Not a Part of the Plan

I’m a planner. And when things don’t go according to plan, well, I guess no one likes that. I am withdrawing from the TCS New York City Marathon.

After my last race, the arch of my right foot started bothering me. I listened to my body and took a few days off to let healing take place. The swelling went down, and I felt significant improvement but not enough to get back to full training. I knew after two weeks of nagging pain, I needed answers. An MRI confirmed that there was edema (inflammation in the bone) starting to form, and while there is no fracture, continued stress on the bone would lead to that. So I shut down training, cried, and then came up with a new plan.

In years past, I would have cross trained like crazy with an attitude that nothing would get in my way of running the TCS NYC Marathon. I’ve been training for 15 years, and I’ve been the most consistent in the past 3 years. This consistency has come from a more objective approach, one where I look at the long term, and don’t take unnecessary risks. While I am disappointed to not be able to run my goal race of 2017, I feel fortunate that I can take 2-3 weeks to reset and then focus on being healthy and ready to race in 2018. Thankfully, my coaches, agent, and the NYRR staff are fully understanding and have pulled together in support to help me feel confident in my decision. The good news is that I already have a race on my calendar for November 2018, so don’t worry NYC, I will be back!

Cheers to this stupid, wonderful, heartbreaking, and amazing sport.

Enjoy Your Time In The Van

A Guest Blog Post By Karl Rysted

Karl is one of the athletes I coach, and he is racing this weekend in the Wild Rogue Relay. He shares the emotions, community, struggles, and memories of racing a relay. I certainly want to do a relay one day, until then, I will cheer on Karl!

Waiting is hard and like anything that’s hard, requires practice. I was fortunate to have my Dad take me fishing often when I was growing up. Among other things, it gave me patience. Life moves a lot faster now than it did back then and everyone expects instant gratification from their smartphone and so on. As runners, we have our gadgets to give us instant feedback on pace, cadence, HR, etc. So if we expect to have any patience in these times, it requires even more practice than it used to, and yet the opportunities are slipping away.

As a runner, I’m grateful to have been in long distance relays as part of a team several times. Hood to Coast is the most famous of that type of event, but we haven’t done that one. Some have been Ragnar Relays, which are pretty well known among runners, but I’ve also been in smaller, independent ones like the Wild Rogue Relay in southern Oregon where I’m running on a masters team June 16-17 for the second year in a row.

The pattern is the same: run, eat, run, sleep (maybe), eat, run, not necessarily in that order, and your team will probably cover about 200 miles. You run three times unless you’re short one of the 12-team members or you have an “ultra” team of six. If you have a regular sized team, you will be in two vans. Your van could be on duty in the middle of the night so sleep is a big maybe. There’s a long time between your runs, especially when you consider the time when your van is off duty.

Here are some observations, and as a runner, you will understand this easily. It’s common to have a variety of unpleasant physical and emotional responses: you can get stiff because you have very little warm up or cool down, tired and cranky during the night, and maybe that little habit of your teammate that seemed funny at first is getting pretty annoying. Maybe the funky smell of the van is starting to get to you! You just want to get out and run. After all, that’s why you flew across the country, right?

Running can just be a fun hobby, or we can let it teach us things about the rest of our lives. Maybe you fell in love once but that relationship is gone. Now you know love is coming your way again but it’s hard to wait. Maybe you want to BQ and you’re a 4 hour marathoner like me. Be patient and think about athletes like Neely. Their Olympic dreams and goals are on a 4-year cycle. So just relax, be patient and enjoy your time with your friends in the van.

My dream is to be on a team with Neely someday!

An earlier version of this appeared in “The Landrunner,” April, 2013, newsletter of the Oklahoma City Running Club.

1.004

What the heck does that number mean?

The gravity (concentration) of urine for my post race drug test. (I am sure that was your very first guess!)

To rewind and start from the beginning, I raced the USA Half Marathon Championships at the Capitol City Half in Columbus, Ohio. My mantra was 1-Race with PURPOSE, 2-Remain PRESENT, 3-Always PERSEVERE. To run the best race I am capable of on that day, I focus on my breathing rhythm, my form, and find the effort that I can handle no matter the course, the weather, or the competition. For me, I did everything right. I am proud of my race. I was gapped by 40seconds at mile 9, and closed within 9 seconds by the finish... I came up short, 2nd in 1:10:54, but with no regrets. I look at each race as a learning opportunity, I learn about myself, I learn about others, and I appreciated racing the ladies in this field as they helped me get the most out of myself! Kudos to Natosha for a very strong performance.

Back to where we started, thanks to the race organizers and the US anti doping agency (USADA), the top 3 were tested for clean sport! Those of you who follow me, know this is something I feel strongly about and I always appreciate getting tested. I chugged a bottle of water to kick off the hydration process, and then headed back to the hotel to get in a cool down. It was "long run day" so I needed to get in 4 miles to make it a total of 20 miles for the day, but the weather gods had something else in mind. It started pouring. I got in 1.5 miles running back and forth in front of the hotel (because once notified by USADA, you have to remain within eyesight of the chaperone until you provide and process the sample). For the run-nerds, here's the data via Final Surge.

It wasn't worth it, I was soaked, and lightening was making me anxious. I headed inside and got on the treadmill for another 1.5mi. After awards, I was ready to start the process, and then, 1.004 happened... and even though it was tested by the super nice USADA people 7 times, the number didn't change. I needed 1.005 gravity :(

Needless to say, hydration is good, but apparently I over did it. I made friends, joked around to make it less awkward, and eventually processed and checked out once the next sample was completed. Learn more about the process here. Even though spending two hours in drug testing wasn't how I planned to celebrate my runner-up performance, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Race Schedule

I'm excited to announce my upcoming races! I am so grateful for the support and for you following me as I continue to pursue my goals. One of the key things I am doing this spring, is racing more! I did two marathon segments of training in a row (Dec-Apr prep for Boston, June-Nov prep for NYC) which resulted in 9 races total for 2016. Now I am working on speed, racing more frequently, and going after some PR's from 5k-Half Marathon. I've already raced 3 times this year, and I have 4 more in the next few months! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and FB (my athlete page) to be a part of my journey and to win fun giveaways! With each race, I will be doing a contest where you could win Adidas, LaceLocker, Momentum Jewelry, Roll Recovery, or PowerBar swag! Stay tuned :)

Jan 15 Arizona RnR HM (1st, 1:12-Avg 5:33/mi)
Feb 5 New Orleans RnR HM (1st, 1:11-Avg 5:24/mi)
Mar 11 USA 15k Champs Gate River (3rd, 49:47-Avg 5:18/mi)
April 2 CarlsBad 5k
April 29 USA HM Champs Columbus
May 13 USA 25k Champs Grand Rapids
May 29 Bolder Boulder 10k

As simple as ABC

Sometimes we over-complicate things. Isn’t the beauty of the Sport of Running it’s true simplicity? I have found that focusing on a few key words can help remind me of this when my brain wants to wander, quit, or think too far ahead. Have you had your thoughts get in the way of performing your best? Have you had those moments before or during a race when you doubt yourself? Have you felt scared to push harder because you don’t trust your own judgment of effort? Do you find yourself lacking the ability to stay present and in the moment? If you’re like me, the answer is YES to them all. But this happens in training too… and some days, like an easy solo run, this is fine. On workout days, it’s time to focus and prepare the mind and body for your upcoming goals. To do this, I use trigger words. These specific words, that change for various needs (terrain, weather, workout type, race etc), remind me to keep it simple. Once I practiced in workouts, I was ready to apply it to race day. I like the results, and I plan to continue this strategy.

For the Arizona Rock N Roll, I used the 4 “F’s” Find rhythm, Focus mind, Fight fatigue, Finish strong. The first few miles I set out to Find my rhythm. When the doubts of unknown fitness crept into my mind, I Focused. Towards mid-race, when there were still a lot of miles to run, I was Fighting fatigue. And when it came time to push the last few miles, I Finished strong. Goals accomplished, 1:12:39 and a victory to start of my spring racing season.

In the New Orleans Rock N Roll Half Marathon, I used the ABC’s. Have a race Attitude from the gun, Believe in myself and my improved fitness, and Commit to push hard at the end. I came away with another win and my second fastest half marathon time ever of 1:11:02.

If you’re like me, and need to train your brain to support your performance goals on race day, try this technique and let me know how it works for you!

Race Synopsis from Italy

Campaccio XC in Italy 1/6, a quick turn around after the NYRR Midnight Run on 12/31, and with the exception of the bruising from falling at the start, my body recovered really well and I was right back to training this week. I didn’t have enough time between races to do a real workout, but 8x1min pick ups gave me some turnover and then striders the day after travel brought my legs around without any issues. I was very sad to leave Dillon in Houston. I didn’t have enough time there with him before I left. He was so supportive and encouraging as I sat in our room crying as I packed. I always say I want to travel, but doing it alone is far less meaningful and much more scary. It’s a catch 22 because I want him to be with me, yet, when I do travel, I like to just focus on myself and my needs and not be distracted. Flights went well, slept 4hrs and all I can say is that Advil PM saves my life on international trips. Otherwise I spend countless hours of frustration trying to force sleep. I also wore a hospital mask to help with germs.

My immune system is just not that great, and having been sick 3 times in the past 2 mos, and getting the flu the week of Club XC, I figured I should try everything so I don’t have regrets. I look so weird though HAHA. Easy runs, the struggle to communicate, good food, and the connection with other runners took up the days before the event. Race day came and with it excitement, nerves, and adjustments to the routine. Shake out like usual 3hr before. 10min super easy at a wog (Walk/Jog) pace. 2 shots of expresso, one 2.5hrs before, and one 1.5hrs before… I asked for coffee, but I received this little guy.

The warm up itself was Kenyan style… I joined Betsy Saina and the Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes for a 20min jog 1hr before race time. It was 8-10min pace. I added on 4×20/40s to get in 3miles total. Then easy striders and drills before the race. I felt like I have been pushing too hard in my warm ups, so I made the adjustment here and was satisfied with the outcome. More starting line confusion (just like the NYRR race) as I couldn’t understand the announcer and all the sudden we were on the line and the gun fired. No commands. But I was ready, and had a great start this time, no jostling, no falls, really smooth and then settled into position. I felt strong, in control, relaxed in my form, and sharp in my mind.

Breathing routine was on par and I was right where I needed to be at the mile. I made the right decision to not go with the lead pack as their finishing times were much faster than what I am ready for. In hindsight, I would have pushed a little more after the first mile, as I settled maybe a bit too much. But I am very pleased with how I raced as I learned from each loop (2k x 3) what my competitors strengths and weaknesses were, so on the final lap I picked it up on the hills to separate us and put a 15sec gap over the last 1k. Finishing speed still needs work, and strength building so I can work harder in the middle part of the races, but I did negative split with a 10:03 3k and 19:56 finish time. I examined my finish line video (see below) and have since made some form adjustments to help me change gears more effectively.

Super chill 4mi cool down with Betsy gave me 12miles for the day. I didn’t use Advil pm before the race because I didn’t want to be groggy. Two nights before (the first night in Italy post travel) I slept 13hrs and felt great. But before the race I only got 6. The night after only 3… I should have taken it then, but I didn’t plan ahead and felt tired at 9 when I first tried to sleep, but by 1am when I was still up it was too late to take it because I had an early run date with Betsy in the morning. Annoying not to get that critical recovery slumber and now I know better. Everyone said they struggled sleeping after the race, so at least I wasn’t the only one and this seems to be a norm for most athletes. The run the next day was 8-9min pace for 8miles. I left the event feeling as if my patience and perseverance is beginning to pay off and the slow process of recovering and regaining consistent training after the injuries, illnesses, and surgery is on the upswing.