!  After I passed 25 I reminded myself I could do anything for a mile.  I heard someone coming up behind me and just hoped it was a man, because I didn't feel confident my legs had any fight left in them.

It wasn't a man, it was Jalayne.  She pulled up next to me and we encouraged each other, and then ran side by side for a half mile or so.  Her training consistency trumped my "unique" cycle, and as I fought with all I had she pulled away.  By the time we were nearing the 26 mile mark, I knew she had me, although I didn't give up because anything can happen.  I couldn't will my legs to go any faster though!  Mile 26 was 6:58 and my final kick was 6:19.

You can barely see me, but I love my parents taking
pictures/videos and Albani standing on the course!

The announcer called my name as the third female finisher, after announcing Jalayne in second.  I stumbled through the finish chute ecstatic to be comfortably under 3:00 after all I've been through in the past 6 months, but of course wishing I would have had a little more to hold onto 2nd, or a 6:30ish pace final 10K to take over 1st, who finished in 2:55:59.  I'm not there yet, but I'm closer than I was!

Before the race, one of my friends was considering pacing me (which did not work out), and he asked what pace I thought I'd run.  I told him 6:45, and low and behold I ran exactly 6:45 pace per the course!  I was almost more excited about my accurate prediction than the actual marathon!  It was kind of like when I wore a pace band targeted at 2:58:51 and ran 2:58:53!

Post-race I found my family, was interviewed by the local news station (clip can be seen here - my dad and I are each in it twice!), and attended the overall awards ceremony.  My dad, David Major, was also interviewed here.  My time was the 9th fastest marathon ever run by a female in the state of Kansas, which is funny because before this race I had the 9th fastest marathon with a 2:58:53 at Prairie Fire 2016.  I moved up two in the rankings with this 2:57 but the two ladies who finished in front of me in this race evened it out.  I also held steady with the 3rd fastest marathon run in Kansas by a female ages 35-39, improving my time by 1:33 on that list.

Media tent

I'd like to thank Goodr sunglasses for hiding my face as much as possible!

State of KS all time female marathon list (gun times)

State of KS age group 35-39 all time marathon list

I had a wonderful experience and plan to write more about the event and my post-race thoughts soon (this post was brought to you by post-marathon insomnia)!  [Follow up:  I wrote a review of the event here].  Not long ago I did not think that I'd be able to run this marathon at all, and even a month ago I sure didn't think I'd be able to run it at 6:45 pace.  We make plans, then God makes better ones, right?

"Run in such a way as to get the prize." - 1 Corinthians 9:24b

Family shot/Albani's distracted

I couldn't do any of it without him!

My mom bought Albani this shirt & I love it!

3 x sub-3s

Official results & course splits

It's not every day you cover 30 miles on foot!

Taperness

I guess I am in full blown taper mode for the Chisholm Trail Marathon!  I tried to find balance in my running plan for this phase; remembering I want to have fresh legs on race day, but also being mindful that I have 14 weeks until a bigger goal marathon and need every bit of fitness I can gain between now and then.  I know I can't have it all, but sometimes I try!

I am currently making my own training plan, which I admit historically hasn't been the optimal situation for me, but in February it was what I really needed, then I kept rolling with it from there.  For awhile I was just running whatever I wanted to every day, but once I began writing down a schedule I started being less likely to be crazy over-do it and I have enjoyed the flexibility.  For example, I may decide I'm going to run two 4 mile doubles during a week, but then I can do them whatever days work best vs. having them set.  I also plan my workouts on specific days, but if I am just not feeling it, I can move them (this hasn't happened yet, but I like knowing it's an option).  This is pretty ironic because historically I've also been super rigid about training schedules.  Bringing this all back to my taper, the actual topic of this post:  I have a taper plan but it can be somewhat fluid based on how I'm feeling!

As with most tapers, I am ready to just get it over with and fast forward to race day!  Often when I'm marathon tapering I look back over my training cycle and try to "do the math" on what my workouts, long runs, and mileage have been, and how they might equate to certain race times.  While I looked at my mileage this time, I don't feel like I can compare it to anything because of how unique this build was.  However, often my most recent running most colors my opinion of my current abilities.  Sometimes when I'm running well it seems like I will always keep running well; when I am running poorly I feel like I will always run poorly.  Neither is true, and I know that cognitively but still fall victim to the trap.  This time, it's a good thing because I've been feeling really good on my runs lately and my fitness seems to be making a comeback.  I'm not delusional enough to think that a few solid weeks can replace months of consistent training, but I sure feel better about this race than I did a month ago!  I hope I am not being overly optimistic, but worst case scenario I will learn for next time.  I am also hopeful that this will jump start my build for Grandma's Marathon!

Here's to a week of checking the race morning forecast every few hours, feeling like I'm running nothing (despite running more than I ever used to), and double-checking that I've packed everything!

Cue slacker status:  I ran 12 miles on March 16
& Amy ran 22!

Snowbusted

I wrote this about a March 2 event but forgot to hit publish until now!

My friend Dave puts together a Snowbuster Pikermi virtual event every year.  I always enter, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually run a hard 13.1 miles for it.  I typically take the longest or best run that I have within that date range and enter it.  This year the weekend fell 3 weeks before my next marathon, so I had my longest long run of this cycle planned – a 23 miler!

After a really rough patch in January, I took 8 days off running and decided I wasn’t going to run my March marathon after all.  It’s an inaugural race near where my parents live (where I grew up).  All along I was planning to run it completely for fun (without a time goal) and as a stepping stone en route to hopefully a PR attempt at Grandma’s Marathon in June.  At the end of January, I was feeling terrible and getting slower by the day, so I figured there was no point in running my for fun race when running wasn’t fun!

However, I guess those 8 days off plus another week easy was exactly what I needed.  Once I started running again (sans training schedule) I felt the best I have in months and was improving.  I was running quite a bit of mileage simply because I felt like it.  On February 23 I decided that if I could run 18 miles that day, then follow it with a 20 miler on March 2 and a 23 miler on March 9, I could do a 2 week taper and run my planned marathon after all – and I passionately wanted to!  February 23 didn’t exactly go as planned; I ran 20 instead of 18 and felt amazing doing it (I'd run an 18 in January so this wasn't completely unreasonable).  That meant I could do my 23 miler on March 2 and still have a 3 week taper in my long run distance, which is my preference, so I decided to run 23 miles on snowbuster day.  This also allowed me to do a long run with a workout on March 9, but that's another post...

I have several training buddies who are also marathon training, and two of them wanted to get in 21-23 miles that day as well, so it worked very nicely.  The weather was great; 32 degrees with a windchill of 26 degrees.  Since my training cycle has been rocky to say the least, I simply wanted 23 steady miles with nothing fast or fancy (i.e., no workout).  I really wanted to finish strong because I really needed a confidence boost to tackle a marathon on fewer long long runs that I typically do. If I bombed this one I couldn't exactly say, "It's okay, my other 23 miler went great!"  I told my friends that I didn’t want to run anything under 7:30 pace during the first half of the run, and that if I felt good I’d be open to dropping the pace later, but I left my watch under my sleeve for the entire run so really didn’t know what we were doing.  I am a big proponent of running by feel, and sometimes ignorance of pace can be bliss!

I started the run with Claudio, Rebecca, and Jack.  Jack is a high school junior who has been running with our group to prepare for track season, and his long run was 8 miles, so we began with an 8 mile loop and dropped him off.  I’d set a small bottle with a gel taped to it on the back of my car and picked it up on the run. I like to practice marathon aid stations like this during long runs; I never stop my watch to drink or fuel because race clocks don’t stop. We then tackled a 13 mile loop because Claudio was aiming for 21-22 miles.  The miles flew by and I felt strong.  The pace never felt hot and we talked non-stop the whole time.  Rebecca had a bit of a rough day and dropped back from us around mile 14.  I've run enough long runs that I can typically tell how things will hold up, and I felt like I was going to finish the 23 strong.

We eat 23 miles for breakfast

At 18 I knew for sure that 23 was going to be no problem at all.  I didn’t really realize we were speeding up, but my splits tell me that we did.  We made it back to our cars at 21 miles, and Claudio said he’d do 22.  I felt fine with finishing up a mile on my own after he stopped, but then he said he’d go to 23 with me, which was even better!

After we finished, he made a comment about our sub-7:00 miles, and I said, “I don't think I ran any miles under 7:00” and he said, "Yeah, yes you did”, which I discovered was true when I uploaded my run.  My last 5 miles were all 6:50-7:05, and my average pace for the entire run was the fastest I’d run a relaxed long run this season.  Before my injury in September 2018, I was running my entire long runs at 6:50-7:05 pace, and while my fitness is not back to that level yet, this was a small glimpse that it’s coming back.

I also set a PR on my rolling 7 days mileage this day!  I was pumped about this volume, but will admit that it was easier than most weeks I've done in the 80s with workouts (I did only one baby workout, a 3 mile tempo run within a 10 miler, plus a couple set of strides - the rest was easy running).

Our forecast called for 5-8 inches of snow overnight on March 2 into the morning of March 3.  I woke up on March 3 to about an inch of snow, and finished off my weekly mileage while it was still coming down.  We ended up getting very little more, so I'm going to say my snowbuster run worked to bust almost all of our snow.

I hope the Snowbuster Race Series continues every winter!  Now come on, spring!

Splits

It wasn't flat either

A Marathon Training Cycle Like No Other

My training cycle for the Chisholm Trail Marathon has been synonymous with Midwest winter weather - up and down and unpredictable!  I am now 2 weeks out from race day, although it doesn't really feel like it.  My body actually feels amazing (not fatigued at all like I usually am at this point in a marathon cycle) - I credit the short cycle with practically no fast running for this.  I am also just starting to taper; I usually do a 3 week taper, and while I did do my longest long run 3 weeks out, I kept the week of March 4-10 high volume because my training was so abbreviated and because Grandma's Marathon in June is a bigger goal.

In December, I decided to run the inaugural Chisholm Trail Marathon for fun.  After not running for 8 weeks in October and November due to an injury, I was able to ramp up my mileage quickly.  My first outside run was 3 miles on November 23, and then the week of November 26 I mixed in a little more outside running with AlterG treadmill miles.  I gradually increased my outside runs while decreasing my runs on the AlterG.  The first week I felt like I could really run again was the week of December 3, then my mileage looked like this:

Dec. 3 - 64.8
Dec. 10 - 72.8
Dec. 17 - 75.7
Dec. 24 - 80.1
Dec. 31 - 73.7 (Dec. 31 was my last run on the AlterG)
Jan. 7 - 76.5
Jan. 14 - 75.1
Jan. 21 - 45.7
Jan. 28- 3
Feb. 4 - 30.4
Feb. 11 - 73.4
Feb. 18 - 85.6
Feb. 25 - 90.3
March 4 - 86.2

While that is 11 weeks of solid mileage, it was nearly all easy running, and the big differences between this cycle and my previous focused marathon builds are:

• I started the build out of shape, whereas I have been already in pretty good shape going into every other recent marathon build.  My endurance came right back post-injury, but my speed still hasn't.
• I didn't have solid consistent running before those 11 weeks; I had 8 weeks of cross-training, which I am just not convinced was very helpful.
• I usually do more like a 20 week build, but in the 22 weeks leading up to this marathon, I'll have 12 weeks of running and 10 weeks off running.
• I did very few workouts; most weeks were all easy running.
• I only had two long long runs, a 20 and a 23.  Usually I do 4-5 runs of 20+.
• I had two weeks of very little running (the second half of the Jan. 21 week through the first half of the Feb. 4 week), during which time I also decided to not run the marathon at all.

But here we are - things turned around and I AM running the marathon!  I am feeling so blessed and thankful for the opportunity to run it.  I'm thankful that God has brought me (almost) to the starting line healthy.  I know that I'm nowhere near PR fitness, but I've been improving and have some really solid mileage behind me - if I take only the 11 solid weeks into account I averaged 77.6 mpw, and I ran over 90 miles in a week for the first time ever.  I have truly let go of any time goals; when I first slated this race as "for fun" I secretly didn't want to run it if I didn't think I could break 3:00, but I've been able to move to the point of "Who cares?!" on that.  I'm running another marathon because I love to run marathons!

As always, I learned.  I learned that winter training can be very hard on my body (take away: next winter I will use the treadmill or take a day off if it's below zero or 33 degrees and pouring).  I learned that I feel fantastic running a lot of miles if they are all easy (take away: skip workouts or replace a real workout with strides if I'm feeling run down).  I yet again learned to keep persisting through rough patches, because my running will come back around, even when it feels like it won't (take away:  keep showing up!).  I was also yet again reminded of how amazing my running buddies all are; their support is unwavering no matter what paces I am running.  I am continuously reminded how much I love to run, also no matter what my paces are.  Of course getting faster and PRing are sure nice, and I hope to get back there, but I've made peace with the possibility that I won't and am super thankful to have running in my life either way!

While I'm cramming a couple more workouts in - mostly to gauge what I should aim for pace-wise on race day - this will be a fun experiment to see how I perform on mileage and very little fast running.  I seem to tolerate mileage really well, but once I throw workouts into the mix I am more apt to get injured.  I had a solid long run workout this morning, and I am pretty excited just to go out there and do my best!  My primary goals are to pace intelligently and by effort, and to finish with a smile on my face - and that would be a win no matter what my time or place!