Marathon Hangover.....

So I ran an experiment. I learned a lot. What now?

First of all, at the end of my last post I was wondering how I would feel the next day. The only results I hadn't yet posted were of my marathon recovery. Once again, I learned even more. Of course I was slightly sore, but the marathon was on Sunday and Monday night I was doing demos of body weight squats at the gym. The first one felt a little creaky, but after that, they felt great. I was in the pool on Tuesday and cycling on Wednesday. Legs felt a little tired in the pool but other than that, the soreness went away much faster than it has in the past.

What now you ask?

Well, it seems that some peeps over at Crossfit liked my experiment. I have been invited to be their guest at a Running/Endurance Cert in LA the first weekend in December! Yeah! What does this mean? Well, I am not sure, but I know I wanted to attend one of these and didn't think it would happen for a long time. This will be a great opportunity to meet more people in the community and just be the crossfit dork that I am with good company!

In the meantime, I am going to enjoy the off-season. I really enjoyed my "marathon training" this year because: a) it gave me the exact variety I need to not get bored; and b) it is time efficient. I would actually like to run more this winter (maybe 20 miles/week); just haven't figured out when I will fit it in.

I've had many follow-up questions regarding my experiment. The most common asks something along these lines: Do you think you could PR training like this? Hmmmm. Great questions. I think the answer might be yes. I think it will take a few more tries and tweaks to my method. This gives me new enthusiasm for the marathon. I was getting bored with the classic training methods. Fortunately, I have a few months to enjoy other things before I put any structured training into practice.

Would love to hear from any of you who have tried or are trying something similar. You know what they say in science: The more data you have, the more valid. This is coming from a former middle school science teacher you know! Please share!!!

THE Experiment.

Hugging my kiddos at mile 21 or so. No actions shots!

Purpose: Could I run a sub 4-hour marathon with no long run training and added strength training (crossfit)?

Hypothesis: My first goal was really just to finish. I was doubtful that I could do it in under 4 hours, considering every other marathon I have run was accomplished with a full training plan of running at least 3 days per week, including one long run each week up to 23 miles.

Method:

1. My longest run would be at the track and would be kept to single digits. These runs consisted of extended warm-up, 3-5 miles of hard running and then a cool down to finish out mileage. My mileage these days ranged from 6-9 miles.

2. No other required running. Once in a while I would meet Julie & Courtney for hills on Fridays, but other than that, any running that was done was within a crossfit workout, which is minimal.

3. No running on weekends!!! I had a life on the weekend!

4. Crossfitting 4-5 times/week.

5. Swimming 1-2 times/week.

6. Cycling once/week.....and that is only if I was teaching my cycle class that week.

7. No taper.

Result: 3:31:01 (my PR is a 3:06:xx)

I started out ultra conservative. First mile was 8:40, 2nd 8:20, 3rd 8:40 and kept it in the mid 8's for quite some time. I passed the 9 mile mark expecting at any moment to explode since that is the longest distance I had run. Didn't happen. I kept up a decently conservative pace, enjoyed the crowd AND the absolutely perfect running conditions.

I passed the 1/2 marathon mark at about 1:49 feeling awesome. I sped up just slightly until the 20 mile mark. I didn't hit the wall. I sped up more. My last 5.2 were all done at sub 7 minute pace. I felt like a million bucks.

Conclusion:

I am completely shocked with this result. I was very doubtful I could break 4 hours, let alone feel good doing it. I was convinced at some mile in the teens I would hit the wall and the rest of it would be extremely painful. I was packing ibuprofen just in case! I thought I would be out of commission for the rest of the day. Not only is that not the case, I have been going non-stop since I got home! I can walk down the stairs like I normally do AND sit down and get up from the toilet without pain!

What did I learn from this experience? Much more than I ever thought I would....I learned that I am NEVER going to do long runs for a marathon again. If I ever go for a PR, my runs may go up to 15, but that 's it. I truly believe it's NOT necessary! How you start your marathon is SO important! I have always known this but had to learn the hard way. Being conservative at the beginning and not freaking out about going too slow is key. Increased strength training kept me strong throughout and less sore at the end. Crossfit helped me mentally because even though those workouts are shorter than a marathon, they are the hardest ones you will ever do!

One other conclusion I made was that my body was fresh from not doing long runs and/or high mileage. I wasn't borderline injured like many are that do a lot of miles. My body was fresh and my mind was ready to go!

I don't want to minimize the importance of training here. I trained very hard, it just wasn't specific to marathon. I wouldn't recommend doing your first marathon this way. This worked for me because I have several marathons under my belt and know how to start. I don't know anyone that hasn't had to learn this the hard way. In that case, those long runs will definitely come in handy!

Now, we will see how I feel tomorrow morning!!

Marathon Schmarathon!

At one of my marathons that I actually trained for.......

I have had the best training season EVER! Why is that? Well, it must be because I never felt like I had to train, I just did it because I wanted to. Let me back up. My last tri was July 4th so since then, my workouts have been completely random. There is a marathon on October 4th that I am doing and two weeks ago, my husband asked me, "Are you really running the marathon?" My response was, "Yes." He replied, "Well then, shouldn't you be running?" Probably. Oh well.

I have seven marathons under my belt. Each one was its own unique experience. So, to continue that tradition, I wanted to conduct a little experiment. Could I run a decent marathon without any long runs and added strength training?

My goal was to keep my so called "long runs" in the single digits. So I have run a handful of 9 milers here and there, but certainly nothing consistent. I have had weeks where I have run 12 miles and some as high as 24 miles. Not nearly as much mileage as I am used to. However, I am crossfitting 5-6 times per week, swimming twice and running on Mondays and then sometimes in my crossfit workouts. That's it. Nothing on the weekends. No long runs. My husband can't believe it.

It will be very interesting since right now I am running faster than I ever have. My last mile split was 5:27. My intervals at the track are faster than ever. People that I run with at track are certain I will PR. I always laugh inside when someone says this. I know this will be my most painful marathon (well, probably comparable to my first Boston which was a death march). My first goal is to just finish and secondly, I would love to finish in under 4 hours.

Do I have a plan? At first I thought I would walk the first minute of each mile. I then thought it would drive me crazy to hear the spectators yelling at me to "keep going girl, you can run!" or at mile 3 say, "It's too early to walk!" Then I thought it would be great to run backwards for the first minute of each mile since that always feels so good. Then I thought the other runners around me might not appreciate that so much.

So, any suggestions for survival during this marathon? Would LOVE to hear them!

Mid-Life Crisis!

Why am I not wanting to buy a hot red sports car? Or trade my husband in for a younger model? Or get boobs that don't move or botox that lets me express myself? Why am I not normal? What is wrong with me?

What do I want? Well, I want too much too quick. That is the first sign that I am experiencing a mid-life crisis. I want to open my own gym when I know I am not quite ready. Everything I do points to me doing this. I have my following, I have established my classes but I can't REALLY grow my business without a facility. Wow, that is a big step. Until now, having no overhead has been sweet. No pressure to make the numbers, I only pay rent when I use a space so why would I want to take that next step? Maybe it is because I am confident I can do it. My clients are awesome but I need to offer more. My schedule is opening up in the fall so I want to pursue some clients with this time. Or maybe it is because my husband can't believe how much my fitness equipment is taking over our garage! Maybe a gym in my garage......hmmmm.

What else do I want? Well, I want to see what I am capable of. In sport and profession. This whole crossfit games idea has got me a bit re-energized to the point of me thinking I should just sell my tri bike and buy some other equipment. While triathlon was fun while it lasted, I am realizing now that it didn't make me as fit as I would like, which was the original goal. I was decently fit moving forward, but put me on a soccer field, ask me to play softball or volleyball and there was a very good chance I would get injured. That is not the athlete I want to be. I always thought the three disciplines made me well rounded. It definitely gave me the variety I needed at the time, but it didn't get me where I really wanted to go. Don't get me wrong, the sport of triathlon will always hold a special place in my heart, I love coaching athletes and being part of that community. I hope I can bring another piece to triathletes I coach in the form of strength.

Your thoughts on these things I WANT RIGHT NOW? And have to wait for?

So sports cars have never really impressed me. I have a hot hubby and I am SO very lucky that he puts up with me. And the boobies and smile lines are just what they are.....part of me (plus, the idea of having sugery when it is not really necessary just seems like a bad idea to me). Upon reflection, I think I. Am. Normal. I just place value on different things. For instance, when Matt and I were in Chicago we walked by the Burberry store. He said I could go in and buy whatever I wanted. I had no interest. I walked on by. However, I made damn sure we visited CrossfitChicago and went to the Goose Island Brewery that weekend! Priorities!!!!

Zoning Out.....Or In.

I am finally admitting that I am one of the lucky ones. Call me a bitch, whore, whatever. I can eat whatever I want. I can and have done just that up until July 6, 2009. I said it. Whatever I want, when I want and as much as I want. So there. Granted, I have always had a love for moving, and doing so at high intensity at times. So it is quite possibly you might hate me for that too. Yes, I love to be active.

What happened on July 6th you might ask? Well, with my short triathlon season over, I started to wonder what was next. Damian, the head trainer over at CrossfitMN happened to mention the idea of getting me to the crossfit games next year. I totally laughed at him when he said this. Hilarious. Then I started to think, "Why the hell not? I know what my weaknesses are and if I worked on them, why would I not have a chance at going?" Once these thoughts went through my brain, I started to think about what I needed to fine tune in order to get me there. Well, when it comes down to it, my diet is something I have never given much thought to. So maybe it was time to do that.

The Zone Diet is endorsed by Crossfit. To sum it up, the goal of the zone is to keep the insulin/glycogen levels happy so you don't have your highs/lows throughout the day. It involves weighing/measuring food, getting 40% of my calories from carbs/30%prot/30%fat and getting it throughout the day and not just in three meals. My life was consumed by this process for about 3 weeks. I wanted to commit to this process for 30 days and re-evaluate after this time period.

In three weeks I lost 4 pounds which was not the goal. The goal was to feel better throughout the whole day (which I was experiencing for the most part) and not have those late afternoon sugar cravings (which I have not had since day 1). But, I wanted to maintain my weight. So, I had to re-evaluate prior to my 30 day period was over.

It is August 2nd and for a couple of days I have not been following The Zone exactly as prescribed. HOWEVER, I have learned so much from this process and will NEVER, EVER eat like I did before. It was a great learning experience for me, especially for when that time comes that I will NOT be able to eat whatever I want.

The Zone is a great model and I will follow a modified version for a very long time (likely the rest of my life). My performances at Crossfit have been stellar and I attribute this in part to the change in my diet. Now, for my most immediate goal.......Twin Cities Marathon with NO LONG TRAINING RUNS. Do you think this new diet will make up for my lack of training? Probably not, but this marathon is an experiment of sorts. More on that to come.

I CAN swim.

I did a triathlon today. YEAH! Have to say, I had fun. My transitions were a bit rusty to say the least and well, I think biking a little bit more than one hour a week would have helped out my bike leg but I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the swim and run!!! 

Can I say that I am a swimmer now? I think I can! AND, I had fun doing it which I could not say in past years. Even with all the weeds. Bring it on!  AND, after getting completely hosed on the bike I had the task of trying to run down a few competitors. 

Now I just need to figure out when to bike. Hmmmm. 

What did you say?

Apparently, my three year old boy loves big titties. At least, that's what he said. After being told recently by his preschool teacher at school and a neighbor that they can't understand what Willie is saying, I thought they were CRAZY. I can understand everything perfectly. Sure, he has a bit of a lisp and if you don't know anything about Transformers, autobots and decepticons,  you won't have a clue as to what he is referring to.  And yeah, sometimes he gets a bit overzealous talking about his passions(spiderman, ironman, batman, transformers......), but hey, enthusiasm is a good thing.

The other day we were driving in the car from Burnsville to Minneapolis on 35W. It was a clear day and we could see the Minneapolis skyline perfectly. My son Charlie (5) exclaims, "There's the big city, that's where we live and that's where we are going!" Willie's reply, "I love big titties, I love big titties." My husband was very proud and now I understand what the preschool teacher and neighbor were referring to.

I will leave you with that for now (whoever might be reading this).......