Legs for Literacy 2013 race recap

Well thats my 7th half marathon (1st post Peyton) under my belt. I couldn't be happier with my time. No, it wasn't the time i trained for but great considering i was on the verge of a hip flexor injury and basically had to take the 3 weeks leading up to the Oct 27 off from running. I ran very slow easy runs about once a week but they didn't feel good so i really laid off and that was one of the smartest moves i could have done. My hip didn't hurt for the race and was only a little achy the rest of the day on Sunday. It did hurt to sleep on my left hip but last night it didn't which is a really good sign.  So while taking the break was a great thing for my body before the race there are a few lessons learned that will only help me become a stronger runner the next half marathon.

1. If you move your original goal race out by a month take it easy running wise for 3 weeks or so. I took it easy for a week then just kept up with the speed workouts and intense tempo runs. I had never changed my goal race before so i didn't really know how to change up my training but now i do.

2. NEVER EVER try something new in the night before or the day of the race. This is something i know but ignored. My lovely thoughtful friend gave me airbonne's icy hot for my hip (to use the night before) and some cooling cream (to use during the race to help me push through if needed). Well i should have read up on airbonne and headed her warning that her husband had to wash it off in the middle of the night because it was too much for him. Well i put it on in the afternoon with no issues and decided to put more on before bed. BIG MISTAKE. I woke up an hour and a half later with my legs on fire. I had not only put it on my hip but both hips, IT bands AND glutes. I quickly jumped in the shower trying to wash it off only having the heat activate it even more. I then ran downstairs to get help/advice from my husband. I was freaking out. It was 11:30pm and i had to be up for 5:45am (to nurse Peyton and have him up for a bit so he could get an hour or so nap before meeting me at the finish line. I began google-ing about airbonne and discovered less is more and you either love it or hate it. It was even taken off the market for awhile, for this reason i assume. So after my husband google-ing it we tried dabbing olive oil on and wiping it off (but that didn't work as it was already absorbed in to my skin). Next he found that mixing baking soda with water and making a paste and putting it on would neutralize the burn and it sure worked thank god! I washed it off after it dried and still felt it a little but barely. Then i found out that not only heat reactivates it but sweat as well so i opted for shorts for the run instead of pants just in case:)

Okay now to the race recap. I decided to run my first race ever without my fuel belt and water. There were a lot of water stations and i find the water weighs you down. I know lots of runners swear by not running with their fuel belts. I have a race bib belt with a stretchy pocket that held my honey stinger electrolyte chews, my fuel of choice for long runs and long distance races. I decided to stop at every water station to sip water. This may have been why the lactic acid built up so much at the end of the race. I walked the length of each water station. So while i loved running without a water belt i think that for the next race i won't stop i'll run and sip. I decided to start the first 5km slow since i hadn't really run the last 3 weeks and just to see how my hip was and then i was going to pick it up. I stayed between 5:19-5:24 min/km the first 4km and then ended up picking it up at km 5 to 5:10. For km 6-16 i was between 5:01 and 5:16 but then the lactic acid got more and more intense the last 5km and i just couldn't get my legs to go any faster. So i was between 5:20 and 5:37. Then for the last .32km i was able to pick it up somehow and sprinted at 4:31. Oddly enough the faster i ran the better my hip felt as well it was as if it was really being stretched out. I finished the race with a time of 1:51:56 beating my last PB 2 years ago at the same race, 1:55:27.

Now it's time to rest! As per my physio, Heidi, i am taking two weeks off total from running. This week i am only walking and doing easy yoga, stretching and foam rolling. It still hurts to walk down stairs so i am ok with this. Did anyone else race this past weekend? If so how'd you do?

Days away from my 7th half marathon and nervous

I am a tad nervous to say the least. This sunday, October 27th, i will be running my seventh half marathon. My first half post Peyton. The last half marathon i ran was February 2012. Which due to the weather was my worst time for a half marathon yet the race where i felt the most hardcore. After that race i felt like i was part of an elite runners club. We ran the race the day after a huge blizzard and temps dropped to -20 c. Brrrrr. Steph and i powered through it and finished which was clearly the only goal.

Originally i had planned on doing the Fredericton fall classic september 22. However with a 6th month old (who i'm still breastfeeding) and being on maternity leave it just didn't make sense to travel for a race. So i pushed my goal race to Legs for Literacy over a month away from my original plan. I semi took a week off from hard training workouts and then kept on with my really effective speed workouts.

Fast forward to now i have only been able to run once a week for the last 3 weeks. A little over a month ago i started getting issues with tightness in my left glute which then moved to my hip. So needless to say i am nervous and not so confident about my speed anymore. My 1:40/1:45 goal is now out the window and i am just aiming to finish, tight hip and glute in tow. Who knows i may surprise myself! But i don't want to get my hopes up.

I have been getting treatments and exercises from my physio, Heidi, and she has cleared me to run the race but i must take 2 weeks off of running after the race to give my body a break and let it heal. Which will be tough mentally as i already have dialed it down the last few weeks work out wise and i haven't ran much or worked out as intensely. I have been doing a lot of yoga and focussing on upper body, core and lots of walking to help stretch my hip out.

In hindsight i should have taken a 2-3 week break from hard running workouts when i decided to change my goal race up. Allowing my body to heal a bit then back in to my hard speed workouts and tempo runs. Oh well lesson learned for future half's.

Here is the great schedule i used for training for my half marathon and i also used pace calculators like bane.info and Mcmillian to help me pace my workouts to reach my goal. I will report back Monday with how i make out at the race.


Happy running and good luck to all those runners racing this weekend at Legs for Literacy.

"If you listen to your body when it whispers you won't have to hear it scream"

I came across the quote in the title of this blog post earlier this week and it really spoke to me. I have been battling with a tight hip flexor the last 2 weeks of my half marathon training. So i ran a week ago monday and then didn't run again until Sunday for a long slow run and i felt it still so i have taken the rest of this week off as well. This is so hard to do mentally. But i must listen to my body so i can still race on Oct 27th. This race will be my first half marathon since having Peyton. I had originally planned on racing in Fredericton a month before this race so i think my body just has had enough of the rigorous speed workouts, tempo and long runs. It needs a break. Time to heal and get stronger. An "off season".  

I have never used training calculators this intensely before and really tried to match my paces to my goal race pace. And wow what a difference it makes. In my 10km virtual race i shaved almost 10 minutes off my PB (personal best) for a 10 km. I used both the bane.info and mcmillian training pace calculators. I recommend both for reaching those goal paces:) Runner friends have any of you used pace training calculators before? Do you find that they have helped you shave seconds and minutes off your PB times?

Back to the importance of an off season for us runners or even those who constantly put lots of work in to working out. I truly believe that taking it easy a week here and there is good for the body and allows it to come back even stronger than before. Most if not all professional athletes do it. You basically just tone down the intensity for your particular sport and concentrate on activities that will help make you stronger in your sport of choice. For running i think its beneficial to take a week or two totally off after a big event like a half marathon or a marathon and let your body heal. Then for your off season bring down your mileage and just run some easy slow runs and concentrate more on functional strength training, yoga and foam rolling. This is a time to allow your body to heal and to prevent over use injuries. According to active.com here is a list of reasons why it's so crucial for tri-athletes and runners to take time off:

1. recover from race season

1. avoid overtraining

1. and prevent injuries.

Here are seven more reasons to take an offseason and, for the restless ones, five things you should do during the down months.

Photo from active.com article on "10 reasons triathletes and runners need an off season

7 MORE REASONS YOU NEED AN OFFSEASON

To rest your cardiovascular system including your heart and lungs.

1. To allow your joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles and fascia time to heal from all the stress.

1. To work on postural and muscular imbalances. If you have injuries or muscle tightness/trigger points that are one-sided, then you have an imbalance that should be addressed to prevent future injuries.

1. To hit the weights. Strength training will help you to train harder and provide greater stability and strength to help prevent injuries.  

1. With age, your body needs more time to recover. If you want to continue racing competitively for years to come, then taking care of yourself is important.  

1. You stress your adrenals by training hard, getting up early, and racing.  

1. Endurance athletes have a tendency to become catabolic- you lose lean muscle. If you lose too much muscle, then the integrity of your bone density may become affected

WHAT TO DO DURING THE OFFSEASON

1. Cut your training volume. You can and should train three to four times per week for 30 to 40 minutes at an easy pace. But you should avoid intervals and speed work.

1. Do yoga or tai chi.

1. Rest, sleep in, and sleep more.

1. Plan your goals for the next year; pick your "A" races.

1. Strength train two to three times per week. This is the time to hit the gym hard and work on functional strength exercises with free weights, cables, barbells, Swiss balls and balance boards.

1. Weekly soft tissue work sessions. Even if you don't feel that your muscles are tight, there are trigger points and fascia that need to be released. Trigger points reduce the ability of the muscle to work, which leads to compensation and the potential for injuries. Neuromuscular therapy, neurosomatic therapy and myofascial release are techniques that should be used.  

1. Go gluten free. Endurance athletes need more carbohydrates when they're training and racing.  Many athletes eat processed carbohydrates often with gluten. If you're not gluten free already, you should be. Gluten causes systemic inflammation in the body, hampering training and recovery.  There are over 100 symptoms. Try going completely gluten free for one month. The goal is to go "grain free" and eat lots of meats, fish, eggs, vegetables and fruit.  After you have been gluten free, eat a large bowl of regular pasta and see how you feel.

1. Eliminate caffeine for a minimum of six weeks. Caffeine stimulates your nervous system, which can add to stress on the adrenals.  The more you use it, the more your body gets used to it.  It will work much better if you come off of caffeine and then reintroduce it for key training runs and races at a future date.  

The article goes on to discuss how after a 4 week rest you can slowly bring in the number of days you train in "your" sport and increase your volume. But it's best to keep the strength training and stability work in your program until you start seriously training for races again. After 4 weeks you can slowly add back in some easy speed work. Like running 200 m repeats at a 5k pace. This gets your body geared back up for speed work without putting too much stress on it. The author of the article, Karen Redmond, also recommends that you should give yourself a full 3 months off from racing each year. She indicates your body will thank you in the long run if you give it the rest it deserves. Mentally an off season can be really tough. Do you normally take one? I do for the most part i still run but with all the snow it's at a much slower pace. I love running in the winter and just enjoy it and it's nice not to have to stress about missing a run or two. I also plan on every few months taking an easy active week like this week and concentrating on yoga, easy upper body work, core and lots of walking. I have been referring to this week (or maybe two) as my active recovery week. It's important to me mentally to keep moving and keep active but it's a nice break to do more lower intensity activities. Your body is meant to move so i don't think being a couch potato is beneficial but active recovery sure is. Have you started to plan your "off-season" what activities will you include? I like to get out snow shoeing, downhill skiing and would love to get a pair of used cross country skis in the future. 

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