Exactly 3 Months Until Race Day!

Are you getting excited?!

In Case You're Wondering...

I know you probably know better than this, but I also know that there are some people out there who may be thinking, "ok, once she gets her BQ and is able to run Boston, she'll be done."  If this is you, or if you think you know who this might be, the answer is "definitely not."  I find it quite ironic that a certain someone who is generally annoyed by my running decides to inquire if any of my upcoming races will qualify me for Boston.  My prediction is that this person assumes (completely incorrectly, by the way) that if the Marine Corps Marathon goes well, I'll be done once I run Boston (which, by the way, probably won't be until 2017).  Perhaps by then, I'll be on to some new hobby.  (BASE jumping, anyone?)  What said person also doesn't know is that Hans has already mentioned me, Morgan, and him running the Two Oceans 56k in South Africa that year.  So many races...so little time!

A New Record - 8 Days & 75 Miles

If you consider just this week (Monday through tomorrow), there is no record mileage; I'm at 54 miles which is pretty status-quo for many weeks I've had over the last few months.  However, if you factor in that my week 3 and week 4 training schedules went back to back and that I've been running every day since last Friday, that's when you get the record: 8 days & 75 miles!  I don't think I've ever had a span of 8 days in a row where every single one of those days involved running, and I'm pretty damn sure that I've never reached 75 miles in that time period either.  Yeah, I'm tired, and I was tired going into this week just knowing what the final tally would be.  It's done, I feel great, and I am totally looking forward to a true 100% rest day tomorrow.

Something made me go back to my other blog when I was training a year ago for SoMo, my first marathon.  Man, there's a lot of good stuff in there; some of it's funny, some of it's serious, some of it's just random as all get-out (in the words of Gram).  I hope this blog is living up to the usual standards of past ones.

Exhibit B - I don't suck as a runner

Just more validation that I don't suck as a runner.  I emailed Addie to tell her how excited I was to be crewing for her in May, and she wrote this back to me: "I was planning on asking you girl, but I knew you had committed to helping someone else out."  For someone who is as strong of a runner as Addie is to say she planned on asking me, that's a virtual thumbs up that I don't suck because, let's face it, who wants a sucky runner to be a potential pacer?!

For 8 Days Straight...

...I will be running!  That's right!  Last week's schedule had a rest day on Friday and then runs scheduled on both Saturday & Sunday.  (Even Dave said, "I thought you don't run on Sundays!")  This week's schedule has me running each day up through and including Saturday.  It might be just mental, but my legs already feel tired!  LOL!  I'm not sure if I've ever had 8 days in a row of scheduled running, so this little 'experiment' will be interesting.  I do love running, but will I love it after 8 days and 70+ miles?  Time will tell...

Exhibit A - I don't suck as a runner!

Morgan had originally said she wanted to run one of the individual races at next year's Keys100.  Cool!  I told her I'd crew for her since I was sort of over the whole relay thing.  Turns out, though, that Morgan's too good to let go, and her team asked her back for next year.  She said 'yes' to them.  It really is nice to be asked back, so I get it.  Add in the fact that she's being asked back to a winning team, and how do you say 'no' to that?!


Addie & I met for lunch today, and I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring to crew for her since she'd be running the 50 mile race again.  My offer was very enthusiastically accepted, and I was "hired!"

So what does a crew member do?  In short, a little of everything!  From being there to hand the runner a fresh, cold drink to saying "it's time for you to eat something" to pacing/running with the person to being a cheerleader or, sometimes, an ass-kicking drill sergeant who needs to say "get your shit together," you don't quite know what's going to be needed, so you've got to be ready to do it all.  Here's a good (and short) article on crewing for someone: http://www.enduranceplanet.com/ultrarunning-how-to-crew-for-your-runner/. 

What I'm more excited about is the opportunity to pace (ie: run with) Addie during the race.  Seriously, did you expect me to be a part of this 50 mile race and not run?!  What does a pacer do?  Well, as the name implies, sometimes it's about helping the other person maintain a certain pace, but most times it's about companionship, a little bit of cheerleading, and just being there even if it's completely in silence.  During Morgan's 100k back in February, I had the chance to pace her for the final 8-ish miles in what was probably the hardest part of the entire race; it was the last little bit to do (you can say "little bit" when you're talking about a 62 mile race!), it was cold, it was getting dark, it got extremely dark, and she was beyond tired (as you could imagine).  Joining Morgan for this part of the race allowed me the opportunity, in a very small way, to help get her to the finish line in good spirits.  After the race, I came across this article/interview on what it takes to be a good pacer: http://www.irunfar.com/2015/01/how-to-choose-your-sidekick-aka-pacer.html. 

In case you don't remember, Addie was the 2nd place overall female winner of the Keys50 race.  How cool would it be to help her to a 1st place finish next year?

Yet Another Reason Why I Love RCJ!

There are so many benefits to having a coach, and as I've said to a bunch of people, my coach is worth every penny!  Here's just another example of what I mean.  Even though RCJ is away with her family in Montana, she's still staying connected and sent me this tonight: "I contacted Chenae to find out about the MCM corrals, for lining up. She said one could easily be able to get near the front, and avoid being slowed down by a crowd. That is exactly what we will plan on."  So not only is she working with me on running and getting faster so I can get my BQ, she's also working with me on race-day strategy!  Love it!

My New Gadget

Look what arrived in today's mail!  For those of you who say, "Yeah, big deal?  It's just a watch," let me tell you that it's so much more than "just a watch."  Oh, and also let me tell you what a good deal I scored on it.  I had been stalking Garmin watches on Ebay for a while, had bid on a ton of 'em, and had not won any auctions.  This particular watch, the Garmin Forerunner 920XT, was really what I wanted because of the 20 hours of battery life and tons of other features it has (like wi-fi capabilities to automatically upload run stats).  Finally, an auction went in my favor, and I picked this puppy up for over $40 less than the cheapest place I could find it online (outside of Ebay).  It's pricey, and it'll take some getting used to wearing something "expensive" when I run, but from everything I've read about it, it'll be awesome!

A Run-Down of Week #2

Here's how week 2 shook out as per my "report" back to Running Coach Joan (who shall, henceforth, be referred to as RCJ).

Monday

Target: 8 miles (8:15 pace)

Actual: 8 miles (8:08 pace)

Tuesday

Target: 8 miles - hills (8:30 pace)

Actual: 9 miles - hills (8:17 pace)

** I apparently don't know that area well enough because when 8 miles rolled around, I was at the base of the big hill leading up to the church; I ran up the hill and then did a slow jog back to the car which is why it was longer than what was in the plan.

Wednesday

Target: 8 miles (8:15 - 8:30 pace)

Actual: 8 miles (8:15 pace)

Thursday

Target: 8 miles - strides (8:15 pace with strides in the 7:30 - 7:45 pace)

Actual: 8 miles (7:55 pace)

*** I think my strides might been faster than 7:30.  Like last week, I loved them!!!!

Saturday

Target: 13 miles (8:30 - 8:50 pace with middle 4 miles at an 8 pace)

Actual: 13 miles (8:50 pace), did my middle 4 miles from 6.35 miles to 10.35 miles and all were at or below 8.  Felt good to do this.

That meant I ended the week with 46 miles.  Not bad, but considering that most of my weeks for a while had been in the 50-55 range, 46 seems easy.  Not this next week, but the week after will be 6 days of running instead of 5.  Woo hoo!