The Leap of Faith to "Level Up"

I'm standing in the dark at 4:30am pulling on my running gear.  I quietly tiptoe downstairs, lace up my shoes and grab my headlamp from the kitchen counter.  Watch on, water bottle in hand, I open the door and step out into the dark, quiet morning.  For a moment I pause - close my eyes and give myself a silent pep talk.  You can DO this, I tell myself.   Don't be afraid of the pace.  Your body can do it.  Take it one mile at a time. One more deep breath and off I go - heading into my warm up and towards the start of a 4-mile tempo run that has me shaking in my running shoes at the thought of completing.    That's pretty much how the start of each of my tempos went last season.  I was running somewhat scared each time - scared of the pace, and of maintaining that pace for the distance my schedule (from Pfitzinger's Advanced Marathoning) suggested.   The paces written on the page looked menacing in black and white:  6:22-6:31.  I didn't know if I could do it.  Later I'd discover that I'd run that whole season with tempos only averaging 6:40s - but still have a race that resulted in a significant PR.  The work was there and my body was absorbing it, even if I wasn't nailing the paces.

As I look ahead, I will work this season to "level up" - to take my running to the next level as best I can.  And that means...(wait for it)...faster paces.  Those tempos will only get faster, more challenging.  And I'll have a new set of tempo ranges that I'll try to hit.  (McMillan's calculator tells me that I now should be aiming for 6:15-6:24...gulp)

Gotta be honest - those paces scare me just as much as the previous season's paces scared me. But I know I need to get over that fear.  To believe that I can do it, that my body can manage those paces and that the speed is IN me somewhere, I just need to unlock it.   I'm working on changing my mindset and trying hard not to get freaked out by paces that I think of as "too fast for me".  How many of you have looked at paces and immediately deemed them as out of your league?  I know I have.  Over and over again throughout my running journey I've had to try and readjust my thinking and convince myself that a sub-9 minute, sub-8 minute, and now a sub-7 minute pace is NOT too fast for me.  Sometimes it takes a while to turn me into a believer, but I keep working at it.   We limit ourselves when we deem paces "too fast" for us at first glance.  There's a leap of faith that has to be taken somewhere along that way that YES - we CAN run those paces.

I've contemplated running with a heart rate monitor for the tempos and just trying to keep it in an appropriate range - but I'm not sure of my maximum heart rate.  I can calculate it with the formula (207 - 0.7*age) and get 183, but I'm fairly certain mine's a bit higher than that.   I've also considered running with my watch screen turned off to not show the pace and just FEEL my way through the tempos.  That may ease some of the pressure I feel to hit the paces, but I have a feeling I'll be disappointed when I get home and see my splits are closer to marathon pace than tempo pace. (since that seems to be where I default to when I'm not paying close attention on tempo runs)

I want to work this season to BELIEVE that I can do it - that the paces aren't too fast, and that I can run that quickly.  It's going to require a leap of faith on my part, and determination to put it all out there and give it my best, knowing that there will be days where I don't hit the numbers, but there may be days that I WILL.   I will work on daily affirmations (as cheesy as that is) to try and help wrap my head around running those paces in hopes that my body will follow.  And when it's time to lace up my shoes again and tackle that dreaded tempo run, I'll just have to go out there and get it done.

How do you wrap your head around running paces that feel out of your league?  

Scheming and Dreaming

The marathon post-season is a weird time.  On one hand, if you've had a great race you are reveling in your accomplishment and daydreaming of hitting the roads again so that you can set another PR at your next race (which is sure to be awesome, since you are on a roll).  If you've had a bad race, you are eager to start training again as soon as possible so that you can seek redemption for the crappy race you just had.   You can't wait to get back out there and burn up the roads as you attempt to erase the memory of the last race and replace a bad result with a shiny new PR.

Now at the tail end of week two post-race, I find myself somewhere in between these scenarios.  I'm very happy with my race and my new PR, but I must admit I'm eager to get back to training so that I can continue to chase the sub-3 goal.  That and I think I've overdosed on sugar and all the bad-for-you foods that I've been enjoying in my post-marathon weeks.

I do really enjoy this time of looking ahead.  Safely ensconced on my couch, wine glass in hand and laptop open, I'm full of big plans to build myself into a stronger, better, faster runner for next season.  I'm googling extra hip abduction exercises, contemplating ordering a rocker board, and planning to add form drills to my post-run routine.  It's easy to armchair quarterback all of these things.  A tiny niggle of doubt will creep in ("but Jen, how will you fit this stuff in on top of your normal schedule?") but I find I'm surprisingly good at not focusing on that tiny detail.   In reality, I know that it won't be easy to add things to my routine.  It's already challenging enough for me to keep on top of foam rolling and post-run nutrition!  But I've successfully managed to get into the habit for both of those, so I'm hoping that with the same level of commitment and dedication to creating a new habit I might be able to add a few new strengthening exercises to my schedule for this upcoming season.

Here are a few things I'm hoping to improve on this season:

1)  Hip strength:   A quick glance at some of the photos from my last marathon reveal that I'm still badly dropping my pelvis during the single leg stance phase.  (also the reason I came away with chaffing on the inside of my knees!) I have been diligently doing clam shells, lying side leg raises, hip hikes and "monster walks" with a band, but I may need to add in some additional exercises to try and strengthen these muscles even more.

2)  Form drills:  I have had great intentions to do these each season and have yet to actually follow through.   Part of it is that I don't want to get up any earlier than I have to, and while these only take 10-15 minutes, that's an additional 10-15 minutes that I could be sleeping in my nice warm deliciously comfortable bed.  I'd like to try and (finally!) add them in after at least 2 runs a week.

3) Shoes:  The most minor (but most fun) item on this list.  I'm hoping to try and move into a more lightweight trainer/racing shoe for my next marathon or half marathon.  I know it'll be a gradual process to transition into it, and it may take me more than a season.  But I'm planning to ease into it by wearing the shoes for some speed work or tempo runs before trying them in a shorter race or two.  If all goes well, I'll try them in an upcoming half marathon.

That's it for now - no huge changes, but hopeful that if I can successfully build some new habits it'll make me into a stronger runner and help me stay injury-free.

I'll be slowly easing back into running this weekend, and next week will begin running every other day or so.  Up next, it's the fall marathon short list :)

Anyone have a favorite exercise for hip strength?  Do you find form drills help? Favorite lightweight trainer/racing shoe for the marathon?  

Post Marathon Recovery

Today's workout:  

Thank you all for your congratulations and your awesome advice in the comments on my last post.  I am taking the advice to heart and plan to run a similar buildup for my next marathon, but work on increasing the paces slightly and perhaps doing a few more miles at marathon pace.  I haven't yet picked my fall marathon, but I'm hoping to aim to do one in mid-to-late September.

As I look back on Tobacco Road, I feel very blessed and thankful that I was able to get to that starting line healthy and ready to race.  I am also so thankful that I was able to come back strong from my stress fracture and not only race at my pre-injury level, but go beyond that and set a PR.  I truly believe now that taking my time to come back slowly post-fracture was the best thing I did.  Between that and the strength work/PT exercises I did along the way I think I gave myself the best shot for a strong season.  So if you are suffering from a serious injury now, don't lose hope!  It's definitely possible to come back as strong (or stronger!) than you were prior to injury.  Just be smart about your comeback and you'll be set.

As you can tell from my picture, this week has been all about recovery and enjoying my post-marathon downtime.  I've been sleeping in (well, as much as one can sleep in with a just-turned-3 year old)  and enjoying getting dressed in normal-people clothes.  (while realizing that I think I own more gym clothes than I do regular clothes.  Oops.)  I've not run single step this past week.  Instead I've hung out with my family, celebrated my daughter's 3rd birthday, eaten foods that I'd normally limit (chips and dip for lunch!! Yum!!)  and just CHILLED OUT.  It's been really nice!  But....I'm actually itching to get back to my normal running schedule.  I feel best when I'm training and fueling my body with higher quality foods.  It's been fun this week to relax the diet and not worry too much about what I'm eating - that's definitely been a great mental break - but I can definitely tell that I've been eating more processed/sugary foods than normal!

No real workouts last week for me, though I did do half of a core work class and half of a BodyPump class to ease back into it.  I'll be teaching BodyPump this week so I figure I'd better get my muscles back in shape at some point!   With a little extra time on my hands since I'm not running, I've been working on learning the new release - BodyPump 93!  It's a great workout and I'm excited to teach it.  I've had to practice with very light weights though as my legs still have some lingering fatigue from the race.

This week it's back on the healthy food bandwagon, and adding back in BodyPump and core work.  I'm taking at least one more week off running, but will likely add in some elliptical or cycling this week to get the legs moving again without the impact.   I can still feel a bit of tendonitis in my foot so I want to make sure I give it another week or so before I hit the roads again.  I'm itching to get back out there now that the weather has improved, but I know that taking the time off now will pay dividends later.

Hope everyone had a great week!

What's your favorite post-marathon indulgence?  

How long do you take off before resuming training?  (I usually go with 2-4 weeks of no running)