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?