My thoughts on taper

As I mentioned before, I tapered before the Louisiana Marathon this past week. It's the first time I really tapered, so I was curious to see how I felt. Would my legs feel fresh and energetic? Would I be chomping at the bit at the starting line?

Underneath those tights are unprepared muscles. 

Hardly.
Here's how my taper went and how I felt:
What I normally do: Well, this totally depends on what other races I've done in the past few days or weeks. Usually my last long long run is two weeks out; this could be 18 or 20. I drop volume just a little in the days leading up to the race, with 3 - 6 miles the day before the race. If I just ran a hard or long race, I may take the whole week leading up easy.
Taper summary: This time my last long run was 20 miles, a full three weeks out from race day, The next weeks my long runs were 14 and 12 miles. I did "easy" speed work each week, except that I skipped one week while I was sick. I decreased my total mileage to around 35 miles (down from 45 - 55) and my last week I did just 30 heading into the race.
How I felt before the race: In a made-up word, unfresh. My lack of miles and low speeds made my muscles feel unused, and each run for the last week felt like I had taken a long break. Rather than feel rested and ready, I felt stiff and uncomfortable. Less running affected my appetite, too, and I didn't feel like eating much. That would be normal, except I didn't want to head into a race hungry.
How I felt during the race: I started out with the same "unused" feeling in my muscles, as if I'd taken too many days off. But that was not the biggest problem. I think my long taper had made my body forget how to retain fuel for the finish. I hit the wall in this race, and that is NOT the norm for me, yet overall I had fueled well during the race. I just think you have to train your body to use fuel efficiently for a long distance, and my body wasn't used to this. Usually during a race I start feeling the need for fuel at very regular intervals: I start at mile 6, even though I don't feel like I need it yet, then I continue to take half-packets of GU at 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22. Sometimes I'll take some at 8 instead of 22. But this race I felt like I was burning through the energy and not hanging onto any of it. Result? WALL. 7:41 instead of 7:11. And felt like I was running a 5:30. Ugh.
How I felt after the race: I am rarely sore, but I think my muscles took this one a little too seriously. I have some quad and hamstring soreness. I usually recover speedily, but this time I'm not.
What I think will work for me: No more long tapers. I will do my last long run (like 20) two weeks out, and while my regular runs will be easy, I'd rather take an extra day off instead of decreasing mileage each day. I will keep the speedwork, as I find it keeps my muscles ready for race pace. And I will NEVER take off the day before a race if I can help it; when I have it has always resulted in poor performance!
So - do you taper? If so, how long? And if you run short distances, do you still do a taper or a rest day?

Louisiana Marathon: Race Recap

The Louisiana Marathon was my "goal" race this year, meaning that when I finally decided to dig out a training plan,* I picked this race to stick at the end (I ran two other marathons this Fall as long runs). It was also the only marathon I've truly tapered for. So I was going in with a definite goal - 3:10 - and a less definite plan.

Oatmeal and coffee, made in the hotel room

Getting ready...sorry about the nasty bedhead and no makeup; that's how I roll for races! 

Sunday morning David and I walked to the start area from our hotel. We had stayed a sleepless night in Hotel Indigo - thanks to the sobbing parents, security, and police which invaded our floor from 1 am to 3 am because the parents had gone out and their kids locked themselves in the room and refused to respond. Eventually the smirking brats opened up and informed the world that they did it "as a joke" (P.S. their parents suck for leaving them alone, too.) Total waste of money. I got NO sleep. 
I was a bit concerned about running an inaugural race, but the start area was well-organized, there were ample port-o-potties, and the race started on time. NICE. All signs of a good race!
I had a garbage bag and throw-away gloves because it was in the 30's for the start. 

Chilly start! Notice my super-convenient Gu armband and my drug dealer gloves.

So, since I didn't have a plan, I started out way too fast. I kept trying to reign it in, but the cold temps tricked me into faster speeds. I ran the first two miles under 7:00, but forced myself to pull back and kept around the 7:10 range for the first half. I was chatting for several miles with two guys planning on running a 3:10, and I'm blaming them for my early speed - they were out too fast, too! (They finished in 3:12).
The course was not as nice as Baton Rouge beach - more boring stretches of empty neighborhoods, less pretty lakes - and it was actually slightly hilly. Nothing bad, just lots of long stretches of mild grade and small hills. What sucked, though, is that the half and full course divided and reconverged  several times throughout the race. This meant the a group of 7:10 pace marathoners were funneled into a group of 10:30 pace half-marathoners, where we were stuck for several miles, then got dunked in again even later - near the 11 or 12 mile mark for the half, when many of the runners at this point were slowed or walking (oh, and I had to skip the water stops; too crowded with stopped runners!). This happened three times; the last was near the finish, so I was dodging weary halfers drudging on, just trying to complete the distance. I'm not blaming the half runners at all; it was just the design of the course.This hurt my time a tad: I am queen of running tangents and had been spot on the mile markers, but after the second time the two races met, I was off by a full 0.1 mile (I finished with 26.35 Garmin, way far for me, since I'm good with tangents).
Around mile 16 I lost the guys I had been chatting with and passed a girl - the first female marathoner I'd seen all day - and then I passed Alison, a 16 year old from Baton Rouge! She rocks - her first marathon last month was a 3:24 and Sunday she ran a 3:15. If she was better at pacing she'd beat me. I was staying strong but I had no idea what my place was. I noticed several speedy looking women up front at the start; I guessed I might be top ten! 
Then I hit the wall. Really. Here is where I think taper hurt me. I was not used to the distance and I hit the wall around mile 20. I had just taken a Cliff gel (from the course) and they are very thick, almost chewy. It tried to come back up. Like, seriously, I thought I was going to puke! I struggled, kept it down, but pitched the rest of the pack. I glanced down and my hard effort showed an 8:11 pace on the Garmin. It felt like 6:50's! By now I was so close, I just wanted to push to the end. I was getting very warm - it was in the 60's now - and the shadeless course left my head baking in the sun. I'd over-dressed in my tights. I was covered in sweat and my non-wicking Saints babydoll top was sticking to my body. Mile 22 crept up to 7:23. Mile 23 was even slower at 7:29. Mile 24 I was just holding on with 7:30. Mile 25 I ran into the halfers again and barely made a 7:41. Mile 26 I managed a 7:37, and finished the final fractions with 6:32 pace. I totally chicked this guy at the end, too. 

I'm sneaking up behing you!  

I passed you in the chute, SO rude! Sorry dude, I had a time goal :(

I didn't even realize that I was going to make 3:10 when I hit the wall because my foggy brain couldn't do math. I had myself running a 3:12 even if I kept 7:30 pace at the end - I cannot multiply on low blood glucose. Seeing a 3:09 as I came around the corner was a big boost; so was hearing that I was third female! I had no idea up to that point.

My shoes are doing an amazing job of hiding amongst the orange cones. Camo!

My official time was 3:09:36. I felt Ok at the finish, but I didn't recover as well as usual this time around. After my gel incident, I didn't take any more gels and was even afraid to eat. I was hungry, and no longer felt nausea, but I had come so close to throwing up that I didn't want to risk any food. By the time I realized that this was stupid, the food was gone and we were ready to drive home. So I think my muscle recovery is a little impaired by that. I also feel kind of crappy because I have a horrendous sunburn! 
It's time now to think about what's next. I still have three marathons this season, but none are PR-friendly (warm weather, hilly course, Boston - I'm sure I'll bomb at Boston). Maybe I should plan longer term? What do you think?
*Then when my hubby set up my new computer, he threw it out to make room on my desk. 

Sam's debut

This brother is running his first real race tomorrow.

Sam, looking like a poet

He's run a few local races before , including a 4-miler in which he beat a local standout who runs cross country for LSU (I don't want to be mean and name this person, but basically our pep talks before races pretty much always include, "Get out there and beat so-and-so!"). But this weekend's half-marathon is his first larger race, and his first long-distance as well. (He ran the Crescent City Classic 10k a year and a half ago, but he had not begun running seriously at that point and ran it for fun.)
I think Sam will be really, really good. He's not tall, just average, but has long legs and is quite lean. He doesn't run as far as Abe does, but his speed has passed Abe's up. He's still a teen so he has time for improvement, too.
I think if he has a good race he can do this half-marathon in about 1:20. 
Gone are the days when I could outrun my little brothers!

Do you have siblings or kids in sports? Are you their rabid fans? Do you urge them to beat other specific kids? Haha. Good thing I  don't have children; I'd be the soccer mom everyone hates.

Rivershack Run 2-mile

Well, I'm officially a bad blogger. This weekend I had my brother over from Pennsylvania (sleeping on my couch) and my the rest of my local family over for brunch, and I ran a fun race - and I have zero photos to show for it. I'm a wretch. I'm sorry.
But I snapped a belated picture of this:

The race I ran was the Rivershack 2-mile race, and these were the awards - trivets! Cute idea. Randomly, my brother (who was in town for a wedding) and a friend had had a lively debate all day about what exactly a trivet was (after discussing wedding gifts) and I was able to put their minds at ease by showing them mine. Yeah, I said it was random.
Anywho, Saturday morning I ran close to eleven miles at a pretty fast pace (for me, grain of salt here please) - 7:34s. Then that night we decided to run to the start of the race, since it was only 3.5 miles. So when I arrived at the race my legs weren't exactly fresh. Good thing it was just 2 miles!
It was raining for the race and actually it had rained all day. This cooled things down a little, but still didn't help my pace. I simply can't wrap my head around short distances. The race was fine, I kept a pretty even pace, I only slipped once (wet grass up the side of the levee!), my legs only felt mildly wobbly, and I finished 8th overall. But you know, I finished with too much left in the tank. For once I just want to run a short race and finish exhausted, spent, gasping for breath. I know these short distances are not my "thing" but I am annoyed that I under-perform in them!
I ended up with a 13:30 and a 2nd place age group finish, which earned me a trivet. I would show you a lovely race photo of me with the other female winners, everyone smiling in the camera but me (I don't know what I'm looking at, but it's over my right shoulder), except Facebook doesn't let you copy photos anymore. Losers.
After the race, there was pizza, red beans, beer, live music and fireworks! What! Pretty sweet for a 2-miler! Luckily for me, we ran into some friends at the after party and they offered us a ride back. I wouldn't have minded running back home but running with a trivet sounds pretty awkward.
Photos you may have liked to see:
- Group family photo
- Fireworks after the race
- Action race shot, courtesy of the hubby
- Picture of my glamorous brunch menu
Pictures you don't care about that I actually took:
- A trivet
Sorry guys.

Tell me no!

I just got an email that piques my interest. It's about a marathon. 

A midnight marathon.

In Audubon Park.

It's free.

And it's this Sunday!

I absolutely want to run 13 loops around Audubon in the middle of the night. I really do! But I think that may be a bad idea since I'm totally untrained and I'm still (supposed) to be on a 3 miles, 3 times a week running limit (I'm not, though, 'cause I'm terrible at following directions). 

(At this point, pretend I have a beautiful picture of the park at night. I don't, because the only one I liked was on Shutterfly for sale for real money I don't have.)

But boy, do I want to do it. 

I'm off work Monday, now that I have a crazy awesome job with holidays off, so that's no problem. 

What should I do?

Greek Fest 5k...a return to running

I ran the Greek Fest 5k last Friday - my first run back after hurting my leg. It's a night race, warm and humid, and lots of stars show up since there's a cash prize. People OBSESS about the cash prizes.
I decided to take it easy and stop if my leg hurt. Of course, I started out way too fast. I hadn't run in almost two weeks, plus I wanted to assess the leg, so I should have backed off: but everyone started so fast I did, too. The pace was far too quick for me (mile one: 6:28) and I paid for it: my second mile was 6:58 and in the third mile pains started shooting up my leg. I walked it off but you know...races are high pressure...I started running again since I figured "damage done"  and finished in 21:54. BAD.
Worse, my leg hasn't improved since. I thought I was ok to do a few runs but now it's swollen. What's up with that?!

The Greek Orthodox Church and canoeing on Bayou St. John

Greek Fest, of course, was fun - the race fee ($15) includes entry to Greek fest and two beers in addition to your T-shirt and swag, so you really almost break even. Entry plus two beers would cost you $11 without the race. It's a deal! We ate lamb sausage pita by the bayou and relaxed. So fun!
I guess it's back to the elliptical for me, though. Can someone please recommend another form of cardio? I'm losing my mind.

Jazz Half Marathon early bird entry

If you register now it's just $50 - until March 6th.

You better run it in costume. It's Halloween weekend!!!!

Next race: The Wall

Well, I did it. I signed up for another race. I couldn't stand sitting around all winter waiting for the Mardi Gras Marathon, which is a full 2 months after my most recent marathon, the pretty awful Thunder Road in Charlotte. So I signed up for The Wall, a 30k the last weekend in January. Much like last year, I signed up for this race while out of shape and sick, thinking it would be an incentive. I think last year this is the race that nearly killed me. I was extremely injured - like, every part of my body - and got a bad bacterial infection after. This might have been related to running 18+ miles in bitter cold wind in capris and layered cotton T-shirts, since I didn't own any cold weather running clothes last year.
This is a picture of the course last year AFTER THE FINISH. At the start it was darker, colder, and bleaker. And the bridge looked even more like a torture instrument.

Just seeing this picture from last year gives me knee pain.

Now, I've come a long way running since last year. For one thing, I have two working knees as opposed to one knee and one water balloon full of tiny daggers. For another, I bought running tights. Take that, cold weather! I also have a few more long runs under my belt, by which I mean I've done a couple of marathons. I don't really do that well on the long runs if they aren't a race... which is precisely why I'm running The Wall.


This year, I have a few goals for The Wall.
1. Stay with the pack. Last year a large group of runners started early, allowing the state championship competitors to start together. I started late and ended up stranded right in the middle between the fast people and the slow people. Zero wind protection and zero companionship.
2.Start strong. I had only one long run under my belt last year and wasn't sure how to pace myself; combined with the rough head-wind I started out extremely slowly.
3. No Wall at the The Wall. I thought there was course support last year (because the flyer said there was) but there was only water. Or I was so slow there was only water left when I got there. My blood sugar plummeted. This year I'll bring Gu!
4. Beat my time from last year. Hahahahahaha! If I don't beat last year's pathetic time of 2:55 it means I walked it.

What's your next race? Do you use races for long runs? Have you ever had a horrible, terrible running experience and then willingly chose to recreate it? Hee hee.

Safe Driving Tips...and cholesterol

Today I'm taking a moment to share with you some safe driving tips I received in the mail from my health insurance company. You may guffaw if you like.
"Put your cell phone on silent before you enter the car."
"Pull over in a safe location and park your vehicle if you must make a phone call."
"Explain on your voice mail greeting that if you are driving you will be unable to return the phone call immediately."
Now I personally believe I am what is known scientifically as a "supertasker" - someone who can complete multiple tasks while performing dangerous operations with no detriment to attention. I am a big multitasker (you think I'm blogging right now but I'm also listening to NPR, doing a webinar, eating breakfast, folding laundry, and answering an awkward email). When I was an undergrad I had a 30 minute commute to class. I used that time for assigned reading, eating my breakfast, and flashcards. I ate lunch on the way to work and dinner on the way home from work. I got SO used to eating in the car that I had no appetite if I wasn't driving! None of this ever seemed to distract me. I still multitask in the car, sorry other drivers. It's the only time I make phone calls and I (forgive me!) usually I bring something to do, like scientific literature reading to catch up on. Louisiana recently passed a law that texting while driving can be a primary offense, so I have to stop that, however.
I should probably cap this paragraph off with the fact that I've never been in an accident despite long commutes basically since high school. And as far as I know I haven't left any accidents in my wake either, haha.
How are you in the car? Distracted? Multitasking? Texting and Talking? Updating your facebook status?
And now a word about cholesterol. I worry about mine because I'm half Armenian and some Armenian women have hereditary low HDL. Mine used to mediocre - 42 - not low, but not at all good. After increasing exercise and increasing fiber (which definitely lowers LDL and I have a theory raises HDL) I have bumped it up to 68! High-sky, as my Lebanese professor used to say! May I recommend a little Metamucil daily? (For interested parties, yes, my high HDL did spike my total cholesterol; it was about 140 but that doesn't bother me as my LDL was in the 70's).
And in totally random and un-related news to anything under the sun, at the hubby's work picnic I came in second female in the 2 mile fun run. I earned the hubby instant notoriety for finishing several minutes behind me and we have been the subject of several teasing work emails. Good thing he's such a good sport, poor kid!

5k tomorrow and crazy work

Two things to chat about. First, I'm running the Greek Fest 5 k tomorrow. It sounds like oodles of fun. I've never actually been to the Greek Fest before. I hope I can keep my mouth off hunks of feta cheese and handfuls of olives before running, that's all. Except that shouldn't be a problem because I'm feeling rather bleah today. Some nasty little vomitty customer must have slipped me a stomach bug along with their prescription. Luckily I have a strong stomach and tend to get over these things in a few days. We'll see how the run goes, though - my run this evening was definitely on the slow side!
Second, one of the pharmacy technicians where I worked today quit without giving notice and I'm working at that store for about a week. Figures. It was, and will continue to be, crazy!
Wish me luck tomorrow at my 5k. I wonder if the winners get laurels? Wouldn't that be cute and Olympic?

Race this weekend!

In an effort to be less fat, I am running a race on Saturday. It's just a 5k so I probably won't die.
But here's how I complicated it. I told you, I do that.
I applied recently for a residency at a large local health care company. They have like 5 hospitals and a bunch of clinics- big stuff in this area. Well, I didn't get the residency. I'm a little surprised and a little upset (not too much). Unfortunately that company is hosting this race and I'll probably see a lot of higher-ups who just turned my application down. A little uncomfortable, eh?
Maybe I'll just run so fast that nobody can see me in the blur of speed!

I'm curious. What's a decent 5 k speed for a mid-twenties girl? I don't want a gold medal or anything but I do really hate to be last.

This is me running a race last July. I'm the one under the rainbow...isn't that cool?