Eugene Marathon Recap (for real)

I'm ready to end my pity party in the last post and recap like an adult.  Thanks for reading the last post and for your comments. 

Pre-Race

I got to Eugene on Friday night after driving down from Portland with Anthony. We met up with SarahOual and Emily for some food and drinks.

Super Flattering Photo Courtesy of OUAL

I was immediately struck by how gosh darn cute Eugene is.  Full of flowers, green hills, and damn good breweries.  I can see why people love it.

The next day, we met up with Mason (of nuun) and his gorgeous family at Off The Waffle. I am not someone who is usually struck by breakfast food (it all kind of tastes the same to me), but HOLY CRAP y'all.  These waffles are no joke. I got one with cheese, pears, and walnuts on it, but Anthony won this round.  He got the waffle with egg, bacon, cheese, and extra special love because it was amazing.  I've honestly been wondering how we can get back to Eugene just to eat more of them.

Another stolen photo from Emily Sweats!

We picked up SR at the  airport, picked up our packets, and somehow managed to get free tie dye t-shirts at the Expo AND see Lauren Fleshman.  Good stuff.  We cooked a "running fam" pasta dinner, watched "Without Limits" and I nearly peed my pants in nervousness when I thought about running the marathon the next day. 

Also from OUAL.  I'm sorry guys, I sucked at pictures this weekend.

A few sleepless hours later, it was go time.

Race Day

We woke up, got ready to some sort of pump me up music and Anthony drove us to the start.   He kissed me goodbye and before I knew it, it was time to go.

SR had a plan to basically write up all the splits herself, and I would run without a Garmin. Actually, I was supposed to run without a watch at all. The plan was to try for a 3:25 and hope for better.  In retrospect, this was probably too ambitious given that my legs were still noticeably sore from Ragnar 2 days before Eugene.  But hindsight is 20 20, I suppose.   This didn't really register with me at the time. 

We set off the first few miles around a 7:50 pace.  And it actually felt pretty good.  SR was telling me things like "run the tangents" and getting me water or gatorade from the aid stations.  It was actually pretty cute (and wonderful) how serious she was taking her job as a pacer. 

At some point, we ran by Lauren Fleshman and SR yells "Lauren, I want to have your babies!" or something to that effect.  Funniest part of the race, for sure! 

Around mile 10, I was starting to feel not as good.  And what felt even worse is that in a marathon, if you're starting to feel tired at mile 10, this doesn't bode well for the rest of the day.   We went through the half around 1:42:40, which was right on pace.  But I was already feeling hot and not relaxed.  I told Sarah we were going to need to readjust goals.  That today wasn't my day, and we should aim for a 3:30.   I'm not sure if this was a mental defeat at this point, but I don't think so.  I really don't think my body wasn't ready to book 20 miles at 7:50 and then race.

As the miles clicked on, I tried to take things one mile at a time.  By around mile 17, Sarah was saying things like "Just 2 laps to make it to next mile marker.  You're a great track runner, that's nothing."  I was probably the worst running partner in the world because at that point, I was just grunting in response. 

By around mile 21, I was getting really hot.  It's weird...I really love racing in 40 degree weather, and anything hotter than that is tough for me.   I also started looking at my watch.  Sarah continued talking me up.  "You put in the time training, now this is where you show it!".   By around mile 22, I figured I could pull a 3:32, but almost definitely would not break 3:30.  I just wanted it to be over.

Finally we saw the mile 26 marker.  It was probably the most beautiful thing I've seen in a while. 

As we rounded the corner into Hayward Field, I told myself to run this 200m like I was...well...racing the 200m.   I sprinted in with all that I had, and as I crossed my legs collapsed underneath me.  Dramatic flourish as always. 

3:32:40

Sarah held me up, walked me to the finish area and got us some snacks.   Some blog readers recognized her (as others did along the whole course!) and we talked with them for a moment.  We then met up with Anthony (who had brought a picnic basket of booze for the girls, no joke) and then saw Emily, who ran a damn 3:08 (wow!) and SarahOual who ran a massive PR at 3:37. 

Another blatantly stolen photo

Post Race Thoughts

The Bad:  As I mentioned before, I didn't run anywhere near where I wanted to at this race. That said, marathons are weird (maybe that's what makes them kind of magical?) and I ran Ragnar Ultra the week before.  I also didn't see great results during my training cycle.  
This race was not a lot of fun for me.  It was beautiful, and flat, but I just couldn't enjoy it.  Burn out, I suppose.  Nothing against Eugene, for sure.  It's a beautiful town.

The Good: I did the best I could.  I had an AWESOME and encouraging pacer/friend running with me the whole time. 
I had great friends here and Anthony as well.  This time was still a small PR and that's better than nothing. 

What's Next :  I am going to spend the next couple weeks taking it very easy.  I'd love to run some shorter races and do a sprint tri this summer.  I'd also like to take the time to recharge and get excited about running again.  It might take a little bit of time, but I hope to come back strong and ready to go.

Blame It On Your Brain

This weekend, (as you probably know if you're a running blog reader), I ran the Eugene marathon.  I'll write the recap, but this is not it.  I'd rather get the emo stuff out now and try to make the recap more fun.

I have very mixed feelings about the race. I ran a 3:32:40. 

That's about 2 and a half minute PR.

I am SO thankful for a few things:
1) My boyfriend Anthony came down and hung out with us girls the entire weekend.  He got up, drove us to the start, took pictures, drove me back up to Portland, etc.  And he was a sweetheart about it. 

2) Sarah (SR) ran with me the WHOLE time.  She researched the best way to pace me, spoke with others, wrote damn splits on her arm, got me water at almost every aid station, was SO encouraging at the end, and didn't let me hit the track ground during my overly dramatic finish as my legs pretty much gave out.  I have no doubt I finished better with her than I would have on my own.  What a great friend.

3) Eugene and the people there:  It was a great weekend and a beautiful town. It was great to see friends and meet new ones.

But I'm finding it really hard to be thankful for my race.  I know a 3:32 marathon isn't a BAD time.  However, about a year ago, I ran Boston on almost no training in a time not too far off from this one.

This training cycle, I poured my heart and time into making this a great PR race.  I figured a 3:20 was a stretch and a 3:25 was reasonable.   I have never tried so hard for anything in my running "career".   And I came up very short. 

It's not that I didn't give Eugene my all.  I did.  I had a great pacer, good weather, great support.  I could blame this on the Ragnar Ultra last week.  I could blame this on over training in general.  But, I don't know what led to me not reaching my goals.  I know it's still a PR but I also know that this does not feel good. 

So instead of giving you excuses, I will give you Milli Vanilli:

Gotta blame it on something (gotta blame it on something) 
 
BLAME IT ON THE RAIN.  YEAAAHHH. YEAHHHHH.   

Rising to the Occasion

This post is a few things that don't deserve their own separate post, but I thought they were entertaining enough to combine.  Hope you agree!

Long Run = A-Ok
I had a decent long run for the first time of the history of the world!  What made this run special was that I ran miles 16-19 on the track in 20:52 (which was somewhat shocking for some reason), and that I was able to complete 22 without dying or having a completely ruined day afterwards.  I get that I'm supposed to be running miles at marathon pace, but there is something miserable about running at 7:40 pace that I can't take.  It's uncomfortable but still takes forever.  No thank you.

The funniest part of this run was stopping for water at mile 20.  After about ten seconds drinking at the water fountain, the 8 year old kid in line behind me said "Hey!  I'm thirsty too!".  Clearly he didn't see I was about to die.  His sympathy for women on long runs is clearly limited.  

I also ran the last few miles just in the lululemon "ta ta tamer" bra because it got blazing hot and I couldn't take wearing my long sleeve anymore.  This thing straight up looks like a bra, with clasps in back and cleavage in front.  Orange County, you're welcome for the free show.

Stuff Regarding Hood To Coast
If you are alive and read more than zero running blogs, you might have noticed that Nuun is calling for runners to apply to be on their Hood To Coast relay.  I did it last year and it rocked.  But after a lot of waffling I decided not to apply. It was partially for stupid reasons like fear of rejection and that I've been pretty swamped lately.  But a lot of my decision is because I am certain if I got a spot, I would be taking this experience from someone who would benefit more from it than me.  Also, I spent a lot of time peeing in the woods and falling asleep in fields last year, so I'm probably doing my potential teammates a favor.

When I applied last year for the relay, I'd written my sarcastic, very small blog for 2 months and probably had 5 readers.  And the guys/gals at Nuun took a chance on me.  They've been nothing but wonderful to me in the past year, and I'm really thankful.  And I am pretty addicted to their drink - which is probably half of why I can survive long runs without massive headaches these days.  So even though I'm not applying...Nuun, this bud's for you.  I know you'll pick an amazing team.

No Self-Respecting Greek Man Would Ever Want To Marry Me

I used to post recipes on this blog.  I stopped doing this because I realized I wasn't a good enough cook to be posting recipes for people and that most of my recipes weren't unique anyways.  But this weekend, I decided maybe I could post a recipe.   I attempted to make "Tsoureki", which is a Greek Easter bread.  I also thought it would be a good way for me to talk about being Greek, because if you've ever met anyone who is Greek, you'd know they want to bring it up at any half-relevant opportunity (see Tina Fey, Jennifer Aniston, John Stamos, etc.).

I started cooking at 10 pm Saturday night and I didn't notice that the recipe said that the bread needed at least 5 hours to rise.  I wasn't about to stay up until 3 AM so I stuck the dough in the fridge and went to sleep.

This morning, I pulled the bread out of the fridge and excitedly baked it.   "Now I am really in touch with my heritage!", I thought!  "I am a domestic goddess!"

Turns out, bread doesn't rise well in the fridge.  I took the loaf out of the oven, and it had the density of a football.  Definitely not delicious.

And then the wonderful irony of an Easter bread not rising hit me.

In that moment, the baking failure became one of the most fun failures I've had in a while.  I may not have a delicious bread, but at least my 6 hours in the kitchen gave me dorky Easter humor.

Better luck next time!  Maybe one of these days I'll become a respectable cook!  And then, the recipe section of the blog will populate. Until then, all you need to know is that Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies never fail to please.

Long Run Success Theories. (Fast=Run x More?)

This weekend, I ran 18 miles.  I'd love to say that it was rainbows and ponies and glitter, but it was awful.  Not even two podcasts of This American Life, or Lemon-Lime Nuun could save me.  I've been subscribing to the fast-finish run method, and I ran the last few miles at marathon pace.  In my cool-down mile, I stumbled around my neighborhood, dreaming of Epsom Salts and hash browns, cursing myself for signing up for two marathons this year.  Yup, it sucked.   I took pictures to reflect my feelings before and after.  (They are not edited..at all..)

The thing is, if this is what I need to do to be prepared on race day, I'm willing to do it.  Or even more if need be. 

But there are a million different recommendations on long runs. The long run is the cornerstone of marathon training, there's no doubt about that.  And everyone has their own opinion on what the right way to do them is.  Overtraining, undertraining, too fast, too slow, too long, too short?   It's hard to tell what's the right thing to do!  Here's some various conflicting pieces of wisdom I've heard and the justifications behind them.

Frankly, I think you all have lost your minds, including you, Mr. McMillan.  (kidding, I love your calculator).

How to have the best long run ever (conflicted version)

Fuel a lot before and during Long Runs: If you don't give your body energy, how will it perform like you want it to?  Running without fuel causes too much stress on your body and running with it will train you to be able to stomach eating on race day.

Don't Fuel on Long Runs:  If you deny your body carbohydrates, your body will become better at burning fat and not burning through all carbohydrate stores.  This will help you perform even better when your body has access to fuel (race day).

Pace is unimportant.  Just get the miles in:  A long run is mostly so that you can train your body to run more efficienctly, and strengthen yourself both mentally and physically.  Trying to push the pace over three hours will just stress your body and expose it to injury.

Run Fast.  How will you run fast on race day if you don't in training? It's important to get miles under your legs at marathon pace or faster in a long run.  Running a long run at marathon pace shouldn't be a problem and will train you to run fast.  At least do some fast finish runs.


Don't run more than 20 miles during training: Running more than 20 miles in training exposes you to the risk of injury and breaking your body down too far.  18-20 milers should be enough.

Run 24+ miles in training:  I don't personally know anyone who does this.  But my friend Gisele says that some of the elites do it.  Like 30 mile training runs.  Run like an elite, become more elite?

I get that some of the recommendations are more for beginner marathoners and some for advanced, but I still think there's some overlap in schools of training thought.

So here's where you offer your opinion, por favor.  What sort of long run do you find is most important to your training?  Which do you think helps you improve your times?

Who knew something so pure could be so complicated!

(Also, I changed my blogger url to "www.fasterbunny.com".  The blogspot one is supposed to redirect but it's not.  Hopefully I'm still showing up in your reader if you follow?)

Eugene Update: Overtraining sucks and makes you slow.

Today, I went to the track for "track Tuesday" sans Sarah OUAL (but with our friend Rebecca!  Please feel free to come if you live in the OC area).

On the schedule was 4x1600m at goal 5k pace, with pretty short rest.  It didn't go so well.  I think my splits say it all:

6:31 (good), 6:32 (good), 6:43 (WTF), and 6:49 (And I was sprinting this one in). 

You know when you're 17 seconds off pace your last 1600m repeat, something is wrong.  Also, I was unable to complete the workout on Friday of 10 miles at marathon goal pace.

Why am I sucking so bad?

source

I can't give you the 100% sure answer, but unless my body physiology has changed in the past 7 days, I think I'm overtraining.  In retrospect, it kind of makes sense.  I've been extremely ambitious in my training lately.  Here's how I managed to kill my legs in the past four weeks:


1) Picked the hardest training plan I could find:  I picked a plan for "advanced competitive runners", that looks to peak out around 70 miles per week.  As much as I'd like to think that I'm an advanced competitive runner, I'm pretty sure an actual advanced competitive runner would strongly disagree with my ability assessment. 

2) Started at week 8 of a 20 week training program:  Hah!  Base building is for fools.  I'll just start at the hard part!  Weeks 1-8 are boorrinnggg!

3) 10% rule?  Also for fools.  I've been running around 30 miles per week for the last year.  So clearly a jump to 45-50 miles per week is no problem at all, right?

4) Traveled every other week, and piled workouts during the week on back-to-back days.  Rest days?  Also for fools!

5) Picked a plan that targets a goal pace 15 miles faster than your current PR.  Ok...so I don't think 3:20 is 100% out of reach, given this is my first serious attempt at training for a marathon, but it's a stretch goal.   The only time McMillan actually predicts me running under a 3:20 is when I type in a 5 mile or 5k race pace.

6) Tried to lose the lingering holiday weight:  I'm embarrassed to admit this one, but a few weeks back, I weighed myself and saw a number I haven't seen in a couple years.  I freaked out, and decided carrots were my best friend.  Don't worry, I'm not going all ED on y'all, but sometimes I cave to the same pressure of thinking that if I looked more like an elite, I'd run more like one.  While this could be true, I'm not sure a huge bump in mileage is the best time to try to drop 5 pounds.

So what's next?  How am I going to get my groove back?

I think the first step is to take my easy days either as cross training days or rest days.  I miss my bike anyways.  This fall, I was able to run decently running about 30 miles a week, and I bet I can still run a decent marathon averaging under 40 MPW.   If this doesn't help, I might need to take a few days off or back off the hard days on the training plan.    Also, I'll try to eat healthy but with enough calories.  I'm hoping if I do these things, my legs will come back on board.   Hard to say, bodies are weird.

Have you ever felt overtrained?  Am I just being a wimp?  How is the best way to build mileage/intensity?

Please share your advice!  I'd love to hear it. 

(* Edit Btw, I wrote an alternative post last night when I was feeling particularly sad and frustrated.  It's more personal than my usual writing, unedited, and I'm not making it a real post bc it's a bit of a downer but if you're interested: Semi-Unpublished Post )

Superlatives!

Remember high school when everyone voted for which classmates were "most likely to succeed" and "best dressed" ?  

Well this post is kind of like that, only it's the superlatives from my past week.  

Most Likely To Be Delicious:  Girl Scout Cookies

There's just something special about the Girl Scout Cookie.  Special enough that I walked away with eight boxes this week to be distributed between my roommate, Anthony, and me.  Let's just say it's been a delicious week.  I remember when I was a Girl Scout back in the dark ages, I would get all excited when people would order something other than Thin Mints and Samoas.  "Get Some Originality, people!"  my nine year old self thought.  But let's be honest...Thin Mints and Samoas are probably the best - those people knew what they were doing.  

Which brings me to my next question:  Why has some giant cookie company not replicated the Samoa so that they can be purchased throughout the year at the grocery store.  Maybe it's patented as a trade secret?  Those Girl Scouts must have an awesome legal team.  

Most Likely To Steal My Heart:  The Soda Stream

I am pretty open about my love for the carbonated drinks.  I've managed to limit myself to two Diet Cokes a day this year, and let's just say that's an improvement over 2011's consumption.  So when I saw the Soda Stream being demoed at Macy's, I was pumped to get one of my own.  

Yes, it is as cool as it looks.  And the extra cool part is that, ironically, I think it's going to help me cut back on (flavored) soda, because I love the straight carbonated water I can make.   

Soda Stream is $100 retail, but if you use one of those 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupons, it's down to $80.  Go buy it because it's fabulous and will be a fun coffee table conversation.  No, of course this is not a sponsored post.  This baby sells itself.  

Most Likely To Be Difficult:  Eugene Marathon 

I'm running the Eugene Marathon at the end of April.  And I want to give it some real effort.  Finishing on Hayward Field deserves that from me.  It's time to get training.  When trying to see what to aim for, like any time obsessed runner, I went to McMillan to see what he thought.  Most of my times point to around a 3:20 marathon, give or take a couple minutes.  I get this is a lofty goal, given that I ran a 3:35 in Boston.  And guess what, my $10 buck training plan agrees:  

This training plan is no joke.  (See below workouts for week 17!)  Especially because I'm going to start around week 8 of the 20 week program.  Who trains for 20 weeks?  That sounds terrible.  

The funny thing is, I feel this time goal is doable.  I am pretty good at tolerating moderate discomfort for a long period of time, and I've never really trained for a marathon properly.  I think the greatest challenge will be having the discipline to properly train.  I'll be adding a "training tab" for Eugene to keep me honest and to share my misery.  Highest mileage weeks of my life, here I come!

Sooooooo....

Have ya tried the Soda Stream?  

Bought any Girl Scout Cookies?  

Have a marathon training plan quite possibly created in hell? 

Commiserate with me =).