May Mayhem

May 2021 in review!  

Total mileage for the month: 289.8

• April 26-May 2:  60.2
• May 3-9:  77.7
• May 10-16:  63.0
• May 17-23:  41.5
• May 24-30: 69.1

We made the May OMRR newsletter cover!

Just a normal Thursday morning!

Races:

• May 15: Tobacco Road Marathon (non-technical dirt trail) in 2:48:51 for 2nd overall female and exactly what I needed!

Final workout before Tobacco Road

First workout back after Tobacco Road

Workouts:

• May 1: 3 x 1 mile at marathon pace/1 mile easy at the end of a 14 mile run.  I'd planned to do a 2 mile fast finish on my long run if I felt good, and I felt great but to coordinate with Christian's workout I did the 3 x 1 instead.  My MP miles were 6:14, 6:13, 6:14, so I was proud of the consistency and closeness to my goal pace of 6:15.
• May 5:  4, 3, 2, 1 mile progressive tempos with 0.5 recoveries (3.6 warm up, 1.1 cool down for a 16.2 mile day) in 6:21, 6:20, 6:17, 6:11 / 6:18, 6:15, 6:14 / 6:12, 6:21 / 6:06 (average 6:15). We ran this on our FR 209 rolling route that feels uphill both ways (463 ft of gain) for some additional strength building, and this was the best I've ever run this workout!  I usually do it on our fast loop course, which is about 10 seconds/mile faster than the route I did for this one - in September 2019  I averaged 6:20 and in August 2019 I averaged 6:14, both on the fast loop - so I felt really, really good about this workout.  It was also my first time running it 10 days after a 50k. :-)  Christian ran the 4 mile and 2 miles of the 3 mile with me, and Colin ran the whole thing with me - I definitely needed pulling along towards the end, particularly on the second mile of the 2 mile bit, which was definitely uphill.  This was a confidence-booster, which was needed since it was my only real workout between my two big races!
• May 8:  12 miles with 11 x 0:30 pickups, one during each mile after mile 1 (supposed to be 10 but I missed one on my watch and ended up doing an extra). I'm always amazed at how much faster I end up running an entire easy run just by adding some pickups.  Improvements in efficiency for the win!
• May 11: 4 x 1 mile at MP with 1:30 jog recoveries, otherwise known as The Taper Workout Everyone Runs Too Fast, which I effectively did in 6:10, 6:10, 6:05, 6:05 on our rolling FR 209 route.  The weather was perfect, I was feeling the taper, I was running with Christian, and I was bursting with pre-race excitement!
• May 25:  Mixed system workout of 5 x 1:00 at 5k effort/1:00 off (2:00 jog after final 1:00 on), 3 miles at half effort (walk down hill after tempo), 5 x 0:30 hill sprints (walk down hill between each) - 1:00 pushes were 5:21-5:48 (average 5:38) and the half pace miles were 6:09, 6:19 (up Mentor hill), 6:11.  Christian is running a June half and this was her workout, and I thought it sounded very fun so jumped it for it and it did not disappoint!  Well, except for the hill sprints, those were not that fun and before each one I said I was going to stop after it but didn’t until the workout was over, bahaha!  This was definitely a reminder that I like half pace for several miles much better than 5k pace for a minute or sprinting up a hill for 30 seconds. #truemarathoner  We ran this on a rolling route so paces fluctuated based on elevations changes, and it was also my first workout in warmer, humid temps at 67* and 94% humidity.  Oh, also I'd just run a marathon 10 days before so there was that.
• May 28:  16 miles with 2 easy, 2 at Christian’s goal half pace (6:22, 6:20), then 12 easy.  We left on family vacation shortly after this run; the only reason I ran the May 25 workout or this one was because I planned to run only easy from May 26-June 4.  There was supposed to be another 2 mile tempo towards the end, but Christian wasn’t feeling up for it and there was no other reason for me to do it. Colin also ran this with us and I appreciated them both running long a day early for me! 
• May 31:  Fartlek of 3 x 3:00, 2:00, 1:00 ons and 1:30, 1:00, 0:30 offs (3 miles warm up, 3 miles cool down).  I was on family vacation, and I generally don't like running workouts when traveling, but I felt like doing something light this morning so I went with a short effort-based fartlek.  The Nashville route I ran was hilly, so my paces weren't very consistent, but most were 5:31-5:58 (one was 6:19 but I am pretty sure it was uphill because all of the pushes felt much harder than marathon pace).
• Strides:  May 4, 10, 13, 14, 24, 27.
• Doubles:  May 2, 3, 4, 6, 10.
• Strength Training:  weekly totals of 2:30, 2:14, 1:02, 1:36, 2:14.

I did several days of
overdressing/heat training

I didn't get the outfit memo before this run

On the run

Back from NC!

Long Runs:

• May 1: 14.2 miles (7:28) that included 3 x 1 mile at marathon pace in 6:14, 6:13, 6:14.  This was one week after my 50k, which I came back really well from, but for the first couple of minutes of the first faster mile, my body was like, "whhhhaaaaat are we doing?"  Then it felt smooth and fun.  I overdressed a lot for heat adaptation on this run (a fleece lined long sleeve and ear warmer at a sunny 60 degrees).
• May 5:  16.2 miles, described above in workouts.  I did this one smack dab in the middle of the time between my 50k and marathon, so that I would have one real long runs and one real workout between them, which I probably needed more mentally than physically.
• May 8:  12.1 miles (7:40) with 11 x 0:30 pickups, one during each mile after the first.  I ran this on the Frisco trail with friends so entertaining that they prevented me from having flashbacks to miles 23-29 of my 50k!
• May 15:  27.7 miles (26.2 @ 6:25) with the Tobacco Road Marathon!
• May 22: 12 miles easy (7:59) on the Frisco Highline Trail (a.k.a, my 50k trail). Around mile 8 of this run, we found a stray kitten in the middle of nowhere, and Christian adopted her and named her Frisco!  This process included her jogging 4 miles carrying the kitten wrapped in her shirt.
• May 23:  12.1 miles easy (7:52), for what I guess was the return of back-to-back long runs, hah!  This may be why I need a schedule.  This weekend was also the start of heat/humidity adaptation.
• May 28:  16 miles (7:52) mostly easy, aside from 2 miles at Christian’s half pace, described above.

I managed to run on the Frisco trail
again 2 & 4 weeks after the 50k!

Introducing the kitten Frisco

Wet long run

Running Highlights:

• 4 days recovering, 8 days of training, and 9 days of tapering between my 50k and marathon!
• My marathon and post-race euphoria.
• I managed to take 4 days off after the marathon, which is a lot for me!  I am in the midst of 3 weeks with no specific training schedule, but it probably surprises no one that I have been running a decent amount and jumped into a couple of Christian's workouts.

Sometimes our post-run photos are a stretch

Life Highlights:

• I am beyond thankful for my race trip to North Carolina.  I was pleased with my race, but the girls' trip with Christian produced countless lifetime memories and so many laughs.
• We are currently on a family trip in Tennessee and Kentucky, so more details will be coming in a future post and my June update. I hadn't taken any time off work since before COVID, so I made up for some lost time with two vacations!
• Albani completed 7th grade on May 19!  She is now 5'2" and not a little girl anymore.
• My niece Story ran the 400 m and 4 x 400 m at state track (placing 13th and 5th, respectively) and completed high school!  In the fall she will be attending Barnard College, which is an extension of Columbia University, in New York.  She will run on Columbia's track team.

My 4:45 a.m. companions before every run

Albani's 7th grade girls track team - the junior
high team all together was huge!

Nugget was not excited

Traditional pick up photo!

Books:

• Big Lies in a Small Town by Diane Chamberlain
• When I Hold You by Ashley Huffstutler
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
• Wedding Cocktails: Cocktails for Three & The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham
• Mother May I by Joshilyn Jackson
• Here Is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan
• Rest and Be Thankful by Emma Glass
• How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
• Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline

Theme for the month:

Endorphins!  This month basically consisted of post-race euphoria following the Frisco 50k, pre-race excitement for the Tobacco Road Marathon, race trip excitement, post-marathon euphoria, then family summer vacation joy.  I apologize to anyone who was around me this month for my uncontainable excitement!

Tobacco Road Marathon: The Race-cation

This North Carolina marathon location was excellent for a full vacation along with the race!  Christian and I left Missouri on Thursday, May 13 and returned on Tuesday, May 18, and we crammed about a month's worth of adventures into that time!

I'm including a few of our best photos, but our entire trip photo documentary is here.  She and I made very good travel buddies and I'm thankful God connected us through running.

May 13:

• Left Springfield at 2:30 p.m. CST.
• Arrived in Raleigh after a short layover in Charlotte at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. CST), and picked up our rental car.
• Checked into our hotel, an Extended Stay America in the Research Triangle Park area that was cheap, clean, and safe.
• Ended up with a little tour the Research Triangle Park area and Downtown Durham due to Apple maps initially taking us to a very incorrect location of the restaurant we ordered take-out from, The Goat.
• Ate while watching House Hunters and crashed!

May 14:

• Woke up and took our time getting out for a shake out run around the Research Triangle Park area, then ate breakfast in our hotel (and Christian got coffee at The Goat).
• Explored downtown Cary, which was very cozy, clean, and artsy.
• Picked up our race packets at In and Out Sports.
• Had lunch at an Asian-inspired restaurant right by packet pick up.
• Explored the American Tobacco Campus area.
• Bought groceries at Food Lion and made dinner in our hotel room before an early bedtime.

Downtown Cary

Burt's Bees on the American Tobacco Campus

May 15:

• Marathon morning!
• I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to eat breakfast, and we left for the race a few minutes before 5:00 a.m.
• Race parking and everything else went smoothly, and you can read all the race details and more here.
• We had brunch at La Farm right after the race.
• After showering and a little rest at our hotel, we headed to Downtown Durham.
• We explored Downtown Durham on rental scooters and on foot.
• We did a historic comedy bus tour of Durham, which was hilarious even though we were the only people on the bus who were sober.
• We had take-out Ramen for dinner (Christian's pre-race favorite) and another early bedtime.
• I slept about 3 hours due to post-race insomnia, but anything more than 0 after a marathon is somewhat winning for me!

Downtown Durham has a Central Park

May 16:

• Half Marathon morning!
• Another early wake up, for Christian to eat and I'd been awake for awhile (I slept from about 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.).
• Everything went smoothly with getting to and warming up for her race as well, and I thoroughly enjoyed cheering for her and other friends!
• We had brunch at Fount with 3 additional friends who ran the half.
• We explored downtown Raleigh on foot, which is also very artsy.
• We did an escape room at Tower Escapes, which was a historic tower building made into escape rooms.  We didn't think this one through very well because we were both exhausted and failed hard at solving the puzzle!
• We had late lunch/early dinner at Morgan Street food hall.
• We tried to get into a "secret" bar, but the green light wasn't on and we must not have been cool enough when we asked about it.
• We had ice cream from Two Roosters Creamery.

Girls' brunch

Note to self: don't do an escape room the day after
a marathon again

Famous Two Roosters

May 17:

• Christian slept for 13 hours!  I was up at 5 a.m., and ended up writing my race recap, going for a short shake-out run, showering including shaving my legs, eating breakfast, and taking an hour nap before she woke up, hah!
• We drove to Wrightsville beach, about 2 hours away.
• We explored the beach, the pier, and the surrounding area.  We both got a little sunburned.  We had lunch at Adapt.
• We toured the Raleigh Rose Garden while it was sprinkling.
• We had cocktails/wine downtown Raleigh, then planned our 2021 fall races while buzzed.  I was so affected by 1 glass of wine I signed up for a 5k, bahaha!

Beach trip!

I wasn't brave enough to walk around in my swimming suit

Raleigh Rose Garden

May 18:

• We started the day with a hike at William B. Umstead State Park.
• We ate breakfast in our hotel, packed up, and checked out.
• We went to the science museum and history museum in downtown Raleigh.
• We ate lunch at Transfer Food Hall.
• We headed to the airport, dropped off our rental car, and headed back to Missouri.  We had a 30 minute layover in Chicago, so had to pretty much run across the airport to make our connection, but we did and landed in Springfield around 9 p.m.

Hiking at William B. Umstead State Park

Raleigh Science Museum

The only thing better than traveling to a race is traveling to a race + vacation!  I can't wait to do it again!

Tobacco Road Marathon: The Aftermath

I will always cherish the feeling of conquering a marathon, and I'm still riding the post-race high!  I also continue to be amazed at how God directed me towards this race that I would not have typically chosen, but turned out to be exactly what I needed to finish off a season that I am beyond thankful for.

I believe that my race would have yielded a PR on a "perfect" course, and I'd be lying if I said that PRs don't matter to me, but running the way I did on this gravel course with over 700 feet of gain gave me more confidence to attack my PR head on in the fall.  It's uncertain what the 2024 OTQ standard will be, or when the window will open, but I hope to chase it or at the least get that darn 2:44:59 I've been pursuing for so long!

I showed up on the Philly Track Club
page, & I love this caption!

Before I left for the race, I told Jon that I thought I was going to run 2:48; his response was "That's too ambitious for dirt", so the first text I sent him after the race was a picture of my Garmin and "I ran 2:48 mostly because you said I couldn't".  I also told Christian 2:48, so she can vouch for me, but I need to start publishing this stuff beforehand so my claim is really solidified!  Though not as precise as when I predicted my marathon time within 2 seconds, I was pretty proud of how well I know where I'm at even though I wasn't quite sure how to account for the gravel and elevation in the equation.  I will never know exactly how much the dirt slowed me down, but Lauren has the premium Strava so I borrowed her grade-adjusted pace data... Miles 23-24 were when I put most of the 13 seconds on her.

After the finish and viewing the initial official results, we celebrated my 2nd place and Lauren's 3rd place finish.  However, an hour or so later, another woman was listed as 3rd overall female, in 2:48:58.  A little research showed that she'd started in a non-elite wave, and run a time smack dab between my time and Lauren's time.  As I mentioned earlier, the race started elites together so we would know who we were racing, and the rest of the field started gradually and time-trialed for the sake of social distancing.  I don't know how the 3rd place female didn't choose to start with the elites, but it was hard for me to stomach because I think Lauren should have been 3rd.  Things play out differently when you're racing head-to-head, and I hate that Lauren got edged by and lost prize money to someone who she wasn't racing directly; if my place had changed in this situation I'd have been sick over it.  I imagine things would have gone differently for all 3 of us had we all started at the same time, and I'm confident that I could have dug deeper if I'd needed to for placing, so I'm sure Lauren could have too and it left a bad taste in my mouth.  Overall the race did a really, really amazing job putting on the event under countless COVID restrictions, but I wish they would have made the regulation that those competing for podium positions must start in the elite wave.  The only reason I can think of why she didn't was in order to start with a man who she wanted to run with.

Christian ran the half marathon on Sunday (one of the COVID changes was two separate races days to reduce the number of people around), and several others women I've become acquainted with over the past couple of years through OTQ-chasing also ran in the half elite field.  Christian finished 8th from the elite start but was later bumped to 10th, and my friend Ann finished in 2nd from the elite start but was later bumped to 3rd.  I also don't know why the woman who was 2nd in 1:19 didn't sign up for the elite start.  I loved watching the half runners compete and I was out of my mind excited despite getting only 3 hours of sleep with my traditional post-marathon insomnia!

Oh, and the only place I chaffed during the race was from a gel package that was in my shorts for who knows how many miles.  I took gels at 6, 11, 16, and 21, and kept stuffing the trash into my shorts then throwing it away at the next trash can, but one package didn't make it out until after the race.  There's a first time for everything I guess!

Race vacation summary is here...

Tobacco Road Marathon: The Back Half

At 13.1, I felt fantastic and ready to ride my endorphins for more.  Somewhere around this time we caught and settled in with a man named Gabe.  He thought Lauren and I were training partners since we were talking so much; we enjoyed telling him that we'd just met 13 miles ago! Shortly after mile 14 we passed back by the road that we'd gotten on the trail from, and continued south on the trail for a second out and back. 

The race didn't have any steep hills, but there were some long inclines and declines, and as we made our way south from crossing the road that we'd later run back to the finish on, I could tell we were on a very long decline.  It felt amazing going down, but I was well-aware that we were going to come back up it towards the end of the race.  As we approached the second 180* turn around a bit after mile 19, we saw the first place woman headed back.  Based on the lead she'd had on us at the first turn around, I expected we still had quite a ways to go, but it turned out that we'd actually cut into her lead and she had about 4 minutes on us at that point.  4 minutes is far more than I expected I could make up in 7 miles, but I think subconsciously I began pushing a little more at that point.

Lauren and I were side by side for most of the race, but at some points between miles 15-19 she was a step ahead of me.  Around mile 20 that switched and I found myself a step ahead of her.  I wasn't really pulling into the lead, but I could tell I was starting to pull her along a bit.  I checked our cumulative time at mile 20, and it was 2:09:52ish, and my math skills were still intact enough to tell her we pretty much needed a 40 minute final 10k to go under 2:50, and I know well that it takes 6:26 pace to break 40 in the 10k.  I wasn't monitoring my splits but I wanted to be aware of our average because I sure didn't want to take Lauren through the finish in 2:50:01!

Around mile 21 we began what was a gradual but unrelenting climb back to the road at mile 23.7.  At that point, I gapped Lauren and Gabe, but I turned back and encouraged them.  I chased down another man and encouraged him to come with me.  In the past I have specifically avoided courses that had climbs in the final few miles, and I certainly would not have selected this 130 ft climb when looking for PR marathon courses, but I felt surprisingly strong on it.  I kept saying "50k strength" to myself as I conquered the climb and made it back on the road.

I was fatigued but confident that I could finish strong.  I pushed the final 2.5 miles on the road, and ended up with the fastest final mile I've ever run in a marathon with a 6:07 (previous best final mile was 6:12 at Grandma's 2018).  It was sure nice to have the finishing strength of a well-paced marathon!  Though I haven't blown up extremely in a marathon since 2015, I slowed at the end of all of my OTQ attempts (i.e., running 6:30-6:45 for the final 3-4 miles when I needed 6:10-6:15 pace), so I really appreciated this finish.  I ran a negative split with a second half of 1:23:59 (and final 10k of 38:59ish despite the climbing), for an official time of 2:48:51, and I just felt so good doing it!

Celebrating when the announcer called
me as 2nd overall female

After finishing I turned around to cheer Lauren in at 2:49:04, and Gabe wasn't far behind, although he ran a low-2:48 (he'd started at 6:00 a.m. while we started at 5:58).  We soon found out that the female winner ran 2:45:33, so we gained more on her towards the end.  I expected her to be in the 2:30s (her first half was 1:18) so I was surprised, and while I think I could have run a little faster to compete, I definitely could not have run over 3 minutes faster on that course.  I was the first American female, if that counts for anything, hah.

Celebrating with the BQ bell, featuring
hand sanitizer and wipes

The story continues here...

"No, we didn't even know
each other before today!"

Gabe in the middle, & his brother who ran
in the 2:30s (they have 7 other siblings too!)

This was not an easy course

marathonguide.com blurb

Tobacco Road Marathon: The First Half

Since I planned to race strategically yet also go out conservatively, I keyed off the other women as the elite field eased down to pace.  One woman was out in front quickly, and I assumed she was Martha Akeno, who I expected to win the race in a time I couldn't match.  I settled in with two other women, giving us a little pack for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place.  We ran together for a couple of minutes before I decided to break the ice with a comment about how it would be awfully nice to work together because it was going to be quite lonely out there otherwise!  They both reciprocated and we introduced ourselves.  Lauren mentioned that her goal was to break 2:50, and I told her I suspected I'd be in the high-2:40s on this course although I planned to run by feel, and we were both happy to have company!  We eased away from the other woman after a very conservative 6:51 first mile.

Lauren and I chatted easily and the miles flew by as early marathon miles do.  After the first 2.5 miles on the road, we turned north onto the American Tobacco Trail.  I'd watched a course tour video and looked at photographs of the course before the race, but it was difficult to gauge what the gravel was like from those medium, so I'd been anxious to see it in person. The trail was well-maintained, but it was gravel with some loose sand on top.  Since most of the race was on the trail and spectators were discouraged at the start and finish, it was a pretty bare course, but there were some wonderful cheer-ers at road crossings and fabulous volunteers at aid stations.  I tried to smile at everyone along the route. 

Lauren and I ran side by side, relaxed and feeling good, and got to know each other a bit.  I took my first gel at mile 6 as planned.  The aid stations had only water bottles, which Lauren and I kind of took turns grabbing and then sharing (gasp, even in COVID times), but it was a hassle because you had to hold onto the bottle until the next trash can to get rid of it.  They had a trash can 5-10 m after each aid station, but it wasn't far enough to actually drink the water if you were running through, so I ended up sticking bottles into my shorts waistband after I drank them.  I also stuffed my gel packages into my shorts until the next trash can.  Maybe I'm glad there aren't race photos (also due to COVID), but I didn't litter on that beautiful trail!

Sometime before we hit our first 180* turn around at mile 8.5, the first man from the 6 a.m. start caught us.  We ended up leap-frogging with him for a bit before inviting him to run with us, which he did until dropping back around the half.  When we saw the leading female coming back towards us from the turn around, I marked the time on my watch, and she had over a 5 minute lead on us so we joked that our only hope was if she dropped out.  In turn, we had a pretty significant gap on the 4th place woman, so we felt that as long as no disasters happened we would podium - but one can never rule out disasters in a marathon!

I greatly enjoyed running with Lauren and I hoped to help her achieve her sub-2:50 goal.  I find that when I want the best for my competition, I also get the best out of myself.  Of course if I'd have been asked, I wanted to nab the 2nd place spot, but it wasn't something I ever thought of during the race.  We came through the half in 1:24:52, and I told her "all we have to do it that again!", but we both thought we would do it again faster [spoiler: we did!].

The story continues here...

Clearly this photo is not from the first
half, but I'm short on pics from this race!

The Road to Tobacco Road

The anticipatory build up for the Tobacco Road Marathon was short, since I only decided definitively to run the race 2 weeks before it.  However, that meant all of the excitement was condensed into those 2 weeks, and I was beyond excited for this race!  I didn't get as pumped for my 50k as I normally would have during my final taper week due to my little TFL issue, so I rode the pre-race thrill of Tobacco Road even more than usual because I was extra appreciative of it.  I was so amped up I wasn't sure how I could ever wait until race day, but after much anticipation, Christian and I flew to North Carolina on May 13 (details of our wonderful vacation are here).

In April and May I'd run some workouts faster than I'd run before my PR marathon (Indy) and my mileage had been consistently high, so I thought I was in top shape but I didn't have a specific goal time for this race, because I wasn't sure how much the gravel would slow me down and I knew the elevation profile wasn't ideal.  I believed I'd get the best out of myself by running by feel and competing, so that was my plan.  I wanted to podium, but that type of goal always depends on who else shows up.  I felt confident about my fitness and was extremely excited to give the marathon another go!  I never thought about the possibility of this marathon not going well, but usually when I take a race trip I figure worst case scenario I'll bomb the race then have a fantastic vacation, which is still a win.

Flat Sara

I'd expected that race morning would be warm based on the average temps for the race area.  This event usually takes place in March, when there is marathon-ideal weather in the Raleigh area, but it was pushed back this year due to COVID restrictions.  I was expecting 60s at the start and 70s by the finish on May 15.  As race day neared, the forecast kept looking better and better, and when I woke up on race morning it was 46 degrees with 1 mph wind, and I was elated!  It was going to be sunny and warm up quickly, but with our early start our first bit on the road was nearly in the dark, then about 21 miles of the race were shaded by the huge trees that line the American Tobacco Trail, so only the final 2.5 miles on the road would be in the sun.

Christian drove me to the race site and ran my 10 minute warm up with me.  The whole time I just felt happy and at peace.  My heart was already so full.  I did drills and strides, and as I began changing my shoes I heard the race organizers calling the elites to the line.  The elite marathoners were scheduled to start together at 5:58 a.m., before the first wave of time trial racers were sent off at 6:00 a.m.  I really appreciated the race starting the elites together so we would know who we were racing and where we stood, because I suspected that my competitors were going to highly influence how I raced.  The race organizers had a lot of COVID regulations to deal with (North Carolina is much more strict than Missouri right now), and I give them major props for putting on this event under the circumstances.  Because only runners, race staff, and volunteers were allowed in the start/finish area, there was very little fanfare at the start, but that probably helped my relaxed vibe.  At 4:58 a.m. central time, I started the race with a smile on my face!

From left to right at the start: guy who
really took face coverings seriously, 1st
female, 2nd female, 3rd female

The story continues here...

Tobacco Road Marathon: Just What I Needed

The short-ish (you know the marathon drill - an excessive number of posts are coming):

The Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, North Carolina was exactly what I needed!  When I initially decided to add a marathon to my season after my 50k, I wanted to PR-chase, but no options for that pursuit lined up (details here), which I now see as one of the biggest blessings God could have given me.  I went into this race with no time goal because I wasn't sure how much the gravel would slow me down.  My major goals were to enjoy it all, to be thankful, and to compete in the elite field.  What I ended up getting was what I think is the best marathon I've ever run!  While my time of 2:48:51 is nearly 3 minutes off my PR, based on the gravel course and elevation (including the climbing from mile 21-24), I think it was a stronger performance than the 2:46:08 I ran on a nearly perfect course with a pack of women.  I have also never felt so strong during the final miles of a marathon, which was a victory by itself.  I took home $1000 for placing 2nd overall female, so that was a bonus too! 

The race spaced out starting times due to COVID restrictions, and I started at 5:58 a.m. with only the marathon elites, with the first wave of non-elites right behind at 6:00 a.m.  They started the elites together so we would know who we were racing, which only worked when those contending for top spots started in the elite wave (more on that here; it did not affect me but changed the places of several friends, especially in the half). I knew a woman with a low-2:30 marathon PR was entered, meaning I'd most likely be racing for 2nd at best, and when she went out at sub-6:00 pace that confirmed my suspicion.  For the first mile I was with two other women, who I met and talked goals with to see if we could work together - it was going to be very lonely for any female elites out there alone.  Lauren's goal was to break 2:50, and I told her I suspected I'd be in the high 2:40s if the gravel was what I expected, so we immediately teamed up.  She and I eased away from the other woman, and also eased our pace down gradually for the first few miles.

This image represents most of the course;
so thankful to run with others the whole
way because it all looked the same!

The first 2.5 miles of the the race are on the road, then there are two long out and backs on the American Tobacco Trail, a rails to trails gravel path, then back the same 2.5 miles of road to the finish.  Lauren and I ran side by side for about 21 miles of the race, and were joined by Gabe, a man who caught up to us from the 6:00 a.m. start, for a good portion of it.  I was really excited to help Lauren to her first sub-2:50 and she looked very strong.  Around mile 21 I pulled a few steps ahead as I worked towards a man ahead of us, using my 50k strength to power up a very long incline, and I continued to encourage her to stay on me; we "just" needed a 40 minute final 10k.  I went into the race without a time goal, although ironically I'd told Jon that if the gravel was okay I thought I could run 2:48.  During the race, once I knew what to expect with the dirt, teamed up with Lauren, and saw our half split, my for-sure goal became sub-2:50, though I knew splits would fluctuate based on the elevation, and I didn't use my watch aside from looking at my half and 20 mile elapsed times, which were 1:24:52 and 2:09:52.

I sure had a knack for choosing races 
with climbs at the end this season!

Around mile 22 I caught the man I'd been gradually chasing down, and he looked like he felt good for that point in the race.  I encouraged him to go with me and he did.  The road was a nice sight to see at 23.7ish, and I knew I was going to close well.  I ended up running a 6:07 final mile for a 2:48:51 and a second overall female finish, which the race announcer broadcast to a few spectators (spectators were discouraged with COVID protocols).  Lauren was just 13 seconds behind me for her first sub-2:50 marathon, and we were quickly in a sweaty hug.  It's amazing how much you can bond with someone you've never before met over shared miles!

I thought my splits lined up well
with the elevation changes

It's rare to feel that a race really couldn't have gone any better, so I treasure that feeling about this one (although it would have been better for me if the overall female has slept in, hah!). I ran my 4th fastest marathon ever on a course that was far slower than anything I've run sub-3:00 on before (unless you count my marathon split of my 50k - Tobacco Road dirt was better maintained than Frisco dirt).  I spent so long chasing the perfect marathon day (fast course, deep competitive field, ideal weather) and a very specific marathon time, while feeling like anything short of that was a let-down, which made this experience very freeing.  I never stopped loving the marathon, I just didn't love feeling like a failure when I ran marathons in 2:46-2:49.  This marathon was just what I needed.

In addition to the race, this was the first time I've taken time off work or traveled anywhere except to visit family in Kansas since before COVID.  I also really needed a vacation, and the Lord sure blessed me with this opportunity for an amazing girls' trip with Christian.

More details:

• The Road to Tobacco Road
• The First Half
• The Back Half
• The Aftermath
• The Race-cation

My Strava activity is here.

My official race results are here.

Overall results are here.

50k to Marathon Plan

Not to be confused with the Couch to Marathon plan!

After much contemplation and prayer, I tacked the Tobacco Road Marathon onto the end of my training cycle for the Frisco Railroad Run 50k (more details here).  Though I went primarily by how I felt during the first week after my 50k, I outlined a rough plan for the 3 weeks between the two races to keep myself from over-doing it and to boost my confidence for the second race.  I've been self-coaching this season, so any and all mistakes I made were my own.  Here is what I did:

April 24 - Frisco Railroad Run 50k

April 25 - Walked 2.3 miles with my dad, who is 80 years old and walks 2+ miles every day along with attending Silver Sneakers classes at the YMCA 2-3 times a week. #prouddaughter  The day after the 50k I was mostly just tired/depleted and, thanks to post-race insomnia, sleep deprived.  My body felt much like it did after I ran the T-Town Half during a 25.7 mile Saturday followed by a 15.3 mile Sunday.  I was amazed at how much less beat up my legs felt after the 50k on gravel compared to every road marathon I've run.

April 26 - Easy Elliptigo for 12.8 miles, which is probably equivalent to running about half the distance.  It was very difficult not to run on this day, because my legs felt okay and I was dying to see my running group, but I made a non-negotiable commitment to two days of no running after the 50k no matter what.  I never want time off after races but I am getting better at setting firm standards on this, although I understand that two days off wasn't exactly a recovery block.

April 27 - 6.2 miles easy.  I rejoined my running buddies for a short easy run.  My legs felt fine but I felt somewhat depleted.

April 28 - 7.1 miles easy.  Similar to April 27, my legs felt fine but I felt depleted, but less than the day before.

April 29 - 6 miles easy a.m. and 4.2 miles easy p.m.  I felt pretty great on the morning run, which is why I ended up bringing a double back in, which I also felt strong on - plus it was gorgeous weather!

April 30 - 8 miles easy plus 5 x strides. My body felt completely back to normal, but the strides felt sloppy, like I hadn't run fast for awhile (probably because I hadn't).

May 1 - 14.2 miles - 8.6 easy, 3 x 1 mile at MP/1 mile easy, easy to the end.  I was going to do a 2 mile fast finish on this long run, but Christian was doing 6 x 1 mile at HMP/1 mile easy so it made more sense for me to do the second half of her workout with her.  I was very consistent on this one, with splits of 6:14, 6:13, 6:14 on a rolling course.  The first minute or so of the first fast mile my body was like, "whhhhhaaaat are we doing?!" but once I got going I felt better and better.

May 2 - 10.1 miles easy a.m. and 4.2 miles easy p.m.  These runs felt great, and I figured it was smarter to run twice than to run another 14 miler.  I am used to Saturday + Sunday long runs!

May 3 - 7 miles easy a.m. and 4.1 miles easy p.m.  I started feeling like I was almost back to real training for a few days!

May 4 - 7 miles easy + strides a.m. and 4 miles easy p.m.  Same as May 3.

May 5 - 16.2 miles with 3.6 warm up, 4/3/2/1 mile progressive tempos on a rolling route with 0.5 recoveries in 6:21, 6:20, 6:17, 6:11/6:18, 6:15, 6:14/6:12, 6:21/6:06.  This was my big intended confidence-boosting workout between races, and it did not disappoint.  I intentionally also made it the longest run between the races, smack dab in the middle of the 3 weeks.  This is one of my favorite marathon workouts, and it wasn't easy but the paces came comfortably, except for the second mile of the 2 mile tempo, but I maintain that it was all uphill!  This was a workout PR (better than I ran in my build for Indy Monumental), which was more than I'd even hoped for.

May 6 - 8.1 miles easy a.m. and 4 miles easy p.m.  I think I was trying to only run 6 miles on this morning but our running group made a route calculation error.

May 7 - 7.3 miles easy, for a normal nice and easy Friday morning run.

May 8 - 12.2 miles with 11 x 0:30 pickups (one during each mile after mile 1).  Whenever I incorporate short pickups like this into an easy long run, I end up running the entire run faster and often feeling better doing it, which was the case here. Efficiency for the win!

May 9 - 7.4 miles easy, which started feeling like tapering again.

May 10 - 8 miles easy + 4 x strides a.m. and 3 miles p.m.  Running 3 miles is really difficult to justify the laundry for!

May 11 - 9.2 miles with the classic final workout of 4 x 1 mile at marathon pace with 1:30 jogs in 6:10, 6:10, 6:05, 6:05 - so not actually at marathon pace, but there was great weather, great company, and tapered legs, plus everyone always runs this workout too fast!

Celebrating a successful final workout!

May 12 - 3 miles easy.  I don't respond well to days completely off, so this was my day "off" pre-marathon. 

May 13 - 5 miles easy plus 4 x strides that felt fantastic!

May 14 - 4 miles easy plus 4 x strides in North Carolina!

May 15 - Tobacco Road Marathon in 2:48:51, which I think was probably my best marathon to date based on the gravel and elevation, including my fastest final mile ever in a marathon.

Oops, I'm running a marathon!

On May 15 I will be running the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, North Carolina and I am jumping out of my skin with excitement!

Here's how this happened...

I think we all know that I love running two marathons off of one training cycle...see the end of this post for the many, many times I have done this previously (really it should be more surprising when I don't do it!). Though I specifically noted I wasn't going to add a spring marathon at the end of this post, in early April I really started salivating to run one, in part because I was running PR workouts but also because I just love the marathon.  Please also refer to * at the end of this post, hah.  

I initially set out to find a marathon that was 3-5 weeks after the Frisco 50k, on a fast course, with a competitive field, and in cool weather so that I could PR-chase.  That marathon did not exist, especially with a lot of marathons still being cancelled.  I learned I was going to have to give up the competitive field piece, and found a race that met the other 3 criteria but was full.  I requested an elite entry into that sold out race, but could not get one, so the search continued.  Tobacco Road met only my 3-5 weeks criteria - it's on a rails to trails gravel course and it will probably be warm - but I was able to obtain an elite entry into the race.  Now though, I think it's just what I need: a fun marathon where my biggest goal is to compete to place as high as possible, without regard for time.

Shortly after I decided to run Tobacco Road and right before I was going to make my travel arrangements, my TFL bothered me for several days and I decided I wouldn't run it after all.  Then the 50k fixed my TFL, or more likely it was just one of those weird taper things (when I read this post it made a lot of sense!).  I also felt less beat up from the gravel 50k than from any road marathon I've ever run, and after a lot of consideration and prayer, I booked my plane ticket to North Carolina for some more rails to trails racing!  My friend Christian will be joining me as an elite in the half marathon!

I think we all also know I am very analytical, so I looked at my past experience as part of the decision-making process.  I've responded well to running two marathons off of one training cycle numerous times, and more than once I've then done a half marathon that went wonderfully two weeks after the second marathon.  More often than not, my second marathon has been faster than my first, I believe in part due to fitness gains sustained from the first (I realize a 50k is not a marathon, but for the purposes of this analysis I'm considering it like one).  Once I started looking back, I decided to make a list because I did not realize nearly how much I'd done this!  Although running multiple goal marathons off of one training cycle is still not "standard", it has become more common in the past couple of years thanks to things like Sara Hall's awesomeness and people making multiple 2020 OTQ attempts before the window closed.  When I first began doing it, it was simply because I didn't know any better and it was fun...well, that is still a lot of the case, haha!

My double marathon+ list (I did not include any shorter races or half marathons I did during the build to marathon #1, but they always happened as well):

• 2019 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon + White River Half Marathon + 2020 Chevron Houston Marathon**
• 2019 Chisholm Trail Marathon + Rock the Parkway Half Marathon + Bill Snyder Highway Half Marathon + Grandma's Marathon (March-June)
• 2017 California International Marathon + 2018 Chevron Houston Marathon**
• 2016 Prairie Fire Marathon + Bass Pro Marathon + White River Half Marathon (my first 2 sub-3:00s + a huge half PR)
• 2015 Bass Pro Marathon + Dallas Marathon + Run for the Ranch Half Marathon (RftR half was 6 days after Dallas)
• 2011 Kickin' Route 66 Marathon + Kansas City Marathon
• 2010 Heart of American Marathon + Bass Pro Marathon + Route 66 Half
• 2009 Heart of America Marathon + Wichita Half Marathon + Portland Marathon
• 2007 Omaha Marathon + Tour de Cure Half + Kansas City Marathon + Bass Pro Half + Shawnee Mission Half + Tulsa Route 66 Marathon + Race Across Kansas Half + Dallas White Rock Marathon + Run for the Ranch Marathon (September-December) - this was too much though!
• 2005 (fall) Heart of America Marathon + Mcaffie Half + Kansas City Marathon + Springfield First Baptist Marathon (September-December)
• 2005 (spring) Little Rock Marathon + Eisenhower Marathon + Olathe Marathon
• 2004 Omaha Marathon + Wichita Marathon + Maynard Cohick Half Marathon + Springfield First Baptist Marathon (September-December)

**I will also mention that twice the two marathons off of one cycle thing did not go as hoped for me, and oddly enough both times were when I added Houston.  Besides the clear take-away that I should not add Houston, I think I have identified the problematic variables in the equation, which included last-minute rescheduling from CIM 2019 to Houston 2020 due to my brother's passing, bronchitis (never helpful in races!), and a holiday plus power-packed vacation between races - plus CIM 2017 to Houston 2018 was also influenced by my super long training build to CIM, during which I ran all of my easy runs too fast.  Both times I ran Houston I had a lot of second thoughts about it - likely God telling me not to run it! - which should have told me something as well!  Hindsight, right?

Ultimately, none of us are guaranteed another training cycle, so I'm extremely thankful to get to tack on one more race to this one that I am already beyond thankful for.  After the race I'll take some downtime before a summer of speed followed by building to a fall PR marathon attempt, or two...