Eat, ***, Knit
Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Where did the run go I hear you asking?

Despite not blogging about it, I assure you that training is trucking along as planned. On average, I have been logging roughly 55-75km running, 2 hours on the spin bike, and 2.5km in the pool on a weekly basis. Not to mention a few hours of strength training every week to keep my bones strong and my muscles ready for speed.



Speaking of speed...



I took first place in the women under 25 division at the CFB Esquimalt 10k in early August, with a finishing time of 44:38!

This little training buddy of mine has been tuckered out lately!



With only 27 days left until my 'A race', the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon, my coach and I decided it was time for a solid tune-up race.

Enter the McNeill Bay Half-Marathon.



I would be lying if I said that the race went fabulously and I managed to podium in the women's 20-29 division. But, for a tune-up, this race showed me (and my coach) quite a few little things. Allow me a moment to give you a play-by-play:

Night Before
  • Ryan and I sit down to a large bowl of pasta and chicken breast covered in marinara sauce and a little parm. No veggies, since veggies + racing = poops. And not pretty pre-race poops. Painful mid-race stomach cramping kinds!
  • Pack race bag with pre and post-race clothing, fuel, wallet, cosmetics, and knitting (for the morning car ride).
  • Lay out running gear for the morning, bib attached in advance, fuel belt packed (3 PowerBar Gels) and bottles filled in the fridge (1 Gatorade, 1 water)
  • In bed by 9:30pm, not wearing my compression socks for once...

    Morning Of
  • 5:30am wake up, dink around on my phone in bed for too long, 5:45am before I know it!
  • 5:45am, spill Ryan's glass of diet coke onto my cedar chest while trying to rummage around for the light switch. Freak out and have to clean diet coke off of several handknit garments.
  • 6am, start making oatmeal and coffee, now 30 minutes later than I should be - I should be eating by 6am (2 hours pre-race). Do my hair and makeup while oatmeal simmers.
  • 6:30am, eat breakfast, throw on my race gear and put my race bag in the Westfalia.
  • 6:45am, we're off.
  • 7:30am, arrive at high school start/finish location; use washroom, run around the block to loosen up, perform 5 minutes of running drills, use washroom again, stretch.
  • 8am, toe starting line.

    Race notes
  • 1 minute in, realize that my race is not with the 4 minute/km runners (6:26/mi), allow my ego to drop and fall back into a comfortable 4:30/km pace (7:14/mi).
  • Gag back a gel every 25-30 minutes along with a swig of water, consume gatorade inbetween fuel gels.

    Despite slowing down and taking the hills slower than I wish I had, I finished this race strong. I sprinted across the finish line, passing three other runners in the last 500m, almost vomitting I pushed it out so hard. I then proceeded to turn around, walk a km back, and run Ryan across the finish line as well!

    My finishing time? 1:41:16.

    So what does this all mean?
    It means I'm doing well. I'm happy with where my coach and my training has taken me so far and am very excited to lay it on the line on October 9th at the . I have total faith and confidence that I will be able to PR this year and smash my 3:25:34 out of the park.



    Boston 2012, here I come - I register on Wednesday morning!

    posted by Sarah-Mae @ 8:16 AM,

    2 Comments:

    At September 12, 2011 2:49 PM, Blogger Melissa said...

    Congrats Mae!!! I'm so proud of you!!

    And you know what, I learned something new today...don't eat veggies the day before a race. No one likes poop cramps! Totally makes sense now that I think about it.

    Can't wait to see Friday! :)

     
    At September 19, 2011 7:59 AM, Blogger The musings of a musican cyclist. said...

    You are so inspiring! I have gotten into running and am training to get to 10K - every time I am tired, I think of you and how hard you have worked to get where you are. It makes me run that extra mile :) Keep going!

     

    Post a Comment

    << Home