Getting Ready for Triathlon Season

I'm still having a hard time comprehending that the Nike Women's Half Marathon weekend is over already. Part of me wants to jump into training again but part of me just wants to relax. I'm listening to that part of me and enjoying sleeping in and being lazy. I do have some big goals for the rest of the year and if I want to have a shot at achieving them I need to let my body recover properly. I also think I mentally need the break. Finals are starting next week and the last thing I want to worry about is having a hard week of training.

So today is Thursday and I haven't run or exercised at all since the race. I thought about going for a quick shakeout run but chose sleeping instead. I'm not sure if I will get in anything this weekend since I will be working at the Frederick Running Festival and will likely be on my feet almost the whole weekend.

With summer right around the corner, I have been starting to look at which triathlons I want to do. I got a road bike for Christmas and am excited to train on that this year instead of my hybrid. I'm not 100% into the idea of triathlon training right now but I know that will change once I spend some time out on the roads in Pennsylvania. I don't live in the best area in Maryland so I do all of my rides on the trainer until I'm home for the summer.

I mentioned a couple months ago some of the races I was looking at and although I have yet to register for any I am still planning on doing those same races. I will most likely not do an early June triathlon because the ones I found are either too expensive for what I would want to pay for a sprint or are too hilly. I am not a very experienced biker at all and besides being terrible at riding hills I am also terrified of them. I want to have time to work on hills rather than scrambling for the first two weeks I'm home trying to ride every hill I find.

I will be adding in additional races as I discover them or if I just feel like racing, but as of now my triathlon schedule is as follows:

June 24- York YWCA Ladies Y-Tri Sprint Triathlon
August 3- Culpepper International Triathlon
August 25- Keystone State Triathlon

Out of these races Culpepper will be my goal race. Even though it is a little farther away than I was looking for, it looks to be a great race and fits my schedule perfectly. And the other two triathlons are much closer to my house. The first one is barely over two miles away! These races are also more for experience, since I am still such a tri newbie.

Last year I did two triathlons and had two very different experiences at both. My first triathlon was around 2 hours away, was an Olympic distance and was on the hottest day of the year. I ended up walking almost all of the run because it was so hot and I was definitely dehydrated. My second triathlon was 30 minutes from my house, was a sprint, and was a cool day with rain during most of the race. I also had some bike issues and lost close to 10 minutes trying to fix my bike.

I don't know that much about triathlons but I am hoping to make some serious improvements from both training and my racing from last year. Triathlon training will also slightly overlap with fall marathon training once again so that will likely affect my training towards the end of July and August.

Nike Women's Half Marathon Race Report

You can read all about the rest of my AMAZING weekend here!

Race morning started with a 5:00 am wake up call. I quickly got dressed, grabbed all my gear and then was on my way to the metro by 5:20. I ate a bagel on the short metro ride over to the race start. I was so worried about getting stuck in the long lines getting off the metro that I ended up getting to the start area by 5:50. Once at the race start I headed over to the incredible VIP tent. I spent some time getting ready before I headed out for a rather unsuccessful warm up.

I didn't want to run too far so that I didn't get lost but staying close to the start just ended up with me trying to unsuccessfully navigate some really crowded sidewalks. I ran for about 10 minutes before heading back to the VIP tent to get in some stretching and go to the bathroom one last time before heading over to the corrals around 6:45. The corrals were insanely crowded and I had to hop a fence just to get in because the line was so long.

The race started right on time and around 7:04 I was crossing the start line. I quickly realized just how crowded this race was. I felt like I was walking and couldn't get around anyone. For the first mile I ran whatever pace everyone around me was going and tried to avoid weaving. I thought after the first mile the crowds would start thinning out but part way through mile 2 when things were just as bad I knew I needed to get moving if I was going to meet my goal.

Because the first few miles were slower than I wanted and I was so nervous about being behind my goal I picked up the pace a little too much through miles 3-5. I felt so good though so I just went for it. I was still weaving quite a bit but I couldn't stand the thought of being stuck behind more runners. A few times during this point in the race I tried to just hold my pace instead of running faster. I didn't want to die later on even though I felt so good early on.

Around miles 7-8 I started to get a tiny bit tired but nothing too bad. I really tried to hold my pace and focus on running consistent miles. I knew there was a hill coming up around miles 9-10 so I wanted to save some energy for that and my last 5K. I remember doing so much math in my head at this point trying to figure out if I was going to be able to break 1:50. Not being very good at math I thought I had no chance.

I don't remember what happened or what I thought in each mile at this point because the scenery was all the same but I remember growing more tired and my hip that's been bothering me started to get really cranky. The hill at mile 10 was really not much of a hill at all but it was a welcome change from the flat or slight downhill of the rest of the course. I tried to pick it up as much as possible but I was really hurting.

I realized around mile 11? that I hadn't taken the last 2 of my shot bloks. When I went to get them out of my pocket I ended up dropping them. I debated whether or not to go back and grab them but ultimately decided against it. The last two miles were a fight both mentally and physically. I wanted so badly to be finished. When I could finally see the finish line I started to sprint but then realized that the finish line wasn't as close as I thought.

The last maybe half mile or so was slightly downhill and I knew it was time to go. I remember screaming at one point because my hip hurt so badly. I don't know distance wise how close I was to the finish line, but I looked down at my watch and saw 1:47:XX. I knew I was going to be very close to 1:50. If I had any chance of going under 1:50 I needed to move.

From that point on I ran with all I had left while keeping a close eye on my watch. With maybe 10 yards to go I knew I was either going to be just under 1:50 or a few seconds over. I also knew I would by bummed if I missed going under 1:50 by so little. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I think my heart might have stopped also. I looked down at my watch not knowing if I had done it or not.

I almost started crying I was so happy. For more than 12 out of those 13 miles I didn't think I had it in me to go under 1:50. I had dreamed about seeing 1:49 when I crossed the finish line during training but I really didn't know if it was too ambitious of a goal. All those times that I fought during training and told myself it was for the 1:49 were worth it.

Official time 1:49:59
Avg pace 8:23
Splits: 9:21, 8:29, 8:22, 8:14, 8:13, 8:04, 8:07, 8:04, 8:10, 8:19, 9:12, 7:32, 8:00, 1:50 (.25-7:18 pace)
(miles 11-12 got messed up because of the tunnel)

As soon as I stopped running my hips started cramping up. I hobbled to get some water and almost forgot about the little blue box waiting for me. I wandered around the finish line still in a daze for a few minutes before getting my finishers shirt and then heading over to the VIP tent and meeting up with my parents.

One of the first people I saw when I went into the VIP tent was Shalane Flanagan. I got some more water, stretched out and finally got to talk with my parents. They were amazing and walked all over DC to see me along the course. We sat down for a bit and then went to see Shalane Flanagan and Joan Benoit Samuelson speak before heading back to our hotel.

Two days later and I am still just as happy as I was after crossing the finish line on Sunday. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I ran a 1:49 half marathon though. I could never have had such an amazing weekend and race without my wonderful coach Mike, my parents, and Nike. Now I am enjoying having a few days off before jumping into triathlon training.

Who else ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon this weekend?

Nike Women's Half Marathon Weekend

I'll have a race report up later this week. I'll give you a hint how I did though. I PR'd in a big way!

This entire weekend was absolutely amazing. On Friday my mom and I headed down to DC to go to the expo and pick up my packet. We met at my apartment and then drove down to the New Carrolltown metro station. Once we made it to DC we walked over to Georgetown to go to the expo. It was an absolutely beautiful day, which made walking around so much nicer.

The expo consisted of three tents. One where you picked up my packet, one which was where the "expotique" was, and one selling race day gear such as Nuun, foam rollers, and gels. I had heard really good things about the expo for the San Francisco race but was pretty disappointed with the expo this weekend. The Nuun bar was awesome but besides that there wasn't much to do or buy. I did finally get my hands on the new Nuun flavors and bought the last watermelon they had!

After doing a pretty quick walk-through of the expo, we headed up the street to Nike Georgetown where they were selling the official race gear. We looked around for a bit but everything just seemed way overpriced and I didn't love any of it anyway. Why spend so much money on something you aren't crazy about? Somewhat frustrated, we left Niketown.

My mom wanted to go to the DC Cupcakes store so we walked over there and stopped in a few shops on the way. For the first time ever I went into a Lululemon store but I wasn't very impressed either. I'm really picky with my running clothes and a lot of their fabrics seemed stiff and scratchy. It did seem like they had more yoga stuff than running clothes though. Sadly, we struck out again.

On Saturday I returned to DC with both of my parents this time since we were staying over night before the race. Once we got to out hotel we got a quick lunch and then hung out outside before I headed over to an Ellie Goulding concert that Nike invited me to. Although the club was in a somewhat sketchy area, the concert was great. There were only a few hundred people there and it was only for Nike runners.

I cannot say enough good things about Ellie Goulding's performance. She was incredible. After the concert was over, along with 9 other extremely lucky girls, got to go backstage and meet Ellie Goulding. Since she was also running the race the meet & greet was pretty quick but it was still so awesome. She is the sweetest girl and my obsession with her is only continuing to grow.

After the concert it was back to the hotel for a quick dinner and then to bed. I can honestly not remember the last time I was in bed before 10 pm! Before I knew it it was race morning. I took the metro and got to the start of the race around 6 am. I was lucky enough to receive a VIP bracelet that granted me access to the VIP tent both before and after the race.

I've never had access to the VIP tent before so I had no idea how AWESOME it is! Both before and after the race the tent was stocked with water bottles, food, coffee and there were even private bathrooms with at most a 2 person wait. This was the same VIP tent that Ellie Goulding, Shalane Flanagan, and Joan Benoit Samuelson went to after they were finished the race. I was only able to get a picture with Joan but I did get a few minutes to chat with both Shalane and Ellie.

Race aside (the race went better than I could have imagined!), the entire weekend was incredible. I felt like I was treated like royalty by Nike.

Nike Women's Half Marathon Goals

When I signed up for this race my only goal was to break two hours. Over the next month or two my goal became to train hard and see what I could do. Now, 15 weeks since starting training, I can say that my goal remains the same. On one side this excites me. On the other side it scares me. After only a few weeks of training I was certain I would break two hours. My PR is 2:03 so that shouldn't be a problem. I haven't had another time goal in mind throughout my training though. I've just trained hard with the intent of getting as fast as possible.

I could be way out of line here but I based my goal times based on my paces for my long runs and the 10 miler I did a few weeks ago.

A Goal: Sub 1:52
B Goal: Sub 1:55
C Goal: Sub 2:00

I am expecting my time to be somewhere between 1:50-1:55 depending on how I feel on Sunday. Two weekends ago I ran a little over 13 miles with my half marathon split coming in somewhere around 1:52-1:53. While this run was not terribly hard I did push the pace and did this as an interval sort of run. I also stopped 3 (?) times to go to the bathroom and stretch when my hip started tightening up. I also know the race course is always longer.

DC in November for an event with the Russian embassy

And then there is the issue of water stops. During every race I have done so far I have stopped at the aid stations. I think stopping for a few seconds helps me feel better throughout the race. During my 10 miler I noticed that I added 15-25 seconds at each water stop. I think there are 5+ water stops during the race this weekend, which could add up to more than a minute wasted. I didn't want to carry water with me in case I want to toss my bottle (I am really picky about my water being cold when I run so I will only run with an insulated bottle). As you can probably tell, I'm still trying to figure out what to do about this.

Sunset on my way home. Picture doesn't do it justice

While I love having a time goal to shoot for, I don't think it's healthy to only focus on your time. I like to have some non-time goals so that if I don't reach that goal I can still call my race a success.

Stay calm when something goes wrong, because it inevitably will. Minutes before the start of the Capital 10 Miler I found out that one of the earbuds on my headphones had fallen off. I freaked out since I had been doing all of my long or hard workouts with music. I started to panic and ended up spending the time I should have spent stretching rigging my headphones so they would stay in my ears. I showed up to the race start with about a minute to spare.

I am trying to be as prepared as possible going into this weekend but inevitably something will go wrong. My guess is it will have something to do with navigating DC. At that point I won't be able to make any changes so I need to roll with the punches and move on. Quickly.

Ignore negative thoughts. Another thing that I have learned is inevitable is negative self-talk. Even during my best races a few negative thoughts have creeped in here or there. I want to recognize that it's going to happen and just ignore them.When you start to listen to your negative thoughts is when you will blow your race.

Leave everything out on the course. Although I do have some time goals, my biggest goal is to go as hard as I can. If I finish in a time slower than I thought but I pushed myself to the end I will be happy. I don't want to finish the race and be able to run around later that day with my dog. I want to be tired. I want to give everything I have and see where that puts me.

I have one run left tomorrow and am off to the expo now. Good luck everyone racing this weekend!

Excited

I can honestly say that I do not remember the last time I was this excited for a race. My last big race was the Harrisburg Marathon back in November, which I dreaded more than I care to admit. The other races I did last year were either more casual races that I did not train specifically for or it was my first time at that distance so I was more nervous than excited.

The week leading up to a race is so important for how I do in that race. After the New York City Marathon got cancelled I didn't know whether I wanted to run a different marathon or not but I felt like I had to because so many people told me I should. From the minute I woke up on race day through mile 22ish I was miserable.

So today marks the first day of race week for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I signed up for this race back in November a few days after finishing my first marathon. My goal for this race at the time was to break 2 hours. I had set my half marathon PR at the Baltimore Half Marathon in October, which was right in the middle of marathon training. I ran a 2:03:00 unexpectedly, giving me a taste of how close I was to running a sub-2 half.

When I signed up for the race I had no plan for how I was going to break two hours, I just knew I wanted to do it. I wanted to take a break from running while gearing up for finals and then focus on training once 2013 rolled around. I didn't plan to start working with a coach to train for this race, although I had been thinking about getting a coach for a little while.

Spotted in DC!

When the opportunity arose to work with Mike from Endurance Multisport in Lancaster, Pennsylvania I was elated. Being a swimmer for ten years conditioned me to listen very well to coaches. At the end of my swimming career I coached myself due to issues with my coach at the time and I loved having that freedom. I'm proud of what I accomplished without the help of a coach but I know in my heart I would have done even a little bit better if I had stayed with my coach.

Even after a few days of working with Mike I knew I was going to like having a coach again. Besides knowing so much more about how to train than I do, having a coach holds me accountable. I am conditioned to do what my coach tells me. So now after 15 weeks of training under Mike I am getting ready to see how we did.

I saw more progress than I ever imagined in both my speed and mentality towards running. Despite having my ups and downs during training, I learned so many invaluable things about myself as a runner and a person. Now it's time to take all this and channel it towards my race this weekend. I am excited to finally put all this hard work to the test.

Strong Is What You Have Left When You've Used Up All Your Weak

I stumbled across this quote last week and it has stuck with me ever since. The previous week was really tough for me, with lots of ups and downs. Mostly downs though. I felt more mentally defeated than I had in a long time. Going into this past week I tried to stay more relaxed and not stress out so much when things don't go according to plan.

And they didn't. My track-turned-just-generally-hard run on Wednesday is the epitome of this quote from Saucony. I struggled mentally to keep running hard. But I did. I thought about quitting after being kicked off the track. But I didn't. I needed this run for it's cathartic properties more than anything else. The harder I ran on Wednesday the farther I felt away from the previous week's less than stellar runs. 

During this run on Wednesday I felt like I ran all of the weak out of me. Like everything that was stressing me out and holding me back was just suddenly gone. I know not all of my runs from here on out are going to be great. That's just not how running works. But sometimes you have to run the bad runs right out of you.

I am nearing the end of my training cycle for the Nike Women's Half Marathon. It excites me and terrifies me at the same time how close race day is. I only have a few more really hard workouts before the big day is here and I want to make the most of them. I don't want my fears and insecurities to hold me back. I'm hoping Wednesday's run got rid of all my weak and all I have left until race day is strong.

Getting Down to Business

Yesterday marked the first day of my last build block before the Nike Women's Half Marathon. While I've had my ups and downs with balancing training with school I'm ready to dive in head first and make these final weeks count. Now that the semester is around half way over (how did that happen?!) I feel like I've finally figured out a schedule that works for me.

Lucky for me, this week is my spring break. That means I have a whole heck of a lot more time to get in my workouts and not worry about making sure I have enough time to study. I don't have any plans for break other than going to a mountain bike race this weekend so I will be spending my week getting ahead on school work, catching up on sleep, and finally getting a chance to read a book. Yay for rest and relaxation, right?!

I came home yesterday late afternoon and was greeted my a nice dusting plus some falling snow. I love running when it's snowing so I quickly changed and headed out the door for a super short jaunt through the snow with my favorite running buddy. There is just something so peaceful and beautiful about running in the snow. Our run was nothing special. We stopped to munch on some snow a few times and one of us even rolled around in it for a few minutes.

Later yesterday evening I had a date with my trainer for some intervals. I would much prefer doing 10 minute interval over 5 minutes. Is that normal? Anyway, I had a really good workout despite my stomach hurting like a bitch. Hopefully it will calm down some and not cause any more problems this week.

Maybe it is the thought of spring being right around of the corner, being half way done my semester or the rest week last week but I am feeling more ready than ever to give this last training block everything I've got and really push myself. I have seen so much progress and I'm excited to start putting that to the test. Race day is six weeks away. Time to get down to business!

Planning Ahead: Summer 2013

In the past few weeks my inbox has been flooded with emails about upcoming races all over the east coast. With the majority of my focus on the Nike Women's Half Marathon in April I haven't given much thought to my race plans for this summer. I knew I wanted to focus on short course triathlons, primarily gaining experience and improving speed. I did sign up for the Keystone State International Triathlon at the end of August a little while ago but that will not be an A race for me as I will be also training for the New York City Marathon then.

Nothing is definite but these are the races I am looking at for the summer:

Assateague Assault Sprint Triathlon (June 3?)

Did I mention ponies roam the beach?!

I would absolutely love to do this triathlon but it is about four hours away. My family goes to the Virginia side of Assateague for vacation every year, which is why I am so drawn to this race. I have never been to the Maryland side but have heard it is very similar. I think this would be a great race to start the season with as it is supposed to be a pretty easy course. There is also a one mile sunset ocean swim the night before that I really want to do.

Mason Dixon Sprint Triathlon (June 2)

From the Keystone State Sprint Triathlon, the same course

If I can't do the Assateague Assault Triathlon I will most likely do this one. It is only 30 minutes from my house and is on the same course as the Keystone State Triathlon, which I did last summer. My only hesitation with this race is the hills. I really struggled with the hills on the bike course and did every ride for six weeks on those hills. I am confident that I am stronger and more capable now but the thought of doing those hills only 2 weeks after school ends makes me unnecessarily anxious.

Doublecreek (June 15)
This is a bike ride that is right near my house that offers 30 mile, 48 mile or 62 mile options. I have wanted to do a supported bike ride for a few years now and think that it would be good practice for me to get used to riding around so many other people. I probably will decide about this one that week based on how things are going. If it fits into training I will do it but I don't want to alter my training for this.

York YWCA Ladies Y-Tri Sprint Triathlon (June 30)

How perfect is this run course?!

I want to do this race mostly because it is about 5 minutes from my house. The swim is in a pool, which I don't like, but it is a cheap and close race that won't take up the entire weekend. The bike is also pretty hilly and will be a good way to measure my progress at climbing. I think doing a triathlon about every four weeks will allow me to practice racing without taking too much out of training.

Steelman Open Water Swim (July 14)
Like Doublecreek this is a very tentative race. Since I quit swimming a few years ago I have wanted to do an open water swim. The swim of both of my triathlons, which were open water, were my favorite parts. The only downside is this race is about two hours away and I'm not sure if I want to drive that far for a race that is not a primary race for me. I'll decide on this as time gets closer.

Millers Mutual Mile (July 17)

I can't get over this sunset from last year's race

I want to do this race because I think it will be fun. I have never raced anything shorter than a 5K and even those I don't do very often. I also really like that this is an evening race. I run considerably faster later in the day and since night races are pretty rare I want to jump at this opportunity. Who knows if I'll even get around to doing this race but I really want to.

Culpeper Olympic Triathlon (August 3)

This is the triathlon I'm looking at being my A race for this summer. It is a little far away (Virginia) but I could stay at my apartment the night before and just drive down early in the morning. I also really like the course. It isn't flat but isn't super hilly either. I also like when this race is. My family normally goes on vacation at the end of July/beginning of August but this year we are going a bit later. This means I can do a triathlon later in the summer without missing a week of training.

These races are all tentative but I am hoping to put at least some of these races on my calendar soon.
Any other races in the MD/PA/NoVa/DC area I should consider? Have you done any of these races?

Minutes vs. Miles

This training cycle all of my runs are scheduled by time rather than by distance. In the past I have always made my plans around how many miles I want to run but after a few weeks basing my runs off of time I'm pretty sure I will never go back to my old ways. There have been many times during the past weeks where I have thought about how much better it is to be running by time. Example:

Two (?) weeks ago I had a 75 minute long run scheduled that was supposed to be run at faster than a 9:00 min/mileage pace. When I woke up that morning the streets were covered with snow and the last thing I wanted to do on my last day of break was run inside on a treadmill. My dad and I drove down to the trail to get the run done anyway. He biked alongside me in case I had any trouble with the snow (he really is the best long run buddy. And dad). The trail was not only snowy but also slippery. I was running significantly slower than planned but felt like I was working a lot harder. By the end of the run I felt like I had run 10-12 miles not 7.5. On my way home I realized that had I planned on doing 8.5 miles I would have suffered out on that trail for another 10 minutes taking more out of me than necessary.

Sometimes things go wrong. Every day is different and should be treated as such. Some days I feel tired and sluggish while other days I feel like I could run forever. By focusing on how long I'm running rather than how far I'm running I can adapt my runs each week to how I'm feeling to avoid burnout and recover properly from each run.

The only thing that has been a bit challenging has been the mental part. For such a long time I ran about 10 minute miles so a 40 minute run would equal 4 miles. Since starting training I have gotten a bit faster and now a 40 minute run means about 4.4 miles. This shouldn't sound like a big deal but it really makes a difference with long runs, which I already struggle with mentally. I am trying to make some changes to help get my head in a better place this training cycle but that is for another post.

Moral of the post: running for time instead of miles is the way to go. At least try it before you bash it. Then report back with how much better you like it. And for any of you that worry about following a training plan that is based off time and thinking that faster or slower runners are doing more/less and therefore this only works for other runners, let me just stop you there. I am not following a generic training plan. I am being coached and so my runs are catered towards my needs. Even if you don't have a coach though you should still try running for time. If you write your own plan just figure out how long it takes you to do a run, say 6 miles, and instead write in that time.

Training Update

I've been meaning to write here for awhile now but life has been keeping me busy (not a bad thing, right?). Instead of January being a calm and relaxing month off of school with not much to do I have been swamped. Okay, maybe not, but I certainly feel a bit overwhelmed. As much as I like to keep busy I also enjoy having the month of January and the summer to rejuvenate. After a little time away from school I'm ready and anxious to get back into the swing of things. I've been fairly busy this month though. I don't start classes until the 28th so I'm hoping to spend next week doing pretty much nothing.

Since the last time I wrote I have started training for my next big race, the Nike Women's Half Marathon on April 28. My goal is to break two hours and with the way training has been going these first two weeks I'm confident I will meet my goal. I have been running 6 days a week ranging from easy runs to hill sprints. I know it's only been a couple of weeks but I can already feel myself getting stronger. Running is becoming easier and I am looking forward to going for a run instead of dreading it. 

I think most of all I like being back in training. As someone who grew up training 11.5 months of the year with only a week off at the end of each season it feels weird for me to not be training for something. Don't get me wrong, I loved having time off in December to enjoy the holidays and not stress about getting in a run. Now that the holidays are over though I am really enjoying having something to train for. Having a coach is keeping me on track and making me even more excited because I feel like I'm heading in the right direction rather than guessing blindly. 

I know this post is a little all of the place, sorry about that, but my thoughts are kind of all over the place also.  When I got the Believe I Am journal for Christmas I saw that there is a section dedicated to checking in on your goals. Every 4-6 weeks you are supposed to assess how things are going to make sure that you are on the right track. I like this idea and want to do training updates every so often during training so I can look back and see how much progress I have made.

Sub-2 Half Plan of Attack

My big goal for the first half of 2013 is to break 2:00 in the half marathon. I have spent a good amount of time over the off-season looking back at past training logs to see where I can make improvements. My running journey hasn't been conventional and lucky for me there are lots of areas I can improve upon in hopes of chasing down my goals.

When I ran my 2:03 half in October I was in the middle of marathon training and had done a 16 mile long run less than a week beforehand. I hadn't done any kind of speed work in almost two months and was only running 3-4 times a week. Despite all of these faults (plus so many more) I still dropped over 5 minutes for a 20 min PR in exactly a year.

My plan going into this next training cycle is to fill in these gaps and keep evolving my training. It will be a long time before I reach my full potential with running but I know the more I do right each training cycle the better I will be as an athlete.

Working with a running coach
This is really so big it deserves another post (soon!) but I'll start here anyway. After chatting back and forth via Twitter I have found someone who is willing to help me chase down my goal of a sub 2:00 half marathon.  I have been wanting to work with a coach for awhile now and I am confident that I have found someone who can meet all of my needs. I am used to working with coaches from my days as a swimmer and I know that I work considerably better with instruction. I'm really excited to see what I can achieve with my new partner on this journey.

Consistency

During my past training cycles I ran pretty inconsistently. Some weeks I ran 5 times while other weeks I didn't run at all. While training for the New York City turned Harrisburg Marathon I ran 3-4 times a week but my mileage varied a lot. I didn't know how to properly train for a marathon and made a lot of mistakes. I know that finding my sweet spot and staying consistent will be a big part of training. But this doesn't just apply to running. Doing a core workout every few weeks is really not all that helpful. Being consistent will not only help with the physical but also the mental, which may be my weakest link.

Tune-up races

In all my years of being an athlete I have learned that if I put too much pressure on myself for a race then said race will most likely go horribly. Since I can do multiple half marathons in one season without needing too much recovery time I am planning on doing a mid March half to practice for the real thing. I also want to add in 5K or 10K here or there to gauge to fitness and see how close I am to my goal.

Core & strength work
I started doing regular strength work over the summer and almost immediately saw how much it was helping. It was right after I stopped strength training that I developed a strain in my quad that sidelined me from running for a week. While at the ortho for the strain he told me that my core is not strong enough. Developing a strong core is important for both injury prevention and getting stronger as a runner.

Do the little things right

These are the things that I know I should be doing but still neglect. I'm bringing my foam roller out of the corner and putting it to good use. Rolling coupled with stretching, compression socks and adequate sleep will hopefully help me recover quickly and properly to ensure a healthy and strong training cycle.

Clean up my diet
I may have eaten a few too many cookies over the holidays. Oops. As long as the cookie binges only happen during the holidays I should be okay. I've experimented with cutting out dairy and want to eat around 90% dairy free. Also, more veggies and less processed crap. It's time to start eating like an endurance athlete and fueling my body properly with healthy and wholesome foods.

Work on the mental aspect
This is probably the toughest thing for me in all parts of my life. As a swimmer I was constantly overcome with negative and self-destructive thoughts. My mind tends to cave long before my body does. I got a Believe I Am journal for Christmas and will be putting it to the test to help me overcome some of these mental barriers.

Off Season Running

This morning I went for my first real run post marathon and boy did it hurt. Not even 2 miles in my legs were already tired and reminding me I ran a marathon 2.5 weeks ago. I wasn't expecting to feel this way after taking 2 weeks completely off with the exception of last week's turkey trot. I am glad that I have a good chunk of time to fully recover before I jump back into training.

It was supposed to rain this morning with temps in the upper 30's. I like running in the fall/winter despite icky weather because I get to wear clothes that I haven't worn since last winter. Lame, I know. Anyway, I dressed warm this morning wearing long tights and a short sleeve shirt with a rain jacket overtop. I completed my first cold weather running morning with a fleece headband and gloves.

The only problem was that it ended up not raining until the last 15 minutes of the run. I was cold when I started, quickly warmed up & then got really cold again towards the end. Despite the back & forth weather and how grumpy my legs were it was still such an enjoyable run. I ran without my Garmin and just focused on being in the moment and not worrying about silly numbers.

I think I'm going to take a cue from Jess and skip the watch until training starts up again. I like not having any pressure to run a certain speed or distance. And hopefully when I start training for the Nike Women's Half Marathon in April I will feel completely refreshed, rested and ready to train my butt off.

Planning Ahead: Spring 2013

As sad as I get when a training cycle comes to an end, I am even more excited about what will be coming next. After I finished the Harrisburg Marathon I found myself with no races on my calendar except for the Thanksgiving turkey trot I'm running. With the cancellation of this year's NYC Marathon there is a good chance I will receive guaranteed entry into next year's race but that is just speculation as of now.

I tossed back & forth the idea of running the Pittsburgh Marathon in the beginning of May but wasn't sure if running another marathon so soon was a good idea. Regardless of whether I run the NYC Marathon next year or not, I still want to run a fall marathon and I worried that 3 marathons in 12 months wasn't a smart move.

While I am typically a person with a plan I try not to plan to far ahead. I try to live in the moment as much as possible. I do want to spend more time training for triathlons this year though. My ultimate goal is to do an Ironman and I think the best way to start that journey is to establish a base and get comfortable racing sprint and Olympic distance triathlons first. I also really like focusing on different things throughout the year to prevent burnout. If I ran the Pittsburgh Marathon I wouldn't have much time for triathlon training because of the longer recovery time associated with marathons.

Last spring I ran the Rock N' Roll USA Half Marathon in DC but didn't completely love this race. I didn't want to travel for a race but wasn't getting excited for any of the races around. I ran 3 half marathons in 2012 and between those 3 dropped 20 minutes. My current half marathon PR is 2:03:00 and now I am itching to break two hours.

Enter the Nike Women's Half Marathon. I found out about this race back in September but thought I would have to enter the lottery in order to get a spot. The race is also pretty pricey for a half marathon at $160. Earlier this week I found out about the college registration that is both guaranteed and only $125. Three cheers for being in college! I registered for this race hours after registration opened on Friday and am beyond excited. Spring 2013 is all about running a fast half marathon. Bring it on!