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

The short:

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

Official results are here.

Requisite clock shot!

The long:

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

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

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

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

With Leroy around mile 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

Damien taking off with me trying to follow around 18

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Media tent

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

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

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

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

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

Family shot/Albani's distracted

I couldn't do any of it without him!

My mom bought Albani this shirt & I love it!

3 x sub-3s

Official results & course splits

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

Taperness

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

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

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

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

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

Snowbusted

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

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

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

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

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

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

We eat 23 miles for breakfast

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

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

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

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

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

Splits

It wasn't flat either

A Marathon Training Cycle Like No Other

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jumping January!

I took a jumping photo after my run on January 1, then #jumpingjanuary was born!  I didn't take jumping photos after my doubles, because twice a day Instagram posts seemed excessive - although let's be honest, once a day jumping photos became excessive too (I missed a few days, though).  My training partners and I enjoyed it though, and I sure learned a lot about jumping photography this month.

The final two are obviously not from this month, but are a couple of my favorite jumping photos!

Marathon Mania!

Ever since I started marathoning, I've typically either been marathon training or injured at any given point in time.  Therefore, it almost goes without saying that now that I'm not injured, I'm marathon training!

I am this excited about marathons!

I considered several options for marathons in 2019.  Much like real estate is all about location, location, location, marathoning can come down to timing, timing, timing!  There are some really good marathons in January and February (Houston, Arizona Rock 'n' Roll, BMO Mesa-Phoenix), but I didn't have enough time to train for those.  Then there is Boston in April, and my coach thought I should try to get into the elite field, but thinking about investing so much money and logistical inconvenience into trying to run Boston made me nervous coming off an injury (plus U.S. women's marathoning is so on fire right now, I don't really think a 2:47 would have gotten me in).  There really aren't any other obvious choices for fast marathons with thick fields in the spring, so in the end I landed on going back to Grandma's on June 22!  This will give me plenty of time to get back into top shape.  I loved the event and a lot of women OTQ there; really my only hesitation is due to the risk of warm weather, but I think every spring marathon has the risk of crap weather.

But June is an awfully long way away, and although I believe I need the time to get into PR marathon form, I don't particularly want to wait that long to run a marathon, especially since I missed CIM 2018.  I just love running marathons!  The inaugural Chisholm Trail Marathon on March 24 was one that had been on my radar this past fall, but I thought I'd only do it if I got the 2:45 standard at CIM, because I don't think I can PR there -- I just don't see it being a very large event so I would expect to be time trialing it, much like I did for 20 miles of the Prairie Fire Marathon, plus Kansas weather in March is volatile to say the least.  But I am currently in a different situation of not chasing a PR this spring, so I decided to run Chisholm Trail for fun/no time goal, then build from there to Grandma's.  There are 13 weeks between races so it works out pretty nicely to take a week off then do a 12 week build that doesn't start from scratch.  My training will be targeted at Grandma's, but Chisholm Trail will be a fun little checkpoint.

I also want to go back to CIM on December 8, which fits nicely into this plan.

I'm pretty pumped to get back to marathoning!

2018 Running Highlights

I recently read my Top 5 Running Highlights of 2017 when searching for my yearly mileage history list.  I was correct when I noted in that post that 2017 would be hard to top!  My 2018 running wasn't quite what I wanted, but I have a lot to be thankful for.

My Instagram Top 9 wasn't far off!

My Highlights Were:

With 3,047 miles, I ran my highest yearly mileage ever, surpassing my 2017 mileage by 4 miles (the 2017 mileage was a huge yearly mileage PR).  I had 8 weeks of mileage in the 80s, which before this year I had only done for 1 week, in 2017.  All other "normal" training weeks were in the 60s-70s; the weeks that were not that high were when I was tapering, recovering, injured, or returning from injury - the majority of those when I was healthy were in the 50s, but several were big fat zeros when I was injured.  I am pretty pumped that I managed a yearly mileage PR with 8 weeks of downtime, and I know I can improve it next year if I don't get injured.  I counted my AlterG treadmill miles in this total, which feels a little like cheating, but I did run the distance so I'm keeping them (my outside miles are around 160 less).

I ran a huge 10K PR.  Everything really came together for the Plaza 10K even though I did not rest for it or do any 10K-specific training.  Although I was extremely disappointed that my fall season was cut short, I am so thankful that I got this race in before I got injured.  I was thrilled to better my track best on a rolling road course, but more importantly it really showed me how well my body responded to consistent higher mileage training (higher mileage is all relative, I know 70-80 is nothing for some but it is the most I've ever done).  I'd been targeting running a 36:59 10K for over a year, but I really never thought I'd be able to run a 36:34 on the road.

I ran two solid marathons.  Although I did not accomplish my time goal in Houston, it was a great experience and I'm glad I went for it.  I am proud to say that my complete bonk/bad day marathon there was a 2:54.  Grandma's wasn't what I dreamed of when I selected the race, but based on how terrible I felt for most of the build up, I am proud that I pulled off a 2:49:08 and my second fastest marathon.  I sure hope I have more in me as far as marathon PRs go, but regardless I sure enjoy the training process and the races!

I set two Missouri single age state records, in the half marathon at Rock the Parkway and the 12K at the Big 12 12K.  Neither are great times, but they are currently the best a 37-year-old female in Missouri has managed.  I bombed nearly every run in the months leading up to those races, so even though I don't think I ran good times, I do think I ran really well compared to how I was performing in training.

I persisted.  In February, March, and April I had an illness and a slump (which was extra hard since I was coming off of several break-through performances in fall 2017), but I kept running every single day.  I raced beyond what my training said I should have in everything I raced for the first 6 months of the year.  I was injured in September, but I did everything I could to strengthen my weaknesses and to return to training.  I kept showing up!

I learned.  I learned how much consistent mileage helps my race times.  I learned to be more cautious about running when sick, and about running and racing on potential injuries.  I re-learned just how much I love the sport and how empty I feel without it.  I learned that my running friends mean the world to me.

I re-prioritized.  My biggest goal is to run for the rest of my life.  This is more important than any PR.  That doesn't mean my Big Goal has changed, just that it's decidedly second on the list, at best.

I was more thankful.  I still have a ways to go in this arena, but I did better.  I've always been pretty bad about wanting more and more, in running and in other aspects of my life.  Looking back, I haven't appreciated many milestones and PRs because I was already onto my next goal.  The first time I broke 3:00 in the marathon, I left the finish chute ecstatic but also thinking, "I can run faster."  I distinctly remember waiting for my flight at the Phoenix airport following my break-through 2:49 marathon emailing my coach saying I wanted to train for a 2:45, instead of relishing in the moment.  I wasn't nearly as happy about my 2:47 at CIM as I should have been, because it wasn't "enough" compared to a very specific cut-off time.  We rarely appreciate the moment enough when we are in it.  I regret that I didn't savor those moments, but this year I found more joy in my performance at Grandma's Marathon than in any of those marathons, even though it wasn't a PR.  I really let myself ride a high after my PR at the Plaza 10K.  I do want more, but if I never get more I will still find great joy in the process.  I am more thankful than ever now.

I helped others.  Whenever someone tells me that I helped them, I am reminded why I was given my passion for running.  I typically don't realize I'm doing it, but whether it's by answering running questions, giving training advice, encouraging others, inviting someone to join our group runs, listening to my friends when we run together, helping my local running club, or making individualized training schedules for friends free of charge, I have opportunities to give back often.  That has to be why God made me a runner.  I know I'll remember all of the people that running has brought into my life more than I'll remember any PR; however...

Bring on 2019 training blocks and goal races!  I have a long way to go to get back to my best fitness, but I'm ready to try!

Books in 2018 - Fourth Quarter

This completes my un-originally titled Books in 2018 Series.  The first quarter list can be seen here, and the second quarter list is here, and the third quarter list is here.

October:

• The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - My friend Liz recommended this one in one of her monthly reading lists, and it did not disappoint.
• The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley - Ditto about my friend Liz recommending this in one of her monthly reading lists and it not disappointing!
• Marlena by Julie Buntin - I randomly picked this one up off a library display, and it was a little slow at times but overall worth reading.
• The Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce - This reminded me of The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans and I loved it.  Some days I am so ready to set off on this type of journey myself.  I read about this one on Liz's blog too!

Reading in compression socks with legs
elevated = winning

November:

• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer.  Maybe you should just consult Liz's blog for all of my reading list this quarter!  I don't always like nonfiction as much as fiction, because I read to "escape" sometimes, but this one was worth reading.
• The Truth About Twinkie Pie by Kat Yah.  I picked this one up from the youth section while waiting for Albani to pick our her books at the library, and it was one that could be enjoyed by any age (the main character is 12, but I sure remember what it was like to be a 12-year-old girl!).  It was almost a PG-rated version of The Sisters Chase, which I read in July.
• Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell.  This one was set in the Ozarks, by an author who lives in the area, although not the exact area where I live.  It was super cold while I was reading it, so the title seemed fitting.
• A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.  Another one from Liz's blog.  At first I couldn't get into this book at nearly stopped reading it; I only continued because I'd read everything else I had checked out from the library and hadn't had a chance to go back.  But then it picked up and I loved it!
• The Christmas Bargain by Sarita Leone.  This was meh; I only finished it because it was short.

December:

• The Noel Stranger by Richard Paul Evans.  I put all of Evans's books that my library had that I had not yet read on hold so I could read them at Christmastime, and this was my favorite of the 4 I read in December.
  
• The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans.  Another touching read!
• The Mistletoe Inn by Richard Paul Evans.  I'm a broken record raving about his books, but I will say this was one of my least favorites.
• The Four Doors by Richard Paul Evans.  This was a super quick read, and fittingly I read it on a Sunday when we normally would have been at church but were at home due to Albani having a projectile vomit-inducing stomach bug.
• Splitting Harriet by Tamara Leigh.  I wasn't sure if I'd like this one when I started it, but in the end I did.
• Lucky Alan by Jonathan Lethem.  This was a collection of short stories, and I struggled with the wording/phrasing of it.
• Give Me Your Hand by Megan Abbott.  This one was creepy, but I also recommend it!
• You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld.  This was a set of unrelated short stories.  I enjoyed the writer's style and plan to read more books by her.

I think in 2019 I'll just make a list of the books I read without elaborating.  I always give vague descriptions/recommendations because I am lazy I don't want to give anything away for someone who hasn't read the book, but I'm not sure those descriptions added anything!  One thing I learned from breaking my books down by month is that I read more when it's cold outside.

Treadmill Tricks

I typically avoid the treadmill; I just don't enjoy running on it like I enjoy running outdoors.  I made it through winter 2017-2018 running 7 days a week with only one run on the treadmill, on a Sunday when we were iced in at home.  I also did one run on the indoor track at the YMCA (7.5 laps = 1 mile, but I went for time so I didn't have to count laps!). Otherwise I found a way to get outside every day, through a combination of lunch break runs, screw shoes, and the right gear and strategies.

After my calf injury in September, I was able to return to running on the AlterG treadmill at 40% body weight about a month before I could run outside.  Although I will never love any treadmill, I sure embraced this one - because my other workout options were the elliptical, bike, and pool!  I ran most of my November mileage on the AlterG, and during that time I learned a few tricks.

I've always covered the treadmill display when forced on it by icy roads, leaving only the pace and incline uncovered so I can see them to adjust.  I've also always frequently changed things up with the pace and incline, plus on the AlterG I could gradually add a little weight throughout the run.  I listened to Pandora radio on all of my AlterG treadmill runs, and during many of them I would change something each song - up the pace, up the weight, or up the incline.  It would break things up to have something to "look forward to" at each song change.

The downside of having the display covered is that you have to uncover it occasionally to check your time/distance, and this was becoming a game for me; I was basically seeing how long I could go without checking and trying to gauge my time by other things (e.g., number of songs that had played, how much daylight there was outside, who was coming in the PT area, who was coming or leaving the adjacent gym)!  Then I started setting the timer on my phone to go off when the amount of time I wanted to run was up - and I never had to uncover the display again!  This quickly became my favorite treadmill trick.  I'd usually set my timer for an hour and run until it went off.  I did this on the elliptical when I was injured too!

I also think if you have to run on the treadmill, workouts always go faster than easy runs.  I like music over podcasts because I can zone out at times without missing anything, but the occasional podcast is fun too.  I would watch marathons on my DVR if I ran on my treadmill at home (I have the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon saved and protected for such occasion!), but on the AlterG at most I could watch people playing basketball or doing bootcamp in the adjacent gym.  I mostly watched my shirt covering the display and the fan on the wall in front of me, hah.

One thing that is worse than treadmill running is no running.  There are times when the treadmill may be necessary for safety (e.g., winter weather, road conditions, lightning, traveling in a sketchy area) or because of other life obligations (e.g., childcare).  I don't plan to run on the regular treadmill at all if I can avoid it, but after so much time on the AlterG I now know I can make it through any ice storm the Midwest throws at me!

For as expensive as an AlterG treadmill is, the display is
decidedly unfancy

Letter to an Injured Runner

Hey you!  With the running injury.  You identify so much as a runner that you are currently calling yourself an injured runner to explain your lack of running.

We know that every serious runner has been injured, yet that doesn't make it any easier when you're the injured runner.  It's so easy to lose track of how it feels to be sidelined when you're not, no matter how many times you have been before.  The hole in your daily life seems ever-present.

This wasn't your plan, and you may never embrace it or even get beyond disdain for it, but it isn't about that.  It is about adapting to the new plan.  God's plan is better than anything we could dream up, even though it often doesn't feel that way, especially for us Type A planner runners.  When our plans don't work out, it's because He has better ones.  Trusting that is hard no matter how strong your faith.

But faith also means knowing that tomorrow will be better than today.  You'll be back there; never lose that faith.  It may not be tomorrow, or the next week or month or even year - or without false re-starts and bumps in the road - but you will get there.  Never stop fully believing.

It's okay if your belief falters sometimes though; don't feel guilty if this happens.  It's okay to not be positive at all times.  It's okay to mourn for the races you're missing.  It's okay to be disappointed as the DNSs accumulate.

It's lonely.  It's likely many of your closest friends are runners, and you're not seeing them as often since you can't meet to run, plus no one wants to talk about cross-training (including you!).  Maybe not running makes you less energetic and social too.  It's okay that as you become more and more excited about your friends crushing races, that you become more and more sad that you're not.

Other runners often say, "It's only running," but it's okay to disagree with that.  Sure, it IS only running, but it overflows into countless other areas of your life.

People tell you to do the things that you avoid when you're training, but maybe you realize that you don't feel like you miss out on anything at all?  You don't want to stay out late or have another glass of wine or go camping or skiing.  You want your normal routine and passion back.

People will say "enjoy your well-deserved rest" and "your body needs a break".  It's okay to roll your eyes when they turn away.  They have the best intentions, but they don't understand.

It's okay to feel bad about how upset you are about not running.  It's okay to think, "Who am I to be so distraught over this when so many people have so many bigger problems?" while simultaneously having a breakdown.

Big goals take big risks, and any time you are training for PRs you are riding the line between running your best and getting hurt.  Take what you learned about yourself and move forward.  Address your weaknesses; this will help your injury recovery plus it will also help your times later.

And finally, keep calling yourself a runner; you still are.

Signed,
A runner with injury experience

*A couple of posts that really spoke to me during my injury can be found here and here.

**I wrote this while was injured, but didn't hit publish until I began running again.  I had this fear that I might never run again and then what right did I have to tell anyone else who was injured anything?

I made this face most of the time I was injured

If I'd known then what I know now...

I'm not sure there is anyone among us who doesn't fantasize about going back to their past self with their current knowledge.  "If I only knew then what I know now."  The older we get, the more we realize how little we knew.  Although I've been a runner for a very long time, I spent most of those years clueless about what I was doing.

I began competing at age 11, with some success in junior high and high school in spite of never training properly.  I ran low mileage (20 miles per week or so), ran a lot of speed work year-round, and raced almost every weekend in events from 800 m to the 5K.  I was coached by some people who were really amazing, but who knew little about training distance runners, and back in my high school years of 1995-1999, there wasn't much easily accessible information out there about training - not to mention that exercise science has come a long way since then!

I managed to win a handful of Kansas high school state championships and an AAU national championship in the 3000 m, and was recruited to run cross country and track in college.  Fortunately I chose my college based on academic scholarships, because I ended up being injured in college much more than I actually ran.  I had several stress fractures and ended up quitting the team since I kept getting injured.  For many, many years I thought that my body couldn't handle more than 30 mpw, since trying to run 40-50 mpw had resulted in so many injuries, but now I know the problem was that I wasn't transitioned up to that mileage properly.  I needed to go from 20 miles to 30, then gradually to 40, then to 50, and so on (over years), instead of from 20 to 50.

I never stopped running after I quit running collegiately, but for a couple of years I was very cautious, typically only running 5-8 miles every other day with no racing and few workouts.  I wanted to run for the rest of my life because I enjoyed it, but resigned myself to the fate of never being able to put in many miles.  One of my friends talked me into training for a marathon with her when I was in my first year of graduate school, and I acquiesced but was extremely wary about getting injured doing it.  I did a minimal training plan (I think it was Runners World's beginners marathon plan), but I successfully ran 4 days a week and worked my long run up to 20 miles, while staying healthy, which was a pleasant surprise.  After that marathon, I knew I could run another one faster, a thought pattern that has continued after every marathon I've run since.

Although I've run many marathons (31), I didn't train properly for one until I began working with a coach at age 34.  Even for that one (Dallas 2015), my mileage was very conservative considering my goal; I peaked at 50 mpw trying to break 3:00 (I didn't make it, coming in at 3:01).  Since then I have gradually increased my mileage in a planned and measured way and had actual training cycles, and my PRs have gradually improved along the way.

All of this to say, I wish I'd have proper training from the beginning of my running career.  I wish I'd had a gradual mileage progression instead of minimal running (relative to maximizing performance) in my 20s.  I wish I had years of mileage behind me.  I wish I'd have periodization in my training.  I think I could have run much faster and prevented many injuries with simply appropriate basic training.  There is no way to know for certain, and maybe I'd have gotten burned out and quit running instead; perhaps how it turned out saved my love for the sport and increased my running longevity, in which case it is of course all worth it.

I also wish I'd have taken better care of myself overall in my 20's, namely eating better, sleeping more, not drinking alcohol, and taking care of body when injuries did occur.  I always got mad at my body for breaking instead of thinking about how I could best help it repair.

I know it's not productive to look back and wish I could change things, but I write this in hopes that someone who is like the younger me will benefit.  Recently I've been particularly reflective on this because I've started to worry that time is running out for me to make improvements and gains, due to the aging process (I turned 38 a couple of weeks ago - although I am excited to move to the masters category in 2 years).  Running really should be looked at in terms of long-term development in order to maximize potential for anyone, and I had no idea that this was the case until relatively recently.  It's great that we have so many resources online, and even information in podcasts and the mainstream media now.  If you're making your own training schedule, educate yourself well.  Be patient, increase conservatively, use periodization, train smarter not harder, and think long-term, and improvements will come!