At last though I can say spring is here. This week we will hit the 80s. And I will approach this spring with more bounce in my step. I made it through one of the worst winters in Nebraska history. I did manage to run most of the winter outside and I did get good training for a half marathon in. I can always push my training and shoot for an early summer marathon and a late fall marathon. But with spring its hard to chose what sports to do. Cycling, running, swimming. Then you include yard work, walking the dogs, BBQ and all the fun spring and summer brings and that is your biggest challenge.

This has a heart rate monitor and optional foot pod to but as well as I can buy a cadence monitor for my bike.  Huge bonus.  I ordered the watch through amazon and struggled with receiving my order.  DO not order the watch through amazon.  Or really watch what you are buying.  I received half my order and it was the wrong color and it took me over 2 months to get it all straighted out with customer service.

Once I had the watch I needed to figure out how to use it.  It is very user friendly.  Large display but not too large for my wrist. It does not have a touch screen and the keys are a little stiff.  I am sure with more use the buttons will be easier to press.  I also like that it has a back light.  I bought the women’s model which fits my smaller wrist.  But if you are a women with a big wrist you might want to but the men’s model.  I ordered black but received purple- Thanks amazon.  The purple is not a bad color  though,  Just girlie.

The heart rate monitor came with it and I feel is very comfortable.  The strap was a little to big for me so I had to sew it some to make it tighter.  Very easy to do.  I got the foot pod to go with it.  Note if you do not get the foot pod then this watch is just a very nice heart rate monitor.  It does not have GPS so it needs the foot pod to track your runs.  I decided on a foot pod/watch combo instead of a GPS because I can use this watch indoors as well.  If you buy a GPS watch you still need a foot pod to use the watch indoors for example on a treadmill.  Since Nebraska has such great weather, I train indoors more than I would like too.  You can calibrate the foot pod and it will be 99% accurate.  The foot pod is actually the exact same size as the Nike foot pod.  So if you have Nike shoes it will fit.  If not it does have a clip that locks it in place on your shoe.  This lock is easy to use and does not slip but is easy to move from shoe to shoe.

Features of the watch.  Like I said you can buy a cadence monitor for your bike.  I do not have that yet so I can’t comment on this.  Like the other Garmin running devices it has the Virtual Running Partner in it.  You can program time and or distance and a little running buddy appears on the screen and lets you know if you are holding pace.  Nice feature that I loved on my old Garmin.  You can program heart rate zones for all activities and target zones.  The watch will beep and notify when you are in and out of zones.  As well as if you hit a max heart rate.  I have never trained using a heart rate monitor and now that I have this device I love it.  It has helped me a ton improve my training as well as knowing when to back off or pick it up.   It also has an interval feature you can set up to do speed work.

The watch stores workouts and also has the ANT device which with wireless downloads to the Garmin site when it is in range.  I looked at the Garmin site and found it very hard to navigate and read data.  I use Buckeye Outdoors for my training log.  I love it, but I hit a snag.  I have an Apple computer and this device and site do not work together yet.  So for now I manually enter my data.  Buckeye Outdoors hopes to have a way to support Mac soon.  I guess I could give the Garmin site another shot.

This is not just a running watch.  I use it mostly for running but I do cardio/strength workout up to three days a week and I can use the watch for these too.  It will store my time, heart rate and calories burned.  Big plus!!

So far I love this watch and all of the raw data it gives me.  It is such a great training tool.  I hope it will improve my training.  I will let you know after my next marathon!!

So most people think of themid west- Nebraska as farmland, being flat, vast, and boring.  Well most of it is, but Omaha is not.  Omaha is seated next to the Missouri river, therefore it is in the valley and has lots of hills.  More than you could think and great big ones.  I have ran the half marathon course which covered some of the hills that are ran in the marathon, but the marathoners they are lucky , they get to run more hills then the rest of the racers.  I figured I did Big Sur and compared to those hills, well no comparison.  Which was partially true.  Big Sur did have more hills and bigger hills and well was more scenic as well.  But From mile 9-15 Omaha represented the hills the city is surrounded by.

This race starts at the fiver front and in downtown Omaha.  The biggest and busiest part of the city.  Right by the Qwest Center, and the new baseball stadium being constructed.  The course weaves through the cities whole 2 skyscrapers and various buildings on brick roads, on the Conagra campus(this is where pot pies are made), down to the oldest parts of Omaha, by the Henry Doorley Zoo,  Rosenblatt Stadium, the area of town know as “little Italy” and North Omaha,toward the airport, around Carter Lake and back to the river front ending at the Bob Kerry pedestrian bridge.   So it pretty much covers all of Omaha.

4 months of training and I made 2 goals, top 10 in my age group, and to break the 4 hour time frame for the marathon.  Boston time would by nice but with a 4:10 PR I had to start a little smaller.

So first thought I had to deal with was work.  I work usually long hours on my feet all day so I made sure to look at my schedule and I managed to have the three days off before the race.  Should be pleanty of resting time for my feet and legs to not feel dead when running.  Second issue was the taper,  I did not get in the few tapered long runs I would have liked to, we have an aphid infestation(gnat like bugs) in Omaha and I was not able to run with my mouth and eyes shut for the last few weeks during the times that I was able to get out for runs.  But I felt like I did train pretty well given the heat and getting back in the game from being off the routine for over a year.

The night before I had to decide what I wanted to do about water.  The race would have water stops about every 1-2 miles, but not consistent.  I trained with a Camel back, water system and I was pretty use to it.  I had a women’s specific one ant it was not too big to deal with.  It held about 1 liter of water.  I liked having it, I felt it was easier to drink out of then cups and I learned my stomach did better with small frequent sips instead of big gulps at each station.  I know I know,  I could train to learn how to drink right but, I am not a big girl and the last 3 marathons my stomach was an issue.  So do as you train.  i decided to carry my camel back and when needed use the water stops for gatorade.  I decided that wearing it would only slow me down as much as actually stopping at crowded water stops.

So the race was off, making it just in time for the start i was at almost the very back of the line, by the baby strollers and walkers, lots of crowds to make it through.  The race did the first 10K loop as a whole, with all runners then after the 10K it split off and had a half marathon turn around spot while the marathoners pushed on, on to the hills.

I remembered there would be pacers with signs and thought if I could find the 4 hour pace group and stay in front of it I would be safe.  Well somewhere around the 10K mark, I found the 3:30 pace group, oops too fast for me.  I stayed back but they were in my sight for quite a while.

My first half I ran in somewhere around 1:50 they did not do a half time for the marathon, only 10K and 20 mile marker pace.  So I was on track but I knew the hills did some work on my legs, a little sore and cramping so i brought my pace down a little.  It was not long until I was at mile 16, then 17, then 18, they seamed to move by really well.  I was worried when I would hit the wall, or if I would.  I kept pushing on hoping to stay in the shape I was in.  Then around mile 19 I had cramping in my quad right above my knee, was this it? The wall.  Well I didn’t hit it, but I was running right next to it.  I could not increase my pace without the pain increasing so I had to come up with a plan.  If I stopped and walked I would cramp more, or possibly not start up again.  I looked at my watch I was right on target for a sub 4 hour race if I ran less then 10 minute miles for the last 6 miles.  So that was my mantra “10 minute miles, 10 minute miles”  Pushing on and taking gatorade at all the water stops from 20 to 25 I kept going looking forward to each water stop, Iwould slow my pace to a brisk walk to drink then start up again.  Watching them drop like flies around me, each runner hitting their own wall, getting cramps walking, taking breaks at stations, one lady needed a rescue squad to take her in.  I recalled right where the 25 mile marker was and I counted down to that, I knew if I made it there I would make it that last mile no problem I just had to push on.  There it was on the bridge a water stop then a 25 mile marker sign.  This was it, I looked at my watch, so close if I held my pace I would make it to the end in less then 4 hours.  So I pushed.  I dug in, no pain no gain right! Weaving around the path that lead to the chute, and you could see the gate, the finish the crowd and my husband and mother.  I was there.  I crossed the line and looked up at the sign 3:54…  not sure what my chip time was but I was done.  Finished, a new PR, a new story, now to set a new goal, Boston, here we come!

After seeing Paula Radcliffe with a pair I was curious.  Hmm can these be efficient.  They will keep my arms warm but what about my shoulders?  I often times can handle some coolness to my lower half, but think if the arms are cold  then my form suffers from stiffness in the shoulders.  So I bought a pair at a local bike shop.  Yep that’s right a bike shop.  I believe it is bikers who cherish this item.  Picture a person on a bicycle trying to take their long sleeve shirt off.  Not possible, they are easy to remove while on the go.

So how often do I use them?  in the fall and spring very frequently.  I can wear capris and a t-shirt but if I need it a quick sleeve to keep me warm.  I have also found in the winter they are very beneficial.  I obvious have very cold cold winter days that I do not go outside at all, but I can’t be on a tread mill forever so outside I go.  And these convenient little things add warmth without bulk.  Most times we add the layers in the winter that are needed for our arms but not our core, causing us to feel too hot, well arm warmers add the warmth to the arms with out the bulk on the core.  You no longer need to feel like Ralph’s little brother on the christmas story.  

So go out a splurge on a pair or arm warmers for your fall running collection.  Like I said try bicycle stores and online shops to find them, they most likely will not be in a running store.

My second attempt at the marathon.  I signed up for this race shortly after my first marathon.  I was so commitment I booked the plane tickets and the race 8 months in advance.  Plus a trip to Ireland.  I have never left the country so I was stoked.

I learned from my mistakes with the first marathon and decided to plan better and train harder.  I traveled with two friends again we planned a 8 day trip over there staying in hostels. One day would be committed to traveling there and one day traveling back, 10 days in all.  Oh and little did we know it would end up being a day and a half because of snow.  We got to the airport and our flight was cancelled.  We decided instead of going back home that we would re-route and fly into London then up to Ireland.  We got to Chicago and yet another flight delay-ahh so we re booked our flight while waiting on the tarmac hoping that plane did not leave before we got to the gate.  Luckily we were the last three people allowed on the plane and off we were.  But the drama wasn’t over, my friends and I had some in-flight excitement. A passenger decided she wanted to have medical issues in flight, and us all being nurse we had to come to the rescue, as much as the European flight attendant would let us.  So finally we make it to our hostel in Ireland.  Let me say Dublin is amazing, we experienced everything we could, food, pubs, castles, got lost , met great people and had a blast.  I was the only one running the marathon the others we just enjoying there time.  I was going to have the opportunity to see Dublin in a way that they would never know.  I was so excited to run through the narrow streets and past all of the friendly people of the city.

Race day was on Bank holiday,  October 30, 2006.  It was actually a pretty late starting marathon compared to what I was use to seeing but fine by me besides, my hostel was a block away from the starting line.  I did good by not walking all over the city the day before but we did go to the pub the night before so I was up later than I would have liked and I had a few more pints than I would have liked as well.  Not good.

So I headed to the start it turns out there were several people in the hostel that I was staying in that were running as well.  A group from Germany brought a cheering squad too.  The start was on a very narrow street near Trinity college.  I was probably 10 minutes back from the actual line, which was fine I walked until I hit the colorful arch of balloons indicating it was time to get moving.  The route was to run through Dublin,  down the streets like vikings, past many landmarks and people.  It was titled the “friendly marathon”.  Which it was, there were so many people cheering and watching.  The city was practically shut down.  People were hanging out the windows of their flats, kids were handing out “sugary sweets”.

From website photos

I had to race smarter than I did with my first marathon.  I took several walk breaks  during the first so I thought if I ran this whole race without stopping I should be able to improve my time some.  I wasn’t expecting miracles but I was hoping.

It was overcast windy  sometimes it was “pissing rain”  so I was between short and long sleeve frequently.  The wind had not one direction but several and the rain followed.  I would soon learn this was normal Irish weather.  I was running strong, but the streets were taking its toll.  Brick or cobble stone made it very easy to roll ankles which I did several times.  Also it was not to flat either, I would call it gradual hills.  the first 5 miles were a gradual climb then a slight down hill then another long climb up spanning 5 miles, then one more  hill near mile 20.    We ran through Phoenix park, Stephens Green, Guinness brewery , near the canal and then to finish by Merrion square.  It was one very large loop.   I felt lost the entire time.  I had not seen any of these parts of the city.  I had no clue where I was heading.  You can look at a map but unless you drive the course, which I did not have a car, there was no way of knowing what to expect ahead.

I remember running with a young french couple eager to finish but did not care about time.  We all sort of pushed each other.  Occasionally I was a few meters ahead of them and some times they were ahead of me, it was nice company.  We ended up finishing together, with a large cheering section, from my hostel, and a toast of champagne at the end.  We pushed toward the finish line and through the very long chute to the line.  I clocked in with a finishing time of 4:28:39 chip time.  In 4599 place over all , and 436 for my category I had done it, I ran the entire race and set a new PR by over 5 minutes.  I felt great I knew then I was hooked.  I desired breaking 4 hours from that point.

From website photos

Now many people ask my what it was like running in another country and I haven’t really thought about it but there were some differences.  First was the water was a served in bottles, small bottles with the caps on, so you could take one and continue to run with it, but crunching over them was also challenging.  Also being in Europe you had so many different nationalities, so many different language.  I remember the announcer was speaking English but his Irish baroque was so strong I had no clue what he was saying.  The expo hosted people I was not familiar with.  the products were different as far as power gels and re-fuelers, but they did have Gatorade.  They had ambulance stations set up instead of just medic tents.  And I am not sure if it was just because it was Ireland or what but it seemed the coverage of the race was a big deal.  It was all over the news papers and on the t.v. and when I finished my vacation I would go places and the locals would ask why we were on holiday there and I would explain the marathon and they were impressed but then talk about who won the race, the man who died, and the man that had a heart transplant and finished it.  it also could have been the later of the two that it was all over the news.  I also noticed there were  so many different people running for so many different charities.  In the states and at the Nike Women’s Marathon was just Team in Training.

From website photos

So two marathons under my belt, and many more to come.  I did take a camera with my while I was running, of course the pictures are a little shaky but you can see the weather, all the people, and some pretty cool Irish land marks.

From website photos

http://dublinmarathon.ie/index.php

I decided to go all out for my third marathon and run California’s Big Sur Marathon.  Actually I picked based on the fact that my now husband’s aunt lived in Santa Cruz California, and well the weather was way better than what it was in Omaha that time of year. But now I would face some challenges.  This was a spring marathon, meaning I would have to do the bulk of my training in Nebraska’s cold winter.  I now work night shift 7p.m. to 7a.m. and of course THE HILLS.  Big Sur is not any easy marathon.  Runner’s world made one of the 10 best marathons to run, but also one of the hardest marathons.  It is advertised as “running on the ragged edge of the western world.

From website photos

So training started and i was committed, i fit in hill workouts when I could I would run when I got off in the morning or I would wake up at 3p.m. to run if it was cold, that would usually be the warmest time of day.  I ran on tread mills a lot and sometimes did 2 workouts a day.  I also had a running partner for the long runs.  My friend Rafal decided to take a stab at running to loose weight and wanted to do the Lincoln Marathon, in Lincoln, Nebraska, so he really had to train in the cold, but his marathon was flat, very flat. My top mileage for one week was 55 miles and my longest run was 18 miles.  I decided to taper and nurse a sore groin instead of doing my last planned 20 miles.  My running log shows I was not very consistent with training and my average mileage was about 30 miles a week.  Hmm I did not keep a training log for the other marathons, I was sort of snobbish about it and well that technology was not there to make it easy for me.  Looking back its hard to know if I trained more mileage or just harder with better quality.  Or not any different at all.

But feeling confident and out to get a new PR I was heading to California, first stop Santa Cruz.  We stayed a few hour drive from Monterey, California.  But it proved to be rewarding.  We stayed in a beautiful home saw family and ate fish like you would not believe.  See being landlocked with no ocean, we were cray for fresh fish like people come to the heartland for corn fed beef.  Actually one restaurant we ate at bragged about having Omaha Steaks on their menu.  haha.

From website photos

So I had the best pre-race dinner with fresh salmon, a cheese plate, olive oil tossed noodles, salad fresh berries and an early bedtime.  My ride was to leave at 3 a.m. to make it to the bus to the start line.  Yikes way early.  Luckily I was not driving so I napped in the car and on the bus to the start.  So it was hard to tell what the weather would do, the news said sunny and 80’s but at 5a.m. start and running next to the ocean it was hard to tell.  I picked shorts, a tank, and arm warmers.  Well the start was in the woods and I was freezing until I got moving.

And got moving I did, we worked our way through forests of redwood trees winding around on Highway 1 toward the Pacific Ocean.  It was cloudy with overcast but warmer then in the trees.  And then starts the HILLS.  the view of the ocean was breath taking, packed with my ipod and great songs to accompany the scenic views, ocean crashing into the cliffs right below my feet.  the climbs were tough and we did them as groups.  We cheered each over over the peeks and through water stations.  Why well there were no spectators out here, just you, the ocean and other runners.  It was perfect.  Like I said I live landlocked so to see the ocean after 3 months of winter and to be in shorts mind you, I was in heaven.  If you don’t get it because you live in California then spend a winter with me.  The “high” I got from that was all I needed to drive me.  We hit hurricane point.  this was the hardest biggest hill of the marathon. And it was massive.  I decided a bathroom break was needed before I made the descend and then the huge trying climb up the “mountain”.  Well i did this at a relay exchange point, meaning a lot of runners and a lot of runners who were done.  after waiting in a line for 5 minutes I decided to  exclaim, “ok if you are done with your part of the race and can hold it, can I please cut because I still have a lot of running to do”  I recommend you do this at any race.  I get why lines exist but to what for a mere spectator to go while your clock is running, no way, I am sorry this should be an etiquette of racing in my opinion.

From website photos

So hurricane point, I conquered only to hear the Chariots of Fire song played on electric keyboard along the way which made me laugh.  The view was enough but the entertainment on the course was a bonus.  Even a giant grand piano playing music on a random cliff side, belly dancers, and natives banging on large drums.  It was insane.

The down hills were just as hard as the ups, tearing into your quads and hurting your knees with every pound.  But I take hills like I was trained to do in cross country and I have found very effective.  Maintain uphill and “take” the downhill.  In my cross country days I would pass numerous runners with this method, so I figured in a race against the clock, it would help.  The end was near and I felt great, but the wall was approaching as the sight of more little hills were around the bend.  Pushing through the wall and into the town, I knew the finish line was near, you could heat the crowds and the push was in me.  I decided to surge.  Finally the end, the end of running on the edge of the world.  I crossed the line in a chip time of 4:10:11, 63rd in my group and 1135 overall.  I had done it, the hardest race so far and I knocked 18 minutes off of my PR.  It was great.  The post race goody bag was great, fresh fruit from the area, beer and a very cool clay medal.  We made it back to Santa Cruz and enjoyed time on the Boardwalk, a fabulous dinner.

It was by far the best race I had ever done, scenic and rewarding.

From website photos

http://www.bsim.org/The_Twenty_Fifth_Presentation.htm

So how has the training been going.  I have been logging the miles, I got off to a slow start as far as high miles go but I did get in quality training and cross training with lots of biking miles for a base but the base running miles are low.  I have read where it is recommended to have a 30-40 mile a week base.  I struggle to get in those kind of miles some weeks.  Now I know it all depends on the person and I feel I am an injury prone type runner.  I am a victim of shin splints since my high school running days.  So to run a 40 mile base seems high to me and my pour shins.  I know the elite run upwards of 100 miles a week, yikes.  Well I am in the 30 miles but not much higher.  But I am healthy and my shin are good and I feel I have no “junk miles” in there.  Although I wish I could put in some high mile weeks, it might get me closer to a BQ.  But since I have not raced a marathon in over a year I decided to go for the goal of breaking four hours.  I have just finish reading 4 months to a 4-hour marathon by David Kuehls.  In the book in highlights training plans and the focus in slow long runs and fast track sessions at goal pace.  For a four hour marathon goal pace being 9 minute miles.  Well the rest of the training log doesn’t seem taxing enough to me.  It has a long run day and a track day and one to two 40 minute jog days.  Only one actual rest day and two days for cross training or resting.  Well I have looked at these training plans and others and constructed my own.  the biggest problem I am still having is training on work days.  Is my body benefiting or hurting when I go for 40 minute runs when I get off of work.  Is 12 hours of work on my feet considered a day of cross training some what that I should be resting?  Then the other problem I face is I don’t always work the same  days I some times work over time, some days are harder than others etc.  I don’t feel like a good runner taking three running days off, but then because i work three days in a row I don’t have much in me by day three either.  

So I have made it up to sixteen miles for my long run.  I have eight weeks left.  I wish I could get in more track time.  I have been  doing tempo runs and hills in every run I do.  But not much track time.  My tempo runs and long run times are good and I feel strong with the exception of my last long run.  The heat has been a challenge but I have lucked out compared to typical heat index temps this time of year.  I hope thats not a bad thing, meaning August will be too hot.  This is the month of hard training and lots of miles then September starts the taper.  I hope to get in 18 miles, then either 2-20 milers or one 20 miler and one 22 miler, as well as tempo runs and a track workout each week and one cross train day in the pool.  I am going to write in my training plan and try not to shift from it too much.  For me I can not write out a 4 month traing plan and stick to it.  I work one out and change it based on how training is going then when I hit 2 months to go then I will stick to that.  It works with my weird hours and social life.  

So hopefully I will get my other posts up soon and be able to keep readers updated on training as well.