Marathon Comparisons - 2:49, 2:58, & 2:59

I'm a self-proclaimed comparer.  I compare myself today to myself yesterday more than anything, and running lends itself to that in particularly quantifiable ways.  I initially made this obsessive nifty table back in October, comparing what at that time were my best 3 marathons, and decided to now revisit the information comparing my most recent 3 marathons, mainly because it helps me evaluate what I've done well and where I can improve -- also because several people have asked me what I did differently in training for Phoenix.  My preparation for Prairie Fire and Bass Pro was pretty much one and the same, as they were 4 weeks apart.  Phoenix was then 16 weeks after Bass Pro.

There were some components that were the same across all 3 cycles that I didn't include in the table.  These include overall life circumstances (e.g., same job, same house, same husband and child, same daily schedule), same coach, and same style of daily eating/fueling. I did not have any injuries during any of the cycles (super thankful for that!).

A significant difference about Phoenix training that I believe made the biggest difference and that doesn't really fit in the table is that I had the Prairie Fire/Bass Pro training cycle under my belt beforehand, and I started the focused build to Phoenix already in really good shape.  I basically had a 4 week recovery phase after Bass Pro, then a 12 week build to Phoenix, but I started those 12 weeks in much better shape than I started my 2016 build.  I've been posting weekly re-caps for awhile, so more details about what I ran week-to-week during both cycles can be found in those as well.  Sometimes we forget that each marathon cycle not only builds on itself but also builds on our previous cycles, and this seemed to be key for my improvement.

From left to right:  Prairie Fire, Bass Pro, Mesa-Phoenix -- a consistent factor was running happy!

	Prairie Fire Oct. 2016 2:58:53	Bass Pro Nov. 2016 2:59:04	Mesa-Phoenix Feb. 2017 2:49:20
Mileage average for 12 weeks leading up to race	54.3	51.3 (this was a shade lower due to including PF’s taper & recovery weeks)	57.5
Mileage peak week	61.3	61.3 (same as PF)	67.6
Tempos	Staple workout, including 4, 6, 8, 10 and a few split tempo workouts such as 3 x 2 miles at tempo, a tempo/hill repeat combo, and the Hardest Workout Ever	Same as PF, with one additional split tempo between	Again a staple workout with tempos of 4, 6, 8, and some split tempos; also ran a tempo/fartlek combo and a tempo/hill repeat combo, and the Hardest Workout Ever again (raced a half instead of a 10 mile tempo this cycle)
Speed work	4 track workouts, and a few road fartleks	Same as PF, with 1 fartlek and 1 track workout between the races	2 track workouts (10 x 800 m. & 20 x 400 m.), 6 road fartleks/speed repeats, 1 tempo/fartlek combo, 4 fast finish runs
Hill work	Most runs were at least mildly hilly based on where I live; 3 hill repeat workouts	Same as PF	Most runs were at least mildly hilly based on where I live; 1 super hilly long run and 1 hill repeat plus tempo workout
2-a-days	1-2 times/week	1-2 times/week	1 time/week except for peak week had 2
“Training” marathon	None	Prairie Fire, obviously	None
20+ milers	20 base 20 workout 22 with final 4 at marathon goal pace 24.3 with final mile at marathon goal pace	Same as PF, with the addition of PF marathon	20 with 4 progressive fast finish 20 workout 22 steady 24.4 with 5 progressive fast finish
Long run pace	7:15-7:35 (approx.)	Same as PF	7:10-7:25 (approx.)
Easy run pace	7:30-7:50 (approx.)	Same as PF	7:10-7:40 (approx.)
Tempo pace (6-10 mile tempos)	6:24-6:25	Same as PF	6:06-6:09
Race in build-up (in the order raced)	10K 5K 5K 5K 10K 15K	Same as PF, plus: PF Marathon & 5K	Half Marathon 5K 1 mile &"5K" Half Marathon
PRs during build-up	10K in 38:43 15K in 59:19	Same as PF, plus PF Marathon in 2:58:53	January half in 1:21:26, after November half in 1:22:37
Cross-training	Strength bootcamp 2 times/week with elliptical warm-ups, and extra core work	Strength bootcamp 2 times/week with elliptical warm-ups, and extra core work	Strength bootcamp 2 times/week with elliptical warm-ups, and extra core work
Illnesses during build-up	Stomach virus 11 days prior to race, minor cold during build-up	Same as PF	Bronchitis mid- to late-January (after half PR)
Recovery techniques	Daily stretching, daily foam rolling, used ice baths only and compression socks mostly in the final 6 weeks pre-race	Same as PF	Daily stretching, daily foam rolling, compression socks often (no ice baths at any point)
Training groups	Frequent runs with Missy; some with Casey and Kim	Same as PF	The most training buddies!  Missy, Danielle, Ashley, Amy R., and Amy P. - ran with someone more than alone, which made this cycle even more awesome.
Race day temperature	Low 50s to low 60s	Low to high 40s	Low to high 40s
First half split	1:29:40	Not sure due to no timing mat at the half, but 1:29-something	1:25:45
Second half split	1:29:13	Not sure due to wrong turn and lack of half timing mat, but would have been a low 1:28 without the wrong turn	1:23:35
During race fueling	2 Accel gels (1 caffeinated), 1 Powerade gel (caffeinated, and not what I wanted, but the result of not knowing I only had 2 Accel gels left until too late to order more, and my LRS no longer carrying them), occasional sports drink that was served on the course but mostly water	3 Accel gels (2 caffeinated), occasional sports drink that was served on the course but mostly water	3 Accel gels (all caffeinated), occasional sports drink that was served on the course but mostly water; nothing in final 4 miles due to half walkers
Strategy notes and course	Aiming for 2:59 or better, used a conservative start course specific pace band, ran the first 6.5 miles mostly with the 1:30 half pace group, then ran 20 miles alone (couldn't see anyone else for the most part) Mostly flat loop-ish course (161 ft elevation gain), with a ton of turns	Aiming to slide in just under my PF time, used a conservative start course specific pace band again, ran the first 17ish miles with Scott then ran mostly alone but passed several men in the final miles Minor elevation changes on the loop-ish course (436 ft elevation gain), with a million turns; also ran about 0.2-0.25 extra due to a wrong turn followed by back-tracking	Aiming for a 2:52 or better, used a very conservative start course specific pace band, started with David to pace with but we got split up around mile 6, spent the next 20 miles passing everyone who went out too fast (no one passed me once the race was sorted out in the first 10K)    Point-to-point course with a net downhill and 201 elevation gain, few turns
Place	4th overall female (9th fastest marathon ever run by a woman in the state of Kansas, but the 3rd, 4th, and 5th fastest were also run in this race)	3rd overall female (top two women had run multiple Olympic Trials qualifying marathons)	6th overall female; 1st in 35-39 age group (the time would have won this marathon most past years and placed in the top 3 overall every year except 2017)
Race day outfit	Underarmour sports bra and BCG shorts (started in gloves for the first 5 miles)	Nike tank top with built in sports bra and Underarmour spandex shorts (started in gloves for the first half)	Underarmour sports bra and Lululemon shorts (started in arm warmers and gloves; shed the arm warmers around 8 and gloves around 10)
Race day socks	CEP compression socks	Pro Compression socks	CEP Compression socks
Race day shoes	Hoka One One Clifton 1s	Hoka One One Clifton 1s	Hoka One One Clifton 1s
Number of toenails on race day	9, but down to 8 shortly after	8	9
Pre-race panic	Extreme 5-6 days out but subsided to  minimal	Minimal	None really (shocker!)

It seems that there wasn't much difference among these three - definitely not as much variation in the components as last time I made this table.  Everything came together best for Phoenix and it was a better course (not one million turns!), plus I was in the best shape for it, so that is reflected in my 2:49.  Another thing that I believe helped is that for Phoenix I believed I could do it.  I had a lot of self-doubt before Prairie Fire, mainly because I'd gone into Dallas 2015 believing I could run a sub-3:00, and then bonked in the final 3 miles and came away with a 3:01, the most heartbreaking PR I've ever run.  For Bass Pro I wasn't sure how my body would respond being 4 weeks off of Prairie Fire, so again there was uncertainty.  For Phoenix I felt cautiously confident that I could pull off a big PR.

This overall formula is working for me, and I hope I can build on in my next marathon training cycle.  I will have a longer build to my next one (which is TBD, but will be in fall 2017), so I plan to put in more weekly mileage and hopefully improve based on that. 

Finally, I realized that one thing all of my sub-3:00 marathons have in common is some association with McDonalds, bahahahahaha!  Due to travel snafus en route to Phoenix, I ate a midnight dinner from there on Thursday, about 30 hours pre-race -- I wish I'd have photographed that, but I was far too tired and hungry to even think about it.  Then when joking with a friend about it, I realized I have McDonalds-related photos from Prairie Fire and Bass Pro.  I about died laughing!  This is particularly funny if you know how anti-fast food I am!

Prairie Fire 2016, around mile 13

Bass Pro 2016, pre-race meeting spot

And a bonus - Bass Pro 2015 (not a sub-3:00, but a marathon win - look in Jon's hand)

Few things in life match the thrill of the marathon: More from Mesa-Phoenix

There is so much in my head and heart following the BMO Mesa-Phoenix Marathon that I don't think I can ever get it all on paper (or on screen as the case may be!).  As difficult as it is, I'm trying to refrain from writing a million posts about about this race (no promises)!  I wanted to mention a few more things, if only to look back upon myself (e.g., I won't be offended if no one reads this post!). 

Smiles for miles with the finishing clock in sight

I am thankful for absolutely everything about this experience, and I am so thankful to have run a marathon I don't feel the need to put an * by.  Although I was very happy to break 3 hours for the first and second times in my 2016 marathons, I wanted to * them.  As in:  Prairie Fire* (*was in Urgent Care on an IV and unable to stand without passing out 10 days before the race; ran 20 miles of the race completely solo), and Bass Pro** (**a wrong turn plus correction cost me a 2:57 -- I still beat myself up about this error today -- and I was 28 days off of Prairie Fire).  Also *** on both of them (***courses had approximately one million turns).  I just felt like I could do better.  I don't feel that way about Phoenix.  That is an elusive and wonderful feeling about race day -- and not to be confused with thinking I cannot do better in the future, as I think I can with increasing my mileage -- but this one couldn't have gone any better really.  As someone who rarely feels this way about performances, how on earth was I fortunate enough to feel like this about two races in a row?!  Clearly I need to race exclusively in Arizona.

I didn't even know I was standing in front of the wings for this one!

I loved the race course.  After my 2016 marathons, a friend asked me jokingly when I was going to stop messing around running crappy marathon courses and go get a major PR.  At that point I already had Phoenix planned, but I soon after really learned what a difference courses can make when I ran the White River Half and the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Half.  I run best on courses without many turns, and elevation changes of course come into play.  It was wonderful to run a fast marathon course!  After the race I saw this post from the winner, Polina Carlson (a pro runner for Brooks from Hawaii), on Instagram.  She said "The course wasn't easy", which intrigued me.  I wouldn't call any marathon "easy", as racing all-out for any distance should never be easy, but Phoenix was by far the best marathon course I've run.  In an effort to scout for future marathons, I asked her what courses she liked better, and she said Grandma's.  My coach also highly recommends that one and it's been on my radar for awhile.  Grandma's 2018 for me it is (don't think I wasn't tempted for it in June 2017, 16 weeks after Phoenix, but I'll explain why I'm waiting later)!

Final straight

Speaking of the top women, I was 6th overall in the deepest field this race has ever had.  Most past year's winning times were 2:50-2:51, and my 2:49 would have won all past years except for two (it would have been 2nd and 3rd in those), so going into this event Jon and I thought that if I ran my goal time I'd have a chance at placing in the top 3 overall.  It ended up that I had no chance of that, but how inspiring to see amazing fast women out there!  When I placed 4th overall at Prairie Fire and saw the top 3 ladies there run 2:50-2:51, I was awestruck and inspired by them, and also thought I'd never run that kind of time.  Never say never!  Women in Phoenix in 2017 put up a really good showing, with 15 going sub-3:00 and then 4 more running 3:00:XX.

There is one thing I did that none of the 5 women ahead of me did, though, and that was negative split!  Check out the half splits in the results below.  The "20 mile" mat was in the wrong place -- I passed the actual 20 mile mark on the course in 2:10:05 -- so everyone's  20 mile split is slow and final 10K split is fast (closer to 20.2 and final 6).  However, check out my overall rankings:  I finished 27th overall (men and women), but my first 13.1 was 49th place in the field and my second 13.1 was 20th place in the field.  And my final 10K/6 miles was 12th!  I am really proud that I ran a smart race.  When I finished my fast finish 24 mile training run with a 6:17 mile, I said that I really hoped I could finish my marathon with a final mile that strong...and I finished it in 6:10, so mission accomplished.

Results

My details

The awards ceremony was a lot of fun!  After several athletes struggled to climb up the stairs to the stage or onto the podiums (or didn't even try the podium), they started announcing that you didn't have to go up there.  I was adamant that I was of course going up there!  Climbing up was fine, but going down wasn't easy -- but it was all worth it for the photo op.

I'm a dork, but this dork won AG 35-39

Another wonderful part about post-race was the people!  I met "Bangle" (Brad) for the first time after years of interacting on the Runner's World community and the subsequent Facebook group -- and after he ran a smokin'  half marathon!  I crashed the Oklahoma City crew that adopted me into their group after a mutual friend connected us.  I ran around in awe with my super supportive husband, who even in his general pessimism about both his own running and my running, never doubted me in this race (or at least never said it out loud!).  He is so amazing to make this trip with me, wait around for hours while I was bussed to the starting line and ran, and then humor all of my photograph requests post-race (there were a lot of those!)!

Best husband ever

OKC crew

The famous Bangle even let me keep stretching my hip flexors during the photo shoot!

Anytime our plans don't work out, God has better ones, although often we don't understand how exactly this all pans out.  I mentioned this here in regards to Phoenix 2016 -- I was entered in this race in 2016, but a tendon strain resulted in me pulling out of it.  It was very disappointing, but now I see what a blessing it was to go this year instead.  Last year it was hot for the race, and this year's temperatures were perfect.  I was also in much better shape this year.  I probably could have snuck by just under 3:00 last year, but not by much, and I am so glad I ran 2017 instead!  I can't wait to see what He has in store for me next - in running and in life.  He has sure given me some pleasant surprises and gifts that I never even knew I wanted or needed thus far!

If I had to sum up the entire race in one word, it would be "joyful".  I ran with joy and thankfulness the entire way.  PR or no PR, that's a great way to spend 26.2 miles.

Joy

Finally, a shout-out to Meggan Franks, who was the 3rd female in a smokin' PR of 2:45.  She is now gunning to make Canada's Ultra Team in the 50K!  I am uber-inspired by her especially considering she is a full-time working mom!

If you want to read about something even more exciting that happened on February 25, head over to my friend Liz's blog and read about Jeremy's Survival Run and the related stories.  I was sorry to miss this event, as Liz and her entire family are some of the greatest people you'll ever meet,  and her brother Jeremy has made a miraculous recovery after being hit by a truck and trailer while running last year.

BMO Phoenix-Mesa Marathon: The joy is in the journey, but a PR is sure a wonderful place to land

The short version:

If you love what you're doing, you've already succeeded! I love marathon training, but the marathon is a race that can leave you smiling for weeks or break your heart - it's done both to me. You train for months for a single event, and there are always variables you can't control that affect the outcome. When everything comes together on race day, it's truly a miracle; on February 25, that happened for me. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see 2:49:20 on a marathon finishing clock (6:27.5 pace per mile for 26.2 miles), but with a solid training block, the right weather, a fast course, smart pacing, and blessings I can't even explain, I did!  I am so appreciative of my family for supporting me, of my training partners for friendships forged over mile and miles, and of everyone who has listened to me talk/write about my running dreams!  I am thankful for the journey and that God brought me to the starting line - and in turn to the finish line - healthy and happy. 

Final stretch with a 2:49 in sight!

 The long version:

Although the journey really is the reward when it comes to marathoning, it sure is sweet when everything comes together on race day and you get more sweet rewards in the forms of a joyful race and a PR!  The marathon is alluring because it is the cumulation of months and months of training, but this also makes it terrifying.  I became so enmeshed with the day to day training for the BMO Phoenix-Mesa marathon that I almost forgot that the end goal was a PR marathon - and in the end, I think that helped me.  I showed up at the starting line feeling like I'd already won.

My goal for this marathon was always to PR.  When I began training for it, I thought my time goal would be 2:55.  As my training block progressed, and I improved my half PR to 1:21:26, nailed the Hardest Workout Ever despite just finishing a round of antitbiotics and running in insane wind, finished a 24 mile run with a 6:17 mile also in insane wind, and played around with race time equivalent tools, I decided I could potentially run faster than 2:55.  I got 2:49:59 stuck in my head, and for awhile I kept vacillating back and forth between 2:49 and 2:55 as time goals, until one day I realized that there are several minutes between those two times and there was no reason I couldn't settle on a goal in between!  So with input from my coach, I decided to target 2:52 via a slight negative split.  However, I couldn't get 2:49 out of my head, even though it seemed too aggressive and scary, and I even put it as the label on my daily alarm so I saw it every morning bright and early when I got up to train.  But it was my "secret goal"; my public goal, and one I knew I would be beyond happy with was 2:52 - this was also the time I targeted with my pace band and for the first half of the race.

Course specific pace band

"2:49:59" has flashed at me every morning for awhile

Race week came, and for the first time I didn't experience any taper crazies or nerves beforehand.  I was so calm about it that I started to wonder if something was wrong with me!  I think that running the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona half 6 weeks prior went a long way in easing my mind, both because of the trip and the half PR I ran there.  I knew what to expect with traveling, I'd driven the race course, and I knew that I could perform well off of traveling.  Even when some travel snafus on Thursday evening resulted in a midnight dinner from the only restaurant open (McDonalds) and a 1:00 a.m. bedtime on Thursday night, I didn't freak out.  I figured that I'd been eating and sleeping well for the whole training cycle, so one meal and one night wouldn't hurt me.

Race expo with my supportive hubby

On race morning, I got on the bus to the starting line of the point-to-point course with a couple of guys from Oklahoma City who I'd connected with through a mutual friend.  One (Roger) had run the race last year and was very helpful in telling us what to expect, and the other (David) wanted to run about the same pace as me so we were planning to work together.  We chatted as we were bussed out to the starting line, sat on the bus to stay warm until about 6:00 a.m., then went out and started warming up.  I peed in the desert twice (the porta potty lines were far too long!) and begrudgingly checked my gear bag, as I was quite cold before I started jogging.  I kept a throw-away long sleeve shirt on until a minute before the gun, and questioned if I was doing the right thing starting in a sports bra, shorts, throw-away arm warmers, throw-away gloves, and a light headband at 38 degrees (i.e., perhaps I should have worn a full shirt).  I was extremely thankful for the perfect race day weather, but perfect racing weather is too cold to stand around in!

Before I knew it, it was 6:30 a.m. and the gun went off!  I saw a few women in pro racing kits on the starting line, but I really wasn't in this one for place, so didn't worry as seemingly 20-30 women were out ahead of me.  David and I had a pace plan and stuck with it, and many of the people in front of us we would soon pass.  Miles 1-4 of the course are down declines, and this results in many people going out far too fast.  In the beginning, everyone around us was talking about how they were going for their first sub-3:00s, and David and I were like, "Yeah, we are going for 2:52..."  We were pretty much right on our paceband pace and it felt effortless.  Then miles 5-6 climb about 200 feet.  Since I'm used to running in the Ozarks, the steady incline didn't bother me, but I did slow down my pace as planned in order not to expend too much energy too early.

As we came off of mile 6, we came onto two more miles of decline for miles 7-8, and my plan was to settle in around 6:30s from there to the end.  Around 6 miles, David and I got separated, with him slightly behind me.  The race was sorting out, and I hoped he would come back beside me and looked back for him at one point, but we didn't reconnect after that point; however, he went on to PR in 2:53 (and also used the paceband I made for him!)!  For the next 20 miles, I played look at the person in front of me and go get him/her.  From mile 9 to the finish, the course flattened out; and by flat I mean pancake flat (something I don't have on any runs except track workouts in the Ozarks!)!  I shed my arm warmers around mile 8 and my gloves around mile 12 (I took my headband off and put it around my arm around around the 10K; it was my favorite one and I couldn't bear to part with it and hadn't planned to start it in for that reason, whoops!).  The sports bra and not a full shirt was a good choice!

I was really happy with how relaxed my pace felt, and kept clicking off miles close to 6:30 pace.  Before the race, I'd had a hard time wrapping my head around running a marathon at 6:3X pace, even though I thought I had it in me, but once I was out there it felt so natural and I really knew I could do it.  I came through the half in 1:25:45 and grinned because a 1:25 half had felt so easy!  I felt really good about hitting a 2:50-2:51 at that point, but I was doubtful I'd be able to pull of a 2:49, as a 1:24:10 or faster second half seemed pretty ambitious.  At the same time, I felt great, and had to make myself hold back.  I thanked God for bringing me halfway through feeling so fresh, and asked Him for strength throughout the second half.  He and I had a lot of conversations throughout this race!

I didn't use my paceband or Garmin much; basically just looked at my Garmin when it beeped to monitor that I was staying right around 6:30 pace, but I paced by feel.  I picked up a few seconds here and there, but I didn't realize quite how much because my Garmin splits were also about 2 seconds slower than my course splits.  At one point I counted and my Garmin beeped about 15 seconds after the course mile mark.  Somehow I lucked out and got a conservative Garmin, as particularly on courses without many turns it always hits mile splits slightly after the course mile markers, which accumulates over the course of a marathon, and reads a tad shorter than the certified distance; my old one would always read a little faster than the course splits and therefore end up reading longer than the certified distance.  My Garmin was close enough that I knew I was going to be perfectly on pace for a low-2:50, but I didn't think I'd be under, and I didn't look at my pace band closely because I knew it was around 6:30 across the board once the elevation changes because minimal.

When I passed mile 18, I really thought I had it.  I've done enough marathons to know how I feel at that point in a good race vs. a bad one vs. a so-so one, and I felt really confident about running 8 more miles at 6:30 pace.  I was also pulling up on a female, and that spurred me along for a 6:19 mile 19.  I told myself not to go too much quite yet, but I also passed her with authority.  I was anxious to hit the 20 mile marker, as I knew at that point I'd have a good idea of my finishing time if I did the math on my final 10K.  The fact that I could still do math at that point was also promising!

I passed the course mile 20 in 2:10:05, and at that moment I knew I was going to give everything I had to run the final 10K in 39:50 or faster, and I felt like I could do it.  I told myself to stick around 6:25 pace.  As most runners know, on a good run when you're riding endorphins, you solve all of the world's problems.  At that point, for me, that high meant that I knew I could finish with a sub-40:00 10K.

Mile 20 was 6:27 by my Garmin, so probably 6:25 per the course.  Around this time, we started passing the half marathon walkers on the course.  Initially they were pretty thin, but as the miles passed the crowd became thicker and thicker.  This is my only complaint about the entire event; the last thing anyone wants to do at the end of a marathon is fight through seas of people walking!  I really like it when marathons separate the road if the half and full courses are the same at the end (one of my only positive comments about the Dallas marathon).

During mile 22 I starting pulling in another female.  I had no idea what place overall I was -- at some points people had told me "top 10" -- but when I saw her I knew I was going to push to move up one.  I passed her and like the gal at mile 19, she made no attempt to respond.  In my opinion, there are a million reasons to negative split your marathons (the most important one being that you'll run a faster overall time), and one reason is because you will pass, pass, and pass people - and on the Phoenix course it was even more pronounced because the net elevation loss in miles 1-4 and 7-8 made people take out irresponsibly.  Passing her gave me a 6:15 mile 22, and I also felt really good about pushing through to the end.

The half walkers got thicker and thicker in the final 4 miles, and the course also has more turns in those miles.  Going through the half walkers made me antsy.  For the most part, they were not in the bike lane on the inside of the road, but in places I had to weave around them.  After 22 I didn't try to take anything from the aid stations because of it, but I don't think I really needed anything either (before that I'd drank a little from every one, and also taken Accel gels around the 10K, half, and mile 19 marks).  In the final 2 miles, I stayed in the bike lane, which was the shortest route for the most part, and when it was blocked by a half walker I just said, "on your left, full runner" before I came by, and each time the walker moved over for me.  I felt like I was being rude doing this, but at the same time I was gunning for that 2:49 and I was NOT going to repeatedly run across 2 lanes of the road to go around groups.  I don't blame the walkers, as they have just as much right to be out there as I do, I imagine most/all of them have a different mindset about the event than I do, and I am happy to see them out there experiencing fitness and joy -- however, race organizers should at the very least disseminate information that a clear lane should be left open for the competitive full runners coming through, and more preferably they should have separate lanes for the two races.  Many blessings come in disguise, so maybe this whole conundrum actually pushed me on faster because I was so ready to get out of the masses!

As I passed mile 23, I reveled in how wonderful I felt for that point of the race!  The wall can come in marathons at mile 20, or even earlier if you pace poorly, but for me if it's going to hit it usually hits at 22-23.  I knew I had a good final 3.2 miles in me, and a quick check of my watch confirmed that even if I ran the final 3 miles in 7:30s I would hit my public goal of 2:52.  I know I already had a grin on my face!  I continued pressing on, and miles 24 and 25 were both 6:32 on my Garmin, so I was a little worried I was going to be too close for comfort on the 2:49/2:50 situation.  I felt like I had a good final mile in me though, and kept pushing with everything I had.  My head was cloudy, but it also felt so good!  I ended up with a 6:10 final mile, although I never looked at my Garmin during the mile so did not know until later.  I focused on going forward and getting to that finish line as soon as I could!

When I turned the final turn towards the finish, the full and half runners got separate lanes and I had a clear path in.  As per usual in the marathon, the finish felt so close yet so far away.  I felt simultaneously wonderful and depleted.  I felt better than I ever have at the end of a marathon though!  Marathoners know that typically when you finish a smartly paced marathon strong, it hurts so good at the end (if you bonk, it hurts so bad!).  When I could first read the finishing clock, it was still in the 2:48s, so I knew my 2:49 was in the bag!  I heard the announcer mispronounce my last name and note that I was another female coming in under 2:50 (I would be the 6th, and first in age group 35-39)!  I finished with a huge smile plastered on my face and halfway in disbelief!  Even when I imagined 2:49 as my time goal, I never imagined how fantastic it would feel.  I can't even describe it; I felt so exuberant and blessed!  I celebrated with a random stranger in the finish chute who felt the same way -- he excitedly told me that he'd broken 2:50 for the first time and I said "me too!!"  I never thought I'd be able to say that -- and I am still wrapping my head around it!  I don't deserve it -- none of us deserves anything really -- but by God's grace and strength I did it.  The whole race was such a joyful experience too! 

Official results can be found here, although the mile 20 split is wrong, as the mat was about 1:30 after the actual mile 20 mark (I only wish my final 10K had been 37:44 as it says here based on the misplaced mat; it was actually 39:15...but I am happy with that, especially considering that not that long ago my 10K PR was 39:13).

I had a dream and went for it.  I guess that 2:49 was stuck in my head for a reason.  I knew that I had to put it all out there and chance it; there is always a chance of a marathon not going as we plan, but there is also a chance that it will!  Never regret taking that chance (in a smart, calculated, and responsible manner of course)!  If you don't dream big, how can you ever expect it to come true?

“Anything is possible for one who believes.” – Mark 9:23

Jon nailed the clock shot, as per usual (that clock was 10 seconds off at 2:49:10, though)

Running joyfully around mile 20

The emotion of knowing I had it (pace is wrong on the professional pics though)

Smiling, crying with happiness, celebrating

I added my time to our sign from the expo (it was Jon's idea to leave a space for it)

I wasn't sure I could run 26.2 at 6:3X...

...so I did it at 6:27 instead

The Heat of the Moment (Marathon Week!)

Week of February 20-26, 2017, i.e., BMO Mesa-Phoenix Marathon week!!!!!!!!!!!

Mileage:  48.2, via 6 days or not much/nothing, plus one PR marathon!

Monday - 4.1 mile shake out (7:41).  I usually don't run on Mondays, and I usually don't run 4 miles and do nothing else any day, so this was out of the natural order of things!  My glutes were still a tiny bit sore from Friday's bootcamp; often I get a little sore for a day after bootcamps, and I think the 20 x 400 workout I did on Saturday prolonged it this time.  Post-bootcamp soreness never seems to hurt my running (I was pretty sore from it when I ran the Hardest Workout Ever), and bootcamp is part of my routine, but nonetheless I didn't exactly like being a tad sore so close to my marathon!

Tuesday - 7.5 miles total, with my final tune-up workout of 2 miles warm-up, 2 miles at 6:30, 1 mile recovery, half mile at sub-6:00, 2 miles cool-down.  I ended up with 7.5 miles at 7:00 pace exactly, with the 2 mile tempo in 6:28/6:20 and the half mile in 2:46 (5:32 pace).  Although the tempo was a little faster than what my coach gave me, it was still not much considering that I was hoping to run 26.2 at 6:35 pace.  I kept telling myself not to push on the 2 miles, and that I would throw down when it came time for the half mile hard.  The half mile was fun and also the fastest I've run a half mile repeat as an adult, I think.  In high school I think I used to run 4 x 800 m at that pace or faster, back when I had speed for racing 1600 m and 3200 m.

Wednesday - 5.1 miles base pace (7:05) with Danielle and Amy R.  Amy had a 7 mile tempo at 6:55-7:10 pace and asked for my help, and I was happy to oblige for 5 miles of it (no taper cheating for me!).  Danielle went the whole way with her, plus warm-up and cool-down, so I was glad that worked out.  This run felt good - I was a little concerned about jumping right into that pace range, as my base runs often end around that pace, but start closer to 7:30-7:40, but I was fine.

Thursday - Off -- i.e., light elliptical for 15 minutes to keep up the workout streak (going strong since 1/1/14), along with my usual stretching and foam rolling.  This day also included a flight to Phoenix with some travel snafus (in the end, I ate dinner from McDonalds around midnight and got to bed at 1:00 a.m.).

Friday - 2.4 mile shake out with 4 strides (7:06). I know I'm tapered when my easy pace is 6:45, after a warm up mile. The journey is the reward, and I sure felt appreciative of this one.

Saturday - BMO Mesa-Phoenix Marathon in a massive PR of 2:49:20 (6:27.5 average pace)!  If you follow me on Strava, Facebook, or Instagram, this is old news by now, haha!  It was such a blessing to have everything align on race day.

My half splits were 1:25:45 and 1:23:35, and I was pretty proud of my pacing and that negative split, and I finished feeling strong with a 6:10 final mile.  I was 6th overall female and 1st in age group 35-39...and consistent with how I seem to pick marathons, my time would have won overall female in this race most past years, and would have placed in the top 3 every year except this one (it always just depends on who shows up)!  I'd have been ecstatic about a 2:49 even if it was dead last, however!  In case you're doing the math on my mileage, I also did a really easy paced 1 mile jog and plyometrics prior to the race.

It's still all sinking in, and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see a 2:49 on a marathon finishing clock.  Multi-part race reports coming, but suffice to say I was thrilled with this result and it was truly by God's grace that I was able to cover 26.2 miles at that pace and feel good the whole way!

Fall in love with the process and the results will come!

Sunday - 2 mile recovery (9:06).   Bye, Phoenix - you've sure been good to me!

Happiness is a new marathon PR

Tapering 101

My definition of tapering: the art of simultaneously resting for a goal race and getting crazier; best done via an overall reduction in mileage while maintaining training intensity

Training hard wears your body down.  Although it recovers and adapts as you take easy days along the way, it is never 100% recovered or rested during a marathon training cycle.  Reducing the workload in the final 2-3 weeks prior to race day helps it prepare to perform the best it can.  Although it can feel like you’re losing fitness during the taper, you’re actually preparing to peak.  I always feel as if I’ve forgotten how to do long runs during the taper (heck, sometimes I feel that way with one week between long runs!), but I’ve done enough marathons to know that is not the case.

Research shows that everything in our bodies that is depleted by high mileage (muscle glycogen, enzymes, antioxidants, and hormones) returns to optimal ranges during a taper.  The damage to our muscles that occurs during sustained training is repaired, and muscular strength and immune system function both improve.  Then the best part:  tapering improves performance by 2-5%!  That’s a lot of time in a marathon -- 3.6 to 9 minutes for a 3 hour marathon (a little less time if you’re faster; more time gained if you’re slower!).  About any sacrifice is worth a 9 minute advantage on race day, right?!

Personally, I always do my longest long run 3 weeks out from my marathon, which is the strategy that is most widely recommended.  This training cycle that meant 24.4 miles (2:55 duration on my feet) on Feb. 4.  That run concluded my highest mileage week of this cycle (67.6 miles).  The following week (Feb. 6-12 this time), my mileage drops a bit, but I don’t feel it too much, as my daily runs are pretty similar; mainly my long run is shorter (this cycle that meant a 15.5 mile long run and 56.7 total weekly mileage).  This was also the week that doubles disappeared during this cycle.  The next week (Feb. 13-19 this time), mileage drops more (48.2 miles this round) and I start to notice that more, but with some challenging workouts it doesn’t bother me too much, aside from the lack of true long run (a workout of 12 miles 1 week before race day was it).  Race week is when I start feeling it, as I really don’t do much except for the marathon itself (45ish total miles, which means just 18ish outside of race day, with a tiny workout and some strides to keep my legs fresh). 

I typically do fine with tapering until the final week, when I really feel like I’m doing nothing.  And that’s how it should feel!  I don’t “cheat” on my taper like some runners are prone to do (e.g., running more than scheduled, increasing cross-training, or just forgoing the taper all together), because I know how much it helps me, but I can’t claim to love it either -- especially because I am a creature of habit/routine!  I think of it as an investment for the greater good.  I also try to sleep more (in addition to getting more rest for your race, when you're sleeping you are also not being crazy, bahaha!).  Overall I stick to my usual routines with eating, stretching, foam rolling, etc. --- this is not the time to try anything new.  I pretty much think of it as a time when you can't really gain anything for your marathon, but you can screw it up!  No pressure!

During the final days of the taper, most experts recommend carbohydrate-loading.  Contrary to popular belief, this doesn't mean just eating everything possible or stuffing yourself with pasta.  It means getting a higher percentage of your calories from carbs.  So for example, if you would usually eat one piece of toast with peanut butter, you should instead eat two pieces of toast without peanut butter.  I also swap snacks like a container of Greek yogurt for a bowl of oatmeal, a hard-boiled egg for a banana, string cheese for pretzels, etc.  The goal is to go into the marathon with your tank full (i.e., glycogen stores up), as you will burn through that glycogen and then some during the race.  Before a Saturday marathon, my coach tells me to up my carbohydrate intake on Wednesday and Thursday, then on Friday to eat fairly normally but lower fiber than usual, and also not to eat too much too late (that is the hardest part for me because my typical routine consists of a significant snack right before bed so that I'm not hungry when I wake up for my early runs).

It's common to feel "off" during a taper.  You may feel sluggish and tired.  You may experience "phantom" pains.  You may start to question everything about your training block, and panic about the race.  You may think you've forgotten how to run fast and/or far, or feel completely out of shape.  These are all in the range of normal, but are also why many runners dread the taper!

Pre-race panic and/or taper crazies haven’t hit me for this one at this point – maybe they're coming, but maybe they won’t.  I am extremely thankful that I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona half 6 weeks prior to the this marathon, because having both a half PR and a practice trip to Arizona under my belt are really easing my mind about this one.  Either way, I've done all I can to prepare for this one by this point.  Race day will bring what it will, whether I worry about it or not, and the outcome is all part of God's greater plan (yes, He even cares about our race times!).

As for my goal time, once I settled on it, the key has been to not over-think it!  I have a solid race plan that I believe I can execute, and a realistic time goal based on my half performance, my training, the course, and the weather forecast.  I feel good about it.  However, if I start thinking about the average pace I am going to attempt to run 26.2 miles at, I would freak out a little, so I am not going to!  Just like with the intimidating workouts and half race I’ve done during the past few months, I just need to get out there and do it.

During my taper, I always feel like I should probably live in a bubble in order to avoid any freak accidents or germs (suddenly, it feels like everyone I see is sick!).  I’ve decided I need to develop said bubble and sell it to other marathoners; I feel like there is really a big market for this out there.  “Get your very own taper bubble for 3 easy installments of $19.99!”

Race Time Equivalents

The worldwide web boasts a handful of race time predictors.  The premise is simple: enter a recent race time, click on "calculate", and the predictor gives you a slew of equivalent performances at other distances.

Obviously, there are a lot of factors these calculators don't take into account, such as race courses, weather conditions, training peaks, training focuses, tapered vs. un-tapered performances, individual strengths for certain distances over others, etc.  To me it seems like they are typically more accurate for men when going down in distance (i.e., a male inputs his 10K time and it will pretty closely predict his 5K time), and for women when going up in distance (i.e., a female puts in her 10K time and it will pretty closely predict her half marathon time).  In general, I think they are more accurate one way or the other (going up or down in distance) for each person, but usually not both.

For me, they have always been more accurate going up.  I used to be able to put in my half marathon time, and the equivalent marathon time would be pretty close to, or just slightly slower than, what I'd end up running in the marathon.  For example, in 2010 I ran a 1:28 half and the calculator predicted a 3:04 full; I then ran a 3:03 full.  The predictor also said I could run a 19:15 5K with that half time, and at that time any day I saw 19:5X in the 5K was a good one!  As I've worked my half marathon time down in the past 1.5 years, I haven't run an equivalent marathon.  I've also had pretty ideal conditions and courses for a few halves, but have not had ideal conditions or run a great course for a marathon, so I'm hoping my marathon day is coming - if not in Phoenix, in the fall...if not in the fall, in spring 2018...(I am persistent if nothing else!).  The same goes for my official 10K PR, especially because I keep beating it in tempos and half marathons!

My favorite predictor is Jack Daniels' VDOT Running Calculator.  I obviously take its advice with a grain of salt, but at the same time I'm always excited to plug new PRs into it and see what it spits back at me!

When I put in my half marathon PR of 1:21:26 (run on 1/15/17), this is what I got back:

Initially I laughed, and said, "I don't have any of those other times in me!"  Looking a little closer, I decided I think I do have that 15K in me since I've done an 8 mile tempo solo at a 6:06 average.  I am still pretty skeptical about the rest, but my half PR also taught me that I need to stop being afraid to go for it.  When I ran that half, I basically went out with the goal of running 13.1 miles at 1 second per mile slower than my official 10K PR, which seems like something anyone with half a brain would be skeptical of.  I hadn't raced anything that indicated I could do it - but I knew I could do it, and I did (actually 1 second faster per mile than my 10K PR average pace in the end).  I think under ideal conditions and on good courses, I do have those times in me for the 10K through the marathon.  Now that 5K prediction - absolutely not, haha!  I'm just looking to break 18:25 there (this will most likely first, and possibly only, occur in the second 5K of a 10K).

This calculator also shows that my half PR is currently my strongest PR, which I kind of already knew, as all of these equivalents are faster than my PRs at other distances.  My current training has made me strongest for halves, which is kind of humorous since it's actually marathon-focused.  I think it comes down to the tempo work I've done helping my stamina and speed, the marathon-training long runs giving me strength to power through 13.1, and my mileage being most conducive to a strong half but not enough for my strongest marathon.

I recently read an article regarding training to break 3:00 in the marathon, and it recommended running 90 miles per week (mpw) and running every single day in order to do it.  I did not do anywhere near that before my sub-3:00s; I averaged in the mid-50s for mileage and alternated weeks of running 5 days with weeks of running 6 days a week...just this training cycle is the first my coach has had me run 6 days a week every week, and my Friday runs are a measly 3 miles, which I am not even sure counts (I really appreciate his conservative approach, though, and it's keeping me healthy).  Then I used this calculator, which gave me a marathon predicted time of  2:49:47 from my half time when I did not input mileage, but the prediction jumped to 2:57:28 when I put in an average of 60 mpw, which is about where I'm at this cycle (later note:  my average was actually 57).  Then I played with it and basically found out that I am supposed to average 90 mpw to be able to run a 2:49.  Oy! 

Anyway, we will see what I can do in regards to these marathon and 10K equivalents on February 25 and March 31, respectively.  Then I'll re-visit my hypotheses on these things.

Doing me vs. the comparison game

I've always been bad about playing the comparison game with my running (as well as with other aspects of my life, but that's a different post).  Now, with today's online presence of all levels of elite, sub-elite, competitive, and recreational runners, it's possible to not only compare yourself to others you know and race, but also to runners from all around the world!  You of course get snapshots of information and not a complete contextual comparison, though (e.g., she is running 100-120 mpw, but spent 10 years building up to that, has twice weekly massages and physical therapy, works part-time, etc.).  Being in my 30s, I've gotten a lot better about doing me and not trying to do what others are doing, but the comparison game can sneakily creep in, and platforms like Strava make it easy to fuel that fire.

My running goals are primarily about beating myself and improving my PRs; I'm not worried about how I place a whole lot, although when I am competing with other women it drives me push myself harder, and I absolutely strive to perform and place my best in competitive situations.  Training with women in recent years has shown me that I can support others in achieving their bests while at the same time pursuing my best; I get just as excited about my friends' races and achievements as my own, and theirs in no way take away from mine.  There is certainly room in this world for all of us to be our personal bests!  Also, I would take a PR and a second place (or 100th place!) finish over a win with a mediocre time any day.  So my comparisons come from thinking that there are women out there training harder than me (some much harder!), and if they can train harder then I should be too, if I want to meet my goals.  I alluded to it here.  I have big aspirations for my half and full marathon times particularly, and somehow when I see others running more mileage, more workouts, more doubles, etc. I begin to think that I am not working hard enough to achieve the results I want.

Patience has never been my strong suit when going after something I want.  I want to work and to push!  The comparison thoughts that taunt me are:

"You're peaking at 65 miles a week.  People are running 80, 90, 100, 120?!  How can you expect to run a fast marathon averaging 58-60 miles a week?!  That's not enough mileage!"

"Everyone else is doing three hard runs a week - a speed/hill workout, a tempo run, and a long run - while you're only doing two. That's not enough workouts!"

"Those girls are running doubles every day, or at least 3-4 days a week.  Doing one (rarely two) isn't going to get you very far.  That's not enough doubles"

"All of the fast women run 7 days a week.  Why do you still need a day off running every week - in addition to one really short day each week?  How are you ever going to PR with that?  That's not enough running!"

However, I am also trying to appreciate that I have been PRing, while staying healthy and feeling great!  I think there is this assumption in the running community that if you are doing marathon training right, you'll be running around in a constant state of fatigue on dead legs.  Runners pride themselves on being run-down during peak training.  I used to believe this, but not anymore; I think if you feel that way you are over-training.  Anyone is going to have periods of tiredness and "dead leg" days, but if that's the norm instead of the exception, it probably means you are pushing too hard - I know for me that was the case.  After all, it's actually rest and recovery that make our bodies stronger - the workouts break our bodies down, and then training adaptation occurs when they build back up (an amazing process when you think about it).  If you don't allow your body to build back up, you're not going to experience the desired training gains.  It's a whole lot easier to focus on making improvements through the hard work than through the recovery, though!

All of this to say - I am wiser about my training now than I ever have been before, but I still compare and feel like it's not enough.  My training is working for me, and I am thankful, but I also want more!  I am going to try to look at those women running more/harder/faster, and strive to build up to that, intelligently and patiently, and under my coach's expertise, because we all know I'll screw it up on my own.  I'm not selecting my fall marathon(s) until after Phoenix, as my performance in Phoenix will influence my decision, but I am already excited about my next training cycles, which will be more, in a planned and conservative way.

Dare to compare?