Spring Break - Runner Style

SPRING BREAK! I spent the last week running up and down the mountains in Angeles National Forest during the Augsburg Track and Field teams’ annual spring break trip. I love running and exploring new places so the week was basically a week in running heaven. One of the runs we did while we were out there will go down in my lifetime as one of the best ever. We started the run at about 3,000 feet at the Chantry Flats. I am still trying to figure out why it is called the Chantry Flats because we were smack dab in the middle of a mountain, and it wasn’t flat!

 To begin the run we dropped 400ft down into a valley and trotted along a beautiful creek raging with spring rain and snow melt. It was a beautiful 60 degree spring day and the sun was shining bright (this fact will be important later in the story, so keep it in mind).

The beginning of the trail was wide and flat, because every Jane and Joe hiker could make it the first mile or two of the 9.5 mile round trip loop that we were planning on doing. However, a few miles in and the trail turned to a single track nightmare when it comes to running. There was every obstacle you could imagine – steep cliffs, rocks, roots (The trails reminded me of many runs in Forest Park in Portland, OR with my high school coach Brent MacDermot – and him bent over laughing until he cried because I had tripped on a root and managed to smash a banana slug all over my stomach). So our pace was slow, but it didn’t matter because it was supposed to be a recovery day and the amount of uphill running we would be doing that day would cause our heart rates to spike regularly, making up for the fact that the pace was slow.  

As we were running along I tried my best to take in my surroundings, which was difficult to do because I wanted to make sure I kept my eyes on the ground and on the three boys that were following on the trail behind me. On our drive up to the flats my coach Dennis had joked that we would be gaining enough elevation in the run to see snow, and we all laughed at the notion. However, 3000ft later once we caught our breaths we really did run into the snow! We couldn’t believe it. Here we were in the middle of mountains just outside of L.A. and we were running through a light dusting of snow. The views from that elevation were breathtaking. The Los Angeles skyline, which was actually clear that day because of a spring storm that had blown through the day before, as the backdrop to the lush green mountains and the sparkle of the ocean. But the best part of it all was the sounds…

Remember how I said it was a sunny and 60 degree day? As we approached the top Michael asked me “What the heck is falling all around us?” To which I replied “ICE”. As we were climbing the mountain the ice that had been coating the upper layers of the trees began to melt and fall off in quarter size chunks! Once I got over my fear that one of us would be knocked unconscious by a falling ice chunk, is when I heard it. The ice as it cascaded off the trees and fell to the ground sounded like a symphony of soft wind chimes playing all around us.

Finally we reached the peak of Mt. Zion and began our long winding journey back down the mountain on the aptly named Winter Creek Trail. We zigged and we zagged all the way down the mountain, finally reaching the base where we then had to climb another sharp incline 400ft back out of the valley. OUCH! When we finally reached the flats again an hour and forty minutes (running time) had passed, but it was completely worth it.

Being able to do a run like this is one of the many reasons staying in shape is worth it for me. I’ll be thinking about our run through the Angeles National Forest when I hit the roads this week in Minneapolis.

Marathon Reflections

So sorry to have disappeared for a while, but after the Olympic Trials Marathon I didn’t know what to say… but these lyrics by Crossfade (generally not my type of music) kind of explain how I felt. 

So you found out today your life's not the same 
Not quite as perfect as it was yesterday but 
When you were just getting in the groove 
Now you're faced with something new 
And I know it hurts and I know you feel torn 
But you never gave up this easily before 
So why do you choose today to give it all away …

I started out that morning feeling as confident as I could feel going into something that I had never done before. I had the training under my belt and I was surrounded on the course by people I love. A beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner was sung by a fellow competitor (Esther Erb, props to her!) and the race began. I tried to settle into 5:45 pace with the pack that I was with, but the group was anxious so the pace was a bit erratic… jumping between 5:39-5:50 per mile. The first ten miles flew by in what felt like the blink of an eye. It was at about this time that I started to feel the blister on my right foot forming. I could feel that it was there, but I put it out of my mind as best I could. The competition was more important. 

I made it to half way, still on 2:32 marathon pace, still feeling strong. I continued to get my fluids and clip away at the miles on the 7 mile loops course. Coming in toward the start/finish line on the second loop, nearing 18-19 miles I was starting to feel my hip flexors. I felt like I was having trouble pulling my leg through my stride. I had slowed a bit, to 2:34 marathon pace, but I was still feeling optimistic. I was still close to my goal per mile pace. I could do this! I had lost my group and was running alone, but I was clicking away at the miles getting closer with each stride to my destination.  
I made it to mile 22 and I was coming unglued. My legs felt like they were hardly coming off the ground. But I was so close. I could fight through another mile!

I got to mile 23 and the 180 degree left hand turn in the course. My blister by this point was really bad; I had to kind of dance my way around the turn because I couldn’t push off on my right foot. I was starting to get passed by other competitors who had paced their races a little better. Only three miles, I told myself, so close. You can do it.

The mile 24 mile marker loomed. I looked at my mile split on my watch and swore that I saw 6:45…I thought that I had slowed by over a minute per mile. (When I later looked at my splits it was a 6:15 mile, not 6:45) But that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. When I saw that and that I was getting passed by people I knew I should beat I gave up. At mile 24, with only two miles to go I walked off the course and burst into tears. I have never felt so ashamed of myself. Not once in the 13 years that I have been running competitively had I ever not finished a race. And now I can say I never will (consciously) ever again. The feeling of giving up is the absolute worst. 

I learned a lot from that day and now that I have had time to think it through and get back to training and racing I can continue the song…

Well it's not so bad y'all 
Together we all fall 
Just as long we get up we'll stand tall 
We shouldn't waste another day 
Thinking 'bout the things that we forgot to say 

I know we have given 
All that we can give 
When there's nothing to lean on 
Well, I remember this 
All we make of this lifetime 
Is always here within 
And remembering that's why 
We should never give in

One day soon I will do another marathon, and this time I know without a doubt I will succeed.
For now, I am back to training and racing, getting ready for my next big adventure- the USA Olympic Track and Field Team Trials in June! I already have qualifying marks in both the 10K and 5K. In the early part of the season I will see if I can better those marks to put me in a better position going into the trials. So I will get back to writing and letting you all know how it is going! 

Thanks for all the support. Yours in running!
~Meghan~

Marathon splits:
6:16, 12:05, 17:45, 23:29, 29:09, 35:02, 40:53, 46:34, 52:25, 58:17, 1:04:09, 1:10:03, 1:16:01, 1:21:59, 1:44:00, 1:33:54, 1:55:00, 1:46:04, 1:52:15, 1:58:30, 2:04:02, 2:11:03, 2:17:27, 2:23:42

Running Times

Hey all, here is another interview done by Sarah Barker for Running Times. Check back soon for the race and weekend recap!

5 Minutes with Meghan Armstrong Peyton

This former middle-distance specialist talks about her evolution to long-distance runner in time for the Olympic trials marathon

By Sarah Barker
As featured in the Web Only issue of Running Times Magazine

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If you had told Meghan Armstrong Peyton a year ago she’d be doing a 3-hour run on a treadmill and thinking about mid-race nutrition, she’d have laughed at you. As a 4:17 1500m runner, Peyton, like most middle-distance runners, thought of patience in terms of seconds, not hours. But a paradigm-shifting 1:13:56 half marathon two years ago in Houston qualified her for the 2012 Olympic trials marathon and set the gears in motion. In the past six months, she’s transformed herself into a mid-race fueling marathoner. Recently, she placed seventh (1:14:57) in a tune-up race at the Rock ’n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon in December, was second in the Manchester Road Race (4.75 miles, 25:03) in November and placed sixth (in a 55:09 PB) at the U.S. 10-mile championships in Minneapolis in October. The Olympic trials marathon on Jan. 14 in Houston will be her first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance.

Running Times: You were a 3K/1500m specialist throughout high school and college until your last year at Iowa in 2008, when you moved up to the 10K. Why this big jump to the marathon?

Meghan Armstrong Peyton: I strongly believed I was a miler until my junior year at Iowa when I went to nationals and did not make finals again. I was heartbroken. My coach tried to convince me that I could be good at longer distances, and I liked 5K, so I thought I’d give the 10K a shot. I ran 10K at the Peyton Jordan Invite and exceeded my expectations. [She ran a 32:59.11 at Peyton Jordan last May in Palo Alto, Calif.] History repeated itself when I joined Team USA Minnesota. Dennis Barker [coach of Team USA Minnesota] first planted the seed of the marathon in early 2011, maybe March. I laughed at him, told him I didn’t think so. He just told me we didn’t need  to decide right away, that we could wait until after track season. Well, track didn’t end the way I thought it would, and I was forced to do a lot of soul searching. I looked at other people who had improved on the track after doing a marathon. And I’m not one to back down from a challenge. If it goes well, fine. And if it doesn’t, it will make me stronger on the track.

RT: When was your first 20+ mile run? First 3-hour run? How did that go?

MAP: At Iowa, I never ran more than 13 or 14 miles at a go. Until the fall of 2011, I had never done more than 20 miles. My first 3-hour run, in early October, didn’t go so hot. I ate while I was at work four hours prior, then went out by myself with one GU packet. That’s it. No fluids. The last couple miles, I felt like my head was disconnected from my body — I had to physically slap my face to clear my head. The next one was on a treadmill, not because I love the treadmill, but because I know Houston will be in the 50s and it was in the 20s here in Minnesota, so I wanted to prepare for the heat. I also had fluids right there and I tried out this Perpetuem drink by Hammer that I intend to use in the actual race. It went really well; I felt good the whole time and had no stomach issues. I was mentally fatigued from being on treadmill.

RT: What’s been your most challenging marathon workout? 

MAP: Probably an hour tempo run at 5:40 pace, followed immediately by 30 minutes of alternating 1-minute hard/1-minute easy. I warmed up about 3 miles and eked out a mile cool down. I accomplished the goal of the workout, which was to run a long time at slightly faster than marathon pace. It was encouraging.

RT: I assume you’ve had to really exercise patience.

MAP: Yeah. I’ve certainly gone out too fast in a 3K and it wasn’t pretty, but I finished. The price [of going out too fast] is higher in a marathon. I’ve practiced going out slower and being happy with that and knowing it’s the best thing to do because no one knows or cares who’s in the lead at half way or 20 — I want to be there at the end.

RT: Have you had company on your long runs? 

MAP: A lot of them, no, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are going to be segments of the race when I’m not feeling good and it feels like you’re the only one suffering, but by training alone, I know I can get through that. I was able to do 23 miles once with Katie [McGregor] and I was asking her what to expect, picked her brain. That was really helpful.

RT: Your coach is into visualization — what’s the marathon you’re envisioning? What possible problems are you preparing for?

MAP: I’ve envisioned being strong at the end. I don’t want to think about all the things that could go wrong — don’t want to psyche myself out. I’ve thought about missing a water bottle — I’ll try and grab water at a regular water station — but mostly, I try not to freak out about things I can’t control. It’s too much to expect to escape without something — chafing or blisters or whatever — but in the race, you’re so focused on competition, I’m just thinking about clipping away miles and finishing strong.

RT: This trials has more virgin marathoners than any previous — how do you think that will effect the race? 

MAP: Probably not in a way that I would personally notice. I’ve been watching the known big hitters like Shalane and Desiree. In the past, the low 2:30s got on the podium, but I’m wondering if that will be true this year. It sounds like Desiree has been training for 2:22 pace. If she goes out hard, I can imagine Shalane would be on her heels. So there may be some people going out very fast. I’m prepared to be patient, sit back a ways and go with a pace I know is for me, probably 5:45-5:50 to start.

RT: You’ve been called a 'wild card' for the trials — what are you holding? What are your goals?

MAP: I wasn’t really aware I was called a wild card. [laughs] I’ve been happy with my races this fall and I beat some people that have run impressive times in the marathon. Like many people, my goal is to make the Olympic team. If that happened, I’d be ecstatic. But I’d be happy in the top 10.

RT: Do you have a pre-race ritual?
 
MAP: I shave my legs the night before. Must be the night before the race.

RT: Will you become a marathoner from here on out?

MAP: I can’t answer that question until I finish the race. The training is tough but doable. I’ll see how I feel. I will definitely go for the 10,000m on the track in Eugene, and I'm thinking about doubling in the 5K, too.

Marathon Week Interview

A nice interview done by Lance Bergeson from the Des Moines Register...

Meghan Armstrong Peyton will be a huge wild card when the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials begin on the morning of Jan. 14 in Houston.

The former University of Iowa four-time All-American has a half marathon best of 1 hour, 13 minutes, 43 seconds and finished a respectable fifth at the 2011 USA 5-kilometer and 15k championships and sixth at the 10-mile championships last year.

But the 25-year-old Team USA Minnesota runner has never attempted the marathon distance.

“Obviously since it’s my first one I have some trepidation going into it,” Peyton, pictured, said Tuesday. “I’m nervous, but I believe that when I get to the hard part of the race, mile 20, I have to believe in the hard work and training I did. I’ve done the best training I can.

“I would really like to think that I am a wild card. I intend to be vying for one of the top spots. That’s my goal.”

Peyton is a track runner by nature. She was the 2008 Big Ten champion in both the indoor 3,000 meters and the outdoor 10,000. She also holds the Iowa school record in the 1,500 meters (4:17.41).

She didn’t believe it was too much of a strech to try a marathon, especially after taking seventh at the Dec. 4 Las Vegas half marathon during a difficult training cycle.

“I told (coach) Dennis (Barker) when we first went into this that I didn’t have a desire just to do a marathon,” Peyton said. “I wanted to do it to be a contender (at the trials). I did some soul-searching before I started training. I did think I could do it. He (Barker) thought I had the talent to do it.”

Peyton has mixed fast-paced tempo runs with longer runs. She had never gone past 18 miles until training for the marathon. She has bumped up her mileage from 90 miles to 110 during her marathon cycle. She even completed the marathon distance on a treadmill to acclimate herself to any possible heat Houston will have.

“I’ve tended to trade off between fast workouts and marathon workouts to work every muscle fiber,” said Peyton, a physiology major at Iowa. “I’m a strong believer in working every system. Knowing that I can cover the distance definitely gives me the confidence that I can make it through the race.

“The biggest thing I learned about myself is that I’m stronger than I previously have known. I’ve put in these long runs without added effort.”

The Oregon native has taken advantage of a mild November and December in the Twin Cities. “We have really lucked out,” she said.

Peyton also vacationed with her husband’s family in Hawaii for nine days over Christmas. After returning from Maui, she was instructed by her coach to do all of her final workouts on a treadmill to maintain the benefits of training in the Hawaii heat.

“Probably the biggest factor is the heat (in Houston),” Peyton said. “I’ve practiced taking in my fluids. That shouldn’t be a drawback. I’ve got to hope for the best for the weather. I’ve covered my bases with my treadmill training.”

All of the racing Peyton did in 2011, which included a win in the Miami Half Marathon, has prepared her for the race conditions she’ll face in Houston.

“I definitely think it (2011 racing season) was a big step in the right direction,” Peyton said. “It was fun to go out to these races and be in the hunt and post fast times.”

Peyton knows she has to be smart with the marathon. She cannot go out too fast or risk having a meltdown in Texas’ largest city.

“I want to get in a pace that’s in the 5:45 or 5:50 range,” Peyton said. “Clip away the first 10 or 15 miles or so and then really drive it home from there. It will come down to the day and how I feel from there. The biggest thing is not to get too anxious and believe in myself.”

UP NEXT: West Des Moines’ Jason Flogel has battled to stay healthy for his first Olympic marathon trials race.

To read more about running and triathlons, follow me on Twitter (@LanceBergeson)

Tags: meghan peyton

T-minus 10 days to the OT Marathon!

Happy New Year! It is now T-minus 10 days. I can’t believe it is the last two weeks of training before the Olympic Trials Marathon. Our holiday trip to Hawaii flew by. Cole and I spent 9 wonderful days with the Peyton side of the family on the island of Maui. The trip was planned over a year ago, but it turned out to be perfect timing to get in some great heat training just in time for the marathon.

Since returning to Minneapolis, I have strict instructions to do all my runs on the treadmill so that I can maintain any benefits that I got while in Maui. Because although by Minnesota standards this is still a very mild winter, the mercury here is still far below any thermometers you will find in Houston. I don’t have any room to complain though, because at this point in my marathon cycle the runs are far shorter than ones that I completed just a few weeks ago.

My taper has really kicked in now. This week I am only scheduled to run 61 miles and next week in the 40’s and that includes the 26.2 mile race. The legs are feeling good and alive! It’s a feeling one only understands after putting your body through the ringer week, after week, after week. Like a New Years Eve firework…you light the fuse and the rocket works so hard to obtain lift-off, and it continues to burn and work as it gains altitude, and finally BANG! All of the remaining energy is put into one brilliant and beautiful moment. For me, that moment will begin with the BANG of the gun at 8:15am on Saturday January 14, 2012!

If you need some inspiration, or a reason to tune in to NBC’s broadcast of the trials then take a look at this short video clip that features four of my Team USA Minnesota teammates! I got goosebumps watching it. 

                                                              WATCH HERE!

Make sure to stay tuned next week for the final countdown.

GO TEAM USA! 

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!