Practice Makes Perfect - Inaugural Life Time Treadmill Marathon

Another two weeks have flown by and I have been training just as hard as usual. Starting with last week, my mileage has started to drop. But, first things first – the Last Vegas Half Marathon – didn’t go as planned.  I finished in 7^th place overall, which isn’t terrible, but my time was less than exceptional. I think this was largely due to not tapering all that much for the race and therefore going into the race with tired legs. My finishing time was 1:14:56. I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, so enough said.

My training since the race has been great! On the Thursday after the race I ran 26.2 miles on a treadmill! Yes, I did. It was a fantastic day outside for Minnesota in December, but I wanted to make sure to get in some heat training and be able to have the fluids (Hammer’s Perpeteum) I plan on using during the Trials on hand because these are both important aspects of what I will have to deal with during the actual race.

 I managed to make it an impressive 14 miles on the treadmill before I lifted the towel that I had covering the mileage display. Hiding the time and mileage counter helps the run not feel as long. However, as anyone would suspect, the last few miles turned into a mental grind. I kept trying to make deals with myself about when I would stop the run, as I couldn’t help but look at the mileage just about every mile. Coach Dennis had only told me to go 24 miles, so as the proverbial hamster in my head started to get tired, I tried to convince myself that it was OK to just run 24 miles. But, in the end I was able to defeat my own weakness by reminding myself how much I want to be an Olympian, and to do that I have to give 100%. So 26.2 miles and three hours after I first set foot on the treadmill at Life Time Fitness, I stepped off the treadmill, full of hope and proud of my accomplishment.

In the last week I have also put in some good workouts that I know will really count when it comes to the marathon in January. Repeat 1,000’s on Tuesday and a real ringer of a workout today – 1 hour at marathon pace followed by 30 minutes of alternating 1-minute-hard / 1-minute-easy. BAM! Because this workout was so long and similar to an actual race I prepared for the workout just as I anticipate doing for the marathon.

                Schedule:

                5:00am: Alarm 1 goes off – time to eat breakfast, then back to sleep

                7:30am: Alarm 2 goes off – time to get out of bed, make some coffee and get ready to rumble

                8:45am: Meet Dennis and the guys at Highland Park Life Time Fitness

             9:15am: Warm-ups are finished, Dennis has given us instructions about the out and back course    that we will using and where he will set up our water bottle stations.

                9:16am: WE ARE OFF! Clipping off the miles at a little under 5:40 pace

              9:35am: Making first 180 degree U-turn. We are practicing this because there are U-turns in the marathon course. So we want to make sure our legs know what it feels like to decelerate, make a 180 degree turn and get back up to speed. If you have ever done the common drill of “suicides” at like basketball practice, you will know how much energy it takes to stop your moving body, turn and get back up to speed as quickly as possible. A lot! But with practice this process should go much more smoothly and not be as much of a shock to our legs during the race.

               9:54: Bottle stations #2 – have you ever tried drinking while running at quick pace? Not the easiest thing to do and I end up feeling that I must resemble a very thirsty dog – sucking on my bottle, spit flying, while also trying to gasp for air. Not a very pretty sight.

           10:16am: First hour complete, managing to run over 10 ½ miles during that time, but I still have another hard half an hour to go.

              10:46am: The workout is finally complete and I am gingerly running my cool down back to the gym because I have managed to get a blood blister on my left foot. I wore socks that were a little too thick because I had thought that my feet would be cold otherwise. However, it was a very beautiful 35 degree day and the thick sock turned out to just be a mistake. Lesson learned.

By 11:30 I have made it home after I stop and get myself a well deserved drink from Starbucks and I am full of relief. I had gone into the workout with a bit of trepidation, but now it is all over and I can relax.

Next week I am off to Hawaii for a family vacation! I have never been to Hawaii and I am extremely excited.  So next time I write I hope that it will be from the one of the beautiful white sandy beaches of Maui. For now, Aloha and Merry Christmas!

Happy training,

Meghan

Manchester Road Race - 75 Years of World-Class Racing!

               It has been a busy last week and a half. Thanksgiving Day was wonderful in a number of ways. To start out, I competed in the famed Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving morning. It was a very exciting race due to the fact that they were celebrating their 75^th anniversary, which called for a lot of fanfare complete with a pre-race flyover by a plane that was used in the Berlin Airlift. The race was a huge celebration of the history of road racing.  The first woman to ever compete in a professional road race was there to run, 50 years after the first time she ran the race! She even wore the same garment that she wore 50 years ago – a blue dress. Yes ladies, a dress! It was really awesome to see all the history surrounding the Thanksgiving Day race, and on top of that it was a great success for me. The course is 4.7 miles long with a huge 1 mile hill in the second mile. The race went out, and in my head I was thinking “man, I am in 6^th place and this pace doesn’t feel comfortable.” The mile clock loomed and I looked over to see 4:58. A little yellow light bulb lit up in my head “well, that is why the pace didn’t feel good. Now I will just settle in and use as little energy as possible to get up this huge hill and then I will let the legs fly!” Up the hill we went. I held on to the back of the pack and worked up the hill, towards the end passing the majority of the girls in the pack.  Once at the top we made a hard left turn and started down the hill we had just climbed. I moved to second place, dueling it out with one other girl for a short distance, but once I finally got in front I never saw her or any of the other girls again. I was looking ahead for SallyKipyego who went out really hard and stayed there the entire race. I could see her a ways ahead, but for the time being I was running with a group of two guys. As the race progressed I was still feeling pretty good, but the guys I was running right behind were starting to slow down. I didn’t want to have to cut my stride and slow down to go around the two men…so I did the next best thing, gave them each a love tap right at their center of gravity, a.k.a. their hips, and they moved to the side and I went right between them. The next mile went by uneventfully, I caught another man who obviously took exception to being caught by a woman because every time I made it to his shoulder he would put in a quick sprint and be 5 meters ahead of me again. I largely tried to ignore him and just continue to run hard, trying to see if I could make up any time on Sally. Finally 800 meters to go, and the guy next to me was brought sharply back to my attention because – and I have to admire his competitive spirit – he began to dry heave….once, twice, three times. I swerved far to the right so as to avoid any type of substantive eruption and began to surge for the finish. Soon the finish line loomed, I crossed it still in 2^nd in a time of 25:02. Another success!

                After the race I quickly cooled down and jumped straight into my host family Bill andCarol Oneill's car. Carol whisked me away to catch my flight that was scheduled to take off only 2 hours and 10min after I finished the race. I flew to Tennessee where my husband and I spent a few quality days with my family celebrating Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be thankful for, I have a truly blessed life and consider myself very lucky. Thank you to my family, friends, and all of you who have joined me on this journey. And, the many people and organizations that make my life as a professional runner possible - Team USA Minnesota, Road Runners Club of America, Life Time Fitness, Twin Cities in Motion, Ron Wayne at Mizuno, and many more.   

                Now, as I am writing this blog I am sitting in Las Vegas, getting ready for the Rockand Roll Las Vegas Half marathon – The Strip at Night! The race starts at 5:30pm, so the strip will be fully lit up. It should make for a fun race. Can you imagine it?!  I am using the race to test my fitness and see where I am in my preparation for the OT Marathon. I will keep you all posted and let you know how it goes, stay tuned! 

MinneSNOWta - You betcha!

I have gotten a little off of my schedule in the last two weeks, but now I am back! In the last two weeks a couple of significant events have occurred in my training. Firstly, I completed my first almost-marathon, a 26 mile training run. It was a combination of good, bad and ugly.

I went into the run with the idea that I would treat it just like race day, the only difference being that it wouldn’t be at race pace. So I got up in the morning and ate a bagel with cream cheese and a banana, and spent the rest of the morning drinking the fluids that I plan on using during the OTMarathon. The only problem was that after I ate my breakfast I had to go to work for about 3 hours before doing my run. So I ate my breakfast at 9am and then left work to go do my run at 12:30. The first part of the run was fine, but once I got to about 18-20 miles I started to get the feeling that my head was floating away from my body, like a kite on a string. I was conscious that I was still running, but I felt like I was floating. I shook my head a few times and was able to focus again, but the rest of the run was really long. I think my problem was that I had not consumed enough calories for the run, and I had only taken one Hammer Gel with me, which was not enough. I guess I learned that lesson the hard way.

The second event that occurred during the past week and a half is that it finally decided to snow here in minneSNOWta, which officially marks the end of doing workouts outside. So yesterday, while it sleeted miserably outside I made my merry way to Life Time Fitness in Eden Prairie and jumped on a treadmill to do a 20 mile run. Life Time’s facilities are really fantastic and top notch, so it was the best possible alternative to running outside. I cranked the treadmill up and put it at 1% grade, to compensate for the fact that I am running on a treadmill not the ground, and settled in at 6:53 pace. The first 15 miles passed by quickly enough because I was watching the Michigan V. Nebraska game – quick shout out to my friend Katie McGregor, GO BIG BLUE!  It wasn’t much of a game as Michigan crushed the Corn Huskers 45 to 17, but hey, it kept my mind from spelling out M-O-N-O-T-O-N-Y with every stride.  The last 5 miles which I ran at close to my threshold pace – aka 5:45 min/mile – were a test of my mental fortitude…but I guess I need some of that during my training for a marathon.

Emily Brown and me dressed as presents, participating in the Life Time Fitness Reindeer Run 2010.  It is is hard to run when you can't use your arms! 

My fitness continues to progress and I am excited to see what the next two weeks will hold as I prepare to run in the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving day and the Rock’n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon on Dec. 4^th.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Make it a good one and don’t forget to get your run in before you eat Turkey, because although it is just a wives’ tale that the tryptophan found in Turkey makes you sleepy, I know there is something about a Thanksgiving Feast that makes you not want to get in a run after it. 

ING New York City Marathon Weekend

Sorry for the late post, but what a weekend! I flew into LaGuardia Airport on Thursday for a long weekend in NYC. After a bit of a hairy drive from LGA to the Sheraton hotel in Manhatten, I was tired and ready for bed. But first I had to get in a run for the day, so I got changed and made my way to Central Park to do an easy 6 miles. I returned to the hotel… 9 miles later!  Central Park is a very beautiful place to run, and much bigger than I anticipated it would be. On a normal day I wouldn’t mind getting a few extra miles in by accident, but it made me slightly nervous due to the fact that I would be racing in two days. I decided to put it out of mind; I had felt good on the run and that is all that mattered.

Friday was full of a lot of different and exciting activities. The first activity of note being the technical meeting for the NYRR Dash to the Finish 5k. At 2pm on Friday the group of about 30 elite athletes gathered together to listen to the rules that would be governing the race, go over the course, transportation of baggage and athletes, and most importantly of all: receive our timing chips….and boy were there a lot of those! Each runner was assigned four timing chips. There were two “B” tags which are chips that a placed on the back of the runner’s bibs. One attaches to the front of our uniform and one attaches to the back. There were also two “D” tags which are chips that are looped onto your shoe and form into the shape of a D – one for each foot. The race organizers wanted to reassure us that we would get a time because it was important to them that we wouldn’t be pushing our watches in the race.  Can you guess why?

Because they didn’t want us to ruin the pictures that they were going to be taking by looking down at our watches and pushing buttons. They wanted us – especially the winner – to raise our arms in victory. I completely agree that these kinds of pictures are a lot more fun to look at, but I still think four timing chips was probably overkill.

 NASDAQ

After we finished with the technical meeting we made our way down to Times Square to participate in the coolest event of the day: we got to close the NASDAQ stock exchange for the weekend! It was really fantastic. We went into the NASDAQ and they took us into this room where there were all kinds of video cameras and other special equipment, we were given instructions on how the events would occur and then they put us all on stage and we went live! It wasn’t exactly 15 minutes of fame, but we were on national TV for about 3 minutes as we helped to close down the market for the weekend.  The event was even more exciting because it was the first day that Groupon had gone public – a significant development in the financial world.

Race Day

Next up, race day!  The NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K was scheduled to begin at 8:30am right outside the United Nations building. So to start off the day my alarm went off at 5:30am so that I could get some breakfast in my belly. At about 5:50am I was done eating my bagel, a banana and drinking some Gatorade and I had the coffee brewing in the little hotel coffee pot.

As the aroma of coffee filled the room I went about pining on my bibs and putting the D-tags on my shoes. Once those were arranged I put on all my racing attire and packed up my bag to get ready to meet all the other runners down in the hotel lobby at 7am so that we could make our way to the start area.  Once I finished packing I got my coffee and went through a mental checklist to make sure I was prepared for the race:

-uniform

-racing flats

-bibs

-water/Gatorade

-gloves/hat/arm sleeves

Check,check, check, check, check….READY TO GO!

All the runners meet downstairs and we walk a little over a mile on a brisk NY morning to the start line for the race. Once there we all split off into different groups and begin our warm-ups.  For myself that involves a 15min warm-up jog to get the muscles loose and blood moving, a good stretch, drills and strides.

Ten Minutes until race time!

My warm-up is complete now; I take some deep belly breaths to help calm my nerves, repeat to myself over and over “you can do this” and jog about lightly to keep my body warm.

Five Minutes until race time!

We are told to take off all of our warm-ups and get on the start line. The only thing that I have left on are my buns, singlet, gloves and arm sleeves – like I said it was a brisk morning so I opted for gloves and arm sleeves to keep me just a little warmer and so that my upper body wouldn't get tight.  I put my right hand over my heart as they play the national anthem and stare at the Star Spangled Banner, the United Nations as the back-drop to it all. Introductions are made, race commands are uttered and BANG!

The race is on…the race is out slow, 5:15 at the mile, so naturally there is a big group with all the women still together. But people are starting to get antsy, the pace starts to pick up but so do the hills - 5:10 for the second mile. There is still a big group but it is starting to spread out a little more. The last mile heads into central park where the biggest hill in the race is and then a very sharp left turn to head towards the finish. I make it up the hill and make the almost about-face turn and I am only a few seconds behind the leaders. The hill has really strung the field out as people are starting to hurt, the last mile is only slightly faster than the second mile timewise, but the effort is considerably more. So what on paper is a mile split of about 5:09, in my legs feels like 5:00 flat. 400 meters to go and I think I am somewhere around 9^th place, I kick hard still feeling strong and start passing women over the next 200m. 200 meters and one last hill to the finish line. Still running hard, my legs are starting to fatigue but I am so close, my brain doesn’t see or hear anything, it just keep repeating “push” like a broken record. Under the blue banner that is the finish line not only for this race but also the ING NYC Marathon – 5^th place!  I did it!

USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency)

I cross the finish line and take a big deep breath, thinking my work is done for the day. I start to walk with the other women and I am immediately stopped in my tracks…”Hello, I am a representative of USADA (UnitedStates Anti-Doping Agency), you have been selected for drug testing”.   DANG IT!

I have no problem submitting a sample for testing because I want to keep our sport fair and clean, but the process of providing a sample is not the most pleasant of experiences. First I have to fill out a bunch of paperwork, but my hands are freezing and my motor skills are almost non-existent. I manage to scribble out my name, address, etc. as I get checked-in. Now I have to wait…I have to wait without any warm clothes in an unheated tent and drink cold beverages, with the aim of trying to produce a 90ml urine sample. I wait…and wait…and wait. Two people go before me to try and get samples; both come back with only partial sample so they have to try again. I am shivering violently, teeth chattering, when I finally think I am ready to try. I am taken to the porta-potty, where I am instructed to wash my hands, dry them and open a sterile sample cup. Now the fun part – produce a sample WHILE the lady is staring straight at your crotch to make sure you don’t contaminate your sample. Stage fright much?!  This isn’t my first time, so after a few seconds I am able to get the job done. Another victory! The rest of the process is equally as tedious – pouring the sample into different containers for testing and making sure it is all sealed and packaged correctly so that it isn’t tampered with. An hour later I am finally done and can leave to go get warm. Hallelujah! 

The rest of the weekend is a whimsical breeze. I spend some time doing touristy things around NYC with some family (Jeanie and Bruce Coopersmith) who came down to watch my race from upstate NY. THANKS GUYS! And, I get to watch the ING New York City Marathon from one of the best seats in the house - the first row in the finish line grandstands. The races didn’t disappoint, both the men’s and women’s course records were conquered and the women’s race was gut-wrenching to watch (click here for a full recap).

All in all it was a very exciting weekend and I am looking forward to getting back to training and my next race…the Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving Day!

Race Prep - Time to Lock and Load

Happy Halloweeeeeen! Another week has gone by and I have spent it in preparation for the NYRR Dashto the Finish Line 5K, which according to a recent press release boasts some big time names in the world of professional running:

“The inaugural NYRR Dash to the Finish Line will draw some big names, including Olympians Deena Kastor and Dathan Ritzenhein, on Saturday, November 5, during ING New York City Marathon weekend.

The race will offer a flat and fast 3.1-mile course through the heart of Manhattan, starting near the United Nations, crossing Midtown on famed 42nd Street, and heading uptown to Central Park for the last dash across the world-renowned ING New York City Marathon finish line.”

The start of the ING NYC Marathon

When I read these names along with a host of other names mentioned later in the article, namely USA 5K record holder Molly Huddle, multiple time Olympian Magdalena Lewy Boulet, and Kenyan superstar and silver medalist at 10,000m at the World Championships Sally Kipyego, my initial instinct is to take a big “gulp” and think “oh crap, what have I gotten myself into”. In years past, I would dwell on the fact that the current credentials of these women are more impressive than mine and waste a lot of energy thinking about that fact instead of putting it all into the race. But, that was the old me.

Some people assume that at this point in my running career I don’t get nervous anymore, but that assumption is far from true. I have just learned, through a number of different resources, to control my anxiety and use the energy that I could have wasted thinking about things out of my control to channel that energy into racing. The fact of the matter is that all the women (and men) who line up on race day put their singlets, shorts and shoes on the same way that I do. So when I start to feel a wave of adrenaline rush over my body, I remind myself that I belong. I put in the hours of training every day of every week, I go to bed early even if it isn’t the “cool” thing to do, and I attempt to eat more healthy foods than unhealthy foods – and boy is that a challenge because I have one wicked sweet tooth! In short, I do my best to live the life of an Olympian.

So, looking ahead to this Saturday in New York, my goal is to keep reminding myself that I belong until that blissful moment when the gun goes off, my mind goes blank and the world becomes quiet as every ounce of energy become focused on the task at hand. If I can accomplish this then I know that when I walk away from the finish line I will be able to hold my head up high and say “I gave it my best shot today”.

Questions and comment are welcome…so fire away!

-Meghan

Meghan's Patented Weight Loss Formula: Lose one pound per hour!

I left off last week with a mission to find out how much fluid I lose per hour when running hard. Last Thursday before a hard workout of 2 ½ mile repeats I weighed myself right before I headed out the door and again an hour and half later when I returned to the gym exhausted.  I hopped on the scale and it said I was 1.5lbs lighter than when I started out that morning. I hope that doesn’t make me too unfeminine, because women don’t sweat right?!   That means that on this day I lost approximately 16 oz of fluid per hour (actually 15.3 fluid ounces using 1.043 dry ounces = 1 water ounce near sea level, but I would rather round up slightly than down). However, I think I will test this out a few more times before the marathon in January, because I want to make sure that I get a good average.

Earlier this morning I was filling out the “fluids form” provided by the Houston Marathon Committee, and I was able to find out where they will have the fluid tables set up on the day of the marathon.

Mile 3.2,  Mile 6.0,  Mile 8.6,  Mile 11.2,  Mile 14.0, Mile 16.6,  Mile 19.2,  Mile 22.0,  Mile 24.6

If my average sweat rate does indeed turn out to be 16floz per hour than I will need to consume 2 cups of fluid per hour in the marathon for a total of about 5 cups during the entire race. As you can see above there will be 9 fluid stations available. So between now and January I will need to devise a plan of how to use those 9 stations to get in all the fluids that I will need to help me run my best. But before I can decide on the best approach I will need to do some more experiments. The most important of these being, how much fluid I can comfortably consume while running sub 6min mile pace.  It sounds so easy to just take a drink, but when you take into account that I hope to be running 5:50-5:45 pace or faster, breathing hard, carrying a bottle along for a short ways, and trying to contend with the other women in the race to get to my bottle, you quickly realize it is more than just taking a drink. More aptly put by another fantastic runner, Lauren Fleshman, “When you have never done a marathon, it isscary as s%#!”

Lauren is currently training for the ING New York City Marathon, which will be her first. I have really enjoyed reading her humorous blogs posts as she trains for the 5 boroughs marathon. I am really pumped to get to be in NYC on the weekend of the marathon where I will compete in the NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5K the day before I watch Lauren and another inspirational runner – Jen Rhines – compete in the ING New York City Marathon! 

Good luck to these ladies and to any of my readers who will be running. I will be cheering loudly and losing my voice in all the excitement! 

Fluid Therapy

Hard core marathon training has finally begun. I had been looking forward to it with equal parts trepidation and excitement. I’m nervous because I am entering a whole new world of training but at the same time I am excited because I know that this training is going to help me get stronger across every event that I run. The greatest motivation comes from knowing that I am training for such an exciting event – the USA Olympic Team Marathon Trials.

In the past two weeks I have logged over 100 miles per week – hitting an average of 16 miles a day. Not only have my average runs gotten longer, but so have the workouts. As my coach Dennis keeps telling me, I have to train to put more force into the ground for a long time. That will be the key to running a fast marathon in January.

So far my body is holding up pretty well, not really any ill effects due to the increased mileage. I am cautious because I am entering new territory and don’t know 100% how my body will react, but at the same time I want to push the envelope and test the strength of my spirit.  I want to see how far my body can go, because when I cross the finish line on Jan. 14^th, 2012 (13 weeks from now) – I want to be able to say “I trained my very best, and I did my best today”.

Now that the intense marathon training has started it is also time for me to figure out what kinds of fluids and supplements I can tolerate and work best for me to use during the marathon. First, I am going to need to figure out my sweat rate – this will determine how much fluid I need to take in and how often it needs to be done during the race. It sounds complicated, but I have found out that it is relatively easy to determine –weigh myself before and after a hard hour run. The drop in weight will determine how much fluid I lost through sweat and therefore how much I need to take in per hour. I will also test out different kinds of supplements I can take. I don’t want to take something that is going to upset my stomach and cause any more discomfort than I am going to feel simply because I am running 26.2 miles. I am going to test out several different kinds: Gu, Hammer Gel, Sport Beans or take a page of out of Kenny Moore's book "Bowerman and the Men of Oregon" and drink flat coke. It will all come down to which will be easiest to take and not cause any adverse effects. I guess we will see. 

Cheers to happy running! I am off to do my experiments… adios and feel free to share any tips that have worked for you!

   

                                                            Bunny ears for Jennifer, one of my Auggie Runners!

Where are the Superfans?

Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile

The Medtronic Twin Cities 10mile/ USA 10 mile championships were a pretty good race for me. I ran an 11 second PR covering the 10mile course in a time of 55:09.  I say it was only a pretty good race and not a great race because I know I could have run faster…probably able to break the 55min barrier. However, I had about a half mile, just after the 5mile mark, where I had a lapse in my focus. I had decided against wearing my arm sleeves and opted for just gloves. For that half mile, midway through the race, all I could think about was how cold and tight my arms felt. My pace slowed and the lead pack put some distance on me. Once I realized what I was doing – letting negative thoughts dictate my race – I snapped back to attention. I told myself, “relax your upper body, take a deep breath and run.” And that is exactly what I did.  Once I relaxed my arms and hands they didn’t hurt anymore and they actually seemed to warm up and I was able to get back to business. Unfortunately the damage was already done. I spent the next 4 ½ miles chasing the pack that was slowly disintegrating in front of me. I ran hard catching three runners and getting to within 8 seconds of the ladies in 4^th and 5^th place before I ran out of real-estate. Darn! 

Overall it was a pretty good race – 6^th place, a new 10mile PR and a pretty nice payday for a non-marathon road race. I can attribute the payday to the great organization Twin Cities in Motion which has a deep passion for runners.

Payday

Speaking of paydays, have you read the blog by Toni Reavis, who is touted by Runner’s World Magazine as the ‘most insightful and funny talking head in running’?  The blog is titled Dear Nick Symmonds in response to Nick’s new Facebook page that asks: “Could someone please explain to me why NASCAR drivers can have literally DOZENS of ads on their competition uniforms, cars, etc. and track and field athletes are FORBIDDEN to have ANY corporate logo on their warm-ups or competition uniforms?   Track and field athletes are not even allowed to put corporate logos on their arms as temporary tattoos. These asinine rules have been created by our governing bodies USATF and IAAF and are crippling our sport by preventing the flow of dollars into it”.

There is some very interesting chatter going on in the running world these days about sponsorship dollars in the world of professional running. You can read the article which hits too many points for me to summarize here and form your own opinion, but here are my thoughts:

I am not discounting Nick Symmonds’ or Toni Reavis’ arguments at all; I think their arguments are valid. However, I believe that the lack of sponsorship dollars flowing into track has more to do with our inability to convert Joe and Jane Jogger into superfans than it does with USATF or IAAF sanctions.  Nick and Toni compare our sport to NASCAR, but the only similarity between running and NASCAR that I can see is that they both race in circles. I think that track and field is more similar to the sports of golf and tennis with high fan participation at the amateur level and a deep sense of history and class. So how do the PGA and the USTA manage to pull in millions of dollars for their athletes at every tournament? Is a 4 day golf tournament or 2 hour tennis match really any more exhilarating than a 10,000m race? Not really, and yet these athletes make millions wearing a limited number of logos. The reasons that fans watch golf and tennis is that their competitions are televised on major networks and the commentators are entertaining and knowledgeable to listen to.  Commentators help make the events fun to watch even when there might be a lull in the competition. Plus, these sports have well-known and decorated champions that come out to compete head to head at almost all of the major competitions. So how do we add these elements to the sport of running to get Joe and Jane Jogger to care?

I think small steps have been made with the formation of the USA Running Circuit and the Visa Championship Series. Media coverage by organization such as RunnerSpace and Flo Track has helped connect small pockets of superfans around the US in cities such as Eugene and New York City to their elite athletes. But we need more!

How do we convert all of those thousands of runners who run in events like the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, the Gate River Run 15K, and the Peachtree 10K to actually care about the professional aspect of the sport?

With this food for thought I bid you adieu.

NEXT race four weeks…the Dash to the Finish Line 5K in NYC!!! (Saturday before the ING New York City Marathon). I can’t wait!

P.S. If you don’t have this month’s copy of Runner’s World, you should pick one up because yours truly is in it!

The Great Equalizer

This Sunday plays host to the largest running event in Minnesota: the 30th running of the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and a host of other Twin Cities in Motion races – including the Medtronic TC 10mile/ USA 10mile Championships. It is always an exciting weekend with lots of events to attend and there is a special kind of buzz in the air as thousands and thousands of runners gear up for the races. Walk into any local grocery store and their PowerAde and Gatorade stocks have been depleted, the massage therapist I see, Gregg Sievsind was booked solid all week doing at least 9 one-hour massages per day, and the port-a-potty companies’ employees have to be well into overtime by now.

To add to all the excitement, Twin Cities in Motion has thrown an additional curve-ball into to the 10mile championship race – the Equalizer! The women’s championship race will start 7 minutes before the men’s championship race. The first runner to cross the finish line 10 miles later, man or woman, will win an extra $10,000!

It is going to be a good race, both fields are stacked – official race entries HERE.

Another popular blog here in the Twin Cities, Down the Backstretch, posed the question: “Yes/No: Will a male runner win the “Equalizer Bonus” at the 2011 USA 10 Mile Championships?”. The blog argues that a man will win the equalizer, but I personally believe a woman will win. I think it is going to be a great race that comes down to the final 400m downhill finish but I think a woman will prevail in the end. I don’t really have an argument for why I think this, other than it is just a gut feeling. I guess tomorrow at around 8am we will find out.

Tune into the race live at http://www.runnerspace.com/USA-10mile

I finished 4th at this race last year in a time of 55:20, cheer me on to a podium spot and let me know your prediction --Who do you think is going to win? Man or woman?!

Pre-Race Interview: 

USA 10 Mile Championships - Official Website - Videos - Meghan Peyton Pre-Race - USA 10 Mile Championships 2011

Bittersweet

This week didn’t exactly go how I imagined it would.

The week started off on a high, having returned home from the CVS/Pharmacy Downtown 5K/ USA 5K championships where I placed 5^th by a nose (the wrong side of the nose)! I placed 5^th by .02 seconds….going up the final hill – a ¼ mile sprint uphill to the finish. 4^th place was two steps in front of me and 3^rd was 15m ahead. Both women looked like they were just hanging on for the finish. I saw my opening, I looked up at 3^rd place and said “I think I can do it” and started gunning for the finish line. I passed Sara Hall in 4^th place and was still running as hard as I could closing on 3^rd, but then out of the corner of my eye I saw that Sara hadn’t given up yet. We were both sprinting with every ounce of energy we had to get to the finish line. I was so focused on the finish I felt like I couldn’t even see; all the energy was going to my legs, willing them to carry me ever faster. In the end Sara was able to just out-lean me at the line and Emily Brown in 3^rd place was able to stay 2 seconds out of reach. My final time: 15:58 and new road 5K PR. I walked away with my head held high because I knew I gave it everything I had and was happy to run as quickly as I did considering that I am training for a marathon, not the 5K. I think this race was a reflection of how strong I am getting with my training. Hopefully that strength will pay off next weekend in the Medtronic TC 10 mile/ USA 10 mile Championships, which are hosted by Twin Cities in Motion right here in my own back yard!

USA 5 km Championships - Official Website - Videos - Women's Live Race Replay - USA 5 km Championships 2011

However, once hump day rolled around, what had started out as a great week quickly hit rock bottom. Early Wednesday morning I got an email from Dennis saying that one of the men on the Augsburg Cross Country team had been killed in a hit and run late on Tuesday night. Jason Stevens was a freshman on our team and double majoring in Physics and Calculus. The team was crushed by sadness and anger. “How can someone just drive away?” “Why did this happen? The loss of a great friend and strong competitor brought the Auggies to their emotional knees. Yet, as I watched the team and tried to be a strong shoulder to cry on, what I witnessed was amazing. This huge loss brought this team even closer together than they were previously; they each learned that their teammates were people that they could rely on even in the toughest of situations. They came back two days later and had some of the best workouts of their lives.  My wish is that they can continue to honor the memory of Jason by competing with as much heart and guts as Jason did. Rest in peace Jason, and know that you were loved by many.

North Vs. South

As fall starts to settle in (I use the word “settle” loosely as it was in the 30’s this morning) some thoughts keep nagging at me about some important winter training decisions I need to make.  The big question:  Stay here in Minneapolis where temperatures can dip to a brutal -40 degrees Fahrenheit or make like Tom and Cruise on south for the winter?

With the Olympic Team Trials Marathon being in Houston, the answer almost looks obvious – go south. But it isn’t that easy. 

The Pros to staying in Minneapolis:

- My loving husband and biggest supporter is here.

-I get to stay in my routine, doing the things that I know work for me. Sleep in my own bed.  

-I have my coach close at hand, where he can watch my workouts and make assessments.

-I have access to all the facilities that I could possibly need with all the support I get from Team USA Minnesota and Life Time Fitness – including indoor training facilities, massage, and so on.

The Cons to staying in Minneapolis:

-The cost of the trip. 

-Did I mention yet how cold it gets in Minneapolis, or how much snow falls during an average winter? I have trained through the winter here in Minneapolis for the past three years without being any worse for the wear. So why am I even questioning whether I should stay in Minneapolis or not? Well, the reason is because in January the average daytime temperature in Houston, TX is 63 degrees while in Minneapolis it is 22 degrees.  Those 40 degrees make a big difference because my body would have to acclimate for the trip to Houston in January for the marathon trials. Although normally 63 degrees isn’t that warm, when my body is used to being exposed to 20 degree temps and then is suddenly put into much warmer temperatures, running at peak performance is asking a lot.  

So this is where my quandary begins: to stay or to go? At first I thought that the answer was obvious, that I should go south.  However, after listening to an interview by Tera Moody after she completed the 2011 World Marathon in Daegu, South Korea, (she was the first American to cross the line, finishing in 18^th place overall) I am not so sure. She mentions in her interview with LetsRun.com that one of the reasons she was able to cope with the very warm and humid conditions in Daegue was due to the fact that she spent a lot of time training on the treadmill, where room temp is often in the 70’s and there is no wind to help keep you cool.

After listening to her interview, I only have one strong aversion to staying….and that is that I really hate running on treadmills. I like having the road under my feet and the scenery passing by. However, at the same time I can’t ignore all of the pros that would come with staying put.

For now I guess I will continue to soul search….at least while fall is still settling in and the abundant trees of Minnesota begin to turn their beautiful red and gold colors.

Any thoughts? 

Color Blind

How something as simple as a color can be such a strong metaphor is beyond me, but nonetheless you can find colorful metaphors used in literature everywhere. Examples can be found almost every time you crack open another spine; The Color Purple by Alice Walker and one of my favorite books and authors The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, just to name a few. But why am I talking about colors and metaphors? This is a blog about running right! Well, the answer, you will soon see is because last night I came upon the most beautiful running metaphor ever…DRUM ROLL PLEASE:

Running the Edge 

“Many people openly express their disbelief that someone would deliberately choose to run. As a runner, you have probably heard it all: ‘I only run when I am being chased.’ ‘How can you just run?’ 'I hate running!’ ‘I don’t understand how someone can run for fun.’”  Well now I have my answer, complete with a colorful metaphor. “’ Pretend I am a person who can only see the world in black-and-white. Now imagine you need to explain to me what the color blue looks like. How would you do it?’

Valerie thought for a moment and then began with a confident ‘Blue is like…’ She Paused. Her eyes rolled up as she searched the ceiling and walls of the office for a single word that could help me understand blue. I stopped her before she tried to speak again.

‘That is exactly what it is like trying to explain running to a non-runner. Being a runner is like being able to see the color blue. When two people share these common experiences, they do not need to talk about them or try to describe them in words. But without common experience, it is difficult for me, or any other runner, to help you understand why we are so passionate about this sport. If you really want answers, you need to become a runner and develop color vision.’”

This excerpt is from the book just released called Running the Edge by Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano.  I got my copy in the mail last week, signed by the authors and everything…if you don’t have a copy yet I highly suggest that you pick one up. The small section I have included here is only the tip of the iceberg. Anyhow, when I read this metaphor for running, big yellow light bulbs went off all around my head because even though unfortunately it is not my own original idea, it is a simple and profound way to explain to those people that I encounter almost every day why they can’t understand why I love to run.

Stratton Faxon New Haven 20K/USA 20K Championships – Sept. 5^th

My love of running has taken my many amazing places in my life, and I hope that it will take me to a lot more. This past weekend it took me to the small city of New Haven, CT (also the home of Yale University) where I competed in the USA 20K Championships where I placed 7^th in a time of 1:10:28.  I was in 4^th place for a long time, chasing down 3^rd, but a stiff early pace and the need to get in some more long workouts and runs left me running on fumes that last few miles. I am happy with the race, as it is a good measure of my current level of fitness…but now it is back to the roads and more training. I am going to get stronger and more fit as the fall progresses and make my way towards the USA Marathon Trials in January.

Next up of the race calendar: CVS Caremark Downtown 5K/USA 5K Championships on Sept. 18^th

Wish me luck! 

Pyramid Schemes

Last night, I went to a “Tupperware Party”.  Although, by definition it isn’t really a Pyramid Scheme (because Tupperware is a publically traded company and couldn’t be committing fraud), when you are sitting there listening to the Tupperware consultant tell you about how she drives two cars paid for by Tupperware, how much she makes a month, and oh by the way “you can do it too!”, it sure feels like you are listening to the opening lecture of Pyramids 101. OHHHH, and I was the lucky individual at the party that was selected to host my own Tupperware Party....I said “no thanks”, much to the chagrin of the consultant.

There is only one type of pyramid scheme that I believe in, and that is the running for performance pyramid:

Races

Speed workouts

VO2 workouts, VO2 workouts

Threshold work, threshold work, threshold work

Base miles, base miles, base miles, base miles, base miles

Right now I am in between the base miles phase and the threshold work phase.  I am running quite a few miles, logging 95 miles last week and working in some longer threshold pace workouts. This is also the time of year where I feel tired quite a bit because of all the miles and long workouts, but it is an extremely important and necessary phase of the year.  If I don’t “put in the miles” now, I’ll lack the strength and endurance to run to my full potential. Even sprinters do “over-distance”; a term that makes me laugh because a sprinter’s over-distance still seems pretty short to someone training for races between 5K and the marathon.

Why put in the base miles or over distance?  Like I eluded to in the previous paragraph it helps build strength and cardiovascular endurance.  Stronger muscles fatigue less quickly, therefore helping to maintain a given speed for longer – which will in turn help me to win a race or achieve a personal best.  There are other factors of course that play into the equation, like desire and experience, but these parts of the equation are the building blocks. So I’m taking care of the part I can control now and putting in the hard work of building up the running pyramid.

Last week’s race results from the LTF Torchlight 5K: 1^st place – 15:58

Up next: USA 20K championships on Sept. 5^th – the results will be in next week’s post!  

Coach Peyton

I am not sure how the idiom of “wearing many hats” came about, but with the changing of the seasons it is time for me to once again get out my coaching hat, dust it off, and be prepared for an adventure.  My official title is “assistant women’s cross country and track coach” at Augsburg College. However, in practice I try to be a number of things: coach, inspirer, confidant…the list goes on. Whatever I may be at the moment, I know one thing for sure, I get just as much benefit out of coaching as the girls do.  Helping the Auggie girls reach their goals and dreams helps me to remember that every time I step out the door to go for a run, I am doing it because I love it.

              Above: Auggie Harriers out to cheer me on. "Go Meghan" written on their stomachs.                                                   

 Augsburg is a highly accredited college, but it is also a NCAA Div. III school, meaning there are no scholarships to persuade athletes to commit to our program. All the athletes there training and getting an education are doing so because they love the sport too.  Being around these young ladies really helps to remind me every day that I am here doing what I love and I should be very grateful for all the fantastic opportunities that I have in my life. 

Life Time Fitness Torchlight 5K

Tonight I am changing my hat again, back to athlete.  I am competing in a local 5K, to help support one of Team USA Minnesota’s biggest sponsors – Life Time Fitness (LTF). I spend time at one of the many LTF’s around the twin cities almost every day and in the winter sometimes multiple times in a day. Without their state of the art facilities and support of our team, training in Minnesota in the winter time would be very tough.  However, supporting the Torchlight 5K really is a no-brainer…race a 5K and then attend a free party! As my younger sister would say “no duh”, I am going to run.  

It will be nice to run off some of the rust tonight in the 5K, after some tough weeks of training, I am looking forward to it. Last Friday I did a really tough workout of 2 ½ mile repeats over a very hilly course.  I obviously didn’t learn from my 7mile race, because I once again went out too fast on the first 2 ½ miles, running under 5:20/mile pace…boy did that bite me in the butt.  I was still able to finish the workout at 5:30/ mile pace, but it made the workout tough mentally. My coach Dennis had to step in and help me realize that I am stronger than I think I am, and when I put my mind to it I can do anything. Another thing I am very grateful for when it comes to coaching, that I have my own great coach.

So now, I tip my blogger hat to you and say thank you for joining me on my journey. Thank you for supporting me in my quest of becoming an Olympian! 

New Balance Falmouth Road Race Weekend

38:25 – my time for the 7 mile New Balance Falmouth Road Race. That time was good enough to finish 13^th overall and 11^th American.  It is a race that I can walk away from and be OK with because it was the best I had that day. It wasn’t the ideal race that I would have loved to run, but with only 2 weeks of workouts behind me I think I am still lacking some speed and endurance. I also need to remember to exercise some patience. I went out a little bit harder than was probably ideal for my current fitness, clocking the first mile a 5:10 pace. I usually run fairly even splits, but I got a little too excited and when the gun went BANG I was out hard. Patience and pacing is one of the hardest things for all runners to learn. Even amazing runners like Shalane Flanagan have to remind themselves to be patient – see great Runners World article “The Killer Inside Her” profiling Shalane and how she learned to be patient in races.

Falmouth was as beautiful a race as I imagined it would be. It was a great day, a little cloudy and humid, but that is pretty good weather for a race, so no one was complaining. They had to start the race 10 minutes late because the buses that were transporting the participants to the start were running behind. The town of Falmouth is a very quaint little place with narrow streets and beautiful old architecture, which makes it a really fun place to visit. But it makes holding a race with 11,000 participants a great exercise in planning and execution. I give major props to the race organizers for making the event go as smoothly as it did. I really look forward to running the New Balance Falmouth Road Race again next year. For now I am looking forward to my next race – the Stratton Faxon New Haven 20K which will be held on Labor Day (which also happens to be Cole’s and my 1 year anniversary).  Hopefully I can finish a lot higher in the 20K and make it an even better anniversary than I know it will be.

Back to Work

For the time being, it will back to work. Tomorrow I will be doing a tough workout of 2.5 mile repeats with short rest. I am a little anxious for the workout because I know it will be tough, but it is also a very important workout because it will help me gain the stamina that I need not only for the 20K in two weeks but also for my ultimate goal on the horizon – the USA Olympic Marathon Trials.

Until next week…cheers!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Tonight I am going to Target Field to watch the Minnesota Twins whoop up on the Boston Red Sox! Or, at least that is the outcome that I am hoping for. At this point the Twins have not won enough games to make it to the playoffs, but on the bright side maybe we will get to see Jim Thome hit his 600^th career home run.  I wanted to make a sign to try and get Bert Blyleven to “circle me Bert”, but then I thought “oh wait, I am in the 300 sections, I am not sure that the TV camera’s pan that high up! And besides my nose will probably get a bleed and it will get on the sign anyways.”

New Balance Falmouth 7mile

After the game the Red Sox are going to go to Seattle and I am going to Boston. Boston is a beautiful city, and one you should put on your bucket list if you have never been there. Sadly I will not be spending very long in Boston proper, but I will take a shuttle down to Falmouth, Massachusetts to participate in the New Balance Falmouth Road Race.  I have never been to Falmouth before, but I am really looking forward to it. The course starts out in Woods Hole and winds its way along the coast line into the Falmouth. The course footage provided by the race organization and pictures from past races make it look very picturesque! Not that I will be admiring the scenery during the race, but rather sizing up the competition.

Course Tour Video

Another unique aspect about the New Balance Falmouth Road Race is that competitors don’t stay at a hotel over the race weekend, but rather with a host family. I have never done this before for a race, but I am looking forward to it also because I think it will be more relaxing – a home away from home.  I will be staying with a good friend of mine Bob Gusmini who I originally met at the World’s Best 10K in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  After the race Bob will be holding a very lively BBQ at his house. If my training in the past few weeks is any indication, I hope there will be a lot to celebrate at the BBQ.

Tune in next week for race results! 

P.S. The Twinkies won last night, breaking their 5 game losing streak. We had a blast!

Got Gills?

Monday’s workout was a harsh one. Difficult to do even on the best of days, so it didn’t help that, as my coach Dennis Barker put it, “You are going to need gills for this run”. Even at 8am when I began the workout it was in the 80’s and it was close to 100% humidity (it began to rain later in the morning). Nonetheless, like any running addict I pulled on my shoes and got out there in the elements and completed my workout of 1000m repeats.  The workout went really well despite the weather, which was due in part to being properly fueled and dressed for the weather.

On those hot and sticky summer days when we wish we are fish, it’s important to be smart about the way you dress and hydrate. If you have any questions, visit the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) website for lots of great tips.

There are sadly too many tragic stories across all disciplines of sport that happen due to poor hydration.   The girls I run with and I always plan our runs along the paths that are populated with drinking fountains, especially on days where we are going to be out in the heat for long run. Don’t have access to drinking fountains? Get yourself a fuel belt or take your car out before your run and plant some water bottles strategically along the course. Where there is a will, there is a way!  Running in the heat or any other extreme elements is possible; it just takes a little more planning. For tips from a master of planning for long runs, in all kinds of elements read the book Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. You don’t have to be an ultra runner to appreciate and benefit from his wisdom and humor. 

Until next time, anyone have a pair of gills I can borrow? 

Workouts Begin

Three weeks of building up my mileage and now it is time to get back to doing workouts.  I was pretty excited after completing my first workout back. Not only did it not feel as treacherous as I had anticipated, but I was running the same times as the end of my fall training cycle last year and exerting the same effort (effort = heart rate)! 

First Workouts of Yore

Why was I expecting the workout to be so hard? Although this first workout back was an exception to the rule, I have plenty of vivid and not always pleasant memories of first workouts in the past. One that is particularly vivid was the summer of 2007 before my senior year at the University of Iowa. I was home in Tualatin, Oregon and it was a bright sunny morning without any rain (which is rare in Oregon!). My now husband Cole decided to be a good sport and ride the road bike along with me as I set out with the quest of completing my first workout back after a two week break –  a 30 minute tempo run.  I warmed up for a few miles and then rolled right into the workout, but things were not going my way. Meanwhile, Cole was riding beside me happy as a clam, chatting away about some nonsense or another. I tried to concentrate, let my body continue to warm up and find my rhythm. Running, struggling, battling… “STOP!!!” I yelled. Just a few miles into the workout I came to a dead stop and burst into tears. “How did I ever run so fast without it hurting so much?”  Cole asked me if I was OK, I snapped back that I was fine, that the workout was just hard. I didn’t know how I could run any faster and him being so happy wasn’t making it any better! I immediately felt even more terrible about treating him so badly, when he was doing me the favor of riding along with me. I eventually calmed down and was able to finish the workout, though it was at a little more conservative pace.

Running for Yourself

This retrospection brings me to a point. When I am out meeting new people and I explain what I do, I get the frequent response of “You run how much?! My refrigerator is running, and that is about how far I run too, from my couch to the refrigerator”.  Many people express their interest in running, but say that every time the start they end up quitting. 

Running is a difficult sport, no doubt, but is also one that can be extremely self fulfilling when given the chance. It is my strong belief that the people out there that say that “can’t run”, have not given the sport a real chance. You have to start out slow, building into it. That may mean you have to start out alternating walking and running, until you gain the stamina and cardiovascular fitness to run your entire route. As Christopher McDougall wrote, people are ‘Born to Run’.  So my advice to those of you naysayers out there is to give running a real chance. Start out slower than you think is necessary and set long term goals. In the end you will be reward with increased fitness and a soaring self-esteem!

The Journey Begins

My first marathon is looming in the distance; true it is still six months away, but the journey begins now.

~~History~~

I began running in 7^th grade and haven’t stopped since.  However, like many people running wasn’t always my passion.  Although I had already been running for a few years, I didn’t become passionate about the sport until I was a junior at Tualatin High School in Oregon. It was about this time that I decided that competitive running was probably something I could do even into my college years.

After winning 6 state titles in Oregon, I planted myself in the Hawkeye State under the coaching of Layne Anderson at the University of Iowa.  Like the abundant corn fields that grow and blanket the Iowa countryside, my running career also flourished.

I left Iowa a 4-time NCAA All-American, 2-time Big Ten Champion and school record holder.  But, could I really make it at the next level?

~~Professional Career~~

I graduated from Iowa in the spring of 2008 and joined Team USA Minnesota under the guidance of Coach Dennis Barker and management of Pat Goodwin.  I chose to stay in our nation's “bread basket” because Team USA Minnesota was impossible to turn down. With so much support from organizations like Life Time Fitness and Twin Cities in Motion, Minneapolis represents an aspiring Olympians dream come true.

So here I am now, three years later. I recently married my high school sweetheart Cole and so my last name changed from Armstrong to Peyton (hence the title of this blog “Leg Strong”, which middle school classmates used to call me after I informed them that NO, I am not related to Lance).  As of July, I am training for my first marathon. I love the track and will not be giving it up any time soon, but I want to try my hand at the 26.2 mile distance next winter at the Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston, Texas.  Follow me in my training and give me tips along the way… "Citius, Altius, Fortius."