Exciting Week + Bowerman AC 5k Race Report

This was a pretty cool and fun week, but lets start from the beginning!

Monday:
Power Vinyasa.
We got lazy and didn’t run this day.

Tuesday:
Track: ”Whistle” workout.
This was a “fun” workout, and mostly a challenge for the mind versus the usual physical workout. It entailed running at “M” pace (about 15 seconds faster than your 5K min/mi pace), until coach blew the whistle. Than you would commence easy running, until the next whistle, at which point you would jump back into “M” pace. All we were told beforehand was that we would be running 20 minutes total of hard running, and that the longest hard running time would be 3.5 minutes. We never knew when a reprieve would come, or even when the workout would be over. At one point, we had been running easy for what seemed like an eon. All of us started dreading the “3.5 minute” whistle. When the whistle finally came, we picked up our pace, and prayed it would be a short 3.5 minutes. Well, it was! We found out later that coach had lost track of time during our easy run, and had let us go twice as long as he had planned. Also, I don’t think we ever ran a hard 3.5 minutes! Mind tricks!

I wasn’t really sure what to measure during this workout, so I started Garmin at the beginning, and stopped him at the end. Garmin measured 4.1 miles all together, with an 8:32 avg pace. I held 7:45 for all the hard runs, and was pretty consistent (according to Garmin) until the very last lap. My legs were toast! I finished out the day with a total of 6 miles (including warm up and cool down).

This was a super challenging workout for my mind. It reminded me so much of the later stages of a tough race, when it feels like there must be an eternity before you will reach the finish line! When the final whistle came, I was right in front of coach, and exclaimed a very battered “YAY!” I had seen several people drop out before the end, but I was determined to finish strong.

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Vinyasa

Friday:
A friend of ours invited us for a run after work (followed by the Beer Fest). We ran for 4 miles around the waterfront, and through downtown. It was pretty warm out there, so we took it easy. While we were running along the East Bank, we ran into Julia Lucas!! (To quote J, “Of Ian And Julia?”, haha!) I love to read her (and her Husband, Ian Dobson’s) blog! She is super nice in person, and chatted with us for awhile. Who else loves living in Oregon?!

After our run, we headed over to the Oregon Brewer’s Fest and tasted some good beers for a few hours before closing.

Saturday:
Beer Fest (again, if you go when it opens, there aren’t any lines!), Brunch with J, and Vinyasa with J :)
J agreed to go to yoga with me! After it was over, he agreed that there were definitely some muscles that running doesn’t work! ;)

Sunday:
Bowerman AC 5k Recap
This race was unique for 2 reasons: 1) It started at 7PM, 2) It took place on the Nike Campus (in Beaverton). The course looped around the outskirts of the campus (on road) for 1.75 laps, and finished right in the middle. It was a great course, but unfortunately, super hot (85°). There were some super fast runners there (prize money!) We met one guy who was in town with his girlfriend, and decided to join in the race for fun. He ended up just outta the $$ at 4th, but 14:40 is nothing to be ashamed of! :)

I was planning on trying to start at an 8:00 min/mi pace, and go from there. I was pretty confident I could PR from my previous 5k (27:40 last March), but wanted to see how well I could do. We started with the usual large pack of runners, a little dodging, but not too bad. It didn’t feel too warm when we began, but that quickly changed. Much of the course seemed pretty shaded, which was helpful, but hot is hot. We made it to the 1 mile marker, and I felt like we may have gone out too fast.

Mile 1: 7:30

Oops! But I was hoping I could hold on. We rounded back through the start line (at about 1.5 miles), and I only noticed the water stop after I’d already passed it. I was so thirsty! (Water stops in 5k’s seem silly, until you’re delirious from the heat!!) Less than a lap to go, and I was hurting! I slowed down a bit. I wanted to finish, after all. And hit the 2nd mile marker.

Mile 2: 7:43

Soon after that second mile marker, everything was feeling pretty good, except for my head, which told me it wanted to pass out. I tried to keep going, I really wanted to, but I had to stop, and walked for probably at least 30 seconds (gar! in a 5k!!). It was a little frustrating, but I felt better after the walk. After I rounded my visual marker, I picked myself back up and continued on. No more walking. Just get it done!

Mile 3: 8:34 (Thanks walk break!) :(

Soon after the 3rd mile marker, we turned off the loop to close in on the finish. I was NOT feeling good (but who does at the end of a 5k?) But I knew it would be over soon! I booked it as fast as I could and crossed the finish line, drenched in sweat, ravenously thirsty, and very bleary eyed.

Mile 3.1: 0:35.24 (6:50 avg pace)

Final Time:
24:25 (New PR!) (7:52 avg pace)

Overall, I’m happy with my time, and I know I did as well as I could under weather circumstances. But I still curse that walk break! I’m hoping to break 24:00 on my next one, as long as the weather cooperates.

After I was done, I found J (who’s knee did ok during the race), and he got me water, and several more cups of water. I was so thirsty. We hung around after the race to catch up with friends, and watch the leaders collect their prizes. While we were waiting, who did we see? Kara Goucher! (What a week for elite-female-runner-spotting!) We snagged a photo with her, and chatted about her pregnancy and running. She was super nice, and didn’t mind all the attention we gave her. So exciting! While we were there, we also spotted Alan Webb, Amy Yoder Begley, and Adam Goucher.

Super sweaty, striking a pose with Kara Goucher! (P.S. Yay for green!)

Overall, super great week! And a new PR! We have another 5k planned Aug 13th. It’s another evening race, but hopefully the weather will be friendlier! My legs are already feeling great today, even after yesterday’s race. Every other race has left me super sore. Maybe my legs are getting used to this whole “running” thing?

Next up:

Monday:
Power Vinyasa (J’s first heated class! :)

Tuesday:
Track

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Vinyasa

Friday:
Running

Saturday:
Long Run

Sunday:
?

I’m still on a Loosey Goosey schedule, but I’m still liking it, for now. I want to add more running to the schedule, but I’m loving the yoga too much to cut that back. Someday I’ll find the perfect balance.

Busy Bee

I’ve been a bit busy over the past 2 weeks, which is kind of why I haven’t posted in awhile, but really, I think that’s just because I got lazy. Is that an oxymoron? Here comes the recap!

Weekly Recap for 7/5-7/11

Monday:
Power Vinyasa
2 miles (easy/untimed)

Tuesday: 
3 miles (easy/untimed)
I was going to do a track workout on Tuesday; I even ran to the track and met up with everyone. But then my friend (the Sleepover Marathon organizer) and I decided to just do some easy jogging instead of the planned hill workout. My legs were toast, and this was probably a better idea than pushing through the leftover fatigue from the weekend. There’s always next week!

Wednesday:
Free Two-Step Lessons for a friend’s wedding at Bushwhacker’s. This was a lot of fun. It’s not too complicated of a dance, but getting all the footwork together with a partner is always difficult when you aren’t a dancer, and your partner has no rhythm (sorry J)!

Thursday:
Vinyasa

Friday:
Free West Coast Swing Lessons, again at Bushwhacker's. We had so much fun on Wednesday that we went back again on Friday for a different dance lesson. I think I liked this one better than the Two Step, but it was a little more difficult. The other dancers on the floor seemed to breeze through it, but I’m sure it wasn’t their first time. We need to practice, but may need to use YouTube for reminders on the steps!

Saturday:
Runner's Block Party
This event was setup to offer discounts on local races. During the event, we were able to run with our friend, who was working at the event, for a Saturday non-long run! It was super hot, but it was fun running in an unfamiliar area.

3 miles (9:40 avg pace) (That puts my mileage for the week at 8 miles, wow!)

We signed up for 4 races at the event (1 per month: July, August, September, and October). Three 5k’s and one 10k. Guess it’s time for some speedwork! Our first race is the Bowerman AC 5k on July 25th (next Sunday) and it takes place on the Nike campus. It’s an evening run, so it should be fun. J signed up as well, but his knee continues to be a little tweaked from our relay, so he may not be racing it. We’ll see. I’m looking forward to it, and really think I can get a new PR, even though some of the course is on cross-country like terrain. I think I might be just a bit faster! ;)

Weekly Recap for 7/12-7/18

Overall, this has been a GREAT week. J’s knee is still tweaked, but I have been having some great runs and some awesome yoga sessions, and I’m feeling stronger than I’ve probably ever been. Here’s the breakdown:

Monday:
Power Vinyasa
We were going to run later on during the day, but after we went wine tasting, we decided we would rather watch a movie than hit the pavement. Oh well!

Tuesday:
Track! (For real this time!)

The Workout (I figured I’d be safe using an 8:00 min/mi 5k pace to base my goal workout paces):

4 x 1000 @ L (400) (According to the pace chart, I wanted to be at about 4:56-59, or 7:53-58 min/mi pace)
5 x 200 @ S (200) (0:54-55, or 7:14-7:22 min/mi pace)

My breakdown:

1000m: 4:51 (7:48 avg pace) A little too fast…
1000m: 5:02 (8:06) Ok, now I'm too slow…
1000m: 4:46 (7:41) Oops! Again?
1000m: 4:46 (7:41) Well, at least I ended consistent!

200m: 0:47 (6:20) Whoa
200m: 0:48 (6:26) Whoa!
200m: 0:47 (6:16) Whoa!!
200m: 0:48 (6:29) Whoa!!!
200m: 0:46 (6:14) Whoa!!!!

I stayed with a group of girls that were about my speed. I was afraid I was going too fast, but it never felt like it was too much. Who knew I could run in the 6:00’s?!! (Although, it’s only 200m! :P)

Total for the evening (including warm-up and cool down):
6.71 miles (9:48 avg pace) Wow, and on a weeknight! ;)

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Vinyasa

Friday:
3.6 miles (est 11:09 avg pace?)
”Where should we run?” J had no input, so I took us on a wild adventure, up into the hills *near* Terwilliger. Lots of switchbacks, and it never seemed like it would stop going up, but it was a GORGEOUS day, and they have the BEST views up there (Mt. St. Helens, Mt Rainier, AND Mt. Hood, plus all those rivers and stuff, too :)! I took some pictures with my iPhone and will add those at the end of this post. They’re not the best quality photos, but you get the idea. The houses up there were beautiful, too. I’d never been up there before, but I’m so glad that we made the trip. Yay for impromptu hill workouts! It was a little worrisome when it would seem like we would be at the top of the hill, and then we would turn the corner and find some more uphill…but we found the way back down, and took it easy. Poor J’s knee; hills probably weren’t the best choice for him.

Saturday:
Power Vinyasa
Beer ‘N” Burgers: So much fun, and soooooo filling. Those “sliders” were huge! We didn’t finish our food, or the beer for that matter, but what we did manage to get down was delicious! Great job chefs! And while we were waiting for our first course to digest, we hit up a sale at Lululemon. Thank you beer and your inhibiting factors, and J for imbibing so I could add to my collection of running/yoga clothes! I got a new running tank, that I could also use for yoga if I wanted to, that says “PUSH YOURSELF. RUN. DO IT NOW”. I wore it for my run on Sunday, and it was soooo comfortable. I love it! I also got another new tank (for yoga and running), running capris (the most comfortable I’ve ever worn!) and new yoga capris. I also got a new headband (love them)! Needless to say, we both lugged back a bunch of stuff (we also got a bunch of free stuff at the Beer ‘N’ Burgers event!) Yay new stuff!

After that excitement, we headed home to get ready for the Timbers vs. Manchester City Game. It was an awesome game to watch (and at field level). Those Manchester City boys are set to have an impressive season in England’s Premier League, and definitely dominated the game. The Timbers still played well, I thought, and definitely got some good experience for when they go to the MLS.

Sunday:
7.2 miles (11:35 avg pace, probably)
Garmin was very unreliable and mapmyrun is always a bit sketchy for trail sections, but we’ll go with it. This was my first solo long run (J’s still broken…) I decided to try something new (notice a trend?), and added a SECOND hilly run to the week! I started by heading up Terwilliger (aka HILL!) It didn’t feel too bad while I made my way up, and the road evened out somewhat after the first section. I continued on for a few miles until I hit George Himes Park. (Does anyone else read that as “Gregory Hines”? I kept wondering why they named a park after him, but I eventually figured it out…) You descend the hill while on a trail/stair section in George Himes Park, which I walked a lot of; too steep for me. Eventually, I made it back to a familiar section along the west-side of the Willamette, and finished up by running home. It was a challenging run, but super fun. Sometimes it was a bit sketchy, and I wished that my Boy Scout Husband had been there to ensure that I wasn’t running through poisonous shrubbery, but I made it back home alive, and ready to eat the Pecan Rolls J had baked while I was gone. Mmmm….

Total mileage for the week: 17.5, much more than the previous week! Woot!

Now for the upcoming week:

Monday:
Run 3 recovery miles or yoga, we’ll see how I'm feeling after today’s “long” run.

Tuesday:
Track

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa

Thursday:
Vinyasa

Friday:
Run 4 miles

Saturday:
Long Run? or save myself for the 5k?

Sunday:
Bowerman AC 5k 

Phew…I should never be blog lazy ever again. That was a lot to get through!

Here’s some photos, as promised:

Mt Hood in the distance:

Big house:

Mt. St. Helens and our awesome city:

“Slider” or full sized burger? P.S. This one was DELICIOUS! From Laurelwood Brewery. 
This one is from Henry’s Tavern,. We couldn’t finish it… 
We were seriously THIS CLOSE to the players!
The guy on the right, in the forefront of the picture, (in white) is Emmanuel Adebayor. He’s pretty awesome at what he gets paid millions to do.

See you next weekend, unless I get lazy again…(Never!) :P

Keeping Busy

This week started with very minimal running, but ended up being a higher mileage week than last week. (Both weeks were still pretty minimal. We’re recovering!) Here’s a summary:

Monday:
Hatha Yoga Class
This was the last day of my 2 week unlimited introductory special. I wanted to try a class I hadn’t tried yet, and this one didn’t seem too intimidating. This was an ok class, and was definitely a step down in intensity from the Vinyasa classes I’ve most often attended. This was probably a good choice, anyway, since we were still recuperating from the Epic Oregon Relay. There was a little more movement than the Yin class, but not quite as vigorous as Vinyasa. At this point, I think I prefer the Vinyasa classes for my everyday yoga needs, and Yin for those days when I need a bit more meditation or a gentle day for my body. But hey! At least I know my preferences now! :)

After this class, I went ahead and bought the Summer Special, for unlimited yoga until mid-September. I don’t have any heavy training planned, and this will give me a good idea of how I can balance my yoga with my running, so I can keep it up when I am training! I’m excited!

Tuesday:
Vinyasa

Wednesday:
Power Vinyasa (including Yoga jumping jacks)
My legs were super tired after this class!

Thursday:
First Thursday!
5.31 miles “Fartlek” (11:18 avg pace, with stops for tickets thrown in, estimated without Garmin)
We found out during the day that one of the checkpoints was at the Widmer Gasthaus Pub, on the Eastside. Now, Fit Right NW is pretty solidly in NW Portland. We figured we’d probably skip it, as we usually do for the ridiculously faraway checkpoints, but when we found out most of the other checkpoints were within 1 mile of the Fit Right store, we figured, why not?! J was still hurting from the Relay, so he didn’t quite make it the whole way. (He turned back at the Broadway bridge :( ) We made it over the bridge (lovely), picked up our tickets, made our way to the Eastside Esplanade by the Steel Bridge pedestrian walkway (for a few more tickets) and noted we had only enough time to make it back to the store (with one additional stop) before the raffle would start! We made it back, and got some free beer (our real reason for participating?) and hung out with some friends. Overall, great night!

Friday:
Sleepover Marathon
One of my friends had a really neat idea: Sleepover Marathon. She has a 1.1 mile loop around her house and realized that if she did that 24 times, it would equal 26.2 miles. So she decided to have a Sleepover Marathon where were we would run 1.1 miles every hour, for 24 hours. I wasn’t sure if I could do the whole thing (I’m still a newbie) but I would aim for the half marathon, and see how my legs felt at that point.

There were 3 participants all together (2 marathon veterans, and me). J pretty much acted as our race volunteer (ie. I texted/called him when we needed stuff :). Here’s my progress throughout the race. My watch acted up during the first few miles, so my splits aren’t completely accurate, but they definitely show my progress as the night progressed. Note: We had to run 1.1 miles within the 60 minutes of each hour, so I will label each split according to the hour it was attached to, not the specific time it was run in.

6:00PM:
10:40 (9:42 avg pace)
Phew! I feel pretty good. I was worried that yesterday’s run might be too much for today. Also, I was very excited to eat the Red Robin takeout J was bringing to the house!

7:00PM:
10:15 (9:20 avg pace)
Still doing pretty good. Had to wake up the legs again, hmm… (I’m in the blue shirt in the pic below.)

8:00PM
10:02 (9:08 avg pace)
Finally starting to cool off a bit.

9:00PM
10:35 (9:38 avg pace)
Just taking it easy, I still got a ways to go.

10:00PM – 11:00PM
20:58 (9:32 avg pace) This is when we started our double laps about 15 minutes before the top of the hour, so our second lap would be completed during the first 15 minutes of the next hour, and we could have about 1 hour and 15 min of sleep.
Still taking it easy. Excited for some sleep.

12:00AM – 1:00AM
22:52 (10:24 avg pace)
I’m tired. I would like to stay sleeping. My legs are tired. And heavy. And it’s not getting better…

2:00AM – 3:00AM
24:17 (11:03 avg pace)
My legs are so freaking heavy. Holy smokes! This is hard! There is no way I can go past a half marathon. (Previous to this run, I couldn’t fall asleep for the longest time because my legs were tingling. Yikes!)

4:00AM
22:21 (10:10 avg pace)
OK. I’ve already committed to the half now. I need to finish strong. Then I can sleep and watch the Germans totally smother Argentina (Yay German Team! I’m so proud). It will be good!

Final Time
2:12 (10:00 avg pace for 13.2 miles = Ultra-Half-Marathon! ;)

Lessons learned:
1. It’s hard to run when you are warming up every mile.
2. Nutrition is important when your are running for any distance. We had dinner, and didn’t eat anything all night. Sleep was higher on our agenda at the time.
3. Water is also good.
4. It doesn’t matter if the distance is broken up; distance running is a challenge!

Saturday:
Rest Day, legs are still sore.

Sunday:
Volunteer at the Foot Traffic Flat Half and Full Marathon.
After waiting in traffic (with those poor runners) for 90 minutes (!) we got to our aid station. J decided to stay at the HEED station (gross!) and I decided to hand out some water along with some cowbell! We were only about a half mile from the finish line, so we offered the final encouragement to bring these runners back home! It was such a good time, hanging out with our fellow volunteers and offering encouragement to all these people on the final stretch of their run. It got windy and cold for the latter parts of our volunteering, hence my bundled-ness in the pic below.)

 

Since Helvetia, we haven’t really had a solid training plan. We still don’t have a “plan” at this point, but I do want to focus on some shorter races. I think we’ll be attending a Runner Block Party, where we can check out a bunch of local races, and get some good deals. Since I want to do these shorter races, I also want to get back to doing some track workouts, hopefully starting this week! Here’s my plan for the upcoming week:

Monday:
Power Vinyasa + 2-3 mile run

Tuesday:
Track

Wednesday:
Two Step Lessons for a friend’s wedding (I’m gonna count it as cross training. :)

Thursday:
Vinyasa and/or running, both if I have time! :)

Friday:
Run 3-4 Miles

Saturday:
Power Vinaysa, Long Run, Runner Block Party

Sunday:
Rest day?

Therefore, our training plan is pretty much malleable and will change week by week. We’ll see you it goes!