Finding February

February 2023 in review!

Total mileage for the month: 371.7

• Jan. 30-Feb. 5: 73.0
• Feb. 6-12: 90.8
• Feb. 13-19: 91.2
• Feb. 20-26: 94.2
• Feb. 27-March 5: projected at...probably 100

Races:

• Feb. 18: Run with the Wind 25k in 1:51:37 for 2nd OAF, 1st masters female, and a pretty poorly executed race.
• Feb. 25: Running from Yeti Marathon in 3:09:34 for 1st OAF - because why not run a tiny hilly marathon that is 20 minutes from your house for 50k training?!

Workouts:

• Feb. 9: 4 x (1200 m threshold, 400 m jog, 400 m harder, 400 m jog) in 11.4 miles total. My running buddies and I were going to do this workout on February 8, but pushed it back a day due to moderately heavy cold rain that morning. February 9 wasn't really any better, with light cold rain and 20-30 mph winds. I took splits on the track but I didn't look at my times during the workout and still haven't, and I think it's better that way considering the weather and that I hadn't worked out in about 3 weeks. I think my effort was correct and I bet my paces were slow!
• Feb. 14: 5 x 1 mile threshold by effort with 1:30 recoveries in 6:07, 6:09, 6:07, 6:05, 6:03. Another day where I didn't look at my watch during the workout, but feeling strong and Casey's encouraging "we are going fast!" when looking at her splits clued me in that I was running well. This was faster than I expected it would be, so yay!
• Feb. 22: 5 x 1 mile progressive with 1:00 recoveries in 6:47, 6:52, 6:47, 6:22, 6:09. We started at Sierra's half effort for 3, then did a "finish strong" 1 and a "faster" 1. I had a really poor night of sleep prior to this and felt that, but it was a nice morning with Sierra and Casey.
• Feb. 25: Running with Yeti Marathon at moderate. This was quite a hill workout!
• Strides: Feb. 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 24, 28.
• Doubles: Feb. 13, 16, 20, 27, 28.
• Favorite workout: Feb. 14 - I felt so strong! Plus I used Feb. 25 for my favorite long run.

Prom photos after Cabin Fever, which I run-spectated

The post-finish area was a high-school cafeteria

Finished our long run in time to cheer for the racers

Long Runs:

• Feb. 4:  20 miles (7:54) that felt harder than it should have. I included 20 x 1:00 pick ups, about one per mile, because I knew I was too weak to do a real workout.
• Feb. 5:  16 miles (8:17) that felt better than the day before.
• Feb. 10:  23.4 miles (8:09) that felt a lot better than the 20 miler the week before, even though I'd done a workout on Feb. 9. The 23.4 was just where I happened to be when I got back to my car, but I liked the number (I was aiming for 22+).
• Feb. 11: 16 miles (8:17); I didn't necessarily plan to run this far, but I just kept going with the group and it was good.
• Feb. 18: 19.4 miles total, including the Run with the Wind 25k. Yeah, should have done 20, but I didn't do the math on my warm up + race + cool down until later that day.
• Feb. 19: 17 miles (8:15) that I didn't really think I was going to do, but you know.
• Feb. 25: 28.2 miles, including the Running from Yeti Marathon.
• Feb. 26: 14.2 miles (8:25) that was very easy paced, but felt really great after 28 the day prior!
• Favorite long run: February 25, because it produced one heck of a runner's high!

Running Highlights:

• Snow runs: Feb. 1 and 2.
• From Feb. 5-11, I ran 96.3 miles in only singles, which is definitely the most I've done in a week on one run a day. Daily miles were: 16, 9.1, 10.3, 10.3, 11.3, 23.4, 16. I didn't plan to do this, but these things happen when I don't have a training plan, lol.
• I won a marathon, which I hadn't done since November 2015!

Life Highlights:

• Photos below!

Employee Appreciation Night

Ozark Mountain Ridge Runners
Annual Banquet

Forced photo before her
Winter Homecoming dance

Albani's Science Olympiad team is state-bound

Miles from Mentor game night

Books:

• The Huntress by Kate Quinn
• Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco
• Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
• Wish You Were Gone by Kieran Scott
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni
• The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman
• Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Theme for the month:

• Things will always change. I was up and down this month, and it's always easy to think things will never change (get better or get worse, depending), but that's not true. When you're down, things will get better. When things seem perfect, odds are they won't stay that way. Just a reminder to always appreciate the ups and know that you'll get through the downs.

Running from Yeti Marathon

The short:

I never thought I'd run a small, hilly marathon called Running from Yeti, but it took place 20 minutes from my house and I was planning to run 26-28 miles on February 25, so it happened! I planned to run no faster than 7:45 pace for most of the race, probably dipping down to 7:30 towards the end, but I ended up quicker, mostly thanks to running with my fast friend Colin who was also running it for 50k training - but I stayed controlled enough that I felt great running 14.4 miles about 20 hours later. I ran 3:09:34 for overall female, and it's really fun to win a marathon, even if it is tiny!

Official results are here.

My Strava activity is here.

Finish smile + holy quad

The long:

There's a bright side to almost everything, and the end of my sub-3 streak meant that I could return to running training marathons without worrying about my times. I used to do this often, but hadn't since 2015 (which was also the last time I won a marathon!). Last year I saw advertisements for the Running from Yeti Marathon in Springfield happening on a day I was doing 26 miles for 50k training. I considered running it for training, but didn't want a non-sub-3 official time. This year my sub-3 streak had already perished, and the timing was the same, with it being 4 weeks before Prairie Spirit, so I was in.

The start

My friend Colin also ran it for 50k training. He is significantly faster than me, but we were planning to run easy together. I told him I wasn't going any faster than 7:45 pace, but it was probably partially my fault that we got out at 7:30. It felt like 8:30! Adrenaline, you know? Pretty quickly after the start, we were in 4th and 5th overall people, 1st female for me.

The race also had a half marathon, a 10k, and a 5k, and with all of the distances together there were 600 people running onto a bike path. The start was on a road, but less than 100 m in it narrowed down. They started the marathon first, then the half a minute later, then the 10k and 5k. I'm not sure how all of that went since we were out of it, but a couple miles into the race my friend Sierra who was racing the half passed us. I expected she was running 6:45ish pace. We were also passed by some men in the half and a couple 10k and 5k people, I think. Then we were running the opposite direction of mobs of runners.

The races went north and back first, then south and back for however far each distance needed. The half and full ran the same 13 mile course to start, then the full did the same course again. Almost all of the course was on a paved running/bike path, and with the out and backs and doing the course twice, there were nearly always people around (a good thing except when I peed by a tree), though Colin was the only one ever running the same pace as me. I've run the trail before and I knew it was extremely hilly, on the south end particularly. I knew what I was in for, but it's still the hilliest marathon I've ever run with 1283 ft of gain, even more than Heart of America. There are a handful of reasons I wouldn't race this marathon, but the elevation is a big one!

Oof

As we came back by the start after the first loop of the course, I had the normal thought of, "I have to do that again?? Should have done the half...". Mostly I wasn't looking forward to the worst of the hills again. But, I also felt like I was on a training run (I have very much dreaded those hills on training runs on that trail too!). We passed a man around mile 16, moving Colin into 3rd overall male, and the turn arounds showed me I was very secure in my position of 1st female.

I felt great on the flats and rolling hills, even though I could feel us getting into a moderate pace zone for me. I knew if I slowed down I'd be running solo, and to me 7:30 alone feels about the same at 7:15 with someone else. There were 6 brutal hills each lap, and on my second lap I counted them down..."just 3 more...only 2 more...last one!" Colin gapped me pretty good on the longest hill around mile 20, and as he pulled away I started wondering if I was slowing down, but I was staying steady - he just dropped to 6:45ish to finish. 

First mile smile

I had a huge runner's high going, and not as much fatigue as a normal marathon, so I thoroughly enjoyed those final solo miles and kept thinking, "I'm winning a marathon!" This was obviously not a large or prestigious event, but it still felt really good. When I could see the finish line in the distance, a spectator said, "Great time, first woman - you're at 3:04 now!" I figured I was about 5 minutes out, so then started thinking "Wow, I could break 3:10!", which was not expected; I'd been telling everyone I was going to run in the 3:20s, and I'd only looked at a few of my splits during the race.

As I neared the finish line, I could hear the announcer saying the first female marathoner was coming, and the volunteers at the final couple of turns encouraged me on. I ran through the finish with a huge smile on my face as I was announced as the female overall winner.

Clock shot

My Garmin measured the course as a little short (25.6 miles), and now I can't find anywhere that it was certified, although I swear I saw it written somewhere pre-race. My pace per my watch was 7:24, so still quicker than the 7:45 I'd planned and a good long long run pace for me right now. My heart rate averaged 148, and I've been able to average 158 for my 50ks, so that gave me a little confidence-boost for my upcoming 50k (also the fact that I ran this with no taper during a 94 mile week, and definitely felt like I could have maintained pace for 5 more miles). Even though we may not have run quite a marathon, I think with the elevation it's kind of a wash on times (I saw another runner's GAP on Strava at -9 seconds/mile). Don't use this one for a BQ though, lol!

After I finished, I needed to go get my gloves that I'd dropped on the first lap, about 0.3 from the finish. I asked Colin if he wanted to jog to get them with me, then jog to our cars, and we did. I kind of felt like we were showing off by running more a moment after finishing a marathon, but I wanted to get to 28 miles for the day. After I picked up my gloves, we ducked away from the finish area to complete the cool down. I got in 28.2 miles for the day, then 14.4 miles the next morning.

My friend Sierra won overall female in the half marathon, during her Boston training cycle. Boston hills are going to feel like nothing for her after this!

Sierra and I with the Yeti pre-race

A tiny marathon for fun and training might have been what I needed right now. I felt far better than in last week's Run with the Wind, despite this course being even hillier. I'm thankful for a really fun and strong-feeling effort, and for a 42.6 mile weekend!

It was windy at packet pick-up

Run with the Wind 25k: Not Ready to Race Edition

The short:

I won a free entry to the Run with the Wind 25k by winning overall female in last year's race, so even though I'd missed nearly a month of workouts due to being sick, was still feeling weak, and felt in no way ready to run a race, I ran it anyway. I had pretty low expectations but was hoping I could manage 6:59 pace or win overall female. I did not do either; I went out with the first female for 6 miles, then paid for it for 9.5 miles. I finished second overall female in 1:51:37 (7:07 pace), and got a baseline for the season. I definitely should have started slower but in my mind I am still a little fast, and I am always a lot competitive.

My Strava activity is here.

Fast friends post-race

The long:

I almost didn't go to this race. I had a virus in late January to early February, and missed over 3 weeks of workouts because of how weak I was (once I tried and managed only 7:20ish pace). This was after I'd missed several early January workouts due to hamstring pain after my 6-hour race, which I ran a month after having COVID...it sounds worse all written out like this, lol! I'd been running quite a bit still, but just easy, and also no doubles. I had a lot of easy runs that were much harder than they should have been, and I felt pretty puny for quite awhile. In the 8 days leading up to this race, though, I started to perk back up and had a decent workout that also felt really great. I wouldn't had paid to run the race with not being ready, but since I had a free entry and my friends Amy and Colin were running, I decided to do it. I would be running long that day anyway!

Then the day before the race I was very nauseous most of the day and could barely eat. I also had a low grade fever when I got home from work. Those things lasted only about 8 hours, but my resting heart rate was super high and I was about to resign not going to the race, but after I forced down dinner around 7:30 p.m. I felt close normal again. It was really odd. I may have just eaten something that didn't agree with me, but whatever it was wasn't a confidence boost to my already deflated ego.

Not the jump you want to see the day before a race

Like last year, Amy and I rode together to meet Colin at the finish line. Amy and I left bags in Colin's car, which stayed there, and Colin rode with us to the starting line. Also like last year, the race ran from Sarcoxie to Carthage. In theory, it runs the direction that gives you a tailwind, but in reality there is usually a headwind for part and a tailwind for part since it runs two different directions. This year we ran against the wind going west and had a tailwind going north. It was nice going north but pretty demoralizing going west, especially at the end!

I didn't know what I could do or how I'd feel, so I decided I'd go out with the first woman if it seemed reasonable, and see if I could compete for the win. The race director sent out a race manual that contained a little summary of "the contestants", so I knew that the woman who'd gotten second behind me last year was running it. She hadn't been very far behind me, and though I'd tried to use the race as a workout last year, it had turned out that my 50k goal pace was pretty all-out on this race course without a taper. I knew I wasn't in the same place this year, but thought I'd shoot my shot for the win as long as she didn't go out blazing fast. The state record for my age was 1:48:38, so I also thought maybe she'd help drag me to that (I ran 1:45:37 in 2022, though the other 3 times I've run it I did not break 1:50).

Pre-race

I ended up running with the eventual female winner for the first 6 miles, at around 6:45 pace. She was friendly and kind, and I wish I could have hung on longer but I didn't have it. It kind of ended up being 6 miles of racing plus 9.5 miles of struggling. It was weird though, because I knew I was slowing down and absolutely didn't have it in me to speed up, but I still felt strong to keep running. Strong but not fast - as compared to the weak and not fast feeling I'd had during and right after my recent bad virus - so a step.

I remembered the course well from last year, so it was nice knowing where I was. I counted down the miles and never looked at my watch. Once I lost contact with the female leader I was completely alone for the rest of the race. I did all of the positive self-talk I could, and I enjoyed myself even though I wasn't running well. I took a gel with caffeine about halfway and it made me feel like a million bucks for a bit, though you can't tell from my splits. The hills were tough as I remembered, and the headwind for the first 6 miles and especially the final 3 miles was not my favorite. When I heard my watch beep mile 15 and realized I had another half mile against the wind uphill to the finish, I lost some optimism, but ran through the finish as best I could.

The moment I'd been waiting for!

I ended up finishing in 1:51:37, exactly 6:00 slower than last year. I didn't pace well, but even if I'd looked at my watch I really wouldn't have known where to start at because of all of the recent variables in my running and life. I have learned that I am very good at pacing by feel when I'm feeling normal, but very bad at it when I'm sick or weak (refer to my 2022 marathons)! Colin had started his cool down after he'd finished in 1:38 for the male overall win (he was going to run his 50k goal pace but ended up quicker), and when I finished we jogged to his car so I could grab a few things. We then jogged back out to see Amy come in. She finished in 2:01 and set a new state record for age 51!

Like last year, the cool down was a death march (during the race I'd promised myself I wasn't running a cool down, but ended up doing 2 miles my friends anyway). We then enjoyed some soup and socializing while waiting for the awards. They age and gender graded everyone to equalize competition, so although I was 2nd overall female and 1st masters female, I was 4th age graded in the entire field. Amy edged me with 3rd age graded, but I got Colin, who was 5th age graded. After we drove back to the start to get my car, Amy and I found a great little breakfast-all-day restaurant and had breakfast...at 2:30 p.m.! The race started at 9:00 and they didn't do the awards until the last runner was in and age-calculated, so although this race is close to home it's nearly an all-day affair.

The best meal ever

I am toying around with the idea of running the Prairie Spirit 50k in March again. I haven't been following a training schedule but I've been doing lots of back-to-back long runs (I just love running long on both Saturday and Sunday!), my mileage is sufficient, and I'm jogging a marathon on February 25 - so I'd be ready enough. This race showed me that endurance and distance are no problem for me right now, but holding a pace is. Last year I ran 6:44 for this race and 6:57 for Prairie Spirit, so maybe 7:07 would translate to a 7:20 pace 50k? I don't know that I'd be thrilled with that considering my history, but at the same time it seems really hard right now. If I could do it, it would give me the second fastest women's 50k ever run in Kansas, behind my own from last year. I am going to see what the forecast looks like! There is also Frisco as a 50k option...

So...we will see! Being uncertain about how I'm going to feel makes it difficult for me to decide what to do both training-wise and race-wise, but it's easy to go run every day, usually a long way, because I love and need that part more than ever.