Daydreaming

Call it stir crazy. Call it plain nuts. But I keep finding myself searching the inter-webs for 2014 races and triathlons.  

Since I started running 6 years ago, this is the longest stretch of time that I haven't been training for something. Whether it be a simple 5k, triathlon or marathon, I have always had a goal on the horizon and something to work toward. (Let's clarify: I haven't actually finished a marathon, but I've trained for two so that totally counts. Kind of).

Obviously being pregnant changed that. I couldn't push myself like before and to be honest, I didn't have much motivation. I know myself- if there isn't a race to train for, why train? Why get up early or out in the cold when there is no "real" reason to. 

(This is where someone can say, "But Alex, being healthy and active, especially during pregnancy IS a real reason." Apparently that isn't good enough for me.  Who cares about that stuff, really?) 

2013 was the year of zero fitness accomplishments. I am totally okay with that. And I'm even okay if this year doesn't amount to much either. Because let's get real, I have no idea what my life is going to look like after Baby. All the time I had for myself- mornings, evenings, weekends- I'm giving a lot of that up to snuggle, love, and take care of my sweet baby. 

On top of that, my pending thyroidectomy and subsequent radiation therapy puts another big question mark on what my life will look like. I would love to plan for a late triathlon but what if treatment, which should be around July, kicks my booty and sets me back? I would hate to have a self-imposed expectation that might only cause disappointment.

So, as I read race reviews and calculate possible training schedules for the 2014 year, I do so with a healthy amount of hesitation. I promise that I will complete at least one half marathon, and I would love to add a triathlon to that as well. But we shall see.  

Fayetteville Half Marathon Recap

Last weekend I ran the Fayetteville Half Marathon with a goal to set a massive personal record. Seeing how I was the poster child for this race, I knew I wanted to do well.

Why yes, I love this very flattering picture of me, so of course you can plaster it all around Fayetteville.  You're welcome. 

Let's back track a little here. The first months of my training were awesome. I was consistent with my tempo, speed, hill and long runs and was hitting ideal paces for my 2:00.00 goal. Then November came around, as did some IT band issues, parties, holiday gatherings, and other lame excuses that affected my training. By the time December was here, it had been weeks since I had a quality run, much less the amount of weekly mileage I needed.

Story of my life: Dish out some awesome training, then screw it up a month before the race. Why even do the work if I'm going to throw it all out the window. I suck.

Flash back to March 2012, when I spent months training for 26.2 miles only to back out weeks prior to the race and only run the half. Again, story of my life.

As race day crawled closer, I altered my plans. I decided 2:10 was a more realistic time goal, but still seemed like a dream. Worst case scenario, I was hoping for anything under 2:17 (which would give me a PR).

SPOILER ALERT: I wanted to drop out by mile 8. Worst. Case. Scenario.

You would thinking, living in Fayetteville, I wouldn't be surprised by the hills. And you would think, looking at the elevation chart, that the hills wouldn't be too unbearable. But my friends, for this flat-road loving girl, you would be wrong. The hills kicked by sweet booty, and I cursed each one.

Half mile hill at 1.5-I got this.
1.5mile climb at miles 6 and 10- I hate you.

Looking at my splits, you can see the exact correlation between a hill and my dropping pace (i.e.: miles 2, 7, 8, and 12). 

Mile 1- 10:07
Mile 2- 10:51
Mile 3- 9:25
Mile 4- 10:04
Mile 5- 9:33
Mile 6- 9:47
Mile 7-11:04
Mile 8- 11:26 *Seriously wanted to quit.
Mile 9- 10:19
Mile 10- 10:10
Mile 11- 10:29
Mile 12- 11:37
Mile 13- 9:31
.13- 10:00

I really think I should win the award for most consistent splits ever. NOT!

I was never able to get in a rhythm during this race (obviously). Each hill totally screwed up my breathing and left me mentally defeated; by the time I got settled into a good stride, the next hill came and did the exact same thing. I knew Josh was waiting for me at mile 8, so I put every effort into just making it to him. If I wanted to quit at that point, then I would.

When I finally saw him, he could tell I was struggling. I told him I wanted to quit; I was miserable, I hated my training and my goals were out the window. He let me vent a little, then kindly encouraged me to keep going for "only five more miles."

That's when I remember that my husband basically walked this course last year because of an injury, and that didn't cause him to quit. If he could finish, I could too. I was going to cross that dadgum finish line, even if I had to crawl!

Fayetteville Half 2011
aka: Clark Walk-a-thon

While I went slower the second half, I hunkered down and finished. After seeing Josh, at every mile marker, I tried to do the math to find out what pace I needed to maintain to get me there under 2:17.

..."If I'm at mile 9.25 with x total time of running, how fast do I need to run to get there under 2:17." Yea, impossible for me, even with a calculator.

But I must have done some kind of calculations right, because as I rounded onto the John McDonnell Track I knew I'd be crossing the finish line with 2:15:xx on the board.

Alex Clark

2:15:34

10:21 pace

F25-29: 15/40

Overall: 343/520

Look, a blurry picture of my medal.
Please ignore the unwrapped presents under our tree. 

A new shiny PR, and hopefully, a lesson learned: If you don't give 100% in training, then you can't give 100% on race day.

Happy Racing,
A.

Ozark Valley Triathlon Game Plan

Remember when I was all gung-ho (gun-ho? gun-hoe? Seriously, what is this word?) about this triathlon and I was all "I don't want to merely complete it, I want to compete in it" and I made lofty declarations of this being my "speedy summer". Well, true to Alex-fashion, this spunkiness has worn off. After almost 3 months of training, I'm no longer tackling each workout with full force. I am merely checking them off and wondering to myself if my "dog walks" could count as the day's workout. 

What? This pup can walk a mean 15min-per-mile pace.

So, to confess, I'm currently coming to the end of a 3 week long taper. (What? Taper weeks are only suppose to be about a week long? I'm such an over achiever.) Because my workouts have been slacking in intensity, I knew that I wasn't going to be winning any awards, but then I had a look at the treacherous elevation charts:

Bike: 19 miles

Run: 2 laps of this course= 4 miles

Yikes! ( And you know how much I love hills.) 

And then I found out that this race is a regional championship! Holy shnikies! Talk about intimidating. 

As a result, I gladly scaled back my intensity going into the race and have developed the concept of "just have fun." Monumental, right? 

Now that I'm using this race as just a really good workout I'm sure all the other 25-29 year old females are ecstatic that they now have a chance to place in the age group. Go ahead and pass me. You're welcome. 

So what are my actual goals this Sunday?

Goal A: Don't get a flat tire because 1) I don't have an emergency repair kit, and 2)even if I did, I have no clue how to change a tire. 

Goal B: Finish under 2:17. I'm a little unsure of how I am going to do on the run because I'm sure to be exhausted by then. Fingers crossed that I'm not wiped out by the time I get off the bike. Here are my hopeful splits:

Swim-24:00

T1- 4:00 

Bike- 1:07

T2- 2:00

Run- 40:00

Total- 2:17

Goal C: Finish under 2:20. If things aren't going well, this is my backup plan.

Goal D: Have fun experiencing my first outdoor triathlon! My dad is coming up and I have some friends participating as well so it should be a blast!

Wish me luck!

Holy Hills 5K

Holy Hills 5K- Not the name of the race I ran this weekend, but one they should definitely consider for next year. 

On Saturday I ran the Harding Bison Stampede 5K in Rogers, Arkansas around Lake Atalanta. I had lofty goals for this 5K. With my triathlon training going surprisingly well, my "speedy" legs were hoping for a sub-26:00 5K. That equates to approximately a 8:26 pace.

I figured that would be a completely bearable pace for 3.1 miles since I've been easily completing longer workouts at a 8:45 pace. That was until I discovered what the course actually consisted of:

Not drawn to scale. Obviously.

Yes. You are interpreting that amazing drawing correctly. That is a dirt/gravel road on crazy (for me) hills. 

Um, excuse me Harding University, I love being able to give back to my Alma Mater by running this race, but how about you cut me some slack and go easy on the hills. Capish? 

This race was the smallest I've ever run. By my rough counting in the picture below, looks like about 25 people toed the start line. Can you spot me? I was unknowing going for a patriotic theme.

A little after 8 o'clock, we had a briefing of the course (very important for a few miles later...), a prayer, then we were off.

I smoked that big-haired boy to my left and that little girl to my right. Suckers.

Josh won the best-husband award and came along to take photos cheer me on. He was stationed at the start and finish spots along the course, hence not much variation of scenery in the pics. 

Thumbs up for smelly trash cans and heel strikes!

We first looped around the park for a couple of laps before we headed around the lake- aka: where the dirt/gravel road started. I've got to say, I've never ran on trails before, but if it was anything like this course then I never want to do it again. I was constantly having to watch my footing and on the downhills I couldn't gain too much speed in fear of tripping on my face. 

Despite being out of my comfort zone, my first mile was right on pace. Mile 1- 8:23

After the crazy climb at Mile 1 (please refer to amazing drawing above) I was exhausted! {Insert whiney excuse of how terrible hills are and how much I suck at them} My legs were already feeling the beating and my pace was slowing up a bit. Mile 2- 8:53

Although my pace wasn't ideal during mile two I knew if I could pick it up I would still be able to reach my time goal. Then began the quick, but steep climb after the two mile mark. I did not dominate that hill. While I didn't walk, I was trucking along at a snails pace. And to make matters worse, at the top of the hill two volunteers were sending runners the wrong way! After some breathless conversations and me recalling the course briefing before the start, I finally headed down the correct path. 

At this point I was starting to feel mentally defeated knowing I wasn't going to reach a sub 26. The hills were sucky. The road was sucky. The direction-givers were sucky. Complain, complain, complain! I allowed myself to walk for 30 seconds then looked down at something I had written on my hand. 

"You only have this one chance to do this"

This was it. This was my one chance to give it all I got. So I lit a figurative fire under my booty and started to high tail it for one last lap around the park and then onto the finish. Mile 3- 9:26

I'm sure I was saying corny running mantras at this point.

Mile .20- 7:55 (<--A little extra mileage due to some course confusion)

Total (unofficial/Garmin) time: 27:38

A new PR! And 2:57 off my old 5K time! Considering the conditions, I'll take it! 

My goal now is to start training on some dadgum hills and stomp being such a wimp. And also to find a flat, fast course so I can kick some booty.

Confusing Equations

Well, since I last checked in from my awesome, yet challenging, half marathon I have been quite busy. Immediately after I crossed the finish line 70 seconds late, I vowed to kick some butt and be ready to tackle my next 13.1 by the end of spring. Now that I've had a few days to let things settle, I'm not quite sure if I'm wanting to jump back into training so quickly. 

So instead I've decided to take a completely radical approach- I'm going to just let the cards fall where they may. What, relaxed Alex? Non-planning Alex? Are pigs flying? No, no. I'm just taking a breather, I think.

I am going to continue my speed work during the week and long runs during the weekend, but not put myself on any schedule. If by late April I feel prepared, I'm going to dominate a half. Like, I'm going to make it beg for me to never come back...cry that my Asics ever stepped foot on it's asphalt. 

Speaking of Asics, my new pair came in this week! And yes, they are the exact same pair...why fix it if  it isn't broken?! I trained plum through my last pair.

And speaking of getting in some good runs, I had a easy and slow recovery run on Saturday, tackling 8 miles around my neighborhood. 

Then yesterday I picked it up for a 4 mile tempo run. We are having incredibly beautiful weather here in northwest Arkansas so it was the perfect day to take the dogs to the dog park. I had the inventive idea of running to the park (plus a few detours) to meet Josh with the pups. Two birds, one stone. Only thing was the entire run was uphill, with ridiculous head wind. Yuck! I hate hills, and I only tolerate them because you always get the reward of running down them...except if you are only running one way. Despite the mountains and life threatening wind (over dramatic, never...), I still managed an average 9:48 pace.

And the reward? Getting to see my furr-balls have a blast. They wear themselves out!

So, the new plan? No plan...except what my running coach Nora recommends I do. Yea, that's right. I have a running coach. She is pretty awesome and excepts payments of BBQ and KrispieTreats. 

This may seem counter productive: No plan + running "coach"= confusing. Look, I don't make the rules people. I'm just running. 

New Orleans Rock N Roll Half Marathon Recap

I don't know what has been my problem, but it has been so hard to get motivated to write this post. First, I was all whiney: "Boo hoo, I didn't meet my goal time." Then I was in denial: "If I don't write the recap, then it didn't happen." And then I just got busy: "I have no time for blogging! I've got to spend every waking hour training for the next one!"

But I forced myself to do it tonight. Let the story begin... 

On Saturday, Josh, my mom, stepdad, and I woke up bright and early to travel the 6.5 hours to New Orleans (yes, that is a really fast time from Little Rock...but that is because my stepdad can't go under 90 miles per hour). We made it to the Expo in plenty of time to spare before it closed; Josh bought himself a Spibelt and I got a cute new running headband. Priorities people.

Josh and I at the NOLA RNR Expo

My mom is amazing, but a good photo taker she is not.

Love ya mom!

We then made our way to our cute hotel. Seriously, I am love with the New Orleans architecture! We stayed at the Frenchman Hotel, which was a short walk from the French Quarter and our starting line. 

We ended the night walking around and eating our way through New Orleans- when we weren't running, this was basically what we did the entire 3 days. Fabulous!

Sunday Josh and I woke up bright and early, and dragged our support crew along with us.

Mom and me at the start line. 

Oh yes, those are my ROCKING new arm warmers.

Josh and I quickly split from my mom and step-dad to hit the port-a-potties then find our corral. I was really excited to be with Josh during his first big race. (Because lets be honest, he doesn't even count his first attempt at 13.1 miles). I hadn't given much thought to my own personal goals for this race. Setting a personal record has always been my goal at any race, but at the last minute I decided I not only wanted to run negative splits but also finish by 2:15. 

Once the gun went off, it took us over 30 minutes to reach the start.

Over 20,000 runners! 

I knew the first few miles were an out-and-back, but I didn't realize it was 7.5- mentally exhausting! But luckily, it was along the beautiful street of St. Charles Ave which is lined with trolly cars and beautiful, historic homes.

 (Source)

(Source)

The scenery made the 7.5 miles totally worth it. A little before the 7 mile mark, I began playing some pretty serious mind games. I kept trying to calculate the pace I needed to keep if I wanted to reach the finish by 2:15. I found myself re-playing the 10K from the previous weekend and knew I could push myself further than I thought. But the moment I started to think confidently, I began to sabotage myself.

The mental games kinda went like this: "Alex, you can totally do this! You've got over 6 miles. Ha! You think you can keep that pace all by yourself!? Your legs are already shot and there really is no way you can do it."

Here I am, trying to be all confident because my arm warmers are awesome. Seriously. Arm warmers are awesome. Saucony, I expect to hear from you soon. Yes I am willing to be a sponsor.

Can you find Josh?

See, I'm so fast in my arm-warmers my mom couldn't even catch a photo of me. Vroom!

So, if mind-games were bad at 6.5 miles, then they were purely demonic at mile 10. The mental bashing went something like this: "Why the heck are you even doing this race?! You don't deserve these awesome arm warmers. You already backed out of the full marathon because you're such a loser! You are so dumb!"

Now if that doesn't knock you down, I don't know what will. At the pace I was going, I needed to keep a 10:00 pace for the next 3.1 miles to make it to the finish in 2:15. I told myself I couldn't do it. I convinced myself I couldn't do it. And I didn't do it.

Mile 1-10:31

Mile 2-10:28

Mile 3-10:29

Mile 4-10:34

Mile 5-10:35

Mile 6-10:37 <--The mind games are working

Mile 7-10:26

Mile 8-10:09

Mile 9-10:28

Mile 10-10:10

Mile 11-10:03 <--"See Alex, you can't do it." 

Mile 12-10:35<-- Officially gave up.

Mile 13-10:19

.1-8:51

Total-13.21, average pace- 10:23

A new personal record, but 70 seconds short of my true goal. Curse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sort of had some negative splits, but should I have kicked it up a little more toward the beginning? I definitely shouldn't have walked those few water stops....and the mind game continues.

But despite my blah performance, this seriously was one of the best races I've ever ran. The weather was amazing, the course was perfect, and support was wonderful. I want to run New Orleans again, and again, and again. 

And the fact that Josh had a successful race made it that much better! He rocked it! So proud of him.

While I didn't reach my ultimate goal, I sucked it up because this race was amazing!! The race itself couldn't have been more perfect, I set an new PR, and my hubby dominated. 

I Finished

I finished!

Race recap coming shortly

as soon as I gather my thoughts...

and my pictures.

Last Minute Goals NOLA Rock N Roll

As I'm typing this, I am sitting next to my husband in a tiny, beautiful New Orleans hotel with a million of butterflies in my stomach. Tomorrow is the New Orleans Rock and Roll half marathon and I'm just now trying to devise a game strategy. Since dropping down from the full 26.2 miles to the half marathon, I've had a hard time deciding how I was going to run this race. But I've put it off a bit too long. So, that being said, here are some last minute goals for race day:
A. Finish sub 2:18 (which would be a new PR!)
B. Finish at 2:15. (my ideal goal)
C. Negative splits (run the second half faster than the first half)

Since this is suppose to be such a flat course, I really want to set another PR. You never know how things will go on race day, so if all else fails I just want to have fun.

And having fun will definitely not be a problem because we are in The Big Easy with my mom and step dad! My step dad is from New Orleans so we are getting the royal treatment. I absolutely love this city!

Move It Memphis 10K Recap

I traveled to Memphis to spend this past weekend eating and running with the best friends a girl could ask for. Seriously these girls are amazing.

With bellies full of yummy food from the night before, we woke up Saturday morning to rock the Move It Memphis 10K! Our pre-race game faces: Kara was ready to crawl through her 5K, I was channeling my favorite one-armed runner, and Nora planned on high-fiving everyone.

I am one lucky girl to be friends with a speed demon like Nora. I'm not just bragging- she actually won 1st place in her age division last year! She so kindly offered to pace me during this race, and I nervously agreed. I also agreed to run "naked", aka- no Garmin or watch to track my pace or time. Eek!

The weather could not been more perfect- cool and sunny with a slight breeze. Nora lives just a few blocks from the starting line so we ran to the start to pick up our race packets and circled back to pick up Kara and eat a quick breakfast. With a start time of 10:00, we had plenty of time to relax!

At the start, I told Nora that I would be happy to average a 10:00 minute pace, but she could push me a little towards the end. We bid Kara good luck on her 5K and lined up at the start. We started off strong with a slight conversational pace- Nora later told me the first mile was approximately a 9:30, and miles two and three were slightly over a 9:00 minute pace.

I remember at mile three I felt tired but knew I could keep the pace. My legs felt fresh and Nora's stories kept my mind occupied (She seriously talked non-stop for 6.2 miles and I loved every minute of it). Nora told me that, if I could keep this pace, I would be really happy with my time. She also said that she was going to keep pushing the pace, especially the last few miles. I was tired, but I trusted her.

Miles 4 and 5 were kind of a blur. Nora's stories are a little hazy at this point and I was just thankful for a fairly flat course.

The last half mile was horrible. The pace was hard but it was the constant turns the got me. I seriously feel like we turned 5 times before the finish line finally came into sight. Nothing is more mentally exhausting than thinking the finish line was around the corner, just to find another turn.

But when we crossed the finish line I was shocked by the time. Official time: 57:38! A new PR!
This picture cracks me up! I'm literally gasping for air while Nora is leisurely checking our time.

(Thanks Donna Manley Photography for letting me display my official finish)

 57:38 people!

That's a 9:17 pace!!

While it definitely wasn't a fast race for Nora, I set a PR! Kara rocked her 5K as well!

Our interpretation of the race: Nora cheering while I grin and bear it! Totally worth the pain in the end!

What I learned this weekend:

1. Having friends who share your passion is the best. Also having friends who share the same bedtime of 9:30 is pretty amazing too.

2. Running with fast friends make you run faster. This only makes me wonder how fast I would be if I could run with Nora all the time.

3. Ice cream is not always the best pre-race meal. 

4. Running "naked" is awesome. I will definitely start doing this more. While it would be nice to look back on my spits, it was freeing to run solely on feeling.  

Best Girls Memphis Weekend ever! 

Love Me Some Yasso

Since my resignation of running the full New Orleans marathon, I have been embracing my new found freedom. More time on the weekends, shorter runs during the week, and quicker recovery all around. Since I am running less miles, my focus has turned from quantity to quality.

One thing that was left behind in my marathon-training-dust was speed work. I simply could not recover enough from my long runs in time to bust out speed sessions; my legs were just unable to handle the demand. But now that my longest runs are 10-12 miles, I can easily complete a recovery run the next day with speed work in the days to follow.

A workout that I have fallen in love with is the Yasso 800s. This speed work was invented by Bart Yasso, who is one of few that has completed races on all 7 continents, countless ultra marathons (50+ mile races), completed the Ironman five times, and cycled, unsupported and by himself, across country twice. This man is a monster.

Yasso 800's are incredibly simple:

The intervals should consist of 800 meter runs (or half a mile/ 2 times around the track). If you're aiming for a 4 hour marathon finish time, then run your 800 meter interval in 4 minutes. Jog for another 4 minutes and then repeat by running another 800 meters in 4 minutes. Do this until you can do 10 total repetitions in a given workout. After 2 or 3 months of Yasso 800's, along with your typical marathon training schedule, you should be prepared to charge the marathon and complete it at your target pace based on the Yasso intervals. -Source-

My speed work this week, which I completed on the treadmill, looked like this:

1 mile: Warm up jog
.5 mile (aka: 800 meters): 8:50 pace
.25 mile: Recovery walk
.5 mile: 8:50 pace
.25 mile: Recovery walk
.5 mile: 8:50 pace

.25 mile: Recovery walk

.5 mile: 8:50 pace

.25 mile: Recovery walk

Total miles: 4

I completed each 800 in 4 minutes, 25 seconds. The goal is to push yourself, but for it not to be insanely difficult. Each week I'll add another repetition, making it a little harder each time. 

Even though I am not running the full marathon, the concept still applies. If the Yasso theory hold true, once I am completing 10 repetitions by the end of my training schedule, I should be able to meet a goal time of a 2:10 half marathon (and a 4:20 marathon...someday). 

The downside? I just started these so this will likely not affect my pace during the New Orleans Half Marathon. I've come to terms with the fact that, since I have not been doing any sort of speed work over the last 15 weeks, I will probably not set a PR. But oh well, whatcha gonna do?

Tell me if you attempt any Yasso 800's this week and let me know if you love them as much as I do!

Confession

I've been dreading writing this post. Avoiding it like the plague. Pretending like it didn't exist. That I could just ignore it and no one would notice. Maybe no one will. That would be nice...

For the past 15 weeks I have logged over 240 miles training for the New Orleans Rock N Roll Marathon. I started off training in October super excited about the possibilities before me. Quoting myself (can you do that?), "Food will be for fuel. Sleep will be for recovery. And I will be counting the waking hours until I can pull on my Asics and hit the pavement."


I had some great runs:
10 solo miles where I pushed myself to go further than scheduled, and

proving to myself that I can run faster than I think.


I even proclaimed that 2012 was going to be the Year of the Marathon.

But oh, how the mighty have fallen.

It is time to confess that I am no longer running the full New Orleans marathon. I have given this countless hours of thought and consulted multiple people. While advice and opinions vary, my feeling towards running the full 26.2 miles has not.

Training for this marathon has been less than stellar. Early on, sickness and a minor injury set me back and I've been playing catch up since. I haven't been running the weekly mileage I should have been and my training has felt rushed.

Additionally, these past few weeks of running has been tortuous. I've been dreading all my runs and it was no longer fun for me. Although I am already logging 18 miles for long runs and only have 3 weeks to go until race day, forcing myself to do something that I dread will only result in injury or burn out.

Despite my long runs being accomplished (and productive)

they haven't been efficient or acceptable in my book. I realized I didn't want to "merely finish" my first marathon. I saw myself run/walking the last 6-7 miles solo and that seemed purely miserable.

I'm downgrading to the half and I am completely stoked about it. I'm not saying I will never run a full marathon, but now is not the right time. I miss loving to run and I feel completely relieved to have the pressure off of me.

Say hello to the new, carefree, running Alex. It is so very nice to meet you!