Speed Work: A Necessary Evil

I hate speed work.  I know, who doesn’t.  It’s horrible.  It’s hard.  It makes me feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest.  But it works.  I had big aspirations for this training session.  I was going to do at least one speed workout per week.  I was going to get faster.  I was going to get stronger.  I was going to run the Mini in 1:45:00.

I’d like to say that I have some excuse for not sticking with the plan.  Injury, sickness, something.  Anything other than laziness.  But I’m afraid that’s the truth.  As I planned my runs for each week, I saw the days where a speed workout would fit in nicely.  Each week I had an excuse ready.  “I don’t have access to a track.”  “It’s snowy out.”  “My shins hurt.”

About two weeks ago (and six weeks out from the race), my  husband and I ran this 5K.  I gave it my all. I ran hard.  At the end, I was spent.  My pace? 8:06.  You know what that isn’t?  8:00 – the pace I need for a 1:45:00.  I felt kind of discouraged and disappointed.  I was certain there was no way I could keep up even an 8:06 pace for a half marathon.  What happened to my grand plans?  The time that was just out of reach at the last race was likely going to continue to be so.

Then I got over the pity party.  I still had six weeks.  That’s a lot of training time.  I started thinking of workouts that I could do that didn’t have to involve the track (although I have every intention of checking out the Monon Center – the indoor track is free).  The easiest workout for me (and by easy, I mean in terms of keeping track of the speed portion) are those based on time.  Three minutes all out.  Five minutes all out.  Ladders.  It’s hard to do alone, but I knew I could tackle them.

Last week I got serious.  I mapped out roughly a 4 mile route with 4 major hills (major when compared to the relative flatness that is Indy) over on Butler’s campus.  The run involved four 3 minute pick ups – you guessed it – up each of the hills.  The last one nearly did me in, but I did it.

This week I stepped it up a bit.  This week is my highest mileage week for this training program – 34 miles with a 10 mile long run.  I needed to do 6 miles yesterday, and I figured with 2-2.5 miles of warm up/cool down, I would be fine.  About a mile in, I saw an unopened Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg on the street.  It looked like it had just been dropped.  It wasn’t smooshed.  And yeah, I seriously thought about picking it up.  I refrained.

I started my first 3 minute pick up, and I could tell that I wasn’t going to be able to go my fastest through each interval.  I tried not to think about the two 5 minute intervals or the three other 3 minute intervals.  I tried not to think of the three hills I had purposefully included in my route.  I tried not to think about what would happen if those hills came at the end of an interval.  I just ran, focusing only on turning my legs over quickly for the duration of those three minutes.

As I feared, the first hill came at the end of the first 5 minute interval.  I pushed through, and savored the gravitational pull as I ran back down the hill.  Before I knew it, I was on my last pick up.  Just three more minutes and I could take as long as I wanted to get home.  Oh, and it was about this time that I really started to wish I’d picked up that Reese’s egg.  I deserved such a tasty reward.  (It’s possible I was not getting enough oxygen to the brain).

I took off, and again, as feared, that last looming hill was facing me, mocking me.  I pushed my legs harder.  Even though it didn’t feel like I was actually moving forward, the next thing I knew I was at the top.  I had just twenty more seconds to go.  I may have thrown my arms in the air in victory as I counted down 5-4-3-2-1.

Today I was sore, but in a good way.  It’s the kind of soreness that let’s you know you worked your muscles.  It’s not often that I feel that way after a run these days.  After last week’s speed session, I had a pretty good pace for my long run.  I have high hopes for Saturday’s 10.  And maybe, just maybe, 1:45:00 isn’t out of reach.  I’m not ready yet to give up hope.

Butler Bulldog Jog 5K | Recap

This morning we ran the 20th Annual Butler University Bulldog Jog 5K.  I sort of pressured my husband into running it with me, but I thought it would be a fun run and a good way to support Butler.  I of course signed us up after the early bird deadline (I’m terrible about that kind of stuff).  We stopped by the Butler HRC last night to pick up our bibs.  I was concerned that we weren’t going to get shirts since we registered late.  Luckily, they still had our sizes, which was awesome because these shirts are great.  They are tech shirts and so soft.  Considering the registration cost of $20 (if you were an early bird), this is a pretty good return on investment.

This year’s event also included the inaugural one mile dog walk.  I seriously considered signing us up for that, but was afraid that the dogs would just embarrass us too much.  I think it was wise that we decided to run the 5K.  There were so many dogs (tons of bulldogs, obviously), and I know Maggie would have flipped out.  One of the goals of the event was to gather items to donate to the Indiana Bulldog Rescue and the Indianapolis Humane Society.  Spearheaded by Butler’s mascot, Blue II, he asked participants to bring items that would be put to good use for those dogs less fortunate than him and our spoiled mutts.  So, we gathered up all of the leashes and harnesses that we no longer use (or never really used because Maggie is so picky) and dropped them off when we got our bibs last night.

We had a pretty decent storm come through last evening, and I was  a little concerned that we were going to get rained on and/or that the tow path would be a puddle-ridden, soggy mess.  I would not have been too upset if it had rained because I’m convinced that it’s going to rain during the Mini because we’ve had such great training weather.  However, I knew that rain would not have pleased my husband, and with this being his first race, I wanted it to go smoothly.

We woke up and the weather was perfect.  Just a little chilly, and the sun was coming up.  We needed to run more than just 3.1 miles, so we figured we would run over to campus and back to get in a little over 5 miles.  We walked outside and were greeted by this sunrise.  Pretty good way to start a Saturday if you ask me.  I can only hope that May 5 dawns the same way.  I could already hear the music and festivities coming from Butler.

We made it over in under 8 minutes.  As soon as we walked up I saw the Back on My Feet Indy group.  It was great to finally meet some of the members.  I received a big package of fundracing gear yesterday, so I was sporting one of my new shirts.  I definitely felt a sense of pride being affiliated with the group. (If you are interested in helping me reach my fundraising goal, visit my campaign page here.)

As we made our way towards the starting line, I saw them: Blue II and Trip!  Blue was hanging out in his Burley Trailers Tail Wagon, ready for his duties as Grand Marshall of the Dog Walk.  I finally had my chance to meet and get my picture with him, but I didn’t do it.  I’m so silly.

It was about ten minutes to go time, and I wanted to get up towards the front of the pack.  I had no delusions that I was going to stay at the front of the pack, but I wanted to avoid having to weave in and out of people.  I was really impressed with the fact that they had pacers.  We started behind the girl with the 7:50 sign.  As expected, when the race started people took off in a dead sprint, us included.

As the crowd thinned, I told my husband we were going too fast, and we backed off.  I know it was only a 5K, but I didn’t think running a 7:30 pace would be good for either of us.  Perhaps I was wrong.  We stuck together for almost the first mile, and he started to pull ahead of me.  We passed the first mile marker, and he continued to pull ahead of me.  By the time we hit the tow path, I stopped trying to spot him!  I just focused on my own pace, thinking that if I stayed where I was, I might finish around an 8:00 pace.

I kept closing the gap on the 7:50 pacer, and as I neared the 3 mile sign, I kicked it into gear.  I passed her, and tried not to think about the steep hill that was waiting for me at the end.  I hit the bottom of it and just looked down.  For me, hills are easier if I’m not looking up the steep grade ahead of me.  I saw the finish line, and realized the finish was actually on the football field.  That was pretty cool, and I’ll admit I pretended I was a college athlete as I gave it all I had those last few feet.

My unofficial time was 25:09.  I’m pretty pleased about that.  My husband was waiting for me, and one of the Back on My Feet runners gave me a high-five.  I definitely felt like I had given it my all, which is always my main goal for a race.  We walked back by Hinkle, got some water, and marveled over the impressive race set up.  They had the normal after race food, but they also had a nice area for stretching and massages!  All along the race route we were cheered on by smiling and friendly student volunteers.  I will definitely run this race again.  Great job, Butler HRC!

I hoped to maybe see Blue again, but the dog walk was still going on and we had to get going.  We had a busy day ahead of us and a mile run home.  So off we went at an easy jog.  The official race results aren’t posted yet, but I expect my husband ran at least a 7:50 pace or faster.  Pretty impressive for a first race (although I like to take some credit since I told him we need to slow down at the start).  It’s only a matter of time before I get him to the start of a half marathon.  Happy running!

March Madness

I really had no intention of writing any post related to the NCAA Tournament.  In fact, I didn’t even fill out a bracket this year.  This is the first time I haven’t done a bracket in probably five years.  I rarely do well on my brackets because I love picking the underdog.  And let’s face it, rarely does the underdog come out on top.

Except for last year.  Butler University’s Bulldogs had an outstanding and exciting run.  The past few years my alma mater has not even made it to the dance, so I have to pick someone else to root for.  I’ll admit it; I jumped on the Butler bandwagon.  But seriously, is there any better feeling than watching the team that no once expected to advance come out on top over and over again?  The tournament is not like regular season games.  If you lose a regular season game, there’s always another one to play.  With the tournament, you’ve only got one shot (well, not literally…haha, I’m a comedienne).

I decided I was not going to get sucked into March Madness this year.  But I live in the midwest and it’s called March Madness for a reason.  After Butler eked out a last second win at the buzzer on Thursday, I of course had to start rooting for them again.  Tonight’s game was another nail-biter, and as the leads were never much more than a handful of points, I reminded myself of why I try not to get invested in a team.  It’s an emotional roller coaster!  I find myself feeling nervous, elated, angry and excited as if I were actually playing.  And if the team I’m following ends up losing, I am depressed.  I might even cry a little.  It’s too late, though.  I’m once again hooked.

Assuming Butler wins the next game, we will be in New Orleans when the game after that is played.  How cool will that be?  Not that we’ll actually get to go to the game, but we’ll be there for the excitement and celebration.  Maybe the mascot, a bulldog named Blue 2, will get to go to the Sweet Sixteen.  (By the way, Blue 2 is on Twitter and he’s hilarious and awesome…@butlerblue2).

Are you following the Madness?  Is your team still alive?  If not, who are you cheering for now?  I say go for the underdog!