No Nonsense November

November 2021 in review!  

Total mileage for the month:  256.2

• Nov. 1-7:  75.3
• Nov. 8-14:  18.4 (I took 5 days off without an injury, believe it or not!)
• Nov. 15-21:  66.3
• Nov. 22-28:  72.6
• Nov. 29-Dec. 5:  80.7

Meeting Des Linden

Races:

• Nov. 7: Bass Pro Marathon in 2:54:26 for 2nd overall female and a new Missouri state marathon record for age 41. I was happy with this based on how I felt going into the race, though it was not really what I wanted.

Workouts:

•  Nov. 2:  3 mile tempo (6:09, 6:17, 5:58) on rolling hills (3 warm up, 3 cool down).  I tried to notch onto half marathon effort for this one, and was pleasantly surprised to go sub-6 for the final mile, especially because it felt so good.  I felt terrible on my last little workout before Milwaukee so it was nice to not repeat that!
• Nov. 30: 6 miles alternating paces every 0.5 (14.8 miles total on the morning).  I paced Abby's wave tempo for a rust-buster workout.  My confidence was super low going into this; I was worried I wouldn't be able to do her workout with goal paces of 6:30/7:10.  After getting her out too fast (i.e., I'm a crap pacer when I haven't worked out for a month), I was pleasantly surprised with how good those paces felt and I moved to the outside of the loop while she ran the tangents, so I could run a little faster but still help her.  About halfway through I decided that I wanted to feel out my own wave tempo paces for the final 2 miles, and since David was running with Abby I felt okay about going ahead at the end.  My paces each half-ish mile (I took manual splits so most were not exactly 0.50) were 6:11, 6:58, 6:29, 6:59, 6:31, 7:00, 6:34, 7:03, 5:50, 6:34, 5:53, 6:25, giving me 6.25 miles at 6:31 pace for the whole thing.  Since I wasn't even sure I could run 6:30 pace for a half mile before this workout, I was really happy with how it turned out, particularly the sub-6 pushes at the end.  This was a great illustration of happiness being reality minus expectations, because this is probably one of my slower workouts of the past several years, but I was absolutely thrilled with it because I expected 6:30 pace to feel like a sprint and it felt like marathon pace.
• Strides:  Nov. 1, 5, 6, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29.
• Doubles:  Nov. 1, 2, 13, 18.

#nocluenovember

Long Runs:

• Nov. 7:  The Marathon, and 27.7 miles total.  
• Nov. 21:  13 miles (7:41), followed by Rebecca's birthday celebration in the parking lot!
• Nov. 28: 16.1 easy (7:51), helping Abby to 21 miles as part of her Houston Marathon training.

Ten on Thanksgiving

Running Highlights:

• I set a new PR for the most days I've ever taken off running when not injured or super sick, at 5 days after Bass Pro.  The only one I actually wanted to take off was day 1, but I haven't taken any real breaks in 2021, and with running a 50k and 3 marathons (plus 6 other long races), I knew at some point I needed to fully recover before I can rebuild stronger.  Now that I'm on the other side I can say it was a good idea, but I wasn't in the best mood for those 5 days!
• I saw Des Linden at Missouri S&T in Rolla with my running group! We did a fun run (the reason for my Nov. 13 double), participated in a VIP meet-and-greet (thanks to Casey knowing the XC coach), and listed to an inspirational speech.
• 50k training started November 29, 16 weeks out!

Des Linden run

Rebecca's birthday parking lot party post-run

I saved this years ago & it is still true - also applies
to the 50k, I know I have a faster one in me in March :-)

Life Highlights:

• We spent Thanksgiving with my parents and Jon's parents, and cut our Christmas tree on the Ibbetson farm the following day.
• Albani made a pie from scratch while I was at work the day before Thanksgiving!  She did not get this skill from me.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving

Books:

• Genius the Game by Leopoldo Gout
• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
• The Light of Luna Park by Addison Armstrong
• Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
• The End of Something Like That by Ann Dee Ellis
• The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien
• Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney
• Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel
• Send for Me by Lauran Fox
• The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura

Themes for the month:

• The heights of our joy are measured by the depths of our gratitude.
• Be thankful for what you have and you end up having more.

Bass Pro Reflections

I've re-run the race in my mind a few times, and I don't really think there was anything I should have done differently.  I feel like I've been saying that a lot this season - that I didn't get the outcome that I hoped for, but that I don't think there is anything I could have done on the day to achieve it.  Maybe that's a cop out, but I guess it's easier to be content looking through that lens.  I do think there are things I could do better with training, recovery, race planning, nutrition, etc. to better my results in the future, and I hope I have improvement in me still, but on November 7 I just wasn't good enough to win.  As a runner, it's hard to ever be happy with a result - something always could have been better! - and this one is no different, but the heights of our joy are measured by the depths of our gratitude, and I'm really working on choosing gratefulness.

Happiness

I came pretty close to not running Bass Pro due to feeling fatigued, and my immediate physical response to the race wasn't good.  After finishing, I couldn't get my shoes off my swollen feet fast enough, and for the remainder of marathon day I felt pretty poor.  Getting more food and drink in throughout the day helped, but I did not have the peppy excitement I usually do post-race.  I was so tired and achy but also couldn't sleep until I took two Benadryl at 1:00 a.m. (which made me feel drunk and super uncomfortable before it resulted in sleep).  However, after all that I woke up on Monday and again on Tuesday feeling pretty good - barely sore at all, which surprised me based on how terrible I felt on Sunday!

I'm excited about the state record - it's my first marathon state record!  Along with being the single age record for age 41, it's the fastest time age 40+.  Have I mentioned that I love being in masters?!  I'm thankful for the podium spot.  I'm thankful to run 2:54 on a mediocre course with 900 ft of elevation gain and over 70 turns in a race that "didn't matter".  I am probably never going to be satisfied and I'm always going to want more, but I think that's also part of why I love it!  I'm going to keep striving for more, but I really am thankful for what I have.  Any day I can finish a marathon is one to be thankful for.  Every day I can run is absolutely one to be thankful for.  My running group is something I'm super thankful for, and they made Bass Pro better too!

As for my 2 marathons off of 1 training cycle,  I still love it and will do it again (and again, and again).  I have learned that I do best when the races are 3-4 weeks apart vs. 5-6 weeks apart.  I think I can maintain peak for 3-4 weeks and also use my first marathon as my longest long run for the second.  With 5-6 weeks like in this case, I did another really long run between the races (20 miles, with 13.1 being the KC Half Marathon).  I also did two big volume weeks between (90 and 95), which in hindsight was probably a bit much, but at the time seemed necessary for my confidence.  In the spring after my next 50k, my next marathon will follow 3-4 weeks later! :-)

Bass Pro Second Half

The first half of the race flew by, and everyone seemed to be in high spirits starting the back half.  I vacillated between wanting to push the pace to help Casey possibly PR, and wanting to slow down.  We were pretty chatty through about 16, but as we left the Southern Hills area around 17 we all seemed to get quieter.  As we passed the mile 18 sign, Jacqui told me and Casey that she'd made it her goal to stay with us through 18 so she'd done it.  She seemed to be feeling strong, and we encouraged her that she could keep staying with us.

Through the entire race, there was variation on who was pushing and who was coasting amongst the 3 of us, but it became more apparent who felt good and who didn't at various times in the final 8 miles.  One huge perk of running with a pack is that different people go through rough patches at different times, so when you're in a strong stretch you get to pull someone else along, which can increase energy by helping someone, and when you're in a rough patch you can latch on.

The three of us passed mile 20 side-by-side, along with our lead female cyclist.  I felt average for mile 20 - not super strong but not bonking.  I knew a friend was spectating on the course around mile 20.5 and that Jon and Albani were at mile 22, so thinking about that helped break up the miles as they started to get harder.  Casey fell back slightly off of Jacqui and I at mile 21, but it wasn't noticeable initially because like I said, we all had patches where we were kind of hanging on.  We also got slightly separated when one person was grabbing water or taking a gel.

Jacqui grabbed a cup from an aid station around mile 22 and I didn't, so I pulled a few steps into the lead at that point.  My initial reaction was "it's time to go" but based on how meh I felt, I thought it was too soon to really start pushing it.  In hindsight, maybe I should have tried to take a more dominating lead at that point, but I didn't and soon she was back by my side.  Coincidentally, we passed Jon when I had a slight lead, so he told me that I was winning - but he also saw shortly after when Jacqui pulled back up beside me.  We continued side-by-side past mile 23, where she mentioned that she'd made it her goal to stay with me until mile 23, but her legs were really feeling it.  I said something like, "Of course, it's mile 23, but you've got this!"  While my legs were also certainly feeling it, her comment gave me some hope.

My small lead after an aid station

Around mile 23.5, we went through a short tunnel that was muddy.  I've slipped in that specific tunnel before and well as in similar tunnels in the Springfield trail systems, so I was pretty tentative going through and Jacqui gapped me.  Had I felt better, that wouldn't have been a big deal and a few uptempo steps would have closed the gap, but with my lack of reserves, I couldn't manage to pull back up with her.  I knew I really needed to hang on to have a chance, but my legs weren't responsive when I tried to surge.

We passed my favorite aid station, by OMRR, at mile 24 where I trailed by ~5 seconds.  I kept reminding myself of the fast finish I'd done on the end of the course the week before - "You did 6:25s then, you can do it again now!"  I wasn't looking at my watch, but it was clear that I was not doing enough to stay in contention for the win.  Jacqui gradually pulled away from me.  I kept reminding myself that anything can happen at the end of a marathon, and stayed as strong and focused as I could.  The closer the finish got, the more I resigned myself to second though.  I looked back on one of the many turns to see if Casey was coming up on me, but I couldn't see her, so it seemed I was pretty secure in my position.

Final stretch

I weaved through several half runners in the final half mile and smiled coming down the final stretch.  I had looked at my watch enough during the race to feel confident that I was going to get the age 41 state record, but I was sad there wasn't a finishing clock to capture that!  I got blocked by a couple of half runners on the final narrow turn right before the line - I now feel bad but I yelled "marathoner coming through" as I tried to barrel between them; the turn was narrow and they were walking 2 abreast (note to everyone: don't let that race come down to the final 20 meters, there isn't room for that!).

Non-clock shot

I crossed the line and congratulated Jacqui, and soon after we congratulated Casey, who came in at about 2:56.  Her last-minute bib wasn't picked up by any of the course mats, so race officials had to manually input her time.  They added her after I told them she was missing from the awards list when I picked up my award.  For awhile they had her as 2 seconds behind me - I'd told the race officials "about 2 minutes" and think they misunderstood.  Regretfully, we were unable to finish holding hands and tie in 2:59, neither of us was able to win, and we both had to run all out!  But, after reading what Jacqui wrote about us on social media, it was very hard to be disappointed that she won.  She was also the best of us on that day, no doubt.

Further proof runners are the best (Jacqui's post)

Results + identical course splits

Course splits from the results page:

• 10k - 40:43 (6:33)
• 15k - 1:00:38 (6:30)
• 25k - 1:42:46 (6:36)
• 30k - 2:03:36 (6:37)

Rebecca was 2nd OAF in the half & Colin was 1st OA!

The story continues here.

Bass Pro First Half

Since Casey and I had a couple of different race plans, I had my eyes on the women around us from the gun.  The woman I'd identified as "fast-looking" in the marathon took off faster than us, which meant operation-start-at-6:30 pace was underway, and we settled in together with our eyes ahead.  About a half mile in I told Sean and Abby that we weren't going to be running 6:45 pace so not to go with us.  We fell in with a couple of men we know, Ben (relay) and Doug (marathon), and met another man named Lucasz, who would end up running most of the marathon with us.

Start

Guess it's pretty clear I was eyeing my competition, hah!

I was pretty sure Casey and I were in 2-3 female positions, but with the half marathoners with us it was hard to know for sure.  Around the first mile, a lead cyclist dropped in with the woman in front of us, confirming our position.  When we passed Jon at mile 2.5 he told us that we were 2-3, with the leader just ahead.  Casey and I did some debriefing and planning, and my strategy was to run 6:30ish pace and see if we could reel in the leader, then sit just behind her once we did.  Casey and I would soon realize that we did not plan very well for the scenario of us not leading; most of our pre-race strategizing consisted of "Surely no one else is going to run sub-3; we can run 6:45 pace then finish holding hands, split the money, and our picture will be in Runners World", haha!  Our fantasies did not have this other woman ahead of us from the gun.

Casey and I had run the half marathon course for our long run the week before the race, and I kept thinking how race day really just felt like an uptempo long run with Casey!  The weather was beautiful, 6:30ish felt good, and we were optimistic.  We chatted with each other and the men around us, being positive and probably funny/dumb.

We slowly pulled the leading woman in, and when we caught her we fell in stride with her.  I thought it was too early to pass when we didn't have a time goal, though Casey was pushing/surging and I wasn't sure what was happening (we later learned that we had different strategies and we probably should have discussed things beforehand instead of taking for granted that no one else would run sub-3!).  I tried to send Casey some psychic messages and at one time tried to get her to read my lips, but we weren't on the same page, and we ended up just all 3 running pretty much side by side.  We met the other woman, Jacqui, and she probably thought we were a little much - if you've been around us together you'll understand (especially if you have road tripped with us, haha!).  We think we are hilarious anyway!

Power of the pack

We had a nice little group, including the lead female cyclist and several men.  We bantered and enjoyed the miles.  One of the guys asked the lead cyclist to turn on some music and he put on slow instrumental stuff and all I could think was that I hoped he wasn't playing that during the final 10k because it seemed like good music to die to!  

I was monitoring my splits after my poor pacing in Milwaukee, and I was interested in keeping it as easy as the others would let me...until around mile 11 Casey mentioned that she felt good and she might want to go for a PR.  Then I was really torn; should I push to try to help her to a PR or sit back and let the others set the pace?  I mentioned waiting until after Southern Hills, the hilliest part of the course from about miles 12-17, to crank it down, but I wasn't really sure what any of us were doing!

We got to know Jacqui, including learning that she normally does marathons after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 116 (i.e., she is an Ironman Triathlete), her sister ran in the 2016 and 2020 marathon trials, and she has known my friend Julie - who I met by running most of Bass Pro 2010 with her - since childhood.  Such a small world!  Whenever I meet my competitors I almost always really like them.

We hit mile 13 in about 1:26 - there wasn't a half mark or mat, and our lead cyclist said "about 1:27 for the half" and I proceeded to argue with him that it was a high 1:26, haha!  It seemed like everyone felt great at that point, and we were all in good spirits.  Casey and I were enjoying seeing familiar faces along the route and feeling like we were just on a workout or long run together.  Our cyclist told us we were by far the most interesting female race that Bass Pro has had - usually there is a clear and dominant leader, not a pack of 3 through halfway.

The story continues here.

Bass Pro Pre-Race

My race overview is here.

There is a lot to be said for running a marathon close to home!  The day before the race my running group met in the race expo parking lot for a shake out run before going through the expo together.  Next year I need to remember that the expo will take 3 times as long as I expect, because I run into so many amazing local runners to talk to!  We all got our packets, took some group photos, and commented that this years shirts were the best they'd ever had.  I then returned home by noon for a lot of laying around, cleaning, laundry, reading, foam rolling, and eating.

Daylight savings time ended at 2:00 a.m. on race morning, meaning that my 4:15 a.m. alarm would have felt like 5:15 a.m., but I was wide awake by 3:00 a.m.  I ended up reading and dozing a little more on the couch before getting up to eat breakfast, finish some laundry, get into my race attire, and do some mobility before leaving my house solo at 5:50 a.m. (Jon and Albani came a little later).  I drank UCAN on the drive to the race.

My Miles from Mentor group met for photos at 6:15 a.m., and I did all of my usual pre-marathon routines including 10-15 minutes of easy jogging, drills, light strides, changing shoes, sipping UCAN, and shedding my warm ups.  I was with my friends throughout the process, which kept it relaxed and fun.  Not having a time goal always makes me more relaxed as well!

I couldn't choose a favorite!

10 minutes before the start, Casey realized that she didn't have her bib number!  She asked me who she should talk to, and I sent her back to registration (which was on a different side of the gigantic building than the start), while Abby and I took all of her stuff to Abby's car and fretted about Casey making it back in time!  I tend to get on this starting line at the last minute because you can, and Abby and I popped into the corral around 6:56.  The National Anthem started, and as it neared an end, Casey jumped into the corral with us.  I think I may have been more stressed about the situation than she was, and we were all SO glad she made it back in time!  She had her phone on her since she hadn't made it back to her car, but I told her she could toss it to Jon and Albani at mile 2.5, when I'd also be tossing them my car key (which was preplanned, because with carrying 4 gels I didn't have room for the key fob too!).

I'd scoped out our competition during the National Anthem, and there was one fast looking lady wearing a marathon bib near us.  The others up front were in the half, but I pointed out the marathon lady and told Casey I expected she was our competition.  To complicate things further, Casey and I had told half runners Abby and Sean that we'd pace them at 6:45 pace until the races split around mile 10 IF no other women went out faster than that.

Writing this now, it seems like there was a lot going on, but really it was extremely laid back.  There is something about being on your home turf for a race!  My running group runs parts of this course all the time, particularly in October, and for me familiarity = comfortable.

The story continues here.

There's something about Bass Pro!

The overview:

I love running 2 marathons off of one training cycle, and my hometown race Bass Pro was #2 for this season!

Based on how I was feeling going into the race, I lined up with the goal of placing as high as possible with an effort of less than 100%, if possible.  My friend and training buddy Casey was also going into her second marathon of the season with a similar attitude.  We both wanted to keep our times under 3:00, and we thought the perfect day would be us running side-by-side for 26.2, finishing holding hands while tying for overall female in 2:58-2:59, and splitting the 1st + 2nd place prize money 50/50.  We also knew that while it's rare any women run sub-3:00 at Bass Pro, it was possible that others would be in the mix and we'd have to run faster to try for the win we hoped for.  

Our "speed limit" for going out was 6:30 pace; if another woman went out faster than our hoped for 6:45 pace, we would go out at 6:30 pace and gauge from there.  From the gun, a woman jumped into the lead, so Casey and ran together and with a couple of men at ~6:30, not far behind her for the first ~5 miles of the race.  When we pulled up with the woman (Jacqui), we invited her to join our group and the three of us ended up spending most of the race together!  We had the lead female cyclist with us, and he and another cyclist kept telling us that the women's race had never been so intriguing - usually there is a clear and dominant leader.  The three of us joked, bonded, and laughed for miles.  At various times, one person was slightly ahead or another slightly behind, but there was no clear leader for most of the race.  I think it went back and forth on who felt the best and who felt the worst - who was pushing and who was hanging on.  I really couldn't get a read on how the race was going to play out, though during my feeling good spurts I'd think "I'm going to win this marathon" and during my rough spots I'd think "third is still podium!"  I also thought that if Casey won, I was still winning since I've been coaching her this year.

Top 3

When the three of us passed mile 20 side by side, it seemed like everyone felt good enough that anything could happen.  I train with Casey so I know she is strong, and we'd learned that Jacqui was an Ironman Triathlete, meaning her endurance is insane.  Around mile 21, Casey dropped back a bit, and after Jacqui and I passed 22 I felt her absence.  Jacqui and I were both fighting through that end-of-the-marathon fatigue, and passed mile 23 side-by-side.  Shortly after, I really started feeling it in a way that kind of snuck up on me, and I had to fight to maintain contact with Jacqui.  She opened up a small gap on me going through a muddy tunnel, and as hard as I tried I couldn't close it.  I played mind games with myself and tried surging back, but my legs weren't responsive.

Anything can happen at the end of the marathon, but as the gap grew and the distance to the finish decreased, it became more and more likely I was taking home the silver.  I felt like I didn't have much in reserves, and the end of this race can be a trip for me - the course is incline, turn, incline, turn, repeat for the final 2 miles.  I've had both strong finishes and struggles for those 2 miles, and this year was the latter.  I did what I could to get in as quickly as I could, and managed a big smile when I heard Jon cheering for me on the final stretch.  There was no finishing clock, so I didn't know what my time was, but I was hopeful I'd finished under the age 41 state record of 2:57:00.  I did, in an official time of 2:54:26 - especially fulfilling after I kept missing the half record and narrowly missed the 10k record!  Missouri keeps single age state records, but my time is the fastest of any age 40+ so I'm calling it the masters record too.

The man behind me, Lukasz, ran
most of the race with us too! 

I'd have loved to have run faster (wouldn't we all, always?!), but I knew before the race started that I didn't have a 2:4x in my legs for this one.  I stand by running two marathons off of one cycle, and I'll explain more thoughts in a later post.  This was my fastest Bass Pro time by almost 5 minutes, and also consecutive sub-3 #14 for me.  Be thankful for what you have, and you'll end up having more - this is a lesson I remind myself of often and have difficulty practicing in relation to my running - but it is so true!

Many in my running group had fantastic results at Bass Pro events, which sweetened the day.  Casey was 3rd overall female in the marathon in 2:56 (her second fastest marathon ever, 6 weeks after her PR), Colin was first overall in the half in 1:15 (huge PR), Rebecca was second overall female in the half in 1:24 (huge PR), Amy won her age group in the half, and Abby and Sean got in good half efforts during the throes of marathon training.

Official results are here.

Two news articles about the race are here and here.

My Strava activity is here.

More details:

• Pre-Race
• First Half 
• Second Half
• Reflections 
• Backstory (posted before the race)

We take this stuff very seriously

Bass Pro Backstory

I planned to run the Bass Pro Marathon when I scheduled my fall 2021 season.  I love running two marathons off of one training cycle, and it was a great fit as a B race 5 weeks after my A race in Milwaukee.  Bass Pro starts less than 20 minutes from my house and generally has perfect weather.  I've run the full 3 times before (the half also 3 times), and each time I have loved participating in my hometown race.  If I don't race it, I spectate it, because it's always fun to be involved!

After the warm, humid day that was Milwaukee, I started thinking that I could try to PR at Bass Pro, or at least run in the high-2:40s.  The course isn't fantastic, but it is also not bad (mediocre would be a good adjective here).  When I ran my current PR on a great course I had an 18 mph headwind to contend with for most of the second half of the race, so I thought maybe I could squeak by if the weather was perfect and I found someone to pace with.  Bass Pro is also small, so running solo is quite likely!

Then I went on a mission to try to get my friends Andrew and Colin to run the marathon.  They both didn't get the opportunity to show their fall 2021 marathon fitness due to warm races, at Chicago and Prairie Fire.  Andrew was interested but unsure if he could make it work, and Colin was already entered in the Bass Pro half and wanted to stick with that distance (he also has a big half PR in him at the moment!).

A couple of weeks after my "I'm going to knock Bass Pro out of the park" crusade, I started feeling like I didn't want to do that after all.  That's a rare feeling for me so left me concerned, and I figured if I didn't want to run it, I shouldn't.  I hadn't registered yet so it was truly nothing lost if I didn't.  However, I soon realized I had another option: to run it without going for a time in the 2:40s, also including pacing with one of my running buddies, Casey.

God's plan must have been to lead me to this, because once I decided that's what I was doing, I grew very excited about the race!  It's really fun to run your hometown marathon!  Andrew also decided 2 days before the marathon that he didn't want to run it.  Had I been gunning for a PR, that would have really thrown me, but in the current scenario it was fine.

So, current status = happy with the plan, but if all of those other things hadn't happened I wouldn't have been.  I hope to marathon PR-chase again soon, but tomorrow is not the day for that.  Tomorrow I'll chase that runners high and podium spot, but mostly just enjoy the magic that is the Springfield running community!